steering MERCEDES-BENZ CLA 2016 User Guide

Useful information
i This Operator's Manual describes all
models and all standard and optional equip-
ment of your vehicle available at the time of
publication of the Operator's Manual.
Country-specific differences are possible.
Please note that your vehicle may not be
equipped with all features described. This
also applies to safety-related systems and
functions.
i Read the information on qualified special-
ist workshops ( Y
page 25).
Panic alarm
X
To activate: press and hold the
3 button C for approx. one second.
A visual and audible alarm is triggered if the
alarm system is armed. X
To deactivate: press 3 button C
again.
or X
Insert the SmartKey into the ignition lock.
or, in vehicles with KEYLESS-GO start-func-
tion or KEYLESS ‑ GOX
Press the Start/Stop button.
The SmartKey must be in the vehicle. Occupant safety
Introduction to the restraint system The restraint system can reduce the risk of
vehicle occupants coming into contact with
parts of the vehicle's interior in the event of
an accident. The restraint system can also
reduce the forces to which vehicle occupants
are subjected during an accident.
The restraint system comprises: R
Seat belt system R
Air bags R
Child restraint system R
Child seat securing systems
The components of the restraint system work
in conjunction with each other. They can only
deploy their protective function if, at all times,
all vehicle occupants: R
have fastened their seat belts correctly
( Y
page 46) R
have adjusted their seat and head restraint
properly ( Y
page 101).
As the driver, you also have to make sure that
the steering wheel is adjusted correctly.
Observe the information relating to the cor-
rect driver's seat position ( Y
page 100).
You also have to make sure that an air bag can
inflate properly if deployed ( Y
page 48).
An air bag supplements a correctly worn seat
belt. As an additional safety device, the air
bag increases the level of protection for vehi-
cle occupants in the event of an accident. For
example, if, in the event of an accident, the
protection offered by the seat belt is suffi-
cient, the air bags are not deployed. When an
accident occurs, only the air bags that
increase protection in that particular accident
situation are deployed. However, seat belts
and air bags generally do not protect against
objects penetrating the vehicle from the out-
side.
Information on restraint system operation
can be found under "Triggering of the Emer-
gency Tensioning Devices and air bags"
( Y
page 56).42
Occupant safety
Safety

passenger seat belts are not fastened, a
warning tone sounds. A warning tone also
sounds with increasing intensity for
60 seconds or until the driver or front
passenger have fastened their seat belts.
If the driver or front passenger unfasten their
seat belts during the journey, the seat belt
warning is activated again.
i For more information on the v seat
belt warning lamp, see "Warning and indi-
cator lamps in the instrument cluster, seat
belts" ( Y
page 258).
Air bags
Introduction The installation point of an air bag can be rec-
ognized by the AIR BAG symbol.
An air bag complements the correctly fas-
tened seat belt. It is no substitute for the seat
belt. The air bag provides additional protec-
tion in applicable accident situations.
Not all air bags are deployed in an accident.
The different air bag systems function inde-
pendently from one another ( Y
page 56).
However, no system available today can com-
pletely eliminate injuries and fatalities.
It is also not possible to rule out a risk of injury
caused by an air bag due to the high speed at
which the air bag must be deployed.
Important safety notes
G WARNING
If you do not sit in the correct seat position,
the air bag cannot protect as intended and
could even cause additional injury when
deployed. This poses an increased risk of
injury or even fatal injury. To avoid hazardous situations, always make
sure that all of the vehicle's occupants: R
have fastened their seat belts correctly,
including pregnant women R
are sitting correctly and maintain the great-
est possible distance to the air bags R
follow the following instructions
Always make sure that there are no objects
between the air bag and the vehicle's occu-
pants. R
Adjust the seats properly before beginning
your journey. Always make sure that the
seat is in an almost upright position. The
center of the head restraint must support
the head at about eye level. R
Move the driver's and front-passenger
seats as far back as possible. The driver's
seat position must allow the vehicle to be
driven safely. R
Only hold the steering wheel on the out-
side. This allows the air bag to be fully
deployed. R
Always lean against the backrest while driv-
ing. Do not lean forwards or lean against
the door or side window. You may other-
wise be in the deployment area of the air
bags. R
Always keep your feet in the footwell in
front of the seat. Do not put your feet on the
dashboard, for example. Your feet may oth-
erwise be in the deployment area of the air
bag. R
For this reason, always secure persons less
than 5 ft (1.50 m) tall in suitable restraint
systems. Up to this height, the seat belt
cannot be worn correctly.
If a child is traveling in your vehicle, also
observe the following notes: R
Always secure children under twelve years
of age and less than 5 ft (1.50 m) tall in
suitable child restraint systems. R
Child restraint systems should be installed
on the rear seats.48
Occupant safety
Safety

R
Only secure a child in a rearward-facing
child restraint system on the front-
passenger seat when the front-passenger
front air bag is deactivated. If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF indicator lamp is
permanently lit, the front-passenger front
air bag is deactivated ( Y
page 43).R
Always observe the instructions and safety
notes on the "Occupant Classification Sys-
tem (OCS)" ( Y
page 51) and on "Children
in the vehicle" ( Y
page 58) in addition to
the child restraint system manufacturer's
installation instructions.
Objects in the vehicle interior may pre-
vent an air bag from functioning correctly.
Before starting your journey and to avoid risks
resulting from the speed of the air bag as it
deploys, make sure that: R
there are no people, animals or objects
between the vehicle occupants and an air
bag. R
there are no objects between the seat, door
and B-pillar. R
no hard objects, e.g. coat hangers, hang on
the grab handles or coat hooks. R
no accessories, such as cup holders, are
attached to the vehicle within the deploy-
ment area of an air bag, e.g. to doors, side
windows, rear side trim or side walls. R
no heavy, sharp-edged or fragile objects
are in the pockets of your clothing. Store
such objects in a suitable place.
G WARNING
If you modify the air bag cover or affix objects
such as stickers to it, the air bag can no longer
function correctly. There is an increased risk
of injury.
Never modify an air bag cover or affix objects
to it.
G WARNING
Sensors to control the air bags are located in
the doors. Modifications or work not per-
formed correctly to the doors or door panel-
ing, as well as damaged doors, can lead to the function of the sensors being impaired. The air
bags might therefore not function properly
anymore. Consequently, the air bags cannot
protect vehicle occupants as they are
designed to do. There is an increased risk of
injury.
Never modify the doors or parts of the doors.
Always have work on the doors or door pan-
eling carried out at a qualified specialist work-
shop.
Front air bags
Driver's air bag C deploys in front of the
steering wheel. Front-passenger front air
bag D deploys in front of and above the glove
box.
When deployed, the front air bags offer addi-
tional head and thorax protection for the
occupants in the front seats.
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF and
PASSENGER AIR BAG ON indicator lamps
inform you about the status of the front-
passenger air bag ( Y
page 43).
The front-passenger front air bag will only
deploy if: R
the system, based on the OCS weight sen-
sor readings, detects that the front-
passenger seat is occupied ( Y
page 51).
The PASSENGER AIR BAG ON indicator
lamp is lit ( Y
page 51) R
the restraint system control unit predicts a
high accident severityOccupant safety 49
Safety Z

G WARNING
If the child restraint system is subjected to
direct sunlight, parts may get very hot. Chil-
dren may burn themselves on these parts,
particularly on the metal parts of the child
restraint system. There is a risk of injury.
If you leave the vehicle, taking the child with
you, always ensure that the child restraint
system is not exposed to direct sunlight. Pro-
tect it with a blanket, for example. If the child
restraint system has been exposed to direct
sunlight, let it cool down before securing the
child in it. Never leave children unattended in
the vehicle.
Child-proof locks for the rear doors
You secure each door individually with the
child-proof locks on the rear doors. A door
secured with a child-proof lock cannot be
opened from inside the vehicle. When the
vehicle is unlocked, the door can be opened
from the outside. X
To activate: press the child-proof lock
lever up in the direction of arrow C .X
Make sure that the child-proof locks are
working properly. X
To deactivate: press the child-proof lock
lever down in the direction of arrow D . Override feature for the rear side win-
dows X
To activate/deactivate: press button C .
If indicator lamp D is lit, operation of the
rear side windows is disabled. Operation is
only possible using the switches in the driv-
er's door. If indicator lamp D is off, oper-
ation is possible using the switches in the
rear compartment.
Pets in the vehicle
G WARNING
If you leave animals unattended or unsecured
in the vehicle, they could press buttons or
switches, for example.
As a result, they could: R
activate vehicle equipment and become
trapped, for example R
activate or deactivate systems, thereby
endangering other road users
Unsecured animals could also be flung around
the vehicle in the event of an accident or sud-
den steering or braking, thereby injuring vehi-
cle occupants. There is a risk of an accident
and injury.
Never leave animals unattended in the vehi-
cle. Always secure animals properly during
the journey, e.g. use a suitable animal trans-
port box.64
Pets in the vehicle
Safety

In the following situations, it may be better to
activate SPORT handling mode or deactivate
ESP ®
: R
when using snow chains R
in deep snow R
on sand or gravel R
on specially designated roads when the
vehicle's own oversteering and understeer-
ing characteristics are desired
Driving in SPORT handling mode or without
ESP ®
requires an extremely qualified and
experienced driver.
i Activate ESP ®
as soon as the situations
described above no longer apply. ESP ®
will
otherwise not be able to stabilize the vehi-
cle if the vehicle starts to skid or a wheel
starts to spin.
! Avoid spinning the driven wheels for an
extended period with ESP ®
deactivated.
You could otherwise damage the drivetrain.
Deactivating/activating ESP ®
X
To activate SPORT handling mode:
briefly press button C .
The t SPORT handling mode warning
lamp in the instrument cluster lights up.
The SPORT handling mode message
appears in the multifunction display. X
To deactivate SPORT handling mode:
briefly press button C .
The t SPORT handling mode warning
lamp in the instrument cluster goes out. X
To deactivate ESP ®
: press button C until
the

R
COLL IS ION PREVENTION AS SIST is no lon-
ger available; nor is it activated if you brake
firmly wit h assistance from ESP ®
.R
ESP ®
st ill provides support when you brake
firmly.
ESP ®
trailer stabilizationGeneral info rm ation
If your veh icle/t railer combination begins to
swerve, ESP ®
assists you in this situation.
ESP ®
slows the vehicle down by braking and
limit ing the engine output unt il the vehicle/
trailer co mbin ation has stabilized.
Import ant safety notes
G WARNIN G
If road and weather condition s are poor ,
trailer stabilization will no t be able to preven t
th e vehicle/traile r combination from swerv-
ing . Trailers wit h a high cente r of gravity can
tip ove r before ES P ®
can detect this. Ther e is
a ris k of an accident.
Always adapt your driving style to th e prevail-
ing road and weather conditions.
If your veh icle wit h trailer (vehicle/trailer
co mbin ation) begins to lurch, you can only
st abiliz e the vehicle /t railer combination by
depr essing the brake firmly.
ESP ®
trailer st abiliz ation is active above
spee ds of about 65 km/h.
ESP ®
trailer stabilization does not work if
ESP ®
is deactivated or disabled because of a
malfunction.
EBD (electronic brake force distribu-
tion)
General information
EBD mon it ors and controls the brake pres-
sure on the rear wheels to improve driving
st abilit y while braking. Important safety notes
i Observe the "Im portant safety notes" sec-
tion ( Y
page 65).
G WARNIN G
If EB D is malfunctioning, th e rear wheels can
lock, e.g. under full braking . This increases th e
ris k of skiddin g and an accident.
You should therefor e adapt your driving style
to th e different handlin g characteristics. Hav e
th e brak e system checked at a qualified spe-
cialist workshop.
Observe information regarding indicator and
warning lamps ( Y
page 261) as well as dis-
play messages ( Y
page 230).
ADAPTIVE BRAKE ADAPTIVE BRAKE enhances braking safety
and offers increased braking comfort. In addi-
tion to the braking function, ADAPTIVE BRAKE
also has the HOLD function ( Y
page 187) and
hill start assist ( Y
page 151).
STEER CONTROL
General information
ST EER CONTROL helps you by transmitting a
noticea ble steering force to the steering
wheel in the direction required for vehicle
st abiliz ation.
This steering assistance is pro vide d in partic-
ular if: R
both right wheels or both left wheels are on
a wet or slippery road surface when you
brake. R
the veh icle starts to skid.
Important safety notes
i Observe the "Im portant safety notes" sec-
tion ( Y
page 65).72
Driving safety systems
Safety

No steering assistance is provided from
STEER CONTROL, if: R
ESP ®
is malfunctioning.R
the lighting is faulty.
If ESP ®
is malfunctioning, you will be assisted
further by the electrical power steering.
Protection against theft
Immobilizer The immobilizer prevents your vehicle from
being started without the correct SmartKey. X
To activate with the SmartKey: remove
the SmartKey from the ignition lock. X
To activate with KEYLESS-GO start-
function or KEYLESS-GO: switch the igni-
tion off and open the driver's door. X
To deactivate: switch on the ignition.
When leaving the vehicle, always take the
SmartKey with you and lock the vehicle. Any-
one can start the engine if a valid SmartKey
has been left inside the vehicle.
i The immobilizer is always deactivated
when you start the engine.
In the event that the engine cannot be star-
ted (yet the vehicle's battery is charged),
the system is not operational. Contact an
authorized Mercedes-Benz Center or call
1-800-FOR-MERCedes (in the USA) or
1-800-387-0100 (in Canada).
ATA (anti-theft alarm system) X
To arm: lock the vehicle with the SmartKey
or KEYLESS-GO.
Indicator lamp C flashes. The alarm sys-
tem is armed after approximately
15 seconds. X
To disarm: unlock the vehicle with the
SmartKey or KEYLESS-GO.
or X
Insert the SmartKey into the ignition lock.
A visual and audible alarm is triggered if the
alarm system is armed and you open: R
a door R
the vehicle with the mechanical key R
the trunk lid R
the hood X
To turn the alarm off with the SmartKey:
press the 6 or 7 button on the
SmartKey.
The alarm is switched off.
or X
Vehicles with KEYLESS-GO start-func-
tion or KEYLESS-GO: remove the Start/
Stop button from the ignition lock
( Y
page 147). X
Insert the SmartKey into the ignition lock.
The alarm is switched off. X
To stop the alarm using KEYLESS-GO:
grasp the outside door handle. The Smart-
Key must be outside the vehicle.
The alarm is switched off.
or X
Press the Start/Stop button on the dash-
board. The SmartKey must be inside the
vehicle.
The alarm is switched off.
The alarm is not switched off, even if you
close the open door that triggered it, for
example.
i If the alarm continues for more than
30 seconds, the mbrace emergency call
system automatically notifies the Cus-
tomer Assistance Center. This is done
either by text message or data connection.Protection against theft 73
Safety Z

Useful information ............................ 100
Correct driver's seat position .......... 100
Seats .................................................. 101
Steering wheel .................................. 106
Mirrors ............................................... 107
Memory function ............................... 110 99
Seats, steering wheel and mirrors

Useful information
i This Operator's Manual describes all
models and all standard and optional equip-
ment of your vehicle available at the time of
publication of the Operator's Manual.
Country-specific differences are possible.
Please note that your vehicle may not be
equipped with all features described. This
also applies to safety-related systems and
functions.
i Read the information on qualified special-
ist workshops ( Y
page 25).
Correct driver's seat position
G WARNING
You could lose control of your vehicle if you do
the following while driving: R
adjust the driver's seat, head restraint,
steering wheel or mirrors R
fasten the seat belt
There is a risk of an accident.
Adjust the driver's seat, head restraint, steer-
ing wheel and mirror and fasten your seat belt
before starting the engine. X
Observe the safety guidelines on seat
adjustment ( Y
page 101). X
Make sure that seat

The seat belt should: R
fit snugly across your body R
be routed across the middle of your
shoulder R
be routed in your pelvic area across the
hip joints X
Before starting off, adjust the rear-view mir-
ror and the exterior mirrors ( Y
page 107) in
such a way that you have a good view of
road and traffic conditions. X
Vehicles with a memory function: save
the seat and exterior mirror settings
( Y
page 110).
Seats
Important safety notes
G WARNING
Children could become trapped if they adjust
the seats, particularly when unattended.
There is a risk of injury.
When leaving the vehicle, always take the
SmartKey with you and lock the vehicle. Never
leave children unsupervised in the vehicle.
The seats can still be adjusted when there is
no SmartKey in the ignition lock.
G WARNING
When you adjust a seat, you or other vehicle
occupants could become trapped, e.g. on the
seat guide rail. There is a risk of injury.
Make sure when adjusting a seat that no one
has any body parts in the sweep of the seat.
Observe the safety notes on "Air bags"
( Y
page 48) and "Children in the vehicle"
( Y
page 58).
G WARNING
If the driver's seat is not engaged, it could
move unexpectedly while the vehicle is in
motion. This could cause you to lose control of
the vehicle. There is a risk of an accident. Always make sure that the driver's seat is
engaged before starting the vehicle.
G WARNING
You could lose control of your vehicle if you do
the following while driving: R
adjust the driver's seat, head restraint,
steering wheel or mirrors R
fasten the seat belt
There is a risk of an accident.
Adjust the driver's seat, head restraint, steer-
ing wheel and mirror and fasten your seat belt
before starting the engine.
G WARNING
If you adjust the seat height carelessly, you or
other vehicle occupants could be trapped and
thereby injured. Children in particular could
accidentally press the electrical seat adjust-
ment buttons and become trapped. There is a
risk of injury.
While moving the seats, make sure that your
hands or other body parts do not get under the
lever assembly of the seat adjustment sys-
tem.
! To avoid damage to the seats and the seat
heating, observe the following information: R
keep liquids from spilling on the seats. If
liquid is spilled on the seats, dry them as
soon as possible. R
if the seat covers are damp or wet, do not
switch on the seat heating. The seat
heating should also not be used to dry
the seats. R
clean the seat covers as recommended;
see the "Interior care" section. R
do not transport heavy loads on the
seats. Do not place sharp objects on the
seat cushions, e.g. knives, nails or tools.
The seats should only be occupied by
passengers, if possible. R
when the seat heating is in operation, do
not cover the seats with insulating mate- Seats 101
Seats, steering wheel and mirrors Z