2008 MERCEDES-BENZ GL550 child restraint

Contents
Safety and Security........................... 73
Occupant safety................................... 74
Air bags .......................................... 76
Occupant Classification System ..... 81
Seat belts ....................................... 86
Active head restraint ...................... 90
Rear head restraints ....................... 91
Children in the vehicle .................... 91
Blocking of rear door
window operation ........................... 98
Panic alarm ........................................ 100
Activating ..................................... 100
Deactivating ................................. 100
Driving safety systems ....................... 101
ABS .............................................. 101
BAS .............................................. 103
ESP
®............................................. 103
EBP............................................... 107
4-ETS ............................................ 107
Anti-theft systems.............................. 109
Immobilizer................................... 109
Anti-theft alarm system ................ 109
Controls in detail............................. 111
Locking and unlocking ....................... 112
SmartKey ..................................... 112
SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO* ...... 115
Checking the batteries in the
SmartKey or SmartKey with
KEYLESS-GO* .............................. 120
Loss of the SmartKey or
SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO* ...... 120
Opening the doors
from the inside ............................. 120
Tailgate/Power tailgate*.............. 121
Automatic central locking ............ 128
Locking and unlocking
from the inside ............................. 128
Seats ................................................. 130
Easy-entry/exit feature for
third-row seats ............................. 130
Front seat active head restraints . 133
Rear seats .................................... 133
Lumbar support............................ 137
Multicontour seat* ....................... 138
Seat heating* ............................... 138
Seat ventilation* .......................... 140Memory function* ............................. 141
Storing positions into memory ..... 142
Recalling positions from memory. 142
Lighting ............................................. 143
Exterior lamp switch .................... 143
Combination switch ..................... 147
Corner-illuminating
front fog lamps*........................... 147
Hazard warning flasher ................ 149
Interior lighting ............................ 149
Door entry lamps ......................... 151
Cargo compartment lamp ............ 151
Instrument cluster ............................. 152
Adjusting instrument
cluster illumination ...................... 153
Resetting trip odometer ............... 153
Tachometer.................................. 153
Outside temperature indicator ..... 153
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45 Getting started
Adjusting
Adjusting
Seats
Warning!G
All seat, head restraint, steering wheel, and
rear view mirror adjustments, as well as fas-
tening of seat belts, must be done before
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
backrest in an excessively reclined position
as this can be dangerous. You could slide
under 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 position that is as upright as
possible 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 53).
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 the 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 unsupervised access to a
vehicle could result in an accident and/or
serious personal injury.
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46 Getting started
Adjusting
Seat adjustment
The seat adjustment switch is located on
the entry side of each front seat base.
1 Head restraint height (vehicles with
memory function)*
2Seat cushion tilt
3Seat height
4Backrest tilt
5Seat fore and aft adjustment
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
whenever possible. 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 addi-
tional information, see “Children in the vehi-
cle” (
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.
!When moving the seats, make sure there are
no items in the footwell or behind the seats;
otherwise you could damage the seats.
!When the second-row seats are folded
forward, e.g. for cargo compartment expansion
(
page 304), the front seats may not be moved
to the rearmost position. Otherwise you could
damage the front and second-row seats.
!When adjusting the seat backrest tilt and
head restraint height, make sure the sun visor is
folded up (
page 210). If the head restraint is in
the uppermost position, it could hit and damage
the sun visor.
iVehicles without memory function*:
The seats can be adjusted within 5 minutes after
either front door has been opened. The counter
resets each time

you open or close a front door

you insert the SmartKey into the starter
switch

you remove the SmartKey from the starter
switch

you switch the ignition on or off
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53 Getting started
Driving
Driving
Fastening the seat belts
Warning!G
Make sure that absolutely no objects are ob-
structing the pedal’s range of movement.
Keep the driver’s footwell clear of all obsta-
cles. If there are any floormats or carpets in
the footwell, make sure that the pedals still
have sufficient clearance.
During sudden driving or braking maneu-
vers, the objects could get caught between
the pedals. You could then no longer brake
or accelerate. This could lead to accidents
and injury.
Warning!G
Always fasten your seat belt before driving
off. Always make sure your passengers are
properly restrained.
Failure to wear and properly fasten and po-
sition your seat belt greatly increases your
risk of injuries and their likely severity in an
accident. You and your passengers should
always wear seat belts.
If you are ever in an accident, your injuries
can be considerably more severe without
your seat belt properly buckled. Without
your seat belt buckled, you are much more
likely to hit the interior of the vehicle or be
ejected from it. You can be seriously injured
or killed.
In the same crash, the possibility of injury or
death is lessened if you are wearing your
seat belt. The air bags can only provide the
protection they were designed to afford if
the occupants are using their seat belts
(
page 86).
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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55 Getting started
Driving
With a smooth motion, pull the belt out
of seat belt outlet1.
Place the shoulder portion of the belt
across the top of your shoulder and the
lap portion across your hips.
Push latch plate2 into buckle3
(
page 54) until it clicks.
If necessary, tighten the lap portion to
a snug fit by pulling shoulder portion
up.
Seat belt height adjustment
1Release button
Press release button1 and move the
seat belt height adjuster upward or
downward.
Proper use of seat belts

Do not twist the belt when fastening.

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 belt under your
arm. For this purpose, you can adjust
the height of the belt outlet
(
page 55).

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

Place the seat backrest in a position
that is as upright as possible.

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 or toddler restraints or children
in booster seats, always follow the
child seat manufacturer’s instructions.

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.
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74 Safety and Security
Occupant safety
In this section you will learn the most im-
portant facts about the restraint systems
of the vehicle.
The restraint systems are

Seat belts (page 86)

Child restraints (page 96)

Lower Anchors and Tethers for
CH
ildren (LATCH) (page 95)
Additional protection potential provide

Supplemental Restraint System (SRS)
with

Air bags (page 76)

Air bag control unit (with crash
sensors)

Emergency Tensioning Device
(ETD) for seat belts (
page 89)

Seat belt force limiter (page 89)

Active head restraints (page 90)Air bag system components with

Front passenger front air bag off
indicator lamp (
page 85)

Front passenger seat with Occupant
C
lassification System (OCS)
(
page 81)
Although independent systems, their
protective functions work in conjunction
with each other.The SRS system conducts a self-test when
the ignition is switched on and in regular
intervals while the engine is running. This
facilitates early detection of malfunctions.
The
1indicator lamp in the instrument
cluster (
page 28) comes on when the
ignition is switched on and goes out no
later than a few seconds after the engine
was started.
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
1indicator lamp:

fails to go out not later than approxi-
mately 4 seconds after the engine was
started

does not come on at all

comes on after the engine was started
or while driving
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 91).
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77 Safety and Security
Occupant safety

Always sit as upright as possible, prop-
erly use the seat belts and use an appro-
priately sized infant restraint, toddler
restraint, or booster seat recommended
for the size and weight of the child.
Failure to follow these instructions can
result in severe injuries to you or other
occupants.
If you sell your vehicle, it is important that
you make the buyer aware of this safety
information. Be sure to give the buyer this
Operator’s Manual.Warning!G
Accident research shows that the safest
place for children in an automobile is in the
rear seat.
It should be noted that with respect to both,
front side impact air bags or the rear side
impact air bags*, there is a possibility for a
side impact air bag related injury if occu-
pants, especially children, are not properly
seated or restrained when next to a side
impact air bag which needs to deploy rapidly
in a side impact in order to do its job.
To help avoid the possibility of injury, please
follow these guidelines:
(1) Always sit as upright as possible,
properly use the seat belts, and for all
children 12 years old and under, use an
appropriately sized infant restraint,
toddler restraint, or booster seat recom-
mended for the size and weight of the
child.
(2) Always wear seat belts properly.
iAir bags are designed to deploy only in
certain frontal impacts (front air bags), and in
side impacts (side impact and window curtain air
bags) which exceed preset thresholds, and in
certain rollovers (window curtain air bags). Only
during these events will they provide their sup-
plemental protection.
The driver and passengers should always wear
their seat belts. Otherwise it is not possible for
air bags to provide their supplemental protec-
tion.
In case of other types of impacts and impacts be-
low air bag deployment thresholds, air bags will
not deploy. The driver and passenger will then be
protected to the extent possible by a properly
fastened seat belt. A properly fastened seat belt
is also needed to provide the best possible pro-
tection in a rollover.
We caution you not to rely on the presence of the
air bags in order to avoid wearing your seat belt.
It is important to your safety and that of your pas-
sengers that you replace deployed air bags and
repair any malfunctioning air bags to make sure
the vehicle will continue to provide supplemental
crash protection for occupants.
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82 Safety and Security
Occupant safety
Warning!G
If the 59indicator lamp illumi-
nates when an adult or someone larger than
a small individual is in the front passenger
seat, have the front passenger re-position
himself or herself in the seat until the
59indicator lamp goes out, or
check whether objects are caught under or
around the seat.
More information about air bag display mes-
sages (
page 460).
In the event of a collision, the air bag control
unit will not allow front passenger front air
bag deployment when the OCS classified
the front passenger seat occupant as being
up to or less than the weight of a typical
12-month-old child in a standard child re-
straint or if the front passenger seat is
sensed as being empty.
When the OCS senses that the front passen-
ger seat occupant is classified as being up
to or less than the weight of a typical
12-month-old child in a standard child
restraint, the 59indicator
lamp will illuminate when the engine is start-
ed and remain illuminated, indicating that
the front passenger front air bag is deacti-
vated.
When the OCS senses that the front passen-
ger seat is classified as being empty, the
59indicator lamp will illumi-
nate when the engine is started and remain
illuminated, indicating that the front
passenger front air bag is deactivated.When the OCS senses that the front passen-
ger seat occupant is classified as being
heavier than the weight of a typical
12-month-old child seated in a standard
child restraint or as being a small individual
(such as a young teenager or a small adult),
the 59indicator lamp will illu-
minate for approximately 6 seconds when
the engine is started and then, depending on
occupant weight sensor readings from the
seat, remain illuminated or go out. With the
59indicator lamp illuminated,
the front passenger front air bag is deacti-
vated. With the 59indicator
lamp out, the front passenger front air bag is
activated.
When the OCS senses that the front passen-
ger seat occupant is classified as an adult or
someone larger than a small individual, the
59indicator lamp will illumi-
nate for approximately 6 seconds when the
engine is started and then go out, indicating
that the front passenger front air bag is
activated.
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