See "Children in the vehicle" for information
on infants and children traveling with you in
the vehicle restraint systems for infants and
children (
Ypage 60).
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
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)
:PASSENGER AIR BAG ON indicator lamp
;PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF indicator lamp
The indicator lamps inform you whether the
front-passenger front air bag is deactivated or
enabled.
XPress the Start/Stop button once or twice,
or turn the SmartKey to position 1or 2in
the ignition lock.
The system carries out self-diagnostics.
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF and
PASSENGER AIR BAG ON indicator lamps
must light up simultaneously for approx-
imately six seconds.
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. If the status of the front-passenger front air
bag changes while the vehicle is in motion, an
air bag display message appears in the instru-
ment cluster (
Ypage 271). When the front-
passenger seat is occupied, always pay atten-
tion to the PASSENGER AIR BAG ON and
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF indicator lamps. Be
aware of the status of the front-passenger
front air bag both before and during the jour-
ney.
GWARNING
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:
Rthe 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
Rthe front-passenger seat has been moved
back as far back as possible.
Rthe 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.
GWARNING
If you secure a child in a rearward-facing child
restraint system on the front-passenger seat
and the PASSENGER AIR BAG ON indicator
lamp is lit up, the front-passenger front air bag may deploy in an accident. The child could be
struck by the air bag. This poses an increased
risk of injury or even fatal injury.
52Occupant safety
Safety
child restraint system manufacturer's instal-
lation instructions.
After the system self-test, the PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF or PASSENGER AIR BAG ON
indicator lamp displays the status of the front-
passenger front air bag (
Ypage 52).
For more information about the OCS, see
"Problems with the Occupant Classification
System" (
Ypage 56).
Occupant safety55
Safety
Z
Never leave animals unattended in the vehi-
cle. Always secure animals properly during
the journey, e.g. use a suitable animal trans-
port box.
Driving safety systems
Overview of driving safety systems
In this section, you will find information about
the following driving safety systems:
RABS (Anti-lock Braking System)
(
Ypage 67)
RBAS ( Brake Assist System) (Ypage 68)
RBAS PLUS with Cross-Traffic Assist ( Brake
A ssist System PLUS with Cross-Traffic
Assist) (
Ypage 68)
RCOLLISION PREVENTION ASSIST PLUS
(
Ypage 70)
RESP®(Electronic StabilityProgram)
(
Ypage 73)
REBD ( Electronic Brake force Distribution)
(
Ypage 75)
RADAPTIVE BRAKE (Ypage 75)
RPRE-SAFE®Brake (Ypage 75)
RSTEER CONTROL (Ypage 78)
Important safety notes
If you fail to adapt your driving style or if you
are inattentive, the driving safety systems can
neither reduce the risk of an accident nor
override the laws of physics. Driving safety
systems are merely aids designed to assist
driving. You are responsible for the distance
to the vehicle in front, for vehicle speed and
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.
The driving safety systems described only
work as effectively as possible when there is
adequate contact between the tires and the road surface. Please pay special attention to
the notes on tires, recommended minimum
tire tread depths, etc. (
Ypage 374).
In wintry driving conditions, always use winter tires (M+S tires) and if necessary, snow
chains. Only in this way will the driving 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.
This allows you to continue steering the vehi-
cle when braking.
The ! ABS warning lamp in the instrument
cluster lights up when the ignition is switched
on. It goes out when the engine is running.
ABS works from a speed of about 5 mph
(8 km/h), regardless of road-surface condi-
tions. ABS works on slippery surfaces, even
when you only brake gently.
Important safety notes
iObserve the "Important safety notes" sec-
tion (
Ypage 67).
GWARNING
If ABS is faulty, the wheels could lock when
braking. The steerability and braking charac-
teristics may be severely impaired. Addition-
ally, further driving safety systems are deac-
tivated. There is an increased danger of skid-
ding and accidents.
Drive on carefully. Have ABS checked imme-
diately at a qualified specialist workshop.
When ABS is malfunctioning, other systems,
including driving safety systems, will also
become inoperative. Observe the information on the ABS warning lamp (
Ypage 294) and
display messages which may be shown in the
instrument cluster (
Ypage 258).
Driving safety systems67
Safety
Z
If COLLISION PREVENTION ASSIST PLUS is
deactivated, theæsymbol appears in the
assistance graphics display.
Distance warning function
General information
The distance warning function can help you to
minimize the risk of a front-end collision with
a vehicle ahead or reduce the effects of such
a collision. If the distance warning function
detects that there is a risk of a collision, you
will be warned visually and acoustically.
Important safety notes
iObserve the "Important safety notes" sec-
tion for driving safety systems (
Ypage 67).
GWARNING
The distance warning function does not react:
Rto people or animals
Rto oncoming vehicles
Rto crossing traffic
Rwhen cornering
Thus, the distance warning function cannot
provide a warning in all critical situations.
There is a risk of an accident.
Always pay careful attention to the traffic sit-
uation and be ready to brake.
GWARNING
The distance warning function cannot always
clearly identify objects and complex traffic
situations.
In such cases, the distance warning function
may:
Rgive an unnecessary warning
Rnot give a warning
There is a risk of an accident.
Always pay careful attention to the traffic sit-
uation and do not rely solely on the distance
warning function.
Function
Starting at a speed of approximately 4 mph
(7 km/h), the distance warning function
warns you if you rapidly approach a vehicle in
front. An intermittent warning tone will then
sound, and the ·distance warning lamp
will light up in the instrument cluster.
XBrake immediately in order to increase the distance from the vehicle in front.
or
XTake evasive action, provided it is safe to do
so.
Due to the nature of the system, particularly
complicated but non-critical driving condi-
tions may also cause the system to display a warning.
With the help of the radar sensor system, the
distance warning function can detect obsta-
cles that are in the path of your vehicle for an
extended period of time.
Up to a speed of approximately 44 mph
(70 km/h), the distance warning function can
also react to stationary obstacles, such as
stopped or parked vehicles.
Autonomous braking function
If the driver does not react to the distance
warning signal in a critical situation, COLLI-
SION PREVENTION ASSIST PLUS can assist
with the autonomous braking function.
The autonomous braking function:
Rgives the driver more time to react to criti-
cal driving situations
Rcan help the driver to avoid an accident or
Rreduces the effects of an accident
Vehicles without DISTRONIC PLUS: the
autonomous braking function is available in
the following speed ranges:
R4 - 65 mph (7 - 105 km/h) for moving
objects
R4 - 31 mph (7 - 50 km/h) for stationary
objects
Driving safety systems71
Safety
Z
Due to the nature of the system, particularly
complicated but non-critical driving condi-
tions may also cause Brake Assist to inter-
vene.
If adaptive Brake Assist is not available due to
a malfunction in the radar sensor system, the
brake system remains available with full
brake boosting effect and BAS.
ESP®(Electronic Stability Program)
General notes
iObserve the "Important safety notes" sec-
tion (
Ypage 67).
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 67).
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 67).
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.
If the å ESP®OFF warning lamp lights up
continuously, ESP®is deactivated.
If the ÷ ESP
®warning lamp lights up con-
tinuously, ESP®is not available due to a mal-
function.
Observe the information on warning lamps
(
Ypage 296) and display messages which
may be shown in the instrument cluster
(
Ypage 258).
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 automatically
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.
Driving safet ysystem s73
Safety
Z
Recognition by theradar sensor system is
also impaire din th eevent of:
Rthere is dir ton th esensor sor anythin gelse
coverin gth esensor s
Rthere is interferenc eby other radar source s
Rthere are strongradar reflections, for
exampl ein parkin ggarages
Ranarrow vehicl etravelin gin front, e.g. a
motorbik e
Ravehicl etravelin gin fron ton adifferen tlin e
relative to th ecenter of your vehicl e
Recognition by th ecamera system is also
impaire din th eevent of:
Rdir ton th ecamera or if th ecamera is cov-
ere d
Rthere is glar eon th ecamera system, e.g.
from th esun bein glow in th esk y
Rdarkness
Rif:
-pedestrian smov equickly, e.g. into th e
pat hof th evehicl e
-thecamera system no longer recognizes
a pedestrian as aperson due to special
clothin gor other objects
-apedestrian is concealed by other
objects
-th etypical outlin eof aperson is no tdis-
tinguishable from th ebackgroun d
Followin gdamag eto th efron ten dof th evehi-
cle ,hav eth econfiguration and operation of
th eradar sensor schecke dat aqualified spe -
cialist workshop .This also applie sto colli-
sion sat low speeds wher ethere is no vis ible
d
amag eto th efron tof th evehicle.
Followin gdamag eto th ewindshield, hav eth e
configuration and operation of th ecamera
system checke dat aqualified specialist work-
shop.
Function
XTo activate/deactivate: activateor deac -
tivat ePRE-SAF E®Brake in th eon-boar d
computer (
Ypage 253).
If th ePRE-SAF E®Brake is no tactivated, th e
æ symbol appear sin th emultifunction
display.
Startin gat aspeed of around 4mph (7 km/h),
this function warn syou if you rapidly
approac h avehicl ein front. An intermittent
warnin gtone will then soun dand th e·
distanc ewarnin glamp will ligh tup in th e
instrumen tcluster.
XBrake immediately to defuse th esituation .
or
XTak eevasive action provided it is saf eto do
so.
PRE-SAF E
®Brake can also brak eth evehicl e
automatically under th efollowin gconditions:
Rth edriver and front-passenger hav etheir
seat belt sfastene d
and
Rth evehicl espeed is between approx -
imately 4mph (7 km/h) and 12 4mph
(20 0km/h)
At speeds of up to approximately 44 mph
(70 km/h) PRE-SAF E
®Brake can also detect:
Rstationary objects in th epat hof your vehi-
cle ,e.g. stoppe dor parked vehicles
Rpedestrian sin th epat hof your vehicl e
iIf there is an increase dris kof acollision ,
preventive passenger protection measures
(PRE-SAF E
®)are activated (Ypage 59).
If th eris kof collision wit hth eve
hicl ein fron t
remain sand you do no tbrake, tak eevasive
action or accelerate significantly, th evehicl e
may perfor mautomatic emergenc ybraking,
up to th epoin tof full brak eapplication .Auto-
matic emergenc ybrakin gis no tperformed
until immediately prior to an imminen tacci-
dent.
Driving safety systems77
Safety
Z
Useful information
i
This Operator's Manual describes all
models and all standard and optional equip-
ment of your vehicle available at the time of
publication of the Operator's Manual.
Country-specific differences are possible.
Please note that your vehicle may not be
equipped with all features described. This
also applies to safety-related systems and
functions.
iRead the information on qualified special-
ist workshops (
Ypage 27).
Correct driver's seat position
GWARNING
You could lose control of your vehicle if you do the following while driving:
Radjust the driver's seat, head restraint,
steering wheel or mirrors
Rfasten the seat belt
There is a risk of an accident.
Adjust the driver's seat, head restraint, steer-
ing wheel and mirror and fasten your seat belt before starting the engine.
XObserve the safety guidelines on seat
adjustment (
Ypage 109).
XMake sure that seat =is adjusted prop-
erly.
Electrical seat adjustment (
Ypage 110)
When adjusting the seat, make sure that:
Ryou are as far away from the driver's air bag
as possible
Ryou are sitting in a normal upright position
Ryou can fasten the seat belt properly
Ryou have moved the backrest to an almost
vertical position
Ryou have set the seat cushion angle so that
your thighs are gently supported
Ryou can depress the pedals properly
Ryour legs are not fully extended
XCheck whether the head restraint is adjus-
ted properly.
When doing so, make sure that you have
adjusted the head restraint so that the back
of your head is supported at eye level by the
center of the head restraint.
XObserve the safety guidelines on steering
wheel adjustment (
Ypage 115).
XMake sure that steering wheel :is adjus-
ted properly.
Adjusting the steering wheel manually
(
Ypage 115)
Adjusting the steering wheel electrically
(
Ypage 116)
When adjusting the steering wheel, make
sure that:
Ryou can hold the steering wheel with your
arms slightly bent
Ryou can move your legs freely
Ryou can see all the displays in the instru-
ment cluster clearly
XObserve the safety guidelines for seat belts
(
Ypage 44).
XCheck whether you have fastened seat
belt ;properly (
Ypage 46).
108Correct driver's seat position
Seats, steering wheel and mirrors