I have a 2006 ML500 and have had this problem since the vehicle was new. If the vehicle is running and a front passenger gets out, I get a message "Front Passenger Air Bag De-Activated - See Oper.'s Man." and my console computer says that I have 1 Malfunction. Simalarly I get "Front Passenger Air Bag Activated - See Oper.'s Man." with a 1 Malfunction when a front passenger gets in after the engine is started. If I turn the engine off and restart the vehicle the 1 Malfunction message disappears. This problem was corrected twice before and now that this problem has re-ocurred the dealer tells me that this is normal and that "it is required to turn the ignition off, have the passenger remove themselves from the seat and adjust the seat, then turn car back on and let paasenger back into vehicle." In my opinion this is totally ridiculous for a Mercedes-Benz. I should NOT be getting 1 Malfunction if this is normal. Is the dealer correct in saying this is normal. Thank You.

Unfortunately, this is a case of poor German-to-English translating. The message you're getting is simply alerting you that the readiness status of the passengers' airbag has changed. It's definitely not a malfunction. Now, if you get that message even though no one has entered or exited the vehicle, that would be a malfunction.

FWIW, I'm asked the same question a few times every month, mostly by new owners unfamiliar with this feature.

I agree that the message I'm getting is simply alerting me that the readiness status of the passengers' airbag has changed, but why does my computer console say that I have 1 Malfunction.
jfurlan

Sorry for the delayed response.

To put it simply, MB made a mistake in the phrasing. Like I posted previously, it's a translation issue. Later models have changed the wording to read "Message", instead of "Malfunction".

Thanks for the reply. I guess I'll have to live with seeing "1 Malfunction" and wait to stop and restart my SUV to get rid of the message or not start the engine until the front passenger is seated so I don't have to see that "1 Malfunction" message. Doesn't seam right for a Mercedes. John

You don't have to display the message. You can simply press the "R" button. By doing this, you've acknowledged/accepted the message, and it will disappear. The instrument cluster will then return to whichever screen was displayed prior to the message.

I did not give up on my problem. I took my ML500 to the dealership in Sarasota, FL and had an Assistant Service Manager that also agreed with me that getting a "1 Malfunction" message on a Mercedes-Benz vehicle was not acceptable. The following is what they did "31222 Perform SDS test found no codes in WSS or SRS. Customer states 1 Malfunction shows. Reconnect SDS and perform WSS recalibration of passenger seat."

This has finally corrected the problem.
John

Something doesn't make sense.

The WSS (Weight Sensing System) not only determines if the passenger seat is occupuied, but classifies the occupant into one of several categories; large adult, small adult, child, baby-smart seat installed, or unoccupied. This information is needed for SRS to determine the correct threshold/deployment stage when firing the airbags. From time to time, the seat may need to be calibrated to set the correct "zero-point". From your explanation, it appears that WSS was reporting an occupant even though there was none. If this was the case, you'd have had the seat belt warning chime going off all the time, since the car thinks there's someone in the passenger seat who's not wearing their seat belt.

I think the dealer in FLA did the right thing by scanning the system for faults. Keep in mind though, that they'd like to get paid for their time, and MBUSA won't pay for "No problem found". I think they performed the seat calibration so they could cover all the bases on your behalf, and still get paid by MB warranty. Of course, I could be wrong, but I've been down this road many times, each time with the same result. Keep an eye on it, and let me know what happens.