2012 MERCEDES-BENZ M-Class Owner's Manual

If
the SmartKey hasbeen removed fromthe
ignition lockorisin positio n0, indicator lamp
45: doesnotlightup. G
WARN
ING If
the red 6 SRSwarning lampinthe
inst rument clusterandthe45
indicat orlamp lightupsimultan eously,the
OCS ismalfunc tioning. Thefrontpassen ger
fr on ta irbag willbedeact ivatedin this case.
Have thesyst emchec kedbyqualified
tec hnic ians assoon aspossible .Contac tan
auth orizedMer cedes-Ben zCent er.
Only have theseat repaired orreplaced atan
authorized Mercedes-BenzCenter .
In order toensure properoperation ofthe air
bag system andOCS:
R Sit with theseat beltproperly fastenedina
position thatisas upright aspossible with
your back against theseat backr est.
R When seated, apassenger shouldnot
position him/herselfinsuch away asto
cause thepassenger' sweight tobe lifted
from theseat cushion asthis may result in
the OCS being unable tocorr ectly
approximat ethe passenger' sweight
categor y.
R Read andobserve allwarnings inthis
chapter .
System self-test If
an adult occupant isproperly sitting onthe
passenger seatandtheOCS classifies the
occupant asan adult, the45 indicator
lamp illuminates andgoes outagain after
approximat ely6secon ds.
If the seat isnot occupied andtheOCS
classifies thefron tpasse nger seat asbein g
uno ccupied, the45 indicat orlamp
will illumin ateand notg oout. G
WARNIN
G If
the 45indic atorlamp doesnot
illuminat e,the syst emisnot func tioning. You
must contactan author izedMerc edes- Benz Cent
erbefor eseatin gany child onthe front
passen gerseat.
For more informat ion,see"Problem swith the
Occ upant Classific ationSystem"
(Y page 48). G
WARN
ING Never
placeanything betwee nseat cushion
and child seat(e.g. apillow), sinceitreduces
the effec tivenessofthe OCS. Theunderside
and rear side child restraintsystem mustbe
placed entirely onthe seat cushion andthe
backr estofthe fron t-passenger seat
backr est.
If neces sary,adjust thetiltofthe passenger
seat backr est.
An incor rectlymount edchild seatcould cause
injuries tothe child incase ofan acciden t,
inst ead ofincr easing protectionforthe child.
Follow themanufact urer'sinstruct ions for
inst allation ofchild restraintsystems. Occupant
safety
47Safety Z

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

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

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
Adju stthe seatand movethe backres tto
an almos tvertic alposition (Ypage 94).
X Pull theseat beltsmoot hlythrough belt
sash guide :.
X Without twistingit,guide theshoulder
sect ionofthe seat beltacross themiddle
of your shoulder andthelapsect ionacross
your hips.
X En gage belttongue ;inbuckle =.
Seat- beltadjustm ent:ifn ecessary, the
driver's andfront-passenger seatbelts
automatic allyadjust tothe upper body
(Y page 52).
X Ifnec essary, adjusttheseat belttothe
appropriate height(Ypage 52).
X Ifnec essary, pullupwards onthe shoulder
sect ionofthe seat belttotight enthe belt
across yourbody.
All seat belts except thedriver's seatbeltare
equipped withaspecial seatbeltretractor to
securely fastenchildrestraint systems inthe
vehicle. Forfurth erinfor mation onspecial
seat beltretractor s,see (Ypage 56).
For more information aboutreleasing theseat
belt with release button?,see "Releasing
seat belts" (Ypage 53). Seat
beltadjustm ent The
seat- beltadjustm entfunc tionadjusts the
driver's andfront-passenger seatbelttothe
upper bodyofthe occupants.
The belt strap istight ened slightly when:
R you engage thebelt tongue inthe belt
buckle andyouthen turntheSmart Keyto
position 2in the ignition lock.
R the Smart Keyisin position 2in the ignition
lock andyouthen engage thebelt tongue
in the buckle.
The seat- beltadjustm entwill apply a
retr action forceif any slack isdetec ted
between theoccupant andtheseat belt. Do
not hold ontothe seat belttight lywhile itis
adjustin g.You canswitch theseat- belt
adjustm entonand offinthe on-board
comput er(Y page 237).
The seat- beltadjustm entisan integral partof
the PRE-S AFE®
con venien cefunc tion.More
infor mation aboutPRE-SAFE®
can befound
in the "PRE-S AFE®
(preven tativeocc upant
protec tion)"sect ion(Ypage 49).
Belt height adjustm ent You
canadjust theseat beltheight onthe
driver's seatandthefron t-passenger seat. Adj
ust the height sothat theupper partofthe
seat beltisrouted across thecenterofyour
shoulder. 52
Occupant
safetySafety

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

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