Driving
172DrivingSteeringAdjusting the steering wheel position
The height and reach of the steering wheel can be freely
adjusted to suit the driver–Push the lever ⇒ fig. 145 down ⇒.
– Move the steering wheel to the desired position.
– Then push the lever back up against the steering column until it engages in position.
WARNING
•Never adjust the position of the steering wheel when the vehicle is
moving, as this could cause an accident.•For safety reasons, the lever must always be securely engaged when
the vehicle is moving, so that the position of the steering wheel cannot
shift unexpectedly. Otherwise this could cause an accident.
SafetyElectronic Stability Programme (ESP)
ESP helps make driving safer in certain situations.
Fig. 145 Lever beneath
steering column
Fig. 146 Detailed view of
the centre console: ESP
button
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Trailer towing
204Where possible, operate the trailer with the maximum permitted drawbar
load on the ball joint of the towing bracket, but do not exceed the specified
limit.
Tyre pressure
Check the tyre pressures on your vehicle, and adjust for “full load” conditions
(refer to the sticker listing the tyre pressures on the door pillar). It may also be
necessary to adjust the tyre pressures on the trailer according to the recom-
mendations of the trailer manufacturer.
Exterior mirrors
Check whether you can see enough of the road behind the trailer with the
standard mirrors. If this is not the case you should have additional mirrors
fitted. The two exterior mirrors should be fitted on folding arms. Adjust the
mirrors to give sufficient rear vision.
Headlights
Before starting a journey, check the headlight beam settings with the trailer
hitched up. If necessary, alter the height of the headlight beams by means of
the headlight range control. See ⇒page 120.
Power supply
When you remove the ignition key, the power supply to the trailer is inter-
rupted.
Removable ball joint coupling
Vehicles with a factory-fitted towing bracket are equipped with a removable
ball joint coupling. This is stored in the spare wheel well in the luggage
compartment together with the necessary fitting instructions.
Note
If you frequently tow, we recommend you also have the vehicle serviced
between services.
Notes on towing
Towing a trailer involves additional attention by the driver.Weight distribution
The weight distribution of a loaded trailer with an unladen vehicle is very
unfavourable. However, if this cannot be avoided, drive extra slow to allow for
the unbalanced weight distribution.
Speed
The stability of the vehicle and trailer is reduced with increasing speed. There-
fore, it is advisable not to drive at the maximum permissible speed in unfa-
vourable road, weather or wind conditions. This especially applies when
driving downhill.
You should always reduce speed immediately if the trailer shows the slightest
sign of swaying . Never try to stabilise the trailer by accelerating.
Anticipate hazards and brake in good time. If towing a trailer with an inertia
brake , first brake gently and then harder. This will prevent brake tapping by
the trailer wheels when they lock. Select a low gear in due course before
going down a steep downhill. This enables you to use the engine braking to
slow down the vehicle.
Swaying and pitching can be reduced by stabiliser aids. We recommend
having stabiliser aids installed when towing trailers with a high trailer weight.
They can be purchased and installed at a Technical Service.
Reheating
When climbing long hills in hot weather with the engine running fast in low
gear, you should keep an eye on the coolant temperature gauge ⇒page 60.
Reduce speed immediately if the needle moves to the right end of the scale.
If the temperature warning lamp
v in the instrument panel should start
flashing, stop the vehicle and let the engine cool down by running it at idling
speed for a few minutes.
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Wheels and tyres251
Safety First
Operating Instructions
Practical Tips
Technical Specifications
•If one or more tyres are being driven in emergency conditions, the
driving quality of the vehicle is impaired and there is a risk of accident.Note
•The run-flat tyres do not “deflate” on losing pressure because they are
supported on the reinforced sides. Therefore defects in the tyre cannot be
detected with a visual inspection.•Snow chains must not be used on front tyres used in emergency
conditions.New tyres and wheels
New tyres and wheels have to be run in.The tyres and wheel rims are an essential part of the vehicle's design. The
tyres and rims approved by SEAT are specially matched to the characteristics
of the vehicle and make a major contribution to good road holding and safe
handling ⇒.
Tyres should be replaced at least in pairs and not individually (i.e. both front
tyres or both rear tyres together). A knowledge of tyre designations makes it
easier to choose the correct tyres. Radial tyres have the tyre designations
marked on the sidewall, for example:
195/65 R15 91T
This contains the following information:
195 Tyre width in mm
65 Height/width ratio in %
RTyre construction: Radial
15 Rim diameter in inches 91 Load rating code
TSpeed rating
The tyres could also have the following information:
•A direction of rotation symbol•“Reinforced” denotes heavy-duty tyres.
The manufacturing date is also indicated on the tyre sidewall (possibly only
on the inner side of the wheel).
“DOT ... 1103...” means, for example, that the tyre was produced in the 11th
week of 2003.
We recommend that work on tyres and wheels be carried out by an Authorised
Service Centre. They are familiar with the procedure and have the necessary
special tools and spare parts as well as the proper facilities for disposing of
the old tyres.
Any Authorised Service Centre has full information on the technical require-
ments when installing or changing tyres, wheels or wheel trims.WARNING
•We recommend that you use only wheels and tyres which have been
approved by SEAT for your model. Failure to do so could impair vehicle
handling. Risk of accident.•Avoid running the vehicle on tyres that are more than six years old. If
you have no alternative, you should drive slowly and with extra care at all
times.•Never use old tyres or those with an unknown history of use.•If wheel trims are retrofitted, you must ensure that the flow of air to the
brakes is not restricted. This could cause them to overheat.•All four wheels must be fitted with radial tyres of the same type, size
(rolling circumference) and the same tread pattern.
WARNING (continued)
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Technical Specifications311
Safety First
Operating Instructions
Practical Tips
Technical Specifications
Dimensions and capacities
Dimensions
Length, width 4661-4741
a) mm/ 1772 mm
a)With towing eye.Height at kerb weight 1454 mm with roof bars
Front and rear projection 976 mm/ 1048-1123
a) mm
Wheelbase 2642 mm
Turning circle 11.2 m
Track width
b)
b)This data will change depending on the type of wheel rim.
Front Rear
1522 mm 1523 mm
Capacities
Fuel tank 70 l. Reserve 10 l.
Windscreen washer fluid container with headlight washer 4.8 l.
Tyre pressure
Summer-grade tyres:
The correct tyre pressure can be seen on the sticker on the inside of the tank flap.
Winter tyres:
The pressure of these tyres is the same as the summer tyre pressure plus 0.2 bar.
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Index319
Registration light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 290
Remote control key
Indicator light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Locking and unlocking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
Locking and unlocking the vehicle . . . . . . . 106
Replacing the battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Remote control keys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96 Re-synchronising . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Removing and fitting the wheel . . . . . . . . . . . . 260
Repairs Airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Replacement of parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223
Rev counter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Reverse gear Automatic gearbox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
Manual gearbox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
Roof rack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151 Attachment points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
Roof load . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
Roof rails . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
Rubber seals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218
Run-flat tyres . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250
Running in Engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197SSAFE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98 Safe driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Aspects to take into account . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Before setting off . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Driving safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Safety equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Safety instructions Engine compartment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229
Safety notes Airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Curtain airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Deactivating front passenger airbag . . . . . . 45
Front airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Seat belt tensioners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Side airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Using child seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Using seat belts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Seals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218
Seat adjustment Lumbar support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
Seat belt cleaning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221
Seat belt position Pregnant women . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Seat belts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Seat belt protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Seat belt release . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Seat belt tensioner Warning lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Seat belt tensioners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Seat belt warning lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Seat belts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Height adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Incorrectly fastened . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Not worn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Safety notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Warning lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18, 68
Seat heating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
Seats Electric adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
Electric backrest adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . 137
Manual adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
Manual adjustment of lumbar support . . . 135
Manual backrest angle adjustment . . . . . . 135
Moving the seat forwards and backwards . 134
Seat height adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
Selector lever positions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
Service indicator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Servotronic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196
Side airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Safety notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Side lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Sitting position Driver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Front passenger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Sitting position, occupants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Ski bag . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
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