Mercedes-Benz C-Class Coupe Operator's Manual page 46

Occupant safety
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In the event of other types of impacts and
impacts below air bag deployment thresh-
olds, the air bags will not deploy. The driver
and passenger will then be protected to the
extent possible by a properly fastened seat
belt. A properly fastened seat belt is also nee-
ded to provide the best possible protection in
a rollover.
Air bags provide additional protection; they
are not, however, a substitute for seat belts.
All vehicle occupants must fasten their seat
belts regardless of whether your vehicle is
equipped with air bags or not.
It is important for your safety and that of your
passenger to have deployed air bags replaced
and to have any malfunctioning air bags
repaired. This will help to make sure the air
bags continue to perform their protective
function for the vehicle occupants in the
event of a crash.
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After an air bag has been deployed, have
the vehicle towed to the nearest qualified
specialist workshop, even if your vehicle is
ready to drive.
Front air bags
The front air bags increase protection for the
driver's and front passenger's head and
chest.
Driver's air bag : deploys in front of the
steering wheel; front-passenger front air
bag ; deploys in front of and above the glove
box.
They are deployed:
at the start of an accident with a high rate of
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vehicle acceleration or deceleration in a
longitudinal direction
if the system determines that air bag
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deployment can offer additional protection
to that provided by the seat belt
independently of other air bags in the vehi-
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cle
The release time of the front air bags is
dependent upon the use of the seat belt.
Your vehicle has adaptive, two-stage front air
bags. In the event of a collision, the air bag
control unit evaluates the vehicle decelera-
tion. In the first deployment stage, the front
air bag is filled with enough propellant gas to
reduce the risk of injuries. The front air bag is
fully deployed if a second deployment thresh-
old is exceeded within a few milliseconds.
The deployment of front-passenger front air
bag ; is also influenced by the weight cate-
gory of the front passenger, which is deter-
mined by the Occupant Classification System
(OCS) ( page 47).
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The lighter the passenger-side occupant, the
higher the vehicle deceleration rate required
(predicted at the start of the impact) for sec-
ond stage inflation of the front-passenger
front air bag. In the second stage, the front air
bags are inflated with the maximum amount
of propellant gas available.
The front air bags are not deployed in situa-
tions where a low impact severity is predic-
ted. You will then be protected by the fas-
tened seat belt.
The front-passenger front air bag will only be
deployed if:
the system, based on the OCS weight sen-
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sor readings, detects that the front-
passenger seat is occupied
the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF indicator
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lamp on the center console is not lit
( page 47)
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the air bag control unit predicts a high-
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impact severity