2012 MERCEDES-BENZ M-Class airbag

It
is important foryou rsafet yand that ofyour
passe ngerto have deplo yedairbags replaced
and tohave anymalf unctionin gair bags
repai red.This willhelp tomak esure theair
bags continue toperf orm their pro tective
fun ction fortheveh icle occupan tsinthe
eve ntofacr ash.
Fron tair bag s The
fron ta irbags increase protection forthe
drive r'sand front-pass enger's head and
ches t. Dr
iver' sair bag :deploys infro ntofthe
st eerin gwheel; front-pass engerfro ntair
bag ;deploys infro ntofand above theglove
box.
They aredeployed:
R in the even tof cer tain frontal impac ts
R ifthe syst emdete rmin esthat airbag
deploymen tcan offeraddit ionalpro tection
to that pro vide dby theseat belt
R ifth eseat beltisfast ened
R ind epen dentlyofother airbags inthe
veh icle
If th eveh icle overturn s,thefron tairbags are
gen erally notdeployed unlessthesyst em
dete ctshigh vehic ledecele ration ina
long itudin aldirec tion.
Your vehic lehas adaptiv e,two- stage frontair
bags. Inthe even tofa collisio n,the airb ag
co ntrol unit evaluat estheveh icle
dec eler ation.Inthefir st deplo ymentstag e,
the frontairb ag isfille dwit hen ough
pro pellan tgas toreduc eth er isk ofinjuries. The
frontair bag isfully deployed ifaseco nd
deploymen tthreshold isexceeded withina
few milliseconds.
The deploy mentofthe front -passenger front
air bag isalso influenced bythe weight
category ofthe front passenger, whichis
determined bythe Occupant Classification
System (OCS)(Ypage 44).
The lighter thepassenger sideoccupant, the
higher thevehicle deceleration raterequired
(predicted atthe start ofthe impact) for
second stageinflation ofthe front -passenger
front airbag. Inthe second stage,thefront
air bags areinflated withthemaximum
amount ofpropella ntgas availa ble.
The front airbags arenot deploy edin
situations wherealow impact severity is
predicted. Youwillthen beprotect edbythe
fastened seatbelt.
The front -passenger frontairbag willonly
deploy if:
R the system, basedonthe OCS weight
sensor readings, detectsthat thefront -
passenger seatisoccupied.
R the 45 indicatorlampinthe cent er
console isnot lit,(Ypage 44).
R the airbag cont rolunit predicts ahigh
impact severity.
Driver's kneebag 42
Occ
upantsafetySafety

Dri
ver 'sknee bag: provide sad ditio nal
pro tecti onfor the driver against:
R knee injuries
R thi gh inju ries
R lowe rleg injuries
Driv er's knee bag :deploys belowthe
steer ingwheel. Duringafron talimpact, ifthe
system determinesthatairbag deployment
can offer additional protectiontothat
provided bythe seat belt, driver's knee
bag :isdeployed alongwiththedriver's air
bag. Thedriver's knee bag :operates best
in con junc tion with aproperly positionedand
fasten edseat belt.
Side impactairbags G
WARN
ING The
pressure sensorsfor side impact airbag
con trol arelocated inthe doors. Donot
modify anycompon entsof the doors ordoor
trim panels including, forexample, the
addition ofdoor speakers.
Improper repairworkonthe doors orthe
modificat ionoraddition ofcompon entsto the
doors createarisk ofrender ingthe side
impact airbags inoperat iveorcausing
unint ended airbag deployment .Work onthe
doors musttherefor eonly beperformed by
quali fiedtechn icians. Contact anauthorized
Mercedes-B enzCenter. G
WARNING Only
useseat covers whichhavebeen tested
and approved byMercedes-B enzforyour
vehicle model.Usingotherseatcovers may
interf erewith orprevent thedeployment of
the side impact airbags. Contact an
authorized Mercedes-B enzCenter for
availa bility. When
deployed, theside impact airbags offer
additional protectionforthe thorax andpelvis
of the vehicle occupant son the side ofthe
vehicle onwhich theimpact occurs. However,
they donot protect the:
R head
R neck
R arms Fron
tside impac tairbags :and rear side
impac tairbags ;deploy nexttothe outer
seat cushions.
The side impact airbags aredeployed:
R on the side onwhich animpact occurs
R at the start ofan accident withahigh rate
of lateral vehicle deceleration or
acceleration, e.g.inas ide impac t
R indep endently of seat beltuse
R indep endently of the frontair bags
R indep endently of the ETD s
If the vehic leover turns, the side impac tair
bags aregenerally notdeployed. Theyare
deployed ifthe syst emdete ctshigh vehic le
decele ration oracc elerat ioninalater al
direc tionanddete rmin esthat side impac tair
bag deploymen tcan offeraddit ional
pro tection tothat pro vide dbyth eseat belt.
Si de imp act airbags willnotd eploy inside
impacts whichdonot exceed thesystem' s
preset deployment thresholds forlateral
accelerat ion/deceleration .You will then be
protec tedbythe fastened seatbelt.
If the OCS detect sthat thefront -passenger
seat isnot occupied andthefront -passenger
seat beltisnot fastened (thebelttongue is Occupant
safety
43Safety Z

not
engaged inthe seatbelt buckle), theside
impact airbag onthe fron t-passenger side
will notdeploy. Theside impact airbag onthe
fron t-passenger sidewilldeploy ifthe fron t-
passenger seatbeltisfasten ed,regardless of
whether thefron t-passenger seatisoccupied
or not .
Window curtainairbags The
window curtainairbags enhanc ethe level
of protec tionforthe head, butnot chest or
arms, ofthe vehicle occupan tson the side of
the vehicle onwhich theimpact occurs.
The window curtainairbags areintegrated
int othe side ofthe roof frame anddeploy in
the area from theA-pillar tothe C-pillar. Window
curtainairbags :are deployed:
R on the side onwhich animpact occurs
R at the start ofan acciden twith ahigh rate
of lateral vehicle deceleration or
accelerat ion,e.g. inas ide impac t
R regar dless ofwhet herthefront-pass enger
seat isocc upied
R indep endently of seat beltuse
R ifthe vehic leover turns and thesyst em
dete rmin esthat window curtainairbag
deploymen tcan offeraddit ionalpro tection
to that pro vide dby theseat belt
R ind epen dentlyofthefron ta irbags
Windo wcurt ainairbags :will notdeploy in
impac tswith decele ration rates which donot
exc eed thesyst em's prese tdeployment
thr esholds forvehicle deceleration oraccelerat
ion.You willthen beprotec tedby
the fasten edseat belt. Occupant
Classification System
(OCS)
How theoccupant classification
system works The
Occupant Classification System(OCS)
categor izestheoccupan ton the fron t-
passenger seatbymeans ofaweight sensor.
The front-passenger frontairbag is
deact ivatedautom atically forcertain weight
cat egorie s.The
45 indic
atorlamp
shows youthecurr entstatus. Ifthe
45 indicatorlamp isilluminat ed,the
fro nt-pass engerfro ntair bag isdeact ivated.
The systemdoes notdeact ivate:
R the side impac tairbag
R the window curtainairbag
R the Emergen cyTens ionin gDev ices
To be class ifiedcorrectly, the frontpassen ger
must sit:
R with theseat beltfastened correctly
R in aposit ionthat isas upright aspossible
with theirback against theseat backrest
R with theirfeet onthe floor
If the front-pass enger's weight istransf erred
to anot herobject inthe vehic le(e.g .by
leanin gon armr ests),OCS maynotbeable to
approx imatethe occupant 'sweight category.
If the front-pass engerseat ,the seat coveror
the seat cushio naredama ged,have the
necessary repairwork carrie dout atan
au thorized Mercede s-BenzCenter.
For safety reasons,Mercede s-Benz
recommends thatyouonly useseat
accesso rieswhichhave been approved by
Mercede s-Benz.
Both thedrive rand the passe nge rshould
alwa ysuse the45 indicatorlampas
an indication ofwhether ornot thepassenger
is properly positioned. 44
Occ
upantsafetySafety

G
WARNING If
the 45 indicatorlamp illumina tes
when anadu ltor someone largerthan asmal l
indivi dualis in the front passenger seat,have
the front passenger repositionhimse lfor
hersel fint he seat until the45
indicator lampgoesout.
In the event ofacollision, theairbag cont rol
unit willnotallow frontpassenger frontairbag
deploy mentwhen theOCS hasclassified the
front passenger seatoccupant asweighing as
much asorless than atypical 12-month-old
child inastandard childrestraint orifthe front
passenger seatisclassified asbeing empty.
When theOCS senses thatthefront
passenger seatoccupant isclassified as
being uptoor less than theweight ofatypical
12-m onth-oldchild inastandard child
restraint ,the 45 indicatorlampwill
illu minate whentheengine isstarted and
remain illuminated. Thisindicates thatthe
front passenger frontairbag isdeactivated.
When theOCS senses thatthefront
passenger seatisclassified asbeing empty,
the 45 indicatorlampwillilluminate
when theengine isstarted andremain
illu minated. Thisindicates thatthefront
passenger frontairbag isdeactivated.
When theOCS senses thatthefront
passenger seatoccupant isclassified as
being heavier thantheweight ofatypical 12-
mont h-old childseated inas tand ardchi ld
res traint oras being asma llind ividu al(such
as ayo ung teenag eror as mall adult),the
45 indicatorlamp willill umina tefor
app roximatel y6s econ dswhen theengine is
start ed.Depen dingonoccupant weight
sensor readings fromtheseat, itwill then
remain illuminated orgo out. With the
45 indicatorlamp illuminated, the
fron tpassen gerfron ta irbag isdeact ivated.
With the45 indicatorlamp out,the
fro ntpassen gerfrontair bag isact ivate d.
When theOCS senses that thefront
passen gerseat occupant isclassif iedasan
adult orsomeo nelarger thanasmall indiv
idual, the45 indicatorlamp will
illuminat efor approx imatelysix seco nds
when theengin eis star ted and thengoout.
This indicates thatthefront passenger front
air bag isactivated.
If the 45 indicatorlampisilluminated,
the front passenger frontairbag is
deactivated andwillnotbedeployed.
If the 45 indicatorlampisnot
illuminated, thefront passenger frontairbag
is activated andwillbedeployed
R in the event ofcert ainfront alimpacts
R ifthe impact exceeds apredetermin ed
triggering threshold
R independent ofthe side impact airbag or
pelvis airbag
If the front passenger frontairbag is
deployed, therate ofinflation willbe
influenced by
R the rate ofvehicle deceleration asassessed
by the airbag cont rolunit
R the front passenger's weightcategory as
identified bythe OCS
For further informat ion,see"Air bag display
messages" (Ypage 249). G
WARNING Acc
ording toaccident statistics,children are
safer when properly restrained onthe rear
seats thanonthe front -passenger seat.Thus,
we stron glyrecommen dthat children be
placed inthe rear seats whenever possible.
Regardless ofseating position, children12
years oldand under mustbeseated and
properly securedinan appropriate infant
restraint ,toddler restraint ,or booster seat
recommen dedforthe size andweight ofthe
child.
The infant orchild restraint mustbeproperly
secured withthevehicle's seatbelt, theseat
belt andTopTether strap,orlower anchors
and TopTether strap,fullyinaccordanc ewith
the child seatmanufacturer' sinstr uctions. Occupant
safety
45Safety
Z

Occupants,
especiallychildren, shouldalways
sit asupright aspossible ,wear theseat belt
properly anduseanappropria telysized infant
restraint, toddlerrestraint, orbooster seat
recommended forthe size andweight ofthe
child.
Child rencan bekilled orseriousl yinjured by
an inflating airbag. Note thefollowi ng
important information whencircumstances
require youtoplace achild inthe front -
passenger seat:
R Your vehicle isequip pedwith airbag
technology designedtodeactivate the
front -passenger frontairbag inyour vehicle
when thesystem sensestheweight ofa
typical 12-mon th-oldchildorless along
with theweight ofastandard appropria te
child restraint onthe front -passenger seat.
R Ac hild inarear-facing childrestraint onthe
front -passenger seatwillbeseriously
injured oreven killed ifthe front -passenger
front airbag inflates inacollision which
could occur under somecircumstan ces,
even withtheairbag techn ology installed
in your vehicle. Theonly means toeliminate
this riskcompletely isnever toplace achild
in arear-facing childrestraint inthe front -
passenger seat.Wetherefore strongly
recommen dthat youalwa ysplace achild
in arear-facing childrestraint onthe rear
seat.
R Ifyou install arear-facing childrestraint on
the front -passenger seat,make surethe
45 indicatorlampisillu minated,
indicating thatthefront -passenger frontair
bag isdeactivated. Shouldthe45
indicator lampnotilluminate orgo out while
the restraint isinstalled, pleasecheck
installation. Periodicallycheck the
45 indicatorlampwhile driving to
make surethatthe45 indicator
lamp isillu minated. Ifthe 45
indicator lampgoesoutorremains out,do
not transport achild onthe front -passenger
seat until thesystem hasbeen repaired. Ac
hild inarear-facing childrestraint onthe
front -passenger seatwillbeseriously
injured oreven killed ifthe front -passenger
front airbag inflates.
R Ifyou place achild inaforward-facing child
restraint onthe front -passenger seat:
- move theseat asfar back aspossible
- use theproper childrestraint
recommen dedforthe age, sizeand
weight ofthe child
- secure childrestraint withthevehicle's
seat beltaccording tothe child seat
manufacturer's instructions
R For children largerthanthetypical 12-
mont h-old child, thefront -passenger front
air bag may ormay notbeactivated.
If the driver's airbag deploy s,this does not
mean thatthefront -passenger frontairbag
also hastodeploy .
The OCS mayhave detected thattheseat:
R was empty oroccupied byaperson witha
weight ofup toor less than thatofatypical
12-m onth-oldchild seated inastandard
child restraint
R was occupied byasmall individua l,such as
a young teenager orasmall adult
R was occupied byachild inachild restraint
system, whoseweight isgreater thanthat
of atypical 12-month-oldchild.
These areexamples ofwhen theOCS
deactivates thefront -passenger frontairbag.
Deactivation takesplacealthough the
collision fulfillsthecriteria fordeploy ingthe
driver's airbag. 46
Occ
upant safetySafety

properly
restrained. Youandyour passenger s
should always wearseatbelts.
Failure towear andproperly fastenand
position yourseatbeltgreatly increases your
risk ofinjuries andtheir likely severit yin an
acciden t.
If you areever inan acciden t,your injuries can
be con siderably moresevere without your
seat beltproperly buckled. Withoutyourseat
belt buckled, youaremuch morelikelytohit
the interior ofthe vehicle orbe ejec tedfrom
it. You canbeseriously injured orkilled.
In the same crash, thepossibility ofinjury or
death islessened ifyou areproperly wearing
your seatbelt. Theairbags canonly prote ct
as intended ifthe occupants areproperly
wearing theirseatbelts. G
WARN
ING Never
rideinamovin gvehicle withtheseat
backr estinan exc essively reclinedposition as
this canbedangerous. Youcould slideunder
the seat beltinacollision. Ifyou slide under
it, the seat beltwould applyforceat the
abdomen ornec k.That could cause serious
or even fatalinjuries. Theseat backr estand
seat beltprovide thebest restraint when the
wearer isin aposition thatisas upright as
possible andtheseat beltisproperly
position edon the body. G
WARN
ING Never
letmore people rideinthe vehicle than
ther eare seat belts available. Makesure
everyon eriding inthe vehicle iscorr ectly
rest rained withaseparate seatbelt. Never
use aseat beltformore thanoneperson ata
time. G
WARN
ING Damaged
seatbelts orseat belts thathave
been subjec tedtostr ess inan acciden tmust
be rep lace dand their anc horing poin tsmust
also becheck ed.
On lyuse seat beltswhic hhave been approved
by Mer cedes-Ben z. Do
notmak eany mod ificatio nstotheseat
belt s.This canlead tounin tend ed act ivat ion
of theET Ds ortotheir failur eto act ivat ewhen
ne ces sary.
Do notb leach ordye seat belts asthis may
sever elyweaken them.Inacras hthe ymay
not beable toprov ideadequate protection.
Have allwork carriedout only byqualified
tec hnic ians. Contactanauthor ized
Merc edes- BenzCent er.
Corr ectuse oftheseat belts G
WARN
ING USE
SEAT BELTS PROPE RLY
R Seat belts canonly work when used
proper ly.Never wearseatbelts inany other
way than asdesc ribed inthis section, as
that could result inserious injuries inthe
even tof an acc ident .
R Eac hocc upant should weartheirseat belt
at all tim es, because seatbelts helpreduc e
the likelih oodofand pote ntial sever ityof
inj uries inacc ident s,inc luding rollovers.
The integrat edrest raint systemincludes
SRS (drive rfront airbag ,driver' sside knee
bag ,front-passenge rfront airbag ,side
impa ctair bag s,windo wcurtain airbag sfor
the side windo ws),Emergency Tensioning
Devices, seatbeltforce limiters, andfront
seat knee bolsters.
The system isdesi gned toenhance the
protection offeredtoprope rlybelted
occupa ntsincertain frontal(frontairbag s,
driver' sside knee bagand ETDs) andside
(sid eimpa ctair bag s,windo wcurtain air
bags, andETDs )impac tswhic hex cee d
pre set deplo ymentthresholds andin
certain rollovers (windowcurtainairbags
and ETDs).
R Never weartheshoulder beltunder your
arm, across yourneck oroff your shoulder.
In afront alcrash, yourbody would move
too farforward. Thatwould increase the
chance ofhead andneck injuries. Theseat
belt would alsoapply toomuch forcetothe 50
Occ
upant safetySafety

tens
ioners andbeltanc horfitting tension ers
that aretriggere dtog eth er. The belt buck le
ten sion erismoun tedonthe B-pillar andthe
belt anchor fittin gis moun tedonthe side of
the seat .Always havebothtension ers
replaced aftertheyhave been trigger ed.
The ETDstight enthe seat belts inan acciden t,
pulling themclose against thebody.
The ETDsdo not corr ectincor rectseat
position sor incor rectlyfasten edseat belts.
The ETDsdo not pull vehicle occupan tsback
towards thebackr est.
Seat beltforcelimiters, whentrigger ed,help
to reduce thepeak forceexerte dby the seat
be lton the vehicleoccu pant.
The seatbelt forc elimiters forthe fron tseats
are synchr onizedwith thefron tairbags.
These takeon apart ofthe decele ration force.
Thus, theforce exer tedonthe occupant is
dist ribut edover agreat erarea.
The ETDscan only beact ivat edwhen:
R the ignit ionisswitc hedon.
R the rest raint systems areoperat ional;see
"SRS warnin glamp" (Ypage 38).
R the belt tongue iseng aged inthe buck leon
each ofthe lap-sh oulder beltsinthe front.
R the front-pass engerseat isocc upied and
the belt tongue iseng aged inthe buck leon
the front-pass engerside.
The ETDson the outs ideseat sin the rear
com partmen tare triggere dindep endently of
the lock status ofthe seat belts.
The ETDs aretriggere ddepe nding onthe type
and severi tyof an accide nt:
R if, inthe event ofahea d-on orrear-end
colli sion, thevehicl edecel erates or
accele ratesrapidlyinalongi tudina l
dire ction duringthe initia lstag esofthe
im pact
R if,in the eventofaside impact, onthe side
op posite the impact the vehicle de
cel era tes oracc elera tes rapidlyin a
la tera ldi rec tion
R if,in cer tains ituat ions where thevehic le
over turns, the syst emdete rmin esthat it
can prov ideadditio nalprot ection
If the airbags aredeployed, youwillhear a
bang, andasmall amoun tofpowder mayalso
be released. Onlyinrare cases willthebang
affect yourhearing. Thepowder thatis
released generally doesnotconst itutea
health hazard. The6 SRSwarning lamp
lights up. G
WARNIN
G Pyrotechn
icEmergen cyTensionin gDevices
that have been deployed mustberenewed.
For your safety, whendisposing ofEmergen cy
Tensionin gDevices, alwaysobserve the
safety instructions. Theseareavailab lefrom
any authorized Mercedes-B enzCenter.
The PRE-S AFE®
system haselectric ally
operated reversible pre-tensioners thatdo
not require replacement afteractivation .
! Ifthe front -passenger seatisnot
occupied, donot engage theseat belt
ton gue inthe buckle onthe front -
passenger seat.Otherwise, theEmergen cy
Tensionin gDevice couldbetriggered inthe
event ofan accident . Children
inthe vehicle Child
restraintsystems
Import antsafety notes We
recomm endthat allinfant sand children
be properly securedinan infant orchild
restr aintsystem atall times whilethevehicle
is in motion .
The useofseat belts andinfant andchild
restr aintsystems isrequired bylaw inall 50
states, theDistr ictofColumbia ,the U.S.
territ ories andallCanadia nprovinces.
Infants andchild renmust alwaysbe seated in
an app ropria teinfant orchild restrai ntsystem 54
Chil
dren inthe vehi cleSafety

recommende
dfor the size andweight ofthe
child .The infant orchild restraint system
must beproperly securedinaccordance with
the manufacturer's instructions.Allinfant or
child restraint systemsmustmeet U.S.
Federal MotorVehicle SafetyStandards 213
and 225 andCanadia nMotor Vehicle Safety
Stan dards 213and210. 2.
An inform ationlabelonthe child restraint
system indicates whetheritmeets these
standards. Thisinform ationisalso provided
in the installation instructions supplied with
the child restraintsystem.
Always readandfollow themanufacturer 's
instr uctions whenusinganinfant orchild
restr aintsystem orbooster seat.
Observe allwarning signsinthe vehicle
inter iorand onthe infant orchild restraint. G
WARNIN
G Acc
ording toaccident statistics,children are
safer when properly restrained inthe rear
seating positions thaninthe front seating
position. Thus,westron glyrecommen dthat
children beplaced inthe rear seats whenever
possible. Regardless ofseating position,
children 12years oldand under mustbe
seated andproperly securedinan appropriate
infant restraint ,toddler restraint ,or booster
seat recommen dedforthe size andweight of
the child.
The infant orchild restraint mustbeproperly
secured withthevehicle's seatbelt, theseat
belt andtopteth erstrap, orlower anchors and
top teth erstrap, fullyinaccordanc ewith the
child seatmanufacturer 'sinstr uctions.
Occupant s,especially children,shouldalways
sit asupright aspossible, weartheseat belt
properly anduseanappropriately sizedinfant
restraint ,toddler restraint ,or booster seat
recommen dedforthe size andweight ofthe
child. Children
canbekilled orseriously injuredby
an inflating airbag. Note thefollowing
important informationwhen circumst ances
require youtoplace achild inthe front
passenger seat:
R Your vehicle isequipped withairbag
techn ology designed todeactivate thefront
passenger frontairbag inyour vehicle
when thesystem sensestheweight ofa
typical 12-mont h-old childorless along
with theweight ofastandard appropriate
child restraint onthe front passenger seat.
R For children largerthanthetypical
12- mont h-old child, thefront passenger
front airbag may ormay notbeactivated.
Always makesurethe45indicat or
lamp isilluminat ed,indic atingthat thefront
passen gerfrontair bag isdeact ivated.
R Ac hild inarear-facing childrestraint onthe
front passenger seatwillbeseriously
injured oreven killed ifthe front passenger
front airbag inflates inacollision which
could occur under somecircumstan ces,
even withtheairbag techn ology installed
in your vehicle. Theonly means to
completely eliminatethisriskisto never
place achild inarear-facing childrestraint
in the front seat. Wetherefore strongly
recommen dthat youalwa ysplace achild
in arear-facing childrestraint inabackseat.
R Ifyou must install arear-facing child
restraint onthe front passenger seat
because circumstan cesrequire youtodo
so, make surethe45indic ator
lamp isilluminat ed,indic atingthat thefront
passen gerfrontair bag isdeact ivated.
Should the45indic atorlamp not
illuminat eor go out while therest raint is
inst alled, please checkinsta llati on.
Pe rio dical lyche ckthe 45indicat or
lamp while drivingto make surethe4
5 indicatorlamp isilluminat ed.Ifthe
45indic atorlamp goesoutor
remain sout, donot transpo rtachild onthe
fro ntpassen gerseat untilthe syst emhas
been repaire d. Childr
eninthevehicle
55Safety
Z