Mercedes-Benz 190 E 2.6 1989 Owner's Manual page 44

In the event a malfunction of
the " SRS" is indicated as outlined
above, we strongly recommend that
you visit an authorized MERCEDES-
BENZ dealer immediately to have
the system checked; otherwise the
" SRS" may not be activated in a major
frontal accident.
Important note:
The airbag is designed to activate
only in major frontal impacts within
the shaded area shown in the illus­
tration on page 40. Only during
these types of impacts will it pro­
vide its supplemental protection.
The driver should always wear the
seat belt, otherwise it is not pos­
sible for the airbag to provide its in­
tended protection.
In cases of less severe frontal im­
pacts, roll-overs, certain side impacts,
rear collisions, or other accidents with­
out severe frontal forces, the airbag
will not be activated. The driver and
other passengers will then be pro­
tected by the fastened seat belts.
42
Important note:
The "SRS" is designed to reduce
the potential of injury in major fron­
tal impacts, however, no system
available today can totally eliminate
injuries and fatalities.
The activation of the "SRS" tempo­
rarily releases a small amount of
dust from the driver airbag and the
seat belt emergency tensioning
retractors. This dust, however, is
neither injurious to your health, nor
does it indicate a fire in the vehicle.
The service life of the airbag ex­
tends to the date indicated on the
label located on the driver-side
door latch post. To provide conti­
nued reliability after that date, it
should be inspected by an autho­
rized MERCEDES-BENZ dealer at
that time and replaced when nec­
essary.
Safety Guidelines for the Seat Belt,
Emergency Tensioning Retractor
and Airbag
Warning!
• Damaged belts or belts that
were highly stressed in an
accident must be replaced and
their anchoring points must
also be checked. Use only belts
installed or supplied by an au­
thorized MERCEDES-BENZ
dealer.
• Do not pass belts over sharp
edges.
• Do not make any modification
that could change the effective­
ness of the belts.
• An airbag or emergency ten­
sioning retractor (ETR) that was
activated must be replaced.
• No modifications of any kind
may be made to any compo­
nents or wiring of the "SRS".
This includes the installation of
additional trim material, bad­
ges, etc. over the steering
wheel hub and installation of
additional electrical/electronic
equipment on or near "SRS"
components and wiring.