Mercedes-Benz 260 E 124 1988 Owner's Manual page 45

Important note:
The air bag is designed to activate
only in severe frontal impacts with­
in the shaded area shown in the
illustration on page 41. Only during
these types of impacts will it pro­
vide its supplemental protection.
The driver should always wear the
seat belt, otherwise it is not pos­
sible for the air bag to provide its
intended protection.
In cases of less severe frontal im­
pacts, roll-overs, side or rear colli­
sions, or other accidents without se­
vere frontal forces, the air bag will not
be activated. The driver and other
passengers will then be protected by
the fastened seat belts.
The activation of the " SRS" tem po­
rarily releases a small amount of dust
from the driver air bag and the seat
belt emergency tensioning retractors.
This dust, however, is neither injurious
to your health, nor does it indicate a
fire in the vehicle.
Important note:
The service life of the air bag
extends to the date indicated on the
label located on the driver-side
door latch post. To provide contin­
ued reliability after that date, it
should be inspected by an author­
ized MERCEDES-BENZ dealer at
that time and replaced when
necessary.
Safety Guidelines for the
Supplemental Restraint System -
Seat Belts, Emergency Tensioning
Retractor and Air Bag
W arning!
Damaged belts or belts that
were highly stressed in an acci­
dent must be replaced and their
anchoring points must also be
checked. Use only belts instal­
led or supplied by MERCEDES-
BENZ.
• Do not pass belts over sharp
edges.
• Do not make any modification
that could change the effective­
ness of the belts.
• An air bag or emergency
tensioning retractor (ETR) that
was activated must be replaced.
• No modifications of any kind
may be made to any compo­
nents or wiring of the "SRS".
This includes the installation of
additional trim material, badges,
etc. over the steering wheel hub
and installation of additional
electrical/electronic equipment
on or near "SRS" components
and wiring.