Transporting children safely
Vehicle equipment
All standard, country-specific and optional
equipment that is offered in the model series is
described in this chapter. Therefore, equipment
is also described that is not available in a vehicle,
e. g., because of the selected optional equip‐
ment or country variant. This also applies for
safety-related functions and systems.
The right place for children
Note
Children in the vehicle
Do not leave children unattended in the
vehicle; otherwise, they could endanger them‐
selves and other persons, e.g., by opening the
doors.◀
Children should always be in the rear
Accident research shows that the safest place
for children is in the back seat.
Transporting children in the rear
Only transport children younger than
13 years of age or shorter than 5 ft/150 cm in the
rear in child restraint fixing systems provided in
accordance with the age, weight and size of the
child; otherwise, there is an increased risk of in‐
jury in an accident.
Children 13 years of age or older must wear a
safety belt as soon as a suitable child restraint
fixing system can no longer be used, due to their
age, weight and size.◀
Children on the front passenger seat
Should it ever be necessary to use a child re‐
straint fixing system in the front passenger seat,
make sure that the front, knee and side airbags
on the front passenger side are deactivated. Au‐
tomatic deactivation of front passenger airbags,
refer to page 101.Note
Deactivated front passenger airbags
If a child restraint fixing system is used in
the front passenger seat, the front passenger
airbags must be deactivated; otherwise, there is
an increased risk of injury to the child when the
airbags are triggered, even with a child restraint
fixing system.◀Installing child restraint fixing
systems
Before mounting
If the rear seat backrests are adjustable or can
be folded down:
Lock the rear seat backrests in position
Before mounting child restraint fixing sys‐
tems, place the seat backrest as far as possible
at an angle at which the child seat is resting
firmly against the backrest and all backrests can
be locked securely in place. Otherwise, the child
seat will not be as stable as it should be, and
there is increased danger of injury due to unex‐
pected movement of the seat backrest.◀Notes
Manufacturer's information for child re‐
straint fixing systems
To select, mount and use child restraint fixing
systems, observe the information provided by
the system manufacturer; otherwise, the pro‐
tective effect can be impaired.◀Controls Transporting children safely