2008 MERCEDES-BENZ GL450 Front seats

133 Controls in detail
Seats
Pull emergency release1 in the
direction of arrow.
Push seat backrest2 forwards.
Open the left door.
Exit the vehicle.
Front seat active head restraints
You cannot remove the active head
restraints on the driver’s and front
passenger’s seat.
For removal of the active head restraints
we recommend that you contact an
authorized Mercedes-Benz Light Truck
Center.
For information on head restraint adjust-
ment, see “Seats” (
page 45).
For information on active head restraints,
see “Active head restraint” (
page 90).
Rear seats
Warning!G
To help avoid personal injury when folding
the seat backrest forward, make sure that
you move both feet and legs all the way back
and out of the way to avoid them contacting
the seat as it pivots forward.
In order to prevent an accident or any other
potentially dangerous situations when open-
ing the rear door and exiting the vehicle,
make sure that you are aware of the traffic
situation at all times.
Warning!G
For your protection, drive only with properly
positioned head restraints.
Adjust the head restraint so that it is close
to the head as possible and the center of the
head restraint supports the back of the head
at eye level. This will reduce the potential for
injury to the head and neck in the event of
an accident or similar situation.
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.
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. For additional information, see
“Children in the vehicle” (
page 91).
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.
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138 Controls in detail
Seats
Multicontour seat*
The multicontour seat has an extendable
seat cushion and inflatable air chambers
built into the backrest to provide additional
lumbar and side support.
The seat cushion depth, seat backrest
cushion-height and curvature can be con-
tinuously varied with switches on the in-
side of each front seat base after the
ignition is switched on (
page 41).
1Seat cushion depth
2Backrest side bolsters
3Backrest center
4Backrest bottom
Switch on the ignition (page 42).
Seat cushion depth
Adjust the seat cushion depth to the
length of your upper leg with
switch1.
Backrest contour
Adjust the contour of the seat backrest
to the desired position with
switchæ orç.
Move the backrest support to the bot-
tom with button4 or to the center
with button3.
Backrest side bolsters
Adjust the side bolsters so that they
provide good lateral support using
switch2.
Seat heating*
The switches for front-seat heating are lo-
cated in the center console.
1Seat heating switch, front seats
2Indicator lamps
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140 Controls in detail
Seats
Seat ventilation*
The switches for the seat ventilation are
located in the center console.
1Seat ventilation switch, front seats
2Indicator lampsThe blue indicator lamps in the switch
come on to show which ventilation level
you have selected.
Switch on the ignition (page 42).Switching on
Press button1 repeatedly until the
desired ventilation level is set.
Switching off
Press button1 repeatedly until all
indicator lamps2 go out.
Level
3Three indicator lamps on
(highest level)
2Two indicator lamps on
1One indicator lamp on
(lowest level)
offNo indicator lamp on
iThe seat ventilation for the driver’s seat is
automatically set to the highest level if activated
via summer opening feature (
page 249).
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142 Controls in detail
Memory function*
Storing positions into memory
Adjust the seats (page 45).
On the driver’s side, additionally adjust
the steering wheel (
page 50) and ex-
terior rear view mirrors (
page 51) to
the desired positions.
Press memory buttonM.
Release memory buttonM and press
stored position button1,2 or3 within
3 seconds.
All settings are stored to the selected
position.
Recalling positions from memory
Press and hold stored position
button1,2 or3 until the seat, steering
wheel and exterior rear view mirrors
have fully moved to the stored posi-
tions.
!Do not operate the power seats using
memory buttonM if the seat backrest is in an
excessively reclined position. Doing so could
cause damage to front or rear seats.
Move seat backrest to an upright position first.
iReleasing the stored position button stops
movement to the stored positions immediately.
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226 Controls in detail
Climate control
Rear climate control*
The control panel is located on the rear of
the front center console.
Activating rear climate control
Press buttonU.
The indicator lamp on the button
comes on. The air volume and air distri-
bution are adjusted automatically.Deactivating rear climate control
Press button´.
The indicator lamp on the button
comes on.
The cooling function switches off after
a short delay.iThe rear climate control panel is only
available if your vehicle is equipped with seat
heating* for the rear seats or Rear Audio fea-
ture* (see separate COMAND System operating
instructions).
1Left rear center air vent, adjustable
2Right rear center air vent, adjustable
3Rear climate control on
(automatic mode)
4Air distribution (directs air through
the center air vents)
5Air distribution (directs air through
the footwells and side air vents)
6Rear air conditioning off
iThe climate control must be switched on
(
page 227).
iThe temperature is adjusted according to
the settings for the front passenger side made
on the front climate control panel (
page 219).
iSwitch off the rear climate control for im-
proved cooling or heating output in the front pas-
senger compartment.
You can also switch off the rear climate control
from the front passenger compartment
(
page 227).
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246 Controls in detail
Power windows
The door windows and the hinged quarter
windows* are opened and closed electri-
cally. The switches for all door windows
and the hinged quarter windows* are
located on the driver’s door control panel.
The switches for the respective door win-
dows are located on the front passenger
door and the rear doors. The hinged quar-
ter windows* can be operated from the
driver’s seat only.
Switch on the ignition (page 42).
Warning!G
When closing the windows, make sure that
there is no danger of anyone being harmed
by the closing procedure.
Activate the override switch (
page 98)
when children are riding in the back seats of
the vehicle. The children could otherwise in-
jure themselves, e.g. by becoming trapped
in the window opening.
The closing of a door window can be imme-
diately halted by releasing the switch or, if
switch was pulled past the resistance point
and released, by either pressing or pulling
the respective switch.
If a door window encounters an obstruction
that blocks its path in a circumstance where
you pulled the switch past the resistance
point and released it to close the door win-
dow, the automatic reversal function will
stop the window and open it slightly.
If a door window encounters an obstruction
that blocks its path in a circumstance where
you are closing a door window by pulling and
holding the switch, or by pressing and hold-
ing button‹on the SmartKey, by press-
ing and holding the lock button (vehicles
with KEYLESS-GO*) on a door handle, the
automatic reversal function will not operate.
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 childrenunattended in the vehicle, or with access to
an unlocked vehicle. A child’s unsupervised
access to a vehicle could result in an
accident and/or serious personal injury.
iYou can also open or close the windows
using the SmartKey, see “Summer opening fea-
ture” (
page 249) and see “Convenience clos-
ing feature” (
page 250).
Depending on the current position, the power
windows may also open or close when the air
recirculation button: on the control panel of
the climate control (
page 216) or automatic
climate control* (
page 230) is pressed and
held.
iAfter switching off the ignition (page 41)
or removing the SmartKey from the starter
switch, the windows can be operated

until you open the driver’s or front passenger
door

for at least 5 minutes if nor door was opened
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302 Controls in detail
Loading
The gross vehicle weight which is the
weight of the vehicle including fuel, tools,
spare wheel, installed accessories, pas-
sengers and luggage/cargo must never
exceed the load limit and Gross Vehicle
Weight Rating (GVWR) for your vehicle as
specified on the placard located on the
driver’s door B-pillar (
page 550). In addi-
tion, the load must be distributed in such a
way so that the weight on each axle never
exceeds the Gross Axle Weight Rating
(GAWR) for the front and rear axle. The
GVWR and GAWR for your vehicle are indi-
cated on the certification label which can
be found on the driver’s door B-pillar
(
page 550).
For more information, see “Tire and Load-
ing Information” (
page 388).
The handling characteristics of a fully load-
ed vehicle depend greatly on the load dis-
tribution. It is therefore recommended to
load the vehicle according to the illustra-
tions shown, with the heaviest items being
placed towards the front of the vehicle.Please pay attention to and comply with
the following instructions when loading the
vehicle and transporting cargo:

Always place items being carried
against front or rear seat backrests,
and fasten them as securely as possi-
ble.

The heaviest portion of the cargo
should always be kept as low as possi-
ble against front or rear seat backrests.
For additional safety when transporting
cargo while the rear seats are unoccupied,
fasten the outer seat belts crosswise into
the opposite side buckles.
Cargo tie-down rings
Your vehicle is equipped with eight cargo
tie-down rings.
Carefully secure cargo by applying even
load on all rings with rope of sufficient
strength to hold down the cargo.
iThe cargo compartment is the preferred
place to carry objects. The expanded cargo com-
partment (
page 304) should only be used for
items which do not fit in the cargo compartment
alone.
iWhile the cargo net* (page 312) will help
protect you from smaller objects, it cannot pre-
vent the movement of large, heavier objects into
the passenger compartment in an accident, dur-
ing hard braking or sudden maneuvers. Such
items must be properly secured using the cargo
tie-down rings in the cargo compartment floor.
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304 Controls in detail
Loading
Hooks
Two hooks are located on the rear com-
partment trim panels, one on each side.
1Hook
Use the hooks to secure light weight items
only. The maximum permissible weight per
hook is 9lb(4kg).Expanding cargo compartment
You can separately fold the left and right
rear seat backrests to expand the cargo
compartment.
Warning!G
When expanding the cargo compartment,
always fully fold the corresponding seats
and, if so equipped, always use the
cargo net* (
page 312) when transporting
cargo.
Unless you are transporting cargo, the back-
rests must remain properly locked in the up-
right position.
In an accident, during hard braking or sud-
den maneuvers, loose items will be thrown
around inside the vehicle, and can cause
injury to vehicle occupants unless the items
are securely fastened in the vehicle.
Always use the cargo tie down rings
(
page 302).
Warning!G
Never drive the vehicle with the tailgate
open. Deadly carbon monoxide (CO) gases
may enter vehicle interior resulting in un-
consciousness and death.
!When the second-row seats are folded for-
ward, the front seats may not be moved to the
rearmost position. Otherwise you could damage
the front and second-row seats.
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