2012 MERCEDES-BENZ M-Class low

Problems
withtheoccupant classific ationsystem Problem Possible
causes/co nsequences andM Solutions
The
45
indicator lamp
illu minates and
remains illuminated.
The person onthe
front -passenger seat:
R has theweight ofa
typical adult
R has been determined
by the system notto
be achild. The
OCS ismalfunction ing.
X Have theOCS check edassoon aspossible atan authorized
Mercedes-B enzCenter.
X Observe theadditional displaymessages inthe multifunct ion
display (Ypage 249). G
WARNING If
the 45 indicatorlampilluminates andremains illuminated whentheweight ofatypical
adult orsomeone largerthanasmall individual hasbeen detect edon the passenger seat,donot
allow anyoccupant touse thepassenger seatuntil thesystem hasbeen repaired. Problem Possible
causes/co nsequences andM Solutions
The
45
indicator lampdoesnot
illu minate and/or does
not remain illuminated.
The front -passenger
seat is:
R unoccupied
R occupied witha
weight uptoor less
than atypical 12-
mont h-old childina
standard child
restraint system The
OCS ismalfunction ing.
X Make surethere isnothin gbetween theseat cushion andthe
child seat.
X Check theinstallation ofthe child restraint system.
X Make surethatnoobject sareapp lying add itiona lwei ght onto
the seat.
X Ifthe 45 indicatorlamp doesnotillumina te,have the
OCS checked assoon aspossi bleatan authorized Mercede s-
Benz Center. Donot transport achild onthe front-passenge r
seat aslong asthe OCS isnot functioning.
X Observe theadditiona ldisp laymessa gesinthe multi function
disp lay(Ypag e249). G
WARNING If
the 45 indicatorlamp doesnotillumina teor remai nsout with theweight ofatypi cal
12-month-old childinastandard childrestrai ntor less, orisunoccup ied,on the front-passenge r
seat, donot transport achild onthe front -passenger seatuntil thesystem hasbeen repaired. 48
Occ
upant safetySafety

PRE-SAFE
®
(preventat iveocc upant
prot ection) G
WARNING The
PRE-SA FE®
system reduces theimpact of
an accident onvehicle occupants, aslong as
their seatbelts havebeen fastened correctly.
Although yourvehicle isequippe dwith aPRE-
SAF E®
system, thepossibility ofinjury inthe
event ofan accident cannotberuled out.You
should therefore alwaysdrive carefully and
adapt yourdriving styletothe prevailing road,
weather andtraffic condition s.
PRE-SA FE®
takes preemptive measuresto
protect occupants incertain hazardous
situations.
PRE-SA FE®
interv enes:
R in emergency brakingsituations, e.g.ifBAS
is activated or,invehicles withDISTRONIC
PLUS, BASPLUS intervenespowerfully
R ifthe radar sensor system detectsan
imminent dangerofcollision incertain
situations (onvehicles withDISTRONIC
PLUS)
R in critic aldriving situations, e.g.when
physical limitsareexceed andthevehicle
understeers oroversteers severely
PRE-SA FE®
takes thefollowing measures
depending onthe hazardous situation
detect ed:
R the front seatbelts arepre-ten sioned.
R on vehicles withmemory functionforthe
front -passenger seat:thefront -passenger
seat isadjusted ifit is in an unfavorable
position.
R ifthe vehicle skids,thesliding sunroof/
panorama roofwith power tilt/sliding
panel andtheside windows areclosed so
that only asmall gapremains.
If the sliding sunroof, panorama roofwith
power tilt/sliding paneloraside window is
obstruct edduring closing, theclosing
procedure isstopped. Theobstruct edsliding
sunroof, panorama roofwith power tilt/ sliding
panelorside window opensagain
slightly.
If the hazardous situationpasseswithout
resulting inan accident, PRE-SAFE®
slackens
the belt pretension ing.Allsettin gsmade by
PRE-SA FE®
can then bereversed.
If the seat belts arenot released:
X Move thebackrest orseat back slightly, but
only when thevehicle isstationary.
The belt pretension ingisreduced andthe
locking mechanism isreleased. G
WARNING Make
surethatnobody canbecome trapped
as you adjust theseat.
! Make surethatthere arenoobject sin the
footwell orbehind theseats when resett ing
the seats. Thereisarisk that theseats
and/or theobject scould bedamaged.
More information aboutseat-belt
adjustment ,a conv enience function
integrated intoPRE-SA FE®
,can befound in
the "Seat-belt adjustment "section
(Y page 52). Seat
belts
Import antsafety notes The
useofseat belts andinfant andchild
restraint systemsisrequired bylaw inall 50
states, theDistr ictofColumbi a,the U.S.
territ ories andallCanadia nprovinces.
Even where thisisnot thecase, allvehicl e
occupa ntsshou ldhave theirseatbelts
fastened whenthevehicl eis in motion. i
For
further informati ononinfants and
child rentraveli nginthe vehicl eand on
infant andchild restrai ntsystems ,see
"C hildren inthe vehicl e"(Y pag e54). G
WARNING Alwa
ysfasten yourseat belt before driving off.
Always makesureallofyour passengers are Occupant
safety
49Safety
Z

ribs
orabd omen, whichcould severel y
injure internal organssuchasyou rliver or
spleen .
Adj ust the seat beltsothat theshoulder
sect ionislocat edasclos eas possible to
the middle ofthe shoulder .Its hould not
touch theneck .Never pass theshoulder
portion ofthe seat beltunder yourarm. For
this purpose, youcan adjust theheight of
the seat beltoutlet.
R Position thelapbelt aslow aspossible on
your hipsandnotacross theabdomen. If
the lapbelt isposition edacross your
abdomen, itcould cause serious injuries in
a crash.
R Never wearseatbelts overrigid or
breakable objectsinor on your clothing,
such aseyeglasses, pens,keysetc.,as
these might cause injuries.
R Make suretheseat beltisalway sfitt ed
snugly. Takespecial careofthis when
wearing looseclothing.
R Never useaseat beltformore thanone
person atatime. Donot fasten aseat belt
around aperson andanoth erperson or
other objectsat the same time.
R Seat belts should notbeworn twisted. Ina
crash, youwould nothave thefullwidth of
the seat belttodistribut eimpact forces.
The twisted seatbeltagainst yourbody
could cause injuries.
R Pregnant womenshouldalsoalway suse a
lap-shoulder belt.Thelapbelt portion
should bepositioned aslow aspossible on
the hips toavoid anypossible pressure on
the abdomen.
R Place theseat backrest inaposition thatis
as upright aspossible.
R Check yourseatbeltduring traveltomake
sure itis properly positioned.
R Never placeyourfeetonthe instr ument
panel, dashboard, oron the seat. Always keep
bothfeetonthe floor infront ofthe
seat.
R When usingaseat belttosecure infant
restraint s,toddler restraint s,or children in
booster seats,alwaysfollow thechild seat
manufacturer' sinstr uctions. G
WARNING Do
not pass seatbelts oversharp edges. They
could tear.
Do not allow theseat belttoget caught inthe
door orinthe seat adjustmen tmechanism.
This could damage theseat belt.
Never attempt tomake modifications toseat
belts. Thiscould impair theeffect iveness of
the seat belts.
Fastening seatbelts 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 seat whenever possible.
Regardless ofseating position, children12
years oldand under mustbeseated and
properly securedinan appropriately sized
child restraint systemorbooster seat
recommen dedforthe size andweight ofthe
child. Foradditional information,seethe
"Child reninthe vehicle" section.
Ac hild's riskofserious orfatal injuries is
significantly increasedifthe child restraint s
are not properly securedinthe vehicle and/
or the child isnot properly securedinthe child
restraint . Occ
upant safety
51Safety Z

X
To rais e:slid ethe beltsa sh guideup wa rds .
The beltsa sh guide eng ages invario us
po sitio ns.
X To lowe r:pre ssand holdbe ltsa sh guide
rel ease :.
X Sli de the beltsa sh guide do wnw ards.
X Re leas ebe ltsa sh guide rel ease : and
ma kesure tha tthe belt sash guide has
engaged.
Releasing seatbelts X
Press release button?(Ypage51)and
guide belttongue ;back towards belt
sash guide :.
! Make surethattheseat beltisfully rolled
up. Otherwise, theseat beltorbelt tongue
will betrapped inthe door orinthe seat
mechanism. Thiscould damage thedoor,
the door trimpanel andtheseat belt.
Damaged seatbelts cannolonger fulfill
their protect ivefunct ionand must be
replaced. Consultanauthorized Mercedes-
Benz Center.
Belt warning forthe driver andfront
passenger Regardl
essofwhether thedriver andfront
passenger havefastened theirseatbelts
already ,the 7 seatbeltwarning lamp
lights upfor 6secon dsafter every engine
start .It then goes outifthe driver andthe
fron tpasse nger have fastened their seat
belt s.
If th edriv er'sseat beltisno tfast ened after
th een gin eis start ed, anaddit ionalwarn ing
to ne will soun d.The warn ingtone goes out
aft erappro ximatelysix sec onds oronce the
driv er'sseat beltisfast ened. If
th edriv eror fron tpasse nger have not
fast ened their seat beltafter6s econ dsand
the doors areclosed, the7 seatbelt
warning lamplights up.
R until thedriver orthe fron tpasse nger have
fast ened their seat belts
R ifaveh icle spee dof 15 mph (25km/h)is
ex cee ded once, awarn ingtone with
inc reas ingintensitysoun dsaddit ionally for
a max imum of60 sec onds orunt ilth edriv er
or fron tp asse nger have fastened their seat
belt s.
If th edriv eror fron tpasse ngerundo their seat
belt sdurin gth ejo urn ey, the7 seatbelt
warn inglamp lightsup and thewarn ingtone
soun dsagain .
The warn ingtone ceas eseve nifthe driver or
front passenger havestillnotfastened their
seat beltafter 60seconds. The7 seatbelt
warning lampstops flashing butcont inues to
be lit.
Once thevehicle isstationary, thewarning
tone isreactivated andthe7 seatbelt
warning lampstarts toflash again ifthe
vehicle speedexceeds 15mph(25 km/h)
once.
The 7 seatbeltwarning lamponlygoes
out if:
R both thedriver andthefront passenger
have fastened theirseatbelts.
or
R the vehicle isstationary andadoor isopen. i
For
more information onthe 7 seat
belt warning lamp,see"Warning and
indicator lampsinthe instrumen tcluster,
seat belt" (Ypage 269).
Emergency TensioningDevices,belt
force limiters The
front seatbelts andtheouter seatbelts
in the rear areequipp edwith ETDs andseat
belt force limiters.
The ETDs onthe driver's andfront -passenger
seat consist ofpyrotechnic beltbuckle Occ
upantsafety
53Safety Z

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

Ac
hild inarear-facing childrestraint onthe
front passenger seatwillbeseriously
injured oreven killed ifthe front passenger
front airbag inflates.
R Ifyou have toplace achild inaforward-
facing childrestraint onthe front passenger
seat, move theseat asfar back aspossible,
use theproper childrestraint
recommen dedforthe age, sizeandweight
of the child, andsecure childrestraint with
the vehicle's seatbeltaccording tothe
child seatmanufacturer's instructions. G
WARNING Infant
sand small children shouldnevershare
a seat beltwith another occupant. Duringan
accident, theycould becrushed between the
occupant andseat belt.
Ac hild's riskofserious orfatal injuries is
significantly increasedifthe child restraint s
are not properly securedinthe vehicle and/
or the child isnot properly securedinthe child
restraint .
Children toobigforatoddler restraint must
ride inseats usingregular seatbelts. Position
the shoulder beltacross thechest and
shoulder, notface orneck .Abooster seat
may benecessary toachieve properseatbelt
positioning forchildren over41lb(18 kg)until
they reach aheight wherealap/shoulder belt
fits properly withoutabooster.
When thechild restraint isnot inuse, remove
it from thevehicle orsecure itwith theseat
belt toprevent thechild restraint from
becoming aproject ileinthe event ofan
accident .
If an infant orchild istraveling inthe vehicle:
X Secure theinfant orchild withan
appropriate infantorchild restraint
recommen dedforthe child's ageand
weight.
X Make surethattheinfant orchild is
properly securedatall times whilethe
vehicle isin motion . G
WARNING When
leaving thevehicle, alwaysremove the
Smart Keyfrom theignition lock.Always take
the Smart Keywith youand lock thevehicle.
Do not leave children unattendedinthe
vehicle, evenifthey aresecured inachild
restraint system,orwith access toan
unlocked vehicle.Achild's unsupervised
access toavehicle couldresult inan accident
and/or serious personal injury.Thechildren
could:
R injure themselves onparts ofthe vehicle
R be seriously orfatally injured through
excessive exposuretoextrem eheat orcold
R injure themselves orcause anaccident with
vehicle equipment thatcanbeoperated
even ifthe SmartKey isremoved fromthe
ignition lockorremoved fromthevehicle,
such asseat adjustment ,steering wheel
adjustment ,or the memory function
If children openadoor, theycould injure other
persons orget out ofthe vehicle andinjure
themselves orbe injured byfollowing traffic.
Do not expose thechild restraint systemto
direct sunlight. Thechild restraint system's
metal parts, forexample, couldbecome very
hot, andthechild could beburned onthese
parts. G
WARNING Do
not carry heavy orhard object sin the
passenger compartmen tortrunk unles sthey
are firmly secure din pla ce.
Unsecured orimprop erlypositioned cargo
increase sa child 'srisk ofinjury inthe event
of
R strong braking maneuvers
R sudd enchanges ofdirectio n
R an accide nt
Spec ialseat beltretr act or All
seat beltsexc ept thed river's seatbeltare
equ ipped with aspeci alseat beltretrac tor.
When activated, thespecial seatbelt 56
Childr
eninthevehicleSafety

comp
artme ntcove r: ifcarg o
comp artme ntcove r: isinsta lled.
R Top Teth erbel tB isrou ted betw eenrear
sea tback rest; and thecar gonetift he
cargo netisinstalled.
X Tension TopTether beltB.C omply with
the manufacturer 'sinstallation
instr uctions whendoing so.
X Move headrestraint=back down again
slightly ifnecessary (Ypage 97).Make
sure thatyoudonot inter ferewith the
correc trouting ofTop Tether beltB. Child-pr
ooflocks
Import antsafety notes G
WARNIN
G When
leaving thevehicle, alwaysremove the
Smart Keyfrom theignition lock.Always take
the Smart Keywith youand lock thevehicle.
Do not leave children unattendedinthe
vehicle, evenifthey aresecured inachild
restraint system,orwith access toan
unlocked vehicle.Achild's unsupervised
access toavehicle couldresult inan accident
and/or serious personal injury.Thechildren
could:
R injure themselves onparts ofthe vehicle
R be seriously orfatally injured through
excessive exposuretoextrem eheat orcold
R injure themselves orcause anaccident with
vehicle equipment thatcanbeoperated
even ifthe SmartKey isremoved fromthe
ignition lockorremoved fromthevehicle,
such asseat adjustment ,steering wheel
adjustment ,or the memory function
If children openadoor, theycould injure other
persons orget out ofthe vehicle andinjure
themselves orbe injured byfollowing traffic.
Do not expose thechild restraint systemto
direct sunlight. Thechild restraint system's
metal parts, forexample, couldbecome very
hot, andthechild could beburned onthese
parts. Child-proof
locksforthe rear doors G
WARNING Children
couldopenarear door from inside
the vehicle. Thiscould result inserious
injuries oran accident. Therefore, when
children rideinthe rear alwa yssecure therear
doors withthechild-proof locks.
You secure eachdoorindividua llywith the
child-proof locksonthe rear doors. Adoor
secured withachild-proof lockcann otbe
opened frominside thevehicle. Whenthe
vehicle isunlocked, thedoor canbeopened
from theoutside. X
To activat e:press thechild-proof lock
lever upinthe direction ofarrow :.
X Make surethatthechild-proof locksare
working properly.
X To deactivat e:press thechild-proof lock
lever down inthe direction ofarrow ;.
Overrid efeatu refor the rear side
windows G
WARNIN
G When
children rideonthe vehicle's rearseats,
activate theoverride switch.Otherwise, the
children couldbeinjured, e.g.bytrapping
themselves inthe rear side window. Children
inthe vehicle
59Safety Z

X
To acti vate /deacti vate :pre ssbutton :.
If ind icator lamp ;islit, op era tiono fthe
rear side windows isdeactivated.
Operation isonly possible usingthe
switches inthe driver's door.Ifindicator
lamp ;isoff, operation ispossible using
the switches inthe rear compartmen t. Panic
alarm X
To activate: press!button :for at
least onesecond.
An alarm sounds andtheexterior lighting
flashes.
X To deactivate: press!button :
again.
or
X Insert theSmartK eyinto theignition lock.
or
X Press theKEYLE SS-GO Start /Stopbutton.
The KEYLE SS-GO key must beinthe
vehicle. i
USA
only:
This device complies withPart15ofthe
FCC Rules. Operation issubject tothe
following twocondition s:
1. This device maynotcause harmful
interfer ence,and
2. this device mustaccept anyinterfer ence
received, includinginterferencethatmay
cause undesired operation.
Any unauthorized modificationtothis
device couldvoidtheuser's authority to
operate theequipment.
The product labelwithFCCIDand IC
certific ationnumber canbefound inthe
battery caseofthe SmartK ey. i
Canada
only:
This device complies withRSS-Gen of
Industry Canada.Operation issubjec tto
the followi ng two cond itions :
1. Thisde vice ma ynot causeinte rferenc e,
and
2. thi sde vice mu stacc eptany inte rference
rece ived,incl uding inte rference thatm ay
caus eunde sired oper ation.
An yunaut horizedmod ificatio ntothis
device couldvoidtheuser's authority to
operate theequipment.
The product labelwithFCCIDand IC
cert ification numbercanbefound inthe
battery caseofthe Smart Key. Driving
safetysystems Driving
safetysystems overview
In this section ,you willfind informat ionabout
the following drivingsafetysystems:
R ABS (Anti-lock BrakingSystem)
R BAS (Brake AssistSystem)
R BAS PLUS (Brake Assist System Plus*)
R ESP ®
(Electr onicStability Program)
R EBD (Electr onicBrake forceDistribution)
R AD APTIVE BRAKE 60
Driving
safetysystemsSafety