Mercedes-Benz E-Class 2009 Owner's Manual page 41

Occupant safety
38
and you are holding the inside of the steer-
ing wheel.
Do not lean on the doors/rear sidewalls
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from the inside.
Make sure that there are no people, ani-
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mals or objects between the vehicle occu-
pants and the area of deployment of the
airbag.
Do not place any objects between the seat
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backrest and the door.
Do not hang any hard objects, for example,
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coat hangers, on the grab handles or coat
hooks.
Do not attach accessories such as drinks
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can holders to the doors/rear sidewalls.
It is not possible to rule out a risk of injuries
caused by an airbag due to the high speed at
which the airbag must deploy.
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Risk of injury
The airbag's functionality can only be assured
if the following parts are not covered and no
badges or stickers are attached to them:
padded steering wheel boss
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knee airbag cover below the steering col-
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umn
front-passenger front airbag cover
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outer side of front seat bolsters
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side trim next to the rear seat backrest
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Cabriolet: door trim
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Risk of injury
When an airbag deploys, a small amount of
powder is released. The powder may cause
short-term breathing difficulties to persons
suffering from asthma or other pulmonary
conditions.
In order to prevent potential breathing diffi-
culties, you should leave the vehicle as soon
as it is safe to do so. You can also open the
window to allow fresh air to enter the vehicle
interior. The powder generally does not con-
stitute a health hazard and does not indicate
that there is a fire in the vehicle.
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Risk of injury
The airbag parts are hot after the airbag has
been deployed. Do not touch them as you
could burn yourself.
Have the airbags replaced at a qualified spe-
cialist workshop. Otherwise, occupants are
not protected by the airbags in the event of
another accident.
Front airbags
The front airbags are designed to increase
protection for the driver's and front passeng-
er's head and chest.
The driver's front airbag : deploys in front
of the steering wheel; front-passenger front
airbag ; deploys in front of and above the
glove compartment. They are deployed:
at the start of an accident with a high rate
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of vehicle acceleration or deceleration in a
longitudinal direction
if the system determines that airbag
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deployment can offer additional protection
to that provided by the seat belt
if the seat belt is fastened
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independently of other airbags in the vehi-
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cle
if the vehicle overturns, but only if the sys-
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tem detects high vehicle deceleration in a
longitudinal direction
On vehicles with automatic child seat recog-
nition in the front-passenger seat*, front-
* optional