2008 MERCEDES-BENZ C300 SPORT child seat

48 Safety and Security
Occupant safety
Enhanced seat belt reminder system
When the engine is started, the seat belt
telltale< will always illuminate for
6 seconds to remind you and your passen-
gers to fasten your seat belts.
If the driver’s seat belt is not fastened
when the engine is started, an additional
warning chime will also sound for a maxi-
mum of 6 seconds or until the driver’ s
seat belt is fastened.
If after these 6 seconds the driver’s or the
front passenger’s seat belt (with the front
passenger seat occupied) is not fastened
with front doors closed,

the seat belt telltale< remains illu-
minated for as long as either the driv-
er’s or front passenger’s seat belt is not
fastened.

and if the vehicle speed once exceeds
15 mph (25 km/h), the seat belt
telltale< starts flashing and a
warning chime sounds with increasing
impacts which exceed preset deploy-
ment thresholds and in certain rollovers
(window curtain air bags and ETD).

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 seat belt would also apply
too much force to the ribs or abdomen,
which could severely injure internal
organs such as your liver or spleen.

Never wear seat 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 seat 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 time. Do not fasten a seat belt
around a person and another person or
other objects.

Seat belts should not be worn twisted.
In a crash, you wouldn’t have the full
width of the seat belt to distribute
impact forces. The twisted seat 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
restraint, toddler restraint, or booster
seat, always follow the child seat manu-
facturer’s instructions.


51 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 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 seat 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. To deacti-
vate the special seat belt retractor for the
front passenger seat, the front passenger
seat must be in the most backward posi-
tion. The seat belt can again be used in the
usual manner.
Warning!G
Do not leave children unattended in the ve-
hicle, even if they are secured in a child re-
straint system. The children could

injure themselves on parts of the vehicle

be seriously or fatally injured through
excessive exposure to extreme heat or
cold
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.
If children open a door, they could

injure other persons

get out of the car and injure themselves
or be injured by following traffic
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

52 Safety and Security
Occupant safety
The use of infant or child restraints is re-
quired by law in all 50 states, the District
of Columbia, the U.S. territories and all Ca-
nadian provinces.
Infants and small children should be seat-
ed in an appropriate infant or child re-
straint system properly secured in
accordance with the manufacturer’s in-
structions for the child restraint, that com-
plies with U.S. Federal Motor Vehicle
Safety Standards 213 and 225 and Canadi-
an Motor Vehicle Safety Standards 213
and 210.2.A statement by the child restraint manu-
facturer of compliance with these stan-
dards can be found on the instruction label
on the restraint and in the instruction man-
ual provided with the restraint.
When using any infant or child restraint
system, make sure to carefully read and
follow all manufacturer’s instructions for
installation and use.
Please read and observe warning labels af-
fixed to the inside of the vehicle and to
infant or child restraints.
Warning!G
Never release the seat belt buckle while the
vehicle is in motion, since the special seat
belt retractor will be deactivated.
iInformation on child seats with mounting fit-
tings for tether anchorages (
page 54).
For information on LATCH-type child seat
mounts (
page 55).
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
appropriately sized infant restraint, toddler
restraint, or booster seat recommended for
the size and weight of the child.
The infant or child restraint must be properly
secured with the vehicle’s seat belt, the seat
belt and top tether strap, or lower anchors
and top tether strap, fully in accordance
with the child seat manufacturer’s
instructions.

53 Safety and Security
Occupant safety
Occupants, especially children, should al-
ways sit as upright as possible, properly use
the seat belts and use an appropriately sized
infant restraint, toddler restraint, or booster
seat recommended for the size and weight
of the child.
Children can be killed or seriously injured by
an inflating air bag. Note the following im-
portant 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.

A child in a rear-facing child restraint on
the front passenger seat will be serious-
ly injured or even killed if the front
passenger front air bag inflates in a
collision which could occur under some
circumstances, even with the air bag
technology installed in yo ur ve hi cle . Th e
only means to completely eliminate this
risk is to never place a child in a rear-fac-
ing 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 be-
cause circumstances require you to do
so, make sure the 5/ indicator
lamp is illuminated, indicating that the
front passenger front air bag is deacti-
vated. Should the 5/indicator
lamp not illuminate or go out while the
restraint is installed, please check in-
stallation.
Periodically check the 5/ indica-
tor lamp while driving to make sure the
5/ indicator lamp is illuminated.
If the 5/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 serious-
ly injured or even killed if the front pas-
senger front air bag inflates.

If you have to place a child in a for-
ward-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 ac-
cording 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.

54 Safety and Security
Occupant 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.
Top tether straps enable an additional con-
nection to be made between child restraint
systems secured with LATCH-type anchors
and rear seats. This can further reduce the
risk of injury.
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 seat belt posi-
tioning 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.
Do not leave children unattended in the
vehicle, even if the children are secured in a
child restraint system. Unsupervised chil-
dren in a child restraint system may use
vehicle equipment and may cause an acci-
dent and/or serious personal injury.
Warning!G
Always lock backrest in its upright position
when rear seat bench is occupied by pas-
sengers, before installing top tether straps,
or the extended cargo compartment is not in
use. Check for secure locking by pushing
and pulling on the backrest. If the seat back-
rest is not properly locked, the seat back-
rest could fold. The child seat would no
longer be properly supported or positioned
to provide its intended benefit. That could
cause serious or even fatal injuries.

55 Safety and Security
Occupant safety
1Rear seat head restraint
2Cover of anchorage ring
3Anchorage ring
Move the respective head restraint1
to its uppermost position (
page 89).
Lift up cover2 from anchorage
ring3.
Guide tether strap between head
restraint1 and top of seat back.
Make sure the tether strap is not twist-
ed.3Anchorage ring
4Top tether anchorage hook
Securely fasten hook4, which is part
of the tether strap, to anchorage
ring3.
Lower head restraint1 if necessary
(
page 89).
Make sure the top tether strap can
pass freely between head restraint1
and top of seat backrestOnce the top tether anchorage hook4 is
attached, the child restraint itself can be
secured.
Install the child restraint system and
tighten the top tether strap according
to the child restraint manufacturer’s in-
structions.
After removing the child restraint system
and the top tether strap.
Pull down and close cover2 from the
respective anchorage ring3.
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. iFor safety reasons, make sure hook4
attaches to ring3 beyond the safety catch, as
illustrated.

56 Safety and Security
Occupant safety
1Indicator
2Cover
3Anchors
Remove covers1 from anchors3 by
pulling it in direction of arrow.
Store covers1, for example in the
storage compartment of the rear cen-
ter armrest.
Split rear bench seat*
Install child seat according to the
manufacturer’s instructions.
A rigid connection is established be-
tween the child seat and the body of
the vehicle.
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 seat 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 anchors.
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. Install child seat according to
the manufacturer’s instructions.
!Make sure the seat belt for the center seat
can operate freely with a child seat installed.

57 Safety and Security
Occupant safety
Blocking of rear door window operation
With the override switch you can disable
the rear side window switches in the rear
door panels.
1Indicator lamp
2Override switch
Activating: Press override switch2.
Indicator lamp1 comes on.
The rear door windows can no longer
be operated using the respective
switch located in the rear doors.
Deactivating: Press override
switch2 again.
Indicator lamp1 goes out.
The rear door windows can again be
operated using the respective switch
located in the rear doors.
For more information on power windows,
see the “Controls in detail” section
(
page 120).
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*
(Canada only) from the starter switch, take
it with you, and lock your vehicle. Do not
leave children unattended in the vehicle, or
with access to an unlocked vehicle. A child’s
unsupervised access to a vehicle could re-
sult in an accident and/or serious personal
injury.
iOperation of the rear door windows with the
switches located in the driver’s door is still
possible.