
Controls, Safety, Instruments
45
A- Switches seat heating on
B- Switches seat heating off
C- Temperature control for left seat
D- Temperature control for right seatRear seat heating in vehicles with an
four-zone air conditioning systemSwitching on
fPress button A.
After the seat heating is switched on, the air
conditioning display switches to seat heating
mode for approx. 10 seconds.Controlling the temperature
fMove button C or button D upwards or down-
wards until the desired position is reached.
Switching off
fPress button B.

52
Controls, Safety, Instruments
Function of the airbag systemThe front airbags are triggered during a frontal col-
lision of sufficient force and direction.
In the event of a side impact of corresponding
force, the side airbag on the impact side is
triggered.
The inflation process generates the amount of gas
required to fill the airbags at the necessary pres-
sure in fractions of a second.
Airbags help to protect the head and upper body,
while simultaneously damping the motion of the
driver and passenger in the impact direction in the
event of a frontal impact or side impact.
Your vehicle is equipped with a crash sensing and
diagnostic module. This module will record the
use of the seat belt restraint system by the driver
and front passenger when the airbags and/or belt
tentioner are triggered.
Precondition for activating the restraint systems:
– Ignition is switched on.Advanced Airbag
Your vehicle is equipped with weight sensing for
the passenger's seat in accordance with U.S. Fed-
eral/Canadian Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
208.
Depending on the weight acting on the passen-
ger's seat, the passenger's airbag will automati-
cally be switched on and off.
Depending on the angle and force of impact, the
passenger's airbag which is switched-on will be
triggered during a collision.
Precondition for switching the passenger's airbag
on and off, depending on weight:
– Ignition is switched on.Seat adjustment for the passenger's seat
If the seat is in an extreme position (e.g., the back-
rest is in contact with the rear seat bench), the
backrest can warp. Warping of the backrest can
lead to malfunctions.
fCorrect the seat adjustment.
The seat is not jammed and is self-supporting.
The backrest is in the upright position.
fDo not transport a load and objects in the rear
footwell or under the passenger's seat.
If the load or objects are under the seat, they
can cause malfunctions.
If the weight on the passenger's seat is reduced
significantly, e.g., by supporting weight on the
armrest, the passenger's airbag can be switched
off.
fSelect an upright seat position, and do not sup-
port weight on the armrests or lean out of the
window.
Always keep feet in the footwell while driving.
Do not put feet on the dashboard or the seat
area. Do not lean against the inside of the door
or outside the window while the vehicle is mov-
ing.
If the passenger's seat is warped significantly, a
message is displayed in the multi-purpose display
in the instrument panel:
fCorrect the seat adjustment.
fPlease observe the chapter “WARNING LIGHTS
AND WARNING MESSAGES” on Page 124.

Controls, Safety, Instruments
53
Automatic deactivation of the passenger
airbags
Danger!
The use of a child restraint system in the
front passenger seat can result in serious
personal injury or death to the child from an
airbag deployment.
To reduce risk of injury from an inflating air-
bag in an accident, Porsche strongly recom-
mends:
fUnder all normal circumstances, the child seat
must be placed in the rear.
Do not use a child restraint system in the front passenger seat.
Before transporting a child on the passenger seat:
fPlease observe the chapter “CHILD RES-
TRAINT SYSTEMS” on Page 55.
– When an up to one-year old child is seated
in the child restraint system, the front airbag is
automatically deactivated on the passenger
side.
– When an adult is seated in the front seat the
front airbag remains active on the passenger‘s
side.
A- PASSENGER AIRBAG OFF indicator lampNote on operation
Although not desired, it can occur in the case of
heavier children that the passenger airbags re-
main active or, in the case of very light adults or
young persons, that the passenger airbag is deac-
tivated.
The condition of the passenger airbag system is
shown by the indicator lamp A in the central con-
sole.
fIf in doubt, fasten the child restraint system on
the rear bench or transport the passenger on
the rear bench.Note
fAfter switching on the ignition, the PASSEN-
GER AIRBAG OFF warning light lights up for a
few seconds as a check.
If there is a change in status in the PASSENGER
AIRBAG OFF indicator lamp, a message is dis-
played in the multi-purpose display in the instru-
ment panel:
fPlease observe the chapter “WARNING LIGHTS
AND WARNING MESSAGES” on Page 124.
PASSENGER AIRBAG OFF indicator lamp
lights up
– The passenger's airbag is switched off.

56
Controls, Safety, Instruments
Using child restraint systems in the front
passenger seat
Danger!
The use of a child restraint system in the
front passenger seat can result in serious
personal injury or death to the child from an
airbag deployment.
To reduce risk of injury from an inflating air-
bag in an accident, Porsche strongly recom-
mends:
fUnder all normal circumstances, the child seat
must be placed in the rear.
Do not use a child restraint system in the front passenger seat.However, there may be serious situations where it
might be necessary to place a child in the front
seat so that he/she can be kept under direct ob-
servation to prevent an immediate risk to the child
(for example, while driving to the doctor or hospi-
tal). The following instructions are provided to you
solely for that purpose.
fSeek appropriate advice from your authorized
Porsche dealer about the possible installation
of a Porsche child restraint system.
fIf a child restraint system must be fastened to
the passenger's seat, adjust the passenger's
seat as far away from the airbag as possible.
fIf emergency or other serious conditions re-
quire a child to be placed in the front seat, ex-
ercise extreme caution and defensive driving
of your vehicle. You must recognize that any
substantial frontal impact could result in the
deployment of the passenger airbag, which
could lead to serious injury or death of the
child.Child restraint system for up to one-year old
children
If the child restraint system must be fastened to
the passenger's seat in exceptional cases:
– make sure that the PASSENGER AIRBAG OFF
indicator lamp lights up.
– adjust the passenger's seat as far away from
the airbag as possible
Danger!
Risk of serious personal injury or death due
to the passenger airbag triggering uninten-
tionally.
When the ignition is on and the up to one-
year old child is seated in the child restraint
system on the passenger seat the indicator
lamp “PASSENGER AIRBAG OFF” must be on.
If the “PASSENGER AIRBAG OFF” indicator
lamp does not light up, it could indicate a
fault in the system.
In this case:
fFasten the child restraint system on the rear
bench immediately.
fHave the fault remedied at your nearest author-ized Porsche dealer.

58
Controls, Safety, Instruments
Automatic locking retractorThe safety belts for the front passenger and the
rear bench are equipped with an automatic locking
retractor for securing the child restraint system.
When activated, this retractor allows you to se-
curely fasten the child restraint system in place so
that inadvertent movements will not occur.
Danger!
The use of a child restraint system on the
front passenger seat can result in serious
personal injury or death to the child from an
airbag deployment.
To reduce risk of injury from an inflating air-
bag in an accident, Porsche strongly recom-
mends:
fUnder all normal circumstances, the child seat
must be placed in the rear.
Do not use a child restraint system on the front passenger seat.However, there may be serious situations where it
might be necassary to place a child in the front
seat so that he/she can be kept under direct ob-
servation to prevent an immediate risk to the child
(for example, while driving to the doctor or hospi-
tal). The following instructions are provided to you
solely for that purpose.
fSeek appropriate advice from your authorized
Porsche dealer about the possible installation
of a Porsche child restraint system.
fIf a child restraint system must be fastened to
the passenger's seat, adjust the passenger's
seat as far away from the airbag as possible.
Before transporting a child on the passenger seat:
fPlease observe the chapter “CHILD RES-
TRAINT SYSTEMS” on Page 55.
fIf emergency or other serious conditions re-
quire a child to be placed in the front seat, ex-
ercise extreme caution and defensive driving
of your vehicle. You must recognize that any
substantial frontal impact could result in the
deployment of the passenger airbag, which
coluld lead to serious injury or death of the
child.
A- PASSENGER AIRBAG OFF indicator lamp
Danger!
Risk of serious personal injury or death to the
child, when excessive force is acting on the
passenger's seat due to the seat belt and the
passenger's airbag is switched on uninten-
tionally.
fAfter fastening the child restraint system, do
not adjust the seat.
fCheck the condition of the passenger airbag
system shown by the indicator lamp A in the central console.

62
Controls, Safety, Instruments
Steering WheelTiptronic rocker switchesThe Porsche Tiptronic is a six-speed transmission
and features an “automatic” and a “manual” gear-
shift mode.
You can change temporarily to manual mode using
rocker switches A on the steering wheel.
fPlease observe the chapter “TIPTRONIC S” on
Page 221.
HornfPress button B to operate the horn.Airbag unitAirbag unit C is located behind the padded steer-
ing wheel boss.
In conjunction with the safety belts, the “airbag” is
a safety system designed to provide the driver and
passengers with maximum protection from injury
in an accident.
fPlease observe the chapter “AIRBAG SYS-
TEMS” on Page 50.
Steering Wheel HeatingIf the interior temperature in the vehicle is lower
than +54°F (+12°C)when the ignition is switched
on, the steering wheel heating is switched on au-
tomatically.
When this happens, the steering wheel adjusts to
a temperature of +73°F (+23°C).
If the interior temperature rises above +71°F
(+22°C) when the vehicle is operational, the steer-
ing wheel heating switches off again.
On vehicles with manual air conditioning
The steering wheel heating switches itself on
when the following criteria are fulfilled at the same
time:
1. Low outside temperature.
2. The interior temperature setting in the display
of the air conditioning is 10 and more bars.
The steering wheel heating switches itself off
again after a warm-up phase, or is switched off,
when the interior temperature setting in the dis-
play of the air conditioning is less than 10 bars.
For more information about setting the interior
temperature on vehicles with manual air condition-
ing:
fPlease observe the chapter “SETTING TEMPE-
RATURE” on Page 146.

100
Controls, Safety, Instruments
Example: Brake pad warning messageWarningsMAIN MENU > VEHICLE INFO > WARNINGS
NO WARNING is displayed if the vehicle is in
perfect condition.
Any warning messages are displayed.
fSelect warnings one after the other with the
rocker switch.
Example: Front side light warning messageReturning to the VEHICLE INFO menu
fPress RESET switch.
Caution!
Warning messages indicate possible faults.
fGo to an authorized Porsche dealer immediately.
LevelMAIN MENU > VEHICLE INFO > LEVEL
The ground clearance of vehicles equipped with
level control is shown in the LEVEL menu.
Note on operation
fThe level is set using the rocker switch behind
the selector lever in the center console.
fPlease observe the chapter “AIR SUSPENSION
WITH LEVEL CONTROL AND HEIGHT ADJUST-
MENT” on Page 254.
Returning to the VEHICLE INFO menu
fPress RESET switch.

Controls, Safety, Instruments
143
A- Continuous opening and closing
B- Setting vent directionVentsfRotate thumb wheel A upward.
fRotate thumb wheel A downward.
Changing air flow directionfSwivel vent fins B in the desired direction.
Note on operation
Fresh air or conditioned fresh air can be delivered
from all vents depending on the air distribution
setting.
Fresh-air intakeIn order to ensure unhindered air intake:
fKeep the fresh-air intake between the wind-
shield and the engine compartment lid free
from snow, ice and leaves.
Opening vents
Closing vents