Mercedes-Benz 2003 S 500 4MATIC Automobile User Manual


 
59
Safety and Security
Occupant safety
result in serious injuries or death should
the side airbag be activated.
(2) Always sit upright, properly use the seat
belts and use an appropriately sized in-
fant or child restraint system for all chil-
dren 12 years old or under.
(3) Always wear seat belts properly.
If you believe that, even with the use of
these guidelines, it would be safer for your
rear seat occupants to have both rear door
mounted side airbags deactivated, then de-
activation can be accomplished upon your
written request to do so at your authorized
Mercedes-Benz Center at an additional cost.
Please contact your local authorized
Mercedes-Benz Center or call our Customer
Assistance Center at 1-800-FOR-MERCedes
(1-800-367-6372) for details.
i
Airbags are designed to activate only in
certain frontal impacts (front airbags),
side impacts (side impact and head
protection window curtain airbags)
which exceed preset thresholds, and in
certain rollovers (head protection win-
dow curtain airbags). Only during these
events will they provide their supple-
mental protection.
The driver and passengers should al-
ways wear their seat belts. Otherwise it
is not possible for the airbags to pro-
vide their supplemental protection.
In cases of other types of impacts and
impacts below airbag deployment
thresholds, the airbags will not be acti-
vated. The driver and passengers will
then be protected to the extent possi-
ble by a properly fastened seat belt. A
properly fastened seat belt is also
needed to provide the best possible
protection in a rollover.
We caution you not to rely on the pres-
ence of the airbags in order to avoid
wearing your seat belt.
Your vehicle was originally equipped
with airbags that are designed to acti-
vate in certain impacts exceeding a
preset threshold to reduce the poten-
tial and severity of injury. It is important
for your safety and that of your passen-
ger that you replace deployed airbags
and repair any malfunctioning airbags
to ensure that the vehicle will continue
to provide supplemental crash protec-
tion for occupants.