2008 MERCEDES-BENZ R320 seat adjustment

52 Getting started
Driving
Place the shoulder portion of the seat
belt across the top of your shoulder
and the lap portion across your hips.
Push latch plate2 into buckle3
(
page 51) until it clicks.
If necessary, tighten the lap portion of
the seat belt 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 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 outlet
(
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 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 per-
son 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.
Warning!G
Do not pass seat belts over sharp edges.
They could tear.
Do not allow the seat belt 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 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.


72 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), side impacts (side
impact air bags and window curtain air bags)
or rollovers (window curtain air bags).
However, no system available 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 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.

Adjust the driver seat as far as possible
rearward, still permitting proper opera-
tion 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
problems, please contact an authorized
Mercedes-Benz Light Truck 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
inside 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.

128 Controls in detail
Seats
For information on seat adjustment, see
the “Getting started” section (
page 44).
For more information on folding the seats,
see “Loading” (
page 288).
Easy-entry/exit feature
Easy-entry/exit feature for driver’s
seat*
This feature allows for easier entry into and
exit from the vehicle. When entering and
exiting the vehicle, the steering wheel is in
its uppermost position.
The easy-entry/exit feature can be
activated or deactivated in the
Comfort
submenu of the control system
(
page 184).With the easy-entry/exit feature activated,
the steering wheel will return to the last set
position when you

close the driver’s door with the ignition
switched on
or

insert the SmartKey into the starter
switch or press the KEYLESS-GO*
start/stop button (
page 41) once
with the driver’s door closed
Warning!G
You must make sure no one can become
trapped or injured by the moving steering
wheel when the easy-entry/exit feature is
activated.
To stop steering wheel movement, do one of
the following:

Move steering wheel adjustment stalk*
(
page 47).

Press one of the stored position
buttons* or memory buttonM*
(
page 141).
Do not leave children unattended in the ve-
hicle, or with access to an unlocked vehicle.
Children could open the driver’s door and
unintentionally activate the easy-entry/exit
feature, which could result in an accident
and/or serious personal injury.
iThe last set steering wheel position is
stored when

the ignition is switched off (page 39)

the position is stored into memory
(
page 142)

129 Controls in detail
Seats
With the easy-entry/exit feature activated,
the steering wheel tilts upwards when you

remove the SmartKey from the starter
switch
or

open the driver’s door with the
SmartKey in starter switch position
0or1(
page 39) or the
KEYLESS-GO* start/stop button in
position1 (
page 41)
Easy-entry/exit feature for third-row
seats
This feature allows for easier access to and
exit from the vehicle’s third-row seats.Easy-entry feature for third-row seats
The releases for the easy-entry feature are
located on the entry side and the back of
each outboard second-row seat.
1Easy-entry lever
iIf the current position for the steering wheel
is in the uppermost tilt position, the steering
wheel will no longer be able to move upward
when the easy-entry/exit feature is activated.
The adjustment procedure is briefly interrupted,
when the engine is started.
Warning!G
Let the system complete the adjustment
procedure before setting the vehicle in mo-
tion. All steering wheel adjustments must be
completed before setting the vehicle in mo-
tion. Driving off with the steering wheel still
adjusting could cause the driver to lose con-
trol of the vehicle.
Warning!G
To help avoid personal injury, the sec-
ond-row seat backrests must be properly
locked either in the upright position or,
when using the expanded cargo compart-
ment, in the fully folded position while the
vehicle is in motion.
!7-seat vehicles*:
Do not use the driver’s side easy-entry/exit fea-
ture for third-row seats when the second-row
middle seat is in armrest position. Otherwise, the
seat belt outlet of the second-row middle seat
could damage the seat backrest of the outboard
seat.


132 Controls in detail
Seats
Lumbar support
The curvature of the driver’s seat can be
adjusted to help enhance lower back
support and seating comfort.
The lever for lumbar support adjustment is
located on the right hand side of the
driver’s seat backrest.
1Adjustment lever
Move adjustment lever 1 in direction
of arrows until you have reached a
comfortable seating position.
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 39).
1Seat cushion depth
2Backrest side bolsters
3Backrest center
4Backrest bottom
Switch on the ignition (page 39).
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 switch
æ orç.
Move the seat backrest support to the
bottom with button4 or to the center
with button3.
Backrest side bolsters
Adjust the side bolsters so that they
provide good lateral support with
switch2.

133 Controls in detail
Seats
Front seat active head restraints
You cannot remove the active head
restraints on the driver’s and front passen-
ger’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 43).
For information on active head restraints,
see “Active head restraints” (
page 86).
Rear seats Rear seat adjustment
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. Re-
gardless of seating position, children 12
years old and under must be seated and
properly secured in an appropriate infant or
toddler restraint, or booster seat recom-
mended for the size and weight of the child.
For additional information, see “Children in
the vehicle” (
page 87).
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.
Warning!G
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
abdomen 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 nearly upright position and
belts are properly positioned on the body.
Your seat must be adjusted so that you can
correctly fasten your seat belt (
page 50).
Never place hands under the seat or near
any moving parts while a seat is being
adjusted.


134 Controls in detail
Seats
Fore and aft adjustment
(outboard second-row seats)
The handles for adjusting the seats are
located on the front of each seat base.
1Adjustment handle
Pull up handle 1 in direction of arrow
and hold it there.
Move seat to the desired position.
Release handle 1.
The seat must audibly engage.Seat backrest tilt
(outboard second-row seats)
The handles for adjusting the seats are
located on the rear of each seat base.
1Adjustment handle
While seated, pull handle 1 in direc-
tion of arrow to resistance point and
hold it there.
After adjusting rear seats, make sure

the seats are properly locked

the seat backrests are in an upright po-
sition and are properly locked
An outboard second-row seat is properly
locked only when lock status indicator 1 is
in hinged position and red marking 2 is
barely visible (
page 131).
If a seat and seat backrest are not properly
locked, the seat could move forward and the
seat backrest could fold. You could slide un-
der the seat belt during braking, vehicle ma-
neuvers, or in an accident. If you slide under
it, the belt would apply force at the abdomen
or neck. That could cause serious or even
fatal injuries.


135 Controls in detail
Seats
To move seat backrest back, lean
lightly against backrest.
To move seat backrest forward, lean
forward with handle 1 pulled and held
at resistance point.
The seat backrest will move forward
against your back.
Release handle 1 when the seat back-
rest has reached the desired position.
To make sure the seat backrest has
engaged, lean firmly against the back-
rest.Seat backrest tilt (third-row seats)
The handles for adjusting the seats are
located on the outer side of each seat
backrest.
1Adjustment handle
While seated, pull handle 1 in
direction of arrow and hold it there.
To move seat backrest back, lean
lightly against backrest.
To move seat backrest forward, lean
forward with handle 1 pulled.
The seat backrest will move forward
against your back.
Release handle 1 when the seat back-
rest has reached the desired position.
To make sure the seat backrest has
engaged, lean firmly against the back-
rest.
Head restraint height
Warning!G
For your protection, drive only with properly
positioned head restraints.
Adjust the head restraint in such a way 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. This will re-
duce the potential for injury to the head and
neck in the event of an accident or similar
situation.