2008 SKODA FABIA Owner's Manual

Communication120
Note
Do not remove the equipment cover. The equipment does not contain any parts, which can be serviced by the user.
Warranty
The same guarantee conditions apply for our factory-fitted radio system as for new vehicles.
Note
A damage in the sense of the warranty must not be the result from improper handling of the system or from unprofessional repair attempts. In addition, no external damage must be present.
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Using the systemSafetyDriving TipsGeneral MaintenanceBreakdown assistanceTechnical Data
Safety
Passive Safety
Basic information
Driving the safe way
Passive safety measures reduce the risk of injury in accident situa-
tions.
In this section you will find important information, tips and notes on the subject of passive safety in your vehicle. We have combined everything here which you should be familiar with, for example, regarding seat belts, airbags, child seats and safety of children. It is therefore important, in particular, to comply with the notes and warnings in this section for your own interest and in the interest of those trav-elling with you.
WARNING
•This chapter contains important information on how to use the vehicle for the driver and his occupants. You will find further information on safety, which concerns you and those travelling with you, in the following chapters of this Owner's Manual.
•The complete on-board literature should always be in the vehicle. This applies in particular, if you rent out or sell the vehicle.
Safety equipment
The safety equipment is part of the occupant protection and it can
reduce the risk of injuries in accident situations.
“Do not put at risk” your safety and the safety of those travelling with you . In the event of an accident, the safety equipment can reduce the risk of injuries. The following list contains part of the safety equipment in your vehicle:
•Three-point seat belts for all the seats,
•belt force limiter for front seats,
•belt tensioner for front seats,
•seat belt height adjuster for front seats,
•front airbag for the driver and the front seat passenger*
•Side airbags*,
•head airbags*,
•anchoring points for child seat using the “ISOFIX” system,
•anchoring points for child seat using the “Top Tether” system,
•head restraint adjustable for height,
•adjustable steering column.
The specified safety equipment works together, in order to optimally protect you and those travelling with you in accident situations. The safety equipment does not protect you or the people travelling with you, if you or your occupants adopt an incorrect seated position or the equipment is not correctly adjusted or used.
Fo r t h i s re a s o n y o u w i l l b e p ro v i d e d w i th i n fo rm a ti o n o n w hy t h i s e q u i p m e nt i s v e r y important, how it protects you and the occupants, what should be observed when using the equipment and how you and the people travelling with you can make full use of the existing safety equipment. This Owner's Manual contains important warning notes, which you and those travelling with you should pay attention to in order to reduce a risk of injury.
Safety concerns everybody!
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Before setting off
The driver is always fully responsible for his occupants and for the
operating safety of the vehicle.
For your own safety and the safety of the people travelling with you, please pay attention to the following points before setting off.
•Ensure that the lighting and the turn signal system are functioning properly.
•Inspect the tyre inflation pressure.
•Ensure that all the windows offer a good visibility to the outside.
•Safely attach the items of luggage ⇒page 61, “Loading the luggage compart-ment”.
•Ensure that no objects can obstruct the pedal.
•Adjust the mirror, the front seat and the head restraint to match your body size.
•Point out to your occupants that the head restraints must be adjusted to match their body size.
•Protect the children in suitable child seats with correctly fastened seat belts ⇒page 142, “Transporting children safely”.
•Adopt the correct seated position. Also inform your occupants to adopt the correct seated position.
•Fasten the seat belt correctly. Also inform your occupants to properly fasten the seat belts ⇒page 128, “How are seat belts correctly fastened?”.
What influences the driving safety?
The driving safety is primarily determined by the style of driving and
the personal behaviour of all the occupants.
The driver is fully responsible for himself and his occupants. If your driving safety is effected, you place yourself and the oncoming traffic at risk. Please refer to the following guidelines.
•Do not get distracted from concentrating on the traffic situation, e.g. by your occupants or mobile phone calls.
•Never drive when your driving ability is impaired, e.g. through medication, alcohol, drugs.
•Keep to the traffic regulations and the permissible speed limit.
•Adjust the driving speed at all times to the road condition as well as to the traffic and weather conditions.
•Take regular breaks on long journeys - at the latest every two hours.
Correct seated position
Correct seated position for the driver
Correct seated position for the driver is important for safe and
relaxed driving.
Fig. 128 The correct distance of the driver from the steering wheel
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Using the systemSafetyDriving TipsGeneral MaintenanceBreakdown assistanceTechnical Data
For your own safety and to reduce the risk of injury in the event of an accident, we recommend the following setting.
•Adjust the steering wheel so that the distance between the steering wheel and your chest is at least 25 cm ⇒page 122, fig. 128.
•Position the driver seat in the forward/back direction so that you are able to press the pedals with your legs at a slight angle .
•Adjust the backrest so that you are able to reach the highest point of the steering wheel with your arms at a slight angle.
•Adjust the head restraint so that the top edge of the head restraint is at the same level as the upper part of your head ⇒fig. 129.
•Fasten the seat belt correctly ⇒page 128, “How are seat belts correctly fastened?”.
Driver seat adjustment ⇒page 56, “Adjusting the front seats”.
WARNING
•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.
•The driver must maintain a distance of at least 25 cm to the steering wheel ⇒page 122, fig. 128. Not maintaining this minimum distance will
mean that the airbag system will not be able to properly protect you - hazard!
•When driving, hold the steering wheel with both hands firmly on the outer edge in the 9 o'clock and 3 o'clock position. Never hold the steering wheel firmly in the 12 o'clock position or in another way (e.g. in the middle of the steering wheel or at the inner steering wheel edge). In such cases, injuries to the arms, the hands and the head can occur when the driver airbag is deployed.
•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.
Correct seated position for the front passenger
The front passenger must maintain a distance of at least 25 cm from
the dash panel so that the airbag offers the greatest possible safety
when an airbag is deployed.
For the safety of the front passenger and to reduce the risk of injury in the event of an accident, we recommend the following setting.
•Adjust the front passenger seat as far as possible to the rear.
•Adjust the head restraint so that the top edge of the head restraint is at the same level as the upper part of your head ⇒fig. 129.
•Fasten the seat belt correctly ⇒page 128, “How are seat belts correctly fastened?”.
In exceptional cases the front passenger airbag can be deactivated ⇒page 139, “Deactivating an airbag”.
Adjusting the passenger seat ⇒page 56, “Adjusting the front seats”.
WARNING
•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
Fig. 129 The correct head restraint adjustment for the driver
WARNING (continued)
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Passive Safety124
correctly fastened in order to provide an optimal protection for you and your occupants.
•The front passenger must maintain a distance of at least 25 cm to the dash panel. Not maintaining this minimum distance will mean that the airbag system will not be able to properly protect you - hazard!
•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. You will be exposed to increased risk of injury if it becomes necessary 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!
•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!
Correct seated position for the occupants on the rear seats
Occupants on the rear seats must sit upright, keep the feet in the
footwell and must have their seat belts correctly fastened.
To reduce the risk of injury in the event of a sudden braking manoeuvre or an acci-dent, the occupants on the rear seats must observe the following.
•Adjust the head restraints so that the top edge of the head restraints are at the same level as the upper part of your head ⇒page 123, fig. 129.
•Fasten the seat belt correctly ⇒page 128, “How are seat belts correctly fastened?”.
•If you are transporting ⇒page 142, “Transporting children safely” children in the vehicle, please use a suitable child restraint system.
WARNING
•The head restraints must always be adjusted to match the body size, in order to offer an optimal protection for you and your occupants.
•Always keep your feet in the footwell when the car is being driven - never put your feet out of the window or on the surfaces of the seats. You will be exposed to increased risk of injury if it becomes necessary to apply the brake or in the event of an accident. If the head airbag* is deployed and when adopting an incorrect seated position, you are exposing yourself to an increased risk of injury and in the event of an accident you may suffer fatal injuries!
•If the occupants on the rear seats are not sitting upright, the risk of injury is increased due to incorrect routing of the seat belt.
Examples of an incorrect seated position
An incorrect seated position can lead to severe injuries or death for
the occupants.
Seat belts offer their optimum protection only if the webbing of the seat belts is properly routed. Incorrect seated positions considerably reduce the protective functions of the seat belts and therefore increase the risk of injury due to an incor-rect routing of the seat belt. The driver is fully responsible for himself and his occu-pants, in particular for the children. Do not permit an occupant to adopt an incor-rect seated position when the car is moving.
The following list contains the examples of seated positions which are dangerous for the occupants. This list is not complete, however we would like you to get inter-ested in this subject.
Therefore, while the car is moving never:
•stand up in the vehicle,
•stand up on the seats,
•kneel onto the seats,
•tilt the backrest fully to the back,
•lean against the dash panel,
•lie on the rear seats,
•only sit on the front area of the seat,
WARNING (continued)WARNING (continued)
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Using the systemSafetyDriving TipsGeneral MaintenanceBreakdown assistanceTechnical Data
•sit to the side,
•lean out of the window,
•put the feet out of the window,
•put the feet on the dash panel,
•put the feet on the seat upholstery,
•occupy the footwell,
•have the seat belt not fastened,
•occupy the luggage compartment.
WARNING
•If the occupant adopts an incorrect seated position, he is exposed to life-threatening injuries, in case he is hit by a deployed airbag.
•Before setting off, please adopt the correct seated position and do not change this seated position while the car is moving. Also advise your occu-pants to adopt the correct seated position and not to change this seated position while the car is moving.
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Seat belts126
Seat belts
Why seat belts?
It is a proven fact that seat belts offer good protection in accidents ⇒fig. 130. Thus wearing a seat belt is a legal requirement in most countries.
Seat belts which have been correctly fastened and adjusted hold the occupants of the car in the correct seated position ⇒fig. 130. The belts reduce the kinetic energy (energy of motion) to a considerable extent. They also prevent uncontrolled move-ments which, in turn, may well result in severe injuries.
The occupants of a vehicle who have fastened and correctly adjusted their seat belt, profit to a major extent from the fact that the kinetic energy is optimally absorbed by the belts. The structure of the front end of the vehicle and other passive safety measures, such as the airbag system, also contribute to reducing the kinetic energy. The energy produced is thus absorbed and there is less risk of injury.
Accident statistics prove that seat belts which are fastened and properly adjusted reduce the risk of an injury and enhance the chance of survival in a major accident ⇒page 127.
It is important that you pay attention to safety measures, particularly when trans-porting children in the vehicle ⇒page 142, “Transporting children safely”.
WARNING
•Fasten your seat belt each time before setting off, also when driving in town! This also applies to the people seated at the rear - risk of injury!
•Expectant women must also always wear a seat belt. This is the only way of ensuring optimal protection for the unborn child ⇒page 128, “Fastening three-point seat belts”.
•It is important for the belt webbing to be properly routed if the seat belts are to offer the maximum protection. You can see a description of how safety belts should be fitted properly on the next pages.
Note
Please comply with any differing legal requirements when using the seat belts.
Fig. 130 Driver wearing seat belt
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Using the systemSafetyDriving TipsGeneral MaintenanceBreakdown assistanceTechnical Data
The physical principle of a frontal collision
The physical principle of a frontal accident can be explained quite simply:
Motion energy, so-called kinetic energy, is produced as soon as the vehicle is moving, both for the vehicle and its occupants. The magnitude of this kinetic energy depends essentially on the speed at which the vehicle is travelling and on the weight of the vehicle and the occupants. The greater the speed and weight increase,
the greater the amount of energy which has to be absorbed in the event of an acci-dent.
The speed of the vehicle is, nevertheless, the most important factor. Doubling the speed of the vehicle from 25 km/h up to 50 km/hour increases the kinetic energy four times.
The common opinion that it is possible to support your body in a minor accident with your hands, is incorrect. Even in a collision at only a low speed, the forces acting on the body are such that it is no longer possible to support your body.
Even if you only drive at a speed within the range from 30 km/hour to 50 km/hour, the forces which are produced on your body in the event of an accident can easily exceed 10.000 N (Newton). This equals a weight of one tonne (1 000 kg).
In the event of a frontal collision, occupants of the car not wearing a seat belt, are thrown forward and strike in an uncontrolled way parts of the interior of the car, such as steering wheel, dash panel, windscreen,⇒fig. 131. The occupants of a vehicle who have not fastened their seat belts may even be thrown out of the vehicle. This can result in fatal injuries.
It is also important that rear seat occupants fasten their seat belts as they will other-wise be thrown through the vehicle in an uncontrolled manner in the event of an accident A rear seat passenger who has not fastened the seat belt is a danger not only to himself but also for those seated at the front ⇒fig. 132.
Important safety information regarding the use of
seat belts
The correct use of the seat belts considerably reduces the risk of
injury!
WARNING
•The belt webbing must not be jammed in-between at any point or twisted, or chafe against any sharp edges.
•It is important that the belt webbing is properly routed if the seat belts are to offer their maximum protection ⇒page 128, “How are seat belts correctly fastened?”.
Fig. 131 The driver is thrown forward if not wearing a belt
Fig. 132 The rear seat occu-pant is thrown forward if not wearing a belt
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