Side Impact Air Bag - Mercedes-Benz CLS Operator's Manual

Knee bags provide increased protection for
the driver and front passenger against the risk
of:
knee injuries
R
thigh injuries
R
lower leg injuries
R
Driver's knee bag : deploys underneath the
steering column and front-passenger knee
bag ; underneath the glove box. They
deploy together with the front air bags. They
are designed to operate together with the
front air bags in frontal impacts if certain
thresholds are exceeded. The knee bags
operate at best in conjunction with correctly
positioned and fastened seat belts.
Side impact air bags
G
WARNING
The pressure sensors for side impact air bag
control are located in the doors. Do not
modify any components of the doors or door
trim panels including, for example, the
addition of door speakers.
Improper repair work on the doors or the
modification or addition of components to the
doors create a risk of rendering the side
impact air bags inoperative or causing
unintended air bag deployment. Work on the
doors must therefore only be performed by
qualified technicians. Contact an authorized
Mercedes-Benz Center.
G
WARNING
Only use seat covers which have been tested
and approved by Mercedes-Benz for your
vehicle model. Using seat covers or other seat
coverings can cause a malfunction of the side
impact air bags and/or the pelvis air bags.
Contact an authorized Mercedes-Benz Center
for availability.
When deployed, the side impact air bags offer
additional protection for the thorax of the
vehicle occupants on the side of the vehicle
on which the impact occurs. However, they
do not protect the:
head
R
neck
R
arms
R
Front side impact air bags : and rear side
impact air bags ; deploy next to the outer
seat cushions.
The side impact air bags are deployed:
on the side on which an impact occurs
R
at the start of an accident with a high rate
R
of lateral vehicle deceleration or
acceleration, e.g. in a side impact
independently of seat belt use
R
independently of the front air bags
R
independently of the ETDs
R
If the vehicle overturns, the side impact air
bags are generally not deployed. They are
deployed if the system detects high vehicle
deceleration or acceleration in a lateral
direction and determines that side impact air
bag deployment can offer additional
protection to that provided by the seat belt.
Side impact air bags will not deploy in side
impacts which do not exceed the system's
preset deployment thresholds for lateral
acceleration/deceleration. You will then be
protected by the fastened seat belt.
If the OCS detects that the front-passenger
seat is not occupied and the front-passenger
seat belt is not fastened (the belt tongue is
I n f o r ma t i o n P r o v i d e d b y :
Occupant safety
41
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