CLS Seatbelt/airbag systems
Thread Starter
Senior Member
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 351
Likes: 4
From: Christchurch, New Zealand
17 E220D, 11 E350 CDI(sold), 06 CLS320 CDI (sold), 05 Cadillac DeVille (gone), 04 E320 CDI (sold)
CLS Seatbelt/airbag systems
Hi, I have an 06 CLS CDI, in New Zealand.
I had the seatbelt warning disabled to avoid the annoying chime.
My understanding had been that the safety systems were aware whether the front passengers were wearing their belts or not, and deployed the airbag faster and sooner if the restraints were not in use. I still believe this is the case for US spec cars, where I understand the airbag is bigger and better than the European and Oceania spec cars?
Since according to the owners manual, the front airbags in my car will not deploy if the belts aren't fastened (although the US manual does not have this disclaimer) I now have some questions....
Why would MB do this? All the stats I have seen suggest that an airbag by itself will substantially reduce injury, even in the absence of belts. Deliberately not firing them seems counter-productive to me.
Is there any downside to putting a spare seatbelt end into the socket, so that the car believes the belt is fastened. Obviously this would return airbag availability and cause the tensioners to fire unnecessarily, but I can't see how I could be worse off - so there is only upside from this?
I assume that fitting US spec airbags to my car is not an option for cost and availability reasons....
All in all I am a bit disappointed, one of the reasons I bought the brand was for safety, but now I find that the car actually gives less protection than most other cars unless the belt is worn.
I had the seatbelt warning disabled to avoid the annoying chime.
My understanding had been that the safety systems were aware whether the front passengers were wearing their belts or not, and deployed the airbag faster and sooner if the restraints were not in use. I still believe this is the case for US spec cars, where I understand the airbag is bigger and better than the European and Oceania spec cars?
Since according to the owners manual, the front airbags in my car will not deploy if the belts aren't fastened (although the US manual does not have this disclaimer) I now have some questions....
Why would MB do this? All the stats I have seen suggest that an airbag by itself will substantially reduce injury, even in the absence of belts. Deliberately not firing them seems counter-productive to me.
Is there any downside to putting a spare seatbelt end into the socket, so that the car believes the belt is fastened. Obviously this would return airbag availability and cause the tensioners to fire unnecessarily, but I can't see how I could be worse off - so there is only upside from this?
I assume that fitting US spec airbags to my car is not an option for cost and availability reasons....
All in all I am a bit disappointed, one of the reasons I bought the brand was for safety, but now I find that the car actually gives less protection than most other cars unless the belt is worn.
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Joined: Mar 2007
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From: Chicago, IL
ML350, Lotus Elise
Hi, I have an 06 CLS CDI, in New Zealand.
I had the seatbelt warning disabled to avoid the annoying chime.
My understanding had been that the safety systems were aware whether the front passengers were wearing their belts or not, and deployed the airbag faster and sooner if the restraints were not in use. I still believe this is the case for US spec cars, where I understand the airbag is bigger and better than the European and Oceania spec cars?
Since according to the owners manual, the front airbags in my car will not deploy if the belts aren't fastened (although the US manual does not have this disclaimer) I now have some questions....
Why would MB do this? All the stats I have seen suggest that an airbag by itself will substantially reduce injury, even in the absence of belts. Deliberately not firing them seems counter-productive to me.
Is there any downside to putting a spare seatbelt end into the socket, so that the car believes the belt is fastened. Obviously this would return airbag availability and cause the tensioners to fire unnecessarily, but I can't see how I could be worse off - so there is only upside from this?
I assume that fitting US spec airbags to my car is not an option for cost and availability reasons....
All in all I am a bit disappointed, one of the reasons I bought the brand was for safety, but now I find that the car actually gives less protection than most other cars unless the belt is worn.
I had the seatbelt warning disabled to avoid the annoying chime.
My understanding had been that the safety systems were aware whether the front passengers were wearing their belts or not, and deployed the airbag faster and sooner if the restraints were not in use. I still believe this is the case for US spec cars, where I understand the airbag is bigger and better than the European and Oceania spec cars?
Since according to the owners manual, the front airbags in my car will not deploy if the belts aren't fastened (although the US manual does not have this disclaimer) I now have some questions....
Why would MB do this? All the stats I have seen suggest that an airbag by itself will substantially reduce injury, even in the absence of belts. Deliberately not firing them seems counter-productive to me.
Is there any downside to putting a spare seatbelt end into the socket, so that the car believes the belt is fastened. Obviously this would return airbag availability and cause the tensioners to fire unnecessarily, but I can't see how I could be worse off - so there is only upside from this?
I assume that fitting US spec airbags to my car is not an option for cost and availability reasons....
All in all I am a bit disappointed, one of the reasons I bought the brand was for safety, but now I find that the car actually gives less protection than most other cars unless the belt is worn.
at any rate you could either place a spare buckle in the seatbelt receiver or have a tech wire the receiver switch lead to make it appear fastened to the airbag computer. in the US people ask to have this done specifically to eliminate the seatbelt warning chime but in your case if it really activates the airbag then it will serve that purpose instead. if you do decide to go that route it involves buckling the belt and then measuring the resistance coming from the switch. the lead is then unplugged from the receiver and a resistor with the same value is placed across the lead ends on the computer side.
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Joined: May 2004
Posts: 911
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From: Rhode Island
Debadged 6-Speed '05 C320 Sports Coupe
By all means, don’t buckle up, if that’s your choice. Same for your choice on your passengers.
But, MB has designed a vehicle that will protect the occupants, if the systems are used, not disabled.
On a personal note, I had never been able to get my wife to buckle, unless I was standing over her as she left. Her current vehicle chimes continuously when driven over a coupla miles an hour, unless buckled. Now she always buckles and that’s fine by me.
