2004 Mercedes C-Class Owner's Manual - Page 58

Safety and Security Occupant safety In cases of other frontal impacts, angled impacts, roll-overs, other side impacts, rear collisions, or other accidents, the airbags will not be activated. The driver and passengers will then be protected by the fastened seat belts. We caution you not to rely on the presence of the airbags in order to avoid wearing your seat belt. Your vehicle was originally equipped with airbags that are designed to activate in certain impacts exceeding a preset threshold to reduce the potential and severity of injury. It is important to your safety and that of your passengers that you replace deployed airbags and repair any malfunctioning airbags to ensure that the vehicle will continue to provide supplemental crash protection for occupants. Safety guidelines for the seat belt, emergency tensioning device and airbag Warning! G Damaged seat belts or belts that were highly stressed in an accident must be replaced and their anchoring points must also be checked. Only use belts installed or supplied by an authorized Mercedes-Benz Center. Airbags and emergency tensioning devices (ETDs) are designed to function on a one-time only basis. An airbag or ETD that was activated must be replaced No modifications of any kind may be made to any components or wiring of the SRS. This includes changing or removing any component or part of the SRS, the installation of additional trim material, badges, etc. over the steering wheel hub, passenger front airbag cover, door trim panels, or door frame trims, and installation of additional electrical/electronic equipment on or near SRS components and wiring. Keep area between airbags and occupants free from objects (e.g. packages, purses, umbrellas, etc.). Do not pass belts over sharp edges. They could tear. Do not make any modification that could change the effectiveness of the belts. Do not hang items such as coat hangers from the coat hooks or handles over the door. These items may turn into projectiles and cause head and other injuries when curtain airbag is deployed. 58