Rear
Seat
Backrest
Extrastoragespaceisgainedbyfoldingthe
rearseatbackrestforward.
Foldingbackrestforward
I>PullleverAforwardandfoldthebackrest
down.
Foldingbackrestback
I>Tiltthebackrestbackuntilitclicksintoplace.
Whendoingthis,payattentiontotheseatbelt
guide(figure).
Note
Cabriolet:Donotfolduptherearseatbackrests
withthewindstopinstalled.
Steering
WheelAdjustment
A.Warning!
Riskofaccident.
Thesteeringwheelmaymovefurtherthan
desiredifyouattempttoadjustitwhile
driving.
Youmaylosecontrolofthevehicle.
I>Donotadjustthesteeringwheelwhiledriving.
Longitudinaladjustment
1.Pushlockingleverdownwards.
2.Adjuststeeringwheeltofitthechosenback-
restangleandseatpositionbymovingthe
steeringwheellongitudinally.
3.Swivellockingleverbackuntilyoufeelit
engage.
Ifnecessary,movesteeringwheelslightlylon-
gitudinally,toensureengagement.
Controls,Instruments
37
Airbag
Systems
TheAirbagsincombinationwiththesafetybelts
makesupasafetysystemwhichoffersthe
driverandthepassengerthegreatestknown
protectionfrominjuriesincaseofaccident.
Evenifyourvehicleisequippedwithairbags,
thesafetybeltsmustbewornatalltimes,
becausethefrontairbagsystemisonlyactu-
atedbyfrontalcollisionswithanimpactofsuffi-
cientseverity.
Seeshownfigureforrangesofeffectiveness.
44Controls,Instruments
Belowtheactuationthresholdoftheairbagsys-
tem,andduringtypesofcollisionswhichdonot
causetheactuationofthesystem,thesafety
beltsprovidetheprimaryprotectiontotheoccu-
pantswhencorrectlyworn.
Therefore,allpersonswithin
thevehicle
mustalwayswearsafety
belts(inmany
states,statelawrequirestheuseofsafety
belts).Seealsothechapter"SafetyBelts".
Thefrontairbagsarelocatedbehindthepadded
steeringwheelpanelonthedriver'ssideandon
thepassenger'ssideinthedashboard.
Thesideairbags(POSIP-PorscheSideImpact
ProtectionSystem)areinstalledinthedoors
underthedoortrimpanel.
Function
Thefrontairbagsaretriggeredduringafrontal
collisionofsufficientforce.
Intheeventofasideimpactofcorresponding
force,thesideairbagontheimpactsideistrig-
gered.
Theinflationprocessgeneratestheamountof
gasrequiredtofilltheairbagsatthenecessary
pressureinfractionsofasecond.
Airbagsprotectthefaceandupperbody,whilst
simultaneouslydampingthemotionofthedriver
andpassengerintheimpactdirectioninthe
eventofafrontalimpactorsideimpact.
A.Danger!
Toprovide
optimaloccupantprotection,
airbagsmustinflateatveryhighspeed.
Ifyouarenotwearingyoursafetybeltor
aretooclosetotheairbagwhenitsde-
ployed,inflatingairbagscanresultin
seriousinjuryordeath.
t>
Makesuretherearenopeople,animalsor
objectsbetweenthedriverorpassengerand
theareaintowhichtheairbaginflates.
t>Sitbackasfarfromthedashboardorsteer-
ingwheelasispractical,whilestillmaintaining
fullvehiclecontrol.
t>Donotleanagainsttheinsideofthedoors.
t>
Alwaysholdthesteeringwheelbytheouter
rim.
Neverrestyourhandsontheairbagpanel.
t>
Nevertransportheavyobjectsonorinfront
ofthepassengerseat.
t>
Alwayskeepthelidofthedoorstoragecom-
partmentclosed.Objectsmustnotprotrude
outofthedoorstoragecompartment.
t>
Giveyourpassengeralloftheinformationin
thischapter.
t>No
changesmustbemadetothewiringor
componentsoftheairbagsystem.
t>Donotaddanyadditionalcoveringsor
stickerstothesteeringwheelorinthearea
ofthepassengerairbagandsideairbags.
Doingsomayadverselyaffectthefunctioning
oftheairbagsystemorcauseharmtothe
occupantsiftheairbagsystemshoulddeploy.
t>Donotundertakeanywiringforelectricalac-
cessoryequipmentinthevicinityoftheairbag
wiringharnesses.Doingsomaydisablethe
airbagsystemorcauseinflation.
t>Ifthewarninglightcomeson,theairbagsys-
temshouldberepairedimmediatelybyyour
authorizedPorschedealer.
Note
Airbagcomponents(e.g.steeringwheel,door
trim)maybedisassembledonlybyanauth-
orizedPorschedealer.
Whendisposingofausedairbagunit,oursafety
instructionsmustbefollowed.Theseinstructions
canbeobtainedatanyauthorizedPorsche
dealer.
{)Warninglight
Thecentraltriggeringunitmonitorstheoper-
ationalreadinessoftheairbagsystemandthe
warninglight.
Anymalfunctionsthatmayoccurwillbeindi-
catedbythewarninglightsintheinstrument
panelandon-boardcomputer.
t>Inthefollowingcasesyoushouldimme-
diatelyconsultanauthorizedPorsche
dealerinordertoassuretheairbagsys-
temisfunctioningproperly:
-
Illuminationoftheairbagwarninglightduring
travelorrepeatedilluminationlongerthan5
secondsaftertheignitioncircuitisturned
on.
-
Illuminationfailstolightupduringignitioncir-
cuitactivation.
Iftheairbagsonthepassenger'ssideare
switchedoffbythechild
restraint
system,or
ifaninstalledchildrestraintsystemisdetected
whentheignitionisswitchedon,thewarning
lightflashesfor60secondswhentheignition
is
on.
A.Danger!
Ifthelightdoesnotflash,theairbagsare
notdeactivatedandachildrestraintsys-
temmustnotbeinstalled.
t>
Havethefaultremediedimmediatelybyan
authorizedPorschedealer.
Airbagmaintenance
Inordertoensurelong-termfunctioning,theair-
bagsystemmustbeinspectedbyanauthorized
Porschedealerafter4,8and10yearsfromthe
dateofmanufactureshownonthesafetycom-
pliancesticker,andevery2yearsthereafter.
Importantinformation
IfyousellyourPorsche,notifythepurchaser
thatthevehicleisequippedwithairbags,and
referthemtothechapter,"AirbagSystems",in
theowner'smanual(safetyanddisposalrules).
Furtherinformationontheairbagsystemcanbe
foundonstickersatthesunvisors,aswellas
onallairbagcomponents.
Forspecialrecommendationsontheuseofchild
restraints,pleaserefertothechapteron"Child
RestraintSystems".
Controls,Instruments
45
Loweringthesupplemental
safety
bars
afterdeployment
A
Warning!
Seriousinjuriestohandsandfingersmay
occurfromcrushingandpinchingatall
movingpartsandintheareaofthetrim
panelcut-out.
[>
Donotoperatethelockingleverbyhand.
[>Slowlyandverycarefullypushthesupplemen-
talsafetybarsbackin.
Pushthesupplementalsafetybarsbacktotheir
originalpositionsonlyiftheyweretriggeredwith
theconvertibletopopen.Iftheconvertibletopis
closedorthehardtopisfitted,havethiswork
performedbyanauthorizedPorschedealer.
1.TakeleverAofthewheelboltwrenchoutof
thetoolkit.
2.PresslockingleverBusingleverAinthe
directionindicatedbythearrowandmaintain
theforceonthelever.
3.Pushthesupplementalsafetybararoundhalf-
waydownandpulloutleverA.
4.Slowlypushdownthesupplementalsafety
baruntilitcanbefelttoengage.
5.CloseandengagecoverflapC.
6.Repeattheprocedureontheothersup-
plementalsafetybar.
Controls,Instruments
47
ClutchPedal
Theclutchpedalmustbedepressedfully
beforethestarterwillengage.
/!\.Warning!
Riskofanaccident.
I>Alwayscheckthemovementoftheclutch
pedalbeforedrivingandmakesurethatitis
notobstructedbyafloormatoranyother
object.
I>Securethefloormattopreventitfromsliding
intopositionsthatcouldinterferewiththe
safeoperationofyourvehicle.
YourPorschedealerwillbegladtoofferyou
floormatsofthecorrectsizeincludingase-
curingpossibility.
Toavoiddamagetotheclutchandtrans-
mission:
I>Alwaysdepresstheclutchpedalfullywhen
changinggears.
I>Donotholdthecaronasteepgradewiththe
clutchpedalpartiallydepressed.
Shouldthefreetraveloftheclutchpedalsud-
denlybecomebigger,itcouldmeanamalfunc-
tionoftheclutch.SeeyourPorschedealerfor
correction.
52Controls,Instruments
ParkingBrake
Parkingbrakeforceismechanicallytransferred
totherearwheelsbymeansofcables.
I>Usetheparkingbrakeonlyafterthevehicle
hascometoafullstop.
Setting
theparkingbrake
I>Pulltheleverallthewayup(seearrow).
Withtheignitionon,theparkingbrakewarn-
inglightsintheinstrumentpanelandon-board
computerwillcomeoniftheleveriseven
slightlyraised.Afirmpullupwardisrequired
toproperlyengagetheparkingbrake.
Ifthebrakeisnotfullyset,thevehiclemay
rollwithoutcontrol.
I>Movetheselectorleverto"P"(Tiptronic)or
movethegearshiftlevertoreverseorfirst
gear(Manualtransmission).
I>Beforeexitingthevehicle,makesurethatthe
parkingbrakeisfullysetandthevehicleis
notmovingatall.
Releasingtheparkingbrake
I>Pulltheleverslightlyupasyoudepressthe
releasebuttonA,andthenpushtheleverall
thewaydown.
.
@
ParkingbrakewarninglightUSA
Parkingbrakewarninglight
Canada
Thewarninglightswillgooutaftertheparking
brakeisfullyreleased.
Thewarninglightsarenotanindicatorthatthe
parkingbrakeisfullyset;itisonlyintendedto
beawarningtoreleasetheparkingbrakebe-
foredrivingthecar.
ACaution!
Apartiallyengagedbrakewilloverheatthe
rearbrakes,reducetheireffectivenessand
causeexcessivewear.
[>
Releasetheparkingbrakefully.
[>
Whenparkingyourcar,alwayssettheparking
brakebypullingallthewayuponthelever.
[>
Movetheselectorleverto"P"(Tiptronic)or
movethegearshiftlevertoreverseorfirst
gear(Manualtransmission).
[>
Onhillsalsoturnthefrontwheelstowardsthe
curb.
Brakes
[>Makeitahabittochecktheoperationofyour
brakesbeforedriving.
Keepinmindthatthebrakingdistanceincreases
veryrapidlyasthespeedincreases.At60mph
or100km/h,forexample,itisnottwicebut
fourtimeslongerthan30mphor50km/h.Tire
tractionisalsolesseffectivewhentheroadsare
wetorslippery.
[>Therefore,alwaysmaintainasafedistance
fromthecarinfrontofyou.
Note
Eventhoughthebrakediscsconsistofalloyed
greycastiron,theywillunavoidablystarttocor-
rodeifyourcarisparkedforanextended
period.Thebrakeswilltendto"rub"asthere-
sult.
Thenature,extentandeffectsofcorrosionde-
pendontheamountoftimethevehiclewas
parked,whethergranularorliquidroadsaltwas
spreadandwhethergrease-dissolvingagents
wereusedincarwashes.
Ifthebrakingcomfortisnoticeablyimpaired,we
recommendhavingthebrakesystemchecked
byexpertsatanauthorizedPorschedealer.
Brakesystemfunction
YourPorscheisequippedwithapowerassisted
hydraulicdualcircuitbrakesystemwithdisc
brakesatthefrontandrear.
Bothcircuitsfunctionindependently.Onebrake
circuitoperatesthefrontandtheotheroperates
therear.
Ifonebrakecircuithasfailed,theotherwillstill
operate.However,youwillnoticeanincreased
pedaltravelwhenyouapplythebrakes.
Failureofonebrakecircuitwillcausethestop-
pingdistancetoincrease.
A
Warning!
Riskofanaccident.
Intheunlikelyeventofhydraulicfailureof
onebrakecircuit:
[>
Pushthebrakepedaldownfirmlyandholdit
inthatposition.
Amechanicallinkageactivatesthesecondcir-
cuit,andyouwillbeabletobringthevehicle
toastop.
[>
Afterbringingyourvehicletoacomplete
stop,avoiddrivingthevehicleandinstead
haveittowedtothenearestauthorized
Porschedealerforrepair.
[>[>[>
Controls,Instruments
53
ABSBrakeSystem
(AntilockBrakeSystem)
TheABSsystemrepresentsamajorcontribution
totheenhancementofactivesafetyinyourve-
hicle.
Thissystempreventsthewheelsfrom
lockinginapanicstoponalmostallroadsur-
faces.
56
Controls,Instruments
With
theABSsystem
inyour
vehicle,the
following
areasareenhanced:
Steering,vehicleremainssteerable
underall
brakingforceswhenABSisengaged.
Good
directionalcontrol,
noswervingcaused
bylockingofwheelsunderbrakingconditions.
Shorterstopping
distance,
stoppingdistances
areusuallyreducedbecausecontrolledbraking
ismaximized.
Preventionofwheellockup,nobrake-
inducedslidingandthusnolocalizedtirewear
fromemergencybraking.
ThecrucialadvantageoftheABSsystemovera
conventionalbrakesystemisintheareaof
maintainingdirectionalcontrolandmaneuvera-
bilityofthecarinemergencysituationsduring
normaldriving,includingpanicbrakinginturns.
A.Warning!
Theincreasedcontrolthatisprovided
shouldnotinduceyoutotakegreaterrisks
withyoursafety.Thelimitsdictatedbythe
lawsofphysicscannotbeovercome,even
withABS.
Theriskofaccidentsduetoinappropriate
speedcannotbereduced,evenbytheABS.
Thedriverbearstheresponsibilityforall
drivingmaneuvers.
[>
Adaptyourdrivingstyletotheprevailingroad
andweatherconditions.
[>Obeyalltrafficlaws.
OthervehiclesnotequippedwiththeABS
systemmaynotbeabletomaintaincon-
trol,especiallyonwetorpoorroadsur-
facesandthusmaybemorelikelytoim-
pactyoufrombehind.
[>
Tominimizethatrisk,useyourABSsystem
toincreaseyourabilitytomaneuvertoavoid
dangeroussituationsandnotmerelytotryto
stopintheshortestdistancepossible.
OperationoftheABSsystem
Awheelspeedsensorismountedtoeachofthe
fourwheels.Ifwheellock-upofeitherofthe
frontwheelsortherearwheelsissensedduring
braking,thebrakepressureisadjustedautomat-
icallyuntilthewheelnolongerslips.Thebrake
pressureisregulatedforeachfrontwheelindi-
viduallyandforbothoftherearwheels
together.
Onaroadsurfacewhichisslipperyononlyone
side,therearwheelwhichisbrakingontheslip-
perysurfacedeterminesthebrakepressure
whichwillbeappliedequallytobothrearwheels.
Thisensuresthatdirectionalstabilityismain-
tained.However,ifbrakingforcesapproachthe
wheellock-uppointforallwheels(panicbraking)
theABSsystemwillintervenetoprovidearapid
rythmicbraking.
TheproperoperationofABSisperceivedbythe
driverasapulsatingbrakepedalinconjunction
withaudiblenoiseandperhapssomevibration.
I>Ifyouexperiencethesesensationswhiledriv-
ingoraroadsurfacewithquestionabletrac-
tion,reducevehiclespeedappropriateforthe
prevailingroadconditions.
Thefunctionalreadinessofallthemainelectrical
componentsoftheABSischeckedbyanelec-
tronicmonitoringsystembothbeforeandwhile
youdrive.
8
WarninglightUSA
@
WarninglightCanada
WhentheignitionisswitchedontheABSwarn-
inglightwilllightupwhilethesystemiselec-
tronicallyinterrogatedandgoesoutwhenthe
engineisstartedifthecheckisnotyetcom-
plete.
IftheABSwarninglampfailstogoout,thisindi-
catesthatABShasbeendeactivatedduetoa
fault.Ifthewarninglightsintheinstrumentpanel
andon-boardcomputerlightupwhileyouare
driving,thisindicatesthatafaulthasoccurred.
Inbothcases,normalbraking,asinvehicles
withoutABS,isstillretained.
TheABSsystemshould,however,beexamined
atanauthorizedPorschedealerimmediatelyto
preventtheoccurrenceoffurtherfaults.
I>IftheABSsystembecomesinoperative,take
yourvehicletoyourauthorizedPorsche
dealerimmediately.
/!\Warning!
ThecontrolunitoftheABSbrakesystemis
setforstandardtiresize.Ifnon-standard
tiresareinstalled,thecontrolunitmaymis-
interpretthespeedofthevehicle,because
ofthevariantdataitreceivesfromthesen-
sorsontheaxles.
I>Useonlytiremakesandtypestestedby
Porsche.
Controls,Instruments
57