
#Alwayse nsur ethat thes eat backres tis
in an almos tvertical position and that
th es houlder section of your seat belt is
ro uted across thec enter of your shoul‐
der.
& WARNING Risk of injury or deathwhen
additional restra int sy stems ar enotused
fo rp ersons wit hasmaller build
Pe rsons under 5ft(1.50 m)t all canno twear
th es eat belt cor rectly wi thout asuitable
additional restra int sy stem.
If th es eat belt is no twornc orrectly ,itc an‐
no tp erform its intended pr otectiv efunction.
In addition, an incor rectly fastened seat belt
can also cause injuries, fore xamp le, in the
ev ent of an accidentorw hen braking or
ch anging direction suddenly .
#Alwayss ecur epersons under 5ft
(1.50 m) tallinas uitable restra int sys‐
te m.
&
WARNING Risk of injury or deathdueto
bloc keds eat belt buckle or seat belt
anchorage
Objects next tothef ront seat that bloc kthe
seat belt buckle or them oving seat belt
anchorag eonthe front seat impair thef unc‐
tion of theE mer gency Tensioning Devices.
The Emergency Tensioning Device scan,
th en, no tfunction as intended and thes eat
belt can no longer pr ovide thei ntended pro‐
te ction.
#Befor estarti ngthej ourne y,mak esure
th at ther ea reno objects around the
seat belt buckle or between thef ront
seat and door.
& WARNING Risk of injury or deathdueto
damaged or modified seat belts
Seat belts cann otprov ide pr otection in the
fo llowing situations:
RIf th es eat belts ar edamaged, modified,
ex treme lydirty ,bleached or dyed
RIfth es eat belt buckle is damaged or
ex treme lydirty
RIfth eE mer gency Tensioning Devices,
sea tbelta nchorages or sea tbeltr etra c‐
to rs have been modified
Seat belts ma ybedamaged in an accident,
although thed amag emaynotbev isible, e.g.
due tosplinter sofglass.
Modified or damaged seat belts ma ytear or
fa il, e.g. in an accident.
Modified Emer gency Tensioning Devices
could accidental lytrig gerorf ailtofunction
as intended.
#Ne verm odify thes eat belts, Emer gency
Te nsioning Devices, sea tbelta ncho‐
ra ge sors eat belt retractors.
#Make surethat thes eat belts are
undamaged, no tworna nd clean.
#Alw aysh ave thes eat belts checked
immediatel yafter an accident at a
qu alified specialis tworks hop.
34
Occupant saf ety

Onlyuse seat belts that ha vebeen appr ovedfor
yo ur vehicle byMercedes-Benz.
&
WARNING Risk of injury or deathfrom
deplo yedp yrot echni cEmergency Ten‐
sioning Devices
Pyro tech nic Emergency Tensioning Devices
th at ha vebeen deplo yeda reno longer opera‐
tional and ar eunable toper form their inten‐
ded pr otectiv efunction.
#Therefore, ha vedeplo yedp yrot echnic
Emer gency Tensioning Device simmedi‐
ately replaced at aqualified specialis t
wo rkshop.
Mercedes-Benz recommends that youh avet he
ve hicle towe dtoaq ualified specialis tworks hop
fo llowing an accident.
* NO
TEDama gecaused bytrapping the
seat belt
If an unused seat belt is no tfully retracted ,it
ma ybecome trappe dinthe door or in the
seat mechanism.
#Alw ayse nsur ethat an unused seat belt
is full yretra cted.
In fo rm ation on theb elt air bag in ther ear
seat belt
Th eB ELTB AGidentification indicates that ar ear
seat belt is equippe dwithab elt air bag.
When activated, theb elt air bag increases the
pr otected area of thev ehicle occupant's ribcage.
&
WARNING Risk of injury or death
th ro ugh theu se of anon-appr ovedchild
re stra int sy stem
In an accident, theb elt air bag ma ydamage
an on-appr ovedchild restra int sy stem or a
ch ild restra int sy stem whic hhas no tbeen
appr ovedfor use in conjunctio nwitht he belt
air bag.
As aresult, thec hild restra int sy stem may
no tbea bletoprov ide thei ntended le velo f
pr otection.
#Therefore, alw aysu seLATC H-type (ISO‐
FIX) tofast enachild seat equippedw ith
an integ ratedr estraint sy stem.
#Fo rv ehicles equipped wit hthe optional
re ar seat belt air bags ("beltbag"), only
use aMercedes-Ben zappr oved boos ter
seat wit hintegrated backrest.
#Ne veru se an air bag equipped seat belt
to fast enafront-orr ear-facing child
seat or anon-appr ovedboos ters eat.
#Please contact an au thorized Mercedes-
Benz Center fori nformation on
app rove dc hild restra int sy stems.
Fa stening and adju sting seat belts
Ifth es eat belt is pulled quickl yors harply,the
seat belt retractor lo cks. The seat belt stra pc an‐
no tbep ulled out an yfurther.
Occupant saf ety 35

#Alwayse ngag eseat belt tongue 2ofthe
seat belt int oseat belt buckle 1ofthec or‐
re sponding seat.
#Press and hold thes eat belt outle trelease
and slide thes eat belt outle tint ot he desired
position.
#Le tgooft he belt outle trelease and ensure
th at thes eat belt outle tloc ks in position. Ve
hicles with PRE-SAFE
®:If th ef ront seat belt
is no tpulled tight across your body ,the seat belt
adjustment ma yautomaticall yapply acertain
tigh tening forc e. Do no thold thes eat belt tightly
while it is adjusting .You can activat eand deacti‐
va te thes eat belt adjustmen tfunction using the
multimedia sy stem.
* NO
TEDeployment of theE mer gency
Te nsioning Device when thef ront
passenger seat is unoccupied
If th es eat belt tongueise ngaged in thes eat
belt buckle of thef ront passenger seat and
th ef ront passenger seat is unoccupied, the
Emergency Tensioning Device ma ydeplo yin
th ee vent of an accident.
#Onl yone person should use eac hseat
belt at an yone time.
Releasing seat belts
#Press ther elease button in thes eat belt
buckle and guide thes eat belt bac kwitht he
seat belt tongue.
Ac tivatin gordeactivatin gseatb elta djust‐
men tviathe multimedi asystem
Multimedia sy stem:,Vehicle.î Vehicle Settings.Belt
Adjustment
#Ac tivate Oor deacti vate ª thef unction.
Seat belt warning fort he driver and front
passen ger
The ü seat belt warning lam pinthe Instru‐
ment Displa yisareminder that all vehicle occu‐
pants mus twear their seat belts cor rectly.
The ü seatb eltw arning lam plightsupf or six
seconds af tere very engine start.
In addition,t herem aybe aw arning tone.
Whe nthe front door sareclosed and thed rive r
and front passenger ha vefast ened their seat
belts, thes eat belt warning goes out.
36
Occupant saf ety

Duringajou rney ,the seat belt warning lightsu p
if:
RThe vehicle speed exceed s15m ph
(25 km/h) and thed rive r's or front
passenger seat belt is no tfas tened.
RThe driver or front passenger unfas tens their
seat belt while thev ehicle is in motion.
Airbags
Overvie wofair bags
1Knee air bag
2Driver's air bag
3Front-passenger front air bag
4Wi ndo wcurtain air bag
5Side air bag
The ins tallation location of an air bag is identi‐
fi ed bytheA IRB AG symbol.
When activated, an air bag can pr ovide addi‐
tiona lprotection fort he respectiv evehicle
occupant.
AIRB AG Potentia lprotection for
…
Knee air bag Thigh,k nee and lowerleg
Driver's air bag,
front passenger
air bag Head and
ribcage
Wi ndo wcurtain
air bag Head
Side air bag Ribcage, also pelvis for
front seato ccupants
The front-passenger front air bag can only
deployin an accident if theP ASSENGER AIR BAG OFF indicator lam
pisoff.I ft he front passenger
seat is occupied, mak esure, bo thbefor eand
during thej ourne y,that thes tatus of thef ront
passenger air bag is cor rect (
→page 41).
* NO
TEImpo rtant points toremember if
th ef ront passenger seat is unoccupied
In an accident, thec omponents of the
re stra int sy stem ma ydeplo yunnecessarily
on thef ront passenger side if:
RTher eareheavy objects on thef ront
passenger seat.
RThe seat belt tongueise ngaged in the
seat belt buckle of thef ront passenger
seat and thef ront passenger seat is
unoccupied.
#St ow object sinas uitable place.
#Onlyone person should use eac hseat
belt at an yone time.
Occupant saf ety 37

Protection bythea irbags
Depending on thea ccidents ituation,anairbag
can add tothep rotection of fere dbyac orrectly
fast ened seat belt.
&
WARNING Risk of injury or deathdueto
incor rect seatp osition
If yo ud eviat ef romt he cor rect seatp osition,
th ea irbag cann otper form its intended pro‐
te ctiv efunction and deployment ma yeven
cause fur ther injuries.
To avo id hazardous situations ,alway sm ake
sur ethat all vehicle occupants:
RAres eated properly and keep as fara wa y
as possible from thea irbags.
RObser vethef ollowing information.
#Alw aysm akes uret hat ther ea reno
objects between thea irbag and the
ve hicle occupant.
To avo idrisk sr esulting from thed eployment of
th ea irbag:
RBefor estartin gy our journe y,adjus tyour seat
cor rectly ;the driver's seat and front
passenger seat should be mo vedasf ar back
as possible.
When doing so, alw ayso bser vethei nforma‐
tion on thec orrect driver's seatp osition
(
→page 81).
ROnl yhold thes teering wheel bythes teering
wheel rim. This all owsthe airbag tobe fully
deplo yed.
RAlw aysl ean agains tthe seat backres twhen
th ev ehicle is in motion. Do no tlean forw ards
or lean agains tthe door or side windo w.You
ma yotherwise be in thed eployment area of
th ea irbags.
RAlw aysk eep your feet on thef loor .Don ot
put your feet on thec ockpit, fore xamp le.
Yo ur feet ma yotherwise be in thed eploy‐
ment area of thea irbag.
RIfch ildren ar etrave ling in thev ehicle,
obser vethea dditional no tes(→pag e45).
RAlw ayss towa nd secur eobject scorrectly. Objects in
thev ehicle interior ma ypreve nt an
airba gfromf unctioning cor rectly .There fore
alw ayse nsur ethat:
RTher eareno people, animals or objects
between thev ehicle occupants and an air‐
bag.
RTher eareno objectsb etwe en thes eat, door
and door pillar (B-pillar).
RNo hardobjects, e.g. coat hangers, ar ehang‐
ing on theg rabh andles or coat hooks.
RNo accessories, suc hascup holders, are
attached tothev ehicle within thed eploy‐
men t area of an airbag, e.g. todoors, side
windo wsor side paneling.
RNo heavy ,sharp-edged or fragile objectsa re
in thep ockets of your clo thing. Stores uch
object sinas uitable place.
38
Occupant saf ety

Reduce dairbag pr otection
&
WARNING Risk of injury from modifica‐
tions tothea irbag co ver
If yo um odify an airbag co verora ffix objects
suc hass tickers to it,thea irbag can no lon‐
ge rfunction cor rectl y.
#Ne verm odify an airbag co vera nd do
no ta ffix objectstoi t.
&
WARNING Risk of injury duetounsuita‐
ble seat co vers
Uns uitable seat co vers can obstruct or pre‐
ve nt thed eployment of thea irbags integra‐
te di ntot he seats.
Consequentl y,thea irbags cann otprotect
ve hicle occupants as they ared esigned to
do. In addition, theo peration of thea uto‐
matic front passenger airbag shutof fsyst em
could be restricted. Thisp oses an increased
ri sk of injur yorevenf atal injur y.
#Yous hould only use seat co vers that
ha ve been appr oved fort he cor respond‐
ing seats byMercedes-Benz.
&
WARNING Risk of injury duetomalfunc‐
tions of thes ensor sinthe door paneling
Sensor stocontrol thea irbags ar elocated in
th ed oors. Modification sorworkn otper‐
fo rm ed cor rectl ytot he door sordoor panel‐
ing, as well as damaged doors, can lead to
th ef unction of thes ensor sbeing impaired.
The airbags might therefor enotfunction
proper lyan ym ore.
Consequent ly,t he airbags canno tprotect
ve hicle occupants as they ared esigned to
do.
#Ne verm odify thed oor sorp arts of the
doors.
#Alw aysh ave workon thed oor sord oor
paneling car ried out at aqualified spe‐
cialis tworks hop.
&
WARNING Risk of injury duetodeplo yed
airbag
Ad eplo yeda irbag no longer has aprotective
function and cann otprotect as intended in
th ee vent of an accident.
#Ha ve thev ehicle towe dtoaq ualified
specialis tworks hop in order tohave the
deplo yeda irbag replaced.
Ha ve deplo yeda irbags replaced immediately.
St atus of thef ront passenger airbag
Po ints toremember when the front
passen gers eatiso ccupied
The au tomatic front passenger air bag shutof fis
abl etod etect whe ther thef ront passenger seat
is occupied byap erson or achild restra int sys‐
te m. The front passenger air bag is enabled or
deactivated accordingly.
When ins talling achild restra int sy stem on the
front passenger seat:
REnsure that thec hild restra int sy stem is posi‐
tioned cor rectl y.
Occupant saf ety 39

RAlwayso bser vethec hild restra int sy stem
manufacturer's ins tallation instructions.
RNe verp lace objects under or behind the
ch ild restra int sy stem, e.g. cushions.
RFu llyr etra ct thes eat cushion lengt hadjust‐
ment.
RThe entir ebase of thec hild restra int sy stem
mus talway sr estont he seat cushion of the
front-passenger seat.
RThe backres toftheforw ard-facin gchild
re stra int sy stem mus tlie as flat as possible
agains tthe backres tofthe front-passenge r
seat.
RThe child restra int sy stem mus tnot to ucht he
ro of or be put under stra in by theh ead
re stra ints. Adjus tthe seat backres tinclina‐
tion and theh ead restra int setting accord‐
ingly.
& WARNING Risk of injury or deathdueto
object sbetwe en thes itting sur face and
th ec hild restra int sy stem
Objects between thes itting sur face and the
ch ild restra int sy stem could af fect thef unc‐
tion of thea utomatic front passenger airbag
shutoff.
This could result in thef ront passenger air‐
bag no tfunctioning as intended during an
accident.
#Do no tplace an yobjects between the
sitting sur face and thec hild restra int
sy stem.
#The entir ebase of thec hild restra int
sy stem mus talway sr estont he sitting
sur face of thef ront passenger seat.
#The backres toftheforw ard-facin gchild
re stra int sy stem mus tlie as flat as pos‐
sible agains tthe backres tofthe front
passenger seat.
#Alw aysc ompl ywitht he child restra int
sy stem manufacturer's ins tallation
instructions.
Ap erson in thef ront passenger seat mus t:
RHave their seat belt fastened cor rectly.
RSit in an almos tupright position wi th their
bac kagains tthe seat backrest.
RSit wit htheir feet resting on thef loor ,ifp os‐
sible.
Otherwise, thef ront passenger air bag ma ybe
deactivated bymis take ,for example because the
front passenger:
RTr ans fers their weight bysupporting them‐
selves on avehicle armrest.
RSits in suc hawaythat their weight is raised
from thes itting sur face.
&
WARNING Risk of injury or deathdueto
deactivated front passenger airbag
If th eP ASSENGER AIR BAGO FFindicator
lam pisl it,the front passenger airbag is disa‐
bled. It will no tbedeployedint heeve nt of
an accident and canno tperform its intended
pr otectiv efunction.
40
Occupant saf ety

Aperso nint he front passenger seat could
th en, fore xamp le, com eintoc ontact wi th
th ev ehicle interior ,especially if thep erson is
sitting tooc lose tothec ockpit.
If th ef ront passenger seat is occupied,
alw ayse nsur ethat:
RThe classification of thep erson in the
front passenger seatisc orrect and the
front passenger airbag is enabled or disa‐
ble dina ccordance wit hthe person in the
front passenger seat.
RThe front passenger seath as been moved
as farb ackasp ossible.
RThe person is seated cor rectl y.
#Ensure ,bothb efor eand during thej our‐
ne y,that thes tatus of thef ront
passenger airbag is cor rect.
PA SSENGER AIR BAGi ndicator lamp
Sy stem self-te st
Whenthei gnition is switched on, asystems elf-
te st is per form ed during whic hthe two
PA SSENGER AIR BAGONa nd OFFi ndicator
lamps light up simultaneousl y.The
status of thef ront passenger airbag is then
displa yed:
RPA SSENGER AIR BAGONl ightsupf or
60 seconds, subsequentl ybothi ndicator
lamps ar eoff(PASSENGER AI RBAG ON and
OFF): thef ront passenger airbag is able to
deplo yintheeve nt of an accident.
RPASSENGER AIR BAGO FFlightsupc ontinu‐
ously: thef ront passenger airbag is disabled.
It will then no tbed eployedint heevent of an
accident.
If th eP ASSENGER AIR BAGONi ndicator lam pis
off, only theP ASSENGER AIR BAGO FFindicator
lam pshows thes tatus of thef ront passenger
airbag. The PASSENGER AIR BAGO FFindicator
lam pm aybe lit continuousl yorbeoff.
If th eP ASSENGER AIR BAGO FFindicator lamp
and the6 restra int sy stem warning lamp
light up simultaneousl y,thef ront passenger seat
ma ynotbe used. Also in this case, do no tins tall
ac hild restra int sy stem on thef ront passenger
seat. Ha vethea utomatic front passenger airbag
shutof fchec keda nd repaired immediatel yata
qu alified specialis tworks hop.
Occupant saf ety 41