
&
WARNIN GRisk ofinju ryor deat hdue to
inc orrectl yfa stened seatbelt
If th eseat beltisno two rncor rectly ,it can‐
no tper form itsintended protect ive func tion.
In addition, anincor rectly fastened seatbelt
can also cause injuries,forex am ple, inthe
ev ent ofan acciden tor when braking or
ch ang ingdirect ion sudden ly. #
Alw aysensur eth at all vehicle occu‐
pants have their seat belts fastened
cor rectl yand aresitti ngprope rly. Alw
aysobser vetheins truction sabout thecor‐
re ct driver's seatpos ition and adjus ting theseat
(/ page79).
In order forth ecor rectly wornseat belttopro‐
vide theint ended leve lof protect ion, eachve hi‐
cle occupant mustobser vethefo llo wing infor‐
matio n:
R The seat beltmustno tbe twis tedand must
fi t tig htly and snuglyacr oss thebody . R
The seat beltmustbe routed acr oss thecen‐
te rof theshoulder andaslow do wn across
th ehips aspossible.
R The shoulder sectionoftheseat beltshould
no tto uc hyo ur neck nor berouted und er
yo ur arm or behin dyo ur bac k.
R Avoid wearing bulk yclo thing, e.g. awint er
coat .
R Push thelap belt down asfaras possi ble
acr oss your hips andpulltight wit hth eshoul‐
der sect ionofthebelt. Neverro uteth elap
belt across your abdom en.
R Neverro uteth eseat beltacross shar p,poin‐
te d, abr asiv eor fragile objec ts.
R Onlyone person should useeachseat beltat
an yone time. Neverall ow babies andchil‐
dr en totrave lsitt ing onthelap ofano ther
ve hicle occupant.
R Neversecur eobjects withaseat beltifth e
seat beltisalso being usedbyone ofthe
ve hicle's occupants. Alwaysobser vethe
ins truct ions forloa ding theve hicle when
secur ingobject s,lugg ageor loads
(/ page90). Also
ensur eth at no obj ect s,e.g .a cus hion ,
ar eev er placed between aper son and the
seat.
The seat belts onthefo llo wing seats areeq uip‐
ped withaspec ialseat beltretract or:
R front-p asse ng er seat
R Rear seat s
Ac tivateor deacti vate thespecial seatbelt
re tract or(/ page 52).
If ch ildr enaretrave ling intheve hicle, besur eto
obser vetheins truction sand safetyno teson
"Chi ldren intheve hicle" (/page47 ). Re
duce dse at beltpr otection &
WARNIN GRisk ofinju ryor deat hdue to
inc orrect sea tpos ition
The seatbel tdoe sno tof ferth eint ended
le ve lof protect ion ifyo uha ve notmo vedth e
seat backres tto an almos tve rtical posit ion. 34
Occupant safety

Objects
intheve hicle interior maypr ev ent an
airbag from func tioningcorrectly .Eac hve hicle
occupant mustalw aysmak esur eof thefo llo w‐
ing:
R Ther ear eno people, animals orobje cts
be tween theve hicle occupants andanair‐
bag.
R Ther ear eno object sbe tween theseat, door
and door pillar (B-pillar).
R Ther ear eno har dobjec ts,e.g. coat hangers,
hanging onthegr ab handles orcoat hooks.
R Ther ear eno accessor ypar ts,suc has PNDs
(P er sonal Navig ation Devices) ,mobil e
phones orcup hold ersatt ached totheve hi‐
cle within thedeplo yment area ofan airbag,
e.g. onthecoc kpit, ondoor s,side windo ws
or side paneling.
In addition, noconn ectin gcable, tensi oni ng
st ra por retainin gst ra pma ybe routed
th ro ugh oratt ached inthedeplo yment area
of an airbag. Alwaysobser vetheaccessor y
manuf acturer'sinstallation instruct ions ,in
par ticular theinf ormation onsuit able places
fo rins tallation . R
Ther ear eno hea vy,shar p-edg edorfra gile
obje ctsin thepoc kets of your clo thing. Store
suc hobject sin asuit able place. Limit
edprotection from airbags &
WARNIN GRisk ofinju rydue tomodif i‐
cations totheairbag cover
If yo umod ifytheco verof an airb agoraffix
object ssuc has sticke rs to it,theairbag may
no long erfunc tion correctly . #
Nevermodify theco verof an airb agand
do notaf fix obje ctstoit. The
installation locationofan airbag isident ified
by theAIRB AGsymbol (/page38). &
WARNIN GRisk ofinju ryor deat hdue to
th euse ofunsuit ableseat covers
Uns uitable seat covers can obstruct orpre‐
ve nt thedeplo yment ofair bags integr ated
int oth eseats. Conseq
uently,theair bags cannotprotect
ve hicle occupants asthey aredesig nedto
do. Inaddition, operation oftheaut omatic
fr ont passeng erair bag shut offma ybe
re strict ed. #
Yousho uld onlyuse seat covers that
ha ve been approved forth ecor respond‐
ing seats byMer cedes-Ben z. &
WARNIN GRisk ofinju rydue tomalfu nc‐
tions ofthesensor sin thedoor paneling
Sens orsto contr oltheairbags arelocat edin
th edoor s.Modif ication sor wo rknotpe r‐
fo rm ed cor rectl yto thedoor sor door panel‐
ing, aswellas damag eddoor s,can lead to
th efunc tion ofthesensor sbeing impair ed.
The airbags mightther efor eno tfunc tion
pr oper lyan ymor e.
Con sequent ly,th eairbags cannotprotect
ve hicle occupants asthey aredesig nedto
do. #
Nevermodify thedoor sor par tsof the
door s. 40
Occupant safety

#
Alw aysha ve wo rkon thedoor sor door
paneling carried out ataqu alif ied spe‐
cialis two rkshop. &
WARNIN GRisk ofinju rydue todeplo yed
airbag
A deplo yedairbag nolong erhas apr otect ive
func tion andcann otprotect asintended in
th eev ent ofan acciden t. #
Have theve hicle towe dto aqu alif ied
spec ialistwo rkshop inorder tohave the
deplo yedairbag replaced. Ha
ve deplo yedairbags replaced immediat ely. St
atus ofthefront passeng erfront airbag Fu
nction oftheaut oma ticfront passeng er
fr ont airbag shutoff
The automatic front passeng erfront airbag shut‐
of fis able todetect whe ther thefront passeng er
seat isoccupied byaper son orach ild restra int
sy stem. Thefront passeng erfront airbag and fr
ont passeng erknee airbag areenabled ordisa‐
bled accor dingly.
In thefo llo wing situat ion,theside airbag andthe
Emerg encyTensi oni ng Device arede acti vated:
R The automatic front passeng erfront airbag
shut offhas notcat egor ized theper son inthe
fr ont passeng ersea tas an adu ltor aper son
of cor responding statur e
and
R The seat belttongu eis no tins ertedint oth e
seat beltbuckleonthefront passeng erseat
When installing ach ild restra int system onthe
fr ont passeng ersea t,alw aysmak esur eof the
fo llo wing:
R Ensur eth at thech ild restra int system isposi‐
tion edcor rectl y(/ page 46).
R Alw aysobser vethech ild restra int system
manuf acturer'sinstallation instruct ions .
R Neverpla ceobjects, e.g.cushi ons,under or
behi ndthech ild restra int system.
R Fully re tract theseat cushion lengthadjus t‐
ment . R
The entire base ofthech ild restra int system
mus talw aysre st on theseat cushion ofthe
fr ont passeng ersea t.
R The backres tof thefo rw ard-f acin gch ild
re stra int system mus tlie asflat as poss ible
ag ains tth ebac kres tof thefront passeng er
seat.
R The child restra int system mus tno tto uc hth e
ro of or be put under stra in by thehead
re stra int s.Ad jus tth eseat backres tinclin a‐
tion andthehead restra int setting accord‐
ing ly. &
WARNIN GRisk ofinju ryor deat hdue to
object sbe tween thesitt ing surface and
th ech ild restra int system
Objec tsbetween thesitt ing surface and the
ch ild restra int system could affect thefunc ‐
tion oftheaut omatic front passeng erairbag
shut off.
This could result inthefront passeng erair‐
bag notfunc tioningasintended during an
acciden t. Occ
upant safety 41

#
Donotpl ace anyob jects betwee nth e
sitting surface and thech ild restra int
sy stem. #
The entire base ofthech ild restra int
sy stem mus talw aysre st on thesitt ing
sur face ofthefront passeng erseat. #
The backres tof thefo rw ard-f acin gch ild
re stra int system mus t,as faras possi ‐
ble, beresting ontheseat backres tof
th efront passeng erseat. #
Alw ayscom plywit hth ech ild restra int
sy stem manuf acturer'sinstallation
ins truct ions . A
per son onthefront passeng erseat must
obser vethefo llo wing informatio n:
R Fasten seat belts correctl y(/ page 33).
R Sitinan almos tupr ight seatposi tion with
th eir bac kag ains tth eseat backres t.
R Sitwithth eir feet resting onthefloor ,if pos‐
sible. The
front passeng erfront airbag mayot her wise
be disable dby mis take ,fo rex am ple inthefo l‐
lo wing situat ions:
R The front passen gertr ansf ersth eir weight by
suppor tingthemselv eson ave hicle armr est.
R The front passeng ersits insuc hawa yth at
th eir weight israised from thesitt ing sur‐
fa ce. &
WARNIN GRisk ofinju ryor deat hdue to
deactiv ated front passeng erairbag
If th ePA SSENGER AIRBAGOF Find icat or
lam pis lit,th efront passeng erairbag isdisa‐
bled. Itwill notbe deplo yedin theeve ntof
an acci dent and canno tpe rfor m its intended
pr otect ive func tion.
A per son inthefront passeng erseat could
th en, forex am ple, com eint ocon tact with
th eve hicle interior ,especially ifth eper son is
sitt ing tooclose tothecoc kpit. If
th efront passeng erseat isoccupied,
alw aysensur eth at:
R The classificat ion oftheper son inthe
fr ont passeng ersea tis cor rect and the
fr ont passeng erairb agisenabl edordisa ‐
ble din accor dance withth eper son inthe
fr ont passeng ersea t.
R The front passeng ersea thas been moved
as farbac kas possi ble.
R The person isseat edcor rectl y. #
Ensu re,bo th bef oreand during thejour‐
ne y,that thest atus ofthefront
passeng erairbag iscor rect. If
th efront passeng erseat isoccupied, theclas‐
sif ication oftheper son orchild restra int system
on thefront passeng erseat take splace afte rth e
fr ont passeng erfront airbagshut offself-t est.
The PASSENGER AIRBAGind icat orlam psdis‐
pla yth est atus ofthefront passeng erfront air‐
bag.
Alw aysobser vetheno teson thefunc tion ofthe
PA SSENGER AIRBAGind icat orlam ps
(/ page43). 42
Occupan tsaf ety

NEVER
useare ar wa rd-faci ng child restra int
sy stem onaseat protect edbyan ENABLED
FR ONT AIRB AG infront ofit,DE ATHor SERI‐
OUS INJURYtotheCH ILD can occur . When
installing ach ild restra int system onthe
fr ont passeng ersea t,obse rveth eve hicle-spe‐
cif icinf ormation (/page57 ).
De pend ing on thech ild restra int system and the
st atur eof thech ild, thePA SSENGER AIRBAG
OFF indicat orlam pma ybe off.In this case, do
no tins tallth ere ar wa rd-faci ng child restra int
sy stem onthefront passeng erseat.
Ins tead, installth ere ar wa rd-faci ng child
re stra int system onasuit able rear seat .
Af terin st alli ng afo rw ard-f acin gch ild
re stra int system onthefront passeng er
seat :depen dingonthech ild restra int system
and thest atur eof thech ild, PASSENGER AIR
BA GOF Fma ybe litcon tinuousl yor be off.
Alw aysobser vethefo llo wing informatio n. &
WARNIN GRisk ofinju ryor deat hdue to
inc orrect pos itioning ofthefo rw ard-
fa cing child restra int system
If yo usec ureach ild inafo rw ard-f acin gch ild
re stra int system onthefront passeng erseat
and youposi tionth efront passeng erseat too
clos eto thecoc kpit, intheeve ntofan acci ‐
de nt, thech ild could:
R Come intocon tact with theve hicle inte‐
ri or ifth ePA SSENGER AIRBAGOF Find i‐
cat orlam pis lit,fo rex am ple.
R Bestru ck bytheair bag ifth e
PA SSENGER AIRBAGOF Find icat orlam p
is off. #
Alw aysmo vethefront passeng erseat
as farbac kas possi bleand fully retract
th eseat cushion lengthadjus tment.
Alw aysmak esur eth at theshoulder belt
st ra pis cor rectly routed from theseat
belt outle ton theve hicle totheshoul‐
der belt guide onthech ild restra int sys‐
te m. The shou lderbeltstra pmus tbe
ro uted forw ards and down wardsfrom
th eve hicle beltoutle t.Ifnecessar y, adjus
tth eseat beltoutle tand thefront
passeng erseat accor dingly. #
Alw aysobser vethech ild restra int sys‐
te m manuf acturer'sinstallation instruc‐
tion s. When
installing ach ild restra int system onthe
fr ont passeng ersea t,obse rveth eve hicle-spe‐
cif icinf ormation (/page57 ).
If aper son issit tin gon thefront passeng er
seat :PA SSENGER AIRBAGOF Fma ybe litcon ‐
tin uousl yor be off,depen dingon theper son's
st atur e.
A per son onthefront passeng erseat must
alw aysobser vethefo llo wing informatio n:
R Ifth efront passeng erseat isoccupied byan
adult oraper son withast atur ecor respond‐
ing tothat ofan adult ,th ePA SSENGER AIR
BA GOF Find icat orlam pmus tbe off.This
ind icat esthat thefront passeng erfront air‐
bag isenabled.
If th ePA SSENGER AIRBAGOF Find icat or
lam pis lit con tinuousl y,an adult orper son 44
Occupant safety

wit
habuild corresponding tothat ofan adult
shoul dno tuse thefront passeng erseat.
Ins tead, they should useare ar seat .
R Ifth efront passeng erseat isoccupied bya
per son ofsmaller statur e(e. g.ate enag eror
small adult), thePA SSENGER AIRBAGOF F
ind icat orlam peit her light sup con tinuousl y
or remains off,depe nding onthere sult ofthe
cla ssificati on.
- Ifth ePA SSENGER AIRBAGOF Find icat or
lam pis off:mo vethefront passeng er
seat asfarbac kas possi ble,ortheper‐
son ofsmaller statur eshoul duse are ar
seat .
- Ifth ePA SSENGER AIRBAGOF Find icat or
lam pis lit con tinuousl y:theper son of
smaller statur eshoul dno tuse thefront
passeng erseat. &
WARNIN GRisk ofinju ryor deat hwhen
th ePA SSENGER AIRBAGOF Find icat or
lam pis lit
If th ePA SSENGER AIRBAGOF Find icat or
lam pre mains litafte rth esy stem self-t est,
th efront passeng erair bag isdeactiv ated. It
will notbe deplo yedin theeve ntofan acci ‐
de nt. Inthis case, thefront passeng erair bag
cann otper form itsintended protect ive func ‐
tion ,e.g. when aper son isseat edinthefront
passeng erseat.
That person could, forex am ple, com eint o
con tact with theve hicle interior ,especially if
th eper son issitt ing tooclose tothecoc kpit.
If th efront passeng erseat isoccupied,
alw aysensur eth at:
R The classificat ion oftheper son inthe
fr ont passeng ersea tis cor rect and the
fr ont passeng erair bag isenabl edor
dea ctivated inaccor dance withth eper‐
son inthefront passeng erseat. R
The person isseat edproper lywit hacor ‐
re ctly fastened seatbelt.
R The front passeng erseat hasbeen moved
as farbac kas possi ble. Be
sureto also obse rveth efo llo wing further
re lat ed subje cts:
R Child restra int system onthefront passeng er
seat (/page57 ). PRE-S
AFE®
sy stem PRE-
SAFE®
(ant icipa tory occupa ntprotec‐
tion) PRE-
SAFE®
is ab leto detect cer tain critic aldriv‐
ing situat ionsandimplemen tpr e-em ptive meas‐
ur es toprotect theve hicle occupants.
PRE-S AFE®
can implement thefo llo wing meas‐
ur es indepe ndently of eac hot her :
R Tight ening theseat belts onthedr iver's seat
and front passeng erseat.
R Closing theside windo ws. Occupant
safety 45

Alw
ayssecur each ild restra int system cor‐
re ctl y &
WARNIN GRisk ofinju ryor deat hcaused
by inc orrect ins tallation ofthech ild
re stra int system
If th ech ild restra int system isincor rectl y
ins talled onasuit able seatin gposit ion,it
can notper form itsintended protect ive func ‐
tion .
The child can notbe restra ined intheeve ntof
an acci dent, hea vybraki ng orasu dd en
ch ang eof dir ect ion. #
Alw ayscom plywit hth emanuf acturer's
ins tallation instruct ions forth ech ild
re stra int system and itscor rect use. #
Makesur eth at theent ire base ofthe
ch ild restra int system alwaysre stson
th esitt ing surface oftheseat. #
Neverpla ceobjects underorbehi nd
th ech ild restra int system, e.g.cush‐
ions. #
Alw aysuse child restra int systems with
th eor iginal coverdesi gned forth em. #
Alw aysre place damag edcovers wit h
ge nui ne covers. &
WARNIN GRisk ofinju ryor deat hfrom
unsecur edchild restra int systems inthe
ve hicle
If th ech ild restra int system isno tcor rectly
ins talled orsecur ed,itcould release inthe
ev ent ofan acciden t,sudden braking ora
sudden chang ein dir ect ion.
The child restra int system could beflung
ar oun dand hitvehicle occupants. #
Alw aysins tallch ild restra int systems
cor rectl y,eve nwh en notin use. #
Alw ayscom plywit hth ech ild restra int
sy stem manuf acturer'sinstallation
ins truct ions . R
Alw aysobser vethech ild restra int system
manuf acturer'sinstallation andopera ting ins
truct ions aswellas theve hicle-specif ic
inf ormation:
- Installth eLA TC H-type (ISOFIX )ch ild
re stra int system onthere ar seat
(/ page53).
- Sec ureth ech ild restra int system withth e
seat beltonthere ar seat (/page56 ).
- Sec ureth ech ild restra int system withth e
seat beltonthefront passeng erseat
(/ page58). Obser vethespecif ic
ins truction sfo rth ere ar wa rd-faci ng and
fo rw ard-f acin gch ild restra int systems
(/ page57 ).
If th efront passeng erseat isoccupied,
ensur e,bo th bef oreand during thejour‐
ne y,that thest atus ofthefront
passeng erfront airbag iscor rect forth e
cur rent situa tion(/ page 43).
R Obse rveth ewa rning labels intheve hicle
int erior and onthech ild restra int system.
R Also secur eTo pTe ther ifpr esent . 48
Occupant safety

Do
notmod ifythech ild restra int system &
WARNIN GRisk ofinju rydue tomodif i‐
cations tothech ild restra int system
The child restra int system mayno long er
func tion asitis supposed toifyo umak e
mod ificat ionsor att achobj ect sto it,e.g. toys
or unsuit ableaccessor ies.This poses an
incr eased risk ofinjur y!
Ne vermodify thech ild restra int system. Only
att achaccessor ieswhic hth emanuf acturer
of thech ild restra int system has author ized
especially forth is ch ild restra int system. Onl
yuse child restra int systems whichar ein
pr oper working condit ion &
WARNIN GRisk ofinju ryor deat hcaused
by theuse ofdamag edchild restra int
sy stems
Child restra int systems ortheir retainin gsy s‐
te ms that have been subjec tedto aload in
an acc iden tma yth en notbe able toper form
th eir intended protect ive func tion. The
child can notbe restra ined intheeve ntof
an acci dent, hea vybraki ng orasu dd en
ch ang eof dir ect ion. #
Alw aysre place child restra int systems
immediat elyth at have been damag edor
in vo lved inan acciden t. #
Have thesecur ingsystems forth ech ild
re stra int systems checkedat aqu alif ied
spec ialistwo rkshop beforeins talling a
ch ild restra int system again. Av
oiding direct sunli ght &
WARNIN GRisk ofburnswhen thech ild
seat isex posed todirect sunlight
If th ech ild restra int system isex posed to
dir ect sunlight orheat, partscould heatup.
Childr encould sufferbur nsfrom these parts,
par ticular lyon metallic partsof thech ild
re stra int system. #
Alw aysmak esur eth at thech ild
re stra int system isno tex posed to
dir ect sunlight . #
Protect itwit hablank et,fo rex am ple. #
Ifth ech ild restra int system has been
ex posed todirect sunlight ,allo witto
cool beforesecu ring ach ild intoit. #
Neverlea vechildr enunat tende din the
ve hicle. Obser
vewhen stopping orpar king &
WARNIN GRisk ofacci dent andinjury
due tochildr enand animals leftunat ten‐
de din theve hicle
If yo ulea vechildr enand animals unattende d
in theve hicle, they ma ybe ableto setth e
ve hicle inmo tion, forex am ple by:
R Releasing thepar king brak e.
R Shif ting theaut omatic transmission out
of par kposition 005D.
R Startin gth eengine.
In addition, they ma yoper ateve hicle equip‐
ment andbecome trapped. Occupant
safety 49