Mercedes-Benz ML320. Manual — part 58

59

Safety and Security

Occupant safety

Airbags

Warning!

G

Airbags are designed to reduce the potential
of injury and fatality in certain frontal (front
airbags) impacts, or side (side impact and
head protection window curtain airbags) im-
pacts which may cause significant injuries.
However, no system available today can to-
tally eliminate injuries and fatalities.

The activation of the SRS temporarily releas-
es a small amount of dust from the airbags.
This dust, however, is neither injurious to
your health, nor does it indicate a fire in the
vehicle. The dust might cause some tempo-
rary breathing difficulty for people with asth-
ma or other breathing trouble. To avoid this,
you may wish to get out of the vehicle as
soon as it is safe to do so. If you have any
breathing difficulty but cannot get out of the
vehicle after the airbag inflates, then get
fresh air by opening a window or door.

Warning!

G

To reduce the risk of injury when the front
airbags inflate, it is very important for the
driver and passenger to always be in a prop-
erly seated position and to wear your seat
belt.

For maximum protection in the event of a
collision always be in normal seated position
with your back against the backrest. Fasten
your seat belt and ensure that it is properly
positioned on your body (

컄

page 42).

Since the airbag inflates with considerable
speed and force, a proper seating and hands
on steering wheel position will help to keep
you at a safe distance from the airbag. Oc-
cupants who are unbelted, out of position or
too close to the airbag can be seriously in-
jured by an airbag as it inflates with great
force in the blink of an eye:

앫

Sit properly belted in an upright position
with your back against the seat back-
rest.

앫

Adjust the driver seat as far as possible
rearward, still permitting proper opera-
tion of vehicle controls. The distance
from the center of the driver’s breast-
bone to the center of the airbag cover on
the steering wheel must be at least ten
inches (25 cm) or more. You should be
able to accomplish this by a combina-
tion of adjustments to the seat and
steering wheel. If you have any prob-
lems, please see your authorized
Mercedes-Benz Light Truck Center.

앫

Airbags and emergency tensioning de-
vices (ETDs) are designed to function on
a one-time only basis. An airbag or ETD
that was activated must be replaced.

앫

Do not lean with your head or chest
close to the steering wheel or dash-
board.

앫

Keep hands on the outside of steering
wheel rim. Placing hands and arms in-
side the rim can increase the risk and
potential severity of hand/arm injury
when driver front airbag inflates.

컄컄

60

Safety and Security

Occupant safety

앫

Adjust the passenger seat as far as pos-
sible rearward from the dashboard when
the seat is occupied.

앫

Occupants, especially children, should
never lean their heads in the area of the
door where the side impact airbag in-
flates. This could result in serious inju-
ries or death should the airbag be
triggered. Always sit upright, properly
use the seat belts and appropriate size
infant or child restraint system.

앫

Children 12 years old and under must
never ride in the front seat, except in a
Mercedes-Benz authorized
BabySmart

TM1

compatible child seat,

which operates with the BabySmart

TM

system installed in the vehicle to deacti-
vate the passenger front airbag when it
is properly installed. Otherwise they will
be struck by the airbag when it inflates
in a crash. If this happens, serious or fa-
tal injury will result.

1

BabySmart

TM

is a trademark of Siemens

Automotive Corp.

Failure to follow these instructions can re-
sult in severe injuries to you or other occu-
pants.

If you sell your vehicle you are responsible
to make the buyer aware of these points. Be
sure to give the buyer this Operator’s
Manual.

Warning

G

Accident research shows that the safest
place for children in an automobile is in the
rear seat. Should you choose to place a child
12 years old or under in the front passenger
seat of your vehicle, you must properly use
a BabySmart

TM

child restraint which will

turn off the passenger front airbag
(

컄

page 70). BabySmart

TM

will not, howev-

er, turn off any side impact airbag.

It should be noted that with respect to both
front and rear side impact airbags there is a
possibility for a side airbag related injury if
occupants, especially children, are not prop-
erly seated or restrained when next to a side
airbag which needs to deploy rapidly in a
side impact in order to do its job.

컄컄

61

Safety and Security

Occupant safety

To help avoid the possibility of injury, please
follow these guidelines: (1) occupants, espe-
cially children, should never place their bod-
ies or lean their heads in the area of the door
where the side airbag inflates. This could re-
sult in serious injuries or death should the
side airbag be activated; (2) always sit up-
right, properly use the seat belts and use an
appropriately sized infant or child restraint
system for all children 12 years old or under;
and (3) always wear seat belts properly.

If you believe that, even with the use of
these guidelines, it would be safer for your
rear seat occupants to have both rear door
mounted side airbags deactivated, then de-
activation can be accomplished upon your
written election to do so at your authorized
Mercedes-Benz Light Truck Center at an ad-
ditional cost. Please contact your local au-
thorized Mercedes-Benz Light Truck Center
or call our Customer Assistance Center at
1-800-FOR-MERCedes (1-800-367-6372)
for details.

i

Airbags are designed to activate only in
certain frontal (front airbags) impacts,
or side (side impact and head protec-
tion window curtain airbags) impacts
which exceed preset thresholds.

Only during these types of impacts, if of
sufficient severity to meet the deploy-
ment thresholds, will they provide their
supplemental protection.

The driver and passenger should al-
ways wear their seat belts. Otherwise it
is not possible for the airbags to pro-
vide their supplemental protection.

In cases of other frontal impacts, an-
gled impacts, roll-overs, other side im-
pacts, rear collisions, or other
accidents, the airbags will not be acti-
vated. The driver and passengers will
then be protected by the fastened seat
belts.

We caution you not to rely on the pres-
ence of the airbags in order to avoid
wearing your seat belt.

Your vehicle was originally equipped
with airbags that are designed to acti-
vate in certain impacts exceeding a
preset threshold to reduce the poten-
tial and severity of injury. It is important
to your safety and that of your passen-
ger that you replace deployed airbags
and repair any malfunctioning airbags
to ensure that the vehicle will continue
to provide supplemental crash protec-
tion for occupants.

62

Safety and Security

Occupant safety

Safety guidelines for the seat belt,
emergency tensioning device and
airbag

When you sell your vehicle, we strongly
urge you to give notice to the subsequent
owner that it is equipped with an SRS by
alerting them to the applicable section in
the Operator’s Manual.

Warning

G

앫

Damaged seat belts or belts that were
highly stressed in an accident must be
replaced and their anchoring points
must also be checked. Use only belts in-
stalled or supplied by an authorized
Mercedes-Benz Light Truck Center.

앫

No modifications of any kind may be
made to any components or wiring of
the SRS. This includes changing or re-
moving any component or part of the
SRS, the installation of additional trim
material, badges, etc. over the steering
wheel hub, passenger front airbag cov-
er, or door trim panels, and installation
of additional electrical/electronic
equipment on or near SRS components
and wiring. Keep area between airbags
and occupants free from objects (e.g.
packages, purses, umbrellas, etc.).

앫

Airbags and emergency tensioning de-
vices (ETDs) are designed to function on
a one-time only basis. An airbag or ETD
that was activated must be replaced.

앫

Do not pass belts over sharp edges.
They could tear.

앫

Do not make any modification that could
change the effectiveness of the belts.

앫

Do not hang items such as coat hangers
from the coat hooks or handles over the
door. These items may turn into projec-
tiles and cause head and other injuries
when curtain airbag is deployed.

앫

An airbag system component within the
steering wheel gets hot after the airbag
has inflated. Do not touch.

앫

Improper work on the system, including
incorrect installation and removal, can
lead to possible injury through an unin-
tended activation of the SRS.

앫

In addition, through improper work
there is a risk of rendering the SRS inop-
erative or causing unintended airbag de-
ployment. Work on the SRS must
therefore only be performed by qualified
technicians. Contact your authorized
Mercedes-Benz Light Truck Center.

앫

For your protection and the protection
of others, when scrapping the airbag
unit or emergency tensioning device,
our safety instructions must be fol-
lowed. These instructions are available
from your authorized Mercedes-Benz
Light Truck Center.

앫

Given the considerable deployment
speed and the textile structure of the
airbags, there is the possibility of abra-
sions or other injuries resulting from air-
bag deployment.