2011 SKODA OCTAVIA child restraint

Table of Contents
Layout of this Owner's Manual
(explanations)
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Using the system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Cockpit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Instruments and warning lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
General information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Overview of the instrument cluster . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Engine revolutions counter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Speedometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Coolant temperature gauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Fuel gauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Counter for distance driven . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Service reminder indicator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Digital clock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Shift recommendation for changing gears . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Multi-functional indicator (onboard computer) . . . . . . . 14
MAXI DOT display (information display) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Auto Check Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Warning lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Unlocking and locking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Vehicle key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Child safety lock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Central locking system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Remote control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Anti-theft alarm system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Power windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Electric sliding/tilting roof . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Lights and Visibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Interior lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Visibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Windshield wiper and wash system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Rear-view mirror . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 Seats and Stowage
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Front seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Adjusting front seats electrically . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Head restraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Middle rear head restraint . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Rear seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Seat heaters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
luggage compartment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Net partition (Estate car) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
The roof rack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Cup holder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Note holder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Ashtray . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Cigarette lighter, power sockets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Storage compartments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Heating and air conditioning system . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Description and information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Using the air conditioning system economically . . . . . 85
Operational problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Air outlet vents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Heating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Air conditioning system (manual air conditioning
system) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Climatronic (automatic air conditioning) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Auxiliary heating (auxiliary heating and ventilation) . . 94
Starting-off and Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Setting steering wheel position . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Ignition lock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Starting the engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Switching off the engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
Shifting (manual gearbox) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
Pedals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
Handbrake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
Rear parking aid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
Front and rear parking aid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
Cruise control system (CCS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
“(START-STOP)” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105 Automatic gearbox
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Information for driving with the 6-speed automatic
gearbox
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Information for driving with the automatic gearbox
DSG
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Selector lever positions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
Selector lever lock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Kickdown function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Dynamic shift programme . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Tiptronic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Manual shifting on the multifunction steering wheel . 112
Emergency programme . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Selector lever-emergency unlocking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Communication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
Multifunction steering wheel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
Mobile phones and two-way radio systems . . . . . . . . . . 115
Universal telephone preinstallation GSM II . . . . . . . . . . 116
Voice control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Universal telephone preinstallation GSM IIl . . . . . . . . . . 122
Voice control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
Internet connection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
Music playback via Bluetooth ®
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
Multimedia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
Passive Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
Basic information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
Correct seated position . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
Seat belts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
Why seat belts? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
The physical principle of a frontal collision . . . . . . . . . . 135
Important safety information regarding the use of
seat belts
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
How are seat belts correctly fastened? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
Airbag system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
Description of the airbag system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
Front airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
Side airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142 3
Table of Contents Using the system Safety Driving Tips General Maintenance Breakdown assistance Technical data

Seats and Stowage
Front seats
Basic information The front seats have a wide range of different 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. 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 147, 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 car is being driven - never
place your feet on the instrument panel, out of the window or on the surfaces
of the seats. This is particularly 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 proper-
ly protect you - hazard! The front seats and the head restraints must always
also be correctly adjusted to match the body size of the occupant. WARNING (Continued)
● Ensure that there are no objects in the footwell as any objects may get be-
hind 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 objects
(e.g. child safety seat) provided for this purpose - risk of accident! 
Adjusting the front seats Fig. 42 Controls at seat
Adjusting a seat in a forward/back direction
– Pull the lever 1
⇒
 fig. 42 up and push the seat into the desired position.
– Release the lever 1 and push the seat further until the lock is heard to en-
gage.
Adjusting height of seat
– Lift the seat if required by pulling or pumping lever 2 upwards.
– Lower the seat if required by pushing or pumping lever 2 downwards.
Adjust the angle of the seat backrest
– Relieve any pressure on the seat backrest (do not lean on it) and turn the
handwheel 3 to adjust the angle of the backrest.
Adjusting lumbar support
– Turn the wheel 4 until you have set the most comfortable curvature of the
seat upholstery in the area of your spine. £60
Seats and Stowage

The position of the front and rear outer head restraints is adjustable in height.
The middle rear head restraint is adjustable in two positions.
The head restraints must be adjusted to match the size of the seat occupant. Cor-
rectly adjusted head restraints together with the seat belts offer effective protec-
tion for the occupants ⇒ page 132,
Correct seated position.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. 
Middle rear head restraint Fig. 46 Rear seats: middle head re-
straint
IIn certain countries national legal provisions also require the equipment of the
rear seat with fixing eyes for child seat using the
“Top Tether” system
⇒  page 153, Attaching child seat using the “Top Tether” system. For vehicles,
which are equipped with such fixing eyes, a deviating sequence for removing the
middle head restraint must be observed.
Removing and installing the rear middle 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 A , press simultaneously the
locking button into the opening B using a flat screwdriver with a width of
maximum 5 mm and pull out the head restraint. –
To re-insert the head restraint, push it down into the seat backrest far enough
until you hear the locking button engage. 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. 
Rear seats Folding the rear seats forwards Fig. 47 Fold the seat cushion forwards/unlock the seat backrest
To enlarge the luggage compartment, the rear seats can be folded forwards, if
necessary remove the seat cushions. The rear seats can be folded forward individ-
ually on vehicles with divided rear seats.
Folding seats forwards
– Before folding the rear seats forwards, you must adapt the position of the
front seats in such a way that they are not damaged when the rear seats are
folded forwards.
– Pull up the seat cushion in direction of arrow 1 and fold forwards in direction
of arrow 2
⇒  fig. 47 . £64
Seats and Stowage

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
travelling 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 ap-
plies 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 and outer rear seats;
● belt tensioners for front seats; ●
seat belt height adjusters for front seats;
● front airbag for the driver and front 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 restraints 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.
For this reason you will be provided with information on why these equipment
components are very important, how it protects you and the occupants, what
should be observed when using the equipment and how you and the people trav-
elling 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! 
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 66
, Loading the luggage compart-
ment. £ 131
Passive Safety Using the system Safety Driving Tips General Maintenance Breakdown assistance Technical data

●
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 147, Transporting children safely.
● Adopt the correct seated position ⇒
 page 132, 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 137, 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, alco-
hol, 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 re-
laxed driving.
Fig. 116 The correct distance of the driver from the steering wheel/The correct head restraint
adjustment for the driver
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 ⇒ fig. 116 - 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. 116 - right.
● Fasten the seat belt correctly ⇒
 page 137, How are seat belts correctly fas-
tened?.
Manual driver seat adjustment ⇒ page 60, Adjusting the front seats.
Electrical driver seat adjustment ⇒ page 61, Adjusting front seats electrically. £132
Passive Safety

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
⇒ fig. 116 left. Not maintaining this minimum distance will mean that the air-
bag 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 de-
ployed.
● The seat backrests must not be angled too far back when driving other-
wise this will affect proper operation of the seat belts and of the airbag sys-
tem - risk of injury!
● Ensure that there are no objects in the footwell as any objects may get be-
hind 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 him the greatest pos-
sible safety it 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. 116 - right.
● Fasten the seat belt correctly ⇒
 page 137, How are seat belts correctly fas-
tened?.
In exceptional cases the front passenger airbag can be deactivated ⇒ page 145,
Deactivating an airbag.
Manual front passenger adjustment ⇒ page 60, Adjusting the front seats. Electrical front passenger seat adjustment
⇒
 page 61, Adjusting front seats elec-
trically. 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 sys-
tem 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 nec-
essary to apply the brake or in the event of an accident. If an airbag is de-
ployed, you may suffer fatal injuries when adopting an incorrect seated posi-
tion!
● The seat backrests must not be angled too far back when driving other-
wise this will affect proper operation of the seat belts and of the airbag sys-
tem - 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 is at the
same level as the upper part of your head ⇒ fig. 116 - on the right.
● Fasten the seat belt correctly ⇒ page 137,
How are seat belts correctly fas-
tened?.
● If you are transporting ⇒ page 147, Transporting children safely
children in the
vehicle, please use a suitable child restraint system. £ 133
Passive Safety Using the system Safety Driving Tips General Maintenance Breakdown assistance Technical data

WARNING
● The head restraints must always be adjusted to match the body size, in or-
der 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 adopt-
ing 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 in-
correct routing of the seat belt. The driver is fully responsible for himself and the
occupants, in particular for the children. Do not permit an occupant to adopt an
incorrect 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 in-
terested in this subject.
Therefore, while the car is moving never:
● stand up in the vehicle;
● stand up on the seats;
● kneel on the seats;
● tilt the seat backrest fully to the back;
● lean against the dash panel;
● lie on the rear seat bench;
● only sit on the front area of the seat;
● 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;
● transport somebody in the footwell;
● have the seat belt not fastened when driving;
● 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 posi-
tion while the car is moving. 134
Passive Safety

Function of the front airbags
Risk of injury to the head and chest area is reduced by fully inflated
airbags.
Fig. 123 Inflated airbags
The airbag system is designed in such a way that the airbags for the driver and
front passenger are deployed in the event of a violent frontal collision.
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. 123 . The airbags inflate in fractions
of a second and at a high speed in order to be able to offer that additional protec-
tion in the event of an accident. The forward movement of the driver and of the
front passenger is cushioned when they make contact with the fully inflated air-
bag 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 or-
der 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 indication 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 infor-
mation regarding the front airbag system
on page 141. Important safety information regarding the front airbag system Correct use of the airbag system considerably reduces the risk of
injury! Fig. 124 Safe distance to steering wheel
WARNING
● Never transport children on the front seat of a vehicle without using a
proper restraint system. If airbags are deployed 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. 124. Not maintain-
ing 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 al-
ways also be correctly adjusted to match the body size of the occupant.
● It is essential to always switch off ⇒ page 145
, Deactivating an airbag the
front passenger airbag when attaching a child safety seat on the front pas-
senger 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 injuries if
the front passenger airbag is deployed. In certain countries national legal pro-
visions also require that the side or head passenger airbags be deactivated.
When transporting a child on the front passenger seat, please comply with the
appropriate national regulations regarding the use of child safety seats.
● There must not by any further persons, animals or objects positioned be-
tween the front seated occupants and the deployment area of the airbag. £ 141
Airbag system Using the system Safety Driving Tips General Maintenance Breakdown assistance Technical data