2008 MERCEDES-BENZ G55AMG child restraint

76 Safety and Security
Occupant safety
Warning!G
USE SEAT BELTS PROPERLY

Seat belts can only work when used
properly. Never wear seat belts in any
other way than as described in this
section, as that could result in serious
injuries in case of an accident.

Each occupant should wear their seat
belt at all times, because seat belts help
reduce the likelihood of and potential
severity of injuries in accidents, includ-
ing rollovers. The integrated restraint
system includes SRS (driver air bag,
passenger front air bag, window curtain
air bags for side windows), and ETD
(seat belt emergency tensioning
device). The system is designed to en-
hance the protection offered to properly
belted occupants in certain frontal (front
air bags and ETD) and side (window
curtain air bags and ETD) impacts which
exceed preset deployment thresholds.

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 shoulder belt would also
apply too much force to the ribs or abdo-
men, which could severely injure inter-
nal 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 lap 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 a time. Do not fasten a seat
belt around a person and another per-
son 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 manage 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
restraints, toddler restraints or children
in booster seats, a lways follow the child
seat manufacturer’s instructions.
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77
Safety and Security
Occupant safety
Emergency Tensioning Device (ETD),
seat belt force limiter
The seat belts for the front and rear outer
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
exceeding the system deployment
threshold

if the restraint systems are operational
and functioning correctly, see
1
indicator lamp (
page 68) When activated, 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 reduce the force exerted by the
seat belts on occupants during a crash.
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.
iThe ETDs for the front seats will only acti-
vate if the respective front seat belt is fastened
(latch plate properly inserted into buckle).
The ETDs for the rear outer seats will activate
with or without the respective seat belt fastened.
Warning!G
An Emergency Tensioning Device (ETD) that
was activated must be replaced.
When disposing of emergency tensioning
device, our safety instructions must be
followed. These are available at any autho-
rized Mercedes-Benz Light Truck Center.
!Do not place objects heavier than 20 lbs
(9 kg) on the front passenger seat. This could
cause the passenger front air bag and, with the
seat belt fastened to secure the object, the ETD
on the front passenger side to deploy in a crash
which exceeds the system’s deployment thresh-
old.
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78 Safety and Security
Occupant safety
Infant and child restraint systems
Only use a BabySmart
TM compatible child
restraint for the front passenger seat in
this vehicle.
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 and the rear center seat belt have
special seat belt retractors for secure fas-
tening 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 b elt retractor is acti-
vated. The seat belt is now locked. Push
down on child restraint to take up any
slack.Warning!G
Do not leave children unattended in the
vehicle, even if they are secured in a child
restraint 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 exampl e, 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
Do not carry heavy or hard objects in the
passenger or cargo compartment unless
they are firmly secured in place. For more
information, see “Loading” (
page 206)
and “Useful features” (
page 215).
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
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79
Safety and Security
Occupant safety
To deactivate, release seat belt buckle and
let seat belt retract completely. The seat
belt can again be used in the usual
manner.
The use of infant or child restraints is
required by law in all 50 states, the District
of Columbia, the U.S. territories and all
Canadian provinces.
Infants and small children should be
seated in an appropri
ate infant or child
restraint system properly secured in
accordance with the manufacturer's
instructions for the child restraint, that
complies with U.S. Federal Motor Vehicle
Safety Standards 213 and 225 and
Canadian Motor Vehicle Safety
Standards 213 and 210.2.
A statement by the child restraint
manufacturer of compliance with these
standards can be foun d on the instruction
label on the restraint and in the instruction
manual 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
affixed to inside of 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.
iFor information on child seats with mounting
fittings for tether anchorages, see “Installation
of infant and child restraint systems”
(
page 83).
For information on LATCH-type child seat
anchors, see (
page 82).
Warning!G
Children 12 years old and under must never
ride in the front seat, except in a
Mercedes-Benz authorized BabySmart
TM
compatible child seat, which operates with
the BabySmart
TM system installed in the
vehicle to deactivate the passenger front air
bag when it is properly installed. Otherwise
they will be struck by the air bag when it
inflates in a crash. If this happens, serious or
fatal injury can result.
According to accident statistics, children
are safer when properly restrained in the
rear seating positions than in the front
seating positions. Infants and small children
must ride in back seats and be seated in an
appropriate infant or child restraint system,
which is properly secured with the vehicle’s
seat belt and top tether strap, or secured via
lower anchors and top tether strap, fully in
accordance with the child seat
manufacturer’s instructions.

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80 Safety and Security
Occupant safety
BabySmartTM air bag deactivation
system
The 56 indicator lamp is located on
the upper part of the center console.
1 Front passenger front air bag off
indicator lampInfants and small children should never
share a seat belt with another occupant.
During an accident, th ey 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
the child is not properly secured in the child
restraint.
Children too big for ch ild restraint systems
must ride in back 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
from 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 ch ildren are secured in a
child restraint system. Unsupervised
children in a child rest raint system may use
vehicle equipment and may cause an
accident and/or serious personal injury.
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82 Safety and Security
Occupant safety
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 outer rear
seats) for installation of a LATCH-type
child seat with matching mounting fittings.
Warning!G
When using a BabySmartTM compatible child
seat on the front passenger seat, the
passenger front air bag will not deploy only
if the 56 indicator lamp (
page 80)
remains illuminated.
Make sure to check the 56 indicator
lamp every time you use the special system
child seat. Should the 56 indicator
lamp go out while the restraint is installed,
please check installation. If the 56
indicator lamp remains out, do not use the
BabySmart
TM restraint to transport children
on the front passenger seat until the system
has been repaired.
Warning!G
Do not place powered-on laptops, cell
phones, electronic tags such as those used
in ski passes and like electronic devices on
the front passenger seat. Signals from such
devices may interfere with the BabySmart
TM
system. Such signal interference may cause
the 56 indicator lamp (
page 80)
not to come on during self-test or be contin-
uously lit, indicating that the system is not
functioning.
Warning!G
Children too big for ch ild restraint systems
must ride in seats usin g 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
from 41 lbs until they reach a height where
a lap/shoulder belt fits properly without a
booster.
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83
Safety and Security
Occupant safety
The LATCH-type anchors are located
between the seat cushion and the seat
backrest.
1 Anchors
Install child seat according to the
manufacturer’s instructions. Installation of infant and child restraint
systems
Remove the cargo compartment cover
blind, if installed (
page 214).
Remove the partition net*, if so
equipped and installed (
page 210).
Anchorage rings for installation of top
tether straps are located on the floor
behind each rear seat.
1 Hook
2 Anchorage ring for rear right side seat
3 Anchorage ring for rear center seat
4 Anchorage ring for rear left side seat
Install child seat according to
manufacturer’s instructions.
T h e c h i l d s e a t m u s t b e f i r m l y a t t a c h e d t o t h e
right and left side anchors 1.
An incorrectly mounted child seat may come
loose during an accide nt which could result
in serious injury or death to the child.
Damaged or impact damaged child seats or
child seat mounting fittings must be
replaced.
Do not leave children unattended in the
vehicle, even if the children are secured in a
child restraint system.
iWith a child seat installed in the left rear
seat, the seat belt for the center seat occupied
by a passenger must operate freely.
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.

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84 Safety and Security
Occupant safety
Hook fastened to respective anchorage ring
1Hook
5 Top tether strap
Guide top tether strap 5 between
head restraint and top of seat backrest.
Securely fasten hook 1, which is part
of top tether strap 5, to respective
anchorage ring 2,3 , or 4. Make sure

the top tether strap is not twisted

the head restraint is installed and
positioned such that the top tether
strap can pass freely between the head
restraint and top of the seat backrest
Once the top tether anchorage hook is
attached, the child restraint itself can be
secured. Secure child restraint and tighten
the top tether strap according to the child
restraint manufacturer’s instructions.
iFor safety, make sure hook 1 has attached
to respective anchorage ring beyond the safety
catch, as shown in the illustration above.Warning!G
Use only the described anchorage rings for
the respective child seat. Other lashing
eyelets could tear in case of an accident.
Make sure

the fastening straps are not crossed or
twisted.

the hook is properly attached and is
closed.

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