2008 MERCEDES-BENZ CL-Class remove seats

56 Safety and SecurityOccupant safetyEmergency Tensioning Device (ETD),
seat belt force limiter
The seat belts for the front and rear seats
are equipped with emergency tensioning
devices and seat belt force limiters.
The ETD is designed to activate in the
following cases:

in frontal or rear-end impacts exceed-
ing the system deployment threshold


in side impacts exceeding the system’s
preset deployment threshold on the far
side of the impact


in certain vehicle rollovers


if the restraint systems are operational
and functioning correctly,
see=indicator lamp (
page 617)In an impact, emergency tensioning
devices remove slack from the seat belts in
such a way that the seat belts fit more
snugly against the body. Seat belt force
limiters, when activated, are employed to
help reduce the peak force exerted by the
seat belts on occupants during a crash.
Automatic comfort-fit feature seat belt
An automatic comfort-fit feature for the
front seats reduces the retracting force of
the seat belts when they are in normal use.Preventive occupant safety
(PRE-SAFE
®)
Your vehicle automatically takes preven-
tive measures to better protect the occu-
pants in the following hazardous
situations.
i
The ETDs for the front seats will only acti-
vate if the front seat belt is fastened (latch plate
properly inserted into buckle).
The ETDs for the rear seats will activate with or
without the respective seat belt fastened.
Warning!
G
A pyrotechnic Emergency Tensioning Device
(ETD) that was activated must be replaced.
When disposing of the pyrotechnic emer-
gency tensioning device, our safety instruc-
tions must be followed. These are available
at any authorized Mercedes-Benz Center.
Warning!
G
The PRE-SAFE
® system is intended to re-
duce the effects of an accident on properly
seat-belted vehicle occupants. Despite
having the PRE-SAFE
® system in your vehi-
cle, the possibility of injuries occurring as a
result of an accident cannot be eliminated.
Therefore, you should always drive carefully
and adjust your driving to the prevailing
road, weather, and traffic conditions.

60 Safety and SecurityOccupant safety

If you must install a rear-facing child
restraint on the front passenger seat be-
cause circumstances require you to do
so, make sure that the 59
indicator lamp is illuminated, indicating
that the front passenger front air bag is
deactivated. Should the
59indicator lamp not illu-
minate or go out while the restraint is in-
stalled, please check installation.
Periodically check the 59
indicator lamp while driving to make
sure the lamp is illuminated. If the
59indicator 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 (
page 49).
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.


61 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.
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
twisted.
2Hook
3Anchorage ring

Securely fasten hook2, which is part
of the tether strap, to anchorage
ring3.Once the top tether anchorage hook is at-
tached, the child restraint itself can be se-
cured. Tighten the top tether strap
according to the child restraint manufac-
turer’s instructions.

Reinstall cover after removing the
tether strap.
Child seat anchors – LATCH type
This vehicle is equipped with two LATCH
(Lower A
nchors and T
ethers for CH
ildren)
type anchors (at each of the rear seats) for
the installation of a LATCH child seat with
the matching anchor fittings.
i
For safety reasons, make sure hook2 has
attached to ring3 beyond the safety catch, as
illustrated.
Warning!
G
Children too big for a toddler restraint must
ride in seats using regular seat belts. Posi-
tion. 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.


63 Safety and Security
Occupant safety
Blocking of rear side window operation
You can block the rear side window opera-
tion (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.
1Override switch
2Indicator lamp

Activating: Press switch 1.
Indicator lamp2 comes on. The rear
side windows can no longer be operat-
ed using the respective switch located
in the rear trim panels.

Deactivating: Press switch 1 again.
Indicator lamp2 goes out. The rear
side windows can be operated using
the respective switch located in the
rear trim panels.
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.
i
Operation of the rear side windows with the
switches located in the driver’s door is still pos-
sible.

368 Controls in detailSeatsSeat adjustmentWarning!
G
All seat, head restraint adjustments, as well
as fastening of seat belts, must be done be-
fore the vehicle is put into motion.Warning!
G
Do not adjust the driver’s seat while driving.
Adjusting the seat while driving could cause
the driver to lose control of the vehicle.
Never ride in a moving vehicle with the seat
back in an excessively reclined position as
this can be dangerous. You could slide un-
der 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
fatal injuries. The seat backrest and seat
belts provide the best restraint when the
wearer is in a nearly upright position and
belts are properly positioned on the body.
Warning!
G
Your seat must be adjusted so that you can
correctly fasten your seat belt
(page 388).
Observe the following points:


Adjust the backrest until your arms are
slightly angled when holding the steer-
ing wheel.


Adjust the seat to a comfortable seating
position that still allows you to reach the
accelerator/brake pedal safely. The po-
sition should be as far back as possible
with the driver still able to operate the
controls properly.


Adjust the head restraint so that it is as
close to the head as possible and the
center of the head restraint supports
the back of the head at eye level.


Never place hands under the seat or
near any moving parts while a seat is be-
ing adjusted.
Failure to do so could result in an accident
and/or serious personal injury.
Warning!
G
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.
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. Therefore, 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.

370 Controls in detailSeats
Seat fore and aft: Press the switch for-
ward or backward in the direction of
arrow5.

Seat backrest tilt: Press the switch
forward or backward in the direction of
arrow6.Adjusting front passenger seat from
driver’s seat
You can adjust the front passenger seat
using the seat switches on the driver’s
side.
1Adjusting front passenger seat

Press button1.
i
Depending on the seat’s set fore and aft
position, the head restraint height is
automatically pre-set.
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. Therefore, 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.
!
Do not move the front passenger seat com-
pletely forward if objects are stored in the parcel
net in the front passenger-side footwell. Items in
the net may be damaged.


372 Controls in detailSeats
For information on additional convenience
features permitting easy entry and exit,
see “Easy-entry/exit feature”
(page 373).
Warning!
G
The seat belts provide protection only with
the backrest locked in place. Therefore, the
backrest must be locked in place with the
vehicle in motion. Do not drive the vehicle
when the backrest is not locked in place.
If the warning message:
Lock Seat Backrest
Front Right
or
Lock Seat Backrest
Front Left
is displayed in the multifunction display,
then the respective backrest is not engaged
in its lock. Carefully slow down, and drive
with caution to an area which is in a safe dis-
tance from the roadway. Always provide suf-
ficient room behind the backrest and fold
the backrest all the way back until it locks in
place.
The warning message is no longer displayed
as soon as the backrest is locked in place. If
both backrests are locked in place and the
warning message is still displayed, have the
system checked at an authorized
Mercedes-Benz Center immediately.
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.
The power seats can also be operated with
the driver’s or passenger door open. 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.
Never place hands under seat or near any
moving parts during a seat adjustment pro-
cedure.
!
The automatic seat slide is provided with a
safety feature.
The automatic process is interrupted if the back-
rest of the sliding seat is pushed against an oc-
cupant or object. The seat will slide forward and
stop.
Investigate and correct the cause of interruption.
Now use memory button (
page 386) or seat
adjustment switch (
page 369) to bring the
seat into the desired position.
When folding the backrest forward from a re-
clined position, and then folding it back, the
backrest stops in a more upright position for the
safety of any rear-seat passenger. Adjust the
backrest until your arms are slightly angled when
holding the steering wheel (
page 369).


374 Controls in detailSeats
With the easy-entry/exit feature activated
the steering wheel tilts upwards and the
driver’s seat moves a few inches to the
rear when you:

remove the SmartKey from the starter
switch,
or


open the driver’s door with the
SmartKey in starter switch position 0
or 1 or the KEYLESS-GO* start/stop
button (
page 366) in position 1
i
For safety reasons, the driver’s seat will not
return to its last set position with the easy-en-
try/exit feature activated if the system recogniz-
es the last set position as an extreme forward
position. Instead, the driver’s seat will remain at
or move to a factory-set maximum forward posi-
tion. To again fully return the driver’s seat to your
last set position or to memory position, adjust
the seat to the desired position or press and hold
the respective memory position button
(
page 386).
i
The last set driver’s seat and steering wheel
positions are stored when


the ignition is switched off (
page 365)


the position is stored in memory
(page 385)
i
If the current position for the steering wheel
is in the uppermost tilt position, the steering
wheel will no longer be able to move upward
when the easy-entry/exit feature is activated.
If the current seat position falls into a factory-set
position range and the system recognizes the
current seat position to be rearward enough for
easy entry and exit, the driver’s seat will not
move to the rear when the easy-entry/ exit fea-
ture is activated.
The adjustment procedure is briefly interrupted
when the engine is started.
Warning!
G
Let the system complete the adjustment
procedure before setting the vehicle in mo-
tion. All driver’s seat and steering wheel ad-
justments must be completed before setting
the vehicle in motion. Driving off with the
driver’s seat/steering wheel still adjusting
could cause the driver to lose control of the
vehicle.