77 Safety and Security
Occupant safety
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
section, as that could result in serious
injuries 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 air bag,
front passenger front air bag, head-tho-
rax air bags and rear side impact air
bags*), ETD (seat belt emergency ten-
sioning device), and front seat knee bol-
sters. The system is designed to
enhance the protection offered to prop-
erly belted occupants in certain frontal
(front air bags and ETD) and side
(head-thorax air bags and rear side im-
pact air bags* and ETD) impacts which
exceed preset deployment thresholds.
Never wear the shoulder belt under your
arm, against your neck or off your shoul-
der. In a frontal 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 severely injure internal or-
gans 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.
Never use a seat belt for more than one
person at a time. Do not fasten a seat
belt around a person and another
person or other objects.
Belts should not be worn twisted. In a
crash, you wouldn’t have the full width
of the belt to distribute impact forces.
The twisted belt against your body could
cause injuries.
Pregnant women should also always use
a lap-shoulder belt. The lap belt portion
should be positioned as low as possible
on the hips to avoid any possible
pressure on the abdomen.
Never place your feet on the instrument
panel, dashboard, or on the seat. Always
keep both feet on the floor in front of the
seat.
When using a seat belt to secure infant
or toddler restraints or children in
booster seats, always follow the child
seat manufacturer’s instructions.
82 Safety and Security
Occupant safety
Children in the vehicle
If an infant or child is traveling with you in
the vehicle:
Secure the child using an infant or child
restraint appropriate to the age and
size of the child.
Make sure that the infant or child is
properly secured at all times while the
vehicle is in motion.Infant and child restraint systems
We recommend all infants and children be
properly restrained at all times while the
vehicle is in motion.
All lap-shoulder belts except the driver’s
seat belt have special seat belt retractors
for secure fastening of child restraints.
To fasten a child restraint, follow child
restraint instructions for mounting. Then
pull the shoulder belt out completely and
let it retract. During seat belt retraction, a
ratcheting sound can be heard to indicate
that the special seat belt retractor is acti-
vated. The belt is now locked. Push down
on child restraint to take up any slack.
To deactivate, release seat belt buckle and
let seat belt retract completely. The seat
belt can again be used in the usual
manner.
Warning!G
Do not leave children unattended in the
vehicle, even if they are secured in a child
restraint system. The children could
injure themselves on parts of the vehicle
be seriously or fatally injured through
excessive exposure to extreme heat or
cold
If children open a door, they could
injure other persons
get out of the car and injure themselves
or be injured by oncoming traffic
Do not expose the child restraint system to
direct sunlight. The child restraint system’s
metal parts, for example, could become very
hot, and the child could be burned on these
parts.
Do not carry heavy or hard objects in the
passenger compartment or trunk unless
they are firmly secured in place. For more in-
formation, see “Loading” (
page 271), and
see “Useful features” (
page 276) in the
“Controls in detail” chapter.
Unsecured or improperly positioned cargo
increases a child’s risk of injury in the event
of
strong braking maneuvers
sudden changes of direction
an accident
83 Safety and Security
Occupant safety
Warning!G
Never release the seat belt buckle while the
vehicle is in motion, since the special seat
belt retractor will be deactivated.
iFor information on LATCH-type child seat
anchors (
page 85).
!The use of infant or child restraints is
required by law in all 50 states, the District of
Columbia, the U.S. territories, and all Canadian
provinces.
Infants and small children should be seated in an
appropriate infant or child restraint system prop-
erly secured in accordance with the manufactur-
er's instructions for the child restraint, that
complies with U.S. Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standards 213 and 225 and Canadian Motor
Vehicle Safety Standards 213 and 210.2.
!A statement by the child restraint manufac-
turer of compliance with these standards can be
found on the instruction label on the restraint
and in the instruction manual provided with the
restraint.
When using any infant, or toddler restraint, or
booster seat, be sure to carefully read and follow
all manufacturer’s instructions for installation
and use.
Please read and observe warning labels affixed
to the inside of the vehicle and to infant or child
restraints.
Warning!G
According to accident statistics, children
are safer when properly restrained in the
rear seating positions than in the front seat-
ing position. Thus, we strongly recommend
that children be placed in the rear seats
whenever possible. Regardless of seating
position, children 12 years old and under
must be seated and properly secured in an
appropriate infant or child restraint recom-
mended for the size and weight of the child.
The infant or child restraint must be properly
secured with the vehicle's seat belt or seat
belt and lower anchors, fully in accordance
with the child seat manufacturer's
instructions.
Always sit nearly upright, properly use the
seat belts and use an appropriately sized in-
fant or toddler restraint or booster seat rec-
ommended for the size and weight of the
child.
Children can be killed or seriously injured by
an inflating air bag. Note the following
important information when circumstances
require you to place a child in the front
passenger seat:
Your vehicle is equipped with air bag
technology designed to turn off the front
passenger front air bag in your vehicle
when the OCS senses the weight of a
typical 12-month-old child or less along
with the weight of a standard
appropriate child restraint on the front
passenger seat.
84 Safety and Security
Occupant safety
A child in a rear-facing child restraint on
the front passenger seat will be serious-
ly injured or even killed if the front pas-
senger front air bag inflates in a collision
which could occur under some circum-
stances, even with the air bag technolo-
gy installed in your vehicle. The only
means to completely eliminate this risk
is to never place a child in a rear-facing
child restraint in the front seat. We
therefore strongly recommend that you
always place a child in a rear-facing
child restraint in the back seat.
If you must install a rear-facing child
restraint on the front passenger seat
because circumstances require you to
do so, make sure that the
56indicator lamp is illuminated,
indicating that the front passenger front
air bag is deactivated. Should the
56 indicator lamp not illuminate
or go out while the restraint is installed,
please check installation. Periodically
check the 56 indicator lamp
while driving to make sure the
56indicator lamp is illuminated.
If the 56 indicator lamp goes out
or remains out, do not transport a child
on the front passenger seat until the
system has been repaired. A child in a
rear-facing child restraint on the front
passenger seat will be seriously injured
or even killed if the front passenger front
air bag inflates.
If you have to place a child in a
forward-facing child restraint on the
front passenger seat, move the seat as
far back as possible, use the proper
child restraint recommended for the
age, size and weight of the child, and
secure child restraint with the vehicle’s
seat belt according to the child seat
manufacturer’s instructions. For
children larger than the typical
12-month-old child, the front passenger
front air bag may or may not be
activated (
page 72).
Warning!G
Infants and small children should never
share a seat belt with another occupant.
During an accident, they could be crushed
between the occupant and seat belt.
A child’s risk of serious or fatal injuries is
significantly increased if the child restraints
are not properly secured in the vehicle
and/or the child is not properly secured in
the child restraint.
Children too big for a toddler restraint must
ride in seats using regular seat belts. Posi-
tion shoulder belt across chest and shoul-
der, not face or neck. A booster seat may be
necessary to achieve proper belt positioning
for children over 41 lbs until they reach a
height where a lap/shoulder belt fits
properly without a booster.
When the child restraint is not in use,
remove it from the vehicle or secure it with
the seat belt to prevent the child restraint
from becoming a projectile in the event of
an accident.
85 Safety and Security
Occupant safety
Child seat anchors – LATCH-type
This vehicle is equipped with two LATCH
(L
ower Anchors and Tethers for CHildren)
type anchors (at each of the rear seats) for
the installation of a LATCH-type child seat
with matching mounting fittings.LATCH-type anchors
The LATCH-type anchors are located be-
tween the seat cushion and the backrest.
1Indicates the position of the anchors
2Anchors
Install child seat according to the
manufacturer’s instructions.
Do not leave children unattended in the
vehicle, even if the children are secured in a
child restraint system. Unsupervised
children in a child restraint system may use
vehicle equipment and may cause an
accident and/or serious personal injury.
iYour cabriolet does not have and is not re-
quired to have anchorage rings for a child seat’s
top tether strap in the rear seating positions.
Child seats can be used with the seat belt, or
lower anchor system and seat belt, fully in accor-
dance with the child seat manufacturer’s instruc-
tions.
iThe child seat must be firmly attached in the
right and left side anchor2 (
page 85).
Warning!G
Children too big for a toddler restraint must
ride in seats using regular seat belts.
Position shoulder belt across chest and
shoulder, not face or neck.
A booster seat may be necessary to achieve
proper belt positioning for children over
41 lbs until they reach a height where a
lap/shoulder belt fits properly without a
booster.
Install child seat according to manufactur-
er’s instructions.
The child seat must be firmly attached to the
right and left side anchor.
An incorrectly mounted child seat may come
loose during an accident which could result
in serious injury or death to the child.
Damaged or impact damaged child seats or
child seat anchor fittings must be replaced.
Do not leave children unattended in the
vehicle, even if the children are secured in a
child restraint system.
iNon-LATCH-type child seats may also be
used and can be installed using the vehicle’s
seat belt system (
page 75). Install child seat
according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
86 Safety and Security
Occupant safety
Blocking of rear side window operation
You can block the rear side window
operation (for instance when you have
children riding in the rear passenger
compartment).
The override switch is located on the door
control panel of the driver’s door.
1Deactivating override switch
2Activating override switch
3Override switchActivating override switch
Slide override switch3 to the right in
direction2.
The rear side windows can no longer be
operated using the respective switch
located in the rear trim panels.
Deactivating override switch
Slide override switch3 to the left in
direction1.
The rear side windows can be operated
using the respective switch located in
the rear trim panels.
For more information, see “Power win-
dows” (
page 249).
Warning!G
Activate the override switch when children
are riding in the back seats of the vehicle.
The children may otherwise injure them-
selves, e.g. by becoming trapped in the win-
dow opening.
When leaving the vehicle, always remove the
SmartKey or SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO*
from the starter switch, take it with you, and
lock the vehicle. Do not leave children unat-
tended in the vehicle, or with access to an
unlocked vehicle. A child’s unsupervised ac-
cess to a vehicle could result in an accident
and/or serious personal injury.
iOperation of the rear side windows with the
switches located on the door control panel of the
driver’s door is still possible.
377 Practical hints
What to do if …?
ProblemPossible cause/consequenceSuggested solution
56The front passenger front air bag
off indicator lamp does not illu-
minate and/or does not remain
illuminated with the weight of a
typical 12-month-old child in a
standard child restraint or less
on the front passenger seat. The system is malfunctioning.Make sure that there is nothing be-
tween seat cushion and child seat and
check installation of the child seat.
Make sure that no objects applying
supplemental weight onto the seat
are present.
If the front passenger front air bag off
indicator lamp remains out, have the
system checked as soon as possible
by an authorized Mercedes-Benz
Center. Do not transport a child on
the front passenger seat until the sys-
tem has been repaired.
Read and observe messages in the
multifunction display and follow cor-
rective steps (
page 382).
Warning!G
If the 56 indicator lamp does not il-
luminate or remains out with the
weight of a typical 12-month-old child in a
standard child restraint or less on the front
passenger seat, do not transport a child on
the front passenger seat until the system
has been repaired.
382 Practical hints
What to do if …?
Display messagePossible cause/consequencePossible solution
Front passenger
airbag
enabled
See Operator’s
ManualFront passenger front air bag is
activated while driving even though
a child, small individual, or object
below the system’s weight
threshold is on the front passenger
seat, or the front passenger seat is
empty. Objects on the seat or
forces acting on the seat may
make the system sense supple-
mental weight.Stop the vehicle in a safe location as soon as possible and check the front
passenger seat for the following:
Switch off the ignition (page 36).
Remove child and child restraint from front passenger seat and proper-
ly secure the child in rear seat employing the child restraint if neces-
sary.
Make sure that no objects applying supplemental weight onto the seat
are present. The system may recognize such supplemental weight and
sense that an occupant on the front passenger seat is of a greater
weight than actually present.
Keep the seat unoccupied, close the front passenger door and switch
on the ignition (
page 36).
(Continued on next page)