2011 SKODA YETI Owner's Manual

Head airbags
Description of the head airbags The head airbag together with the side airbag offers enhanced oc-
cupant protection in the event of a side collision. Fig. 127 Installation position of the head
airbags
The head airbags are positioned above the doors on both sides in the interior of
the car ⇒ fig. 127. The installation positions of the head airbags are each marked
with the
“AIRBAG” logo.
The head airbag together with the three-point seat belts and the side airbags, of-
fers additional protection for the head and neck area of the occupants in the
event of a side collision of major severity ⇒ page 144.
Apart from their normal protective function, a further task of the seat belts is to
also hold the driver and the occupants in a correct seated position in the event of
a side collision so as to enable the head airbags to offer the maximum protection.
You should therefore always fasten the seat belts, not only because this is re-
quired by law, but also for safety reasons and for your own protection ⇒ page 132,
Why seat belts?.
Together with other elements (such as cross bars in the doors, stable vehicle
structure) the head airbags are the consequent further development of occupant
protection in the case of side collisions. Function of the head airbags The risk of injury to the head and neck area is reduced in the event
of a side collision by fully inflated head airbags. Fig. 128 Inflated head airbag
In the case of a side collision the head airbag is deployed together with the rele-
vant side airbag ⇒

 fig. 128 and the belt tensioner on the side of the car on which
the accident occurs.
If the system is deployed, the airbag is filled with propellant gas and covers the
entire area of the side window including the door pillars ⇒ fig. 128 .
The protection offered by the head airbags is thus available simultaneously both
to the front occupants of the car seated on the side on which the collision occurs,
as well as to the rear occupants. Any impact of the head against parts of the inte-
rior or objects outside of the car, is cushioned by the inflated head airbag. The re-
duction in any impact to the head and the resultant minimizing of any movements
of the head additionally reduce the risk of injuries to the neck area. The head air-
bag also offers additional protection in the case of an offset impact by covering
the front door pillar.
In certain accident situations, the front, side and head airbag are simultaneously
deployed.
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. 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.  143
Airbag system Using the system Safety Driving Tips General Maintenance Breakdown assistance Technical data

Important safety information on the head airbag
Correct use of the airbag system considerably reduces the risk of
injury! WARNING
● It is essential to always switch off ⇒ page 144 , Deactivating an airbag the
front passenger front airbag when attaching a child safety seat on the 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 in-
juries if the front passenger front 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.
● There must not be any objects in the deployment area of the head airbags
which might prevent the airbags from inflating properly.
● Only hang light items of clothing on the clothes hooks to the vehicle. Nev-
er leave any heavy or sharp-edged objects in the pockets of the items of cloth-
ing. In addition, it is not permitted to use clothes hangers for hanging up
items of clothing.
● The airbag control unit operates together with the sensors, which are at-
tached in the front doors. For this reason no adjustments must be carried out
at the doors as well as at the door panels (for example additional installation
of loudspeakers). Resulting damages can have a negative affect on the opera-
tion of the airbag system. All work on the front doors and their panels must
only be carried out by a specialist garage.
● 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 objects, such as ball-point pens etc. are
attached to them. This might result in injuries to the occupants if the head air-
bag 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- WARNING (Continued)
sories fitted may in certain circumstances be thrown into the interior of the
car and cause injuries to the occupants ⇒

 page 207, Accessories, changes and
replacement of parts.
● Any work on the head airbag system including installing and removing sys-
tem components because of other repair work (e.g. removing headliner) must
only be carried out by a specialist garage. 
Deactivating an airbag Deactivating airbags If any airbags have been deactivated, switch them on again as
soon as possible so that they are able to again 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 spe-
cialist garage.
On vehicles equipped with the switch for deactivation of the airbags, you can de-
activate the front passenger front airbag by means of this switch ⇒ page 145.
Deactivation of airbags is envisaged only for particular instances, such as if:
● You must in exceptional cases use a child seat on the front passenger seat
where the child is seated with its back to the direction of travel (in some countries
this must be in the direction of travel due to other legal regulations applying)
⇒  page 146

, Important safety information regarding 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 also monitored electronically when one
airbag has been switched off. £144
Airbag system

If the airbag was switched off using diagnostic equipment:
●
The warning light for the airbag system lights up for 4 seconds after switching
on the ignition and then flashes for 12 seconds afterwards in 2 second intervals.
The following situation applies if the airbag has been switched off using the
switch for the airbag in the storage compartment:
● the airbag indicator light in the instrument cluster comes on for about 4 sec-
onds each time the ignition is switched on;
● switching off the airbag is indicated in the middle of the dash panel by the
lighting up of the yellow indicator light in display  
    ⇒ fig. 129 . Note
Your authorised ŠKODA Service Partner will be able to advise you whether nation-
al legislation in your country allows airbags in your vehicle to be deactivated, and
which ones. 
Switch for the front passenger front airbag Fig. 129 Storage compartment: Switch for the front passenger front airbag/warning light for
a switched off front seat passenger airbag
Only the front passenger front airbag is deactivated with the switch.
Deactivating an airbag
– Switch off the ignition.
– Turn the slot of the airbag switch using the key in the position 2 (
OFF)
⇒  fig. 129 .
– 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. 129 - right. Switching on an airbag
–
Switch off the ignition.
– Turn the slot of the airbag switch using the key in the position 1 (
ON)
⇒ fig. 129 .
– 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. 129 - right. The warning light   goes out 65 seconds after the ignition
is switched on.
The airbag should only be switched off under exceptional circumstances
⇒ page 144.
Indicator light in display      (airbag switched off)
The airbag indicator light is located in the middle of the dash panel ⇒ fig. 129 -
right.
If the front passenger front airbag is switched off, the warning light comes on
about 4 seconds after the ignition is switched on.
There is a system fault present in the airbag switch off ⇒  if the indicator light
flashes. Please have the car inspected immediately by a specialist garage. WARNING
● The driver is responsible for whether the airbag is 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 yellow indicator light in display 
     (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. 145
Airbag system Using the system Safety Driving Tips General Maintenance Breakdown assistance Technical data

Transporting children safely
What you should know about 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
provisions 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 132, The physical principle of a frontal collision. They differ from adults in
that their muscles and bone structure of children are not yet fully developed. Thus
children are exposed to increased risk of injury.
Children should be transported by using special child safety seats in order to re-
duce this risk of injury.
Only use child safety seats which are officially approved, suitable for children and
which comply with the standard ECE-R 44, which classifies child safety seats into
5 groups ⇒ page 148. Child restraint systems which have been tested for con-
formity 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 Original Accesso-
ries range. 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 when installing and using a child seat
⇒

 page 146. Note
National legal provisions, which deviate from the information contained in these
operating instructions, take precedence over the information contained in the op-
erating instructions. 
Important safety information regarding the use of child safety
seats Correct use of child safety seats considerably reduces the risk of in-
jury!
WARNING
● All the occupants of the car - in particular children - must wear a seat belt
when the car 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 na-
tional 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 148,
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. £146
Transporting children safely

WARNING (Continued)
● Children are exposed to an increased risk of injury in the event of an acci-
dent if they lean forward or adopt an incorrect seated position when the vehi-
cle is moving. This particularly applies to children who are transported on the
front passenger seat if the airbag system deploys 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 134, 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 themselves 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 the front passenger front 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 145

. If this is not done,
there is a risk of the child suffering severe or even fatal injuries if the front
passenger front airbag is deployed. When transporting a child on the front
passenger seat, please comply with the appropriate national regulations re-
garding 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 sys-
tems 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 pas-
senger 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 the child severe, or even fatal injuries,
in the event of it being deployed.
● This is also clearly stated on the sticker which is located on the sun visor
on the passenger side.
● It is essential to always switch off the front passenger front 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 144, Deac-
tivating an airbag. If this is not done, there is a risk of the child suffering se-
vere or even fatal injuries if the front passenger front 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 front airbag has been switched off by a specialist
garage using the vehicle system tester, the side and head passenger airbag
remains switched on. Please comply with any differing national legal regula-
tions regarding 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 passenger 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 safety seat on the front passenger seat. 147
Transporting children safely Using the system Safety Driving Tips General Maintenance Breakdown assistance Technical data

Child safety and side airbag
Children must never be seated in the deployment area of the side
airbags and head airbags.
Fig. 130 Seated position of an unprotected child at risk from side airbag/Child properly pro-
tected by safety seat
In the event of a side collision, the side airbags offer the vehicle occupants en-
hanced protection.
The side airbags are inflated in fractions of a second in order to be able to provide
this protection ⇒
 page 141, Function of the side airbags.
The airbag develops such a strong force that an occupant who has not adopted an
upright seated position may suffer injuries from the airbag or as a result of objects
which are located within the deployment area of the side airbag.
This applies particularly to children if they are not transported in accordance
with legal requirements.
The child is protected when seated in a child safety seat matching its age. Ade-
quate 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 ⇒ page 144
the front passenger front
airbag when attaching a child safety seat on the 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 injuries if the front passenger
front 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 front passenger seat, please comply with
the appropriate national regulations regarding the use of child safety seats.
● Children must never be seated with their 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 seat Classification of child seats into groups Only child safety seats which have an official approval and are suit-
able for the child, may be used.
ECE-R 44 standard applies to child safety seats. ECE-R means: Economic Commis-
sion 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 149
0+ up to 13 kg ⇒ page 149
1 9 - 18 kg ⇒ page 149
2 15 - 25 kg ⇒ page 150
3 22 - 36 kg ⇒ page 150
£148
Transporting children safely

Children who are more than 1.50 m in height or who weigh more than 36 kg can
use normal seat belts without a seat bolster. 
Use of child safety seats An overview of the usefulness of child seats on each of the seats according to the
ECE-R 44 standard: Child seat
of the group Front passenger
seat Rear seat
outside Rear seat
middle 0 U

+ U

+
T U
0+ U

+ U

+
T U
1 U

+ U

+
T U
2 and 3 U U U
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 divided rear seat - seat can be fitted with fixing eyes for the system “ Top
Tether” ⇒ page 152, Attaching child seat using the “Top Tether” system. 
Child seats of group 0/0+ Fig. 131 Child seats of group 0/0+
The optimal solution for babies of up to about 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. 131.
U +
T 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 147, Use of child safety seats on the front
passenger seat. WARNING
● It is essential to always switch off the front passenger front airbag at a
specialist garage or with the switch for front passenger airbag when attaching
in exceptional circumstances a child safety seat on the front passenger seat
where the child is seated with its back facing in direction of travel ⇒

 page 145,
Switch for the front passenger front airbag.
● Please comply with any differing national 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 de-
ployed.
● You should have the front passenger airbag (or airbags) reactivated just as
soon as you no longer use a child safety seat on the front passenger seat. 
Child safety seats in Group 1 Fig. 132 Child seat with padded table in
Group 1 installed on rear seat bench fac-
ing the direction of travel
Child seats in Group 1 are for babies and small 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 child to sit with its back to the di-
rection of travel. It is best for children in the upper range of the Group 0+, to use a
child seat which allows the child to sit ⇒ fig. 132 in the direction of travel. £ 149
Transporting children safely Using the system Safety Driving Tips General Maintenance Breakdown assistance Technical data

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 147, Use of child safety seats on the front
passenger seat. WARNING
● It is essential to always switch off the front passenger front airbag at a
specialist garage or with the switch for front passenger airbag when attaching
in exceptional circumstances a child safety seat on the front passenger seat
where the child is seated with its back facing in direction of travel ⇒

 page 145,
Switch for the front passenger front airbag.
● Please comply with any differing national 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 de-
ployed.
● You should have the front passenger airbag (or airbags) reactivated just as
soon as you no longer use a child safety seat on the front passenger seat. 
Child safety seats in Group 2 Fig. 133 Child seat in Group 2 installed
on the rear seat facing the direction of
travel
For children up to about 7 years of age weighing between 15 and 25 kg the opti-
mal solution is a child safety seat in combination with the three-point seat belt
⇒  fig. 133. WARNING
● When transporting a child on the front passenger seat, please comply with
the appropriate national regulations regarding 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 145, Switch for
the front passenger front airbag.
● The shoulder part of the seat belt must run approximately across the mid-
dle 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 national legal regulations regarding the
use of child safety seats. 
Child safety seats in Group 3 Fig. 134 Child seat in Group 3 installed
on the rear seat facing the direction of
travel
For 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 combination with the three-point seat belt ⇒ fig. 134 . £150
Transporting children safely