Mercedes-Benz 2013 CL Operator's Manual page 50

Occupant safety
48
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.
Front air bags
The front air bags increase protection for the
driver's and front-passenger's head and
chest.
Driver's air bag
:
Front-passenger front air bag
;
Knee bag
=
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:
in the event of certain frontal impacts
R
if the system determines that air bag
R
deployment can offer additional protection
to that provided by the seat belt
if the seat belt is fastened
R
independently of other air bags in the
R
vehicle
If the vehicle overturns, the front air bags are
generally not deployed. If the system detects
high vehicle deceleration in a longitudinal
direction, the front air bags are deployed.
Your vehicle has adaptive, two-stage front air
bags. In the event of a collision, the air bag
control unit evaluates the vehicle
deceleration. 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 threshold is exceeded within a
few milliseconds.
The deployment of the front-passenger front
air bag is also influenced by the weight
category of the front passenger, which is
determined by the Occupant Classification
System (OCS) ( page 50).
Y
The lighter the passenger-side occupant, the
higher the vehicle deceleration rate required
(predicted at the start of the impact) for
second 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
situations where a low impact severity is
predicted. You will then be protected by the
fastened seat belt.
The front-passenger front air bag will only
deploy if:
the system, based on the OCS weight
R
sensor readings, detects that the front-
passenger seat is occupied.
the 42 indicator lamp in the
R
center console is not lit, (
the air bag control unit predicts a high
R
impact severity.
Driver's knee bag
Driver's knee bag =( page 48) provides
Y
additional protection for the driver against:
knee injuries
R
thigh injuries
R
lower leg injuries
R
Driver's knee bag =( page 48) deploys
Y
below the steering wheel. During a frontal
impact, if the system determines that air bag
deployment can offer additional protection to
page 50).
Y