Safety
Passive Safety
General information
Introduction
This chapter contains information on the following subjects:
Before setting off
8
Driving safety
8
Safety equipment
8
In this section you will find important information, tips and notes on the sub-
ject of passive safety in your vehicle.
We have combined everything here which you should be familiar with, for ex-
ample, regarding seat belts, airbags, child seats and safety of children.
WARNING■ This chapter contains important information on how to use the vehicle for
the driver and his occupants.■
You will find further information on safety, which concerns you and those
travelling with you, in the following chapters of this Owner's Manual.
■
The complete on-board literature should always be in the vehicle. This
applies in particular, if you rent out or sell the vehicle.
Before setting off
Read and observe
on page 8 first.
For your own safety and the safety of the people travelling with you, please
pay attention to the following points before setting off.
Ensure that the lighting and the turn signal system are functioning proper-
ly.
Ensure that the function of the wipers and the condition of the wiper
blades are free of any defects.
Ensure that all of the windows offer good visibility to the outside.
Adjust the rear-view mirror so that vision to the rear is guaranteed.
Ensure that the mirrors are not covered.
Check the tyre inflation pressure.
Check the engine oil, brake fluid and coolant level.
Secure all items of luggage.
Do not exceed the permissible axle loads and permissible gross weight of
the vehicle.
Close all doors as well as the bonnet and boot lid.
Ensure that no objects can obstruct the pedals.
Protect children in suitable child seats with correctly fastened seat
belts » page 22 , Transporting children safely .
Adopt the correct seated position » page 9, Correct and safe seated
position . Tell your passengers to assume the correct seated position.
Driving safety
Read and observe
on page 8 first.
The driver is fully responsible for himself and his occupants. If your driving
safety is effected, you place yourself and the oncoming traffic at risk.
The following guidelines must therefore be observed. Do not get distracted from concentrating on the traffic situation, e.g. by
your passengers or mobile phone calls.
Never drive when your driving ability is impaired, e.g. through medication,
alcohol or drugs.
Keep to the traffic regulations and the permissible speed limit.
Always adjust the driving speed to the road, traffic and weather condi-
tions.
Take regular breaks on long journeys – at least every two hours.
Safety equipment
Read and observe
on page 8 first.
The following list contains only part of the safety equipment in your vehicle.
› Three-point seat belts for all the seats.
› Belt force limiters for the front seats.
› Belt tensioners for the front seats.
› Seat belt height adjusters for front seats.
› Front airbag for the driver and the front passenger.
› Driver’s knee airbag.
› Front side airbags.
› Rear side airbags.
8Safety
WARNING (Continued)■The lock tongue should only be inserted into the lock which is the correct
one for your seat. Wrong use of the safety belt will reduce its capacity to
protect and the risk of injury increases.■
The slot of the belt tongue must not be blocked otherwise the belt
tongue will not lock in place properly.
■
Many layers of clothing and loose clothing (e. g. a winter coat over a jack-
et) do not allow you to be correctly seated and impairs proper operation of
the seat belts.
■
It is prohibited to use clamps or other objects to adjust seat belts (e. g. for
shortening the belts for smaller persons).
■
The seat belts for the rear seats can only fulfil their function reliably
when the seat backrests are correctly locked into position » page 92.
WARNINGInformation on the care and maintenance of the safety belts■The belt webbing must always be kept clean. Soiled belt webbing may im-
pair proper operation of the inertia reel » page 187.■
The seat belts must not be removed or changed in any way. Do not at-
tempt to repair the seat belts yourself.
■
Check the condition of all the seat belts on a regular basis. If any damage
to the seat belts, seat belt connections, inertia reel or the lock is detected,
the relevant seat belt must be replaced by a specialist garage.
■
Damaged seat belts which have been subjected to stress in an accident
and were therefore stretched, must be replaced – this is best done by a
specialist garage. The anchorage points for the belts should also be
checked.
Note
The national legal requirements must be observed when using seat belts.The physical principle of a head-on collisionFig. 4
Driver without a fastened seat belt/rear seat passenger without a
fastened seat belt
Read and observe
on page 12 first.
As soon as the vehicle is moving, so-called kinetic energy (the energy of mo-
tion) is produced both in terms of the car as well as in terms of the occupants.
The magnitude of this kinetic energy depends essentially on the speed at
which the vehicle is travelling and on the weight of the vehicle including the
occupants. The greater the speed and weight increase, the greater the
amount of energy which has to be absorbed in the event of an accident.
The speed of the vehicle is the most important factor. Doubling the speed of
the vehicle from 25 km/h up to 50 km/hour increases the kinetic energy four
times.
The opinion that it is possible to support your body in a minor accident with
your hands, is incorrect. Even in a collision at only a low speed, the forces act-
ing on the body are such that it is no longer possible to support your body.
Even if you only drive at a speed of 30 km/h to 50 km/h, the forces that your
body is exposed to in the event of an accident can exceed a metric ton
(1000 kg).
For example, a person's weight of 80 kg “increases” at 50 km/h to 4.8 tons
(4800 kg).
In the event of a frontal collision, occupants of the car not wearing a seat belt
are thrown forward and strike parts of the interior of the car, such as the
steering wheel, dash panel, windscreen in ways which cannot be control-
led » Fig. 4 -
. In certain circumstances you could even be thrown out of the
vehicle, which could cause life threatening or even fatal injuries.
13Seat belts
Trailer turn signal lightsRead and observe
on page 34 first.
If the warning light
flashes , the trailer turn signal lights are turned on.
If a trailer is hitched and the warning light
is not flashing , one of the trailer
turn signal lights has failed.
The following message is shown in the information cluster display, for exam-
ple.
Trailer: check left turn signal!
TRAILER TURN SIG_ CHECK LEFT
The trailer must be unhitched properly » page 169, Hitch and trailer .
Fog lights
Read and observe
on page 34 first.
The warning light
illuminates when the fog lights are operating.
Cruise control system
Read and observe
on page 34 first.
The indicator light
is illuminated when the cruise control system and auto-
matic distance control are switched on.
Brake pedal (automatic transmission)
Read and observe
on page 34 first.
If the warning light
illuminates , operate the brake pedal.
Natural gas operation
Read and observe
on page 34 first.
If the warning light
is lit, the vehicle is powered by natural gas.
Main beam
Read and observe
on page 34 first.
The warning light
illuminates when the main beam or the headlight flasher
is operated.
Warning icons in the display
Introduction
This chapter contains information on the following subjects:
Rear seat belt warning
41
Alternator
41
Coolant
41
Engine oil pressure
42
Engine oil level
42
Lamp failure
43
Diesel particulate filter (diesel engine)
43
Windscreen washer fluid level
43
Fuel reserve
43
Headlight assist
44
START-STOP-system
44
Display of a low temperature
44
Water in the fuel filter (diesel engine)
44
Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC)
44
Distance warning (Front Assistant)
44
Advance warning/emergency brake (Front Assistant)
45
The warning icons indicate the status of certain functions or faults.
The warning icons are indicated in the display of the instrument clus-
ter » page 31 .
Depending on the meaning, the symbol or
in the bar lists up simultane-
ously with the corresponding control symbol, with indicator lights
5
» Fig. 22
on page 31 .
SymbolMeaningDangerWarning 40Using the system
Coolant temperature too high
If the coolant temperature is too high, the warning icon lights up and the
following message appears in the instrument cluster display.
Engine overheat. Stop! Owner's manual!
ENGINE OVERHEAT STOP
› Stop the vehicle and turn off the engine.
› Switch on the ignition and wait until the coolant temperature pointer returns
to the operating range » page 32.
› Continue your journey only after the warning icon
has disappeared.WARNING■
Carefully open the coolant expansion bottle. If the engine is hot, the cool-
ing system is pressurized – risk of scalding! It is therefore best to allow the
engine to cool down before removing the cap.■
Do not touch the radiator fan. The radiator fan may switch itself on auto-
matically even if the ignition is off - risk of injury!
CAUTION
■ Additional headlights and other attached components in front of the air inlet
impair the cooling efficiency of the coolant.■
Never cover the radiator - there is a risk of the engine overheating.
Engine oil pressure
Read and observe
on page 41 first.
When the warning light
is flashing , the engine oil pressure is too low.
The following message is shown in the information cluster display. Oil pressure: Stop! Owner's manual!
STOP VEHICLE OIL PRESSURE
›
Stop the vehicle, switch off the engine, and check the level of the engine
oil » page 196 , Checking the oil level .
›
If the oil pressure is too low, top up the engine oil » page 197.
If the oil level is within the specified range and the warning symbol
starts
to flash again after the engine is started,
do not continue driving! Switch off
the engine and seek assistance from a specialist garage.
CAUTIONIf for some reason it is not possible to top up the engine oil under the current
circumstances, do not continue driving! Switch off the engine and seek as-
sistance from a specialist garage.
Engine oil level
Read and observe
on page 41 first.
Engine oil level too low
If the warning icons and
are lit , the engine oil level is too low.
The following message is shown in the information cluster display. Oil level: add oil!
ADD OIL
› Stop the vehicle, switch off the engine, and check the engine oil lev-
el » page 196 .
The warning icon will go out if the bonnet is left open for more than 30 sec-
onds. If no engine oil has been replenished, the warning icon will come on
again after driving about 100 km.
Engine oil level too high
If the warning icons and
are
lit in conjunction with the following message
on the display, the engine oil level is too high.
Reduce oil level!
OIL LEVEL TOO HIGH
› Stop the vehicle, switch off the engine, and check the engine oil lev-
el » page 196 .
Engine oil level sensor
If the warning icons and
are
lit in conjunction with the following message
on the display, the engine oil level sensor is defective.
Oil sensor: Workshop!
OIL SENSOR WORKSHOP
Seek assistance from a specialist garage immediately.
CAUTION
If for some reason it is not possible to top up the engine oil under the current
circumstances, do not continue driving! Switch off the engine and seek as-
sistance from a specialist garage.42Using the system
Average fuel consumption
The average fuel consumption 1)
is calculated since the last time the memory
was erased.
If you wish to determine the average fuel consumption over a certain period of
time, you must set the memory at the start of the new measurement to
zero » page 48 .
After erasing the memory, no fuel consumption data will appear for the first
100 m driven.
The indicated information is updated continuously while you are driving.
With G-TEC vehicles, the average consumption of fuel currently being used is displayed.
Current fuel consumption
You can use this information to adapt your driving style to the desired fuel
consumption 1 )
.
The display appears in litres/hour 2)
or in kg/h 3)
if the vehicle is stationary or be-
ing driven at a low speed.
With G-TEC vehicles, the current consumption of fuel currently being used is
displayed.
Oil temperature
If the engine oil temperature is in the range 80-110 °C, the engine operating
temperature is reached.
If the oil temperature is lower than 80 °C or above 110 °C, avoid high engine
revs, full throttle and high engine loads.
If the oil temperature is lower than 50 °C or if a fault in the system for check-
ing the oil temperature is present, are displayed instead of the oil tempera-
ture.
Warning against excessive speeds
Set the speed limit, for example, for the maximum permissible speed in
town » page 50 .Traffic sign recognition
The display can show up to three of the following traffic signs simultaneously.
› Speed limits (including additional signs).
› Overtaking prohibited.
Further information » page 164, Traffic sign recognition .
Current driving speed
The current speed displayed is identical to the display on the speedometer3
» Fig. 22 on page 31 .
Average speed
The average speed since the memory was last erased is displayed in km/hour .
To determine the average speed over a certain period of time, set the memory
to zero at the start of the measurement » page 48.
After erasing the memory, no data will appear for the first 300 m driven.
The indicated information is updated continuously while you are driving.
Distance travelled
The distance travelled since the memory was last erased is displayed.
If you want to measure the distance travelled from a particular moment in time
on, at this moment, reset the memory by setting the button to zero » page 48.
The maximum distance indicated is 9999 km. The indicator is automatically set
back to zero if this period is exceeded.
Driving time
The time travelled since the memory was last erased is displayed.
If you want to measure the time travelled from a particular moment in time on,
at this moment, reset the memory by setting the button to zero » page 48.
The maximum distance indicated is 99 hours and 59 minutes. The indicator is
automatically set back to zero if this period is exceeded.
Convenience consumers
There, the total consumption of all consumer comfort in l / h is displayed.
1)
The units for the displayed consumption are set in the Infotainment
» Infotainment operating instruc-
tions , chapter Device settings .
2)
On some models in certain countries, the display appears in --,- kilometres/litres if the vehicle is station-
ary.
3)
In natural gas mode.
49Information system
Fold down undivided seat backrest›Push the release handles Aon both sides of the seat backrest in the direc-
tion of arrow 1
simultaneously » Fig. 76.
›
Fold the backrest in the direction of the arrow
2
.
Fold divided seat backrest backwards
›
Pull the rear outer seat belt
C
to the side panel in the direction of arrow
3
» Fig. 76 .
›
Then push the seat backrest back into the upright position until the securing
knob
A
clicks into place – check by pulling on the seat backrest » .
›
Make sure that the red pin
B
is hidden.
Fold undivided seat backrest backwards
›
Pull the rear outer seat belt
C
to the side panel in the direction of arrow
3
» Fig. 76 .
›
Then push the seat backrest back into the upright position until the release
levers
A
on either side of the seat back click into place – check by pulling on
the seat backrest » .
›
Make sure that the red pins
B
on both sides of the seat back are not visible.
WARNING■
The seat belts and the belt locks must be in their original position after
folding back the seat backrests – they must be ready to use.■
The seat backrests must be securely locked in position so that no objects
in the luggage compartment can slide into the passenger compartment on
sudden braking – risk of injury.
■
If rear seats are occupied, make sure that the respective seat backrests
are properly engaged.
CAUTION
■ Ensure that the seat belts are not damaged when operating the seat backr-
ests. Under no circumstances must the seat belts be jammed by the folded
back seat backrests.■
Store the head restraints that were removed in such a way that they cannot
be damaged or soiled.
Rear seat backrests - fold down from the luggage compartmentFig. 77
Fold rear seat backrest forwards: Variant 1/variant 2
The rear seat backrests can also be unlocked and folded forward from the lug-
gage compartment.
There is a lever on the right side of the luggage compartment for unlocking
the right and the middle rear seat backrests.
There is a lever on the left side of the luggage compartment for unlocking the
left rear seat backrest.
›
Pull the corresponding lever in the direction of the arrow » Fig. 77.
The respective seat rest is unlocked and folded forward if applicable.
CAUTION
■ Before folding the seat backrest forward from the luggage compartment,
check that there are no objects on the rear seat. When folding the seat back-
rest forward, they could be damaged or cause damage to the seat backrest
and the seat.■
On vehicles with a net partition, the left and then the right and middle rear
seat backrest must first be unlocked.
93Seats and head restraints
The sensor function may be impaired in the events of one of the following.
› The sensor is soiled by mud, snow etc.
› The area in front and around the sensor is obscured by labels, auxiliary lights
or similar items.
› Visibility is poor, (e.g. fog, heavy rain, thick snowfall).
If the sensor is dirty or covered, the corresponding message appears on the
display of the instrument cluster » page 157, Information messages .WARNING■
If you suspect that the sensor is damaged, deactivate the system. Have
the sensor checked by a specialist garage.■
The sensor can become misaligned by collisions or by damage to the front
of the vehicle, the wheel arch or the underside of the vehicle. This can lead
to impaired function of the sensor - risk of accidents! Have the sensor
checked by a specialist garage.
■
The area in front and around the sensor should not be obscured by labels,
auxiliary lights or similar items. This can lead to impaired function of the
sensor - risk of accidents!
CAUTION
Remove the snow with a brush and the ice with a solvent-free de-icer.
Operation
Fig. 155
Instrument cluster display: Note
(dangerous distance)advance /
warning or emergency braking at
low speed
Read and observe and on page 155 first.
The system support is provided in the following manner.
› Alerts you about a dangerous proximity to the vehicle ahead.
› Warns you of an impending collision.
› Prepares the brakes for emergency braking prior to a detected danger.
›Assists with a brake action triggered by the driver.
› If the driver fails to respond to a detected danger, automatic braking is per-
formed.
The system can work only if the following basic conditions are met. The system is activated.
TCS is enabled » page 138, Braking and stabilisation systems .
The vehicle is traveling forwards at a speed of more than approx. 5 km/h.
Note
The system can be impaired or may not be available, for example when driving
in “sharp ”curves or with an ESC engagement » page 138.
proximity warning (dangerous proximity)
Read and observe
and on page 155 first.
If a safe distance to the vehicle ahead is not maintained, the display of the in-strument cluster shows the symbol
» Fig. 155 on page 156 -
.
Immediately increase the proximity if the current traffic situation allows you
to do so!
The proximity at which the warning is displayed depends on the current speed.
The warning may occur when driving between about 60 km/h and 210 km/h.
Warning and automatic braking
Read and observe
and on page 155 first.
Emergency braking at low speed
In a driving speed range of approx. 5 km/h to approx. 30 km/h, the automatic
braking action is not preceded by a warning. In the event of an immediate risk
of impact, automatic braking is carried out with the breaking force increasing
in stages.
The symbol
» Fig. 155 on page 156 -
appears in the display during auto-
matic braking
Advance warning
If the system detects a risk of collision, the symbol
» Fig. 155 on page 156 -
appears in the display and you will hear an acoustic signal.
At the same time, the braking system is prepared for possible emergency brak-
ing.
156Driving
Hitch and trailer
Hitch
Introduction
This chapter contains information on the following subjects:
Description
169
Adjusting the ready position
170
Correctly adjusted ready position
170
Assembling the ball rod - 1st step
171
Assembling the ball rod - 2nd step
171
Check proper fitting
172
Removing the ball rod - 1st step
172
Removing the ball rod - 2nd step
173
Accessories
173
The maximum trailer drawbar load is 75 kg.
For vehicles with all-wheel drive, the maximum trailer nose weight is 80 kg.
With G-TEC-vehicles, the maximum trailer drawbar load is 56 kg .
WARNING■
Before each time you make a journey when using the ball rod, check that
it is seated correctly and is secured in the mounting recess.■
Do not use the ball rod if it is not correctly inserted into the mounting re-
cess and secured.
■
Do not use the towing hitch if it is damaged or if there are parts missing.
■
Do not perform any modifications or changes to the towing device.
■
Never release the ball rod while the trailer is still coupled.
■
Keep the mounting recess of the towing device clean at all times. Such
dirt prevents the ball rod from being attached securely!
CAUTION
■ Take care when using the ball rod - there is a risk of paint damage to the
bumper.■
When the ball rod is removed always place the cover onto the mounting re-
cess - there is a danger of soiling the mounting recess.
Note■ Operation and maintenance of the tow hitch » page 185.■The towing vehicle by means of the detachable ball rod » page 223.
Description
Fig. 166
Support for the hitch equipment / ball bar / key (Version 1 and 2)
Read and observe
and on page 169 first.
The ball rod can be removed and is located in the spare wheel well or in a com- partment for the spare wheel in the luggage compartment.
The hitch comes with two key versions. The handling of the hitch is identical
for the two key versions. The difference is only in the key version.
Carrier for the towing device and ball rod » Fig. 166
13-pin power socket
Safety eye
Mounting recess
Cap
Dust cap
Ball rod
Operating lever
Lock cap
Trigger pin
Lock
Locking ball
Key – Version 1
Key – Version 2
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