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
Objects in the vehicle interior may pre-
vent the air bag from functioning cor-
rectly. Before starting your journey and to
avoid risks resulting from the speed of the air bag as it deploys, make sure that:
R there are no people, animals or objects
between the vehicle occupants and an air
bag.
R there are no objects between the seat, door
and B-pillar.
R no accessories, such as cup holders, are
attached to the vehicle within the deploy-
ment area of an air bag, e.g. to doors or side
windows.
R no heavy, sharp-edged or fragile objects
are in the pockets of your clothing. Store
such objects in a suitable place. G
WARNING
If you modify the air bag cover or affix objects
such as stickers to it, the air bag can no longer function correctly. There is an increased risk
of injury.
Never modify an air bag cover or affix objectsto it. G
WARNING
Sensors to control the air bags are located in the doors. Modifications or work not per-
formed correctly to the doors or door panel-
ing, as well as damaged doors, can lead to the
function of the sensors being impaired. The air bags might therefore not function properly
any more. Consequently, the air bags cannot
protect vehicle occupants as they are
designed to do. There is an increased risk of
injury.
Never modify the doors or parts of the doors.
Always have work on the doors or door pan-
eling carried out at a qualified specialist work- shop. Front air bags
Driver's air bag
0043inflates in front of the
steering wheel; front-passenger air bag 0044
inflates in front of and above the glove box.
When deployed, the front air bags offer addi- tional head and thorax protection on the front
seats.
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF indicator lamp
shows you the status of the front-passenger
front air bag (Y page 41).
Front-passenger air bag 0044is only deployed
if:
R the Occupant Classification System (OCS)
recognizes that the front-passenger seat is
occupied (Y page 49)
R the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF indicator
lamp is not lit (Y page 49)
R the restraint system control unit predicts a
high accident severity
Knee bags Driver's knee bag
0043deploys under the steer-
ing column and front-passenger knee bag 0044 Occupant safety
47Safety Z
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
Deployment of Emergency Tensioning
Devices and air bags
Important safety notes G
WARNING
The air bag parts are hot after an air bag has
been deployed. There is a risk of injury.
Do not touch the air bag parts. Have a
deployed air bag replaced at a qualified spe-
cialist workshop as soon as possible. G
WARNING
A deployed air bag no longer offers any pro-
tection and cannot provide the intended pro-
tection in an accident. There is an increased
risk of injury.
Have the vehicle towed to a qualified special- ist workshop in order to have a deployed air
bag replaced.
It is important for your safety and that of your
passenger to have deployed air bags replaced and to have any malfunctioning air bags
repaired. This will help to make sure the air
bags continue to perform their protective
function for the vehicle occupants in the
event of a crash. G
WARNING
Pyrotechnic Emergency Tensioning Devices
that have been deployed are no longer opera- tional and are unable to perform their inten-
ded protective function. This poses an
increased risk of injury or even fatal injury.
Therefore, have pyrotechnic Emergency Ten-
sioning Devices which have been triggered
immediately replaced at a qualified specialist workshop.
An electric motor is used by PRE-SAFE ®
to
trigger the tightening of the seat belt in haz-
ardous situations. This procedure is reversi-
ble.
If the Emergency Tensioning Devices or air
bags are deployed, you will hear a bang and a small amount of powder may also be released. The
0075restraint system warning
lamp will light up.
Only in rare cases will the bang affect your
hearing. The powder released is generally not hazardous to health, it could however cause
short-term breathing difficulties in people
with asthma or other respiratory problems. In
order to prevent breathing difficulties, you
should leave the vehicle as soon as it is safe to
do so, or open the window.
Air bags and pyrotechnic seat belt tensioners
contain perchlorate material, which may
require special handling or environmental
protection measures. Check with your local
government’s disposal guidelines. California
residents, see www.dtsc.ca.gov/
HazardousWaste/Perchlorate/
index.cfm.
Method of operation During the first stage of a collision, the
restraint system control unit evaluates impor-
tant physical data relating to vehicle deceler- ation or acceleration, such as:
R Duration
R Direction
R Intensity
Based on the evaluation of this data, the
restraint system control unit triggers the belt
tensioners in the event of a frontal or rear
collision.
If the restraint system control unit detects a
high accident severity, additional compo-
nents of the restraint system are activated
independently of one another in certain fron- tal collision situations:
R Front air bags as well as driver's and front-
passenger kneebag
Depending on the person occupying the front-
passenger seat, the front-passenger air bag is activated or deactivated. The front-passenger front air bag can only be deployed in an acci-
dent if the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF indica-
tor lamp is off. Observe the information on the 54
Occupant safetySafety
Important safety notes
!
Make sure that there are no objects in the
footwell or behind the seats. There is a dan- ger that the seats and/or objects could be
damaged when PRE-SAFE ®
is activated.
Although your vehicle is equipped with PRE-
SAFE ®
, the possibility of injury in the event of
an accident cannot be ruled out. Always
adapt your driving style to suit the prevailing
road and weather conditions and maintain a
safe distance from the vehicle in front. Drive
carefully.
Function PRE-SAFE
®
intervenes:
R in emergency braking situations, e.g. when
BAS is activated
R in critical driving situations, e.g. when phys-
ical limits are exceeded and the vehicle
understeers or oversteers severely
R on vehicles with the Driving Assistance
package: if BAS PLUS intervenes power-
fully or the radar sensor system detects an
imminent danger of collision in certain sit-
uations
PRE-SAFE ®
takes the following measures
depending on the hazardous situation detec-
ted:
R the seat belts are pre-tensioned.
R if the vehicle skids, the side windows are
closed so that only a small gap remains.
R vehicles with the memory function: the
front-passenger seat is adjusted if it is in an
unfavorable position.
If the hazardous situation passes without
resulting in an accident, PRE-SAFE ®
slackens
the belt pre-tensioning. All settings made by
PRE-SAFE ®
can then be reversed.
If the seat belt pre-tensioning is not reduced:
X Move the seat backrest or seat back
slightly when the vehicle is stationary.
The seat belt pre-tensioning is reduced and
the locking mechanism is released. The seat-belt adjustment is an integral part of
the PRE-SAFE ®
convenience function. Infor-
mation about the convenience function can
be found under "Belt adjustment"
(Y page 45). Automatic measures after an acci-
dent
Immediately after an accident, the following
measures are implemented, depending on
the type and severity of the impact: R by activating the hazard warning lamps
R the emergency lighting is activated
R the vehicle doors are unlocked
R the front side windows are lowered
R in vehicles with a memory function: the
electrically adjustable steering wheel is
raised
R the engine is switched off
R vehicles with mbrace: automatic emer-
gency call Children in the vehicle
Important safety notes
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 Mercedes-Benz vehi-
cles. The child restraint system must be
appropriate to the age, weight and size of
the child
R be sure to observe the instructions and
safety notes in this section in addition to
the child restraint system manufacturer's
installation instructions
R be sure to observe the instructions and
safety notes on the "Occupant classifica-
tion system (OCS)" (Y page 49) Children in the vehicle
57Safety Z
Useful information
..............................72
SmartKey ............................................. 72
Doors .................................................... 78
Trunk .................................................... 80
Side windows ...................................... 83
Roof ...................................................... 87 71Opening and closing
Problem
Possible causes/consequences and
0050
0050Solutions The engine can no lon-
ger be started using the SmartKey. The on-board voltage is too low.
X Switch off non-essential consumers, e.g. seat heating or interior
lighting, and try to start the engine again.
If this does not work:
X Check the starter battery and charge it if necessary
(Y page 299).
or
X Jump-start the vehicle (Y page 301).
or
X Consult a qualified specialist workshop. The engine can no lon-
ger be started using
KEYLESS-GO. The
SmartKey is in the vehi-
cle. The vehicle is locked.
X Unlock the vehicle and try to start the vehicle again. There is interference from a powerful source of radio waves.
X Start your vehicle with the SmartKey in the ignition lock. Doors
Important safety notes
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 shift the automatic transmission out of park
position P or shift manual transmission into
neutral.
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. Unlocking and opening doors from
the inside
! The side windows will not open/close if
the battery is discharged or if the side win- dows have iced up. It will then not be pos-
sible to close the door. Do not attempt to
force the door closed. You could otherwise
damage the door or the side window.
You can open a door from inside the vehicle
even if it has been locked.
If the vehicle was previously locked with the
SmartKey or with KEYLESS-GO, opening the
vehicle from the inside will activate the anti-
theft alarm system. Switch off the alarm
(Y page 69). 78
DoorsOpening and closing
X
Pull door handle 0044.
If the door is locked, locking knob 0043pops
up. The door is unlocked and can be
opened.
i When a door is opened, the side window
on that side opens slightly. When the door
is closed, the side window closes again. Centrally locking and unlocking the
vehicle from the inside
You can centrally lock or unlock the vehicle
from the inside. For example, you can unlock
the front-passenger door from the inside or
lock the vehicle before you pull away. X
To unlock: press button 0043.
X To lock: press button 0044.
If the front-passenger door is closed, the
vehicle locks.
The central locking/unlocking button does
not lock or unlock the fuel filler flap or the
stowage compartment in the center console. You cannot unlock the vehicle centrally from
the inside if the vehicle has been locked with
the SmartKey or KEYLESS-GO.
You can open a door from inside the vehicle
even if it has been locked.
If a locked door is opened from the inside, the
previous unlock status of the vehicle will be
taken into consideration if:
R the vehicle was locked using the locking
button for the central locking, or
R if the vehicle was locked automatically
The vehicle will be fully unlocked if it had pre- viously been fully unlocked. If only the driver's
door had been previously unlocked, only the
door which has been opened from the inside
is unlocked. Automatic locking feature
0043
Disarming
0044 Arming
X To disarm: press and hold button 0043for
about five seconds until a tone sounds.
X To arm: press and hold button 0044for about
five seconds until a tone sounds.
i If you press one of the two buttons and do
not hear a tone, the relevant setting has
already been selected.
The vehicle is locked automatically when the
ignition is switched on and the wheels are
turning. Doors
79Opening and closing Z