MERCEDES-BENZ A-CLASS HATCHBACK 2008 Owners Manual

Loading and stowing
148
To enable you to use the maximum through-
loading opening and to prevent the armrest
from becoming dirty or being damaged, the
armrest should be removed (Y page 148).
Opening the through-loading facility 1
Armrest
X Fold down armrest 1. 2
Cover in the luggage compartment
3 Locking mechanism
X Slide locking mechanism 3in the direc-
tion of the arrow.
X Swing cover 2to the side.
Cover 2is held open by a magnet.
Closing the through-loading facility X
Swing back cover 2in the luggage com-
partment until it engages.
X Fold the armrest up fully if necessary. Removing the armrest 1
Armrest
X Fold down armrest 1. 2
Release Controls
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Loading and stowing
149
X
Pull release 2upwards and hold it
securely.
X Pull armrest 1out towards the front.
Hold the side of armrest 1as you do this,
otherwise you could inadvertently open the
cup holder.
i The release remains in the open position
after armrest 1has been removed.
! Do not press the release down when the
armrest has been removed, otherwise the
armrest mechanism could be damaged.
Fitting the armrest 1
Red area X
Align the armrest.
X Slide the armrest back until it engages.
The release drops down. Make sure that the
red area 1of the release is no longer visi-
ble. If it is still visible, the armrest is not
locked in position. G
Risk of injury
The armrests must be locked in position
when the vehicle is being driven.
Otherwise, vehicle occupants could
be injured by the armrest being thrown
around in the event of sharp braking, a sud-
den change in direction or an accident.
Nobody should travel in the vehicle sitting
in the centre position in the rear compart-
ment if the armrest has been removed.
! Do not close the armrest unless it has
been locked in position, otherwise the arm-
rest mechanism could be damaged. EASY-VARIO system*
On 3-door vehicle variants, the "Variable lug-
gage compartment floor" (Y page 155) and
"Removing the rear seat cushion"
(Y page 151) functions are combined in the
EASY-VARIO system. EASY-VARIO-PLUS system*
On 5-door vehicle variants, the "Removing the
rear seat cushion" ( Ypage 151), "Removing
the backrest" (Y page 152), "Removable
front-passenger seat" (Y page 156) and
"Folding backrest on the front-passenger
seat" (Y page 158) functions are combined
in the EASY-VARIO-PLUS system. Controls
* optional
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Loading and stowing
150 Enlarging the luggage compartment
The left-hand and right-hand rear seats can
be folded down to increase the luggage com-
partment capacity. G
Risk of injury
Make sure that nobody can become trap-
ped as you fold the backrests forward.
! To prevent damage, before the backrests
are folded forward:
R the head restraints must be pushed in
fully
R the front seats must be as far forwards
as possible
R the seat cushions must be folded forward
or removed Folding the rear bench seat forwards 1
Belt retainer
X Insert the seat belt into belt retainer 1.
3-door vehicles 1
Seat cushion release handle X
Pull seat cushion release handle 1.
The seat cushion is unlocked.
X Fold the right-hand or left-hand seat cush-
ion forward.
5-door vehicles 1
Seat cushion
X Fold left or right seat cushion 1forwards. Controls
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Loading and stowing
151
3 and 5-door vehicles
2
Backrest release handle
3 Backrest
X Pull left-hand or right-hand release handle
2 on backrest.
Corresponding backrest 3is unlocked.
X Fold the backrest forwards until it rests on
the hinge fixtures (Y page 152).
X Move the front seats to the desired posi-
tions. Swinging back the rear bench seat 4
Red lock verification indicator
X Swing the backrest back until it engages.
Red lock verification indicator 4is no lon-
ger visible.
! Make sure that the seat belt does not
become trapped.
X Swing the seat cushion backwards.
X Adjust the head restraints if necessary .
X Move the front seats to the desired posi-
tions.
If red lock verification indicator 4is visible,
this means the backrest is not engaged. G
Risk of injury
Make sure that the backrest is correctly
locked in position. The red lock verification
indicators on the left and right sides should
no longer be visible. If they are visible, the
backrests are not locked in position.
Occupants could then be injured in the
event of an accident, e.g. by objects being
thrown forwards from the luggage com-
partment.
Removing rear seat cushions* 1
Belt retainer
X Insert the seat belt into belt retainer 1. Controls
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Loading and stowing
1521
Seat cushion
X Fold left or right seat cushion 1forwards. 2
Release handle
3 Seat cushion X
Grasp release handle 2and pull seat cush-
ion 3upwards.
X Remove seat cushion 3. 4
Hinge
X If the backrest is to be removed: fold down
hinge 4.
If the backrest is only to be folded down:
leave hinge 4as a support for the backrest
in the position shown above.
i Vehicles with TIREFIT kit:
You can stow the seat cushions under the
variable luggage compartment floor*.
Vehicles with emergency spare wheel:
You can stow a seat cushion under the var-
iable luggage compartment floor*. !
Vehicles with emergency spare wheel*,
loud speaker system* or sound system*:
You cannot stow any seat cushions under
the variable luggage compartment floor*.
Fitting rear seat cushions* X
Fold hinge 4upwards if necessary. Only
then can the seat cushion be slid in.
X Slide the seat cushion onto the fixtures
until it engages.
i For easier alignment of the cushions,
observe the arrows on the rear of the seat
cushions.
X Swing the seat cushion back.
Removing the backrests* X
Fold the seat cushion forwards
(Y page 151). Controls
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Loading and stowing
1531
Connector
2 Connector holder
3 Lever Warning symbol on the connector of the rear seat
belt status indicator X
Press seat belt buckle 1on the grooved
surface and remove seat belt buckle 1
from holder 3.
i When the ignition is switched on an indi-
cator is shows the status of the corre-
sponding rear seats in the upper multi-
function display. If, for example, neither
seat belt buckle are is engaged, the mes-
sage: engaged appears.
X Stow seat belt buckle 1on seat belt
buckle holder 2on the vehicle floor.
X Pull holder 3upwards and hold it securely. 4
Backrest release handle
5 Backrest X
Pull left-hand or right-hand release handle
4 on backrest 5.
Corresponding backrest 5is unlocked.
X Fold backrest 5forwards past the vertical
to an angle of approximately 20°.
X Hold backrest 5with your free hand and
lift the backrest by pulling lever 3.
i For greater convenience, there is a recess
on the rear of the 2/3 backrest which
makes it easier to grasp the backrest.
X Remove backrest 5from the vehicle
through the rear door.
Fitting the backrest* 1
Recesses Controls
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Loading and stowing
154
X
Place the backrest, starting with the front
seat feet, onto the locking bolts in recesses
1. 2
Red lock verification indicator
X Swing the backrest back until it engages.
Red lock verification indicator 2is no lon-
ger visible.
X Make sure that the lever is lying flat on the
vehicle floor.
X Take the connector out of the recesses on
the vehicle floor.
X Insert the connector back into the lever
until you hear it engage.
i Make sure that you insert the connector
correctly into the lever, as the rear seat belt
status will otherwise no longer be displayed
in the instrument cluster. X
Fit the seat cushions as required.
X Swing the seat cushion backwards.
X Adjust the head restraints if necessary .
If red lock verification indicator 2is visible,
this means the backrest is not engaged. G
Risk of injury
Make sure that the backrest is correctly
locked in position. The red lock verification
indicators on the left and right sides should
no longer be visible. If they are visible, the
backrests are not locked in position.
Occupants could then be injured in the
event of an accident, e.g. by objects being
thrown forwards from the luggage com-
partment.
X Fold back the seat cushion. Stowage well under the luggage com-
partment floor
The maximum load capacity of the stowage
well under the luggage compartment floor is
25 kg. G
Risk of injury
You should always close the luggage com-
partment floor if you are transporting
objects in the stowage well under the lug-
gage compartment floor.
Otherwise, you and other vehicle occu-
pants could be injured by objects being
thrown around the vehicle in the event of
sharp braking, a sudden change in direction
or an accident.
Removing/fitting the luggage compart-
ment floor (3-door vehicles without var-
iable luggage compartment floor) You can remove the luggage compartment
floor to enable you to load and unload the
stowage well more easily.
X
To remove: raise the luggage compart-
ment floor to an angle of approximately
45°.
X Remove the luggage compartment floor. Controls
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Loading and stowing
155
X
To fit: insert the luggage compartment
floor into the guide rail at an angle of
approximately 45°.
X Fold the luggage compartment floor down.
Opening/closing the luggage compart-
ment floor (vehicles with variable lug-
gage compartment floor) Opening the luggage compartment floor
1
Handle
2 Luggage compartment floor
X Pull handle 1until it is vertical and then
swing luggage compartment floor 2
upwards. 3
Bag hook
X Press bag hook 3(Ypage 158).
Bag hook 3slides out.
X Place luggage compartment floor 2onto
bag hook 3.
Closing the luggage compartment floor
X Press in bag hook 3until it engages.
X Swing the luggage compartment floor
downwards. G
Risk of injury
The luggage compartment floor must
be locked correctly when items are carried
in it.
Otherwise, you and other vehicle occu-
pants could be injured by objects being
thrown around the vehicle in the event of sharp braking, a sudden change in direction
or an accident.
Adjusting the height of the luggage
compartment floor* The stowage well under the luggage compart-
ment floor can be increased or decreased in
size as necessary. To do this, you can lock the
floor at two different heights. The upper catch
gives a flat load surface when the rear bench
seat is folded forward.
Raising the luggage compartment floor
1
Handle
2 Luggage compartment floor
3 To raise Controls
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Loading and stowing
156
X
Raise luggage compartment floor 2using
handle 1in the direction of the arrow 3
and tug it upwards sharply.
X Lower luggage compartment floor 2
again. To do this, push the luggage com-
partment floor away so that it engages in
the guide on the upper level.
Luggage compartment floor 2engages in
the higher position.
Lowering the luggage compartment floor
X Raise luggage compartment floor 2
slightly using handle 1and tug it briefly
towards you.
X Lower luggage compartment floor 2again
slowly. To do this, press the luggage com-
partment floor into the lower level.
Luggage compartment floor 2engages in
the lower position. Removing/fitting the removable
front-passenger seat*
Removing the front-passenger seat !
To avoid damage, the head restraint must
be pushed in fully before the front-
passenger seat is removed. 1
Connector
2 Lever
! Do not operate the lever until you have
pulled out the connector. The use of force
when opening will cause damage to
mechanical and electronic components. X
Move the front-passenger seat to its rear-
most position.
X Disconnect connector 1.
A signal sounds. The lock for lever 2is
released. If the engine is running, the
5 PASSENGER AIRBAG OFF warning
lamp flashes and the 1warning lamp
lights up after a short time.
X Move the front-passenger seat to its centre
position.
It is only possible to remove the seat with-
out tilting it when it is in this position
X Store connector 1under the seat in such
a way that the cable does not get caught
on the seat frame. Controls
* optional
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Loading and stowing
1571
Connector
2 Lever
3 Cable box
X Swing lever 2forwards and pull upwards.
The seat slides out of the front mounting
cups.
X Take hold of the seat at the back of the
backrest and at the front edge of the seat
cushion.
X Guide the seat through the front-passenger
door opening. X
Open cable box 3and place connector
1 inside.
X Close cable box 3. G
Risk of injury
The front-passenger seat which has been
removed contains an active sidebag. Do not
attach a power source to the connector on
the seat, otherwise the airbag could inflate.
Store the seat out of the reach of children.
Fitting the front-passenger seat G
Risk of injury
The mounting cups must be free from dirt
and other items in order for the front-
passenger seat to engage securely.
You must connect up the connector, so that
the front-passenger airbag can deploy in
the event of an accident.
If it is not connected and the engine is run-
ning, the 5PASSENGER AIRBAG OFF
warning lamp flashes and the 1warning
lamp lights up after a short time. 1
Rear mounting cups
2 Front mounting cups
3 Connector
4 Cable box
5 Lever
6 Seat frame
X Take connector 3out of cable box 4and
place it at the front.
X Take hold of the seat at the back of the
backrest and at the front edge of the seat
cushion. Controls
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