being heavier than the weight of a typical 12-
month-old child seated in a standard child
restraint or as being a small individual (such
as a young teenager or a small adult), the
00730074 indicator lamp will illuminate for
approximately 6 seconds when the engine is
started and then, depending on occupant
weight sensor readings from the front-
passenger seat, remain illuminated or go out. With the 00730074 indicator lamp illumina-
ted, the front-passenger front air bag is deac-
tivated. With the 00730074indicator lamp
out, the front-passenger front air bag is acti-
vated.
When the OCS senses that the front-
passenger seat occupant is classified as an
adult or someone larger than a small individ-
ual, the 00730074 indicator lamp will illumi-
nate for approximately 6 seconds when the
engine is started and then go out, indicating
that the front-passenger front air bag is acti-
vated.
If the 00730074 indicator lamp is illuminated,
the front-passenger front air bag is deactiva-
ted and will not be deployed.
If the 00730074 indicator lamp is not illumi-
nated, the front-passenger front air bag is
activated and will be deployed:
R in the event of certain frontal impacts
R if impact exceeds a preset deployment
threshold
R independently of the side impact air bags
If the front-passenger front air bag is
deployed, the rate of inflation will be influ-
enced by:
R the rate of relevant vehicle deceleration as
assessed by the air bag control unit
R the front passenger's weight category as
identified by OCS G
WARNING
According to accident statistics, children are
safer when properly restrained on the rear
seats than on the front-passenger seat. Thus, we strongly recommend that children be placed in the rear seats whenever possible.
Regardless of seating position, children 12
years old and under must be seated and prop- erly secured in an appropriate infant restraint,
toddler restraint, or booster seat recommen-
ded for the size and weight of the child.
The infant or child restraint must be properly
secured with the vehicle's seat belt, the seat
belt and Top Tether strap, or lower anchors
and Top Tether strap, fully in accordance with the child seat manufacturer's instructions.
Occupants, especially children, should always
sit as upright as possible, wear the seat belt
properly and use an appropriately sized infant
restraint, toddler restraint, or booster seat
recommended for the size and weight of the
child.
Children can be killed or seriously injured by
an inflating air bag. Note the following impor-
tant information when circumstances require you to place a child in the front-passenger
seat:
R Your vehicle is equipped with air bag tech-
nology designed to deactivate the front-
passenger front air bag in your vehicle
when the system senses the weight of a
typical 12-month-old child or less along
with the weight of a standard appropriate
child restraint on the front-passenger seat.
R A child in a rear-facing child restraint on the
front-passenger seat will be seriously
injured or even killed if the front-passenger
front air bag inflates in a collision which
could occur under some circumstances,
even with the air bag technology installed in your vehicle. The only means to eliminate
this risk completely is never to place a child
in a rear-facing child restraint in the front-
passenger seat. We therefore strongly rec- ommend that you always place a child in a
rear-facing child restraint on the rear seat.
R If you install a rear-facing child restraint on
the front-passenger seat, make sure the
00730074 indicator lamp is illuminated,
indicating that the front-passenger front air bag is deactivated. Should the 0073007448
Occupant safetySafety
and ETDs) impacts which exceed preset
deployment thresholds and in certain roll-
overs (window curtain air bags and ETDs).
R Never wear the shoulder belt under your
arm, across your neck or off your shoulder.
In a frontal crash, your body would move
too far forward. That would increase the
chance of head and neck injuries. The seat belt would also apply too much force to the
ribs or abdomen, which could severely
injure internal organs such as your liver or
spleen.
Adjust the seat belt so that the shoulder
section is located as close as possible to
the middle of the shoulder. It should not
touch the neck. Never pass the shoulder
portion of the seat belt under your arm. For
this purpose, you can adjust the height of
the seat belt outlet.
R Position the lap belt as low as possible on
your hips and not across the abdomen. If
the lap belt is positioned across your abdo-
men, it could cause serious injuries in a
crash.
R Never wear seat belts over rigid or breaka-
ble objects in or on your clothing, such as
eyeglasses, pens, keys etc., as these might
cause injuries.
R Make sure the seat belt is always fitted
snugly. Take special care of this when wear-
ing loose clothing.
R Never use a seat belt for more than one
person at a time. Do not fasten a seat belt
around a person and another person or
other objects at the same time.
R Seat belts should not be worn twisted. In a
crash, you would not have the full width of
the seat belt to distribute impact forces.
The twisted seat belt against your body
could cause injuries.
R Pregnant women should also always use a
lap-shoulder belt. The lap belt portion
should be positioned as low as possible on the hips to avoid any possible pressure on
the abdomen. R
Place the seat backrest in a position that is
as upright as possible.
R Check your seat belt during travel to make
sure it is properly positioned.
R Never place your feet on the instrument
panel, dashboard, or on the seat. Always
keep both feet on the floor in front of the
seat.
R When using a seat belt to secure infant
restraints, toddler restraints, or children in
booster seats, always follow the child seat
manufacturer's instructions. G
WARNING
Do not pass seat belts over sharp edges. They
could tear.
Do not allow the seat belt to get caught in the door or in the seat adjustment mechanism.
This could damage the seat belt.
Never attempt to make modifications to seat
belts. This could impair the effectiveness of
the seat belts.
Fastening seat belts G
WARNING
According to accident statistics, children are
safer when properly restrained on the rear
seats than on the front-passenger seat. Thus, we strongly recommend that children be
placed in the rear seat whenever possible.
Regardless of seating position, children 12
years old and under must be seated and prop- erly secured in an appropriately sized child
restraint system or booster seat recommen-
ded for the size and weight of the child. For
additional information, see the "Children in
the vehicle" section.
A child's risk of serious or fatal injuries is sig-
nificantly increased if the child restraints are
not properly secured in the vehicle and/or the child is not properly secured in the child
restraint. Occupant safety
53Safety Z
X
Adjust the seat and move the backrest to
an almost vertical position (Y page 96).
X Pull the seat belt smoothly from belt sash
guide 0043.
X Without twisting it, guide the shoulder sec-
tion of the seat belt across the middle of
your shoulder and the lap section across
your pelvis.
X Engage belt tongue 0044in buckle 0087.
X If necessary, adjust the seat belt to the
appropriate height (Y page 54).
X If necessary, pull upwards on the shoulder
section of the seat belt to tighten the belt
across your body.
All seat belts in the vehicle with the exception of the driver's seat belt are equipped with a
special seat belt retractor, to which a child
restraint system can be secured. For further
information on special seat belt retractors,
see (Y page 59).
Information on releasing the seat belt with
release button 0085(Ypage 54). Belt height adjustment You can adjust the seat belt height on the
front seats. Adjust the belt to a height that
allows the upper part of the seat belt to be
routed across the center of your shoulder.
X To raise: slide the belt guide upwards.
The belt guide will engage in various posi-
tions.
X To lower: hold belt guide release 0043and
slide the belt guide downwards.
X Let go of belt guide release 0043in the
desired position and make sure that the
belt guide engages.
Releasing seat belts !
Make sure that the seat belt is fully rolled
up. Otherwise, the seat belt or belt tongue
will be trapped in the door or in the seat
mechanism. This could damage the door,
the door trim panel and the seat belt. Dam- aged seat belts can no longer fulfill their
protective function and must be replaced.
Visit a qualified specialist workshop. 54
Occupant safetySafety
The front seat belts and the outer seat belts in
the rear are equipped with Emergency Ten-
sioning Devices and seat belt force limiters.
The ETDs tighten the seat belts in an accident, pulling them close against the body.
The ETDs do not correct incorrect seat posi-
tions or incorrectly fastened seat belts.
The ETDs do not pull vehicle occupants back
towards the backrest.
The ETDs can only be activated when:
R the ignition is switched on
R the restraint systems are operational; see
"0075 SRS warning lamp" (Y page 41)
R the belt tongue has engaged in the belt
buckle of the respective front seat
The ETDs on the outside seats in the rear
compartment are triggered independently of
the lock status of the seat belts.
The ETDs are triggered depending on the type
and severity of an accident:
R in the event of a head-on or rear-end colli-
sion if the vehicle decelerates or acceler-
ates rapidly in a longitudinal direction dur-
ing the initial stages of the impact.
R in the event of a side impact if the vehicle
decelerates or accelerates rapidly in a lat-
eral direction on the side opposite to the
impact.
R in certain situations where the vehicle rolls
over if the system determines that it can
provide additional protection.
If the ETDs are deployed, you will hear a bang,
and a small amount of powder may also be
released. Only in rare cases will the bang
affect your hearing. The powder that is
released generally does not constitute a
health hazard and does not indicate that there is a fire in the vehicle. The dust might cause
some temporary breathing difficulty for peo-
ple with asthma or other breathing trouble. To avoid this, you may wish to get out of the
vehicle as soon as it is safe to do so. You can
also open the window to allow fresh air to
enter the vehicle interior. The 0075SRS warn-
ing lamp lights up. If the seat belt is also equipped with a seat
belt force limiter and this is triggered, the
force exerted by the seat belt on the vehicle
occupant is reduced.
The seat belt force limiters for the front seats
are synchronized with the front air bags,
which absorb part of the deceleration force.
This results in the force exerted on the occu- pant being distributed over a greater area. Children in the vehicle
Child restraint systems
Important safety notes G
WARNING
According to accident statistics, children are
safer when properly restrained in the rear
seating positions than in the front seating
position. Thus, we strongly recommend that
children be placed in the rear seats whenever possible. Regardless of seating position, chil- dren 12 years old and under must be seated
and properly secured in an appropriate infant
restraint, toddler restraint, or booster seat
recommended for the size and weight of the
child.
The infant or child restraint must be properly
secured with the vehicle's seat belt, the seat
belt and top tether strap, or lower anchors and
top tether strap, fully in accordance with the
child seat manufacturer's instructions.
Occupants, especially children, should always
sit as upright as possible, wear the seat belt
properly and use an appropriately sized infant
restraint, toddler restraint, or booster seat
recommended for the size and weight of the
child.
Children can be killed or seriously injured by
an inflating air bag. Note the following impor-
tant information when circumstances require you to place a child in the front passenger
seat:
R Your vehicle is equipped with air bag tech-
nology designed to deactivate the front 56
Children in the vehicleSafety
Replace child restraint systems which have
been damaged or subjected to a load in an
accident as soon as possible. Have the secur- ing systems on the child restraint system
checked at a qualified specialist workshop,
before you install a child restraint system
again. G
WARNING
Infants and small children should never share a seat belt with another occupant. In the event
of an accident, they could be crushed
between the occupant and seat belt.
A child's risk of serious or fatal injuries is sig- nificantly increased if the child restraints are
not properly secured in the vehicle and/or thechild is not properly secured in the child
restraint.
Children that are too large for a child restraint
must travel in seats using normal seat belts.
Position the shoulder belt across the chest
and shoulder, not the face or neck. A booster seat may be necessary to achieve proper seat
belt positioning for children over 41 lbs
(18 kg) until they reach a height where a lap/
shoulder belt fits properly without a booster
seat.
When the child restraint is not in use, remove it from the vehicle or secure it with the seat
belt to prevent the child restraint from becom-
ing a projectile in the event of an accident. G
WARNING
If children are left unsupervised in the vehicle, they could:
R open the doors, thus endangering other
people or road users.
R get out and disrupt traffic.
R operate the vehicle's equipment.
Additionally, children could set the vehicle in
motion if, for example, they:
R release the parking brake.
R shifting the automatic transmission out of
park position P
R Start the engine. There is a risk of an accident and injury.
When leaving the vehicle, always take the
SmartKey with you and lock the vehicle. Never
leave children or animals unattended in the
vehicle. Always keep the SmartKey out of
reach of children. G
WARNING
If persons, particularly children are subjected to prolonged exposure to extreme heat or
cold, there is a risk of injury, possibly even
fatal. Never leave children unattended in the
vehicle. G
WARNING
If the child restraint system is subjected to
direct sunlight, parts may get very hot. Chil-
dren may burn themselves on these parts,
particularly on the metal parts of the child
restraint system. There is a risk of injury.
If you leave the vehicle, taking the child with
you, always ensure that the child restraint
system is not exposed to direct sunlight. Pro- tect it with a blanket, for example. If the childrestraint system has been exposed to direct
sunlight, let it cool down before securing the
child in it. Never leave children unattended in the vehicle.
If an infant or child is traveling in the vehicle:
R Secure the child with a child or infant seat
restraint system appropriate to the age and
weight of the child.
R Make sure that the infant or child is prop-
erly secured at all times while the vehicle is
in motion.
Mercedes-Benz recommends that you always
properly secure all infants and children with a
child or infant seat restraint system for the
trip.
The use of seat belts and infant and child
restraint systems is required by law in:
R all 50 states
R the U.S. territories 58
Children in the vehicleSafety
X
Install the LATCH-type (ISOFIX) child
restraint system on both LATCH-type (ISO-
FIX) securing rings 0043. Comply with the
child restraint system manufacturer's
instructions when installing the LATCH-
type (ISOFIX) child restraint system.
LATCH-type (ISOFIX) is a standardized secur- ing system for specially designed child
restraint systems on the rear seats. LATCH-
type (ISOFIX) securing rings 0043for two
LATCH-type (ISOFIX) child restraint systems
are installed on the left and right of the rear
seats.
Non LATCH-type (ISOFIX) child seats may
also be used and can be installed using the
vehicle's seat belt system. Install the child
seat according to the manufacturer's instruc-
tions.
Top Tether Important safety notes
G
WARNING
Always engage the rear seat backrests in an
upright position before installing the Top
Tether belt. Push and pull the rear seat backr- ests to check whether they are engaged cor-
rectly. If the seat backrest is not locked prop-
erly, the seat backrest could fold. The child
seat would no longer be supported properly or
positioned to provide its intended benefit.
That could cause serious or even fatal injuries. Example: Top Tether belt with one belt strap
Top Tether provides an additional connection
between the LATCH-type (ISOFIX) child
restraint system secured with LATCH-type
(ISOFIX) and the rear seat. This helps reduce the risk of injury even further. If the child
restraint system is installed with Top Tether,
this should always be used.
The Top Tether anchorage points are installed
in the rear compartment behind the outer
head restraints on the parcel shelf.
There is also another Top Tether anchorage
point behind the central rear seat.
X Press down the rear of cover 0044in the
direction of the arrow.
Cover 0044is raised slightly at the front.
X Fold up cover 0044of Top Tether anchorage
0087.
X Top Tether belt with one belt strap: route
Top Tether belt 0083centrally over head
restraint 0043.
X Top Tether belt with two belt straps:
route Top Tether belts 0083on the left and
right past the side of head restraint 0043. Children in the vehicle
61Safety Z
vehicle is unlocked, the door can be opened
from the outside.
X To activate: press the child-proof lock
lever up in the direction of arrow 0043.
X Make sure that the child-proof locks are
working properly.
X To deactivate: press the child-proof lock
lever down in the direction of arrow 0044.
Override feature for the rear side win-
dows G
WARNING
When children ride on the vehicle's rear seats, activate the override switch. Otherwise, the
children could be injured, e.g. by trapping
themselves in the rear side window. X
To activate/deactivate: press button0043.
If indicator lamp 0044is lit, operation of the
rear side windows is disabled. Operation is
only possible using the switches in the driv- er's door. If indicator lamp 0044is off, oper-
ation is possible using the switches in the
rear compartment. Driving safety systems
Overview of driving safety systems
In this section, you will find information about the following driving safety systems:
R ABS ( Anti-lock BrakingSystem)
(Y page 63)
R BAS ( Brake Assist System) (Y page 64) R
COLLISION PREVENTION ASSIST (distance
warning function and adaptive Brake
Assist) (Y page 64)
R COLLISION PREVENTION ASSIST PLUS
(Y page 64)
R ESP ®
(Electronic StabilityProgram)
(Y page 67)
R EBD ( Electronic Brake force Distribution)
(Y page 71)
R ADAPTIVE BRAKE (Y page 71)
R STEER CONTROL (Y page 71) Important safety notes
If you fail to adapt your driving style or
become distracted, the driving safety sys-
tems can neither reduce the risk of accident
nor override the laws of physics. Driving
safety systems are merely aids designed to
assist driving. You are responsible for the dis- tance to the vehicle in front, for vehicle speedand for braking in good time. Always adapt
your driving style to suit the prevailing road,
weather and traffic conditions and maintain a
safe distance from the vehicle in front. Drive
carefully.
i The driving safety systems described only
work as effectively as possible when there
is adequate contact between the tires and
the road surface. Pay particular attention to the information regarding tires, recommen-
ded minimum tire tread depths etc. in the
"Wheels and tires" section (Y page 314).
In wintry driving conditions, always use
winter tires (M+S tires) and if necessary,
snow chains. Only in this way will the driv-
ing safety systems described in this section
work as effectively as possible. ABS (Anti-lock Braking System)
General information ABS regulates brake pressure in such a way
that the wheels do not lock when you brake. Driving safety systems
63Safety Z
Useful information
..............................96
Correct driver's seat position ............96
Seats .................................................... 97
Steering wheel .................................. 102
Mirrors ............................................... 103
Memory functions .............................105 95Seats, steering wheel and mirrors