2008 Mercedes SLK-Class Owner's Manual - Page 71

Safety and Security Occupant safety i The front air bags in this vehicle have been designed to inflate in two stages. This allows the air bag to have different rates of inflation that are based on the rate of relevant vehicle deceleration as assessed by the air bag control unit. On the passenger side, the front air bag deployment is additionally influenced by the passenger's weight category as identified by the Occupant Classification System (OCS) ( page 71). The lighter the passenger side occupant, the higher the vehicle deceleration rate required for the second stage inflation of the air bag. The passenger air bag will only be deployed if the system, based on OCS weight sensor readings, senses that the front passenger seat is occupied the 75 indicator lamp in the center console is not lit ( page 74) the impact exceeds a preset deployment threshold Head-thorax air bags 1 Head-thorax air bag Knee bags The driver-side knee bag is located on the driver's side lower instrument panel. The passenger-side knee bag is located on the passenger side below the glove box. They are designed to operate together with the front air bags in certain frontal impacts exceeding a preset threshold. The knee bags operate best in conjunction with properly positioned and fastened seat belts. The head-thorax air bags are deployed in impacts exceeding a preset deployment threshold on the impacted side of the vehicle independently of the front air bags The head-thorax air bags are not deployed in impacts which do not exceed the system's deployment threshold. The air bags will not deploy in impacts which do not exceed the system's deployment thresholds. You will then be protected by the fastened seat belts. 70