2006 MERCEDES-BENZ S500 Air Con

65 Safety and Security
Occupant safety
When you sell your vehicle we strongly
urge you to give notice to the subsequent
owner that it is equipped with an SRS by
alerting them to the applicable section in
the Operator’s Manual.
Front air bags
1Driver’s front air bag
2Passenger front air bagDriver’s and passenger front air bags are
deployed:


in the event of certain frontal impacts


if impact exceeds a preset deployment
threshold


independently of the side impact
air bags
The air bags will not deploy in impacts
which do not exceed the system’s deploy-
ment thresholds. You will then be protect-
ed by the fastened seat belts.The passenger front air bag will only be de-
ployed if:


the front passenger seat is occupied


the 58 indicator lamp in the
lower part of the front center console is
not lit (
page 73)


the impact exceeds a preset deploy-
ment threshold!Do not place objects heavier than
20 lbs (9 kg) on the front passenger
seat. This could cause the front or side
impact air bag on the front passenger
side to deploy in a crash which exceeds
the system’s deployment threshold.

67 Safety and Security
Occupant safety
Seat belts
When the engine is started, the seat belt
telltale< illuminates to remind you and
your passengers to fasten your seat belts.
If the driver’s seat belt is not fastened be-
fore the engine is started, the seat belt
telltale< illuminates and a warning
chime sounds for approximately six sec-
onds when the engine is started.
Always wear your seat belt. All vehicle oc-
cupants always need to have their seat
belts fastened and wear them properly.
In addition, applicable motor vehicle safety
laws require you to wear seat belts. Even
where this is not the case, we strongly rec-
ommend that all vehicle occupants have
their seat belts fastened and wear them
properly.
For more information, see “Fastening the
seat belts” (
page 43).
iFor information on infants and children
traveling with you in the vehicle and re-
straint systems for infants and chil-
dren, see “Children in the vehicle”
(page 71).
Warning!
G
Always fasten your seat belt before driving
off. Always make sure your passengers are
properly restrained, even those sitting in the
rear and pregnant women.
Failure to wear and properly fasten and po-
sition your seat belt greatly increases your
risk of injuries and their likely severity in an
accident. You and your passengers should
always wear seat belts.
If you are ever in an accident, your injuries
can be considerably more severe without
your seat belt properly buckled. Without
your seat belt buckled, you are much more
likely to hit the interior of the vehicle or be
ejected from it. You can be seriously injured
or killed.
In the same crash, the possibility of injury or
death is lessened if you are properly wearing
your seat belt. Air bags can only protect as
they are designed if the occupants are prop-
erly wearing their seat belts.Warning!
G
Never ride in a moving vehicle with the seat
backrest in an excessively reclined position
as this can be dangerous. You could slide
under the seat belt in a collision. If you slide
under it, the belt would apply force at the ab-
domen or neck. That could cause serious or
even fatal injuries. The seat backrest and
seat belt provide the best restraint when the
wearer is in a nearly upright position and the
belt is properly positioned on the body.

68 Safety and SecurityOccupant safetyWarning!
G
Never let more people ride in the vehicle
than there are seat belts available. Be sure
everyone riding in the vehicle is correctly re-
strained with a separate seat belt. Never use
a seat belt for more than one person at a
time.Warning!
G
Damaged seat belts or belts that were highly
stressed in an accident must be replaced
and their anchoring points must also be
checked.
Only use seat belts which have been ap-
proved by Mercedes-Benz.
Do not make any modifications to the seat
belts. This can lead to failure of the seat
belts.
Do not bleach or dye seat belts as this may
severely weaken them. In a crash, they may
not be able to provide adequate protection.
Have all work carried out only by qualified
technicians. Contact an authorized
Mercedes-Benz Center.Warning!
G
USE SEAT BELTS PROPERLY

Seat belts can only work when used
properly. Never wear seat belts in any
other way than as described in this sec-
tion, as that could result in serious inju-
ries in case of an accident.


Each occupant should wear their seat
belt at all times, because seat belts help
reduce the likelihood of and potential
severity of injuries in accidents, includ-
ing rollovers. The integrated restraint
system includes SRS (driver’s air bag,
passenger front air bag, side impact
air bags, head protection window cur-
tain air bags for side windows), ETD
(seat belt emergency tensioning device),
and front seat knee bolsters. The sys-
tem is designed to enhance the protec-
tion offered to properly belted
occupants in certain frontal (front
air bags and ETD) and side (side impact,
window curtain air bags and ETD) im-
pacts which exceed preset deployment
thresholds and in certain rollovers (win-
dow curtain air bags and ETD).


Never wear the shoulder belt under your
arm, against your neck or off your shoul-
der. In a crash, your body would move
too far forward. That would increase the
chance of head and neck injuries. The
belt would also apply too much force to
the ribs or abdomen, which could se-
verely injure internal organs such as
your liver or spleen.


Never wear belts over rigid or breakable
objects in or on your clothing, such as
eyeglasses, pens, keys, etc., as these
might cause injuries.


Position the lap belt as low as possible
on your hips and not across the abdo-
men. If the belt is positioned across your
abdomen, it could cause serious injuries
in a crash.

73 Safety and Security
Occupant safety
BabySmart
TM
air bag deactivation
system
The 58 indicator lamp is located on
the lower part of the center console.
1Indicator lamp
Special BabySmart
TM compatible child
seats, designed for use with the
Mercedes-Benz system and available at
any authorized Mercedes-Benz Center are
required for use with the BabySmart
TM
air bag deactivation system. With the spe-
cial child seat properly installed, the pas-
senger front air bag will not deploy.The 58 indicator lamp1 located
on the lower part of the front center con-
sole will be illuminated, except with the
SmartKey removed or in starter switch
position0.
Self-test BabySmart
TM
without special
child seat installed
After turning the SmartKey in the starter
switch to position1 or2 or pressing the
KEYLESS-GO* start/stop button
(
page 35) once or twice, the 58
indicator lamp comes on for approximately
six seconds and then goes out.
If the 58 indicator lamp should not
come on or is continuously lit, the system
is not functioning. You must see an authorized Mercedes-Benz Center before
seating any child on the front passenger
seat.
For more information, see “Practical hints”
(
page 348).
iThe system does not deactivate the
side impact air bag or the emergency
tensioning device.
Warning!
G
The BabySmart
TM air bag deactivation sys-
tem will ONLY work with a special child seat
designed to operate with it. It will not work
with child seats which are not BabySmart
TM
compatible.
Never place anything between seat cushion
and child seat (e.g. pillow), since it reduces
the effectiveness of the deactivation sys-
tem. The bottom of the child seat must
make full contact with the passenger seat
cushion. An incorrectly mounted child seat
could cause injuries to the child in case of an
accident, instead of protecting the child.
Follow the manufacturer’s instructions for
installation of special child seats.

74 Safety and SecurityOccupant safety
Installation of infant and child restraint
systems
This vehicle is equipped with tether an-
chorages for a top tether strap at each of
the rear seating positions.1Cover of top anchorage ring

Remove cover1 from anchorage ring.

Store cover1 in a convenient place
(e.g. glove box).

Guide tether strap between head re-
straint and top of seat back.
Head restraints must be positioned such
that the top tether strap can pass freely
between the head restraint and top of seat
back.

Make sure the tether strap is not twist-
ed.
Warning!
G
When using a BabySmart
TM1
compatible
child seat on the front passenger seat, the
passenger front air bag will not deploy only
if the
58
indicator lamp remains il-
luminated.
Make sure to check the
58
indica-
tor lamp every time you use the special sys-
tem child seat. Should the
58

indicator lamp go out while the restraint is
installed, please check installation. If the
58
indicator lamp remains out, do
not use the BabySmart
TM restraint to trans-
port children on the front passenger seat un-
til the system has been repaired.
1BabySmart
TM is a trademark of Siemens Automo-
tive Corp.
Warning!
G
Do not place powered-on laptops, cell
phones, electronic tags such as those used
in ski passes and like electronic devices on
the front passenger seat. Signals from such
devices may interfere with the BabySmart
TM
system. Such signal interference, for exam-
ple, may cause the
58
indicator
lamp not to come on or be continuously lit
during self-test, indicating that the system is
not functioning.

98 Controls in detailLocking and unlockingImportant notes on using KEYLESS-GO

You can also use the SmartKey with
KEYLESS-GO like a normal
SmartKey (
page 92).


You can combine KEYLESS-GO func-
tions with normal SmartKey functions
(e.g. unlocking with KEYLESS-GO and
locking with the ‹ button).


Always carry the SmartKey with
KEYLESS-GO with you.


Never store the SmartKey with
KEYLESS-GO together with:

Electronic items such as a cellular
phone or another SmartKey with
KEYLESS-GO


Metallic objects such as coins or
metal foil
Doing so could impair the function of
the KEYLESS-GO system.


To lock or unlock the vehicle, the
SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO must be
located outside the vehicle within ap-
proximately 3 ft. (1 m) of a door or the
trunk lid.


In order to start the engine with the
SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO:

The SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO
must be located in the vehicle.


All doors must be closed.


The brake pedal must be firmly de-
pressed. Do not depress the accel-
erator.


If you have started the engine with the
KEYLESS-GO start/stop button
(page 35), you can only turn it off
again with this button, even if you have
put the SmartKey in the starter switch
in the meantime.
This does not apply if, after starting, the
gear selector lever is still in positionP
and the SmartKey is then inserted in
the starter switch. The SmartKey will
then have priority over the
KEYLESS-GO function and the vehicle’s
electrical system will operate accord-
ing to the position of the SmartKey in
the starter switch, even stopping the
engine.


If the SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO is
positioned farther away from the vehi-
cle, the system may no longer recog-
nize the SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO.
The vehicle then cannot be locked or
the engine started via the KEYLESS-GO
system.

118 Controls in detailSeatsSeat fore and aft adjustment
Press switch forward or backward in
the direction of arrow1.
Seat height

Press switch up or down in the direc-
tion of arrow2.
Head restraint, folding down or placing
upright

Press switch in the up direction of
arrow3 to place the head restraint
upright.

Press switch in the down direction of
arrow3 to fold down the head re-
straint.Power seat, setting front passenger
seat position from rear*
This function lets you adjust the position of
the front passenger seat from the rear.
Warning!
G
For safety reasons, always drive with the
rear head restraints in the upright position
when the rear seats are occupied.
Keep the area around head restraints clear
of articles (e.g. clothing) to not obstruct the
folding operation of the head restraints.
Warning!
G
When adjusting the front passenger seat,
make sure the seat, if occupied, is as far
from the passenger front air bag as possi-
ble.
Otherwise, the passenger could be seriously
or even fatally injured in the event of an ac-
cident or braking maneuver.
Make sure no one is caught or injured while
the seat is being adjusted.
Even with the SmartKey or SmartKey with
KEYLESS-GO* removed from the starter
switch or the SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO*
removed from the vehicle, the power seats
can be operated when the respective door is
open. Therefore, do not leave children unat-
tended in the vehicle, or with access to an
unlocked vehicle. Unsupervised use of vehi-
cle equipment may cause an accident
and/or serious personal injury.

122 Controls in detailSeatsHead restraint tilt
You can adjust the angle manually by pull-
ing or pushing the head restraints by hand.
Lumbar support
You can adjust the contour of the seat’s
lumbar support to help enhance support to
your spine.
The thumbwheel for the driver’s and front
passenger seat are located on the inner
side of the seat.
1Thumbwheel
Switch on the ignition (
page 34).

Set the lumbar support between 0
and 5.
Multicontour backrest*
The multicontour backrest has inflatable
air cushions built into the seat backrest to
provide additional lumbar and side sup-
port.
The seat backrest cushion height and cur-
vature can be adjusted with switches on
the right side of the seat after turning the
SmartKey in the starter switch to
position2 or pressing the KEYLESS-GO*
start/stop button (
page 35) twice.
iAdjust the head restraint in such a way
that it is as close to the head as possi-
ble.Warning!
G
For your protection, drive only with properly
positioned head restraints.
Adjust head restraint so that the center of
the head restraint supports the back of the
head at eye level. This will reduce the poten-
tial for injury to the head and neck in the
event of an accident or similar situation.