top tether MERCEDES-BENZ S350 2006 W221 Owner's Manual

37 Getting started
Adjusting
Adjusting
SeatsWarning!
G
All seat, head restraint, steering wheel, and
rear view mirror adjustments, as well as fas-
tening of seat belts, must be done before
the vehicle is put into motion.Warning!
G
Do not adjust the driver’s seat while driving.
Adjusting the seat while driving could cause
the driver to lose control of the vehicle.
Never ride in a moving vehicle with the seat
back in an excessively reclined position as
this can be dangerous. You could slide un-
der the seat belt in a collision. If you slide
under it, the belt would apply force at the ab-
domen or neck. That could cause serious or
fatal injuries. The seat backrest and seat
belts provide the best restraint when the
wearer is in a nearly upright position and
belts are properly positioned on the body.
Your seat must be adjusted so that you can
correctly fasten your seat belt (
page 43).
Never place hands under the seat or near
any moving parts while a seat is being ad-
justed.
Warning!
G
When leaving the vehicle, always remove the
SmartKey or SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO*
from the starter switch, take it with you, and
lock the vehicle.
Even with the SmartKey or SmartKey with
KEYLESS-GO* removed from the starter
switch or the SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO*
removed from the vehicle, the power seats
can be operated when the respective door is
open. Therefore, do not leave children unat-
tended in the vehicle, or with access to an
unlocked vehicle. Unsupervised use of vehi-
cle equipment may cause an accident
and/or serious personal injury.
Warning!
G
Children 12 years old and under must never
ride in the front seat, except in a
Mercedes-Benz authorized BabySmart
TM1

compatible child seat, which operates with
the BabySmart
TM system installed in the ve-
hicle to deactivate the passenger front
air bag when it is properly installed. Other-
wise they will be struck by the air bag when
it inflates in a crash. If this happens, serious
or fatal injury will result.
According to accident statistics, children
are safer when properly restrained in the
rear seating positions than in the front seat-
ing positions. Infants and small children
must ride in back seats and be seated in an
appropriate infant or child restraint system,
which is properly secured with the vehicle’s
seat belt and top tether strap, or secured via
lower anchors and top tether strap, fully in
accordance with the child seat manufactur-
er’s instructions.
1BabySmart
TM is a trademark of Siemens Automo-
tive Corp.


44 Getting startedDriving
1 Release button
2Buckle
3 Latch plate
Pull the seat belt smoothly from the
seat belt outlet.
According to accident statistics, children
are safer when properly restrained in the
rear seating positions than in the front seat-
ing positions. Infants and small children
must ride in back seats and be seated in an
appropriate infant or child restraint system,
which is properly secured with the vehicle’s
seat belt and top tether strap, or secured via
lower anchors and top tether strap, fully in
accordance with the child seat manufactur-
er’s instructions.
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.
Warning!
G
Never let more people ride in the vehicle
than there are seat belts available. Be sure
everyone riding in the vehicle is correctly re-
strained with a separate seat belt. Never use
a seat belt for more than one person at a
time.Warning!
G
Never ride in a moving vehicle with the seat
backrest in an excessively reclined position
as this can be dangerous. You could slide
under the seat belt in a collision. If you slide
under it, the belt would apply force at the ab-
domen or neck. That could cause serious or
even fatal injuries. The seat backrest and
seat belt provide the best restraint when the
wearer is in a nearly upright position and the
belt is properly positioned on the body.
Warning!
G
Read and observe the additional warning no-
tices printed in the “Safety and Security”
section (
page 64).


60 Safety and SecurityOccupant safetyIn this section you will learn the most im-
portant facts about the restraint systems
of the vehicle.
The restraint systems are:

Seat belts


Emergency tensioning device


Air bags


Child seats


Child seat recognition


Lower anchors and tethers for children
(LATCH)


Preventive occupant safety
(PRE-SAFE
®)
As independent systems, their protective
effects work in conjunction with each oth-
er.The 1 indicator lamp in the instrument
cluster comes on


for about four seconds when you turn
the SmartKey in the starter switch to
position1 or press the KEYLESS-GO*
start/stop button (
page 35) once. It
then goes out briefly, comes on again
and remains lit until you start the en-
gine.


for about four seconds when you start
the engine by turning the SmartKey or
pressing the KEYLESS-GO* start/stop
button.The restraint systems are fully operational
if the 1 indicator lamp is not lit when
the engine is running.
A malfunction in the system has been de-
tected if the1 indicator lamp:


fails to extinguish after approximately
four seconds


does not come on at all


comes on after the engine was started
or while driving
For safety reasons, we strongly recom-
mend that you visit an authorized
Mercedes-Benz Center immediately to
have the system checked.
iFor information on infants and children
traveling with you in the vehicle and re-
straint systems for infants and chil-
dren, see “Children in the vehicle”
(page 71).
iThe 1 indicator lamp remains lit if
the SmartKey is turned to position 2
and left there or the KEYLESS-GO*
start/stop button is pressed twice. The
indicator lamp will go out when you
start the engine.

72 Safety and SecurityOccupant safety
A statement by the child restraint man-
ufacturer of compliance with this stan-
dard can be found on the instruction
label on the restraint and in the instruc-
tion manual provided with the restraint.
When using any infant or child restraint
system, be sure to carefully read and
follow all manufacturer’s instructions
for installation and use.
Please read and observe warning labels
affixed to inside of vehicle and to infant
or child restraints.Warning!
G
Children 12 years old and under must never
ride in the front seat, except in a
Mercedes-Benz authorized BabySmart
TM1

compatible child seat, which operates with
the BabySmart
TM system installed in the ve-
hicle to deactivate the passenger front
air bag when it is properly installed.
1BabySmart
TM is a trademark of Siemens Automo-
tive Corp.
Otherwise they will be struck by the air bag
when it inflates in a crash. If this happens,
serious or fatal injury will result.
According to accident statistics, children
are safer when properly restrained in the
rear seating positions than in the front seat-
ing positions. Infants and small children
must ride in back seats and be seated in an
appropriate infant or child restraint system,
which is properly secured with the vehicle’s
seat belt and top tether strap, or secured via
lower anchors and top tether strap, fully in
accordance with the child seat manufactur-
er’s instructions.
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.
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 until
they reach a height where a lap/shoulder
belt fits properly without a booster.
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.
When the child restraint is not in use, re-
m o v e i t f r o m t h e v e h i c l e o r s e c u r e i t w i t h t h e
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 cause an accident
and/or serious personal injury.

74 Safety and SecurityOccupant safety
Installation of infant and child restraint
systems
This vehicle is equipped with tether an-
chorages for a top tether strap at each of
the rear seating positions.1Cover of top anchorage ring

Remove cover1 from anchorage ring.

Store cover1 in a convenient place
(e.g. glove box).

Guide tether strap between head re-
straint and top of seat back.
Head restraints must be positioned such
that the top tether strap can pass freely
between the head restraint and top of seat
back.

Make sure the tether strap is not twist-
ed.
Warning!
G
When using a BabySmart
TM1
compatible
child seat on the front passenger seat, the
passenger front air bag will not deploy only
if the
58
indicator lamp remains il-
luminated.
Make sure to check the
58
indica-
tor lamp every time you use the special sys-
tem child seat. Should the
58

indicator lamp go out while the restraint is
installed, please check installation. If the
58
indicator lamp remains out, do
not use the BabySmart
TM restraint to trans-
port children on the front passenger seat un-
til the system has been repaired.
1BabySmart
TM is a trademark of Siemens Automo-
tive Corp.
Warning!
G
Do not place powered-on laptops, cell
phones, electronic tags such as those used
in ski passes and like electronic devices on
the front passenger seat. Signals from such
devices may interfere with the BabySmart
TM
system. Such signal interference, for exam-
ple, may cause the
58
indicator
lamp not to come on or be continuously lit
during self-test, indicating that the system is
not functioning.

75 Safety and Security
Occupant safety
2Hook
3Anchorage ring
Securely fasten hook2, which is part
of the tether strap, to anchorage
ring3.
Once the top tether anchorage hook is at-
tached, the child restraint itself can be se-
cured. Tighten the top tether strap
according to the child restraint manufac-
turer’s instructions.

Reinstall cover after removing the
tether strap.Child seat anchors – LATCH type
This vehicle is equipped with two LATCH
(L
ower A
nchors and T
ethers for CH
ildren)
type anchors (at each of the rear seats) for
the installation of a LATCH child seat with
the matching anchor fittings.
If you have not installed a child seat, the
LATCH anchor are covered with an uphol-
stery blend.
1Indicates the position of the anchors
2Anchors
3Upholstery blend
4Installation device
iFor safety reasons, make sure hook2
has attached to ring3 beyond the
safety catch, as illustrated.
Warning!
G
Vehicles with adjustable rear seats/bench*:
Never adjust the rear seat position after in-
stalling the child restraint. Adjusting the rear
seat position after installing the child re-
straint could damage the child restraint
and/or introduce undesirable slack into the
webbing and loosen or misposition the child
restraint, lessening the effectiveness of the
child restraint and thus increasing the
chance or severity of injury in an accident.