2004 SKODA FABIA warning

Lights and Visibility65
Using the systemSafetyDriving TipsGeneral MaintenanceBreakdown assistanceTechnical Data
Rear-view mirror
You can adjust the exterior mirrors electrically*.
Adjust the reverse view mirror before commencing to drive so
that there is a clear view to the rear.
Dimming the interior mirror
– Pull the lever on the bottom edge of the mirror toward rear (the
lever on the interior mirror must point forwards in it home posi-
tion).
Heating of the external mirror*
– Turn the rotary knob to position
 ⇒ fig. 45 . Adjusting left and right exterior mirrors*
– Turn the rotary knob to position
. The movement of the mirror
surface is identical to the movement of the rotary knob. The
right hand exterior mirror is adjusted at the same time on vehi-
cles with electrically operated power windows.
Adjusting the right-h and exterior mirror*
– Turn the rotary knob to position
. The movement of the mirror
surface is identical to the movement of the rotary knob.
The exterior mirror heater only operates when the engine is running.
WARNING
•Convex (curved outward) or aspherical exterior mirrors
increase the vision field. They do, however, make objects appear
smaller in the mirror. These mirrors are only of limited use, there-
fore, for estimating distances to the following vehicles.
•Use whenever possible the interior rear mirror, for estimating
the distances to the following vehicles.
Note
•Do not touch the surface of the exterior mirrors if the exterior mirror
heater is switched on.
•You can set the exterior mirrors by hand, if the power setting function
fails at any time, by pressing on the edge of the mirror surface.
•Contact your Škoda dealer if a fault exists with the power setting of the
exterior mirrors.
Fig. 45 Inner part of
door: Rotary knob

Seats and Stowage
66
Seats and Stowage
Front seats
Basic information
The front seats have a wide range of different settings and can thus be
matched to the physical characteristics of the driver and front passenger.
Correct adjustment of the seats is particularly important for
•safely and quickly reaching the controls,
•a relaxed, fatigue-free body position,
•achieving the maximum protection offered by the seat belts and
the airbag system.
The chapters which follow describe the procedure which you should adopt
for adjusting the seats.
WARNING
•Never transport more occupants than the maximum seating in
the vehicle.
•Each occupant must correctly fasten the seat belt belonging to
the seat. Children must be fastened ⇒page 140, “Transporting
children safely” with a suitable restraint system.
•The front seats and the head restraints must always be adjusted
to match the body size of the seat occupant as well as the seat belts
must always be correctly fastened in order to provide an optimal
protection for you and your occupants.
•Always keep your feet in the footwell when the car is being
driven - never place your feet on the instrument panel, out of the
window or on the surfaces of the seats. This is particularly impor- tant for the front seat passenger. You will be exposed to increased
risk of injury if it becomes nece
ssary to apply the brake or in the
event of an accident. If an airbag is deployed, you may suffer fatal
injuries when adopting an incorrect seated position!
•It is important for the driver and front passenger to maintain a
distance of at least 25 cm from the steering wheel or dash panel.
Not maintaining this minimum distance will mean that the airbag
system will not be able to properly protect you - hazard! The front
seats and the head restraints must always also be correctly
adjusted to match the body size of the occupant.
•Ensure that there are no objects in the footwell as any objects
may get behind the pedals during a driving or braking manoeuvre.
You would then no longer be able to operate the clutch, to brake or
accelerate.
WARNING (continued)

Seats and Stowage67
Using the systemSafetyDriving TipsGeneral MaintenanceBreakdown assistanceTechnical Data
Adjusting the front seats
Adjusting a seat in a forward/back direction
– Pull the lever ⇒fig. 46 up and push the seat into the
desired position.
– Release the lever and push the seat further until the lock is heard to engage.
Adjusting height of seat*
– Lift the seat if required by pulling or pumping lever upwards.
– Lower the seat if required by pushing or pumping lever downwards. Adjusting angl
e of backrest
– Relieve any pressure on the backrest (do not lean on it) and turn the handwheel to adjust the angle of the backrest.
The driver's seat should be adjusted in such a way that the pedals can be
pressed to the floor with slightly bent legs.
The backrest on the driver's seat should be adjusted in such a way that
the upper point of the steering wheel can be easily reached with slightly
bent arms.
WARNING
•Only adjust the driver seat when the vehicle is stationary - risk
of injury!
•Take care when adjusting the seat! Adjusting the seat without
care can lead to bruises or injuries.
•The backrests must not be angled too far back when driving
otherwise this will affect proper operation of the seat belts and of
the airbag system - risk of injury!
Fig. 46 Controls at
seat
A1
A1
A2
A2
A3

Seats and Stowage69
Using the systemSafetyDriving TipsGeneral MaintenanceBreakdown assistanceTechnical Data
WARNING
•The head restraints must be correctly adjusted in order to offer
effective protection for the occupants in the event of an accident.
•Do not drive under any circumstance with removed head
restraints - risk of injury!
Middle rear head restraint*
The middle head restraints can be adjusted to two settings, the upper one
and the lower one. The upper setting is interlocked into place.
You must always press the securing button ⇒fig. 49 when removing the
head restraint and when pushing it out of the upper setting into the lower
setting.
WARNING
The head restraint on the middle rear seat must always be in the
upper locked position when someone is sitting there.
Heating the front seats*
The seating and leaning surfaces of the front seats can be heated
when the ignition is switched on.
Front seats
– Heating on the driver's ⇒fig. 50 and front pasenger's seat
can be switched on and regulated by turning the control dial
as required.
Fig. 49 Rear seats: the
position of the middle
head restraints
Fig. 50 Dash panel:
Control dial for heating
the front seats

Seats and Stowage71
Using the systemSafetyDriving TipsGeneral MaintenanceBreakdown assistanceTechnical Data
The rear seats and the seat ba ckrest can be folded forwards to
increase the volume of the luggage compartment ⇒page 72.
Both parts of the bank can be folded forward individually on vehi-
cles with a divided rear seat*.
Folding the rear seat forwards
– In order to avoid causing any damage when folding the rear seat forward it is important to adjust the front seats so that no
damage can occur when this is done.
– Pull up the rear seats in the direction of arrow ⇒page 70,
fig. 51 and fold forwards in direction of arrow .
– Pull up the unlocking knob on the seat backrest and fold the seat backrest forwards ⇒page 70, fig. 52.
– Pull the head restraints out of the seat backrest.
– The head restraints can be inserted into the relevant holes of the folded forwards rear seats ⇒fig. 53 .
– Fold the seat backrest forwards completely.
Folding the rear seat back into position
– Install the head restraints in the partially lifted rear seat back- rest.
– Then push the seat backrest back into the upright position until it clicks into place - check by pulling on it.
– Fold the rear seats back into its original position. WARNING
•The belt lock and pelvic belt must be in their original position
after folding back the rear seats and seat backrest - they must be
ready to use.
•The seat backrests must be securely interlocked in position so
that no objects in the luggage compartment can slide forward if
there is sudden braking - risk of injury.
•Ensure that the seat backrest on the rear seats is securely inter-
locked in position when the vehicle is fitted with three-point safety
belts for the middle rear seat. It is only then that the three-point seat
belt can reliably fulfil its function.
Inserting a head restraint in the rear seats
– The rear head restraints can be inserted into the relevant holes of the folded forwards rear seats.
A1
A2
Fig. 53 Rear seats:
Head restraint in rear
seats

Seats and Stowage
72
Remove the rear seats
The luggage compartment can be increased in size by removing
the rear seats
Removing
– Fold the rear seats forwards completely
– Press the wire clamp in the direction of the arrow ⇒fig. 54
and remove the rear seats from its holder.
Installing
– Press the wire clamp in the direction of the arrow and place the seat upholstery in its holder.
– Fold the rear seats back into its original position.
Pedals
You should use only footmats which do not obstruct the movement of the
pedals and have an anti-slip protection.
Operation of the pedals must not be hindered!
WARNING
•Greater pedal distances may be needed when there is a fault in
the brake system.
•Do not place any footmats or other additional floor coverings in
the area of the pedals in order to ensure that all the pedals can be
fully depressed and are able to return unobstructed to their initial
position - risk of accident!
•There must be no objects on the floor which could roll under the
pedals. You would then no longer be able to apply the brakes,
operate the clutch or accelerator - risk of accident!
Luggage compartment
Loading the luggage compartment
Please observe the following in the interest of having good
handling characteristics of your vehicle:
– Distribute the items of luggage as evenly as possible.
– Place heavy objects as far forward as possible.
Fig. 54 Remove the
rear seats

Seats and Stowage73
Using the systemSafetyDriving TipsGeneral MaintenanceBreakdown assistanceTechnical Data
– Attach the items of luggage to the lashing eyes or the safety
net* ⇒page 74.
In the event of an accident, there is such a high kinetic energy which is
produced by small and light objects that they can cause severe injuries.
The magnitude of the kinetic energy depends on the speed at which the
vehicle is travelling and on the weight of the object. The speed at which
the vehicle is travelling is in this case the more significant factor.
Example: In the event of a frontal collision at a speed of 50 km/h, an unse-
cured object with a weight of 4.5 kg produces an energy, which corre-
sponds to 20 times its own weight. This means that it results in a weight
of approx. 90 kg. You can imagine the injuries that can occur, if this “bullet”
is flying through the interior compartment and hits an occupant.
WARNING
•Store the objects in the luggage compartment and attach them
to the lashing eyes.
•Loose objects in the passenger compartment can be thrown
forward during a sudden manoeuvre or in case of an accident and
can injure the occupants or other oncoming traffic. This risk is still
increased, if the objects which are flying around are hit by a
deployed airbag. In this case, the objects which are thrown back
can injure the occupants - hazard.
•Please note that the handling properties of your vehicle may be
affected when transporting heavy objects as a result of the
displacement of the centre of gravity. The speed and style of
driving must be adjusted accordingly.
•The items carried in the luggage compartment should be stored
in such a way that no objects are able to slip forward if there are any
sudden driving or braking manoeuvres undertaken - risk of injury!
•Never drive with the boot lid slightly ajar or even fully opened
otherwise exhaust gases may get into the interior of the vehicle -
risk of poisoning!
•On no account exceed the permissible axle loads and the
permissible gross weight of the vehicle - risk of accident!
•Never transport occupants in the luggage compartment.
Caution
Please ensure that the heating elements of the rear window heater are not
damaged as a result of objects sliding in this area.
Note
•Tyre pressure must be adjusted to the load ⇒page 200, fig. 146 .
•The air circulation in the interior of the car helps to prevent the
windows from misting up. Stale air is diverted via the outlet nozzles into
the lateral trim panels of the luggage compartment. Check for yourself that
the outlet nozzles are not covered.
WARNING (continued)

Seats and Stowage
74
Lashing eyes
Eyes are located on the sides of the loading area for lashing the goods to
be loaded ⇒fig. 55 .
You can also attach a securing net* to these eyes for lashing small objects.
The securing net* and the fixing instruction is located in the well under the
floor covering of the lugagge compartment behind the spare wheel.
WARNING
•The load to be transported must be fixed in place in such a way
that it cannot move during the journey and when braking.
•If the items of luggage or objects are attached to the lashing
eyes with unsuitable or damaged lashing straps, injuries can occur
in the event of braking manoeuvres or accidents. In order to
prevent the items of luggage being thrown forward, always use suitable lashing straps which are firmly attached to the lashing
eyes. Never attach a child seat to the lashing eyes.
Folding double hooks*
Folding double hooks for attaching small items of luggage, such as bags
etc., are provided on both sides of the luggage compartment
⇒fig. 56 .
An item of luggage weighing up to 5 kg can be attached to each side of
the double hook.
Fig. 55 Luggage
compartment: Lashing
eyes
WARNING (continued)
Fig. 56 Luggage
compartment: Folding
double hooks