2016 MERCEDES-BENZ GLC-Class warning

Depending on the person in the front-
passenger seat, the front-passenger front air
bag must either be deactivated or enabled;
see the following points. You must make sure
of this both before and during a journey.
RChildren 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)" (
Ypage 51) and
on "Children in the vehicle" (
Ypage 60).
There you will also find instructions on rear-
ward and forward-facing child restraint sys- tems on the front-passenger seat.
RAll 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
(
Ypage 51). Be sure to observe the notes
on "Seat belts“ (
Ypage 44) and "Air bags"
(
Ypage 48). 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:
RSeat belts
REmergency Tensioning Devices for the
front seat belts and the outer seat belts in
the rear
RSeat belt force limiters for the front seat
belts and the outer seat belts in the rear If the seat belt is pulled out of the belt outlet
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, the seat belt force limiters
reduce the force exerted by the seat b
elt on
the vehicle occupant.
The seat belt force limiters for the front seats
are synchronized with the front air bags,
which absorb part of the deceleration force.
This can reduce the force exerted on the vehi-
cle 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:
Rall 50 states
Rthe U.S. territories
Rthe District of Columbia
Rall Canadian provinces
Even where this is not required by law, all
vehicle occupants should correctly fasten
their seat belts before starting the journey.
GWARNING
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-
44Occupant safety
Safety

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 seatbelt.
GWARNING
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.
GWARNING
Persons under 5 ft (1.50 m) in heightcannot
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 restrain t
systems.
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 this Mercedes-Benz
vehicle. The child restraint system must be
appropriate to the age, weight and size of
the child
Ralways observe the instructions and safety
notes in the "Children in the vehicle" sec-
tion of this Operator's Manual (
Ypage 60) in addition to the child
restraint system manufacturer's installa-
tion instructions
Rbe sure to observe the instructions and
safety notes on the "Occupant classifica-
tion system (OCS)" (
Ypage 51)
GWARNING
The seat belts may not perform their intended protective function if:
Rthey are damaged, modified, extremely
dirty, bleach or dyed
Rthe seat belt buckle is damaged or
extremely dirty
Rthe Emergency Tensioning Devices, belt
anchorages or inertia reels have been modi-
fied
Seat belts may sustain non-visible damage in an accident, e.g. due to glass splinters. Modi-
fied or damaged seat belts may tear or fail,
e.g. in an accident. Modified Emergency Ten-
sioning 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.
Proper use of the seat belts
Observe the safety notes on the seat belt
(
Ypage 44).
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.
Occupant safety45
Safety
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Digital Operator's Manual or in the separate
COMAND or Audio 20 operating instructions.
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-
passenger seat belts are not fastened, a
warning tone sounds. A warning tone also
sounds with increasing intensity for
60 seconds or until the driver or front
passenger have faste ned th
eir seat belts.
If the driver or front passenger unfasten their
seat belts during the journey, the seat belt
warning is activated again.
iFor more information on the 7seat
belt warning lamp, see "Warning and indi-
cator lamps in the instrument cluster, seat
belts" (
Ypage 292).
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 (
Ypage 57).
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
GWARNING
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:
Rhave fastened their seat belts correctly,
including pregnant women
Rare sitting correctly and maintain the great-
est possible distance to the air bags
Rfollow the following instructions
Always make sure that there are no objects
between the air bag and the vehicle's occu-
pants.
RAdjust 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.
RMove 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.
48Occupant safety
Safety

ROnly hold the steering wheel on the out-
side. This allows the air bag to be fully
deployed.
RAlways 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.
RAlways 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.
RFor 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:
RAlways secure children under twelve years
of age and less than 5 ft (1.50 m) tall in
suitable child restraint systems.
RChild restraint systems should be installed
on the rear seats.
ROnly 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 .
RAlways observe the instructions and safety notes on the "Occupant Classification Sys-
tem (OCS)" (
Ypage 51) and on "Children
in the vehicle" (
Ypage 60) in addition to
the child restraint system manufacturer's
installation instructions. Objects in the vehicle interior may pre-
vent an air bag from functioning correctly.
Before starting your journey and to avoid risks
resulting from the speed of the air bag as it
deploys, make sure that:
Rthere are no people, animals or objects
between the vehicle occupants and an air
bag.
Rthere are no objects between the seat, door
and B-pillar.
Rno hard objects, e.g. coat hangers, hang on
the grab handles or coat hooks.
Rno accessories, such as cup holders, are
attached to the vehicle within the deploy-
ment area of an air bag, e.g. to doors, side
windows, rear side trim or side walls.
Rno heavy, sharp-edged or fragile objects
are in the pockets of your clothing. Store
such objects in a suitabl
e place.
GWARNING
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 objects
to it.
GWARNING
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
anymore. 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.
Occupant safety49
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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

Make sure that the front-passenger front air
bag has been disabled. The PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF indicator lamp must be lit.
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF indicator
lamp remains off and/or the PASSENGER AIR
BAG ON indicator lamp lights up, do not install
a rearward-facing child restraint system on
the front-passenger seat. You can find more
information on OCS under "Problems with the
Occupant Classification System"
(
Ypage 56).
GWARNING
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:
Rcome into contact with the vehicle's inte-
rior if the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF indi-
cator lamp is lit, for example
Rbe struck by the air bag if the PASSENGER
AIR BAG ON is lit up
This poses an increased risk of injury or even fatal injury.
Always move the front-passenger seat as far
back as possible and fully retract the seat
cushion length. Always make sure that the
shoulder belt strap is correctly routed from
the vehicle belt sash guide to the shoulder
belt guide on the child restraint system. The
shoulder belt strap must be routed forwards
and downwards from the vehicle belt sash
guide. If necessary, adjust the vehicle belt
sash guide and the front-passenger seat
accordingly. Always observe the child
restraint system manufacturer's installation
instructions.
If OCS determines that:
Rthe front-passenger seat is unoccupied, thePASSENGER AIR BAG OFF indicator lamp
lights up after the system self-test and remains lit. This indicates that the front-
passenger front air bag is deactivated.
Rthe front-passenger seat is occupied by a
child of up to twelve months old, in a stand-
ard child restraint system, the PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF indicator lamp lights up after
the system self-test and remains lit. This
indicates that the front-passenger front air bag is deactivated.
But even in the case of a twelve-month-old
child, in a standard child restraint system,
the PASSENGER AIR BAG ON can light up
permanently after the system self-test. This
indicates that the front-passenger front airbag is activated. The result of the classifi-
cation is dependent on, among other fac-
tors, the child restraint system and the
child's stature. It is recommended that you
install the child restraint system on a suit-
able rear seat.
Rthe front-passenger seat is occupied by a
person of smaller stature (e.g. a teenager
or small adult), either the PASSENGER AIR
BAG ON or PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF indi-
cator lamp lights up and remains lit after
the system self-test depending on the
result of the classification.
-If the PASSENGER AIR BAG ON indicator
lamp lights up, move the front-passenger
seat as far back as possible. Alterna-
tively, a person of smaller stature can sit
on a rear seat.
-If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF indicator
lamp is lit, a person of smaller stature
should not use the front-passenger seat.
Rthe front-passenger seat is occupied by an
adult or a person of adult stature, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG ON indicator lamp
lights up after the system self-test and
remains lit. This indicates that the front-
passenger front air bag is activated.
If children are traveling in the vehicle, be sure
to observe the notes on "Children in the vehi- cle" (
Ypage 60).
When OCS is malfunctioning, the red 6
restraint system warning lamp in the instru-
Occupant safety53
Safety
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ment cluster and the PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF indicator lamp light up simultaneously.
The front-passenger front air bag is deactiva-
ted in this case and does not deploy during anaccident. Have the system checked by quali-
fied technicians as soon as possible. Consult
an authorized Mercedes-Benz Center. The
front-passenger seat should only be repaired
at an authorized Mercedes-Benz Center.
If the front-passenger seat, the seat cover or
the seat cushion is damaged, have the nec-
essary repair work carried out at an author-
ized Mercedes-Benz Center.
For safety reasons, Mercedes-Benz recom-
mends that you only use seat accessories
that have been approved by Mercedes-Benz.
If the driver's air bag deploys, this does not
mean that the front-passenger front air bag
will also deploy. The Occupant Classification
System (OCS) categorizes the occupant in the
front-passenger seat. Depending on that
result, the front-passenger front air bag is
either enabled or deactivated.
System self-test
GDANGER
If both the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF and
PASSENGER AIR BAG ON indicator lamps do
not light up during the system self-test, the
system is malfunctioning. The front-
passenger front air bag might be triggered
unintentionally or might not be triggered at all
in the event of an accident with high deceler-
ation. This poses an increased risk of injury or
even fatal injury.
In this case the front-passenger seat may not
be used. Do not install a child restraint system
on the front-passenger seat. Have the Occu-
pant Classification System (OCS) checked
and repaired immediately at a qualified spe-
cialist workshop.
GDANGER
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF indicator
lamp remains lit after the system self-test, the
front-passenger front air bag is disabled. It will
not be deployed in the event of an accident. In
this case, the front-passenger front air bag
cannot perform its intended protective func-
tion, e.g. when a person is seated in the front-
passenger seat.
That person could, for example, come into
contact with the vehicle's interior, especially
if the person is sitting too close to the dash-
board. 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 person is seated properly with a cor-
rectly fastened seatbelt
Rthe front-passenger seat has been moved
back as far back as possible
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF indicator
lamp remains lit when it should not, the front-
passenger seat may not be used. Do not
install a child restraint system on the front-
passenger seat. Have the Occupant Classifi-
cation System (OCS) checked and repaired
immediately at a qualified specialist work-
shop.
GWARNING
Objects between the seat surface and the
child restraint system could affect OCS oper- ation. This could result in the front-passenger
air bag not functioning as intended during an
accident. This poses an increased risk of
injury or even fatal injury.
Do not place any objects between the seat
surface and the child restraint system. The
entire base of the child restraint system must
always rest on the seat cushion of the front-
passenger seat. The backrest of the forward-
facing child restraint system must, as far as
possible, be resting on the backrest of the
front-passenger seat. Always comply with the
54Occupant safety
Safety

Deployment of Emergency Tensioning
Devicesan dair bags
Important safet ynotes
GWARNING
The air bag parts are hot after an air bag has
bee ndeployed .There is aris kof injury.
Do no ttouch th eair bag parts .Hav e a
deployed air bag replaced at aqualified spe -
cialis tworkshop as soo nas possible.
GWARNING
A deployed air bag no longer offers any pro -
tection and canno tprovid eth eintended pro -
tection in an accident. There is an increase d
ris kof injury.
Hav eth evehicle towed to aqualified special-
ist workshop in order to hav e adeployed air
bag replaced.
It is important fo ryour safet yand that of your
passenger to hav edeployed air bags replaced
and to hav eany malfunctionin gair bags
repaired. Thi swill help to mak esur eth eair
bags continue to perform their protective
function fo rth evehicle occupant sin th e
event of acrash .
GWARNING
Pyrotechnic Emergency Tensioning Devices
that hav ebee ndeployed are no longer opera-
tional and are unable to perform their inten-
ded protective function .Thi sposes an
increase dris kof injury or eve nfatal injury.
Therefore, hav epyrotechni cEmergency Ten -
sioning Devices whic hhav ebee ntriggere d
immediately replaced at aqualified specialis t
workshop .
An electric moto ris used by PRE-SAF E®to
trigger th etightenin gof th eseat belt in haz -
ardous situations. Thi sprocedur eis reversi-
ble.
If Emergency Tensioning Devices are trig-
gered or air bags are deployed ,you will hear a
bang, and asmall amount of powder may also be released. The
6restrain tsystem warn -
in g lamp lights up.
Only in rar ecases will th eban gaffec tyour
hearing. The powder that is release dgener-
ally doe sno tconstitute ahealth hazard ,but it
may caus eshort-term breathin gdifficulties in
people wit hasthm aor other respirator yprob-
lems. To avoid this, you may wish to get out of
th evehicle or ope nth ewindows as soo nas it
is saf eto do so.
Ai rbags and pyrotechni cEmergency Tension-
in gDevices (ETDs) contain perchlorat emate-
rial ,whic hma
y require special handlin gand
regard fo rth eenvironment. National guide-
lines mus tbe observed durin gdisposal. In
California, see www.dtsc.ca.gov/
HazardousWaste/Perchlorate/
index.cfm .
Method of operation
Duringth efirst stage of acollision ,th e
restrain tsystem contro luni tevaluates impor -
tant physical dat arelatin gto vehicle deceler -
ation or acceleration ,suc has:
Rduration
Rdirection
Rintensit y
Based on th eevaluation of this data, th e
restrain tsystem contro luni ttriggers th e
Emergency Tensioning Devices durin g afron -
ta lor rea rcollision .
An Emergency Tensioning Devic ecan only be
triggered, if:
Rth eignition is switched on
Rth ecomponent sof th erestrain tsystem are
operational; see "Restrain tsystem warnin g
lamp " (
Ypage 43)
Rthebelt tongue is engage din th ebuckl eon
th erespective front-passenger seat
The Emergency Tensioning Devices in th e
rea rcompartmen tare triggere dindepend -
entl yof th eloc kstatus of th eseat belts.
If th erestrain tsystem contro luni tdetects a
more severe accident, further component sof
Occupant safety57
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