2008 MERCEDES-BENZ S-Class Vehicle

56 Safety and SecurityOccupant safetyIn an impact, 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, when activated, are employed to
help reduce the peak force exerted by the
seat belts on occupants during a crash.Automatic comfort-fit feature seat belt
An automatic comfort-fit feature for the
front seats and for the rear outer seats*
(only for vehicles with rear power seat*)
reduces the retracting force of the seat
belts when they are in normal use.
Active head restraints
The active head restraints are intended to
offer the driver and front passenger in-
creased protection from whiplash type in-
juries. In the event of a rear-end collision,
the active head restraints on the driver’s
and front passenger’s seats are designed
to move forward in the direction of travel,
providing the head with increased support
earlier on in the collision sequence. The ac-
tive head restraints move forward whether
the seat is occupied or not.
Warning!
G
A pyrotechnic emergency tensioning device
(ETD) that was activated must be replaced.
When disposing of the pyrotechnic emer-
gency tensioning device, our safety instruc-
tions must be followed. These are available
at any authorized Mercedes-Benz Center.
PRE-SAFE
® has electrically operated
reversible pre-tensioners that do not require
replacement after activation.
Warning!
G
Do not attach any objects (e.g. hangers) to
the head restraint posts. Otherwise, the ac-
tive head restraints may not function prop-
erly or offer the degree of protection they
were designed for in the event of an acci-
dent.

57 Safety and Security
Occupant safety
If the active head restraints have been trig-
gered in an accident, the active head re-
straints must be reset. Otherwise, the
active head restraints cannot offer any ad-
ditional protection in the event of another
rear-end collision.
For information on resetting the activated
active head restraints, see “Resetting acti-
vated head restraints” (
page 710).
You cannot remove the active head re-
straint on the driver’s and front passen-
ger’s seats.
For removal contact an authorized
Mercedes-Benz Center.
For information on head restraint adjust-
ment, see “Head restraints” (
page 379).Preventive occupant safety
(PRE-SAFE
®)
Your vehicle automatically takes preven-
tive measures to better protect the occu-
pants in the following hazardous
situations.
Warning!
G
Only use seat or head restraint covers which
have been tested and approved by
Mercedes-Benz for your vehicle model.
Using other seat or head restraint covers
may interfere with or prevent the activation
of the active head restraints.
Contact an authorized Mercedes-Benz Cen-
ter for availability.
Warning!
G
For your protection, drive only with properly
positioned head restraints.
Adjust 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. This will reduce the potential for
injury to the head and neck in the event of
an accident or similar situation.
Do not drive the vehicle without the seat
head restraints. Head restraints are intend-
ed to help reduce injuries during an acci-
dent.
Warning!
G
The PRE-SAFE
® system is intended to re-
duce the effects of an accident on properly
seat-belted vehicle occupants. Despite
having the PRE-SAFE
® system in your vehi-
cle, the possibility of injuries occurring as a
result of an accident cannot be eliminated.
Therefore, you should always drive carefully
and adjust your driving to the prevailing
road, weather, and traffic conditions.

58 Safety and SecurityOccupant safetyPRE-SAFE
® takes action in the following in-
stances:


Emergency braking situations, e.g.
when BAS (
page 69) is activated or
when BAS Plus* (
page 70) is strongly
intervening.


Critical dynamic driving situations, e.g.
when the vehicle is understeering or
oversteering because it has exceeded
its physical limitations.


Evasive steering maneuvers at speeds
above 20 mph (30 km/h).
When you are driving faster than 20 mph
(30 km/h), PRE-SAFE
® takes the following
measures in such situations:


The front seat belts are pre-tensioned
electrically.


If the OCS senses that the front pas-
senger seat is occupied and the seat is
in an unfavorable position, it will be
adjusted to a better position.


If the vehicle is equipped with power
adjustable rear seats* and the passen-
ger outer seats are in an unfavorable
position, they will be adjusted to a bet-
ter position.


The system increases the air pressure
in the air pockets (on the sides of the
seat cushion and backrest) of the mul-
ticontour* and/or drive-dynamic front
seats*.


If the vehicle is understeering or over-
steering, the tilt/sliding sunroof and
the door windows also close until only
a small gap remains.
Once the hazardous situation is over with-
out an accident occurring, PRE-SAFE
®
loosens the seat belt pre-tension and de-
creases the air pressure in the air pockets
of the multicontour and drive-dynamic
seats*. You can readjust all of the settings
made by PRE-SAFE
®.If the seat belts do not release:

Adjust the backrest or seat slightly to
the rear until the seat belt tension is di-
minished.
The locking mechanism releases.
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.
i
If the closing procedure of the tilt/sliding
sunroof or power windows is blocked, the
tilt/sliding sunroof or power windows will stop
and open slightly.
!
When moving the seat, make sure there are
no items in the footwell or behind the seats. Oth-
erwise you could damage the seats.

59 Safety and Security
Occupant safety
Infant and child restraint systems
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 have special seat belt retractors
for secure fastening 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 belt retractor is acti-
vated. The seat belt is now locked. Push
down on child restraint to take up any
slack.To deactivate, release seat belt buckle and
let seat belt retract completely. To deacti-
vate the special seat belt retractor for the
front passenger seat, the front passenger
seat must be in the most backward posi-
tion. The seat belt can again be used in the
usual manner.
The use of infant or child restraints is re-
quired by law in all 50 states, the District
of Columbia, the U.S. territories and all Ca-
nadian provinces.
Warning!
G
Do not leave children unattended in the ve-
hicle, even if they are secured in a child re-
straint 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 example, 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
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
Warning!
G
Never release the seat belt buckle while the
vehicle is in motion, since the special seat
belt retractor will be deactivated.i
Information on child seats with mounting fit-
tings for tether anchorages (
page 62).
For information on LATCH-type child seat
mounts (
page 63).

60 Safety and SecurityOccupant safetyInfants and small children should be seat-
ed in an appropriate infant or child re-
straint system properly secured in
accordance with the manufacturer’s in-
structions for the child restraint, that com-
plies with U.S. Federal Motor Vehicle
Safety Standards 213 and 225 and Canadi-
an Motor Vehicle Safety Standards 213
and 210.2.
A statement by the child restraint manu-
facturer of compliance with these stan-
dards can be found on the instruction label
on the restraint and in the instruction man-
ual 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 af-
fixed to the inside of the vehicle and to
infant or child restraints.
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.
The infant or child restraint must be properly
secured with the vehicle’s seat belt, the seat
belt and top tether strap, or lower anchors
and top tether strap, fully in accordance
with the child seat manufacturer’s
instructions.
Occupants, especially children, should al-
ways sit as upright as possible, properly use
the seat belts and use an appropriately sized
infant restraint, toddler restraint, or booster
seat recommended for the size and weight
of the child. Children can be killed or seri-
ously injured by an inflating air bag. Note the
following important information when cir-
cumstances require you to place a child in
the front passenger seat:

Your vehicle is equipped with air bag
technology designed to turn off the front
passenger front air bag in your vehicle
when the OCS senses the weight of a
typical 12-month-old child or less along
with the weight of a standard
appropriate child restraint on the front
passenger seat.

61 Safety and Security
Occupant safety


A child in a rear-facing child restraint on
the front passenger seat will be serious-
ly injured or even killed if the front
passenger front air bag inflates in a
collision which could occur under some
circumstances, even with the air bag
technology installed in your vehicle. The
only means to completely eliminate this
risk is to never place a child in a rear-fac-
ing child restraint in the front seat. We
therefore strongly recommend that you
always place a child in a rear-facing
child restraint in the back seat.


If you must install a rear-facing child
restraint on the front passenger seat be-
cause circumstances require you to do
so, make sure that the 59
indicator lamp is illuminated, indicating
that the front passenger front air bag is
deactivated. Should the
59indicator lamp not illu-
minate or go out while the restraint is in-
stalled, please check installation.
Periodically check the 59
indicator lamp while driving to make
sure the lamp is illuminated. If the
59indicator lamp goes out
or remains out, do not transport a child
on the front passenger seat until the
system has been repaired.
A child in a rear-facing child restraint on
the front passenger seat will be serious-
ly injured or even killed if the front pas-
senger front air bag inflates.


If you have to place a child in a for-
ward-facing child restraint on the front
passenger seat, move the seat as far
back as possible, use the proper child
restraint recommended for the age, size
and weight of the child, and secure child
restraint with the vehicle’s seat belt ac-
cording to the child seat manufacturer’s
instructions. For children larger than the
typical 12-month-old child, the front
passenger front air bag may or may not
be activated (
page 48).
Warning!
G
Infants and small children should never
share a seat belt with another occupant.
During an accident, they 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/or the child is not properly secured in
the child restraint.
Children too big for a toddler restraint must
ride in seats using regular seat belts. Posi-
tion shoulder belt across chest and shoul-
der, not face or neck. A booster seat may be
necessary to achieve proper seat belt posi-
tioning for children over 41 lbs until they
reach a height where a lap/shoulder belt fits
properly without a booster.


62 Safety and SecurityOccupant safety
Installation of infant and child restraint
systems
This vehicle is equipped with tether an-
chorages for a top tether strap at each of
the rear seating positions.
1Cover of top anchorage ring
Bring the rear power seat backrest* to
a fully upright position (
page 375).

Remove cover1 from anchorage ring.

Store cover1 in a convenient place
(e.g. glove box).

Guide tether strap between head re-
straint and top of seat back.Head restraints must be positioned such
that the top tether strap can pass freely
between the head restraint and top of seat
back.

Make sure the tether strap is not
twisted.
2Hook
3Anchorage ring

Securely fasten hook2, which is part
of the tether strap, to anchorage
ring3.
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 children are secured in a
child restraint system. Unsupervised chil-
dren in a child restraint system may use
vehicle equipment and may cause an acci-
dent and/or serious personal injury.
i
For safety reasons, make sure hook2 has
attached to ring3 beyond the safety catch, as
illustrated.


63 Safety and Security
Occupant safety
Once the top tether anchorage hook is at-
tached, the child restraint itself can be se-
cured. Tighten the top tether strap
according to the child restraint manufac-
turer’s instructions. 
Reinstall cover after removing the
tether strap.Child seat anchors – LATCH type
This vehicle is equipped with two LATCH
(L
ower A
nchors and T
ethers for CH
ildren)
type anchors (at each of the rear seats) for
the installation of a LATCH child seat with
the matching anchor fittings.
If you have not installed a child seat, the
LATCH anchors are hidden by an uphol-
stery cover.
1Indicates the position of the anchors
2Anchors
3Upholstery cover
4Installation device
Warning!
G
Vehicles with rear power seats*: Never ad-
just the rear seat position after installing the
child restraint. Adjusting the rear seat posi-
tion after installing the child restraint could
damage the child restraint and/or introduce
undesirable slack or tension into the seat
belt and loosen or misposition the child re-
straint, lessening the effectiveness of the
child restraint and thus increasing the
chance or severity of injury in an accident.
Warning!
G
Children too big for a toddler restraint must
ride in seats using regular seat belts. Posi-
tion shoulder belt across chest and shoul-
der, not face or neck. A booster seat may be
necessary to achieve proper seat belt posi-
tioning for children over 41 lbs until they
reach a height where a lap/shoulder belt fits
properly without a booster.
Install child seat according to manufactur-
er’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.
An incorrectly mounted child seat may come
loose during an accident which could result
in serious injury or death to the child.
Damaged or impact damaged child seats or
child seat mounting fittings must be re-
placed.
Do not leave children unattended in the ve-
hicle, even if the children are secured in a
child restraint system.