2019 MERCEDES-BENZ GLS SUV child seat

occupant in the best position in relation to the
air bag.
The seat belt system comprises:
R Seat belts
R Emergency Tensioning Devices for the front
seat belts and the outer seat belts in the sec- ond row of seats as well as the seat belts in
the third row
R Seat belt force limiters for the front seat belts
and the outer seat belts in the second row of
seats as well as the seat belts in the third row
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 extrac-
ted 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 cor- rect an incorrect seat position or the routing of
an incorrectly fastened seat belt.
When triggered, a seat belt force limiter helps to
reduce the force exerted by the seat belt 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 vehicle occu-
pants during an accident.
! If the front-passenger seat is not occupied,
do not engage the seat belt tongue in the
buckle on the front-passenger seat. Other-
wise, in addition to other systems, the Emer-
gency Tensioning Device could also be trig-
gered in the event of an accident and would
need to be replaced.
Important safety notes The use of seat belts and child restraint systems
is required by law in:
R all 50 states
R the U.S. territories
R the District of Columbia
R all Canadian provinces
Even where this is not required by law, all vehicle occupants should correctly fasten their seat
belts before starting the journey. G
WARNING
If the seat belt is not worn correctly, it cannot perform its intended protective function. An
incorrectly fastened seat belt can also cause
injuries, for example, in the event of an acci-
dent or when braking or changing direction
abruptly. This poses an increased risk of injury
or even fatal injury.
Always ensure that all vehicle occupants have their seat belts fastened correctly and are sit- ting properly.
The components of the restraint system work in conjunction with each other. They can only
deploy their protective function if, at all times, all
vehicle occupants:
R have fastened their seat belts correctly
(Y page 47)
R have the seat and head restraint adjusted
properly (Y page 97) G
WARNING
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. G
WARNING
Persons less than 5 ft (1.50 m) tall cannot
wear the seat belt correctly without an addi-
tional and suitable restraint system. If the
seat belt is not worn correctly, it cannot per-
form its intended protective function. An
incorrectly fastened seat belt can also cause
injuries, for example, in the event of an acci-
dent or when braking or changing direction
abruptly. This poses an increased risk of injury or even fatal injury. 46
Occupant safetySafety

For this reason, always secure persons under
5 ft (1.50 m)tall in suitable additional restraint
systems.
If a child younger than twelve years old and
under 5 ft (1.50 m) in height istraveling in the
vehicle:
R always secure the child in a child restraint
system suitable for this Mercedes-Benz vehi-
cle. The child restraint system must be appro-
priate to the age, weight and size of the child.
R always observe the instructions and safety
notes on "Children in the vehicle"
(Y page 59) in addition to the child restraint
system manufacturer's installation and oper-
ating instructions
R always observe the instructions and safety
notes on the "Occupant Classification System (OCS)" (Y page 51) G
WARNING
The seat belts may not perform their intended protective function if:
R they are damaged, modified, extremely
dirty, bleached or dyed
R the seat belt buckle is damaged or
extremely dirty
R the Emergency Tensioning Devices, belt
anchorages or inertia reels have been modi-
fied.
Seat belts may be damaged in an accident,
although the damage may not be visible, e.g.
due to splinters of glass. Modified or damaged
seat belts may tear or fail, e.g. in an accident. Modified Emergency Tensioning 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 and 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
(Y
page 46).
Every vehicle occupant must observe the fol-
lowing notes to ensure a properly worn seat belt can provide full protection. Also make sure that all vehicle occupants are always wearing the
seat belt correctly while the vehicle is in motion.
When fastening the seat belt, always make sure
that:
R the seat belt buckle tongue is inserted only
into the belt buckle belonging to that seat
R the seat belt is pulled tight across your body
Avoid wearing bulky clothing, e.g. a winter
coat.
R the seat belt is not twisted
Only then can the forces which occur be dis-
tributed over the area of the belt.
R the shoulder section of the belt is routed
across the center of your shoulder
The shoulder section of the seat belt should
not touch your neck or be routed under your
arm or behind your back. Where possible,
adjust the seat belt to the appropriate height.
R the lap belt is taut and passes across your lap
as low down as possible
The lap belt must always be routed across
your hip joints and not across your abdomen.
This applies particularly to pregnant women.
If necessary, push the lap belt down to your
hip joint and pull it tight using the shoulder
section of the belt.
R the seat belt is not routed across sharp, poin-
ted or fragile objects
If you have such items located on or in your
clothing, e.g. pens, keys or eyeglasses, store
these in a suitable place.
R only one person is using a seat belt
Infants and children must never travel sitting
on the lap of a vehicle occupant. In the event
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 295). Occupant safety
47Safety Z

Fastening and adjusting the seat belts
Observe the safety notes on the seat belt
(Y
page 46) and the notes on correct use of seat
belts (Y page 47). Basic illustration
X Adjust the seat (Y page 97).
The seat backrest must be in an almost
upright position.
X Pull the seat belt smoothly from the belt outlet
and 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 48).
X If necessary, pull up on the shoulder section
of the seat belt to tighten the belt across your
body.
The shoulder section of the seat belt must
always be routed across the center of the shoul- der. Adjust the belt outlet if necessary.
X To raise: slide the belt outlet up.
The belt outlet will engage in various posi-
tions.
X To lower: hold belt outlet release 0087and slide
the belt outlet down.
X Let go of belt outlet release 0087in the desired
position and make sure that the belt outlet
engages.
All seat belts except the driver's seat belt are
equipped with a special seat belt retractor to
securely fasten child restraint systems in the
vehicle. Further information can be found under "Special seat belt retractor" (Y page 60).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.
The belt adjustment can be switched on and off using the on-board computer (Y page 241).
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 front 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 fastened or a front door is opened
again, the 0076seat 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 48
Occupant safetySafety

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.
When deployed, an air bag can increase the pro-
tection provided for the respective vehicle occu-
pant.
Not all air bags are deployed in an accident. The
different air bag systems function independ-
ently from one another (Y page 56).
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.
All vehicle occupants must observe the follow-
ing notes to avoid risks posed by the air bag
when it deploys.
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.
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 Child restraint systems should be installed on
the rear seats.
R Secure a child to the front-passenger seat
only when the front-passenger front air bag is
deactivated, and then only in a rearward-
facing child restraint system. The front-
passenger front air bag is deactivated when
the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF indicator lamp
is lit continuously (Y page 45).
R Always observe the instructions and safety
notes on the "Occupant Classification System
(OCS)" (Y page 51) and on "Children in the
vehicle" (Y page 59) in addition to the child
restraint system manufacturer's installation
and operating instructions.
Objects in the vehicle interior may restrict
the air bag from functioning correctly. To
avoid risks resulting from the speed of the air Occupant safety
49Safety Z

In the following situation, the side impact air bag
and the Emergency Tensioning Device are deac-
tivated:
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 belt buckle
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 it is absolutely necessary to 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.
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 255). 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. 52
Occupant safetySafety

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 55). 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, the child could, in the
event of an accident:
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 sash guide to the shoulder belt guide on
the child restraint system. The shoulder belt
strap must be routed forwards and down-
wards from the vehicle belt sash guide. If nec- essary, adjust the vehicle belt sash guide and
the front-passenger seat accordingly. Always
observe the child restraint system manufac-
turer'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 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
self-test and remains lit. This indicates that
the front-passenger front air bag is deactiva-
ted.
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 self-test. This indicates 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. It is recom-
mended that you install the child restraint
system on a suitable rear seat. Occupant safety
53Safety Z

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 either lights up and remains lit
after the 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. Alternatively, a per-
son 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.
R The front-passenger seat is occupied by an
adult or a person of corresponding stature,
the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF indicator lamp
goes out after the self-test. 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 vehicle"
(Y page 59).
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.
Deployment of the driver's air bag does not
mean that the front-passenger front air bag
deploys as well. The Occupant Classification
System (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-
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- 54
Occupant safetySafety

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 the
child 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 52). 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 55).
Problems with the Occupant Classification System (OCS) Be sure to observe the notes on "System self-test" (Y
page 54). Occupant safety
55Safety Z