2008 MERCEDES-BENZ G500 belt

50 Getting started
Driving
Front seat belts and rear outer seat
belts1 Seat belt guide
2 Latch plate
3 Buckle
4 Release button Fastening seat belts and rear outer seat
belts
With a smooth motion, pull the seat
belt out of seat belt guide
1.
Place the shoulder portion of the seat
belt across the top of your shoulder
and the lap portion across your hips.
Push latch plate 2 into buckle 3 until
it clicks.
If necessary, tighten the lap portion to
a snug fit by pulling shoulder portion
up.
Opening seat belts and rear outer seat
belts
Press release button 4.
Allow the retractor to completely
rewind the seat belt by guiding latch
plate 2. Rear center seat belt
Overview
1
Attachment for latch plates
2 Buckle for fixed latch plate
3 Release button for fixed latch plate
4 Fixed latch plate
5 Buckle for free-sliding latch plate
6 Release button for free-sliding latch
plate
7 Free-sliding latch plate
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51
Getting started
Driving
Fastening the rear center seat belt
Pull both latch plates
1 and 2 out of
the attachment (
page 50).
The seat belt has two latch plates:
Plate 1 is fixed at the end of the seat
belt. Latch plate 2 is free-sliding
across the seat belt.
With a smooth motion, pull the seat
belt out of the seat belt outlet.
Push fixed latch plate 1 into
buckle 3 until it clicks.
Guide the seat belt at free-sliding latch
plate 2 across your body.
Place the shoulder portion of the seat
belt across the top of your shoulder
and the lap portion across your hips.
Push free-sliding latch plate 2 into
buckle 4 until it clicks.
If necessary, tighten the lap portion to
a snug fit by pulling shoulder portion
up.
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52 Getting started
Driving
Opening the rear center seat belt
Press release button6 on buckle 5
for the free-sliding latch plate
(
page 50).
Press release button 3 on buckle 2
for the fixed latch plate (
page 50).
Storing the rear center seat belt
Allow the retractor to completely
rewind the rear center seat belt by
guiding latch plate 1 (
page 51).
Guide both latch plates 4 and 7
once after the other into
attachment 1 (
page 50). Seat belt outlet height adjustment
You can adjust the height of the seat belt
guide for the following seats:

Driver’s seat

Front passenger seat

Rear outer seats
Adjust seat belt so that the shoulder
portion is located as close as possible to
the middle of the shoulder (it should not
touch the neck).
1 Release button Raising
Slide the seat belt guide upward in
desired position.
The seat belt guide engages in five
different positions.
Lowering
Pull and hold release button 1.
Slide the seat belt guide downward in
desired position.
Let go of release button 1.
Make sure that the seat belt guide en-
gages into place.
Please comply with the instructions for
“Proper use of seat belts” (
page 53).Warning!G
To help prevent the possibility of injury,
always store the rear center seat belt latch
plates in the attachment when the rear
center seat belt is not in use.
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53
Getting started
Driving
Proper use of seat belts

Do not twist the seat belt when fasten-
ing.

Adjust seat belt so
that the shoulder
portion is located as close as possible
to the middle of the shoulder (it should
not touch the neck). Never pass the
shoulder portion of the seat belt under
your arm. For this purpose, you can
adjust the height of the seat belt guide
(
page 52).

Position the lap belt as low as possible
on your hips (over hip joint) and not
across the abdomen.

Place the seat backrest on adjustable
seat backrests in a nearly upright
position.

Never use a seat belt for more than one
person at a time.

Do not fasten a seat belt around a
person and another object at the same
time. When using a seat belt to secure
infant restraints, toddler restraints or
children in booster seats, always follow
the child seat manufacturer’s instruc-
tions.

Check your seat belt periodically
during travel to make sure that it is
properly positioned.

Make sure the seat belt is always fitted
snugly. Take special care of this when
wearing loose clothing.
Warning!G
Do not pass seat belts over sharp edges.
They could tear.
Do not allow the seat be lt to get caught in
the door or in the seat adjustment mecha-
nism. This could damage the seat belt.
Never attempt to make modifications to
seat belts. This could impair the effective-
ness of the seat belts.
Do not bleach or dye seat belts as this may
severely weaken them. In a crash, they may
not be able to provide adequate protection.
Damaged seat belts or seat belts that were
highly stressed in an accident must be
replaced. Contact an authorized
Mercedes-Benz Light Truck Center.
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64 Getting started
Parking and locking
Switching off headlamps
Turn the exterior lamp switch toM
(
page 56).
For more information, see “Lighting”
(
page 117).
Turning off engine
Move the gear selector lever to park
position P. Apply the parking brake (
page 62).
Turn SmartKey in the starter switch to
position
0.
Remove the SmartKey from the starter
switch.
The immobilizer is activated.
Releasing seat belts
Press seat belt release button
(
page 50).
Allow the retractor to completely
rewind the seat belt by guiding latch
plate.
Warning!G
Do not turn off the engine before the vehicle
has come to a complete stop. With the
engine not running, there is no power assis-
tance for the brake and steering systems. In
this case, it is important to keep in mind that
a considerably higher degree of effort is
necessary to brake and steer the vehicle.
iAlways set the parking brake in addition to
shifting to park position P (
page 164).
On slopes, turn the front wheels towards the
road curb.
iThe SmartKey can only be removed from the
starter switch with the gear selector lever in park
position P and the SmartKey in starter switch
position 0.
!M a k e s u r e t h e s e a t b e l t r e t r a c t s f u l l y s o t h a t
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
panel. Such damage is not covered by the
Mercedes-Benz Limited Warranty.
Damaged seat belts must be replaced. Contact
an authorized Mercedes-Benz Light Truck
Center.
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68 Safety and Security
Occupant safety
In this section you will learn the most
important facts about the restraint
systems of the vehicle.

Seat belts (page 74)

Child restraints (page 83)

Lower Anchors and Tethers for
CH
ildren (LATCH) (page 82)
Additional protection potential provide

Supplemental Restraint System (SRS)
with

Air bags (page 70)

Air bag control unit (with crash
sensors)

Emergency Tensioning Device
(ETD) for seat belts (
page 77)
Air bag system components with

Front passenger front air bag off
indicator lamp (
page 80)

BabySmartTM air bag deactivation
system (
page 80) Although independent systems, their
protective functions work in conjunction
with each other.
The
1 indicator lamp in the instrument
cluster (
page 27) comes on:

for about 4 seconds when you turn the
SmartKey in the starter switch to
position 1.

for about 4 seconds when you start the
engine by turning the SmartKey. The SRS components are in operational
readiness if the
1indicator 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.

does not come on at all.

comes on after the engine was started
or while driving.
For more information, see “Practical hints”
(
page 332).
iFor information on infants and children
traveling with you in the vehicle and restraint
systems for infants and children, see “Children
in the vehicle” (
page 77).
iThe 1 indicator lamp remains lit if the
SmartKey is turned to position 2 and left there.
The indicator lamp will go out when you start the
engine.
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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
1indicator 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 Light Truck Center immedi-
ately to have the system checked; otherwise
the SRS may not deploy when needed in an
accident, which could re sult in serious or
fatal injury, or it might deploy unexpectedly
and unnecessarily which could also result in
injury.
In addition, improper work on the SRS cre-
ates 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 Light Truck
Center.
If it is necessary to modify an air bag system
to accommodate a person with disabilities,
contact a local author ized Mercedes-Benz
Light Truck Center or call our Customer
Assistance Center at 1-800-FOR-MERCedes
(1-800-367-6372) for details.
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70 Safety and Security
Occupant safety
Air bags
Warning!G
Air bags are designed to reduce the poten-
tial of injury and fatality in certain frontal
impacts (front air bags), or side impacts
(window curtain air bags). However, no
system available today can completely elim-
inate 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
The service life of the passenger front air
bag extends to the date indicated on the
label located on the driver side B pillar. To
provide continued reliab ility after that date,
they should be inspected at an authorized
Mercedes-Benz Light Truck Center at that
time and replaced when necessary.
Warning!G
To reduce the risk of injury when the front
air bags inflate, it is very important for the
driver and front passen ger 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 no rmal seated position
with your back against the seat backrest.
Fasten your seat belt and make sure it is
properly positioned on your body
(
page 50).
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.
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