Occupant Safety - Mercedes-Benz SLK 2012 Owner's Manual

tentionally. For this reason, never make any
modifications to the restraint systems.
Therefore, you must not tamper with elec-
tronic components or their software.
SRS (Supplemental Restraint System)
Introduction
SRS consists of:
the 6 SRS warning lamp
R
airbags
R
airbag control unit (with crash sensors)
R
belt tensioners
R
belt force limiters
R
SRS reduces the risk of occupants coming
into contact with the vehicle's interior in the
event of an accident. It can also reduce the
effect of the forces to which occupants are
subjected during an accident.
SRS warning lamp
SRS functions are checked regularly when
you switch on the ignition and when the
engine is running. Therefore, malfunctions
can be detected in good time.
The 6 SRS warning lamp in the instrument
cluster lights up when the ignition is switched
on. It goes out no later than a few seconds
after the engine is started.
G WARNING
If SRS is malfunctioning, individual systems
may be triggered unintentionally or might not
be triggered in the event of an accident with
a high rate of vehicle deceleration.
A malfunction has occurred if:
the 6 SRS warning lamp does not light
R
up when the ignition is switched on.
the engine is running and the 6 SRS
R
warning lamp does not go out after a few
seconds.
the engine is running and the 6 SRS
R
warning lamp lights up again.

Occupant safety

In this case, have SRS checked immediately
at a qualified specialist workshop.
Triggering of belt tensioners, belt force
limiters and airbags
During the first stage of a collision, the airbag
control unit evaluates important physical
data relating to vehicle deceleration or accel-
eration, such as:
duration
R
direction
R
magnitude
R
Based on the evaluation of this data, the air-
bag control unit pre-emptively triggers the
belt tensioners in the first stage.
i
The belt tensioners can only be triggered
if the seat belt tongues are correctly
engaged in the seat belt buckles.
If there is an even higher rate of vehicle decel-
eration or acceleration in a longitudinal direc-
tion, the front airbags are also deployed.
Your vehicle has adaptive, two-stage front air-
bags. The airbag control unit evaluates vehi-
cle deceleration or acceleration in the event
of a collision. In the first deployment stage,
the front airbag is filled with enough propel-
lant gas to reduce the risk of injuries. The
front airbag is fully deployed if a second
deployment threshold is exceeded within a
few milliseconds.
The belt tensioner and airbag triggering
thresholds are variable and are adapted to the
rate of deceleration or acceleration of the
vehicle. This process is pre-emptive in nature.
The triggering process must take place in
good time at the start of the collision.
i
Airbags are not deployed in all types of
accidents. Also, not all airbags are
deployed together in an accident. The dif-
ferent airbag systems work independently
of each other.
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