2011 MERCEDES-BENZ E-CLASS SALOON warning light

Automatic child sea
trecognition on the
front-passenger seat If your vehicle does no
thave automatic child
seat recognition 1
on the front-passenger
seat, this is indicated by a special sticker. The
sticker is affixed to the side of the dashboard
on the front-passenger side. The sticker is
visible when you open the front-passenger
door. The front-passenger seat sensor system for
child restraint systems detects whether a
special Mercedes-Ben
zchild seat with a
transponder for automatic child seat recog-
nition has been fitted. In this case, the 4
PASSENGER AIRBAG OFF indicator lamp :
lights up. The front-passenger front airbag is
disabled. G
WARNING
If the 4 PASSENGER AIRBAG OFF indica-
tor lamp does not light up when the child
restraint system is fitted, the front-passenger airbag has not been disabled. If the front-
passenger airbag deploys, the child could be
seriously or even fatally injured.
Proceed as follows:
R do not use a rearward-facing child restraint
system on the front-passenger seat.
R fit a rearward-facing child restraint system
on a suitable rear seat.
or
R only use a forward-facing child restraint
system on the front-passenger seat and
move the front-passenger seat to the rear-
most position.
R have the automatic child seat recognition
checked at a qualified specialist workshop.
To ensure that the automatic child seat rec-
ognition on the front-passenger seat func-
tions/communicates correctly, never place
objects, e.g. a cushion, under the child
restraint system. The entire base of the child
restraint system must always rest on the seat
cushion. An incorrectly fitted child restraint
system cannot perform its intended protec-
tive function in the event of an accident, and
could lead to injuries.
i If the front-passenger front airbag is dis-
abled by the automatic child seat recogni-
tion, the following remain enabled on the
front-passenger side:
R the sidebag
R the pelvisbag
R the windowbag
R the belt tensioner
1 Vehicles without automatic child seat recognition on the front-passenger seat: if you turn the key to position
2int he ignition lock, the 4PASSENGER AIRBAG OFF indicator lamp lights up briefly but has no function.
It does not indicate that there is automatic child seat recognition on the front-passenger seat. 56
Children in the vehicleSafety

G
WARNING
Do not place electronic devices on the front-
passenger seat, e.g.:
R laptops, when switched on
R mobile phones
R cards with transponders, e.g. ski passes or
access cards
Signals from electronic equipment can cause
interference in the automatic child seat rec-
ognitio nsensor system. This can lead to a
system malfunction. This may cause the
4 PASSENGER AIRBAG OFF indicator
lamp to light up without there being a child
seat with transponders for automatic child
seat recognition fitted. The front-passenger
airbag will not then deploy during an accident.
It is also possible that the 6SRS warning
lamp lights up and/or the 4PASSENGER
AIRBAG OFF indicator lamp does not light up
briefly when you turn the key in the ignition
lock to position 2.
ISOFIX child seat securing system for
the rear seats ISOFIX is a standardised securing system for
specially designed child restraint systems on
the rear seats. Securing rings for two ISOFIX
child restraint systems are fitted on the left
and right of the rear seats. G
WARNING
Ac hild restraint system secured by the ISOFIX
child seat securing system does not provide
sufficient protection for children weighing
more than 22 kg. For this reason, do not
secure children weighing more than 22 kg in
a child restraint system secured by the ISOFIX
child seat securing system. If the child weighs
more than 22 kg, secure the child restraint
system using a three-point seat belt. G
WARNING
The child restraint system cannot perform its
protective function if it is not correctly fitted
to a suitable vehicle seat. The child cannot be restrained in the event of an accident, heavy
braking or sudden changes of direction. The
child could be seriously or even fatally injured.
For this reason, when fitting a child restraint
system, observe the manufacturer's installa-
tion instructions and the correct use of the
child restraint system.
For reasons of safety, only use child restraint
systems with the ISOFIX child seat securing
system on the rear seats.
We recommend that you use the ISOFIX child
restraint systems that have been recommen-
ded for Mercedes-Benz.
An incorrectly fitted child restraint system
could come loose and seriously or even fatally
injure the child or other vehicle occupants.
When fitting the child restraint system, always
make sure that it is engaged correctly in the
securing rings on both sides.
G
WARNING
Please note that if child restraint systems, or
their retaining systems, are damaged or sub-
jected to a load in an accident, they may not
be able to provide their protective function.
This could result in serious or even fatal inju-
ries to the secured child in the event of an
accident, heavy braking or a sudden change
in direction.
For this reason, have child restraint systems
and their anchorages which have been dam-
aged or subjected to a load in an accident
checked immediately at a qualified specialist
workshop.
! When fitting the child restraint system,
make sure that the seat belt for the centre
seat does not get trapped. Otherwise, the
seat belt could be damaged. Children in the vehicle
57Safety Z

Problems with child seat recognition
Problem Possible causes/consequences and
M Solutions
The
4 PASSENGER
AIRBAG OFF indicator
lamp on the centre con-
sole is lit. As
pecial Mercedes-Benz child seat with a transponder for auto-
matic child seat recognition has been fitted to the front-passenger
seat. The front-passenger airbag has therefore been disabled as
desired. G
Risk of injury
There is no child seat fitted to the front-passenger seat. Automatic
child seat recognition is malfunctioning.
It is also possible that the 6SRS warning lamp lights up and/
or the 4PASSENGER AIRBAG OFF indicator lamp does not light
up briefly when you switch the ignition on.
X Remove electronic equipment from the front-passenger seat,
e.g.
R
laptop
R mobile phone
R cards with transponders, such as ski passes or access cards
If the 4 PASSENGER AIRBAG OFF indicator lamp is still lit:
X Visit a qualified specialist workshop. Integrated child seat
Important safety notes
G
WARNING
To reduce the risk of serious or even fatal
injury to the child in the event of a sudden
change in direction, braking or an accident:
R you must follow the manufacturer's instal-
lation instructions for the child seat when
fitting the integrated child seat (ICS) pad-
ded play table and side head restraint and
when fastening the seat belt.
R do not modify the integrated child seat, the
ICS padded play table or the side head
restraint. Do not use protective covers.
R make sure that the ICS padded play table
and the side head restraints do not become trapped or damaged. This could happen
when you
-
close the doors
- adjust the seat
- store the ICS padded play table and the
side head restraints
- transport heavy objects
R replace the integrated child seat, the pad-
ded play table and the side head restraints
if these were damaged or subjected to
heavy loads during an accident.
R note: children who weigh less than
12.5 kg require a different child restraint
system. Information about other child
restraint systems is available from any
Mercedes-Benz Service Centre.
R the vehicle's rear seat backrest must be
locked in position. 60
Children in the vehicleSafety

Weight
catego-
ries Size cate-
gory Manufac-
turer Type Approval
number
(E1 ...) Order
number Auto-
matic
chil
dseat
recogni-
tion Group 0:
up to
10 kg
E – – – – –
Group 0+:
up to
13 kg
E Britax
Römer BABY SAFE
ISOFIX
PLUS 04 301146 B6 6 86
8224 No
D – – – – –
C – – – – –
Group I:
9to 18 kg
D – – – – –
C – – – – –
B – – – – –
B1 Britax
Römer DUO PLUS 03 301133
04 301133 A000 970
11 00 Yes
A – – – – –
Child-proof locks
Important safety notes G
WARNING
Activate the child-proof locks for the rear
doors and the override switch for the rear
windows when children are travelling in the
vehicle. Otherwise, the children could open
doors or side windows while th evehicle is in
motion and injure themselves or others. G
WARNING
Do not leave children unsupervised in the
vehicle, even if they are secured in a child
restraint system. They could injure them-
selves on parts of the vehicle. They could also
be seriously or even fatally injured by pro-
longed exposure to extreme heat or cold. Do not expose the child restraint system to
direct sunlight. Parts of the child restraint sys-
tem could heat up and the child could burn
herself/himself on them.
If a child opens a door, the child or other per-
sons could be injured as a result. They could
get out and injure themselves or be injured by
a passing vehicle.
Also observe the notes on HOLD .Relevant
information can be found in the index.
Child-proof locks for the rear doors You secure each door individually with the
child-proof locks on the rear doors.
Adoor
secured with a child-proof lock cannot be
opened from inside the vehicle. When the
vehicle is unlocked, the door can be opened
from the outside. 68
Children in the vehicleSafety

or BAS PLUS, the brake lamps flash rapidly.
In this way, traffic travelling behind you is
warned in an even more noticeable manner.
If you brake sharply from a speed of more
than 70 km/htoa standstill, the hazard warn-
ing lamps are activated automatically. If the
brakes are applied again, the brake lamps
light up continuously. The hazard warning
lamps switch off automatically if you travel
faster than 10 km/h .You can also switch off
the hazard warning lamps using the hazard
warning switch button (Y page 125).ESP
®
(Electronic Stability Program)
Important safety notes i
See the "Important safety notes" section
(Y page 69).
If ESP ®
detects that the vehicle is deviating
from the direction desired by the driver, one
or more wheels are braked to stabilise the
vehicle. If necessary, the engine output is also
modified to keep the vehicle on the desired
course within physical limits. ESP ®
assists
the driver when pulling away on wet or slip-
pery roads. ESP ®
can also stabilise the vehi-
cle during braking.
If ESP ®
intervenes, the ÷ESP®
warning
lamp flashes in the instrument cluster. G
WARNING
If the ÷ warning lamp in the instrument
cluster flashes, proceed as follows:
R do not deactivate ESP ®
under any circum-
stances.
R only depress the accelerator pedal as far as
necessary when pulling away.
R adapt your driving style to suit the prevail-
ing road and weather conditions.
Otherwise, the vehicle could go into a skid.
ESP ®
cannot reduce the risk of an accident if
you drive too fast. ESP ®
cannot override the
laws of physics. !
Switch the ignition off when:
R the parking brake is being tested using a
dynamometer
R the vehicle is being towed with the front/
rear axle raised
Application of the brakes by ESP ®
may oth-
erwise destroy the brake system.
! Do not tow vehicles with 4MATIC with the
front or rear axle raised.
i Only use wheels with the recommended
tyre sizes. Only then will ESP ®
function
properly.
ETS/4ETS (Electronic Traction System) Traction control is part of ESP
®
.
Traction control brakes the drive wheels indi-
vidually if they spin. This enables you to pull
away and accelerate on slippery surfaces, for
example if the road surface is slippery on one
side. On vehicles with 4MATIC, more drive
torque is also transferred to the wheel or
wheels with traction.
Traction control remains active if you deacti-
vate ESP ®
. G
WARNING
Traction control cannot reduce the risk of an
accident if you drive too fast. Traction control
cannot override the laws of physics.
Deactivating/activating ESP ®
(except
AMG vehicles) ESP
®
is activated automatically when the
engine is started.
i Vehicles with ECO start/stop function:
the ECO start/stop function switches the
engine off automatically when the vehicle
comes to a stop. The engine starts auto-
matically when the driver wants to pull
away again. ESP ®
remains in its previously
selected status. Example: if ESP ®
was
deactivated before the engine was 72
Driving safety systemsSafety

switched off, ESP
®
remains deactivated
when the engine is switched on again.
It may be best to deactivate ESP ®
in the fol-
lowing situations:
R when using snow chains
R in deep snow
R on sand or gravel G
WARNING
Activate ESP ®
as soon as the situations
described above no longer apply.E SP®
will
otherwise not be able to stabilise the vehicle
if the vehicle starts to skid or a wheel starts
to spin.
If you deactivate ESP ®
:
R ESP ®
no longer improves driving stability.
R the engine's torque is no longer limited, and
the drive wheels can spin. The spinning of
the wheels results in a cutting action, which
provides bette rgrip.
R traction control is still activated.
R ESP ®
still provides support when you
brake.
If ESP ®
is deactivated and one or more wheels
start to spin, the ÷ESP®
warning lamp in
the instrument cluster flashes. In such situa-
tions, ESP ®
will not stabilise the vehicle.
X To deactivate:(Y page 241).
The å ESP®
OFF warning lamp in the
instrument cluster lights up. G
WARNING
ESP ®
is deactivated if the åwarning lamp
in the instrument cluster lights up continu-
ously when the engine is running.
If the ÷ warning lamp and åwarning
lamp are lit continuously, ESP ®
is not availa-
ble due to a malfunction.
There is an increased risk of yourv ehicle skid-
ding in certain situations.
You should always adapt your driving style to
suit the prevailing road and weather condi-
tions. X
To activate:(Y page 241).
The å ESP®
OFF warning lamp in the
instrument cluster goes out.
Deactivating/activating ESP ®
(AMG
vehicles) Activating/deactivating SPORT handling
mode
ESP
®
is activated automatically when the
engine is started.
i Vehicles with ECO start/stop function:
the ECO start/stop function switches the
engine off automatically when the vehicle
comes to a stop. When pulling away again,
the engine starts automatically. ESP ®
remains in its previously selected status.
Example: if ESP ®
was deactivated before
the engine was switched off, ESP ®
remains
deactivated when the engine is switched on
again.
It may be best to activate SPORT handling
mode in the following situations:
R when using snow chains
R in deep snow
R on sand or gravel
Otherwise, you should only use SPORT han-
dling mode on designated race circuits. G
WARNING
Deactivate SPORT handling mode and acti-
vate ESP ®
as soon as the situations described
above no longer apply. Otherwise, SPORT
handling mode will only be able to stabilise
the vehicle to a limited degree if the vehicle
starts to skid or a wheel starts to spin.
When SPORT handling mode is activated:
R ESP ®
only improves driving stability to a
limited degree.
R the engine's torque is restricted to a limited
degree and the drive wheels can spin. The
spinning of the wheels results in a cutting
action, which provides better grip. Driving safet
ysystems
73Safety Z

R
traction control is still activated.
R ESP ®
still provides support when you brake
firmly.
If SPORT handling mode is activated and one
or more wheels start to spin, the ÷ESP®
warning lamp in the instrument cluster
flashes. ESP ®
only stabilises the vehicle to a
limited degree. X
To activate: briefly press button :.
The M SPORT handling mode warning
lamp in the instrument cluste rlights up.
The SPORT handling mode message
appears in the multifunction display.
X To deactivate: briefly press button :.
The M SPORT handling mode warning
lamp in the instrumen tcluster goes out.
Deactivating/activating ESP ®
ESP ®
is activated automatically when the
engine is started.
i Vehicles with ECO start/stop function:
the ECO start/stop function switches the
engine off automatically when the vehicle
comes to a stop. When pulling away again,
the engine starts automatically. ESP ®
remains in its previously selected status.
Example: if ESP ®
was deactivated before
the engine was switched off, ESP ®
remains
deactivated when the engine is switched on
again. It may be best to deactivate ESP
®
in the fol-
lowing situations:
R when using snow chains
R in deep snow
R on sand or gravel G
WARNING
Activate ESP ®
as soon as the situations
described above no longer apply. ESP ®
will
otherwise not be able to stabilise the vehicle
if the vehicle starts to skid or a wheel starts
to spin.
If you deactivate ESP ®
:
R ESP ®
no longer improves driving stability.
R the engine's torque is no longer limited and
the drive wheels are able to spin .The spin-
ning of the wheels results in a cutting
action, which provides better grip.
R traction control is still activated.
R PRE-SAFE ®
is no longer available; it is also
not activated if you brake firmly and ESP ®
intervenes.
R PRE-SAFE ®
Brake is no longer available;
nor is it activated if you brake firmly and
ESP ®
intervenes.
R ESP ®
still provides support when you brake
firmly.
If ESP ®
is deactivated and one or more wheels
start to spin, the ÷ESP®
warning lamp in
the instrumentc luster does not flash. In such
situations, ESP ®
will not stabilise the vehicle. 74
Driving safety systemsSafety

X
To deactivate: press button:until the
å ESP®
OFF warning lamp lights up in
the instrument cluster.
The ÷OFF message appears in the mul-
tifunctio ndisplay. G
WARNING
ESP ®
is deactivated if the åwarning lamp
in the instrument cluster lights up continu-
ously when the engine is running.
If the ÷ warning lamp and åwarning
lamp are lit continuously, ESP ®
is not availa-
ble due to a malfunction.
There is an increased risk of your vehicle skid-
ding in certain situations.
You should always adapt your driving style to
suit the prevailing road and weathe rcondi-
tions.
X To activate: briefly press button :.
The å ESP®
OFF warning lamp in the
instrument cluster goes out. The ÷ONmessage appears in the multifunction dis-
play.
ESP ®
trailer stabilisation If your vehicle/trailer combination begins to
lurch, you can only stabilise the vehicle/
trailer combination by depressing the brake
firmly.
In this situation, ESP ®
assists you and can
detect if the vehicle/trailer combination
begins to lurch. ESP ®
slows the vehicle down
by braking and limiting the engine output until
the vehicle/trailer combination has stabi-
lised.
Trailer stabilisation is active above speeds of
about 65 km/h. G
WARNING
If road and weather conditions are poor,
trailer stabilisation will not be able to prevent
the trailer from swerving and will thus be
unable to reduce the risk of an accident .Trail- ers with a high centre of gravity can tip over
before ESP
®
can detect this.
Trailer stabilisation does not work if ESP ®
is
deactivated or disabled because of a mal-
function. EBD (electronic brake force distribu-
tion)
i Observe the "Important safety notes" sec-
tion (Y page 69).
EBD monitors and controls the brake pres-
sure on the rear wheels to improve driving
stability while braking. G
WARNING
If EBD has malfunctioned, the braking system
remains available with full brake boosting
effect. However, the rear wheels can still lock,
e.g. under full braking. This could cause you
to lose control of yourv ehicle and cause an
accident. You should therefore adapt your
driving style to the differen thandling charac-
teristics. ADAPTIVE BRAKE
ADAPTIVE BRAKE enhances braking safety
and offers increased braking comfort. In addi-
tion to th ebraking function, ADAPTIVE BRAKE
also has the HOLD function (Y page 194) and
hill start assist (Y page 158). For further
information, see Driving tips (Y page 178). PRE-SAFE
®
Brake
PRE-SAFE ®
Brake is only available in vehicles
with DISTRONIC PLUS.
i Observe the "Important safety notes" sec-
tion (Y page 69).
PRE-SAFE ®
Brake can help you to minimise
the risk of a frontal collision with a vehicle
ahead or reduce the effects of such a colli-
sion. If PRE-SAFE ®
Brake has detected a risk Driving safety systems
75Safety Z