Mercedes-Benz 2002 ML 500, Operator'S Manual

Page: 73 / 539

72
Safety and Security
Occupant safety
The air bags will not deploy in impacts
which do not exceed the system’s deploy-
ment thresholds. You will then be protec-
ted by the fastened seat belts.
The passenger front air bag will only be
deployed if:
앫
the system, based on OCS weight sen-
sor readings, senses that the front
passenger seat is occupied
앫 the 59 indicator lamp in the
center console is not lit (
컄
page 85)
앫
the impact exceeds a preset deploy-
ment threshold
Side impact air bags, window curtain
air bags
1
Front side impact air bag
2
Window curtain air bag
3
Rear side impact air bag*
The side impact air bags and window
curtain air bags are deployed:
앫
on the impacted side of the vehicle
앫
in impacts exceeding a preset deploy-
ment threshold
앫 independently of the front air bags
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 front passenger-side, the front
air bag deployment is additionally influ-
enced by the passenger’s weight cate-
gory as identified by the Occupant
Classification System (OCS)
(
컄
page 81).
The lighter the front passenger-side
occupant, the higher the vehicle decel-
eration rate required for the second
stage inflation of the air bag.