of an accident, they could be crushed
between the vehicle occupant and seat belt.
R objects are never secured with a seat belt if
the seat belt is also being used by one of the vehicle's occupants
Also ensure that there are never objects
between a person and the seat, e.g. cushions.
Seat belts are only intended to secure and
restrain vehicle occupants. Always observe the
"Loading guidelines" for securing objects, lug-
gage or loads (Y page 218).
Fastening seat belts Observe the safety notes on the seat belt
(Y page 42) and the notes on correct use of seat
belts (Y page 43). Basic illustration
X Adjust the seat (Y page 84).
The seat backrest must be in an almost
upright position.
X Pull the seat belt smoothly out of seat belt
guide 0087and engage belt tongue 0044into belt
buckle 0043.
The seat belt on the driver’s seat and the
front-passenger seat may be tightened auto-
matically, see "Belt adjustment"
(Y page 44).
X If necessary, pull up on the shoulder section
of the seat belt to tighten the belt across your
body.
In order to attach the child restraint system
securely in the vehicle, the seat belt on the front-
passenger seat is equipped with a special seat belt retractor. Further information on the "Spe-
cial seat belt retractor" (Y
page 56).
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. Damaged seat belts
can no longer fulfill their protective function
and must be replaced. Visit a qualified spe-
cialist workshop.
X Press the release button in the belt buckle,
hold the belt tongue firmly and guide the belt
back.
Seat belt adjustment The belt adjustment is a convenience function
integrated into PRE-SAFE
®
. With this function,
the driver's and front-passenger seat belts are
adjusted to the upper body of the vehicle occu-
pant.
The seat belt strap will slightly tighten if:
R the belt tongue is inserted into the buckle and
R the ignition is switched on
The seat belt adjustment will apply a certain
tightening force if any slack is detected between
the vehicle occupant and the seat belt. Do not
grab hold of the seat belt.
You can switch the seat belt adjustment on and off using the multimedia system. Information on switching the seat belt adjustment on and off
can be found in the Digital Operating Instruc-
tions.
Belt warning for the driver and front
passenger The
0076 seat belt warning lamp in the instru-
ment cluster is a reminder that all vehicle occu-
pants 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 0076seat belt warn-
ing lamp lights up for six seconds each time the
engine is started. If the doors are closed and the
driver's or front-passenger seat belt has not
been fastened, the 0076seat belt warning lamp
lights up again after the six seconds. As soon as
the driver's and front-passenger seat belts are 44
Occupant safetySafety
fastened or a front door is opened again, the
0076 seat 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 fas-
tened.
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 fastened their
seat belts.
If the driver or front passenger unfasten their
seat belts during the journey, the seat belt warn- ing is activated again. Air bags
Introduction The installation point of an air bag can be rec-
ognized by the AIRBAG marking.
An air bag complements the correctly fastened
seat belt. It is no substitute for the seat belt. The
air bag provides additional protection in appli-
cable accident situations.
Not all air bags are deployed in an accident. The
different air bag systems function independ-
ently from one another (Y page 52).
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.
The setting options are different depending
on the seat model.
R Move the driver's and front-passenger seats
as far back as possible. The driver's seat posi-
tion must allow the vehicle to be driven safely.
R Only hold the steering wheel on the outside.
This allows the air bag to be fully deployed.
R Always lean against the backrest while driv-
ing. Do not lean forward or lean against the
door or side window. You may otherwise 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 dash-
board, for example. Your feet may otherwise
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 sys-
tems. 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 twelve years of
age and less than 5 ft (1.50 m)tall 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 System
(OCS)" (Y page 48) and on "Children in the Occupant safety
45Safety Z
vehicle" (Y
page 55) in addition to the child
restraint system manufacturer's installation
and operating instructions.
Objects in the vehicle interior may prevent
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:
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 deployment
area of an air bag, e.g. to doors or side win-
dows
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 objects to 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
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.
Front air bags !
Do not place heavy objects on the front-
passenger seat. This could cause the system
to identify the seat as being occupied. In the
event of an accident, the restraint systems on the front-passenger side may be triggered
and have to be replaced.
Driver's air bag
0043deploys in front of the steer-
ing wheel. Front-passenger front air bag 0044
deploys in front of and above the glove box.
When deployed, the front air bags offer addi-
tional head and thorax protection for the occu-
pants in the driver's and front-passenger seats.
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF indicator lamp
informs you about the status of the front-
passenger front air bag (Y page 41).
The front-passenger front air bag will only
deploy if:
R the system, based on the OCS weight sensor
readings, detects that the front-passenger
seat is occupied (Y page 48). The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF indicator lamp is
not lit (Y page 48)
R the restraint system control unit predicts a
high accident severity
Knee bags Driver's knee bag
0043deploys under the steering
column and front-passenger knee bag 0044under
the glove box. The driver's and front-passenger
knee bags are triggered together with the front
air bags. 46
Occupant safetySafety
Occupant Classification System
(OCS)
Introduction The Occupant Classification System (OCS) cat-
egorizes the person in the front-passenger seat.
Depending on that result, the front-passenger
front air bag and front-passenger knee bag are
either enabled or deactivated.
The system does not deactivate:
R the side impact air bag
R the headbag
R the Emergency Tensioning Devices
In vehicles with the AMG Performance seat, the sidebag and the seat belt tensioner are deacti-
vated in the following situation:
R OCS has not categorized the person on the
front-passenger seat as an adult or a person
of corresponding stature and
R the seat belt buckle tongue of the seat belt is
not inserted into the front-passenger seat beltbuckle
Requirements To be classified correctly, the front passenger
must sit:
R with the seat belt fastened correctly
R in an almost upright position with their back
against the seat backrest
R with their feet resting on the floor, if possible
If the front passenger does not observe these
conditions, OCS may produce a false classifica- tion, e.g. because the front passenger:
R transfers their weight by supporting them-
selves on a vehicle armrest
R sits in such a way that their weight is raised
from the seat cushion
If you install a child restraint system on the
front-passenger seat, be sure to observe the
correct positioning of the child restraint system. Never place objects under or behind the child
restraint system, e.g. a cushion. 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 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.
Only then can OCS be guaranteed to function
correctly. Always observe the child restraint sys-
tem manufacturer's installation and operating
instructions.
Occupant Classification System opera-
tion (OCS) 0043
PASSENGER AIR BAG ON indicator lamp
0044 PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF indicator lamp
The indicator lamps inform you whether the
front-passenger front air bag is deactivated or
enabled.
X Press the Start/Stop button once or twice, or
turn the SmartKey to position 0047or0048 in the
ignition lock.
The system carries out self-diagnostics.
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF and PASSENGER
AIR BAG ON indicator lamps must light up simul- taneously for approximately six seconds.
The indicator lamps display the status of the
front-passenger front air bag.
R PASSENGER AIR BAG ON lights up for 60 sec-
onds, subsequently both indicator lamps are
off (PASSENGER AIR BAG ON and OFF): the
front-passenger front air bag is able to deploy
in the event of an accident.
R PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF lights up: the front-
passenger front air bag is deactivated. It will
then not be deployed in the event of an acci-
dent.
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG ON indicator lamp is off, only the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF indicator
lamp shows the status of the front-passenger
front air bag. The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
indicator lamp may be lit continuously or be off. 48
Occupant safetySafety
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 instrument clus-
ter (Y page 184). When the front-passenger
seat is occupied, always pay attention to the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF indicator lamp. Be
aware of the status of the front-passenger front air bag both before and during the journey. G
WARNING
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:
R the 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
R the front-passenger seat has been moved
back as far back as possible.
R the 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. G
WARNING
If you secure a child in a rearward-facing child
restraint system on the front-passenger seat
and the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF indicator
lamp is off, the front-passenger front air bag
can deploy in the event of an accident. The
child could be struck by the air bag. This poses an increased risk of injury or even fatal injury.
Make sure that the front-passenger front air
bag has been deactivated. The PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF indicator lamp must be lit.
NEVER use a rearward-facing child restraint
on a seat protected by an ACTIVE FRONT AIR- BAG in front of it; DEATH or SERIOUS INJURY
to the child can occur.
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF indicator lamp
stays off, 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 Sys-
tem" (Y page 51). G
WARNING
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:
R come into contact with the vehicle's inte-
rior if the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF indi-
cator lamp is lit, for example
R be struck by the air bag if the PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF indicator lamp is off
This poses an increased risk of injury or even fatal injury.
Move the front-passenger seat as far back as
possible. Always make sure that the shoulder belt strap is correctly routed from the vehicle
belt 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 guide. Always observe
the child restraint system manufacturer's
installation instructions.
If OCS determines that:
R The front-passenger seat is unoccupied, 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.
R The front-passenger seat is occupied by a
child of up to twelve months old, in a standard
child restraint system, the PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF indicator lamp lights up after the
system self-test and remains lit. This indi-
cates 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 OFF indicator lamp can
go out after the system self-test. This indi- Occupant safety
49Safety Z
cates that the front-passenger front air bag is
activated. The result of the classification is
dependent on, among other factors, the child
restraint system and the child's stature. Make sure that the conditions for a correct classi-
fication are met. If the PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF indicator lamp remains off, do not install
a child restraint system on the front-
passenger seat.
R The front-passenger seat is occupied by a
person of smaller stature (e.g. a teenager or
small adult), the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
indicator lamp lights up and remains lit after
the system self-test depending on the result
of the classification or, alternatively, goes out.
- If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF indicator
lamp is off, move the front-passenger seat
as far back as possible.
- If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF indicator
lamp is lit, a person of smaller stature
should not use the front-passenger seat.
R The front-passenger seat is occupied by an
adult or a person of adult stature, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF indicator lamp
goes out after the system self-test. This indi-
cates 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 vehicle"
(Y page 55).
When the Occupant Classification System
(OCS) is malfunctioning, the red 0075restraint
system warning lamp on the instrument cluster
and the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF indicator
lamp light up simultaneously. The front-
passenger front air bag is deactivated in this
case and does not deploy during an accident.
Have the Occupant Classification System (OCS)
checked and repaired immediately at a qualified specialist workshop. Mercedes-Benz recom-
mends that you use an authorized Mercedes-
Benz Center for this purpose.
If the front-passenger seat, the seat cover or the seat cushion are damaged, have the necessary
repair work carried out at a qualified specialist
workshop. Mercedes-Benz recommends that
you use an authorized Mercedes-Benz Center
for this purpose.
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 Sys-
tem (OCS) categorizes the occupant on the
front-passenger seat. Depending on that result, the front-passenger front air bag is either ena-
bled or deactivated.
Self-check G
DANGER
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF and
PASSENGER AIR BAG ON indicator lamps do
not both light up during the self-test, the sys-
tem is malfunctioning. The front-passenger
front air bag might be triggered unintention-
ally or might not be triggered at all in the event of an accident with high deceleration. 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. G
WARNING
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF indicator
lamp remains lit after the self-test, the front-
passenger front air bag is deactivated. 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:
R the classification of the person in the front-
passenger seat is correct and the front-
passenger front air bag is enabled or deac- 50
Occupant safetySafety
tivated in accordance with the person in the
front-passenger seat
R the person is seated properly with a cor-
rectly fastened seatbelt
R the front-passenger seat has been moved
as far back as possible
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF indicator
lamp remains lit when it should not, the front-
passenger seat must 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. G
WARNING
Objects between the seat surface and the
child restraint system could affect OCS oper- ation. This could result in the front-passengerair 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 thechild restraint system manufacturer's instal-
lation instructions.
After the self-test, the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
or the PASSENGER AIR BAG ON indicator lamp
displays the status of the front-passenger front
air bag (Y page 48). If the front-passenger front
air bag is enabled, the PASSENGER AIR BAG ON
indicator lamp lights up for 60 seconds and then
goes out.
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG ON indicator lamp is off, only the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF indicator
lamp displays the status of the front-passenger front air bag. The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
indicator lamp may be lit continuously or be off.
For more information about the OCS, see "Prob-
lems with the Occupant Classification System"
(Y page 51).
Problems with the Occupant Classification System (OCS) Be sure to observe the notes on "System self-test" (Y
page 50). Occupant safety
51Safety Z
Problem
Possible causes/consequences and
0050
0050Solutions The PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF indicator lamp
lights up and remains lit,
even though the front-
passenger seat is occu-
pied by an adult or a per-
son of a stature corre-
sponding to that of an
adult. The classification of the person on the front-passenger seat is incor-
rect.
X Make sure the conditions for a correct classification of the person
on the front-passenger seat are met (Y page 48).
X If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF indicator lamp remains lit, the front-
passenger seat may not be used.
X Have OCS checked as soon as possible at an authorized Mercedes-
Benz Center. The PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF indicator lamp
does not light up and/or
does not stay on.
The front-passenger seatis:
R unoccupied
R occupied by the
weight of a child up to
twelve months old in achild restraint system OCS is malfunctioning.
X Make sure there is nothing between the seat cushion and the child
seat.
X Make sure that the entire base of the child restraint system rests on
the seat cushion of the front-passenger seat. The backrest of the
forward-facing child restraint system must lie as flat as possible
against the backrest of the front-passenger seat. If necessary,
adjust the position of the front-passenger seat.
X When installing the child restraint system, make sure that the seat
belt is tight. Do not pull the seat belt tight using the front-passenger
seat adjustment. This could result in the seat belt and the child
restraint system being pulled too tightly.
X Check for correct installation of the child restraint system.
Make sure that the head restraint does not apply a load to the child restraint system. If necessary, adjust the head restraint accord-
ingly.
X Make sure that no objects are applying additional weight onto the
seat.
X 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 child restraint system on the front-passenger seat.
X Have OCS checked as soon as possible at an authorized Mercedes-
Benz Center. 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.
Mercedes-Benz recommends that you have the
vehicle transported to a qualified specialist
workshop after an accident. Observe the notes
on towing the vehicle away (Y page 258).52
Occupant safetySafety