2008 Mercedes CLS-Class Owner's Manual - Page 80

Safety and Security Occupant safety When the engine is started, the seat belt telltale < will always illuminate for 6 seconds to remind you and your passengers to fasten your seat belts. If the driver's seat belt is not fastened when the engine is started, an additional warning chime will also sound for a maximum of 6 seconds or until the driver' s seat belt is fastened. If after these 6 seconds the driver's or the front passenger's seat belt (with the front passenger seat occupied) is not fastened with front doors closed, the seat belt telltale < remains illuminated for as long as either the driver's or front passenger's seat belt is not fastened. and if the vehicle speed once exceeds 15 mph (25 km/h), the seat belt telltale < starts flashing and a warning chime sounds with increasing intensity for a maximum of 60 seconds or until the driver's and the front passenger's seat belt are fastened. If the driver's or the front passenger's seat belt remains unfastened after 60 seconds, the warning chime stops sounding, the seat belt telltale < stops flashing but continues to be illuminated. The seat belt telltale < will only go out if both the driver's and front passenger's seat belt (with the front passenger seat occupied) are fastened, or the vehicle is standing still and a front door is opened. For more information, see "Practical hints" ( page 351). Emergency Tensioning Device (ETD), seat belt force limiter The seat belts for the front and rear outer seats are equipped with Emergency Tensioning Devices and seat belt force limiters. The ETD is designed to activate in the following cases: in frontal or rear-end impacts exceeding the system deployment threshold in certain vehicle rollovers if the restraint systems are operational and functioning correctly, see 1 indicator lamp ( page 64) i The ETDs for the front seats will only activate if the front seat belts are fastened (latch plate properly inserted into buckle). The ETDs for the rear outer seats will activate with or without the respective seat belts fastened. In an impact, Emergency Tensioning Devices remove slack from the seat belts. Seat belt force limiters reduce the peak force exerted by the seat belts on occupants during a crash. Warning! G An Emergency Tensioning Device (ETD) that was activated must be replaced. When disposing of the Emergency Tensioning Device, our safety instructions must be followed. These are available at any authorized Mercedes-Benz Center. 79