2008 MERCEDES-BENZ CL-Class dashboard

42 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, driver-side knee bag),
side impacts (side impact air bags and win-
dow curtain air bags) or rollovers (window
curtain air bags). However, no system avail-
able today can completely eliminate injuries
and fatalities.
The deployment of the air bags temporarily
releases a small amount of dust from the air
bags. This dust, however, is neither injurious
to your health, nor does it indicate a fire in
the vehicle. The dust might cause some tem-
porary breathing difficulty for people 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 belt.
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 (
page 388).
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 position that is
as upright as possible with your back
against the seat backrest.


Adjust the driver’s seat as far as possi-
ble rearward, still permitting proper op-
eration 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 inches (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 an 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 in-
side the rim can increase the risk and
potential severity of hand/arm injury
when driver’s front air bag inflates.


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

45 Safety and Security
Occupant safety
When you sell your vehicle we strongly
urge you to give notice to the subsequent
owner that it is equipped with an SRS by
alerting them to the applicable section in
the Operator’s Manual.


No modifications of any kind may be
made to any components or wiring of
the SRS. This includes changing or re-
moving any component or part of the
SRS, the installation of additional trim
material, badges, etc. over the steering
wheel hub, front passenger front air bag
cover, outboard sides of the seat back-
rests, door trim panels, or door frame
trims, and installation of additional
electrical/electronic equipment on or
near SRS components and wiring. Keep
area between air bags and occupants
free from objects (e.g. packages, purs-
es, umbrellas, etc.).


Do not hang items such as coat hangers
from the coat hooks or handles over the
door. These items may turn into projec-
tiles and cause head and other injuries
when the window curtain air bag is
deployed.


Air bag system components will be hot
after an air bag has inflated. Do not
touch.


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.


In addition, improper repair work on the
SRS creates a risk of rendering the SRS
inoperative or causing unintended air
bag deployment. Work on the SRS must
therefore only be performed by qualified
technicians. Contact an authorized
Mercedes-Benz Center.


For your protection and the protection
of others, when scrapping the air bag
unit or emergency tensioning device,
our safety instructions must be fol-
lowed. These instructions are available
from any authorized Mercedes-Benz
Center.


Given the considerable deployment
speed, required inflation volume, and
the textile structure of the air bags,
there is the possibility of abrasions or
other, potentially more serious injuries
resulting from air bag deployment.
Warning!
G
Only use seat covers which have been
tested and approved by Mercedes-Benz for
your vehicle model. Using other seat covers
may interfere with or prevent the
deployment of the front side impact air bags
or the rear side impact air bags. Contact an
authorized Mercedes-Benz Center for avail-
ability.

51 Safety and Security
Occupant safety
The 59 indicator lamp is lo-
cated on the dashboard to the right of the
instrument cluster.
1Front passenger front air bag off indica-
tor lamp
The 59indicator lamp1 will
be illuminated, except with the SmartKey
removed from the starter switch or with
the starter switch in position0
(page 366).
i
Deployment of the driver front air bag does
not mean that the front passenger front air bag
also should have deployed.
The Occupant Classification System (
page 48)
may have determined:


that the seat was empty or occupied by the
weight up to or less than that of a typical
12-month-old child seated in a standard
child restraint – both instances where the
system suppresses deployment of the front
passenger front air bag even though the im-
pact met the criteria and was of sufficient
severity to deploy the driver front air bag.


that the seat was occupied by a small individ-
ual (such as a young teenager or a small
adult) or a child weighing more than the
weight of a typical 12-month-old child in a
standard child restraint – instances where
the system may suppress deployment of the
front passenger front air bag even though
the impact met the criteria and was of suffi-
cient severity to deploy the driver front air
bag.
Warning!
G
If the =indicator lamp and the
59 indicator lamp are lit at the
same time, there is a malfunction in the
Occupant Classification System. The front
passenger front air bag will be deactivated
in this case.
Have the system checked as soon as possi-
ble by qualified technicians. Contact an au-
thorized Mercedes-Benz Center.
Only have the seat repaired or replaced by
an authorized Mercedes-Benz Center.
In order to ensure proper operation of the
air bag system and OCS:

Do not place more than 4.4 lbs (2 kg)
into the ruffled storage bag on the back
of the front passenger seat. Otherwise,
the OCS may not be able to properly
approximate the occupant weight
category.


Do not place objects under and/or
around the front passenger seat.


55 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
passengers 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
maximum 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 both doors closed,

the seat belt telltale< remains
illuminated for as long as either the
driver’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
intensity for a maximum of 60 seconds
or until the driver’s and the front passenger’s seat belt are fas-
tened. If you and/or your passenger re-
lease the seat belt during driving, the
seat belt telltale< starts flashing
and the warning chime sounds as de-
scribed before.
If the driver’s or the front passenger’s
seat belt remains unfastened after
60 seconds, the warning chime stops
sounding, the seat belt telltale<
stops flashing but continues to be illu-
minated.
After a vehicle standstill, the warning
chime is reactivated and the seat belt
telltale< is flashing again if the ve-
hicle speed once exceeds 15 mph
(25 km/h).
The seat belt telltale< will only go out
if both the driver’s and the front passen-
ger’s seat belt (with the front passenger
seat occupied) are fastened, or the vehicle
is standing still and a door is opened.
For more information, see “Practical hints”
(
page 615).


Seat belts should not be worn twisted.
In a crash, you wouldn’t have the full
width of the seat belt to distribute im-
pact 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 pres-
sure 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.

391 Controls in detail
Lighting
Lighting
Exterior lamp switch
The exterior lamp switch is located on the
dashboard to the left of the steering wheel.
i
If you drive in countries where vehicles drive
on the other side of the road than the country in
which the vehicle is registered, you must have
the headlamps modified for symmetrical low
beams. Relevant information can be obtained at
any authorized Mercedes-Benz Center.
i
The active Bi-Xenon headlamps monitor
your steering angle and driving speed, then auto-
matically shift their beams to either side to bet-
ter follow the curvature of the road ahead,
increasing usable illumination over conventional
headlamps.
1‚
Standing lamps, left (turn left two
stops)
2ˆ
Standing lamps, right (turn left
one stop)
3M
Off
Daytime running lamp mode
(page 393)
4*
Automatic headlamp mode
Daytime running lamp mode
(page 393)
5C
Parking lamps (also tail lamps, li-
cense plate lamps, side marker
lamps, instrument panel lamps)
6B
Low beam headlamps or high
beam headlamps
7‡
Front fog lamps
8†
Rear fog lamp
i
If you hear a warning signal you have forgot-
ten to switch off the low beam headlamps or the
parking lamps before opening the driver’s door.
In addition the message “Please Switch Off
Lights” appears in the multifunction display.
Switch off the low beam headlamps or the park-
ing lamps.
If the message “Turn Lights Off or Remove Key”
appears in the multifunction display remove the
SmartKey from the starter switch or switch off
the automatic headlamp mode.
!
Failure to switch off the exterior lamps when
leaving the vehicle may result in a discharged
battery.

490 Controls in detailAir ventsOpening and closing air vents
Center air vents
Opening: Turn thumbwheels 4
and5 upward (
page 488).

Closing: Turn thumbwheels 4 and 5
downward.
Side air vents

Opening: Turn thumbwheels next to
side air vents2 and7 upward
(page 488).

Closing: Turn thumbwheels down-
ward.
Rear center console air vents

Increasing/decreasing air volume:
Turn thumbwheelc or d to the left
or right (
page 488).
Ventilated storage compartment
The storage compartment under the front
armrest can be ventilated when the auto-
matic climate control is switched on.
1Switching ventilation off
2Switching ventilation on
The air volume is dependent on the setting
of:


air distribution control


air volume control


air vents in the dashboard
The air temperature is about the same as
that of the dashboard air vents. It cannot
be regulated separately.
i
For draft-free ventilation, move the sliders
for the center air vents 3 and 6 (
page 488)
to the middle position.
i
The temperature at the air ventsa andb
(
page 488) for rear passenger compartment
will be approximately the same as at the dash-
board center air vents.
!
Extreme temperatures can occur in the stor-
age compartment. Switch off the air vents in the
storage compartment while the heating is
switched on if you are transporting heat-sensi-
tive items in the compartment.
Keep the air vents free of obstruction.

714 Practical hintsFusesThe electrical fuses in your vehicle serve to
switch off malfunctioning power circuits.
If a fuse is blown, the component(s) and
systems secured by that fuse will stop op-
erating.
If a newly inserted fuse blows again, have
the cause determined and rectified by an
authorized Mercedes-Benz Center.
A fuse chart explains the fuse allocation
and fuse amperages. It is located in the
trunk with the vehicle tool kit
(
page 681).The electrical fuses are located in different
fuse boxes:


in the dashboard on the passenger side
(page 716)


in the dashboard on the driver’s side
(page 716)


behind the rear center armrest
(page 716)


on the driver’s side of the engine com-
partment (
page 715)


on the passenger side of the engine
compartment (
page 716)
Warning!
G
Only use fuses approved by Mercedes-Benz
with the specified amperage for the system
in question and do not attempt to repair or
bridge a blown fuse. Using other than ap-
proved fuses or using repaired or bridged
fuses may cause an overload leading to a
fire, and/or cause damage to electrical
components and/or systems. Have the
cause determined and remedied by an
authorized Mercedes-Benz Center.
!
Switch off the vehicle’s internal electrical
functions (
page 705) when you are working on
the fuses.
i
A blown fuse must be replaced by an appro-
priate spare fuse (recognizable by its color or the
fuse rating given on the fuse) of the amperage
recommended in the fuse chart.
Any Mercedes-Benz Center will be glad to advise
you on this subject.
i
In case of a blown fuse contact Roadside As-
sistance or an authorized Mercedes-Benz
Center.

716 Practical hintsFusesBox on the front passenger sideExample illustration from CL 5501Retaining lugs
2Cover
Opening
Press retaining lugs1.

Remove cover2.
Closing

Attach cover2.

Press cover2 down manually.
Fuse boxes in passenger compartment
Fuse boxes in dashboard
1Cover1Cover
Opening

Open the respective door.

Using your hands, pull cover1 in the
direction of the arrow and remove.
Closing

Hook cover1 into the opening at the
front.

Press cover1 back on until it engag-
es.
!
The cover must fit properly, as otherwise
moisture or dirt may impair the functionality of
the fuses.
!
Do not use sharp objects such as a screw
driver to open the fuse box cover in the dash-
board, as this could damage it.