2015 MERCEDES-BENZ SLK-Class belt

The PASSENGER AIR BAG ON indicator lamp
is inoperative. It lights up briefly when the
ignition is switched on and then goes out
again.
Depending on the person in the front-
passenger seat, the front-passenger front air
bag must either be disabled or enabled; see
the following points. You must make sure of
this both before and during a journey.
R Children in a child restraint system:
whether the front-passenger front air bag is enabled or deactivated depends on the
installed child restraint system, and the age
and size of the child. Therefore, be sure to
observe the notes on the "Occupant clas-
sification system (OCS)" (Y page 49) and
on "Children in the vehicle" (Y page 57).
There you will also find instructions on
backwards- and forwards-facing child
restraint systems on the front-passenger
seat.
R All other persons: depending on the clas-
sification of the person in the front-
passenger seat, the front-passenger front
air bag is enabled or deactivated
(Y page 49). Be sure to observe the notes
on "Seat belts“ (Y page 42) and "Air bags"
(Y page 46). There you can also find infor-
mation on the correct seat position. Seat belts
Introduction Seat belts are the most effective means of
restricting the movement of vehicle occu-
pants in the event of an accident or the vehi-
cle rolling over. This reduces the risk of vehi- cle occupants coming into contact with parts
of the vehicle interior or being ejected from
the vehicle. Furthermore, the seat belt helps
to keep the vehicle occupant in the best posi- tion in relation to the air bag. The seat belt system comprises:
R Seat belts
R Emergency Tensioning Devices and seat
belt force limiters
If the seat belt is pulled by the belt loop
quickly or with a jerky movement, the belt
retractor locks. The belt strap cannot be
extracted any further.
The Emergency Tensioning Device tightens
the seat belt in an accident, pulling the belt
close against the body. However it does not
pull the vehicle occupant back in the direction of the backrest.
The Emergency Tensioning Device does not
correct an incorrect seat position or the rout-
ing of an incorrectly fastened seat belt.
When triggered, seat belt force limiters help
to reduce the force exerted by the seat belt on the vehicle occupant.
The seat belt force limiters are synchronized
with the front air bags, which absorb part of
the deceleration force. This can reduce the
force exerted on the vehicle occupants during
an accident.
! If the front-passenger seat is unoccupied,
do not insert the belt tongue into the buckle of the front-passenger seat. This may oth-
erwise lead to the triggering of the Emer-
gency Tensioning Device in the event of an
accident, which will then need to be
replaced.
Important safety notes The use of seat belts and child restraint sys-
tems is required by law in:
R all 50 states
R the U.S. territories
R the District of Columbia
R all Canadian provinces
Even where this is not required by law, all
vehicle occupants should correctly fasten
their seat belts before starting the journey. 42
Occupant safetySafety

G
WARNING
If the seat belt is incorrectly fastened, it can-
not protect as intended. Furthermore, an
incorrectly fastened seat belt can cause addi- tional injury, for example, in an accident, dur-
ing braking or when abruptly changing direc-
tion. This poses an increased risk of injury or
even fatal injury.
Make sure that all vehicle occupants are
seated properly with a correctly fastened seat belt. G
WARNING
The seat belt does not offer the intended level of protection if you have not moved the back-
rest to an almost vertical position. When brak-
ing or in the event of an accident, you could
slide underneath the seat belt and sustain
abdomen or neck injuries, for example. This
poses an increased risk of injury or even fatal injury.
Adjust the seat properly before beginning
your journey. Always ensure that the backrest
is in an almost vertical position and that the
shoulder section of your seat belt is routed
across the center of your shoulder. G
WARNING
Persons under 5 ft (1.50 m) in height cannot
fasten the seat belt correctly without an addi- tional suitable restraint system. If the seat
belt is incorrectly fastened, it cannot protect
as intended. Furthermore, an incorrectly fas-
tened seat belt can cause additional injury, for
example, in an accident, during braking or an
abrupt change of direction. This poses an
increased risk of injury or even fatal injury.
For this reason, always secure persons under
5 ft (1.50 m) in height in suitable restraint
systems.
If a child younger than 12 years and under 5 ft
(1.50 m) in height is traveling in the vehicle:
R always secure the child in a child restraint
system suitable for this Mercedes-Benz
vehicle. The child restraint system must be appropriate to the age, weight and size of
the child
R always observe the instructions and safety
notes in the "Children in the vehicle" sec-
tion of this Operator's Manual
(Y page 57) in addition to the child
restraint system manufacturer's installa-
tion instructions
R be sure to observe the instructions and
safety notes on the "Occupant classifica-
tion system (OCS)" (Y page 49) G
WARNING
The seat belts may not perform their intended protective function if:
R they are damaged, modified, extremely
dirty, bleach or dyed
R the seat belt buckle is damaged or
extremely dirty
R the Emergency Tensioning Devices, belt
anchorages or inertia reels have been modi-
fied
Seat belts may be damaged in an accident,
although the damage may not be visible, e.g.
due to splinters of glass. Modified or damaged
seat belts may tear or fail, e.g. in an accident. Modified Emergency Tensioning Devices
could accidentally trigger or fail to deploy
when necessary. This poses an increased risk
of injury or even fatal injury.
Never modify the seat belts, Emergency Ten-
sioning Devices, belt anchorages or inertia
reels. Make sure that the seat belts are
undamaged, not worn out and clean. Follow-
ing an accident, have the seat belts checked
immediately at a qualified specialist work-
shop.
Only use seat belts that have been approved
for your vehicle by Mercedes-Benz. Any such modifications could invalidate the vehicle's
general operating permit. Occupant safety
43Safety Z

Proper use of the seat belts
Observe the safety notes on the seat belt
(Y page 42).
All vehicle occupants must be wearing the
seat belt correctly before beginning the jour- ney. Also make sure that all vehicle occu-
pants are always wearing the seat belt cor-
rectly while the vehicle is in motion.
When fastening the seat belt, always make
sure that:
R the seat belt tongue is only inserted to the
belt buckle belonging to that seat.
R the seat belt is tight across your body.
Avoid wearing bulky clothing, e.g. a winter
coat.
R the seat belt is not twisted.
Only then can the forces which occur be
distributed over the area of the belt.
R the shoulder section of the belt is always
routed across the center of your shoulder.
The shoulder section of the belt must not
come into contact with your neck or be
routed under your arm.
R the lap belt passes tightly and as low down
as possible across your lap.
The lap belt must always be routed across
your hip joints and not across your abdo-
men. This applies particularly to pregnant
women. If necessary, push the lap belt
down to your hip joint and pull it tight using the shoulder section of the belt.
R the seat belt is not routed across sharp,
pointed or fragile objects.
If you have such items located on or in your
clothing, e.g. pens, keys or eyeglasses,
store these in a suitable place.
R only one person is using a seat belt at a
time.
Infants and children must never travel sit-
ting on the lap of a vehicle occupant. In the
event of an accident, they could be crushed between the vehicle occupant and seat
belt.
R objects are never secured with a seat belt if
the seat belt is also being used by one of the
vehicle's occupants.
Seat belts are only intended to secure and
restrain vehicle occupants. Always observe
the notes in the "Stowage options/compart-
ments" section for securing objects, luggage
or loads (Y page 256).
Fastening seat belts Please take note of the safety notes on seat
belts (Y
page 42) and the notes on their cor-
rect use (Y page 44). X
Adjust the seat (Y page 96).
The seat backrest must be in an almost
upright position.
X Pull the seat belt smoothly out of belt loop
0087 and engage belt tongue 0044into belt
buckle 0043.
The driver's and front-passenger's seat
belts are automatically pulled taut as
required, see “Belt adjustment”
(Y page 45).
X If necessary, pull upwards on the shoulder
section of the seat belt to tighten the belt
across your body. 44
Occupant safetySafety

In order to attach the child restraint system
securely in the vehicle, the seat belt on the co-
driver's seat is equipped with a child seat
lock. Further information on the "Child seat
lock" (Y page 58).
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. X
Press release button 0043, hold belt
tongue 0044and guide it back towards belt
loop 0087.
Seat belt adjustment AMG vehicles:
the "seat-belt adjustment"
function is not available.
The seat-belt adjustment is an integral part of
the PRE-SAFE ®
convenience function. This
function adjusts the driver's and front-
passenger seat belt to the upper body of the
occupants. The belt strap is tightened slightly when:
R the belt tongue is engaged in the buckle
and
R the ignition is switched on
The seat-belt adjustment will apply a certain
tightening force if any slack is detected
between the vehicle occupant and the seat
belt. Do not hold on to the seat belt tightly
while it is adjusting.
You can switch the seat-belt adjustment on
and off in the on-board computer
(Y page 208).
Belt warning for the driver and front
passenger The
0076 seat belt warning lamp in the instru-
ment cluster is a reminder that all occupants
must fasten their seat belts. It may light up
continuously or flash. In addition, there may
be a warning tone.
Regardless of whether the driver's seat belt
has already been fastened, the 0076seat belt
warning lamp lights up for six seconds each
time the engine is started. If, after
six seconds, the driver or front-passenger
seat belt has not been fastened and the doors are closed, the 0076seat belt warning lamp
lights up again. As soon as the driver's and
front-passenger seat belts are fastened or a
front door is opened again, the 0076seat belt
warning lamp goes out.
If the driver's seat belt is not fastened after
the engine is started, an additional warning
tone will sound. This warning tone stops after six seconds or when the driver's seat belt is
fastened.
If the vehicle's speed exceeds 15 mph
(25 km/h) once and the driver's and front-
passenger seat belts are not fastened, a
warning tone sounds. The warning tone
sounds with increasing intensity for
60 seconds or until the driver or front
passenger have fastened their seat belts. Occupant safety
45Safety Z

If the driver or front passenger unfasten their
seat belts during the journey, the seat belt
warning is activated again.
i For more information on the
0076seat
belt warning lamp, see "Warning and indi-
cator lamps in the instrument cluster, seat
belts" (Y page 244). Air bags
Introduction The installation point of an air bag can be rec-
ognized by the AIR BAG symbol.
An air bag complements the correctly fas-
tened seat belt. It is no substitute for the seat
belt. The air bag provides additional protec-
tion in applicable accident situations.
Not all air bags are deployed in an accident.
The different air bag systems function inde-
pendently from one another (Y page 54).
However, no system available today can com- pletely eliminate injuries and fatalities.
It is also not possible to rule out a risk of injury
caused by an air bag due to the high speed at which the air bag must be deployed.
Important safety notes G
WARNING
If you do not sit in the correct seat position,
the air bag cannot protect as intended and
could even cause additional injury when
deployed. This poses an increased risk of
injury or even fatal injury.
To avoid hazardous situations, always make
sure that all of the vehicle's occupants:
R have fastened their seat belts correctly,
including pregnant women
R are sitting correctly and maintain the great-
est possible distance to the air bags
R follow the following instructions
Always make sure that there are no objects
between the air bag and the vehicle's occu-
pants. R
Adjust the seats properly before beginning
your journey. Always make sure that the
seat is in an almost upright position. The
center of the head restraint must support
the head at about eye level.
R Move the driver's and front-passenger
seats as far back as possible. The driver's
seat position must allow the vehicle to be
driven safely.
R Only hold the steering wheel on the out-
side. This allows the air bag to be fully
deployed.
R Always lean against the backrest while driv-
ing. Do not lean forwards or lean against
the door or side window. You may other-
wise be in the deployment area of the air
bags.
R Always keep your feet in the footwell in
front of the seat. Do not put your feet on the
dashboard, for example. Your feet may oth- erwise be in the deployment area of the air
bag.
R For this reason, always secure persons less
than 5 ft (1.50 m) tall in suitable restraint
systems. Up to this height, the seat belt
cannot be worn correctly.
If a child is traveling in your vehicle, also
observe the following notes:
R Always secure children under 12 years of
age and less than 5 ft (1.50 m)in height in
suitable child restraint systems.
R Only secure a child in a rearward-facing
child restraint system on the front-
passenger seat when the front-passenger
front air bag is deactivated. If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF indicator lamp is permanently lit, the front-passenger front
air bag is deactivated (Y page 41).
R Always observe the instructions and safety
notes on the "Occupant Classification Sys- tem (OCS)" (Y page 49) and on "Children
in the vehicle" (Y page 57) in addition to
the child restraint system manufacturer's
installation instructions. 46
Occupant safetySafety

under the glove box. The driver's and front-
passenger knee bags are triggered together
with the front air bags.
The driver's and front-passenger knee bags
offer additional thigh, knee and lower leg pro-
tection.
Side impact air bags G
WARNING
Unsuitable seat covers could restrict or even
prevent the deployment of the air bags inte-
grated into the seats. Consequently, the air
bags cannot protect vehicle occupants as
they are designed to do. In addition, the func- tion of the Occupant Classification System
(OCS) could be restricted. This poses an
increased risk of injury or even fatal injury.
You should only use seat covers that have
been approved for the respective seat by
Mercedes-Benz. Side impact air bags
0043deploy next to the
outer bolster of the seat backrest.
When deployed, the side impact air bag offers additional thorax protection. However, it doesnot protect the:
R head
R neck
R arms
In the event of a side impact, the side impact
air bag is deployed on the side on which the
impact occurs. The side impact air bag on the front-
passenger side deploys under the following
conditions:
R the OCS system detects that the front-
passenger seat is occupied or
R the belt tongue is engaged in the belt
buckle of the front-passenger seat
If the belt tongue is engaged in the belt
buckle, the side impact air bag on the front-
passenger side deploys if an appropriate acci-
dent situation occurs. In this case, deploy-
ment is independent of whether the front-
passenger seat is occupied or not.
Head bags Head bags
0043deploy in the area of the side
windows at the front.
When deployed, the headbag enhances the
level of protection for the head. However, it
does not protect your:
R chest
R arms
In the event of a side impact, the headbag is
deployed on the side on which the impact
occurs.
If the system determines that they can offer
additional protection to that provided by the
seat belt, a headbag may be deployed in other
accident situations (Y page 54).48
Occupant safetySafety

The headbag on the front-passenger side
does not deploy under the following condi-
tions:
R OCS has detected that the front-passenger
seat is unoccupied.
R the front-passenger seat belt is not fas-
tened.
If the belt tongue is engaged in the belt
buckle, the headbag on the front-passenger
side deploys if an appropriate accident situa- tion occurs. In this case, it will deploy regard- less of whether the front-passenger seat is
occupied or not. Occupant Classification System
(OCS)
Introduction The Occupant Classification System (OCS)
categorizes the person in the front-passenger
seat. Depending on that result, the front-
passenger front air bag and front-passenger
knee bag are either enabled or deactivated.
The system does not deactivate:
R the side impact air bag
R the front-passenger head bag
R the Emergency Tensioning Devices
Prerequisites To be classified correctly, the front passenger
must sit:
R with the seat belt fastened correctly
R in an almost upright position with their
back against the seat backrest
R with their feet resting on the floor, if possi-
ble
If the front passenger does not observe these
conditions, OCS may produce a false classi-
fication, e.g. because the front passenger:
R transfers their weight by supporting them-
selves on a vehicle armrest
R sits in such a way that their weight is raised
from the seat cushion If you install a child restraint system on the
front-passenger seat, be sure to observe the
correct positioning of the child restraint sys-
tem. Never place objects under or behind the
child restraint system, e.g. cushions. The
entire base of the child restraint system must
always rest on the seat cushion of the front-
passenger seat. The backrest of the forwards- facing child restraint system must, as far as
possible, be resting on the backrest of the
front-passenger seat.
The child restraint system must not touch the
roof or be put under strain by the head
restraint. Adjust the angle of the seat back-
rest and the head restraint position accord-
ingly.
Only then can OCS be guaranteed to function correctly. Always observe the child restraint
system manufacturer's installation instruc-
tions.
Occupant Classification System opera-
tion (OCS) 0043
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF indicator lamp
0044 PASSENGER AIR BAG ON indicator lamp
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF indicator lamp 0043
informs you whether the front-passenger
front air bag is deactivated.
X Turn the SmartKey to position 1or 2in the
ignition lock, or press the Start/Stop but-
ton once or twice on vehicles with KEY-
LESS-GO.
The system carries out a self-diagnosis.
The PASSENGER AIR BAG ON indicator lamp
is inoperative. It lights up briefly when the Occupant safety
49Safety Z

ignition is switched on and then goes out
again.
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF indicator lamp
must light up for approximately six seconds.
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF indicator lamp
then displays the status of the front-
passenger front air bag. If the status of the
front-passenger front air bag changes while
the vehicle is in motion, an air bag display
message may appear in the instrument clus-
ter (Y page 224). When the front-passenger
seat is occupied, always pay attention to the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF indicator lamp. Be aware of the status of the front-passenger
front air bag both before and during the jour-ney.
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF indicator
lamp:
R is lit, the front-passenger front air bag is
deactivated. They will then not be deployed in the event of an accident.
R does not light up : the front-passenger
front air bag is enabled. If, in the event of an accident, all deployment criteria are met,
the front-passenger front air bag is
deployed. G
WARNING
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF indicator
lamp is lit, the front-passenger front air bag is disabled. It will not be deployed in the event of
an accident and cannot perform its intended
protective function. A person in the front-
passenger seat could then, for example, come
into contact with the vehicle's interior, espe-
cially if the person is sitting too close to the
dashboard. This poses an increased risk of
injury or even fatal injury.
When the front-passenger seat is occupied,
always ensure that:
R the classification of the person in the front-
passenger seat is correct and the front-
passenger front air bag is enabled or disa- bled in accordance with the person in the
front-passenger seat
R the front-passenger seat has been moved
back as far back as possible.
R the person is seated correctly.
Make sure, both before and during the jour-
ney, that the status of the front-passenger
front air bag is correct. G
WARNING
If you secure a child in a child restraint system on the front-passenger seat and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF indicator lamp is
off, the front-passenger front air bag can
deploy in the event of an accident. The child
could be struck by the air bag. This poses an
increased risk of injury or even fatal injury.
Make sure that the front-passenger front air
bag has been disabled. The PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF indicator lamp must be lit. G
WARNING
If you secure a child in a forward-facing child
restraint system on the front-passenger seat
and you position the front-passenger seat too close to the dashboard, in the event of an
accident, the child could:
R come into contact with the vehicle's inte-
rior if the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF indi-
cator lamp is lit, for example
R be struck by the air bag if the PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF indicator lamp is off
This poses an increased risk of injury or even fatal injury.
Move the front-passenger seat as far back as
possible. Always make sure that the shoulder belt strap is correctly routed from the vehicle
belt loop to the shoulder belt guide on the
child restraint system. The shoulder belt strap
must be routed forwards and downwards
from the vehicle belt loop. Always observe the child restraint system manufacturer's instal-
lation instructions. 50
Occupant safetySafety