
See "Children in the vehicle" for information
on infants and children traveling with you in
the vehicle restraint systems for infants and
children (
Ypage 58).
Important safety notes
GWARNING
Modifications to the restraint system may
cause it to no longer work as intended. The
restraint system may then not perform its
intended protective function and may fail in an
accident or trigger unexpectedly, for example.
This poses an increased risk of injury or even fatal injury.
Never modify parts of the restraint system.
Never tamper with the wiring, the electronic
components or their software.
If it is necessary to modify an air bag system to
accommodate a person with disabilities, con-
tact an authorized Mercedes-Benz Center for
details. USA only: for further information con-
tact our Customer Assistance Center at
1-800-FOR-MERCedes (1‑800‑ 367‑6372).
Restraint system warning lamp
The functions of the restraint system are
checked after the ignition is switched on and
at regular intervals while the engine is run-
ning. Therefore, malfunctions can be detec-
ted in good time.
The 6 restraint system warning lamp in
the instrument cluster lights up when the igni-
tion is switched on. It goes out no later than a
few seconds after the vehicle is started. The
components of the restraint system are in
operational readiness.
A malfunction has occurred if the 6
restraint system warning lamp:
Rdoes not light up after the ignition is
switched on
Rdoes not go out after a few seconds with
the engine running
Rlights up again while the engine is running
GWARNING
If restraint system is malfunctioning, restraint
system components may be triggered unin-
tentionally or might not be triggered at all in
the event of an accident with a high rate of
vehicle deceleration. This can affect the Emer- gency Tensioning Device or air bag, for exam-
ple. This poses an increased risk of injury or
even fatal injury.
Have the restraint system checked and
repaired in a qualified specialist workshop as
soon as possible.
PASSENGER AIR BAG indicator lamp
PASSENGER AIR BAG ON indicator lamp :
and PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF indicator
lamp ;are part of the Occupant Classifica-
tion System (OCS).
The indicator lamps display the status of the
front-passenger front air bag.
RPASSENGER AIR BAG ON lights 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.
RPASSENGER AIR BAG OFF lights up: the
front-passenger front air bag is deactiva-
ted. It will then not be deployed in the event of an accident.
Occupant safety43
Safety
Z

XEngage seat belt tongue;in belt
buckle :.
XIf necessary, pull upwards on the shoulder
section of the seat belt to tighten the belt
across your body.
The shoulder section of the seat belt must
always be routed across the center of the
shoulder. Adjust the belt outlet if necessary.
XTo raise: slide the belt outlet upwards.
The belt outlet will engage in various posi-
tions.
XTo lower: hold belt outlet release ?and
slide belt outlet downwards.
XLet go of belt outlet release ?in the
desired position and make sure that the
belt outlet engages.
All seat belts except the driver's seat belt are
equipped with a special seat belt retractor to
securely fasten child restraint systems in the
vehicle. Further information can be found
under "Special seat belt retractor"
(
Ypage 59).
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.
Basic illustration
XPress release button :, hold belt
tongue ;firmly and guide it back towards
belt outlet =.
Belt warning for the driver and front
passenger
The7 seat belt warning lamp in the instru-
ment cluster is a reminder that all vehicle
occupants must wear 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 7seat 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 7seat belt warning lamp
lights up. As soon as the driver's and front-
passenger seat belts are fastened or a front
door is opened again, the 7seat 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. The warning tone switches
off after six seconds or once 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-
Occupant safety47
Safety
Z

How the air bag system works is deter-
mined by the severity of the accident detec-
ted, especially the vehicle deceleration or
acceleration and the apparent type of acci-
dent:
Rfrontal collision
Rside impact
Rrollover
Automatic measures after an acci-
dent
Immediately after an accident, the following
measures are implemented, depending on
the type and severity of the impact:
Rthe hazard warning lamps are activated
Rthe emergency lighting is activated
Rthe vehicle doors are unlocked
Rthe front side windows are lowered
Rthe engine is switched off and the fuel sup-ply is cut off
Rvehicles with mbrace: automatic emer-
gency call
Children in the vehicle
Important safety notes
Accident statistics show that children
secured in the rear seats are safer than chil-
dren secured in the front-passenger seat. For
this reason, Mercedes-Benz strongly advises
that you install a child restraint system on a
rear seat. Children are generally better pro-
tected there.
If a child younger than twelve years old and
under 5 ft (1.50 m) in height istraveling in the
vehicle:
Ralways 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
Rbe sure to observe the instructions and
safety notes in this section in addition to
the child restraint system manufacturer's
installation instructions
Rbe sure to observe the instructions and
safety notes on the "Occupant Classifica-
tion System (OCS)" (
Ypage 51)
GWARNING
If you leave children unsupervised in the vehi-
cle, they could set it in motion by, for example:
Rrelease the parking brake.
Rshift the automatic transmission out of the
parking position P.
Rstart the engine.
In addition, they may operate vehicle equip-
ment and become trapped. 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 unsupervised in the vehicle.
GWARNING
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.
GWARNING
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 child
restraint system has been exposed to direct
sunlight, let it cool down before securing the
child in it. Never leave children unattended in
the vehicle.
58Children in the vehicle
Safety

Rearward-facing child restraint system
If it is absolutely necessary to install a rear-
ward-facing child restraint system on the
front-passenger seat, always make sure that
the front-passenger front air bag is deactiva-
ted. Only if the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
indicator lamp is permanently lit (
Ypage 43)
is the front-passenger front air bag deactiva-
ted.
Always observe the child restraint system
manufacturer's installation and operating
instructions.
Forward-facing child restraint system
If it is absolutely necessary to install a
forward-facing child restraint system on the
front-passenger seat, always move the front-
passenger seat as far back as possible. Fully
retract the seat cushion length. The entire
base of the child restraint system must
always rest on the seat cushion of the front-
passenger seat. The backrest of the child
restraint system must lie as flat as possible
against the backrest of the front-passenger
seat. The child restraint system must not
touch the roof or be subjected to a load by the
head restraint. Adjust the angle of the seat
backrest and the head restraint position
accordingly. Always make sure that the shoul- der belt strap is correctly routed from the
vehicle belt outlet to the shoulder belt guide
on the child restraint system. The shoulder
belt strap must be routed forwards and down-
wards from the vehicle belt outlet. If neces-
sary, adjust the vehicle belt outlet and the
front-passenger seat accordingly.
Always observe the child restraint system
manufacturer's installation and operating
instructions.
Child-proof locks
Important safety notes
GWARNING
If children are traveling in the vehicle, they
could:
Ropen doors, thus endangering other people
or road users
Rexit the vehicle and be caught by oncoming
traffic
Roperate vehicle equipment and become
trapped
There is a risk of an accident and injury.
Always activate the child-proof locks and
override feature if children are traveling in the vehicle. When leaving the vehicle, always take
the key with you and lock the vehicle. Never
leave children unattended in the vehicle.
Override feature for:
Rthe rear doors (Ypage 64)
Rthe rear side windows (Ypage 64)
GWARNING
If you leave children unsupervised in the vehi-
cle, they could set it in motion by, for example:
Rrelease the parking brake.
Rshift the automatic transmission out of the
parking position P.
Rstart the engine.
In addition, they may operate vehicle equip-
ment and become trapped. 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 unsupervised in the vehicle.
GWARNING
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.
Children in the vehicle63
Safety
Z

ESP®(Electronic Stability Program)
General notes
iObserve the "Important safety notes" sec-
tion (
Ypage 65).
ESP
®monitors driving stability and traction,
i.e. power transmission between the tires and the road surface.
If ESP
®detects that the vehicle is deviating
from the direction desired by the driver, one
or more wheels are braked to stabilize the
vehicle. The engine output is also modified to
keep the vehicle on the desired course within
physical limits. ESP
®assists the driver when
pulling away on wet or slippery roads. ESP®
can also stabilize the vehicle during braking.
ETS/4ETS (Electronic Traction System)
iObserve the "Important safety notes" sec-
tion (
Ypage 65).
ETS traction control is part of ESP
®. On vehi-
cles with 4MATIC, 4ETS is part of ESP®.
Traction control brakes the drive wheels indi-
vidually if they spin. This enables you to pull
away and accelerate on slippery surfaces, for example if the road surface is slippery on one
side. In addition, more drive torque is trans-
ferred to the wheel or wheels with traction.
Traction control remains active, even if you
deactivate ESP
®.
Important safety notes
iObserve the "Important safety notes" sec-
tion (
Ypage 65).
GWARNING
If ESP
®is malfunctioning, ESP®is unable to
stabilize the vehicle. Additionally, further driv-
ing safety systems are deactivated. This
increases the risk of skidding and an accident.
Drive on carefully. Have ESP
®checked at a
qualified specialist workshop.
Vehicles without 4MATIC: when towing
your vehicle with the front axle raised, it is
important that you observe the notes on ESP
®
(Ypage 323).
If the å ESP
®OFF warning lamp lights up
continuously, ESP®is deactivated.
If the ÷ ESP
®warning lamp and the å
warning lamp are lit continuously, ESP®is not
available due to a malfunction.
Observe the information on warning lamps
(
Ypage 263) and display messages which
may be shown in the instrument cluster
(
Ypage 228).
Only use wheels with the recommended tire
sizes. Only then will ESP
®function properly.
Characteristics of ESP®
General information
If the ÷ ESP
®warning lamp goes out
before beginning the journey, ESP®is auto-
matically active.
If ESP
®intervenes, the ÷ESP®warning
lamp flashes in the instrument cluster.
If ESP
®intervenes:
XDo not deactivate ESP®under any circum-
stances.
XOnly depress the accelerator pedal as far as
necessary when pulling away.
XAdapt your driving style to suit the prevail-
ing road and weather conditions.
ECO start/stop function
The ECO start/stop function switches the
engine off automatically when the vehicle
stops moving. The engine starts automati-
cally when the driver wants to pull away again.
ESP
®remains in its previously selected sta-
tus. Example: if ESP®was deactivated before
the engine was switched off, ESP®remains
deactivated when the engine is switched on
again.
Driving safety systems69
Safety
Z

In the following situations, it may be better to
activate SPORT handling mode or deactivate
ESP
®:
Rwhen using snow chains
Rin deep snow
Ron sand or gravel
Ron specially designated roads when the
vehicle's own oversteering and understeer- ing characteristics are desired
Driving in SPORT handling mode or without
ESP
®requires an extremely qualified and
experienced driver.
iActivate ESP®as soon as the situations
described above no longer apply. ESP®will
otherwise not be able to stabilize the vehi-
cle if the vehicle starts to skid or a wheel
starts to spin.
!Avoid spinning the driven wheels for an
extended period with ESP®deactivated.
You could otherwise damage the drivetrain.
Deactivating/activating ESP
®
XTo activate SPORT handling mode:
briefly press button :.
The M SPORT handling mode warning
lamp in the instrument cluster lights up.
The SPORT handling mode
message
appears in the multifunction display.
XTo deactivate SPORT handling mode:
briefly press button :.
The M SPORT handling mode warning
lamp in the instrument cluster goes out.
XTo deactivate ESP®: press button :until
the å ESP®OFF warning lamp lights up
in the instrument cluster.
The ÷ OFF
message appears in the mul-
tifunction display.
XTo activate ESP®: briefly press button :.
The å ESP®OFF warning lamp in the
instrument cluster goes out. The ÷
ESP
®ONmessage appears in the multifunc-
tion display.
Characteristics of activated SPORT han-
dling mode
If SPORT handling mode is activated and one
or more wheels start to spin, the ÷ESP
®
warning lamp in the instrument cluster
flashes. ESP®only stabilizes the vehicle to a
limited degree.
When SPORT handling mode is activated:
RESP®only improves driving stability to a
limited degree.
RTraction control is still activated.
REngine torque is no longer limited and the
drive wheels are able to spin.
The spinning of the wheels results in a cut-
ting action for better traction on loose sur-
faces.
RESP®still provides support when you brake
firmly.
Characteristics when ESP
®is deactivated
If ESP
®is deactivated and one or more wheels
start to spin, the ÷ESP®warning lamp in
the instrument cluster does not flash. In such
situations, ESP
®will not stabilize the vehicle.
If you deactivate ESP
®:
RESP®no longer improves driving stability.
REngine torque is no longer limited and the
drive wheels are able to spin.
The spinning of the wheels results in a cut-
ting action for better traction on loose sur-
faces.
RTraction control is still activated.
Driving safety systems71
Safety
Z

RCOLLISION PREVENTION AS SIST isno lon-
ger available; nor is itactivated ifyou brake
firmly with assistance from ESP
®.
RESP®still provides support when you brake
firmly.
ESP®trailer stabilization
General info rmation
If your veh icle/trailer combination begins to
swerve, ESP
®assists you inthis situation.
ESP®slows the vehicle down bybraking and
limit ing the engine output unt ilthe vehicle/
trailer co mbination has stabilized.
Import ant safety notes
GWARNIN G
If road and weather condition sare poor ,
trailer stabilization will no tbe able to preven t
th evehicle/traile rcombination from swerv-
ing .Trailers wit h ahigh cente rof gravity can
tip ove rbefore ES P
®can detect this. Ther eis
a ris kof an accident.
Always adapt your driving style to th eprevail-
ing road and weather conditions.
If your veh icle with trailer (vehicle/trailer
co mbin ation) begins to lurch, you can only
stabiliz e the vehicle /trailer combination by
depr essing the brake firmly.
ESP
®trailer stabiliz ation is active above
speeds of about 65 km/h.
ESP
®trailer stabilization does not work if
ESP®is deactivated or disabled because of a
malfunction.
EBD (electronic brake force distribu-
tion)
General information
EBD mon itors and controls the brake pres-
sure on the rear wheels to improve driving
stabilit ywhile braking.
Important safety notes
iObserve the "Important safety notes" sec-
tion (
Ypage 65).
GWARNIN G
If EB Dis malfunctioning, th erear wheels can
lock, e.g. under full braking .This increases th e
ris kof skiddin gand an accident.
You should therefor eadapt your driving style
to th edifferent handlin gcharacteristics. Hav e
th ebrak esystem checked at aqualified spe-
cialist workshop.
Observe information regarding indicator and
warning lamps (
Ypage 261) as wellas dis-
play messages (
Ypage 230).
ADAPTIVE BRAKE
ADAPTIVE BRAKE enhances braking safety
and offers increased braking comfort. Inaddi-
tion to the braking function, ADAPTIVE BRAKE
also has the HOLD function (
Ypage 187) and
hill start assist (
Ypage 151).
STEER CONTROL
General information
ST EER CONTROL helps you bytransmitting a
noticea blesteering force to the steering
wheel inthe direction required for vehicle
stabiliz ation.
This steering assistance ispro vide din partic-
ular if:
Rboth right wheels or both left wheels are on
a wet or slippery road surface when you
brake.
Rthe veh iclestarts to skid.
Important safety notes
iObserve the "Important safety notes" sec-
tion (
Ypage 65).
72Driving safety systems
Safety

No steering assistance is provided from
STEER CONTROL, if:
RESP®is malfunctioning.
Rthe lighting is faulty.
If ESP
®is malfunctioning, you will be assisted
further by the electrical power steering.
Protection against theft
Immobilizer
The immobilizer prevents your vehicle from
being started without the correct SmartKey.
XTo activate with the SmartKey: remove
the SmartKey from the ignition lock.
XTo activate with KEYLESS-GO start-
function or KEYLESS-GO: switch the igni-
tion off and open the driver's door.
XTo deactivate: switch on the ignition.
When leaving the vehicle, always take the
SmartKey with you and lock the vehicle. Any-
one can start the engine if a valid SmartKey
has been left inside the vehicle.
iThe immobilizer is always deactivated
when you start the engine.
In the event that the engine cannot be star-
ted (yet the vehicle's battery is charged),
the system is not operational. Contact an
authorized Mercedes-Benz Center or call
1-800-FOR-MERCedes (in the USA) or
1-800-387-0100 (in Canada).
ATA (anti-theft alarm system)
XTo arm: lock the vehicle with the SmartKey
or KEYLESS-GO.
Indicator lamp :flashes. The alarm sys-
tem is armed after approximately
15 seconds.
XTo disarm: unlock the vehicle with the
SmartKey or KEYLESS-GO.
or
XInsert the SmartKey into the ignition lock.
A visual and audible alarm is triggered if the
alarm system is armed and you open:
Ra door
Rthe vehicle with the mechanical key
Rthe trunk lid
Rthe hood
XTo turn the alarm off with the SmartKey:
press the %or& button on the
SmartKey.
The alarm is switched off.
or
XVehicles with KEYLESS-GO start-func-
tion or KEYLESS-GO: remove the Start/
Stop button from the ignition lock
(
Ypage 147).
XInsert the SmartKey into the ignition lock.
The alarm is switched off.
XTo stop the alarm using KEYLESS-GO:
grasp the outside door handle. The Smart-
Key must be outside the vehicle.
The alarm is switched off.
or
XPress the Start/Stop button on the dash-
board. The SmartKey must be inside the
vehicle.
The alarm is switched off.
The alarm is not switched off, even if you
close the open door that triggered it, for
example.
iIf the alarm continues for more than
30 seconds, the mbrace emergency call
system automatically notifies the Cus-
tomer Assistance Center. This is done
either by text message or data connection.
Protection against theft73
Safety
Z