Mercedes-Benz C 230 1998 Owner's Manual page 55

This dust, how ever, is neither
injurious to your health, nor
does it indicate a fire in the
vehicle.
The service life of the airbags
extends to the date indicated on
the label located on the driver-
side door latch post. To provide
continued reliability after that
date, they should be inspected
by an authorized M ercedes-B enz
dealer at that tim e and replaced
when necessary.
W arning!
It is very im portant for your
safety to alw ays be in a pro­
perly seated position and to
w ear your seat belt.
For m axim um protection in the
event of a collision alw ays be
in normal seated position with
your back against the seat
back. Fasten you r seat belt
and ensure that it is properly
positioned on the body.
Since the airbag inflates with
considerable speed and force,
a proper seating and hands on
steering w heel position will
help to keep you in a safe
distance from the airbag:
• Sit properly belted in an
upright position with your
back against the seat back.
• Adjust the driver seat as far
as possible rearw ard, still
perm itting proper operation
of vehicle controls.
• Do not lean with your head
or chest close to the steer­
ing w heel or dashboard.
• Keep hands on the outside
of steering wheel rim.
Placing hands and arm s
inside the rim can increase
the risk and potential
severity of hand/arm injury
when airbag inflates.
• A d ju st the fro nt passenger
seat rearw ard as far as
possible from the dash ­
board w hen the seat is
occupied.
• C hildren 12 years old and
u n d er m ust never ride in
the front seat, except in a
M erced es-B en z authorized
B abyS m art™ com patible
child seat, w hich operates
with the B abySm art™ sys­
tem installed in the vehicle
to deactivate the passenger
side fro nt airbag w hen it is
properly installed. O th er­
w ise they will be struck by
the airbag w hen it inflates
in a crash. If this happens,
serious or fatal injury will
result.
Failure to follo w these in­
structions can result in severe
injuries to you or other
occupants.