X
Press therelease buttoninthe belt buckle,
hold thebelt tongue firmly andguide the
belt back.
Belt warning forthe driver andfront
passenger The
0076 seatbeltwarning lampinthe instr u-
ment cluster isareminder thatallvehicle
occupant smust weartheirseatbelts. Itmay
light upcont inuously orflash. Inaddition,
there maybeawarning tone.
Regardless ofwhether thedriver's seatbelt
has already beenfasten ed,the 0076 seatbelt
warning lamplights upfor sixseconds each
time theengine isstart ed.Ifthe fron tdoors
are closed andthedriver's orfron t-passenger
seat belthasnotbeen fasten ed,the 0076 seat
belt warning lamplights upagain afterthesix
seconds .As soon asthe driver's andfront-
passenger seatbelts arefasten edorafron t
door isopened again,the0076 seatbeltwarn-
ing lamp goesout.
If the driver's seatbeltisnot fasten edafter
the engine isstart ed,anadditional warning
ton ewill sound. Thewarning toneswitches off
after sixseconds oronce thedriver's seatbelt
is fasten ed.
If the vehicle's speedexceeds 15mph
(25 km/ h)once andthedriver's andfront-
passenger seatbelts arenot fasten ed,awarn-
ing tonesounds. Awarning tonealso sounds
with increasin ginten sityfor60seconds or
until thedriver orfron tpassenger havefas-
tened theirseatbelts.
If the driver orfron tpassenger unfastentheir
seat belts during thejourney, theseat belt
warning isactivat edagain. Air
bags
Introdu ction The
installation pointofan airbag canberec-
ognized bythe AIRBA Gmarkin g.
An airbag complemen tsthe correc tlyfasten ed
seat belt. Itis no substitut efor the seat belt.
When deployed, anairbag canincrease the
protec tionprovided forthe respect ivevehicle
occupant .
Not allairbags aredeployed inan accident .
The various airbags workindependen tlyof
each other (Ypage 51). However,
nosystem availabletoday cancom-
pletely eliminate injuriesandfatalities.
It is also notpossible torule outarisk ofinjury
caused byan airbag duetothe high speed at
which theairbag mustbedeployed.
Impor tantsafety notes G
WARNIN
G
If the fron tpassenger airbag hasbeen acti-
vated, achild onthe fron tpassenger seat
may behit bythe fron tpassenger airbag in
the event ofan accident .There isarisk of
injury orfatal injury.
NEVE Ruse arearward-facin gchild restraint
system onaseat protec tedbyan ACTIVE
FRONT AIRBAG;DE ATH orSERIOU SINJURY
to the CHILD canoccur.
When installing achild restraintsystem onthe
fron tpassenger seatobserve thevehicle-spe-
cific notes(Y page 57).Youmust observe
the noteson rearward andforward-f acingchild
restr aintsystems onthe fron t-passenger seat. G
WARNIN
G
If you deviate fromthecorrec tseat position,
the airbag cann otperform itsinten dedpro-
tect ivefunct ionand deployment mayeven
cause further injuries. Thisposes an
increased riskofinjury oreven fatalinjury.
To avoid anyrisks, eachvehicle occupant
must alway smake sureofthe following:
R Fasten theseat beltcorrec tly.Inthe case
of pregnant womeninparticular, make
sure thatthelapbelt isnever routed
across thestomac hor abdomen.
R Adopt thecorrec tseat position andkeep
as far away aspossible fromtheairbags.
R Observe thefollowing notes.
Always makesurethatthere arenoobject s
between theairbag and vehicle occupant .
All vehicle occupant smust observe thefollow-
ing notestoavoid risksposed bythe airbag
when itdeploys.
R Adjust theseats properly beforebeginnin g
your journey. Alwaysmakesurethatthe
seat isin an almost upright position. The 44
Occupant
safetySafety
Driv
er'sai rba g0043 deploy sin fro ntofthe
stee ringwh eel.Front- passe nge rfro ntair
ba g0044 deploy sin fro ntofand above theglove
bo x.
Wh endeploy ed ,the frontairba gs offeraddi-
tio nal head and thoraxpro tecti onfor the occu -
pa nts inthe frontsea ts.
The PASSEN GERAIRBAG OFFindicator lamp
info rms youab ou tthe status ofthe front-
pa sse nge rfro ntairba g(Y page 40).
The front-pa ssenge rfro ntairba gwi llonl y
de ploy if:
R the system ,ba sed onthe OCSwe ight sen -
sor readings, detects thatthe front-
pa sse nge rsea tis occu pied (Ypage 47) .
The PASSEN GERAIRBAG OFFindicator
la mp isnot lit (Y page 48)
R the restraint system contro luni tpre dicts a
hi gh acc ident severity
Kn ee bag s Driv
er'sknee bag0043 deploy sund erthe stee r-
ing colum nand front-pa ssenge rknee bag0044
und erthe glove box.The driver 'sand front-
pa sse nge rknee bags aretrig gered toge ther
wi th the frontairba gs. The
driver 'sand front-pa ssenge rknee bags
off eradditio nal thigh, knee andlowe rle g pro -
tecti onfor the occu pants inthe frontsea ts.
Si de impac tair bag s G
WA
RNING
Unsu itable sea tcove rscan obstru ctor pre -
vent deploy ment ofthe airba gs inte grated
into theseats.Conse quentl y,the airba gs
canno tpro tect vehicleoccu pants asthe y
ar ede signe dto do.In additio n,the opera -
tio nof the occu pant cla ssificati on system
(O CS) couldbe adver selyaf fecte d.Thi s
po ses anincr eased riskof inju ryor eve n
fa tal inju ry.
Yo usho uld onl yus esea tcove rstha tha ve
be en appro ved forthe respectiv esea tby
Me rced es-Benz. Front
side imp act airba gs 0043 and rearsi de
imp act airba gs 0044 deploy next tothe outer
bo lster ofthe seatba ckres t.
Wh endeploy ed ,the side imp act airba goff ers
ad ditio nal thor axpro tecti on.Italso offers
ad ditio nal pelvispro tecti onfor occu pants in
the frontsea ts.How ever,itdo es not protect
the :
R he ad
R neck
R arms
If the restraint system contro luni tde tects a
si de imp act, theside imp act airba gis
de ploy ed on the side on which the impact
occu rs. 46
Oc
cupant safetySafe ty
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
Dep
loym ent ofthe driver 'sairba gdo es not
mea ntha tthe front-pa ssenge rfro ntairba g
de ploy sas well. The Occu pant Clas sific ati on
Sys tem (OCS) cate gorize sthe occu pant on the
fro nt-pa ssenge rsea t.Dep endingontha t
res ult, the front-pa ssenge rfro ntairba gis
ei the rena bled ordeacti vated .
Se lf-ch eckof the Occupant Class ifica -
tio nSys tem (OCS ) G
DA
NGE R
If the PASSEN GERAIRBAG OFFand
PASSEN GERAIRBAG ONindicator lamps do
not both light updurin gthe self-tes t,the
sy stem isma lfunctio ning.The front-
pa sse nge rfro ntairba gmig htbe trig gered
uni ntenti onally or mig htnot betrig gered at
al lin the eventofan acc ident with high
de cel era tion.Thi spo ses anincr eased riskof
inju ryor eve nfa tal inju ry.
In thi scas ethe front-pa ssenge rsea tma y
not beused .Do not installa chi ldres traint
sy stem onthe front-pa ssenge rsea t.Hav e
the Occu pant Clas sific ati on Sys tem (OCS)
che cked andrepaired imm ediatel yat a
qu alifi ed speci alistwo rksh op. G
WA
RNING
If the PASSEN GERAIRBAG OFFindicator
la mp rem ains lit af ter the self-tes t,the front-
pa sse nge rfro ntairba gis de acti vated .It wi ll
not bedeploy ed inthe eventofan acc ident.
In thi scas e,the front-pa ssenge rfro ntair
ba gcanno tpe rfo rm itsinte ndedpro tecti ve
fu nctio n,e.g .wh en ape rso nis sea ted inthe
fro nt-pa ssenge rsea t.
Tha tpe rso ncou ld,for exa mpl e,come into
conta ctwith the vehicle's inte rior,esp ecially
if the perso nis sitting tooclosetothe dash-
bo ard. Thi spo ses anincr eased riskof inju ry
or eve nfa tal inju ry.
Wh enthe front-pa ssenge rsea tis occu pied ,
al wa ysens uretha t:
R the classificati on ofthe perso nin the
fro nt-pa ssenge rsea tis corr ectand the
fro nt-pa ssenge rfro ntairba gis ena bled or de
acti vated inacc ordance with the per-
son inthe front-pa ssenge rsea t
R the perso nis sea ted properly with acor-
rectl yfa sten edsea tbelt
R the front-pa ssenge rsea tha sbe en mov ed
as farba ck aspossi ble
If the PASSEN GERAIRBAG OFFindicator
la mp rem ains lit wh en itsho uld not, the
fro nt-pa ssenge rsea tmu stnot beused .Do
not installa chi ldres traint system onthe
fro nt-pa ssenge rsea t.Hav ethe Occu pant
Cl as sific ati on Sys tem (OCS) checked and
rep aired imm ediatel yat aqu alifi ed speci alist
wo rksh op. G
WA
RNING
Ob jects betwe enthe seatsu rfa ce and the
chi ldres traint system couldaffect OCS
op era tion.Thi scou ldres ultin the front-
pa sse nge rai rba gnot functio ningasinte n-
de ddu rin gan acc ident. Thispo ses an
incr eased riskof inju ryor eve nfa tal inju ry.
Do not place anyobjects betwe enthe seat
su rfa ce and thechildres traint system .The
enti rebase ofthe childres traint system
mu stalwa ysres ton the seatcus hion ofthe
fro nt-pa ssenge rsea t.The backres tof the
for wa rd-f acing childres traint system must,
as faras possi ble, be res ting onthe back-
res tof the front-pa ssenge rsea t.Alw ays
comp lywith the childres traint system man-
uf actu rer'sins tallatio nins tructio ns.
After theself-tes t,the PASSEN GERAIRBAG
OFF orthe PASSEN GERAIRBAG ONindicator
la mp disp lays the status ofthe front-
pa sse nge rfro ntairba g(Y page 48).Ifthe
fro nt-pa ssenge rfro ntairba gis ena bled ,the
PASSEN GERAIRBAG ONindicator lamp lights
up for 60sec ond sand thengo es out.
If the PASSEN GERAIRBAG ONindicator lamp
is off ,onl ythe PASSEN GERAIRBAG OFFindi-
cato rla mp showsthe status ofthe front-
pa sse nge rfro ntairba g.The PASSEN GERAIR
BAG OFFindicator lamp maybe lit conti nu-
ou sly or be off.
For mor einfo rma tionab ou tthe OCS,see
"P rob lems with the Occu pant Clas sific ati on
Sys tem" (Ypage 51). 50
Oc
cupant safetySafe ty
Problems
withtheOccupant ClassificationSystem (OCS) Be
sure toobserve thenotes on"System self-test"(Y page 50). Problem
Possible
causes/co nsequences and0050 0050
Solutions The
PASS ENGER AIR
BAG OFFindicator lamp
lights upand remains
lit, even though the
front -passenger seatis
occupied byan adult or
a person ofastature
correspondin gto that of
an adult. The
classification ofthe person onthe front -passenger seatisincor-
rect.
X Make surethecondition sfor acorrect classification ofthe per-
son onthe front -passenger seataremet (Ypage 48).
X Ifthe PASS ENGER AIRBAG OFFindicator lampremains lit,the
front -passenger seatmaynotbeused.
X Have OCScheck edassoon aspossible atan authorized
Mercedes-B enzCenter. The
PASS ENGER AIR
BAG OFFindicator lamp
does notlight up
and/or doesnotstay
on.
The front -passenger
seat is:
R unoccupied
R occupied bythe
weight ofachild up
to twelve monthsold
in achild restraint
system OCS
ismalfunction ing.
X Make surethere isnothin gbetween theseat cushion andthe
child seat.
X Make surethattheentire baseofthe child restraint systemrests
on the seat cushion ofthe front -passenger seat.Thebackrest of
the forward-facing childrestraint systemmustlieasflat aspossi-
ble against thebackrest ofthe front passenger seat.Ifnecessary,
adjust theposition ofthe front -passenger seat.
X Make surethattheseat cushion lengthisfully retract ed.
X When installing thechild restraint system,makesurethatthe
seat beltistight. Donot pull theseat belttight using thefront -
passenger seatadjustment .This could result inthe seat beltand
the child restraint systembeingpulled tootightly.
X Check forcorrect installation ofthe child restraint system.
Make surethatthehead restraint doesnotapply aload tothe
child restraint system.Ifnecessary, adjustthehead restraint
accordingly.
X Make surethatnoobject sare apply ingadditional weightontothe
seat.
X Ifthe PASS ENGER AIRBAG OFFindicator lampremains off
and/or thePASS ENGER AIRBAG ONindicator lamplights up,do
not install achild restraint systemonthe front -passenger seat.It
is recommen dedthat youinstall thechild restraint systemona
suitable rearseat.
X Have OCScheck edassoon aspossible atan authorized
Mercedes-B enzCenter. Deployment
ofEmergency Tension-
ing Devic esand airbags
Import antsafety notes G
WARNING
The airbag parts arehot after anair bag has
been deploye d.There isarisk ofinjury. Do
not touch theairbag parts. Havea
deploye dair bag replaced ataquali fiedspe-
cialist workshop assoon aspossible. G
WARNING
A deploye dair bag nolonger offersanypro-
tect ionand cannot provide theinten dedpro- Occ
upantsafety
51Safety
Z
tecti
oninan acc ident. Thereisan incr eased
ris kof inju ry.
Hav ethe vehicletow edtoaqu alifi ed spe-
cia list wo rksh opinord erto have ade ploy ed
ai rba grep laced .
It is im po rta ntfor your safety andthatof your
pa sse nge rto have deploy ed airba gs rep laced
and tohave any malfunctio ningairba gs
rep aired .Thi swi llhe lpto ma kesure the air
ba gs conti nuetoperfo rm theirpro tecti vefunc-
tio nfor the vehicleoccu pants inthe eventofa
cra sh. G
WA
RNING
Emer gency Tensi oni ng Devi cesthatha ve
de ploy ed pyrote chni callyareno longe r
op era tional and areuna ble to perfo rm their
inte ndedpro tecti vefunctio n.Thi spo sesan
incr easedris kof inju ryor eve nfa tal inju ry.
Hav epy rote chni callytrig gered Emer gency
Te nsi oni ng Devi cesreplaced immed iatel yat
a qu alifi ed speci alistwo rksh op.
If Emer gency Tensi oni ng Devi cesaretrig gered
or airba gs arede ploy ed ,yo uwi llhe ar aba ng,
and somepo wd erma yal so be released. The
0075 restraint syste mwa rning lamp lights up.
Onl yin rare cas eswillthe bang affect your
he aring .The powd ertha tis rel easedge nera lly
do es not cons tituteahe alth hazar d,bu tit ma y
cau sesho rt-ter mbre athing diffi cul tiesin pe o-
pl e wi th asthma orothe rres pira tory problems .
Pro vided itis sa fe to do so, yousho uld leav e
the vehicleim med iatel yor open the windo win
ord erto pre vent breathing diffi cul ties.
Air bags and pyrote chni cEmer gency Tensi on-
ing Devi ces(ETDs) conta inpe rchl oratema te-
ria l,wh ich mayreq uire speci alha ndl ing and
reg ardfor the envi ronm ent.National guide-
li nes mustbe observe ddu rin gdisp osa l.In Ca l-
ifo rni a,seeww w.d tsc.ca.go v/
Hazard ousWa ste/Perc hlorate /inde x.cfm. Me
tho dof ope ratio n Dur
ing the first sta geofacol lisi on, the
res traint syste mcontr oluni teva luate sim po r-
tant physica lda ta relating toveh iclede cel era -
tio nor acc elera tion,such as:
R du ratio n
R direc tion
R inte nsity
Bas edon the evaluati on ofthisda ta, the
res traint syste mcontr oluni ttrig gers the Emer -
ge ncy Tensi oni ng Devi cesdurin gahe ad-on or
rea r-end collisi on.
An Emer gency Tensi oni ng Devi cecan onlybe
trig gered ,if:
R the igniti onissw itch edon
R the comp onents ofthe restraint syste mare
op era tional .Yo ucan findfu rthe rinf orm ation
und er"Res tra int syste mwa rning lamp"
(Y page 40)
R the seat beltbu ckle tonguehaseng aged in
the beltbu ckle ofthe respectiv efro ntseat
The Emer gency Tensi oni ng Devi cesinthe rear
pa sse nge rcomp artment aretrig gered inde-
pe nde ntly ofthe lock sta tus ofthe seat belts.
If the restraint syste mcontr oluni tde tects a
mor ese ver eacc ident, furthe rcomp onents of
the restraint syste mareacti vated independ -
entl yof each othe rin cer tainfro ntal collisi on
si tua tions:
R Fron tai rba gs aswellas driver 'sand front-
pa sse nge rknee bags
R Wi ndo wcur tainairba g,ifthe syste mdeter-
mi nes thatde ploy ment canofferadditio nal
pro tecti ontotha tpro vided bythe seat belt
Dep endingonthe perso nin the front-
pa sse nge rse at, the front-pa ssenge rfro ntair
ba gis eithe rena bled ordisa bled .Th efro nt-
pa sse nge rfro ntairba gcan bedeploy ed inan
acc ident onlyif the PASSEN GERAIRBAG OFF
ind icator lamp isoff .Ob serve the inform ation
on the PASSEN GERAIRBAG indicator lamps
(Y page 40).
Yo ur veh icleha stwo -sta gefrontairba gs.
The activatio nthre sholdof the Emer gency
Te nsi oni ng Devi cesand theairba gs isde ter-
mi ned byeva luati ng the rate ofveh iclede cel -
era tionor acc elera tionwh ich occu rsat vario us
po ints inthe vehicle. Thispro ces sis pre -emp -
tive innatu re.Dep loym ent should take place
in go od tim eat the startof the collisi on. 52
Oc
cupant safetySafe ty
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