2008 SAAB 9-3 Owners Manual

17 Safety
Safety belts, rear seat,
SportSedan and SportCombiSafety belts rear seat, Convertible, see
page 75.
The three rear seats all have three-point
safety belts with inertia reels.
Fasten the belts by pulling the belt across
you and inserting the tongue into the buckle.
Check that it is securely fastened.
Grasp the shoulder belt close to the buckle
and pull the belt towards the shoulder to
tighten the lap belt part.The belt must be as far in on the shoulder as
possible.
Press the red button on the buckle to
release the belt.
See page 266 for the checking of belt func-
tion, cleaning, etc.
WARNING
Make sure that the belt does not
become trapped when the backrest is
folded down or raised (see page 138).
If cargo has to be placed on a seat, it
must be properly secured with the
safety belt. This reduces the risk of the
cargo being thrown about during hard
braking or a crash, which could cause
personal injury.
Check that the belt is not twisted or
lying against sharp edges.
Make sure you use the correct safety
belt buckle. The buckles for the center
and left-hand rear seats are close
together.
Rear safety belts, SportSedan and SportCombi
Securing an item on the rear seat
93_US_M08.book Page 17 Friday, May 11, 2007 11:37 AM
ProCarManuals.com

18 SafetySeatsManually adjusted front seats3
33 3The following front seat adjustments can be
made to achieve a comfortable driving
position:
Height3
33 3
Legroom
Backrest rake angle
Lumbar support firmness3
33 3
Head restraint heightWe recommend that adjustments to the
driver’s seat be performed in the following
order:
1 Height
2 Legroom
3 Backrest rake angle
4 Head restraint height
Lastly, adjust the position of the steering
wheel (see page 120).
Electrically adjustable front seats3
33 3
See page 20.
Electric heating, front seats3
33 3
See pages 114.
Height adjustment3
33 3Lift the lever to raise the seat. The lever is
spring-loaded to return to its neutral posi-
tion. Repeated lifting of the lever will
increase the height in steps.
Press down the lever to lower the seat.
Repeated downward presses of the lever
will lower the seat in steps.
WARNING
Never adjust the driver’s seat except
when the car is stationary.93_US_M08.book Page 18 Friday, May 11, 2007 11:37 AM
ProCarManuals.com

19 Safety
Legroom adjustmentLift the lever under the front of the seat and
slide the seat to the desired position.
Backrest rake angleTo find the most comfortable position, turn
the knob to provide stepless adjustment of
the backrest.
Lumbar support3
33 3Adjust the firmness of the lumbar support by
turning the knob.
WARNING
Check that the seat is locked in the new
position. If not, it may move while the car
is being driven and it could result in injury
to the occupant in the event of a crash.
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 crash.Adjusting the backrest
Adjusting the legroom Adjusting the lumbar support93_US_M08.book Page 19 Friday, May 11, 2007 11:37 AM
ProCarManuals.com

20 SafetyElectrically adjustable front
seats3
33 3With 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
2 minutes 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 electri-
cally-operated seats.
Always remove the remote control
when you leave the car to prevent per-
sonal injury caused by the electrically
adjustable seats, for example, due to
children playing. Electrically adjust-
able front seats with memory function,
see page 21.
Adjusting the height and angle Adjusting the legroom
93_US_M08.book Page 20 Friday, May 11, 2007 11:37 AM
ProCarManuals.com

21 Safety
Backrest rake angleAdjust the rake angle of the backrest with
the rear lever.
Lumbar support3
33 3Adjust the firmness of the lumbar support by
turning the knob.
Memory function3
33 3
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 crash.
WARNING
The legroom of the electrically operated
driver’s seat can always be adjusted,
whether or not a front door is open and
irrespective of the position of the ignition
switch.
Adjusting the rake angle Adjusting the lumbar support
Driver’s seat in SportSedan and Sport-
CombiMemory function buttons93_US_M08.book Page 21 Friday, May 11, 2007 11:37 AM
ProCarManuals.com

22 SafetyWhen the ignition is ON, all seat settings
can be adjusted. When the door is open and
before the remote control has been inserted
into the ignition switch, 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.
To recall programmed settings, press and
hold the desired memory button until the
seat and door mirrors adopt their pro-
grammed positions. The memory function
also includes the door mirror settings.
To facilitate reversing, the passenger-side
door mirror can be angled down, refer to
page 124.93_US_M08.book Page 22 Friday, May 11, 2007 11:37 AM
ProCarManuals.com

23 Safety
Head restraintsSportSedan and SportCombi
Head restraint, Convertible, see page 74.
The front seats are equipped with Saab
Active Head Restraints (SAHRs). These are
designed to reduce the risk of neck injury if
the car is hit from behind.
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.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
limiting the backward movement of the
head.
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 the front head restraints: press
in the left catch and press the head
restraint down.
Lowering the rear head restraints: press
the head restraint forward and downward.
The rear head restraints can be fully low-
ered 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.93_US_M08.book Page 23 Friday, May 11, 2007 11:37 AM
ProCarManuals.com

24 SafetyChild safety
Car safety tips
For Trunk Release Handle information see
page 53 and 141.
WARNING
Children can be killed or
seriously injured by the
airbag
The BACK SEAT is the SAFEST place
for children 12 and under or shorter
than 55 inches (140 cm)
ALWAYS use SAFETY BELTS and
CHILD RESTRAINTS
NEVER put a rear-facing child seat in
the front
Sit as far back as possible from the
airbag
WARNING
Never leave 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 con-
trol out of 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 car out of a garage or drive-
way.
To avoid carbon monoxide poisoning,
never let a car idle in an enclosed
garage.
Supervise young children around
buckets of water while washing your
car. Small children can drown in a
short time in less than an inch of water.
WARNING
Protect children from getting
trapped in the trunk of your carTeach children not to play in or around
cars.
Watch 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.
93_US_M08.book Page 24 Friday, May 11, 2007 11:37 AM
ProCarManuals.com