Only
thencantheforces whichoccurbedis-
tributed overthearea ofthe belt.
R the shoulde rsection ofthe belt isrouted
across thecenter ofyour shoulde r
The shoulde rsection ofthe seat beltshould
not touch yourneck orbe routed underyour
arm orbehind yourback. Where possible ,
adjust theseat belttothe appropria te
height.
R the lapbelt istaut andpasses acrossyour
lap aslow down aspossible
The lapbelt must alwaysbe routed across
your hipjoints andnotacross yourabdo-
men. Thisappli esparticularl yto pregnant
women. Ifnecessary, pushthelapbelt down
to your hipjoint andpullittight using the
shoulde rsection ofthe belt.
R the seat beltisnot routed across sharp,
pointed orfragile objects
If you have such items located onorinyour
clothing, e.g.pens, keysoreyegl asses,
store these inasuitabl eplace.
R only oneperson isusing aseat belt
Infant sand children mustnever travel sit-
ting onthe lapofavehicle occupant. Inthe
event ofan accident, theycould becrushed
between thevehicle occupant andseat belt.
R objects arenever secured withaseat beltif
the seat beltisalso being usedbyone of
the vehicle's occupants
Also ensure thatthere arenever objects
between aperson andtheseat, e.g.cush-
ions.
Seat belts areonly intended tosecure and
restrain vehicleoccupants. Alwaysobserve the
"Loadi ngguide lines" forsecuring objects,lug-
gage orloads (Ypage 251).
Fastening andadjusting theseat belts Observe
thesafety notesonthe seat belt
(Y page 41)and thenotes oncorrect useof
seat belts (Ypage 42). Basic
illustration
X Adjust theseat (Ypage 92).
The seat backrest mustbeinan almost
upright position.
X Pull theseat beltsmoothly fromthebelt
outlet.
X Engage seatbelttongue 0044inbelt
buckle 0043.
X Ifnecessary, pullupon the shoulde rsection
of the seat belttotighten thebelt across
your body.
The shoulde rsection ofthe seat beltmust
alwa ysbe routed across thecenter ofthe
shoulde r.Adjust thebelt outlet ifnecessary.
X To raise: slidethebelt outlet up.
The belt outlet willengage invarious posi-
tions.
X To lowe r:hold beltoutlet release 0087and
slide thebelt outlet down.
X Let goofbelt outlet release 0087inthe
desired position andmake surethatthebelt
outlet engages.
All seat belts except thedriver's seatbeltare
equip pedwith aspecial seatbeltretractor to
securely fastenchildrestraint systemsinthe
vehicle. Furtherinformation canbefound
under "Special seatbeltretractor"
(Y page 54).
Releasing seatbelts !
Make
surethattheseat beltisfully rolled
up. Otherwise, theseat beltorbelt tongue
will betrapped inthe door orinthe seat
mechanism. Thiscould damage thedoor,
the door trimpanel andtheseat belt. Dam-
aged seatbelts cannolonger fulfilltheir
protective functionandmust bereplaced.
Visit aqual ified speciali stworkshop. Occ
upant safety
43Safety Z
center
ofthe headrestra intmus tsu ppo rt
the headat abou tey elevel .
R Move thedriver' sand front-pa ssenger seats
as far back aspos sible.The driver' ssea t
pos ition mus tal low thevehi cletobe driven
saf ely.
R Only holdthe stee ring wheelon the outsid e.
Thi sal low sthe airba gto be fullydep loyed.
R Alw aysle an against the backrest whiledri v-
ing. Donot lean forw ardorlean against the
doo ror sid ewi ndow .You may otherwisebe
in the deployment areaof the airba gs.
R Alw ayskeep your fee tin the footw ellin
front ofthe seat.Do not putyo ur fee ton the
da shb oard, for exa mpl e.You rfee tmay oth-
erw isebeinthe deployment areaof the air
ba g.
R For this reason, alwa yssecu reper sons less
than 5ft (1.50 m)tallin suita ble res traint
sy ste ms. Uptothishe ight, the seat belt
cann otbe worncorr ectly.
If ach ild is trave ling inyour vehic le,als o
ob serve the follow ingno tes :
R Alw aysse cur echi ldren undertwe lveyears
of ageand less tha n5 ft (1.5 0m) tallin suit-
ab lechi ldres traint syste ms.
R Ch ild res traint syste ms should pre ferablybe
ins talled on the rearpa sse nge rcomp art-
ment seats .
R Secu reachi ldto the front-pa ssenge rse at
onl ywh en the front-pa ssenge rfro ntairba g
is disa bled ,and thenonl yin area rward-
fa cing childres traint syste m. The front-
pa sse nge rfro ntairba gis disa bled when the
PASSEN GERAIRBAG OFFindicator lamp is
li t conti nuously(Y page 40).
R Alw aysob serve the instructio nsand safety
note son the "Occu pant Clas sific ati on Sys -
tem (OCS) "(Y page 47) and on"Child ren
in the vehicle" (Y page 53)in ad ditio nto
the childres traint syste mma nuf actu rer's
ins tallatio nand opera ting instructio ns.
Ob jec tsinthe vehic leinteri ormay restric t
the airbag fromfun ctioningco rrec tly.To
av oid ris ks res ulting fromthe spee dof the air
ba gas itde ploy s,veh icleoccu pants must
ens urethe followi ng points . Befo
recomm encingyour jou rney ,ens uretha t:
R the reareno peop le,ani ma lsor objects
be twe enthe vehicleoccu pants and anair
ba g
R the reareno objects betwe enthe seat, door
and B-pillar
R the reareno hard objects ,e.g .coa tha nge rs,
ha ngi ng on the grabha ndl esorcoa thoo ks
R no acc essor ies, su ch ascup holders, are
atta chedto the vehiclewi thi nthe deploy -
ment area ofan airba g,e.g .to doors ,si de
wi ndo ws,rea rpa sse nge rcomp artment side
trim orside walls
R no heavy, sha rp-e dged orfra gile ob jects are
in the pockets ofyour clo thing. Store such
ob jects inasu ita ble place G
WA
RNING
If yo umod ifythe cove rof an airba gor affix
ob jects such assticker sto it,the airba g
can nolonge rpe rfo rm itsinte ndedfu nctio n.
The reisan incr easedris kof inju ry.
Nev ermod ifythe cove rof an airba gor affix
ob jects toit. G
WA
RNING
Sens orstocontro lthe airba gs arelocate d
in the doors .Mod ificati ons orwo rknot per-
for med correctlyto the doors ordoor panel -
ing ,as wellas dama geddo ors ,can lead to
the functio nof the senso rsbeing impaire d.
The airba gs might therefore not functio n
pro perly any mor e.Co nse quentl y,the air
ba gs cann otpro tect vehicleoccu pants as
the yar ede signe dto do.The reisan
incr easedris kof inju ry.
Nev ermod ifythe doors orparts ofthe
do ors .Alw aysha ve workon the doors or
do or panel ing carriedou tat aqu alifi ed spe-
cia list wo rksh op.
Fro ntair bag s !
Do
not place heavyob jects onthe front-
pa sse nge rse at. Thiscou ldcau sethe sys-
tem toidenti fythe seat as being occu pied .
In the eventofan acc ident, therestraint
sy ste ms onthe front-pa ssenge rsi de maybe
trig gered and have tobe rep laced . Oc
cupant safety
45Safety Z
Occupant
Classification Systemopera-
tion (OCS) 0043
PAS SENGER AIRBAG ONindicat orlamp
0044 PAS SENGER AIRBAG OFFindicat orlamp
The indicat orlamps informyou whether the
fron t-passenger frontair bag isdeactivat edor
enabled.
X Press theStart/ Stop button onceor twice,
or turn theSmart Keytoposition 0047or0048 in
the ignition lock.
The system carriesoutself-diagn ostics.
The PASSENGER AIRBAG OFFand
PAS SENGER AIRBAG ONindicat orlamps must
light upsimultaneously forapproximat elysix
secon ds.
Then theindicat orlamps display thestatusof
the fron t-passenger frontair bag:
R PAS SENGER AIRBAG ONlights upfor
60 secon ds,subsequently bothindicat or
lamps areoff(PASS ENGERAIR BAG ONand
OFF): thefron t-passenger frontair bag is
able todeploy inthe event ofan acciden t.
R PAS SENGER AIRBAG OFFlights up:the
fron tpassenger frontair bag isdeactivat ed.
It will then notbedeployed inthe event of
an acciden t.
If the PAS SENGER AIRBAG ONindicat orlamp
is off, only thePAS SENGER AIRBAG OFFindi-
cator lampshows thestatusofthe fron t-
passenger frontair bag. ThePASSENGER AIR
BAG OFFindicat orlamp maybelitcon tinu-
ously orbe off.
If the statusofthe fron t-passenger frontair
bag changes whilethevehicle isin motion ,an
air bag display message appearsinthe instru-
ment cluster (Ypage 214). When thefron t-
passenger seatisoccupied, alwayspay atten -
tion tothe PAS SENGER AIRBAG OFFindicat or
lamp. Beaware ofthe statusofthe fron t- passenger
frontair bag both before andduring
the journ ey. G
WARN
ING
If the PAS SENGER AIRBAG OFFindicat or
lamp islit, the fron t-passenger frontair bag
is disabled. Itwill notbedeployed inthe
event ofan acciden tand cann otperform its
inten dedprotec tivefunc tion.A person inthe
fron t-passenger seatcould then,for exam-
ple, come intocontact with thevehicle's
inter ior,especially ifthe person issitt ing too
close tothe dashboard. Thisposes an
incr eased riskofinjur yor even fatalinjury.
When thefron t-passenger seatisoccupied,
alway sensure that:
R the classificat ionofthe person inthe
fron t-passenger seatiscorr ectand the
fron t-passenger frontair bag isenabled or
disabled inaccor dance withtheperson in
the fron t-passenger seat
R the fron t-passenger seathasbeen moved
back asfar back aspossible.
R the person isseated correctly.
Make sure,bothbefore andduring thejour-
ney, thatthestatusofthe fron t-passenger
fron tair bag iscorr ect. G
WARN
ING
If you secure achild inarearward-f acing
child restraint system onthe fron t-
passenger seatandthePAS SENGER AIR
BAG OFFindicat orlamp isoff, thefron t-
passenger frontair bag candeploy inthe
event ofan acciden t.The child could be
str uck bythe airbag. Thisposes an
incr eased riskofinjur yor even fatalinjury.
Make surethatthefron t-passenger frontair
bag hasbeen deactivat ed.The PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFFindicat orlamp must belit.
NEVE Ruse arearward-f acingchildrestraint
on aseat protec tedbyan ACTIVE FRONT
AIRBA Gin fron tof it;DE ATH orSERIOUS
INJURY tothe child canoccur.
If the PAS SENGER AIRBAG OFFindicat orlamp
stays off,donot installarearward-f acingchild 48
Occupant
safetySafet y
restrai
ntsystem onthe front-passenge rseat.
You canfind more informatio non OCS under
"Prob lemswiththeOccupa ntCla ssifi cation
System" (Ypag e51). G
WARNING
If you secure achild inaforwa rd-facing child
restrai ntsystem onthe front-passenge rseat
and youposition thefront-passenge rseat
too close tothe dash board,inthe event of
an accide nt,the child could :
R come intocontact withthevehicl e'sinte-
rior ifthe PASSENGER AIRBAG OFFindi-
cator lampislit, for exampl e
R be struck bythe airbag ifthe
PASSENGER AIRBAG OFFindica torlamp
is off
This poses anincrease drisk ofinjury or
even fatalinjury.
Alwa ysmove thefront-passenge rseat asfar
back aspossi bleand fullyretract theseat
cushi onlength. Alwaysmake surethatthe
shou lderbeltstrap iscorrectly routedfrom
the vehicl ebelt sash guide tothe shou lder
belt guide on the child restrai ntsystem. The
shou lderbeltstrap mustberouted forwards
and downw ardsfrom thevehicl ebelt sash
gui de. Ifnecessary ,adju stthe vehicl ebelt
sash guide and thefront-passenge rseat
accordi ngly.Alwaysobserve thechild
restrai ntsystem manufacturer's installation
instructions.
If OCS determine sthat:
R The front-passenge rseat isunoccup ied,the
PASSENGER AIRBAG OFFindica torlamp
lig hts upafter theself-test andremai nslit.
This indica testhat thefront-passenge rfront
air bag isdea ctivated.
R The front-passenge rseat isoccupi edbya
child ofup totwelve months old,inastand-
ard child restrai ntsystem, thePASSENGER
AIR BAG OFFindica torlamp lights upafter
the self-test andremai nslit. This indica tes
that thefront-passenge rfront airbag is
dea ctivated.
But even inthe case ofatwelve -month-old
child ,in astandard childrestrai ntsystem,
the PASSENGER AIRBAG OFFindica tor lamp
cangoout after theself-test. Thisindi-
cates thatthefront-passenge rfront airbag
is enabl ed.The resul tof the class ification is
depe ndent on,among otherfactors, the
child restrai ntsystem andthechild 'sstat-
ure. Itis recommended thatyouinstall the
child restrai ntsystem onasui table rear
seat.
R The front-passenge rseat isoccupi edbya
person ofsmal lerstature (e.g.ateenage ror
smal ladu lt),the PASSENGER AIRBAG OFF
indica torlamp either lights upand remai ns
lit after theself-test depending onthe resul t
of the class ification or,alterna tively,goes
out.
- Ifthe PASSENGER AIRBAG OFFindica tor
lamp isoff, move thefront-passenge rseat
as far back aspossi ble.Alternativel y,a
person ofsmal lerstature cansiton arear
seat.
- Ifthe PASSENGER AIRBAG OFFindica tor
lamp islit, aperson ofsmal lerstature
shou ldnot use thefront-passenge rseat.
R The front-passenge rseat isoccupi edbyan
adu ltor aperson ofcorrespond ingstature,
the PASSENGER AIRBAG OFFindica tor
lamp goesoutafter theself-test. Thisindi-
cates thatthefront-passenge rfront airbag
is enabl ed.
If child renaretraveli nginthe vehicl e,be sure
to observe thenotes on"Child ren inthe vehi-
cle" (Ypag e53) .
When theOccupa ntCla ssifi cation System
(OC S)ismalfu nctioning, thered 0075 restrai nt
system warninglamp onthe instrument clus-
ter and thePASSENGER AIRBAG OFFindica -
tor lamp light up simu ltaneou sly.The front-
pass enger frontairbag isdea ctivated inthis
case anddoes notdepl oyduri nganaccide nt.
Have theOccupa ntCla ssifi cation System
(OC S)checked andrepa iredimmed iatelyat a
qua lified specia listworkshop .Mercede s-Benz
recommends thatyouuseanauthorized
Mercede s-BenzCenter forthis purp ose.
If the front-passenge rseat, theseat cover or
the seat cushi onare dama ged,have thenec-
essa ryrepa irwork carrie dout ataqua lified
specia listworkshop .Mercede s-Benzrecom-
mends thatyouuseanauthorized Mercede s-
Benz Center forthis purp ose.
For safety reasons,Mercede s-Benzrecom-
mends thatyouonly useseat accessori esthat
have been approved byMercede s-Benz. Occ
upant safety
49Safety Z
The
rate ofvehicle deceleration oraccelera-
tion andthedirection ofthe force areessen-
tially determin edby:
R the distribution offorces during thecollision
R the collision angle
R the deformation characteristics ofthe vehi-
cle
R the charact eristics ofthe object withwhich
the vehicle hascollided
Fact orswhich canonly beseen andmeasured
after acollision hasoccurred donot play a
decisive roleinthe deployment ofan air bag.
Nor dothey provide anindication ofair bag
deployment.
The vehicle canbedeformed considerably,
without anair bag being deployed. Thisisthe
case ifonly parts which arerelatively easily
deformed areaffect edand therate ofdeceler-
ation isnot high. Conversely, airbags maybe
deployed eventhough thevehicle suffersonly
minor deformation .This isthe case if,for
example, veryrigid vehicle partssuchaslongi-
tudinal bodymembers arehit,and sufficient
deceleration occursasaresult.
If the restr aintsystem controlunit detect sa
side impact orifthe vehicle rollsover, the
applicable componentsofthe restr aintsystem
are deployed independent lyof each other
depending onthe apparent typeofaccident .
R Side impact airbags onthe side where the
impact takesplace, independent lyof the
Emergen cyTensionin gDevice andtheuse
of the seat beltonthe driver's seatand
outer seats inthe second row
The side impact airbag onthe front
passenger sidedeploys underthefollowing
condit ions:
- the OCS system detectsthat thefront
passenger seatisoccupied or
- the seat beltbuckle tongue isengaged in
the belt buckle ofthe front passenger
seat
R Window curtainairbag onthe side of
impact, independent lyof the use ofthe seat
belt andindependent lyof whether thefront -
passenger seatisoccupied
R Emergen cyTensionin gDevices, ifthe sys-
tem determin esthat deployment canoffer
additional protectioninthis situation
R Window curtainairbags onthe driver's and
front -passenger sideincert ainsituations
when thevehicle rollsover, ifthe system determin
esthat deployment canoffer addi-
tional protec tiontothat provided bythe
seat belt
i Not
allair bags aredeployed inan acci-
dent. Thevarious airbags work independ-
ently ofeach other .
How theairbag works isdetermin edbythe
severity ofthe accident detected,especially
the vehicle deceleration oracceleration and
the apparent typeofaccident :
R Head-on collision
R Side impact
R Rollover Automa
ticmeasur esafteran acci-
dent
Immediately afteranaccident ,the following
measures areimplemented, dependingonthe
type andseverity ofthe impact:
R the hazard warning lampsareswitched on
R the emergenc ylighting isactivated
R the vehicle doorsareunlocked
R the front sidewindows arelowered
R the engine isswitched offand thefuel sup-
ply iscut off
R vehicles withMercedes meconn ect:auto-
matic emergenc ycall Children
inthe vehicle Import
antsafety notes
Acc ident statist icsshow thatchildren secured
in the rear seats aresafer thanchildren
secured inthe front -passenger seat.Forthis
reason, Mercedes- Benzstronglyadvises that
you install achild restraintsystem onarear
seat. Children aregenerally betterprotected
there.
If achild younger thantwelve yearsoldand
under 5ft (1.50 m)inheight istraveling inthe
vehicle:
R alway ssecure thechild inachild restraint
system suitable forMercedes- Benzvehicles.
The child restraintsystem mustbeappropri-
ate tothe age, weight andsize ofthe child.
R be sure toobserve theinstr uctions and
safety notesinthis section inaddition tothe Children
inthe vehicle
53Safety Z
chil
drestra intsystem manufacturer'sinsta l-
la tion instru ctions .
R alwa ysobs erve theinstru ctions andsafety
notes onthe "Occu pant Class ificati onSys -
tem (OCS)"(Ypage 47) G
WARNI
NG
If chil drenare left unsu pervised inthe vehi -
cle ,they could,in pa rticu lar:
R Ope ndoo rs,there byenda ngeri ngothe r
per sons orroa dus ers
R Ge tou tand bestru ckbyoncomi ngtraffi c
R Ope rate vehicleequ ipment andbeco me
trap ped,for exa mpl e
In addition, childrencou ldset the vehi clein
motio n,for exa mpl e,ifthey :
R Re lease theparking brake.
R Ch ange thetransm ission position
R Start thevehi cle
The reisaris kof acci dent andinjury.
Neve rle ave childrenunsu pervised inthe
vehi cle.
Whe nleavi ng the vehi cle,al wa ystake the
SmartK eywith youand lock thevehi cle.
Kee pthe SmartK eyoutof the reachofchil -
dre n. G
WARNI
NG
If per sons, particu larly chil drenare subjec-
ted topro long edexpo sure to extrem ehea t
or cold ,there isaris kof inju ry,pos sibly
eve nfata l.Neve rle ave childrenuna ttende d
in the vehi cle. G
WARNI
NG
If the childrestra intsystem issu bjecte dto
di rect sunli ght, parts may getvery hot.Chil-
dre nmay burn thems elves onthese parts,
pa rticu larly on the meta lpa rts ofthe child
restra intsystem. Thereisaris kof inju ry.
If yo uleave thevehi cle,taki ngthe childwi th
yo u, alwa ysensu rethat thechildrestra int
sy stem isnot expo sedtodirect sunli ght.
Prote ctitwi th abl anket, forexa mpl e.Ifthe
chil drestra intsystem hasbee nexpo sedto di
rect sunli ght, letit cool downbef ore secu r-
ing the childin it. Neve rle ave childrenuna t-
tende din the vehi cle.
Alw aysensu rethat allvehi cleoccu pants have
thei rsea tbel tsfas tened correctlyand aresit-
ting properly.Pa rticu larattenti onmus tbe paid
to chil dren.
Obs erve thesafety notes onthe seatbel t
(Y page 41) and thenotes oncorre ctuseof
sea tbel ts(Y page 42).
A boo ster seatmay beneces saryto ach ieve
pro per seatbel tpos itioning forchil drenover
40 lbs(18 kg)unti lthey reachahei ght whe re
a three -pointsea tbel tcan bepro perlyfas -
tened withou ta boo ster seat. Spec
ialseatbe ltretrac tor G
WARNI
NG
If the seatbel tis rel eased whiledri ving ,the
chil drestra intsystem willno long erbe
secu redproperly.The specialsea tbel t
retra ctorisdisab led and theinertiarea l
dra ws inapor tion ofthe seatbel t.The seat
bel tcannot beimme diatel yrefa stened .
The reisan incre asedris kof inju ry,pos sibly
eve nfata l.
Stop thevehi cleimme diatel y,pa ying atten-
tion toroa dand traffi ccondi tions.Re acti -
vate thespecialsea tbel tretra ctorand
secu rethe childrestra intsystem properly.
All sea tbel tsinthe vehi cle,excep tthe driver' s
sea tbel t,are equipped with aspe cialsea tbel t
retra ctor. Whenacti vate d,the specialsea tbel t
retra ctorensu resthat theseatbel tcannot
sla cken once thechildsea tis secu red.
Instal ling achil drestra intsystem:
X Ma kesure youobs erve thechildrestra int
sy stem manufacturer'sinsta llati on instru c-
tions .
X Pu llthe seatbel tsmoo thlyfrom thebelt
ou tlet.
X Engag esea tbel ttongu ein bel tbu ckle. 54
Chi
ldren inthe vehic leSafe ty
Activa
tingthespecialsea tbe ltretra ctor:
X Pu llthe seatbe ltou tfu lly and letthe inertia
ree lretra ctitag ain.
Whi lethe seatbe ltis retra cting ,yo usho uld
hea ra ra tche ting sound. The specialsea t
be ltretra ctorisena bled .
X Pu sh the childres trai ntsystem down sotha t
the seatbe ltis tig ht and does not loose n.
Re movi ngthe childres trai ntsystem anddeac-
tiva ting thespecialsea tbe ltretra ctor:
X Ma kesure youob ser vethe childres trai nt
sy stem manuf actu rer'sins tallatio nins truc -
tio ns.
X Pre ssthe release button ofthe seatbe lt
bu ckle andguide the seatbe lttongu eba ck
tow ards the beltsa sh guide.
The specialsea tbe ltretra ctorisde acti va-
ted . Chi
ldres train tsys tem
The useof sea tbe lts and childres trai ntsys-
tems isreq uired bylaw in:
R all50 states
R the U.S. territories
R the District ofCo lumbi a
R allCa nad ian pro vince s
If yo uins talla rea rwa rd-facing childres trai nt
sy stem onthe cente rrea rsea t,the rearsea t
ar mre stmu stbe foldedba ck asfar asitwi ll
go.
Yo ucan obtainfu rthe rinfo rma tionab ou tthe
corr ectchildres trai ntsystem fromanyauthor -
ize dMer cedes-B enzCenter. G
WA
RNING
If the childres trai ntsystem isins talled
inco rrectly onasu ita ble sea t,itcanno tpro -
tect asinte nded.The childcanno tthen be
res trai ned inthe eventofan acci dent, hea vy
bra king orsudd en cha nge sof directi on.
The reisan incr eased riskof inju ry,po ssi bly
eve nfata l.
Ma kesure tha tyo uob ser vethe child
res trai ntsystem manuf actu rer'sins tallatio n
ins truc tions and thenotes onuse. Plea se
ensu re,thatthe base ofthe childres trai nt
sy stem isalwa ysres ting comp letel yon the sea
tcus hion. Nev erplace objects, e.g.cus h-
io ns, und eror behind the childres trai ntsys-
tem. Onlyus echi ldres trai ntsystem swi th
the original cove rde signe dfor them .Onl y
rep lace dama gedcove rswith gen uine cov-
ers . G
WA
RNING
If the childres trai ntsystem isins talled
inco rrectly orisnot secured ,it can come
lo ose inthe eventofan acci dent, hea vy
bra king orasu dd en cha nge indirecti on.The
chi ldres trai ntsystem couldbe thro wn
ab ou t,stri king vehicleoccu pants. Thereis
an incr eased riskof inju ry,po ssi blyeve n
fata l.
Alw aysins tallchi ldres trai ntsystem spro p-
erl y,eve nif they arenot being used .Ma ke
su re tha tyo uob ser vethe childres trai ntsys-
tem manuf actu rer'sins tallatio nins truc tions.
Yo uwi llfind furthe rinfo rma tionon stow ing
ob jects, lugga georload sund er"Loa ding
gu ideline s"(Y page 251 ). G
WA
RNING
Ch ild res trai ntsystem sor thei rsec uring sys-
tems which have been dama ged orsubje c-
ted toaload inan acci dent can nolonge r
pro tect asinte nded.The childcanno tthen
be res trai ned inthe eventofan acci dent,
hea vybra king orsudd en cha nge sof direc-
tio n.The reisan incr eased riskof inju ry,
po ssi blyeve nfata l.
Re place childres trai ntsystem swh ich have
be en dama ged orsubje cted toaload inan
acci dent as soo nas possi ble. Hav ethe
sec uring system son the childres trai ntsys-
tem checked ataqu alifi ed spe cialist wo rk-
sho p,before youins talla chi ldres trai ntsys-
tem again.
The securing system sof chi ldres trai ntsys-
tems are:
R the seatbe ltsy stem
R the LATC H-typ e(ISO FIX) securing ring s
R the Top Tether anch orages Ch
ildren inthe vehic le
55Safe ty Z
If
it is absol utely necessary tocarry achild on
the front passe ngerseat, besure toobserve
the information onthe "Occupa ntCla ssifica -
tion System (OCS)"(Ypage 47).There youwill
also findinformation ondisa bling thefront
passe ngerfront airbag.
All child restraint systemsmustmeet thefol-
lowi ngstandards:
R U.S. Federal MotorVehicle SafetyStandards
213 and225
R Cana dianMotor Vehicle SafetyStandards
213 and210.2
Confirma tionthat thechild restraint system
corresponds tothe standards canbefound on
an instruction labelon the child restraint sys-
tem. Thisconfirmation canalso befound in
the installa tioninstructions thatareinclude d
with thechild restraint system.
Observe thewarning labels inthe vehicle inte-
rior and onthe child restraint system. LATC
H-type (ISOFI X)chil dseat
sec uring system G
WARNING
For LATCH-type (ISOFIX)childrestraint sys-
tems inwhich thechild issecured usingthe
safety beltintegrated inthe child restraint
system, themaximum permissibleweig htof
the child andchild restraint systemtogether
is 73 lbs (33 kg).
If the child andthechild restraint system
together weighmore than73lbs (33 kg),the
LATCH-type (ISOFIX)childrestraint system
with integrated safetybeltnolonger offers
sufficie ntprotection. TheLATCH-type (ISO-
FIX) child seatsecuring systemmaybeover-
load ed,and thechild maynotberestrained
in an accident, forexample .This poses an
increased riskofinjury oreven fatalinjury.
If the child andthechild restraint system
together weighmore than73lbs (33 kg),
use only aLATCH-type (ISOFIX)child
restraint systeminwhich thechild isalso
secured withthevehicle seatbelt. Also
secure thechild restraint systemwiththe
Top Tether belt,ifavai lable. Regu
larlycheck thatthepermissi blegross
weig htofthe child together withthechild
restraint systemisstill maintained .
Alway scomply withthemanufacture r'sinstal-
lation andopera tinginstructions forthe child
restraint systemused.
Before everytrip,make surethattheLATCH-
type (ISOFIX) childrestraint systemisengaged
correctly inboth LATCH-type (ISOFIX)securing
rings
! When
installi ngthe child restraint system,
make surethattheseat beltforthe middl e
seat does notgettrapped .The seat belt
could otherwise bedama ged. X
Install theLATCH-type (ISOFIX)child
restraint systemonboth LATCH-type (ISO-
FIX) securing rings0043.
ISOFIX isastandardi zedsecuring systemfor
specia llydesig nedchild restraint systemson
the rear seats. LATCH-type (ISOFIX)securing
rings fortwo LATCH-type (ISOFIX)child
restraint systemsareinstalle don the left and
right ofthe rear seats.
Non-LATCH-type (ISOFIX)childseats mayalso
be used andcanbeinstalle dusing thevehi-
cle's seatbeltsystem. Installthechild seat
according tothe manufacture r'sinstructions. Top
Tether
Introductio n Top
Tether provide san addi tional connection
betwee nthe child restraint systemsecured
with aLATCH-type (ISOFIX)systemandthe
vehicle .This helps reduce therisk ofinjury
even further. Ifthe child restraint systemis
equi pped withaTop Tether belt,thisshoul d
alw ays beused . 56
Chil
dren inthe vehic leSafety