Seats and Storage
59
Using the system
Safety
Driving Tips
General Maintenance
Breakdown assistance
Technical Data
Seats and StorageFront seatsBasic informationThe front seats have a wide range of differ
ent settings and can thus be matched to the
physical characteristics of the driver and
front passenger. Correct adjustment of the
seats is particularly important for:
safely and quickly reaching the controls;
a relaxed, fatigue-free body position;
achieving the maximum protection offered by the seat belts and the airbag
system. The chapters which follow describe the procedure which you should adopt for adjusting the seats.
WARNING
Never transport more occupants than the maximum seating in the vehicle.
Each occupant must correctly fasten the seat belt belonging to the seat.
Children must be fastened
page 130, “Transporting children safely” with a
suitable restraint system.
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.
Always keep your feet in the footwell
when the vehicle is being driven -
never place your feet on the instrument panel, out of the window or on the surfaces of the seats. This is particular
ly important for the front seat passenger.
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!
It is important for the driver and front
passenger to maintain
a distance of at
least 25 cm from the steering wheel or
dash panel. Not maintaining this
minimum distance will mean that the airbag
system will not be able to properly
protect you - hazard! The front seats and the head restraints must always also be correctly adjusted to match the body size of the occupant.
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.
Do not transport any objects on the front passenger seat except those
provided for this purpose (e.g. child safety seat) - risk of accident!Adjusting the front seatsAdjusting a seat in a forward/back direction–Pull the lever
fig. 50
up and push the seat into the desired position.
– Release the lever and push the seat further until the lock is heard to engage.Adjusting height of seat*– Lift the seat if required by pulling or pumping lever upwards.– Lower the seat if required by pushing or pumping lever downwards.
WARNING (continued)
Fig. 50 Controls at seat
A1A1
A2A2
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Seats and Storage
60 Adjust the angle of the seat backrest– Relieve any pressure on the seat backrest
(do not lean on it) and turn the hand-
wheel to adjust the angle of the backrest.
The driver's seat should be adjusted in such a way that the pedals can be fully pressed to the floor with slightly bent legs. The seat backrest on the driver's seat should
be adjusted in such a way that the upper
point of the steering wheel can be easi
ly reached with slightly bent arms.
WARNING
Only adjust the driver seat when the vehicle is stationary - risk of injury!
Take care when adjusting the seat! Adjusting the seat without care can lead
to bruises or injuries.
The seat backrests must not be angled too far back when driving otherwise
this will affect proper operation of the se
at belts and of the airbag system - risk
of injury!Head restraintsFig. 51 Head restraint: Adjusting / pulling outBest protection is achieved if the top edge of
the head restraint is at the same level as
the upper part of your head.
Adjusting the height of a head restraint– Grasp the side of the head restraint with both hands and push the head restraint in
the direction of axle of the metal guide rods, in the direction of arrow to the top or to the bottom
fig. 51
on the left.
– Move the head restraint downwards if required by pressing the locking button
fig. 51
on the right and by pressing with the other hand the head restraint down-
wards.
Removing and installing a head restraint– Pull the head restraint out of the seat backrest as far as the stop. – Press the locking button in the direction of arrow
fig. 51
and pull the head
restraint out.
– To re-insert the head restraint, push it do
wn into the seat backrest far enough until
you hear the locking button engage.
The position of the front, rear outer head restraints and the rear middle head restraint* is adjustable for height. The head restraints must be adjusted to ma
tch the size of the seat occupant. Correctly
adjusted head restraints together with the
seat belts offer effective protection for the
occupants
page 114.
WARNING
The head restraints must be correctly adjusted in order to offer effective
protection for the occupants in the event of an accident.
Do not drive under any circumstance with removed head restraints - risk of
injury!
If the rear seats are occupied, the rear
head restraint must not be in the
lower position.
A3
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Passive Safety
114
Ensure that all the windows offer
a good visibility to the outside.
Safely attach the items of luggage
page 63, “Loading the luggage compartment”.
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 130, “Transporting children safely”.
Adopt the correct seated position. Also in
form your occupants to adopt the correct
seated position.
Fasten the seat belt correctly. Also inform your occupants to properly fasten the
seat belts
page 119, “How are seat be
lts 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 an
d his occupants. If yo
ur driving safety is
effected, you place yourself and the oncomi
ng traffic at risk. Please refer to the
following guidelines.
Do not get distracted from concentrating on the traffic situation, e.g. by your occu-
pants 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 journe
ys - at the latest every two hours.
Correct seated positionCorrect seated position for the driver Correct seated position for the driver is important for safe and relaxed driving.Fig. 108 The correct distance of the driver from
the steering wheel / The
correct head restraint
adjustment for the driverFor 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
fig. 108
- left.
Position the driver seat in the forward/back direction so that you are able to fully
press the pedals with your legs at a slight angle.
Adjust the seat 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. 108
- right.
Fasten the seat belt correctly
page 119, “How are seat belts correctly fastened?”.
Driver seat adjustment
page 59, “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
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Passive Safety
115
Using the system
Safety
Driving Tips
General Maintenance
Breakdown assistance
Technical Data
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 114, fig. 108
. Not maintaining this minimum distance will mean that
the airbag system will not be able to properly protect you - hazard!
When driving, hold the st
eering wheel with both hands firmly on the outer
edge in the 9 o'clock and 3 o'clock po
sition. 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 an
y 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 f ro n t p as s en ger mus t mai n tai n a d i s tan ce of a t l ea s t 25 c m f rom th e dash panel so that the airbag offers him the greatest possible safety it is deployed.For the safety of the front pass
enger 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 ed
ge of the head restraint is at the same
level as the upper pa
rt of your head
page 114, fig. 108
- right.
Fasten the seat belt correctly
page 119, “How are seat belts correctly fastened?”.
In exceptional cases the front pass
enger airbag can be deactivated
page 128,
“Deactivating airbags”. Adjusting the passenger seat
page 59, “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 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 footwel
l when the vehicle 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 ev
ent of an accident. If an airbag is
deployed, you may suffer fatal injuries wh
en adopting an incorrect seated posi-
tion!
The seat backrests must not be angled
too far back when driving otherwise
this will affect proper operation of the se
at 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 foot- well and must have their se
at belts correctly fastened.
To reduce the risk of injury in the event of
a sudden braking manoeuvre or an accident,
the occupants on the rear seats must observe the following.
Adjust the head restraints so that the top edge of the head restraints is at the same
level as the upper part of your head
page 114, fig. 108
.
Fasten the seat belt correctly
page 119, “How are seat belts correctly fastened?”.
If you are transporting
page 130, “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.
WARNING (continued)
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Airbag system
124
Apart from their normal protective function, a further task of the
seat belts
is to also
hold the driver and front passenger in a correct seated position in the event of a frontal collision so as to enable the front ai
rbags to offer the maximum protection.
You should therefore always fasten the seat be
lts, not only because this is required by
law, but also for safety reasons and for your own protection
page 117, “Why seat
belts?”.
Caution
The dash panel must be replaced after the front passenger airbag has been deployed.Function of the front airbags Risk of injury to the upper part of the body is reduced by fully inflated side airbags.The airbag system is designed in such a way that the driver and front passenger airbag* are deployed in the event of a frontal collision of major severity. In certain accident situations, the front, side and head airbag are simultaneously deployed. If the airbags are deployed, the airbags are filled with a propellant gas and inflated in front of the driver and front passenger
fig. 115
. The airbags inflate in fractions of a
second and at a high speed in order to be able
to offer that additional protection in the
event of an accident. The movement of the
driver and of the front passenger is cush-
ioned when they make contact with the fully
inflated airbag and the risk of injury to
head and chest is thus reduced. The specially developed airbag allows the gas
to flow out of the inflated airbag in a
controlled manner (depending on the load of
the particular car occupant) in order to
cushion head and chest areas. The airbag then
deflates subsequently to such an extent,
after an accident, to again provide a clear view forward. A grey white, non harmful gas is released when airbag is inflated. This is perfectly normal and is not an indicati
on of a fire in the vehicle.
The airbag develops enormous forces when triggered, which can lead to injuries if the sitting position or seated position is not correct
in “Important safety information
regarding the front airbag system”.Important safety information regarding the front airbag system Correct use of the airbag system cons
iderably reduces the risk of injury!
WARNING
Never transport children on the front seat of a vehicle without using a
proper restraint system. If airbags are de
ployed in the event of an accident, the
child might suffer severe
or even fatal injuries!
For the driver and front passenger it is important to maintain a distance of
at least 25 cm from the steering wheel or dash panel
fig. 116
. Not main-
taining this minimum distance will mean that the airbag system will not be able to properly protect you - hazard! The front seats and the head restraints must always also be correctly adjusted to match the body size of the occupant.
Fig. 115 Inflated airbags
Fig. 116 Safe distance to steering wheel
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Wheels and Tyres
178
Wheels and TyresWheelsGeneral information
New tyres do not offer optimal grip at first and should therefore be run in for about
500 km at a moderate speed and an appropri
ately cautious style of driving. You will
also profit from longer tyre life.
The tread depth of new tyres may differ be
cause of design features and the config-
uration of the tread (depending on the type of tyre and the manufacturer).
Drive over curbs on the side of the road
and other such obstacles slowly and,
where possible, at a right angle in order
to avoid damage to tyres and wheel trims.
Inspect your tyres from time to time
for damage (punctures, cuts, splits and
bulges). Remove foreign bodies from the tyre profile.
Damage to tyres and wheels is frequently
not visible. Unusual vi
brations or pulling
of the vehicle to one side coul
d be a sign of tyre damage.
Please reduce your speed
immediately and stop if you su
spect that a wheel is damaged.
Inspect the tyres for
signs of damage (bulges, splits, etc.). If no
visible damage is present, please drive at an
appropriately slow speed and carefully to the nearest specialist garage in order to have your vehicle inspected.
Also protect your tyres from contact with oil, grease and fuel.
Immediately replace any dust caps of
the valves which have got lost.
Mark wheels before removing them so that
their previous dire
ction of running can
be maintained when mounted them again.
Always store wheels or tyres which been removed in a cool, dry and, where
possible, dark place. Tyres which are not fixed to a wheel trim should be stored upright. Unidirectional tyres* The direction of rotation of the tyres is mark
ed by arrows on the
wall of the tyre. This
indicates the direction of rotation of the tyre, and it is essential that the tyres are fitted on to run in this direction. Only then are
the tyres able to provide the optimal proper-
ties in terms of grip, low nois
e, wear-and-tear and aquaplaning.
Further information concerning th
e use of unidirectional tyres
page 182.
WARNING
New tyres during the first 500 km do not offer optimal grip and should
therefore be run appropriately - risk of accident!
Never drive with damaged tyres - risk of accident!Note
Please observe the various differing legal requirements regarding tyres.Ty re l i feThe life of your tyres very much depends on the following points: Tyre pressure The working life of tyres will be shortened considerably if the tyres are insufficiently or over-inflated and this will have an adverse
effect on the handli
ng of your vehicle.
Correctly inflated tyres are of particular importance when travelling at
high speeds
. It
is therefore good to check the pressure at
least once a month and also before setting
off on a long trip. Please do not forget the spare wheel* when checking the tyres. The tyre inflation pressures for
summer tyres
are indicated on the inside of the fuel
filler flap
fig. 147
. The inflation pressures for
winter tyres
are 20 kPa (0.2 bar) higher
than those for summer tyres
page 182.
Fig. 147 An opened fuel filler flap with a tyre size and tyre inflation pressure table
s3j8.a.book Page 178 Tuesday, April 20, 2010 1:10 PM
Wheels and Tyres
179
Using the system
Safety
Driving Tips
General Maintenance
Breakdown assistance
Technical Data
The tyre pressure should be
at the highest pressure specified for your vehicle at all
times. Always check the inflation pressure of tyres
when cold. Do not reduce the higher pres-
sure of warm tyres. Adapt the inflation pressure of the tyres accordingly if your vehicle is carrying a significantly higher payload. Tyre inflation pressure - Tyre size 185/55 R15 The same inflation pressure values apply to ty
res of the tyre size 195/55 R15 as to tyres
of the tyre size 185/55 R15 which are intended to be used with snow chains, see the inside of the fuel filler flap. The tyres of the tyre size 185/55 R15, which are intended to be used with snow chains and are fitted on models Fabia Combi Scout, have the following inflation pressure values in kPa. Driving style Fast cornering, sharp acceleration and brak
ing (squealing tyres) increase wear-and-
tear on your tyres. Balancing wheels The wheels of a new vehicle are balanced. There are a wide range of influences when driving which may result in an imbalance
and which makes themselves felt through
vibration in the steering.
You should have the wheels rebalanced si
nce any imbalance increases wear-and-tear
on the steering, the suspension and tyres. A wheel must also be rebalanced when a new tyre is fitted and each time a tyre is repaired. Wheel alignment errors Incorrect wheel alignment at the front and rear
will not only increase wear-and-tear on
the tyres but will also has an adverse effect on vehicle safety. Contact your specialist garage if you notice any unusual tyre wear.
WARNING
If the inflation pressure is too low,
the tyre must perform a higher rolling
resistance. At higher speeds the tyre will warm up as a result of this. This can result in tread separation and even a tyre blowout.
Immediately replace the damaged rims or tyres.
Tyres which are 6 years old or more should only be fitted in exceptional
cases and when adopting an approp
riately cautious style of driving.
For the sake of the environment
Tyres which are insufficiently inflated increase your fuel consumption.Wear indicatorsThe base of the tread of the original tyres has wear indicators 1.6 mm high, installed at right angles to the direction of travel. These
wear indicators are lo
cated at 6 - 8 points
depending on the make and are evenly spaced around the circumference of the tyre
Engine
Partial load
Full load
1.2/63 kW TSI
220/230
220/230
1,4/63 kW
220/290
1.2/77 kW TSI
230/300
1.6/77 kW
230/300
1,2/55 kW TDI CR
230/300
1.6/66 kW TDI CR
220/290
1.6/77 kW TDI CR
220/290
Fig. 148 Tyre tread with wear indicators
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Wheels and Tyres
180
fig. 148
. Markings on the walls of the tyres
through the letters “TWI”, triangular
symbols or other symbols identify the position of the wear indicators. A remaining tread of just 1.6 mm, measured in the grooves of the tread next to the wear indicators, means that your tyres have
reached their legally permissible minimum
tread depth.
WARNING
You must have your tyres replaced with new ones at the latest when the
wear indicators have been worn down
. The legally permissible minimum tread
depth should be observed.
Worn tyres do not provide the necessary adhesion to the road surface at
high speeds on wet roads. One could e
xperience “aquaplaning” (uncontrolled
movements of the vehicle - “swimming” on a wet road surface).Changing wheels aroundIf significantly greater wear is present on the front tyres, we recommend changing the front wheels around with the rear wheels. You will then obtain approximately the same life for all the tyres. It may be advantageous to swap the tyres ov
er “crosswise” when certain types of wear
characteristic arise on the running surface of
the tyres (but not in the case of unidirec-
tional tyres). Specialist garages are familiar with details. We recommend that you change the wheels around every 10 000 km in order to achieve even wear on all wheels and to obtain optimal tyre life.New tyres and wheelsTyres and wheel rims are important design elements. One should therefore use the tyres and wheel rims which have been releas
ed for use by Škoda Auto. They are exactly
matched to the vehicle type and therefore
contribute significantly to good road
holding and safe driving characteristics
.
Only fit radial tyres of the same type on all 4 wheels, size (rolling circumference) and, if possible, the same tread pattern on one axle.
The specialist garages have access to the most current information about which tyres we have released for
use on your vehicle.
We recommend that you have any work relati
ng to tyres or wheels carried out by a
specialist garage
. Your dealer has all of the necessary special tools and replacement
parts available plus the required specialist knowledge and is also in a position to prop-erly dispose of the old tyres. A large number
of specialist garages also have an attrac-
tive range of tyres and wheels available. The tyre/wheel combinations which are appr
oved for your vehicle are indicated in
your vehicle documents. Approval and licens
ing may differ according to the legislation
prevailing in indi
vidual countries.
Proper knowledge of the tyre data makes it ea
sier for you to select the correct type of
tyre. Tyres do, for example, have the following
inscription
on their walls:
185 / 65 R 14 86 T
What this means is: The following
speed restrictions
apply to tyres.
185
Tyre wi dt h i n mm
65
Height/width ratio in %
R
Code letter for the type of tyre -
R adial
14
Diameter of wheel in inches
86
Load index
T
Speed symbol
Speed symbol
Permissible maximum speed
Q
160 km/h
R
170 km/h
S
180 km/h
T
190 km/h
U
200 km/h
s3j8.a.book Page 180 Tuesday, April 20, 2010 1:10 PM