Mercedes-Benz GL-Class 2012 Owners Manual - Manual (Page 44)

thresholds, the air bags will not deploy. The
driver and passengers will then be protected
to the extent possible by a properly fastened
seat belt. A properly fastened seat belt is also
needed to provide the best possible
protection in a rollover.
Air bags provide additional protection; they
are not, however, a substitute for seat belts.
All vehicle occupants must fasten their seat
belts regardless of whether your vehicle is
equipped with air bags or not.
It is important for 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 continue to perform their protective
function for the vehicle occupants in the
event of a crash.
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
If the vehicle overturns, the front air bags are
generally not deployed unless the system
detects high vehicle deceleration in a
longitudinal direction.
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.
Vehicles with OCS (USA only): 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 45).
Vehicles with OCS (USA only): 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.
! Vehicles with BabySmart™ (Canada only):
do not place any objects which weigh more
than 20 lb (9 kg) on the front-passenger
seat. This could cause the system to
identify the seat as being occupied. In the
event of an accident, the restraint systems
on the front-passenger side are triggered.
Have restraint systems that have been
triggered replaced.
42
Occupant safety
Safety