seats MERCEDES-BENZ E-CLASS 2003 User Guide

67 Safety and Security
Occupant safety
BabySmart
TM airbag deactivation
system
1Indicator lampSpecial BabySmart
TM compatible child
seats, designed for use with the
Mercedes-Benz system and available at
any authorized Mercedes-Benz Center are
required for use with the BabySmart
TM air-
bag deactivation system. With the special
child seat properly installed, the passenger
front airbag will not deploy.
The PASSENGER AIRBAG OFF indicator
lamp1 located in the center console will
be illuminated, except with the key re-
moved or in starter switch position0.
BabySmart
TM is a trademark of Siemens Automotive
Corp.
Infants and small children should never
share a seat belt with another occupant.
During an accident, they could be crushed
between the occupant and seat belt.
A child’s risk of serious or fatal injuries is
significantly increased if the child restraints
are not properly secured in the vehicle and
the child is not properly secured in the child
restraint.
Children too big for child restraint systems
must ride in back seats using regular seat
belts. Position shoulder belt across chest
and shoulder, not face or neck. A booster
seat may be necessary to achieve proper
belt positioning for children from 41 lbs. to
the point where a lap/shoulder belt fits
properly without one.
When the child restraint is not in use, re-
move it from the vehicle or secure it with the
seat belt to prevent the child restraint from
becoming a projectile in the event of an ac-
cident.
Do not leave children unattended in the ve-
hicle, even if the children are secured in a
child restraint system. Unsupervised chil-
dren in a child restraint system may use ve-
hicle equipment and may cause serious
personal injury.
iThe system does not deactivate the
side impact airbag.
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68 Safety and SecurityOccupant safetySelf-test BabySmart
TM without special
child seat installed
After turning the key in the starter switch
to position1 or2 or pressing the
KEYLESS-GO* (if so equipped) start/stop
button once or twice, PASSENGER AIRBAG
OFF indicator lamp1 located in the center
console lights up for approx. 6 seconds
and then goes out.
If the indicator lamp should not come on or
is continuously lit, the system is not func-
tioning. You must see an authorized
Mercedes-Benz Center before seating any
child on the passenger seat.
More information can be found in the
"Practical hints" section (page 294).
Warning!
G
The BabySmart
TM airbag deactivation sys-
tem will ONLY work with a special child seat
designed to operate with it. It will not work
with child seats which are not BabySmart
TM
compatible.
Never place anything between seat cushion
and child seat (e.g. pillow), since it reduces
the effectiveness of the deactivation sys-
tem. The bottom of the child seat must
make full contact with the passenger seat
cushion. An incorrectly mounted child seat
could cause injuries to the child in case of an
accident, instead of protecting the child.
Follow the manufacturer’s instructions for
installation of special child seats.
Warning!
G
When using a BabySmart
TM compatible
child seat on the front passenger seat, the
front passenger airbag will not deploy only if
the PASSENGER AIRBAG OFF indicator lamp
remains illuminated.
Please be sure to check the indicator every
time you use the special system child seat.
Should the light go out while the restraint is
installed, please check installation. If the
light remains out, do not use the
BabySmart
TM restraint to transport children
on the front passenger seat until the system
has been repaired.
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70 Safety and SecurityOccupant safetyChild seat anchors - "LATCH" type
This vehicle is equipped with two LATCH
(Lower A
nchors and T
ethers for CH
ildren)
type anchors (at each of the outer rear
seats) for the installing of a "LATCH" child
seat with the matching anchor fittings.
The anchors are located behind an uphol-
stery blend.
1Indicates the position of the anchors
2Anchors

Install child seat according to the
manufacturer’s instructions.!Make sure that the seat belt for the
center seat can operate freely with a
child seat installed.iNon-"LATCH" type child seats may also
be used and can be installed using the
vehicle’s seat belt system. Install child
seat according to the manufacturer’s
instructions.Warning!
G
Children too big for child restraint systems
must ride in back seats using regular seat
belts. Position shoulder belt across chest
and shoulder, not face or neck. A booster
seat may be necessary to achieve proper
belt positioning for children from 41 lbs. to
the point where a lap/shoulder belt fits
properly without one.
Install child seat according to manufactur-
er’s instructions.
The child seat must be firmly attached in the
right and left side anchors2.
An incorrectly mounted child seat may come
loose during an accident which could result
in serious injury or death to your child.
Damaged or impact damaged child seats or
child seat mounting fittings must be re-
placed.
Do not leave children unattended in the ve-
hicle, even if the children are secured in a
child restraint system.
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71 Safety and Security
Occupant safety
Blocking of rear door window operation
1Override switch
2Indicator lamp
Press override switch1.
Indicator lamp 2 lights up. The rear
door windows can no longer be operat-
ed using the switches located in the
rear doors.For more information on power windows,
see the "Controls in detail" section
(
page 184).
!Operation of the rear door windows
with the switches located on the door
control panel of the driver‘s door is still
possible.Warning!
G
Activate the override switch when children
are riding in the back seats of the vehicle.
The children may otherwise injure them-
selves, e.g. by becoming trapped in the win-
dow opening.
When leaving the vehicle, always remove the
key from the starter switch, and lock the ve-
hicle. Do not leave children unattended in
the vehicle, or with access to an unlocked
vehicle. Unsupervised use of vehicle equip-
ment can cause serious personal injury.
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85 Controls in detail
Locking and unlocking
Seats
Memory function
Lighting
Instrument cluster
Control system
Automatic transmission
Good visibility
Climate control
Automatic climate control*
Power windows
Sliding/pop-up roof*
Panorama sliding/pop-up roof*
Driving systems
Loading
Useful features
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102 Controls in detailSeats
SeatsInformation on seat adjustment can be
found in the "Getting started" section
(page 35).
Easy-entry/exit feature*
With the easy-entry/exit feature activated,
the steering wheel tilts upwards and the
driver’s seat moves to the rear.
This allows easier entry into and exit from
the vehicle when the driver’s door is
opened. However, the engine must be
turned off.
When the SmartKey is inserted in the start-
er switch and the driver’s door is closed,
the steering wheel and the driver’s seat re-
turn to their last set positions.You can activate the following functions:


Steering column:
Only the steering column is adjusted.


Steering column and seat:
The steering column and the seat are
adjusted.
The easy-entry/exit feature can be
switched on or off in the individual setting
menu
Convenience
- Easy-entry feature
activate
(page 143).
Warning!
G
You must ensure that no one can become
trapped or injured by the moving steering
wheel and driver’s seat when the
easy-entry / exit feature is activated, the
driver’s door is being opened and the engine
is turned off or the SmartKey removed from
the starter switch. Do not leave children un-
attended in the vehicle, or with access to an
unlocked vehicle. Unsupervised use of vehi-
cle equipment may cause serious personal
injury.
iTo cancel seat/steering wheel move-
ment, do one of the following:

Press seat adjustment switch
(page 28).


Move steering column stalk
(page 38).


Press the memory switch
(page 28).
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103 Controls in detailSeats
Head restraints
Information on head restraint adjustment
can be found in the "Getting started" sec-
tion (
page 36).Front seat head restraints
Removing front head restraints

Press switch1 upwards and hold until
the head restraint is fully extended.

Pull out head restraint.
Installing front head restraints:

Press switch1 upwards and hold for
about five seconds.

Push the head restraint down until it
engages.

Adjust head restraint to desired posi-
tion (
page 36).Rear seat head restraints
Warning!
G
For your protection, drive only with properly
positioned head restraints.
Adjust head restraint to support the back of
the head approximately at ear level.
Do not drive the vehicle without the seat
head restraints. Head restraints are intend-
ed to help reduce injuries during an acci-
dent.iTilt the backrest to the rear for easier
removal and installation of the head re-
straints.
Warning!
G
For safety reasons, always drive with the
rear head restraints in the upright position
when the rear seats are occupied.
Keep the area around head restraints clear
of articles (e.g. clothing) to not obstruct the
folding operation of the head restraints.
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104 Controls in detailSeatsFolding rear head restraints back
Make sure the starter switch is in
position1 or2.

Push switch1.
The rear head restraints will fold back-
ward.Placing rear head restraints upright

Pull the rear head restraint forward un-
til it locks into position.
Multicontour seat*
The multicontour seat has a movable seat
cushion and inflatable air cushions built
into the backrest to provide additional lum-
bar and side support.
The seat cushion movement, backrest
cushion height and curvature can be con-
tinuously varied with regulators on the
right side of the seat after turning the
SmartKey in the starter switch to
position2.
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105 Controls in detailSeats
1Seat cushion depth
2Backrest bottom
3Backrest center
4Side bolster adjustment
Adjusting the multicontour seat in the or-
der listed above is recommended.
Make sure that the ignition is switched
on.
All lamps in the instrument cluster light
up.
Adjusting backrest contour

Adjust the seat cushion depth to the
length of your upper leg using switch 1.

Adjust the backrest contour to the con-
tour of your back using æor ç.

Move the backrest support to the bot-
tom by using button2 or to the center
by using button3.

Adjust the side bolsters so that they
provide good lateral support using
button4.
Dynamic driving seat*
The dynamic driving seat automatically ad-
justs the lateral support provided by the
backrest to your driving style.
1Backrest center
2Massage function
3Backrest side bolsters
4Activate dynamic driving function
5Seat cushion depth
6Backrest bottom
The dynamic driving seat electronically
controls the air pressure in the air cham-
bers of the backrest side bolsters. This
function improves driving comfort and
pleasure.
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106 Controls in detailSeatsActivating
Press button4.
The indicator lamp in the button lights
up.
Deactivating

Press button4 again.
The indicator lamp in the button goes
out.Massage function (PULSE)
The massage function can help prevent
muscle tension during long drives.

Press button2.
The indicator lamp in button2 lights
up. The air cushions in the lumbar area
pulsate.
iYou can adjust the characteristics of
the dynamic driving seat using the con-
trol system (
page 145).
iWhen the engine is turned off, the last
cushion setting is retained in memory,
and the cushion is automatically ad-
justed to this setting when the engine
is restarted.
iThe massage function turns off auto-
matically after approximately 5 min-
utes.
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