Mercedes-Benz S-Sedan 2015 Owners Manual - Manual (Page 62)

Vehicles with belt bags: depending on the
type and severity of the accident, the belt
bags are also triggered.
Vehicles with a rear reclining seat: the
Emergency Tensioning Device is only trig-
gered if the belt tongue is engaged in the belt
buckle of the rear reclining seat.
If the seat backrest is reclined, the cushion air
bag may also be triggered depending on the
type and severity of the accident.
If the restraint system control unit detects a
high accident severity, additional compo-
nents of the restraint system are activated
independently of one another in certain fron-
tal collision situations:
R Front air bags and driver's knee bag
R Window curtain air bag if the system deter-
mines that it can offer additional protection
to that provided by the seat belt
Depending on the person in the front-
passenger seat, the front-passenger front air
bag is either enabled or disabled. The front-
passenger front air bag can only be deployed
in an accident if the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
indicator lamp is off. Observe the information
on the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF indicator
lamp (
Y
page 45).
Your vehicle has two-stage front air bags. In
the first deployment stage, the front air bag is
filled with propellant gas to reduce the risk of
injuries. The front air bag is filled with the
maximum amount of propellant gas if the sec-
ond deployment threshold is then reached
within a few milliseconds.
The activation thresholds for the Emergency
Tensioning Device and air bag are determined
by evaluating the vehicle deceleration or vehi-
cle acceleration that occurs at different
points in the vehicle. This process is pre-emp-
tive in nature. The triggering process must
take place promptly at the start of the colli-
sion.
The rate of vehicle deceleration or accelera-
tion and the direction of the force are essen-
tially determined by:
R
the distribution of forces during the colli-
sion
R the collision angle
R the deformation characteristics of the vehi-
cle
R
the characteristics of the object with which
the vehicle has collided
Factors that can only be seen and measured
after a collision has occurred do not play a
decisive role in the deployment of an air bag,
nor do they provide an indication of air bag
deployment.
The vehicle may be deformed significantly
without an air bag being deployed. This is the
case if only parts which are relatively easily
deformed are affected and the rate of decel-
eration is not high. Conversely, an air bag may
be deployed even though the vehicle suffers
only minor deformation. This is the case if, for
example, very rigid vehicle parts such as lon-
gitudinal body members are hit, and sufficient
deceleration occurs as a result.
If the restraint system control unit detects a
side impact or a rollover situation, the rele-
vant restraint system components are acti-
vated independently of one another depend-
ing on the apparent type of accident. The
Emergency Tensioning Devices are also trig-
gered if the system determines that they can
offer additional protection for the vehicle
occupants in this situation.
R
Side impact air bags on the side on which
the impact occurs, independently of the
Emergency Tensioning Device and of the
use of the seat belt on the driver's seat and
the outer rear seats of the second row of
seats
60
Occupant safety
Safe
ty