Mercedes-Benz Vito 111 CDI/BlueTEC Operating Instructions Manual page 60

Occupant safety
58
Deployment of belt tensioners and air-
bags
Important safety notes
G
WARNING
After the airbag deploys, the airbag parts are
hot. There is a risk of injury.
Do not touch the airbag parts. Have a
deployed airbag replaced at a qualified spe-
cialist workshop as soon as possible.
G
WARNING
Pyrotechnical belt tensioners which have
been triggered are no longer operational and
therefore cannot protect as intended. There is
an increased risk of injury, possibly even fatal.
Have pyrotechnic belt tensioners which have
been triggered replaced at a qualified special-
ist workshop immediately.
Mercedes-Benz recommends that you have the
vehicle towed to a qualified specialist workshop
after an accident. Take this into account, par-
ticularly if a seat belt tensioner was triggered or
an airbag was deployed.
An electric motor is used by PRE-SAFE
ger the tightening of the seat belt in hazardous
situations. This procedure is reversible.
If the belt tensioners are triggered or an airbag is
deployed, you will hear a bang, and a small
amount of powder may also be released. The
6 restraint system warning lamp lights up.
Only in rare cases will the bang affect your hear-
ing. In general, the powder released is not haz-
ardous to health but may cause short-term
breathing difficulties to persons suffering from
asthma or other pulmonary conditions. Provided
it is safe to do so, you should leave the vehicle
immediately or open the window in order to pre-
vent breathing difficulties.
Operation
During the first stage of a collision, the restraint
system control unit evaluates important physi-
cal data relating to vehicle deceleration or accel-
eration, such as:
duration
R
direction
R
intensity
R
Based on the evaluation of this data, the
restraint system control unit triggers the seat
belt tensioners in the event of a head-on or rear
collision.
A seat belt tensioner can be triggered only if:
the ignition is switched on
R
the components of the restraint system are
R
operational. You can find further information
under: "Restraint system warning lamp"
Y
( page 46)
the seat belt buckle tongue has engaged in
R
the belt buckle of the respective front seat
Vehicles with a front-passenger bench seat: the
seat belt tensioners on the front-passenger side
are triggered independently of the lock status of
the seat belt.
If the restraint system control unit detects a
high-severity accident, in certain head-on colli-
sions, additional components of the restraint
®
to trig-
system are deployed independently of each
other:
front airbags
R
windowbag, if the system determines that
R
deployment can offer additional protection to
that provided by the seat belt
On vehicles with the automatic front-passenger
front airbag deactivation system: depending on
the person in the front-passenger seat, the
front-passenger front airbag is either disabled or
enabled. The front-passenger front airbag can
be deployed in an accident only if the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF indicator lamp is off.
Observe the information on the PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF indicator lamp (
Your vehicle has two-stage front airbags. In the
first deployment stage, the front airbag is filled
with propellant gas. The front airbag is fully
deployed if the second deployment stage is acti-
vated within a few milliseconds.
The activation threshold for the seat belt ten-
sioners and airbags is determined based on the
evaluation of the vehicle's rate of deceleration
or acceleration at various points in the vehicle.
Y
page 47).