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of an accident, they could be crushedbetween the vehicle occupant and seat belt.
Robjects are never secured with a seat belt ifthe seat belt is also being used by one of thevehicle's occupants
Also ensure that there are never objectsbetween a person and the seat, e.g. cushions.
Seat belts are only intended to secure andrestrain vehicle occupants. Always observe the"Loading guidelines" for securing objects, lug-gage or loads (Ypage 278).
Fastening and adjusting the seat belts
Observe the safety notes on the seat belt(Ypage 45) and the notes on correct use of seatbelts (Ypage 46).
If the center rear seat belt is being used, alsoobserve the information about the seat belt forthe center rear seat (Ypage 47).
Basic illustration
XAdjust the seat (Ypage 96).The seat backrest must be in an almostupright position.
XPull the seat belt smoothly from the belt outletand engage belt tongue Dinto beltbuckle C.The seat belt on the driver’s seat and thefront-passenger seat may be tightened auto-matically, see "Belt adjustment"(Ypage 47).
XIf necessary, pull up on the shoulder sectionof the seat belt to tighten the belt across yourbody.
The shoulder section of the seat belt mustalways be routed across the center of the shoul-der. Adjust the belt outlet if necessary.
XTo raise:slide the belt outlet up.The belt outlet will engage in various posi-tions.
XTo lower:hold belt outlet release
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The seat belt adjustment will apply a certaintightening force if any slack is detected betweenthe vehicle occupant and the seat belt. Do notgrab hold of the seat belt.
You can switch the seat belt adjustment on andoff using the multimedia system. Information onswitching the seat belt adjustment on and offcan be found in the Digital Operating Instruc-tions.
Belt warning for the driver and front
passenger
The vseat belt warning lamp in the instru-ment cluster is a reminder that all vehicle occu-pants must wear their seat belts. It may light upcontinuously or flash. In addition, there may bea warning tone.
Regardless of whether the driver's seat belt hasalready been fastened, the vseat belt warn-ing lamp lights up for six seconds each time theengine is started. If the front doors are closedand the driver's or front-passenger seat belt hasnot been fastened, the vseat belt warninglamp lights up again after the six seconds. Assoon as the driver's and front-passenger seatbelts are fastened or a front door is openedagain, the vseat belt warning lamp goes out.
If the driver's seat belt is not fastened after theengine is started, an additional warning tone willsound. The warning tone switches off after sixseconds 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 warningtone sounds. A warning tone also sounds withincreasing intensity for 60 seconds or until thedriver or front passenger have fastened theirseat belts.
If the driver or front passenger unfasten theirseat 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 fastenedseat 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. Thedifferent air bag systems function independ-ently from one another (Ypage 55).
However, no system available today can com-pletely eliminate injuries and fatalities.
It is also not possible to rule out a risk of injurycaused by an air bag due to the high speed atwhich 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 beginningyour journey. Always make sure that the seatis in an almost upright position. The center ofthe head restraint must support the head atabout eye level.
RMove the driver's and front-passenger seatsas far back as possible. The driver's seat posi-tion must allow the vehicle to be driven safely.
ROnly hold the steering wheel on the outside.This allows the air bag to be fully deployed.
RAlways lean against the backrest while driv-ing. Do not lean forward or lean against thedoor or side window. You may otherwise be inthe deployment area of the air bags.
RAlways keep your feet in the footwell in frontof the seat. Do not put your feet on the dash-
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board, for example. Your feet may otherwisebe in the deployment area of the air bag.
RFor this reason, always secure persons lessthan 5 ft (1.50 m) tall in suitable restraint sys-tems. Up to this height, the seat belt cannotbe worn correctly.
If a child is traveling in your vehicle, alsoobserve the following notes:
RAlways secure children under twelve years ofage and less than 5 ft (1.50m)tall in suitablechild restraint systems.
RChild restraint systems should be installed onthe rear seats.
ROnly secure a child in a rearward-facing childrestraint system on the front-passenger seatwhen the front-passenger front air bag isdeactivated. If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFFindicator lamp is permanently lit, the front-passenger front air bag is deactivated(Ypage 44).
RAlways observe the instructions and safetynotes on the "Occupant Classification System(OCS)" (Ypage 51) and on "Children in thevehicle" (Ypage 59) in addition to the childrestraint system manufacturer's installationand operating instructions.
Objects in the vehicle interior may preventan air bag from functioning correctly.Beforestarting your journey and to avoid risks resultingfrom the speed of the air bag as it deploys, makesure that:
Rthere are no people, animals or objectsbetween the vehicle occupants and an air bag
Rthere are no objects between the seat, doorand B-pillar
Rthere are no hard objects, e.g. coat hangers,hanging on the grab handles or coat hooks
Rno accessories, such as cup holders, areattached to the vehicle within the deploymentarea of an air bag, e.g. to doors, side windows,rear side trim or side walls
Rno heavy, sharp-edged or fragile objects are inthe pockets of your clothing. Store suchobjects in a suitable 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.
Front air bags
!Do not place heavy objects on the front-passenger seat. This could cause the systemto identify the seat as being occupied. In theevent of an accident, the restraint systems onthe front-passenger side may be triggeredand have to be replaced.
Driver's air bag Cdeploys in front of the steer-ing wheel. Front-passenger front air bag Ddeploys 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 front seats.
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF indicator lampinforms you about the status of the front-passenger front air bag (Ypage 44).
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Z
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The front-passenger front air bag will onlydeploy if:
Rthe system, based on the OCS weight sensorreadings, detects that the front-passengerseat is occupied (Ypage 51). ThePASSENGER AIR BAG OFF indicator lamp isnot lit (Ypage 51)
Rthe restraint system control unit predicts ahigh accident severity
Driver's knee bag
Driver's knee bag Cdeploys under the steeringcolumn. The driver's knee bag is deployedtogether with the front air bag.
The driver's knee bag offers additional thigh,knee and lower leg protection for the occupantin the driver's seat.
Side impact air bags
GWARNING
Unsuitable seat covers can obstruct or pre-
vent deployment of the air bags integrated
into the seats. Consequently, the air bags
cannot protect vehicle occupants as they are
designed to do. In addition, the operation of
the occupant classification system (OCS)
could be adversely affected. This poses an
increased risk of injury or even fatal injury.
You should only use seat covers that have
been approved for the respective seat by
Mercedes-Benz.
Front side impact air bags Cand rear sideimpact air bags Ddeploy next to the outer bol-ster of the seat backrest.
When deployed, the side impact air bag offersadditional thorax protection. However, it doesnot protect the:
Rhead
Rneck
Rarms
If the restraint system control unit detects a sideimpact, the side impact air bag is deployed onthe side on which the impact occurs.
The side impact air bag on the front passengerside deploys under the following conditions:
Rthe OCS system detects that the frontpassenger seat is occupied or
Rthe seat belt buckle tongue is engaged in thebelt buckle of the front passenger seat
If the belt tongue is engaged in the belt buckle,the side impact air bag on the front passengerside deploys if an appropriate accident situationoccurs. In this case, deployment is independentof whether the front passenger seat is occupiedor not.
Window curtain air bags
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