Mercedes-Benz 2013 C Class Sedan - Manual (Page 46)

It is important to your safety and that of your
passenger to have deployed air bags replaced
and to have any malfunctioning air bags
repaired. This will help to make sure the air
bags will continue to provide supplemental
crash protection for occupants .
Front air bags
The front air bags increase protection for the
driver's and front-passenger's head and
chest.
Driver's air bag : deploys in front of the
steering wheel; front-passenger front air
bag ; deploys in front of and above the glove
box.
They are deployed:
R
in the event of certain frontal impacts
R
if the system determines that air bag
deployment can offer additional protection
to that provided by the seat belt
R
if the seat belt is fastened
R
independently of other air bags in the
vehicle
Your vehicle has adaptive, two-stage front air
bags. In the event of a collision, the air bag
control unit evaluates the vehicle
deceleration. In the first deployment stage,
the front air bag is filled with enough
propellant gas to reduce the risk of injuries.
The front air bag is fully deployed if a second
deployment threshold is exceeded within a
few milliseconds.
The deployment of the front-passenger front
air bag is also influenced by the weight
category of the front passenger, which is
determined by the Occupant Classification
System (OCS) (
Y page 47).
The lighter the passenger-side occupant, the
higher the vehicle deceleration rate required
(predicted at the start of the impact) for
second stage inflation of the front-passenger
front air bag. In the second stage, the front
air bags are inflated with the maximum
amount of propellant gas available.
The front air bags are not deployed in
situations where a low impact severity is
predicted. You will then be protected by the
fastened seat belt.
The front-passenger front air bag will only be
deployed if:
R
the system, based on the OCS weight
sensor readings, detects that the front-
passenger seat is occupied
R
the 45 indicator lamp on the center
console is not lit (
Y page 47)
R
the air bag control unit predicts a high-
impact severity.
Driver's knee bag
Driver's knee bag : increases the driver's
protection against:
R
knee injuries
R
thigh injuries
R
lower leg injuries
Driver's knee bag : deploys under the
steering column. If, during a frontal collision,
the system determines that air bag
deployment can offer additional protection to
44
Occupant safety
Safety