2011 MERCEDES-BENZ M-CLASS SUV Owners Manual

38

Usefu
linfor mation .............................. 40
Occupant safety .................................. 40
Child renint he vehicle ........................ 50
Driving safety systems .......................60
Anti- theft systems .............................. 68 39Safet
y

Usefu
linfor mati on
i This Owner's Manual describes all models
and all standard and optional equipment
available to your vehicle at the time of pub-
lication of the Owner's Manual. Country-
specific deviation sare possible .Please
not ethat your vehicle ma ynot be equipped
with all featur es described. This also
applies to safety-releva ntsystems and
functions.
i Please read the information on qualified
specialist workshops (Y page 24).Occupant safety
Important safet
ynotes
Seat belts, together wit hthe Supp lemental
Restrain tSyste m–S RS (Y page 41), are
complementary, co-ordinated restrain tsys-
tems. They reduce the risk of injur yinspe-
cific, pre-defined types of accident situations
and thereby increase occupant safety .How-
ever ,seat belts and airbags generally do not
protec tagainst objec tspenetratin gthe vehi-
cle from the outside.
To ensur ethat the restraint system scan
deliver their full potential protection, make
sure that:
R the seat and head restraint are adjusted
properly (Y page 92).
R the seat belt has been fastened properly
(Y page 47).
R the airbags can inflate unrestricted if
deplo yed (Y page42).
R the steering whee lisadjusted properly
(Y page 92).
R the restraint systems have not been modi-
fied.
i An airba gincrease sthe protection of
vehicle occupants wearing aseat belt. As
such, they are only an additional restraint
system which complemen ts,b ut does not
replace, the seat belt. All vehicle occupants must wear their seat belt correctly at all
times, even if the vehicle is equipped with
airbags. The airbags are not deplo yed inall
types of accidents. For example, if the pro-
tective capacity of correctly fastened seat
belts is not increased by deplo yingthe air-
bags, the airbags will not deploy. Airbag
deploymen tonly provides incre asedpro-
tection if th eseatb eltisw ornc orrect ly
because:
R the sea tbelt helps to keep the vehicle
occupan tinthe best position in relation
to the airbag.
R in ah ead-on collision ,for example, the
seat belt prevents the vehicle occupant
from being propelled towards the point
of impact .Itcan thus reduce the risk of
injury.
In accidents in which an airbag is deployed,
it provides increased protection only if the
seat belt is worn correctly. G
WARNING
If service work is not carried out correctly, the
operating safety of your vehicle may be affec-
ted. This could cause you to lose control of
your vehicle and cause an accident. More-
over, the safety systems may no longer be
able to protect you or others as they are
designed to do.
Always have service work carried out at a
qualified specialist workshop. The workshop
must have the necessary specialist knowl-
edge and tools to carr yout the work required.
Mercedes-Ben zrecom mends that you use a
Mercedes-Benz Service Centre for this pur-
pose. In particular, work relevant to safety or
on safety-related systems must be carried out
at aq ualified specialist workshop. 40
Occupant safetySafety

G
WARNING
Modifications to or work performe dincor-
rectly on the following parts can result in the
restraint systems not functioning as intended:
R the restraint system, consisting of seat
belts and thei ranchorage points, bel tten-
sioners, belt for celimiter sand airbags
R the wiring
R networked electronic systems
Airbags and belt tensioners could fail to
deploy or be trigge redinana ccident despite
the deceleration force being sufficient to trig-
ger the systems, or could be triggered unin-
tentionally. For this reason, never make any
modifications to the restrain tsystems.
Therefore, you must not tamper with elec-
tronic components or their software. SRS (Supplemen
talRestraint System)
Introduction SRS consists of:
R
the 6 SRS warning lamp
R airbags
R airba gcontrol unit (with crash sensors)
R belt tensioner sfor the front seat belts and
the outer seat belts in the rear
R belt force limiters
SRS reduces the risk of occupan ts coming
into contact with the vehicle's interio rinthe
even tofana ccident. It can als oreduce the
effect of the forces to which occupant sare
subjected during an accident.
SRS warnin glamp SRS functions are checked regularly when
you switch on the ignition and when the
engine is running. Therefore ,malfunctions
can be detected in good time.
The 6 SRS warning lamp in the instrument
cluster lights up when the ignition is switched
on. It goes out no later than afew seconds
after the engine is star ted. G
WARNING
If SRS is malfunctioning, individual systems
may be activated unintentionally or may not
be triggered in the even tofanaccident with
ah igh rate of vehicle deceleration.
Am alfunction has occurred if:
R the 6 SRS warning lamp does not light
up when the ignition is switched on.
R the engine is runnin gand the 6SRS
warning lamp doe snot go out after afew
seconds.
R the engine is runnin gand the 6SRS
warning lamp lights up again.
In this case, have SRS checked immediately
at aq ualified specialist workshop .Mercedes-
Benz recommends that you use aMercedes-
Benz Servic eCentr efor this purpose.
In particular ,work relevant to safet yoron
safety-related systems must be carried out at
aq ualified specialist workshop.
Triggering of belt tensioners, belt force
limiters and airbags During the first stage of
acollision ,the airbag
con trol unit evaluates important physical
data relatin gtovehicle deceleration or accel-
eration, such as:
R duration
R direction
R magnitude
Based on the evaluation of this data, the air-
bag control unit pre-emptively triggers the
belt tensioner sinthe first stage.
i The front belt tensioner scan only be trig-
gered if the seat belt tongues on the front
seats are correctly engaged in the seat belt
buckles.
If there is an even higher rate of vehicle decel-
eration or acceleration in alongitudinal direc-
tion ,the front airbags ar ealso deployed.
Your vehicle has adaptive, two-stage front air-
bags. The airbag control unit evaluates vehi-
cle deceleration or acceleration in the event Occupant safety
41Safety Z

of
ac ollision .Inthe first deploymen tstage,
the front airbag is filled with enoug hpropel-
lan tgas to reduce the risk of injuries. The
front airbag is fully deployed if asecond
deployment threshold is exceeded within a
few milliseconds.
The belt tensioner and airbag triggering
thresholds are variable and are adapted to the
rat eofd eceleration or acceleration of the
vehicle. This process is pre-emptive in nature.
The triggerin gprocess mus ttake place in
good time at the start of the collision.
i Airbags are not deployed in all types of
accidents. Also, not all airbags are
deployed together in an accident .The dif-
ferent airbag system swork independently
of each other.
How the airbag system work sisdeter-
mined by the severity of the collision detec-
ted, especially the vehicle deceleration or
acceleration, and the apparent type of acci-
dent:
R head-on collision
R side impact
R overturn
The rat eofvehicle deceleration or accelera-
tion and the direction of the force are essen-
tially determined by:
R the distribution of forces during the colli-
sion
R the collision angle
R the deformation characteristics of the vehi-
cle
R the characteristics of the object with which
the vehicle has collided
Factors which can only be seen and measured
after acollision has occurred do not play a
decisive role in the deployment of an airbag,
nor do they provide an indication of airbag
deployment.
The vehicle ma ybedeformed significantly,
e.g. the bonnet or the wing, without an airbag
being deployed. This is the case if only parts
which are relatively easily deformed are affec- ted and the rat
eofdeceleration is not high.
Conversely, airbags may be deployed even
though the vehicle suffers only minor defor-
mation. This is the case if, for example, very
rigid vehicle part ssuch as longitudinal body
members are hit, and sufficient deceleration
occurs as aresult. Airbags
Important safety notes Airbag deployment slows down and restricts
the movemen
tofthe vehicle occupant.
If the airbags ar edeployed, you will hear a
bang and asmall amount of powder may also
be released. Only in rare cases will th ebang
affect your hearing. The powde rthat is
released generally does not constitute a
healt hhazard. The 6SRS warning lamp
lights up.
The airbag installation locations are identified
by the AIRBA Gsymbol. G
WARNING
Airbags provide additional protection; they
are not, however, asubstitute for seat belts.
Observe the following notes to reduce the risk
of serious or even fatal injury caused by airbag
deployment:
R all vehicle occupants –inparticular ,preg-
nant women –must wear their seat belt
correctly at all times and lean back against
the backrest, which should be positioned
as close to the vertical as possible. The
head restraint must support the back of the
head at about eye level.
R always secur echildren less than 1.50 mtall
and under 12 years of age in suitable child
restraint systems.
R all vehicle occupant smust select aseat
position that is as far away from the airbag
as possible. The driver' sseat position must
allow the vehicle to be driven safely .The
driver's chest should be as fa raway from 42
Occupant safetySafety

the centre of the driver's airba
gcover as
possible.
R move the fr ont-passenge rseatasf ar back
as possible. Thi sisespecially important if
yo uh aves ecure dac hild in achild restraint
syste mont he front-passenger seat.
R vehicle occupants –inparticular ,children
–m ust not lean their heads into the area of
the window in which the sidebag/window-
bag is deployed.
R rearward-facing child restraint systems
must not be fit tedtot he front-passenger
seat unless the front-passenger airbag has
been disabled. On the front-passenger
seat, the front-passenger airbag is disabled
if ac hild rest raint system with atrans-
ponde rfor automatic child seat recognition
is fit tedtot he front-passenger seat in a
vehicle equipped with automatic chil dseat
recognition. The 4PASSENGE RAIRBAG
OF Findicator lamp must be continuously
lit.
If the front-passenger sea tofyour vehicle
does not have automatic child seat recog-
nition ,oryour rearward-facing child
rest raint system does not have automatic
child seat recognition, children must be
secured in achild rest raint system on a
suitable seat in the rear. If you secure a
forward-facing child restraint system to the
front-passenger seat, you must move the
front-passenger seat as far back as possi-
ble.
R make sure there are no heavy or sharp-
edged objects in the pockets of clothing.
R do not lean forwards, e.g. over the cover of
the driver's/front-passenger airbag, partic-
ularly when the vehicle is in motion.
R do not put your feet on the dashboard.
R only hold the steerin gwheel on the outside.
This allow sthe airbag to be fully deployed.
You coul dbeinjured if the airbag is
deploye dand you are holding the inside of
the steerin gwheel. R
do not lean on the doors from insid ethe
vehicle.
R make sur ethat ther eare no people ,ani-
mals or obje ctsb etween the vehicle occu-
pants and the area where the airbags are
deployed.
R do not place any objects between the seat
back rest and the door.
R do not hang any har dobjects, for example,
coat hangers, on the grab handles or coat
hooks.
R do not atta chaccessories, e.g. cup holders,
to the doors.
It is not possible to rule out arisk of injury
being caused by an airbag, due to the high
speed at which the airbag must be deployed. G
WARNING
Airbag functionality can only be assured if the
following parts are not covered and no badges
or stickers are attached to them:
R padded steerin gwheel boss
R kneebag cover below the steerin gcolumn
R front-passenger airbag cover
R outer side of seat bolsters G
WAR
NING
As mall amo untofp owder is released when
an air bagisd eployed. The powder could
cause short-term breathing difficulties in peo-
ple with asthma or other respirator yprob-
lems.
In order to prevent bre athing difficulties ,you
should leave the vehicle as soon as it is safe
to do so. You can also open the window to
allow fresh air to enter the interior .The pow-
der does not constitute ahealth hazar dand
doe snot indicat ethat ther eisaf ire in the
vehicle. G
WARNING
The airbag parts are hot after the airbag has
been deployed. Do not touch them as you
could burn yourself. Occupant safety
43Safety
Z

Have the airbags replaced at
aqualified spe-
cialist workshop .Otherwi se,o ccupants are
not protecte dbythe airbags in the event of
anothe raccident.
Front airbags Th
ef ront airbags increase protection for the
driver's and front-p assenger' sheada nd
chest. Driver'
sairbag :deploy sinfront of the
st ee ring wheel; front-p assenger airbag ;
deploys in front of and above the glove com-
partment.
They are deployed:
R at the start of an acciden twith ahigh rate
of vehicle acceleration or deceleration in a
longitudinal direction
R if the system determines that airbag
deploymen tcan offer additional protec tion
to that provide dbytheseat belt
R if th eseat belt is fastened
R independently of other airbag sinthe vehi-
cle
If the vehicle overturns ,the front airbags are
generally not deployed. If the system detec ts
ah igh rate of vehicle deceleration in alongi-
tudinal direction, the front airbags are
deployed.
Front-passenger airbag ;is only activated if
the system determines that the front-
passenger seat is occupied. The 4
PASSENGER AIRBA GOFF indicato rlamp on
the centre console is not lit (Y page 52).
This means that achild restraint system with- out automatic chil
dseat recognition has been
fitted or that achild restraint system with
automatic chil dseat recognition is incorrectly
fitted.
! Do not place heavy object sonthe front-
passenger seat. The system ma ythen
detec tthat the seat is occupied and if there
is an accident ,the restraint system sonthe
front-passenger side could be deployed.
Hav erestraint system sthat hav ebeen trig-
gered replaced.
Driver' skneebag The driver'
skneebag increases protection of
the driver against:
R knee injuries
R thig hinjuries
R lowe rleg injuries Driver's kneebag
:is always deployed along
with the driver' sairbag and inflates under-
neath the steering column.
Sidebags G
WARNING
If you wish to use seat covers, Mercedes-Benz
recommends that, for safety reasons, you
only use seat cover sthat hav ebeen approved
for Mercedes-Ben zvehicles.
The seat cover smust have aspecial tear seam
for sidebags. Otherwise, the sidebags cannot
deploy correctly and would fail to provide the
intended protection in the event of an acci-
dent .Appropriate seat cover scan be 44
Occupant safetySafety

obtained from
aMercedes-Benz Service
Centre. G
WARNING
Sensor stocontrol the airbags are located in
the doors. Therefore, do not mak eany modi-
fications to the doors or doo rtrim, e.g .retro-
fit ting loudspeakers. Damage to the doors
can affect operation of the sidebags.
Whe ndeployed, the sidebags offer additional
protection for the thora xand the pelvis of the
vehicl eoccupants on the sid eofthe vehicle
on whic hthe impac toccurs. However, they
do not prote ctthe:
R head
R neck
R arms Fron
tsidebags :and rear sidebags ;
deploy nex ttothe outer seat cushions.
The sidebags ar edeployed:
R on the side on which an impact occurs
R at the star tofanaccident with ahigh rate
of lateral vehicle deceleration or accelera-
tion, e.g. in aside impact
R independently of seat belt use
R independently of the front airbags
R independently of the belt tensioners
If the vehicle overturns, the sidebags are gen-
erally not deployed. They are deployed if the
system detect shigh vehicle deceleration or
acceleration in alateral direction and deter-
mines that sidebag deployment can offer additional protection to that provided by the
seat belt.
Windowbags The windowbag
senhance the level of protec-
tion for the head, but not ches torarms, of the
vehicl eoccupants on the sid eofthe vehicle
on whic hthe impac toccurs.
Th ew indowbags are integrated into the side
of the roof frame and deploy in the area from
the A-pillar to the C-pillar. Windowbags
:are deployed:
R on the side on which an impact occurs
R at the start of an accident with ahigh rate
of lateral vehicle deceleration or accelera-
tion, e.g. in aside impact
R regardless of whether the front-passenger
seat is occupied
R independently of seat belt use
R if the vehicle overturns, and the system
determines that it can provide the vehicle
occupant sadditiona lprotectio ntothat
provided by the seat belt
R independen tlyo fthe front airbags PRE-SAFE
®
(preventative occupant
protection)
PRE- SAFE®
take spre-emptive measures to
protect occupants in certain hazardo us sit-
uations. Occupan
tsafety
45Safety Z