2012 MERCEDES-BENZ M-Class Owner's Manual

The
SRS compon entsare inoperational
readiness whenthe6 SRSwarning lamp
is not litwhile theengine isrunnin g. G
WARNIN
G The
SRS self-c heck hasdetect eda
malfunct ionifthe 6 SRSwarning lamp:
R does notcome onatall
R fails togo out approximately 4secon ds
after theengine wasstart ed
R comes onafter theengine wasstart edor
while driving
For your safety, Mercedes- Benzstrongly
recom mends thatyouhave thesystem
check edassoon aspossible atan authorized
Mercedes- BenzCenter .Othe rwise the SRS
ma ynot beacti vated when itis nee dedin an
acc ident, which cou ldres ultins erious orfatal
injury. TheSRS might alsodeploy
unexpec tedlyandunnec essarily whichcould
also result ininjury.
In addition, improper workonthe SRS creat es
a risk ofrender ingthe SRS inoperat iveor
causing unintended airbag deployment. Work
on the SRS must theref oreonly beperform ed
by qualified technician s.Contac tan
auth orizedMer cedes-Ben zCent er.
If it is neces sarytomodify anair bag system
to accomm odateaperson withdisabilities,
con tact anauthorized Mercedes-BenzCenter
for details. USAonly: CallourCustomer
Assist anceCenter at1-8 00-FOR-ME RCedes
(1-8 00-367- 6372 )for details.
Safet yguidel inesfor seat belts,
Emerge ncyTensi oningDevic es(ETDs)
and airbags G
WARNING R
Damag edsea tbelts orseat belts thathave
been subject edtostres sin an acciden t
must bereplaced. Theiranchor ingpoint s
must alsobecheck ed.Only useseat belts inst
alled orsupplied byan authorized
Mercedes- BenzCenter .
R Air bags andpyrotec hnicEmer gency
Tension ingDevic es(ETD s)con tain
perchlor atematerial, whichmayrequire
special handling andregard forthe
enviro nment.Check yournation aldisposal
guidelines. Californiaresidents,see
www.dtsc.ca .gov/HazardousWast e/
Perchlora te/index.cfm.
R Air bags andETDsare designed tofunc tion
on aone- time- onlybasis. Anairbag orETD
that hasdeployed mustbereplaced. PRE-
SA FE®
has electr icallyoperated reversible
belt tensioners inaddition tothe
pyrotec hnicETDs.
R Do not pass seatbelts oversharp edges.
They could tear.
R Do not make anymodificat ionthat could
change theeffec tivenessofthe seat belts.
R Do not bleach ordye seat belts asthis may
severely weakenthem.Inacrash theymay
not beable toprovide adequate protection.
R No modificat ionsofany kind maybemade
to any compon entsor wiring ofthe SRS.
R Do not change orremove anycompon ent
or part ofthe SRS.
R Do not installadditional trimmaterial, seat
cover s,badges, etc.tothe:
- padded steering wheelboss
- knee bagcovers
- front -passenger airbag cover
- outer sideoffront seatbolsters
- outer sideofrear bench seatbackrest
seat bolsters
- roof lining trim
R Do not install additional electrical/
electron icequipment onornear SRS
componen tsand wiring.
R Keep areabetween airbags andoccupant s
free ofobject s(e.g. packages, purses,
umbrellas, etc.).
R Do not hang items suchascoat hangers
from thecoat hooks orhandles overthe Occupant
safety
39Safety
Z

door.
These itemsmaybethrown around in
the vehicle andcause headandother
inj uries when thewindow curtainairbag is
deployed.
R Air bag system compon entswill behot after
an air bag hasinflat ed.Donot touch them.
R Never placeyourfeetonthe instrument
panel, dashboard, oron the seat. Always
keep bothfeetonthe floor infron tof the
seat.
R Improper repairworkonthe SRS creat esa
risk ofrender ingthe SRS inoperat iveor
causing unintended airbag deployment .
Work onthe SRS must therefore onlybe
perfor medbyqualified technic ians.
Cont actanauthoriz edMercedes -Benz
Center .
R For your prote ction and theprote ction of
other s,when scrappin gthe airbag unit or
ETD ,our safety instruct ions must be
followed. Theseinstruct ions areavailable
from anyauthoriz edMercedes -Benz
Center .
R Given theconsiderable deployment speed,
required inflationvolume, andthemater ial
of the airbags, thereis the possibility of
abrasions orother ,poten tiallymore serious
inj uries resultin gfrom airbag deployment .
If you sellyour vehicle, Mercedes -Benz
str ongly recom mends thatyouinfor mthe
subsequent ownerthatthevehicle is
equipped withSRS. Also, referthem tothe
applicable sectioninthe Operator 'sManual. Air
bags
Impor tantsafet ynotes G
WARN
ING Air
bags aredesigned toreduce theinciden ce
of injuries andfatalities incert ainsituation s:
R fron talimpact s(driver's andfront-
passenger frontairbags anddrive r'sknee
bag)
R side impact s(side impact airbags and
window curtainairbags)
R rollov er(window curtainairbags)
Howev er,nosyst emavailable todaycan
com plete lyelimin ateinjuries andfatalities.
When theairbags aredeployed, asmall
amount ofpowder isreleased .The powder
generally doesnotconst ituteahealth hazard
and does notindicate thatthere isafire inthe
vehicle. Inorder toprevent potential
breathing difficulties, youshould leavethe
vehicle assoon asitis safe todo so. Ifyou
have anybreathing difficultybutcannot get
out ofthe vehicle aftertheairbag inflates,
then getfresh airbyopening awindow or
door. G
WARNING To
reduce therisk ofinjuries duringfrontair
bag inflation, thedriver andfront -passenger
must alwaysbe seated correctlyand have
their seatbelts fastened accordingly.
For maximum protectioninthe event ofa
collision, youmust alwaysbe inthe normal
seat position withyour back against the
backrest. Fastenyourseatbeltandmake sure
that itis correct lypositioned onyour body. 40
Occ
upant safetySafety

Since
theairb ag inflate swithcon siderable
speed andforce, aproper seatingposit ion
and correctposit ioningof the hands onthe
ste erin gwheel willhelp tokeep youatasafe
dist ancefro mt heair bag. Occupants whoare
not wearing theirseatbelt, arenot seated
properly orare too close tothe airbag canbe
seriously injuredorkilled byan air bag asit
inflates withgreat forceinstant aneously :
R Sit with theseat beltproperly fastened ina
position thatisas upright aspossible with
your back against theseat backrest.
R Move thedriver's seatasfar back as
possible, stillpermittin gproper operation
of vehicle controls. Thedistance fromthe
cent erofthe driver's chesttothe cent erof
the airbag cover onthe steering wheel
must beatleast 10inches (25cm) ormore.
You should beable toaccomplish thisby
adjusting theseat andsteering wheel.If
you have anydifficulties, pleasecontactan
authorized Mercedes-Ben zCent er.
R Do not lean your head orchest closetothe
steerin gwheel ordashboard.
R Only holdthesteerin gwheel bythe rim.
Placing handsandarms inside therim can
incr ease therisk and poten tialseverit yof
hand/arm injurywhenthedriver frontair
bag inflates .
R Adj ust the fron t-passenger seatasfar back
as possible fromthedashboard whenthe
seat isoccupied.
R Occ upants, especially children,should
never placetheirbodies orlean their heads
in the area ofthe door where theside
impact airbag inflates .This could result in
serious injuries ordeath should theside
impact airbag bedeploy ed.Always sitas
upright aspossible, weartheseat belt
properly anduseanappropriately sized
child restraint ,infant restraint orbooster
seat recommen dedforthe size andweight
of the child.
Failure tofollow theseinstruct ionscanresult
in severe injuries toyou orother occupants. If
you sellyour vehicle, itis important thatyou
make thebuyer aware ofthis safety
information. Besure togive thebuyer this
Operator's Manual. G
WARNING Acc
ident research showsthatthesafest place
for children inan automobile isin arear seat.
As ide impact airbag relat edinjury may occur
if occ upant s,espec iallychildr en,are not
proper lyseate dor rest raine dwhen next toa
side impact airbag which needs todeploy
rapidly inaside impact inorder todo itsjob.
To help avoid thepossibili tyof injury, please
follow theseguidelines:
(1) Always sitasupright aspossible
and usetheseat belts properly.
Make surethatchildren 12years
old and under useanappropriately
sized childrestraint ,infant
restraint ,or booster seat
recommen dedforthe size and
weight ofthe child.
(2) Always wearseatbelts properly.
The airbags areonly deploy edifthe airbag
cont rolunit detects theneed fordeploy ment.
Only inthe event ofsuch asituation willthey
provide theirsupplemental protection.
The driver andpassenger shouldalwayswear
their seatbelts. Otherwise, itis not possible
for the airbags toprovide theirsupplemental
protect ion.
In the event ofother types ofimpacts and
impacts belowairbag deploy ment
thresholds, theairbags willnotdeploy .The
driver andpassengers willthen beprotect ed
to the exten tpossible byaproperly fastened
seat belt. Aproperl yfastened seatbeltisalso
needed toprovide thebest possible
protect ioninarollover.
Air bags provide additional protection;they
are not, however, asubstitute forseat belts.
All vehicle occupants mustfasten theirseat
belts regardless ofwhether yourvehicle is
equip pedwith airbags ornot. Occ
upant safety
41Safety Z

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