Mercedes-Benz E-Class 2010 Owner's Manual page 39

Occupant safety
36
Front airbags
The front airbags increase protection for the
driver's and front-passenger's head and
chest.
Driver's front airbag : deploys in front of the
steering wheel; front-passenger front air-
bag ; deploys in front of and above the glove
compartment. They are deployed:
at the start of an accident with a high rate
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of vehicle acceleration or deceleration in a
longitudinal direction
if the system determines that airbag
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deployment can offer additional protection
to that provided by the seat belt
if the seat belt is fastened
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independently of other airbags in the vehi-
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cle
If the vehicle overturns, the front airbags are
generally not deployed unless the system
detects high vehicle deceleration in a longi-
tudinal direction.
Front-passenger front airbag ; is only
deployed if the front-passenger seat is occu-
pied or if the 4 PASSENGER AIRBAG OFF
indicator lamp in the centre console is not lit
( page 46). This means that a child
Y
restraint system with automatic child seat
recognition has not been fitted to the front-
passenger seat or has been fitted incorrectly.
!
Do not place heavy objects on the front-
passenger seat. This could cause the sys-
tem to identify the seat as being occupied.
In the event of an accident, the restraint
systems on the front-passenger side are
triggered. Have restraint systems that have
been triggered replaced.
Driver's kneebag
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The driver's kneebag is only available in
certain countries.
The driver's kneebag increases protection of
the driver against:
knee injuries
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thigh injuries
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lower leg injuries
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Driver's kneebag : is always deployed along
with the driver's front airbag and inflates
underneath the steering column.
Sidebags
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Risk of injury
If you wish to use seat covers, Mercedes-Benz
recommends that, for safety reasons, you
only use seat covers that have been approved
for Mercedes-Benz vehicles.
The seat covers must have a special tear seam
for sidebags/pelvisbags. Otherwise, the side-
bag/pelvisbag cannot deploy correctly and
would fail to provide the intended protection
in the event of an accident. Appropriate seat
covers can be obtained, for example, from a
Mercedes-Benz Service Centre.