2003 SAAB 9-3 Owners Manual

17 Safety
Backrest rake angleTo find the most comfortable position, turn
the knob to provide stepless adjustment of
the backrest.
Lumbar supportAdjust the firmness of the lumbar support by
turning the knob.
WARNING
The backrest should be upright during
driving, so that the safety belt, airbag and
backrest can provide optimum protection
in the event of emergency braking or a
crash, in particular a rear-end collision.
Adjusting the backrest
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18 SafetyElectrically adjustable front seats
(option)With the doors closed the seats can only be
adjusted when the ignition is ON.
However, there are two exceptions:
 To facilitate getting into the car, both seats
can be adjusted when either of the front
doors is open.
 The seats can be adjusted up to
20 seconds after both doors have been
closed (applicable only to cars without
window and sunroof pinch protection).
Height adjustment and seat angleAdjust the height of the seat with the rear
section of the front lever.
Adjust the angle of the seat with the front
section of the front lever.
Legroom adjustmentAdjust the legroom with the front lever.
WARNING
 The seats are actuated by powerful
motors. Bear this in mind when adjust-
ing the seat, and make sure that noth-
ing gets caught and damaged. Ensure
that nothing can be trapped behind the
seat when adjusting it.
 Bear in mind that children can be
injured if they play with the electrically-
operated seats.
Always remove the remote control
when you leave the car to prevent
personal injury caused by the electri-
cally adjustable seats, for example,
due to children playing.
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19 Safety
Backrest rake angleAdjust the rake angle of the backrest with
the rear lever.
Lumbar support, driver’s seatAdjust the firmness of the lumbar support by
turning the knob.
Memory function (option)The legroom of the driver’s seat with
memory can always be adjusted, irrespec-
tive of whether or not one of the front doors
is open. Nor does the position of the ignition
switch make any difference. If the ignition is
ON, all adjustments can be made. When a
front door is open, all seat settings can be
adjusted for up to 20 minutes.
The memory also includes the door mirror
settings.
Storing and restoring settings
1 Adjust the seat and the door mirrors.
The lumbar support is not included by
the memory function.
2 Press and hold the M-button and then
press one of the preselect buttons (1, 2
or 3). A chime will sound to confirm that
the settings have been saved.
WARNING
The backrest should be upright during
driving, so that the safety belt, airbag and
backrest can provide optimum protection
in the event of emergency braking or a
crash, in particular a rear-end collision.
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20 SafetyTo recall programmed settings, press and
hold the desired memory button while the
seat and door mirrors adopt their
programmed positions. The memory func-
tion also includes the door mirror settings.
To facilitate reversing, the passenger-side
door mirror can be angled down, refer to
page 110.
Head restraintsThe front seats are equipped with Saab
Active Head Restraints (SAHRs). These
reduce the risk of neck injury if the car is hit
from behind.
In the event of a rear-end crash, the body is
forced back against the backrest. This, in
turn, causes the mechanism to press the
head restraint forward and upward, thus lim-
iting the backward movement of the head.
The SAHR is a mechanical system, actu-
ated by body weight. The mechanism is built
into the top of the backrest, where it is con-
nected to the head restraint.Therefore, the SAHR does not normally
need to be replaced or repaired after a rear-
end crash.
The front and rear head restraints can be
raised and lowered to a number of positions.
 Raising: grasp the head restraint on both
sides and pull it straight up.
 Lowering: Press the head restraint
forward and downward.
The rear head restraints can be lowered
fully to improve rearward vision when the
rear seats are unoccupied.
WARNING
 Adjust the head restraint so that the
head is optimally supported and the
center of the head restraint is at ear
height, thus reducing the likelihood of
neck injury in a crash.
 Raise the head restraints in the seats
that are occupied.
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21 Safety
Child safety
Protect your children from getting
trapped in the trunk of a car
WARNING
 Children must always be suitably
restrained in the car.
 DEATH or SERIOUS
INJURY can occur
Children 12 and under or
shorter than 55 inches
(140 cm) can be killed by the airbag
 The BACK SEAT is the SAFEST place
for children
 NEVER put a rear-facing child seat in
the front
 Sit as far back as possible from the
airbag
 ALWAYS use SAFETY BELTS and
CHILD RESTRAINTS
WARNING
 Never leave your children unattended
in a car, even for a short time.
– Children can suffer heat stroke,
perhaps die, in a matter of minutes.
– Children can put the car into gear and
hurt themselves or others.
 At gas stations, take the remote
control from the car while filling the
tank.
 Never allow children to climb on top of
or under motor vehicles.
 Always look for children before back-
ing your motor vehicle out of a garage
or driveway.
 To avoid carbon monoxide poisoning,
never let a car idle in the garage.
 Supervise young children around
buckets of water while washing your
car. Small children can drown in
seconds in less than an inch of water.
WARNING
 Teach your children not to play in or
around cars.
 Watch your children when loading or
unloading the car so they don´t get
locked in by mistake.
 Always lock the doors and trunk of
your car, and keep the keys out of chil-
dren´s sight and reach.
 Keep the rear fold-down seat closed to
help prevent children from getting into
the trunk from inside the car.
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22 SafetyThe same attention must be given to child
safety in the car as is given to adults.
Saab recommends rearward facing
restraints for children 3 and under.
Children travel most safely when properly
restrained, but restraints must be suitable
for the size of the child.
Make sure you are acquainted with the
legal requirements for seating children
in the car.
Make sure that it is possible to fit a child
restraint in accordance with the manufac-
turer’s child restraint instructions.
When fitting child restraints in cars you
must always read the instructions sup-
plied by the child restraint manufacturer.
LATCHLATCH (Lower Anchorages & Top tethers
for CHildren) is a US/Canadian safety stan-
dard for a uniform method of fitting child
restraints without using the standard safety
belts. Only certain child restraints are
equipped to utilize the LATCH system.
The LATCH system is installed in the car to
facilitate proper fitting of child restraints
designed for and equipped with LATCH
attachments.
The LATCH system consists of top tether
and lower anchorages (also called ISOFIX).
In this vehicle, LATCH is installed at the two
outboard seating positions in the rear seat,
and there is a top tether on the rear center
position. The top tethers are located on top
of the parcel shelf, see page 24. They are
covered by a lid with a child seat anchor symbol. The lower anchorages are located
where the seat cushion and seat back come
together. There is a label above the inner
lower anchorage, see picture above. Label
consists of a symbol of a child restrained in
a seat inside a circle.
Saab recommends rearward facing
restraints for children 3 and under.
If you have any questions regarding LATCH
please contact your Saab dealer.Lower anchorages (ISOFIX) in the rear seat
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23 Safety
LATCH child seat installation
Before starting the installation, please read
through this instruction, and the child seat
installation instruction.
1 Place the child restraint on one of the
designated outboard rear seat cush-
ions.
2 Slide the attachment on the child
restraint in between the seat cushion
and backrest.
3 Press the child restraint down on the
seat, 1 in illustration.
4 Press the child restraint rearward, lining
up the inner restraint attachment arm
with the label, 2 in illustration.
5 Connect the restraint attachment arms
to the anchorages 3 in illustration.
6 Follow the child restraint instructions to
confirm that both restraint attachment
arms are properly attached to the bars.7 Attach the top tether strap to the in-car
anchorage and tighten according to the
restraint instructions
8 Pull the child restraint to make a second
check that the restraint is securely
attached at both the lower anchorage
bars and the top tether strap.
Only use the belt supplied with the child
restraint.
For the top tether, only use the strap sup-
plied with the child restraint.
The availability of LATCH child restraints is
limited.
When fitting child restraints in cars you
must always read the instructions sup-
plied by the child restraint manufacturer.
Rigid 2-point lower anchorage with top
tether
Semi-rigid 2-point lower anchorage with
top tether
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24 SafetyChild tether anchorages for forward
facing child seatsChild restraints with a tether strap must be
attached according to Canadian and U.S.
safety standards.The car is provided with three top tether
anchorages. Use the one that is right behind
the child restraint and attach the restraint as
follows:
1 Open the cover that is right behind the
child restraint, 1 in illustration.
2 Place the child restraint in the rear seat.
3 Secure the lower part of the child
restraint by means of the lower anchor-
ages (ISOFIX) or the safety belts as
described in the child restraint installa-
tion instruction.
4 Lower the headrest and route the tether
over it.
5 Attach the tether to the anchorage, 2 in
illustration.
6 Close the cover to the middle position, 3
in illustration.7 Tighten the tether so that the back of the
child restraint is pressed hard against
the backrest.
8 Pull the child restraint to make a second
check that the restraint is securely
attached at both the lower anchorages
bars on the safety belts and the top
tether strap.
WARNING
Child top tether anchorages are designed
to withstand only those loads imposed by
correctly fitted child restraints.
Under no circumstances are they to be
used for adult safety belts.
Child tether anchorages in parcel shelf
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