2008 MERCEDES-BENZ A-CLASS HATCHBACK window

Occupant safety
42
Windowbags*
The purpose of the windowbags is to enhance
the level of protection for the head (but not
chest or arms) of the vehicle occupants on
the side of the vehicle on which the impact
occurs.
The windowbags are integrated into the side
of the roof frame On 5-door vehicles, they are
located between the front door (A-pillar) and
the rear door (C-pillar). On 3-door vehicles,
they are located between the front door (A-
pillar) and the rear inner wing (C-pillar).
i If you have specified windowbags* as
optional equipment, the front seats of the
vehicle will be equipped with sidebags
instead of head/thorax airbags. 1
Windowbag Windowbags
1are deployed:
R at the start of an accident with a high rate
of vehicle acceleration or deceleration in a
lateral direction
R on the side on which an impact occurs
R independently of the front airbags
R regardless of whether the front-passenger
seat is occupied Active head restraints
The active head restraints are designed to
increase protection to the driver's and front-
passenger's head and neck. In the event of a
rear-end collision the force exerted by the
driver's or front-passenger's chest causes
the head restraints on the driver's and front-
passenger seats to be moved forwards. This
provides better head support. G
Risk of injury
Do not secure any objects (e.g. coat hang-
ers) on the head restraint rods. Otherwise,
the active head restraints may not function
correctly and could fail to provide the inten-
ded protection in the event of an accident. Children in the vehicle
If a child is travelling in your vehicle, secure
the child using a child restraint system which
is appropriate to the size and age of the child
and recommended for Mercedes-Benz vehi-
cles. You should fit the restraint system to a
suitable rear seat. Make sure that the child is
secured in a child restraint system through-
out the trip.
You can obtain information about the correct
child restraint system from any Mercedes-
Benz Service Centre.
i It is advisable to use Mercedes-Benz care
products to clean child restraint systems.
Information about this can be obtained
from any Mercedes-Benz Service Centre. G
Risk of injury
Do not leave children unsupervised in the
vehicle, even if they are secured in a child
restraint system. Children could injure
themselves on parts of the vehicle. They
could also be seriously or even fatally
injured by prolonged exposure to extreme
heat or cold.
Do not expose the child restraint system to
direct sunlight. Parts of the child restraint Safety
* optional
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Occupant safety
45
Automatic child seat recognition on the
front-passenger seat*
If your vehicle does not have automatic child
seat recognition on the front-passenger seat,
this is indicated by a special sticker. The
sticker is affixed to the side of the dashboard
on the front-passenger side. It is visible when
you open the front-passenger door. 1
5 PASSENGER AIRBAG OFF warning
lamp
The front-passenger seat sensor system for
child restraint systems detects whether a
special Mercedes-Benz child seat with auto-
matic child seat recognition has been fitted.
In such cases, 5PASSENGER AIRBAG
OFF indicator lamp 1lights up. The front-
passenger airbag is deactivated. G
Risk of injury
If the 5 PASSENGER AIRBAG OFF warn-
ing lamp does not light up when the child
restraint system is fitted, the front-
passenger front airbag has not been disa-
bled. If the front-passenger front airbag is
deployed, the child could be seriously or
even fatally injured.
Proceed as follows:
R do not use a rearward-facing child
restraint system on the front-passenger
seat.
R fit a rearward-facing child restraint sys-
tem on a suitable rear seat.
or
R only use a forward-facing child restraint
system on the front-passenger seat and
move the front-passenger seat to its rear-
most position.
R have the automatic child seat recognition
checked at a qualified specialist work-
shop.
To ensure that the automatic child seat rec-
ognition on the front-passenger seat func-
tions correctly, never place objects (such
as a cushion) under the child restraint sys-
tem. The entire base of the child restraint system must always rest on the seat cush-
ion. An incorrectly fitted child restraint sys-
tem cannot perform its intended protective
function in the event of an accident, and
could lead to injuries.
i The windowbag*, th e head/thorax airbag
and the belt tensioner for the front-
passenger seat are still active even if the
front-passenger seat front airbag has been
disabled by the automatic child seat rec-
ognition. G
Risk of injury
Do not place items of electronic equipment
on the front-passenger seat, e.g.:
R laptops, when switched on
R mobile phones
R cards with transponders, e.g. ski passes
or access cards
Signals from electronic equipment can
cause interference in the automatic child
seat recognition sensor system. This could
lead to a system malfunction. This may
cause the 5PASSENGER AIRBAG OFF
warning lamp to light up without there
being a child seat with automatic child seat
recognition fitted. This means that the Safety
* optional
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Occupant safety
54
Child-proof locks If children are travelling in the vehicle, you can
activate the child-proof locks for the rear
doors.
Child-proof locks on the rear doors (5-
door vehicles)
The child-proof locks on the rear doors enable
you to secure each door individually. A locked
door cannot be opened from the inside. The
door can be opened from the outside if the
vehicle is unlocked. G
Risk of accident and injury
Activate the child-proof locks for the rear
doors and the override switch for the rear
compartment side windows when children
are travelling in the vehicle. The children
could otherwise open doors or windows
while the vehicle is in motion and injure
themselves or others. 1
To deactivate
2 To activate
X To activate: press latch2downwards.
X Make sure that the child-proof locks are
working properly.
X To deactivate: press latch1upwards.
Child-proof locks for the electric side win-
dows in the rear*(5-door vehicle) G
Risk of accident and injury
Activate the child-proof locks for the rear
doors and the override switch for the rear
compartment side windows when children
are travelling in the vehicle. The children
could otherwise open doors or windows
while the vehicle is in motion and injure
themselves or others. 1
Switch
X To activate/deactivat e:press switch 1.
Switch 1engages or pops up. If the rear
switch is engaged, you can only operate the
rear side windows using the switches on
the driver's door. Safety
* optional
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Anti-theft syste
ms58 Tow-away protection* and interior
motion sensor*
When tow-away protection and the interior
motion sensor have been primed, a visual and
audible alarm is triggered, if:
R motion is detected in the vehicle interior,
e.g. if the side windows of the vehicle are
smashed.
R the inclination of your vehicle changes, e.g.
if one end of your vehicle is raised.
Priming tow-away protection and inte-
rior motion sensor X
Make sure that:
R the side windows are closed
R the panorama louvred sliding sunroof* is
closed.
R there are no objects, e.g. mascots, hanging
on the rear-view mirror or on the grab han-
dles on the roof trim.
This will prevent false alarms.
X Lock the vehicle using the key.
Tow-away protection and the interior
motion sensor are primed after approxi-
mately 30 seconds. Deactivating tow-away protection and
interior motion sensor To prevent a false alarm, deactivate the tow-
away protection and the interior motion sen-
sor if your vehicle:
R
is being transported or towed
R is being loaded, e.g. onto a ferry or car
transporter
R is parked on a movable surface, e.g. split-
level garages
R is locked while persons or animals remain
inside
R is locked while the side windows remain
open
R is locked and the panorama louvred sliding
sunroof* remains open 1
To deactivate tow-away protection/inte-
rior motion sensor
2 Indicator lamp
X Remove the key from the ignition lock.
X Press button 1.
Indicator lamp 2lights up briefly.
X Lock the vehicle using the key.
Tow-away protection and the interior
motion sensor remain deactivated until the
vehicle is unlocked and locked again. Safety
* optional
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59
Opening and closing
...........................60
Key positions ....................................... 62
Seats .................................................... 63
Steering wheel .................................... 70
Mirrors ................................................. 70
Seat belts ............................................. 73
Lights ................................................... 77
Windscreen wipers .............................83
Side windows ...................................... 84Driving and parking
............................87
Transmission ....................................... 92
Instrument cluster ..............................97
On-board computer .............................98
Driving systems ................................ 115
Air conditioning ................................. 129
Roof .................................................... 142
Loading and stowing ........................144
Features ............................................. 162 Controls
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Windscreen wipers
83
cle, open a door or remove the key from the
ignition lock.
The interior lighting switches off after a delay.
You can set the delayed switch-off using the
on-board computer (Y page 110). If the door
is left open, the interior lighting goes out after
approximately five minutes.
Emergency accident lighting If the interior lighting is set to automatic, the
interior lighting is activated automatically if
the vehicle is involved in an accident.
X To deactivate: press the hazard warning
lamp button (Y page 80).
or
X Lock and then unlock the vehicle using the
key. Windscreen wipers
Switching the windscreen wipers on/
off
Combination switch
1 To switch on the windscreen wipers
2 Single wipe/to wipe the windscreen using
washer fluid
Settings: 0
Windscreen wipers off
I
Intermittent wipe
II
Continuous wipe, slow
III
Continuous wipe, fast
!
Vehicles with a rain sensor*: If the windscreen becomes dirty in dry
weather conditions, the windscreen wipers
may be activated inadvertently. This could
then damage the windscreen wiper blades
or scratch the windscreen.
For this reason, you should always switch
off the windscreen wipers in dry weather.
X Turn the key to position 1or 2in the ignition
lock.
X Turn the combination switch to the corre-
sponding position. Rear window wiper
Combination switch
1
Switch
% To wipe with washer fluid Controls
* optional
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Side windows
84
&
To switch on intermittent wiping
( To switch off intermittent wiping
) To wipe with washer fluid
X Turn the key to position 1or 2in the ignition
lock.
X Turn the combination switch to the corre-
sponding position.
When the rear window wiper is switched on
the icon appears in the instrument cluster. Side windows
Opening/closing the side windows
G
Risk of injury
Make sure that nobody can become trap-
ped between the side window and the door
frame when a side window is opened. Do
not touch or lean against the side window
during the opening procedure. You could
become trapped between the side window
and the door frame as the side window
moves down. If there is a risk of becoming
trapped, release the switch or pull the
switch upwards to close the side window
again. G
Risk of injury
Make sure that nobody can become trap-
ped when closing the side windows. If there
is a risk of becoming trapped, release the
switch or push the switch again to reopen
the side window. G
Risk of injury
Children may injure themselves if they
operate the side windows.
Never leave children unsupervised in the
vehicle. Always take the key with you when leaving the vehicle, even if you are only
leaving it for a short time.
G
Risk of injury
Do not leave children unsupervised in the
vehicle, even if they are secured in a child
restraint system. The children could:
R be seriously or even fatally injured on
parts of the vehicle
R be seriously or even fatally injured by
prolonged exposure to extremely high or
extremely low temperatures
If children open a door, they could:
R seriously or even fatally injure other peo-
ple
R get out of the vehicle, thereby injuring
themselves or be seriously or even fatally
injured by a passing vehicle
Activate the child-proof locks if children are
travelling in the vehicle. They could other-
wise open doors or windows while the vehi-
cle is in motion and thereby injure them-
selves or others. Controls
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Side windows
85
i
Related topics:
R convenience opening (Y page 86)
R convenience closing (Y page 86)
R override controls in the rear compart-
ment (Y page 54)
The switches for all side windows are located
on the driver's door. There is also a switch on
each door for the corresponding side window. 1
Front left
2 Front right
3 Rear right
4 Rear left X
Turn the key to position 2in the ignition
lock.
i You can still operate the side windows
when the key is in the 0position or when
the key has been removed. However, this
is only possible for a maximum of five
minutes afterwards, or until the driver's or
front-passenger door is opened.
X To open: press the corresponding switch.
X To close: pull the corresponding switch.
i If you operate the switch beyond its pres-
sure point, it will trigger automatic opera-
tion in the corresponding direction. You can
stop automatic operation by pressing
again.
Closing with increased force and with-
out the anti-entrapment feature G
Risk of injury
Closing the side windows with increased
force or without the anti-entrapment fea-
ture could lead to serious or even fatal
injury. Make sure that nobody can become
trapped when closing the side windows. If a side window blocks during closing and
reopens slightly:
X
Immediately after the window blocks, pull
on the corresponding switch again until the
side window has closed.
The side window is closed with increased
force.
If a side window blocks again during closing
and reopens slightly:
X Immediately after the window blocks, pull
on the corresponding switch again until the
side window has closed.
The side window is closed without the anti-
entrapment feature. Resetting the side windows
You must reset each side window if:
R the battery has been disconnected or has
become discharged.
R the side window no longer opens or closes
fully.
R the side windows open again slightly after
being closed fully. Controls
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