2007 MERCEDES-BENZ E550 4MATIC Owner's Manual

64 Getting startedParking and lockingTurning off with KEYLESS-GO* 
Place the gear selector lever in
positionP.

Press the KEYLESS-GO start/stop but-
ton to shut off the engine.
With the driver’s door closed, the start-
er switch is now in position1. With the
driver’s door opened, the starter switch
is set to position0, same as SmartKey
removed from starter switch
(page 38).
Releasing seat belts
Press the seat belt release button
(page 50).
Allow the retractor to completely re-
wind the seat belt by guiding the latch
plate.
Locking
i
If you hear a warning signal, you have tried
to turn off the engine while the gear selector le-
ver was not in positionP.
In addition, the message
Gear selector le-
ver in Park position appears in the multi-
function display.
Place the gear selector lever in positionP.
!
Make sure the seat belt retracts fully so that
the seat belt and/or latch plate cannot get
caught or pinched in the door or in the seat
mechanism. This can damage the seat belt and
impair the effectiveness of the seat belt, and/or
cause damage to the door and/or door trim pan-
el. Such damage is not covered by the
Mercedes-Benz Limited Warranty.
Damaged seat belts must be replaced. Contact
an authorized Mercedes-Benz Center.
Warning!
G
To prevent possible personal injury, always
keep hands and fingers away from the door
openings when closing the doors. Be espe-
cially careful when small children are
around.
Before closing doors, make sure that there
is no possibility of someone getting caught
in a door during closing.Warning!
G
When leaving the vehicle, always take the
SmartKey or SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO*
with you, and lock the vehicle. Do not leave
children unattended in the vehicle, or with
access to an unlocked vehicle. A child’s un-
supervised access to a vehicle could result
in an accident and/or serious personal inju-
ry.

65 Getting started
Parking and locking

Exit the vehicle and close all doors and
the trunk.
Locking with the SmartKey

After exiting the vehicle, press lock
button‹ on the SmartKey
(page 36).


All turn signal lamps flash three
times.


An acoustic signal sounds three
times.


The locking knobs in the doors
move down.


The anti-theft alarm system is
armed.
For more information, see the “Controls in
detail” section (
page 110).Locking with KEYLESS-GO*
1Lock button

After exiting the vehicle, press lock
button1 on an outside door handle.

All turn signal lamps flash three
times.


An acoustic signal sounds three
times.


The locking knobs in the doors
move down.


The anti-theft alarm system is
armed.
For more information, see “SmartKey with
KEYLESS-GO*” (
page 113).
i
If you hear a warning signal you have forgot-
ten to switch off the headlamps before opening
the driver’s door.
In addition the message
Switch off lights
appears in the multifunction display.
Switch off the headlamps.

66

67 Safety and Security
Occupant safety
Panic alarm
Driving safety systems
Anti-theft systems

68 Safety and SecurityOccupant safetyIn this section you will learn the most
important facts about the restraint sys-
tems of the vehicle.
The restraint systems are

Seat belts (
page 82)


Child restraints (
page 89)


Lower Anchors and Tethers for
CHildren (LATCH) (
page 94)
Additional protection is provided by


Supplemental Restraint System (SRS)
with

Air bags (
page 70)


Air bag control unit (with crash
sensors)


Emergency Tensioning Device
(ETD) for seat belts (
page 85)


Active head restraints (
page 87)


Preventive occupant safety
(PRE-SAFE
®) (page 86)Air bag system components with


Front passenger front air bag off indica-
tor lamp (
page 79)


USA only:
Front passenger seat with Occupant
Classification System (OCS)
(page 75)


Canada only:
Front passenger seat with
BabySmart
TM air bag deactivation sys-
tem (
page 81)
As independent systems, their protective
functions work in conjunction with each
other. The SRS system conducts a self-test when
the ignition is switched on and in regular
intervals while the engine is running. This
facilitates early detection of malfunctions.
The
1
indicator lamp in the instrument
cluster lights up when the ignition is
switched on and goes out no later than a
few seconds after the engine has been
started.
The SRS components are in operational
readiness if the
1
indicator lamp is not
lit when the engine is running.
A malfunction in the system has been
detected if the
1
indicator lamp:


fails to go out after approximately
4 seconds after the engine was started


does not come on at all


comes on after the engine was started
or while driving
i
For information on infants and children trav-
eling with you in the vehicle and restraint sys-
tems for infants and children, see “Children in
the vehicle” (
page 88).

69 Safety and Security
Occupant safety
Warning!
G
Modifications to or work improperly con-
ducted on restraint systems (such as seat
belts and anchors, emergency tensioning
devices, seat belt force limiters or air bags)
or their wiring, as well as tampering with in-
terconnected electronic systems, can lead
to the restraint systems no longer function-
ing as intended.
Air bags or emergency tensioning devices,
for example, could deploy inadvertently or
fail to deploy in accidents although the de-
celeration threshold for air bag deployment
is exceeded. Therefore, never modify the re-
straint systems. Do not tamper with elec-
tronic components or their software.
Warning!
G
In the event that the 1 indicator lamp
comes on during driving or does not come
on at all, the SRS self-check has detected a
malfunction. For your safety, we strongly
recommend that you visit an authorized
Mercedes-Benz Center immediately to have
the system checked; otherwise the SRS may
not be activated when needed in an acci-
dent, which could result in serious or fatal
injury, or it might deploy unexpectedly and
unnecessarily which could also result in
injury.
In addition, improper repair work on the SRS
creates a risk of rendering the SRS inopera-
tive or causing unintended air bag deploy-
ment. Work on the SRS must therefore only
be performed by qualified technicians. Con-
tact an authorized Mercedes-Benz Center.
If it is necessary to modify an air bag system
to accommodate a person with disabilities,
contact your local authorized
Mercedes-Benz Center or call our Customer
Assistance Center at 1-800-FOR-MERCedes
(1-800-367-6372) for details.

70 Safety and SecurityOccupant safetyAir bagsWarning!
G
Air bags are designed to reduce the poten-
tial of injury and fatality in certain frontal im-
pacts (front air bags), side impacts (side
impact air bags and window curtain air bags)
or rollovers (window curtain air bags). How-
ever, no system available today can totally
eliminate injuries and fatalities.
The activation of the air bags temporarily re-
leases a small amount of dust from the
air bags. This dust, however, is neither inju-
rious to your health, nor does it indicate a
fire in the vehicle. The dust might cause
some temporary breathing difficulty for peo-
ple with asthma or other breathing trouble.
To avoid this, you may wish to get out of the
vehicle as soon as it is safe to do so. If you
have any breathing difficulty but cannot get
out of the vehicle after the air bag inflates,
then get fresh air by opening a window or
door.
Warning!
G
To reduce the risk of injury when the front
air bags inflate, it is very important for the
driver and front passenger to always be in a
properly seated position and to wear their
respective seat belts.
For maximum protection in the event of a
collision always be in normal seated position
with your back against the backrest. Fasten
your seat belt and make sure that it is prop-
erly positioned on your body.
Since the air bag inflates with considerable
speed and force, a proper seating and hands
on steering wheel position will help to keep
you at a safe distance from the air bag.
Occupants who are unbelted, out of position
or too close to the air bag can be seriously
injured or killed by an air bag as it inflates
with great force in the blink of an eye:

Sit properly belted in a nearly upright
position with your back against the seat
backrest.


Adjust the driver seat as far as possible
rearward, still permitting proper opera-
tion of vehicle controls. The distance
from the center of the driver’s breast-
bone to the center of the air bag cover
on the steering wheel must be at least
10 in (25 cm) or more. You should be
able to accomplish this by a combina-
tion of adjustments to the seat and
steering wheel. If you have any prob-
lems, please contact your authorized
Mercedes-Benz Center.


Do not lean your head or chest close to
the steering wheel or dashboard.


Keep hands on the outside of steering
wheel rim. Placing hands and arms
inside the rim can increase the risk and
potential severity of hand/arm injury
when driver front air bag inflates.


Adjust the front passenger seat as far as
possible rearward from the dashboard
when the seat is occupied.

71 Safety and Security
Occupant safety


Occupants, especially children, should
never place their bodies or lean their
heads in the area of the door where the
side impact air bag inflates. This could
result in serious injuries or death should
the air bag be triggered. Always sit near-
ly upright, properly use the seat belts
and use an appropriately sized infant re-
straint, toddler restraint, or booster seat
recommended for the size and weight of
the child.


Canada only: Children 12 years old and
under must never ride in the front seat,
except in a Mercedes-Benz authorized
BabySmart
TM compatible child seat,
which operates with the BabySmart
TM
system installed in the vehicle to deacti-
vate the front passenger front air bag
when it is properly installed. Otherwise
they will be struck by the air bag when it
inflates in a crash. If this happens, seri-
ous or fatal injury will result.
Failure to follow these instructions can
result in severe injuries to you or other
occupants.
If you sell your vehicle, it is important that
you make the buyer aware of this safety
information. Be sure to give the buyer this
Operator’s Manual.
Warning!
G
Accident research shows that the safest
place for children in an automobile is in the
rear seat.
It should be noted that with respect to both
front and rear side impact air bags there is a
possibility for a side impact air bag related
injury if occupants, especially children, are
not properly seated or restrained when next
to a side impact air bag which needs to de-
ploy rapidly in a side impact in order to do its
job.
To help avoid the possibility of injury, please
follow these guidelines:
(1) Occupants, especially children, should
never place their bodies or lean their
heads in the area of the door where the
side impact air bag inflates. This could
result in serious injuries or death should
the side impact air bag be deployed.