2010 SKODA FABIA Owner's Manual

Airbag system
128
Important safety information on the head airbag Correct use of the airbag system cons
iderably reduces the risk of injury!
WARNING

It is essential to always switch off
page 128 the front passenger airbag
when attaching a child safety seat on th
e front passenger seat where the child is
seated with its back facing in direction of travel (in some countries also when the child is facing the direction of travel). If this is not done, there is a risk of the child suffering severe or even fatal inju
ries if the front passenger airbag is
deployed. In certain countries national legal provisions also require that the side or head passenger airbags be deac
tivated. When transporting a child on
the front passenger seat, pl
ease comply with the appropriate national regula-
tions regarding the use of child safety seats.
There must not be any objects in the deployment area of the head airbags
which might prevent the airbag
s from inflating properly.

Only hang light items of clothing on the clothes hooks to the vehicle. Never
leave any heavy or sharp-edged objects in
the pockets of the
items of clothing.
In addition, it is not permitted to use clothes hangers for hanging up items of clothing.
There must not be any other persons (e
.g. children) or animals between the
car occupant and the deployment area of the head airbag. In addition, none of the occupants should lean their head out of the window when driving, or extend their arms and hands out of the window.
The sun visors must not be swivelled to the side windows into the deploy-
ment area of the head airbags if any ob
jects, such as ball-point pens etc. are
attached to them. This might result in
injuries to the occupants if the head
airbag is deployed.
Installing impermissible accessories in the area of the head airbags may
considerably impair the protection offered
by the head airbag in the event of it
being deployed. When the deployed head
airbag is inflated, parts of the acces-
sories fitted may in certain circumstances be thrown into the interior of the car and cause injuries to the occupants
page 184.

Any work on the head airbag system
including installing and removing
system components because
of other repair work (e.g. removing headliner)
must only be carried out by a specialist garage.
Deactivating airbagsDeactivating airbags If any airbags have been deactivated, switch them on again as soon as possible so that they are able to ag
ain provide their proper protection.
There is the technical means installed within your vehicle to switch off the front, side* or head* airbag (take out of commission). This is why you should have the deactivation
of the airbags carried out by a specialist
garage. On vehicles equipped with the switch for deactivation of the airbags, you can deacti- vate the front passenger airbag
by means of this switch
page 129.
Deactivation of the airbag is envisaged only for particular instances, such as if:
in exceptional circumstances
, it is necessary to use a child safety seat on the front
passenger seat, where the child is seated with
its back facing in
direction of travel
 page 130, “Important safety information re
garding the use of child safety seats”;

you are not able to maintain the distance of at least 25 cm between middle of
steering wheel and chest, despite the
driver seat being correctly adjusted;

special attachments are required in the area of the steering wheel because of a
physical disability;
you have installed other seats (e.g. orthopaedic seats without side airbags).
Monitoring the airbag system The functionality of the airbag system is al
so monitored electronically when one airbag
has been switched off. If the airbag was switched off using diagnostic equipment:
The airbag indicator light lights up for 3 seconds each time the ignition is switched
on and then flashes after that for about 12 seconds. If the airbag was switched off using the airbag switch* on the side of the dash panel:
the airbag indicator light in the instrume
nt cluster comes on for about 3 seconds
each time the igniti
on is switched on;
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Airbag system
129
Using the system
Safety
Driving Tips
General Maintenance
Breakdown assistance
Technical Data

switching off the airbag is indicated by the
lighting up of the indicator light in the
display

 
  in the middle of the dash panel
fig. 121
- right.
Note
A specialist garage will provide you with in
formation on whether na
tional legislation in
your country allows airbags in your vehi
cle to be deactivated, and which ones.
Switch for the front passenger airbag*Fig. 121 Switch for the front passenger airbag
/ indicator light for a switched off front seat
passenger airbagOnly the front passenger airbag is deactivated with the switch.Deactivating an airbag– Switch off the ignition. – Turn the slot of the airbag switch using the ignition key in the direction of the arrow
to the position
OFF
fig. 121
- left.
– Check whether the airbag indicator light in the display

 
  in
the middle of the dash panel lights up when the ignition is switched on
fig. 121

- right.
Switching on an airbag– Switch off the ignition. – Turn the slot of the airbag switch using the ignition key in the opposite direction of
the arrow to the position
ON
fig. 121
- left.
– Check whether the airbag indicator light in the display

 
  in
the middle of the dash panel does not light up when the ignition is switched on  fig. 121
- right.
The airbag should only be switched
off under exceptional circumstances
page 128.
Indicator light in display

 
  (airbag switched off)
The airbag indicator light is located in the middle of the dash panel
fig. 121
- right.
If the airbag is
switched on
, the airbag indicator light comes on for a few seconds after
switching on the ignition. In cases where the front passenger airbag is
switched off
the airbag in
dicator light
comes on for a few seconds after switching on the ignition, goes out for about a second and then comes on again. There is a system fault present in the airbag switch off

if the indicator light
flashes.
WARNING

The driver is responsible for whethe
r the airbags are switched on or
switched off.
Only switch off the airbag when the ignition is switched off! Otherwise a
fault can occur in the system for the airbag deactivation.
If the warning light
  (airbag switched off) flashes:
 Front passenger airbag is not deployed in the event of an accident!  It is also important to have the system inspected without delay by a specialist garage.
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Transporting children safely
130
Transporting children safelyWhat you should know ab
out transporting children!
An introduction to the subject Accident statistics have revealed that children are generally more safely transported on the rear seats than on the front passenger seat.Children who are less than 1.50 m in height and who weigh less than 36 kg should, under normal circumstances, sit on the rear
seat (take note of any national legal provi-
sions which differ from this). They should be secured there by means of a child restraint system or by using the existing seat belts depending on their body size and weight. The child seat should be mounted behind the
front passenger seat for safety reasons.
The physical principle of an
accident does, of course, also apply to children
 page 117, “The physical principle of a fronta
l collision”. They differ from adults in
that their muscles and bone structure of children are not yet fully developed. Thus chil- dren are exposed to increased risk of injury. Children should be transporte
d by using special child safety seats in order to reduce
this risk of injury. Only use child safety seats which are offici
ally approved, suitable for children and
which comply with the standard ECE-R 44, wh
ich classifies child safety seats into 5
groups
page 132, “Classification of child seats
into groups”. Chil
d restraint systems
which have been tested for conformity to
ECE-R 44 standard have a non-detachable
test seal (a large E within a circle and below this the test number) attached to the seat. We recommend that you use child safety seats from the Škoda genuine accessories. These child seats were developed and also tested for use in Škoda vehicles. They fulfil the ECE-R 44 standard.
WARNING
Always comply with national legal provisions and instructions from the rele-vant child safety seat manufacturer wh
en installing and
using a child seat


in “Important safety information regarding the use of child safety seats”.
Note
National legal provisions, which deviate from
the information contained in these oper-
ating instructions, take precedence over the information contained in the operating instructions.Important safety information regarding the use of child safety seats Correct use of child safety seats considerably reduces the risk of injury!
WARNING

All the occupants of the vehicle - particularly children - must wear a seat
belt when the ve
hicle is moving.

Children who are less than 1.50 m in height and who weigh less than 36 kg
must not use a normal seat belt without a child restraint system, otherwise this may result in injuries to the stomach and neck areas. Comply with the national legal requirements.
One should never carry children, and also not babies! - on one's lap.

You can transport a child safely in a suitable child safety seat
page 132,
“Child seat”!
Only one child may be fastened with a seat belt into a child safety seat.

Never leave the child sitting unattended in the seat.

Certain outside climatic conditions can cause life-threatening tempera-
tures in the vehicle.
Never allow your child to be transported in a vehicle without the use of a
suitable restraint system.
Children should also never stand up in
a vehicle or kneel on the seats when
the vehicle is moving. In the event of an accident the child will be thrown through the vehicle and may as a result
suffer fatal injuries
, and also injure
other occupants.
Children are exposed to an increased risk
of injury in the event of an acci-
dent if they lean forward or adopt an in
correct seated position when the vehicle
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Transporting children safely
131
Using the system
Safety
Driving Tips
General Maintenance
Breakdown assistance
Technical Data
is moving. This particularly applies to children who are transported on the front passenger seat if the airbag system deploy
s in the event of an accident. This can
result in severe or even fatal injuries.
It is important that the belt webbing is properly routed if the seat belts are
to offer their maximum protection
page 119, “How are seat belts correctly
fastened?”. Pay particular attention to the information provided by the manu-facturer of the child safety seat regarding correct routing of the belt. Seat belts which are not correctly adjusted can them
selves cause injuries even in minor
accidents.
Safety belts must be checked to ensure that they are running properly. One
should also ensure that the belt is
not damaged by sharp-edged fittings.

It is essential to always switch off th
e front passenger airbag when attaching
a child safety seat to the front passenger
seat where the child is seated with its
back facing in direction of travel
page 128. If this is not done, there is a risk of
the child suffering severe or even fatal in
juries if the front passenger airbag is
deployed. When transporting a child
on the front passenger seat, please
comply with the appropriate national
regulations regarding the use of child
safety seats.Use of child safety seats on the front passenger seat Child safety seats should always
be attached to the rear seats.
We recommend, for safety reasons, that you always mount a child restraint systems on the rear seats whenever possible. If you still decide, however, to use a child safety seat
on the front passenger seat then you must pay attention to the following warnings in connection with the use of the airbag system on the front passenger seat.
WARNING

Warning - particular hazard! Never use a child safety seat on the front
passenger seat in which the child is seated
with its back facing the direction of
travel. This child safety seat is positioned in the deployment area of the front passenger airbag. The airbag may cause th
e child severe, or even fatal injuries,
in the event of it
being deployed.

This is also clearly stat
ed on the sticker which is located on the centre
column of the body on the front passenger side
fig. 122
. The sticker is visible
upon opening the front passenger door. For some countries, the sticker is also affixed to the sun visor of the front passenger.
It is essential to always switch off the front passenger airbag when a child
safety seat is nevertheless attached to
the front passenger seat where the child
is seated with its back facing in direction of travel
page 128, “Deactivating
airbags”. If this is not done, there is a ri
sk of the child suffering severe or even
fatal injuries if the front passenger airbag is deployed. When transporting a child on the front passenger seat, please comply with the appropriate national regulations regarding the use of child safety seats.
If the front passenger airbag has been
switched off by a specialist garage
using the vehicle system te
ster, the side airbag* or
the head airbag* and the
passenger belt tensioner re
main switched on. Please comply with any differing
national legal regulations regardin
g the use of child safety seats.

If a child safety seat in which the child faces in the direction of travel is used
on the front passenger seat, the front pa
ssenger seat must be moved back and
to the top fully. Move the seat backrest into the vertical position.
You should have the front passenger airbag (or airbags) reactivated just as
soon as you no longer use a child safe
ty seat on the front passenger seat.
WARNING (continued)
Fig. 122 Sticker on the centre column of the body on the front passenger side.
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Transporting children safely
132
Child safety and side airbag* Children must never be seated in the deployment area of the side airbags and head airbags.Fig. 123 Seated position of an unprotected chil
d at risk from side airbag / Child properly
protected by safety seatSide airbags* offer the vehicle occupants en
hanced protection in the event of a colli-
sion from the side. The side airbags are inflated in fractions of a
second in order to be able to provide this
protection
page 126, “Function of the side airbags”.
An airbag inflating develops such a strong force that an occupant who has not adopted a correct seated position may suffer injuri
es. Also exposed objects which are located
within the area of the side airbag can cause injuries. This applies particularly to children if they are not transported in accordance with legal requirements. The child is protected when seated in a chil
d safety seat matching its age. Adequate
room is available between the child and the
deployment area of the side airbag and
head airbag. The airbag offers optimal protection.
WARNING

It is essential to always switch off th
e front passenger airbag when attaching
a child safety seat to the front passenger
seat where the child is seated with its
back facing in direction of travel
page 128. If this is not done, there is a risk of
the child suffering severe or even fatal in
juries if the front passenger airbag is
deployed. When transporting a child
on the front passenger seat, please
comply with the appropriate national
regulations regarding the use of child
safety seats.
When transporting a child on the fron
t passenger seat, please comply with
the appropriate national regulations r
egarding the use of child safety seats.

Children must never be seated with thei
r head in the deployment area of the
side airbag - risk of injury!
Do not place any objects within the deployment area of the side airbag - risk
of injury!Child seatClassification of child seats into groups Only child safety seats which have an official approval and are suitable for the child, may be used.ECE-R 44 standard applies to child safety seats. ECE-R means: Economic Commission for Europe - Regulation. Child safety seats which have been tested for conformity to ECE-R 44 standard have a non-detachable test seal (a large E within
a circle and below this the test number)
attached to the seat. Child safety seats are classified in 5 groups:
Group
Weight
0
0 - 10 kg
 page 133
0+
up to 13 kg
page 133
1
9 - 18 kg
page 133
2
15 - 25 kg
page 134
3
22 - 36 kg
page 134
WARNING (continued)
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Transporting children safely
133
Using the system
Safety
Driving Tips
General Maintenance
Breakdown assistance
Technical Data
Children who are more than 1.50 m in height or who weigh more than 36 kg can use the normal seat belts without a seat bolster.Use of child seatsAn overview of the usefulness
of child seats on each of the seats according to the ECE-
R44 standard:
Universal category - seat is suitable for all approved types of child safety seats. The seat can be fitted with
fixing eyes for the “
ISOFIX
*”system.
The seat is equipped as standa
rd with the fixing system “
To p Te t h e r
”.
Child seats of group 0/0+The optimal solution for babies of up to ab
out 9 months old weighing up to 10 kg or
children up to about 18 months old weighing up
to 13 kg is a child safety seat which is
fastened in the opposite direction of travel
fig. 124
.
Child seats in which the child is facing with its back towards the direction of travel should not be used on the front passenger seat when the vehicle is fitted with a front passenger airbag
page 131, “Use of child safety seats on the front passenger
seat”.
WARNING

It is essential to always switch off the front passenger airbag at a specialist
garage or with the switch for front pass
enger airbag* when attaching in excep-
tional circumstances a child safety seat on the front passenger seat where the child is seated with its back facing in direction of travel
page 129.

Please comply with any differing nati
onal legal regulations regarding the
use of child safety seats.
If this is not done, a child seated on
the front passenger seat may suffer
severe or even fatal injuries if the
front passenger airbag or airbags are
deployed.
You should have the front passenger airbag (or airbags) reactivated just as
soon as you no longer use a child safe
ty seat on the front passenger seat.
Child safety seats in Group 1Child seats in Group 1 are for babies and sm
all children up to 4 years of age with a
weight of between 9 and 18 kilograms. It is
best for children in the lower range of this
group, to use a child seat which allows the ch
ild to sit with its back to the direction of
travel. It is best for children in the uppe
r range of the Group 0+, to use a child seat
which allows the child to sit
fig. 125
in the direction of travel.
Child seat of the group
Front passenger
seat
Rear seat outside
Rear seat middle
0

0+

1

2 and 3
AU
AUA+AT
AU
AU
AUA+AT
AU
AU
AUA+AT
AU
AU
AU
AU
AUA+AT
Fig. 124 Child seats of group 0/0+
Fig. 125 Child seat with padded table in Group 1 installed on rear seat bench facing the direction of travel
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Transporting children safely
134
Child seats in which the child is facing with its back towards the direction of travel should not be used on the
front passenger seat when th
e vehicle is fitted with a
front passenger airbag
page 131, “Use of child safety seats on the front passenger
seat”.
WARNING

It is essential to always switch off the front passenger airbag at a specialist
garage or with the switch for front pass
enger airbag* when attaching in excep-
tional circumstances a child safety seat on the front passenger seat where the child is seated with its back facing in direction of travel
page 129.

Please comply with any differing nati
onal legal regulations regarding the
use of child safety seats.
If this is not done, a child seated on
the front passenger seat may suffer
severe or even fatal injuries if the
front passenger airbag or airbags are
deployed.
You should have the front passenger airb
ag (or airbags) re
activated just as
soon as you no longer use a child safe
ty seat on the front passenger seat.
Child safety seats in Group 2For children up to about 7 years of age weighing between 15 and 25 kg the optimal solution is a child safety seat in comb
ination with the three-point seat belt
fig. 126
.
WARNING

When transporting a child on the fron
t passenger seat, please comply with
the appropriate national regulations rega
rding the use of child safety seats.
Switch off the front passenger airbag if
necessary at a specialist garage or
switch it off with the switch for front passenger airbag*
page 129.

The shoulder part of the seat belt mu
st run approximatel
y across the middle
of the shoulder and fit snugly against the chest. It must on no account run across the neck. The lap part of the seat belt must run across the pelvis and fits snugly; it must not run over the belly. Tighten the belt webbing over your hip if necessary.
Please comply with any differing nati
onal legal regulations regarding the
use of child safety seats.Child safety seats in Group 3For children of about 7 years of age weighing between 22 and 36 kg and of a height of less than 150 cm, the optimal solution is a
child safety seat (seat bolster) in combina-
tion with the three-point seat belt
fig. 127
.
Children who are more than 1.50 m in heig
ht or who weigh more than 36 kg can use
the normal seat belts
without a seat bolster.
WARNING

When transporting a child on the fron
t passenger seat, please comply with
the appropriate national regulations rega
rding the use of child safety seats.
Fig. 126 Child seat in Group 2 installed on the rear seat facing the direction of travel
Fig. 127 Child seat in Group 3 installed on the rear seat facing the direction of travel
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Transporting children safely
135
Using the system
Safety
Driving Tips
General Maintenance
Breakdown assistance
Technical Data
Switch off the front passenger airbag if
necessary at a specialist garage or
switch it off with the switch for front passenger airbag*
page 129.

The shoulder part of the seat belt mu
st run approximatel
y across the middle
of the shoulder and fit snugly against the chest. It must on no account run across the neck. The lap part of the seat belt must run across the pelvis and fits snugly; it must not run over the belly. Tighten the belt webbing over your hip if necessary.
Please comply with any differing nati
onal legal regulations regarding the
use of child safety seats.Attaching a child seat using the “ISOFIX” system*Fig. 128 Locking eyes (ISOFIX system) / Push the
ISOFIX child seat into the installed mounting
funnelsThere are two locking eyes between the rear
exterior seat backrest and the surface of
the seat itself on both sides for fixing the “ISOFIX” system child seat in place. – Insert the mounting funnels onto the
locking eyes between the seat back-
rest and the seat cushion
fig. 128
.
– Push the notched arms of the child seat in
to the locking eyes until they are heard
to lock in place
fig. 128
.
–
Pull on both sides of the child seat!
One can mount a child safety seat using the “ISOFIX” system quickly, easily and reliably. Please pay close attention to
instructions from the manufa
cturer of the child safety
seat when installing and removing the seat. Child seats fitted with the “ISOFIX” system
can only be mounted and fixed in a vehicle
fitted with an “ISOFIX” system when these child seats have been released for this type of vehicle according to the ECE-R 44 standard. Child safety seats with the fixing system “ISOFIX” can be obtained from Škoda original accessories. Complete installation instructions are
enclosed with the child safety seat.
WARNING

The locking eyes have just been deve
loped for child safety seats which use
the “ISOFIX” system. You should therefore
never attach other child safety seats,
seat belts or objects to the locking eyes - hazard!
Ask a specialist garage whether a child seat which you bought for another
vehicle is recommended for use in your
vehicle before using a child seat with
“ISOFIX” system.
Certain child seats which use the “ISO
FIX” system can be attached with
standard three-point seat belts. Please pay close attention to instructions from the manufacturer of the child safety seat
when installing and removing the seat.
Note

Child seats which use the “ISOFIX” system are currently available for children
weighing up to about 18 kg. This corres
ponds to an age range up to 4 years.

The child seats can also be fitted with the “Top Tether” system
page 136.
WARNING (continued)
AA
AB
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