2011 VOLVO V50 fold seats

01 Safety
Supplemental Restraint System 01
24
The front airbag system
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The front airbags supplement the three-point
seat belts. For these airbags to provide the
protection intended, seat belts must be worn
at all times.
The front airbag system includes gas genera-
tors surrounded by the airbags, and decelera-
tion sensors that activate the gas generators,
causing the airbags to be inflated with nitrogen
gas.
G015167
Location of the passenger's side front airbag
As the movement of the seats' occupants com-
presses the airbags, some of the gas is expel-
led at a controlled rate to provide better cush-
ioning. Both seat belt pretensioners also
deploy, minimizing seat belt slack. The entire
process, including inflation and deflation of the
airbags, takes approximately one fifth of a sec-
ond.
The location of the front airbags is indicated by
SRS AIRBAG embossed on the steering wheel
pad and above the glove compartment, and by
decals on both sun visors and on the front and
far right side of the dash.
•The driver's side front airbag is folded and
located in the steering wheel hub.
•The passenger's side front airbag is folded
behind a panel located above the glove
compartment.
WARNING
•The airbags in the vehicle are designed
to be a SUPPLEMENT to-not a replace-
ment for-the three-point seat belts. For
maximum protection, wear seat belts at
all times. Be aware that no system can
prevent all possible injuries that may
occur in an accident.
•Never drive a vehicle with your hands on
the steering wheel pad/airbag housing.
•The front airbags are designed to help
prevent serious injury. Deployment
occurs very quickly and with consider-
able force. During normal deployment
and depending on variables such as
seating position, one may experience
abrasions, bruises, swellings, or other
injuries as a result from deployment of
one or both of the airbags.
•When installing any accessory equip-
ment, make sure that the front airbag
system is not damaged. Any interfer-
ence in the system could cause mal-
function.

01 Safety
Whiplash Protection System01
35
Certain components in the WHIPS sys-
tem may need to be replaced.
•Do not attempt to service any compo-
nent in the WHIPS system yourself.
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WARNING
•Any contact between the front seat
backrests and the folded rear seat
could impede the function of the WHIPS
system. If the rear seat is folded down,
the occupied front seats must be
adjusted forward so that they do not
touch the folded rear seat.
•If the rear seat backrests are folded
down, cargo must be secured to pre-
vent it from sliding forward against the
front seat backrests in the event of a
collision from the rear. This could inter-
fere with the action of the WHIPS sys-
tem.
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WARNING
Boxes, suitcases, etc. wedged behind the
front seats could impede the function of the
WHIPS system.

04 Interior
Front seats
04
104
Manual seat adjustment
The driver's and passenger's seats can be
adjusted in a number of ways to provide a
comfortable driving and sitting position.
Forward-rearward: Pull the lever up and
slide the seat to the position of your choice.
Use this control to raise or lower the front
edge of the seat cushion.
Use this control to raise or lower the rear
edge of the seat cushion.
Turn this knob (optional on some passeng-
er's seats) to adjust the firmness of the
lumbar support
1.
Turn this knob to adjust the backrest tilt.
Control panel for the optional power seats.
NOTE
Both front seats are equipped with head
restraints that can be adjusted vertically to
suit the height of the passenger. The upper
edge of the head restraint should be at least
on a level with the upper-most point of the
seat occupant's ear (see the section
"Adjusting the front seat head restraints" on
page 107).
WARNING
•Do not adjust the seat while driving.
•Adjust the driver’s seat and seat belt
(see page 20) before driving. The seat
should be adjusted so that the brake
pedal can be depressed fully.
•Position the seat as far rearward as
comfort and control allow.
Folding down the front seat backrests
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The front passenger's seat backrest can be
folded down to provide room for long loads.
1. Move the seat as far back as possible.
2. Adjust the backrest to the upright position.
3. Lift the catches on the rear of the backrest
as shown in the illustration.
4. Without releasing the catches, push the
backrest forward.
5. Move the seat as far forward as possible
so that the head restraint slides under the
glove compartment.
1Also applies to the optional power seat.

04 Interior
Front seats
04

107 Adjusting the front seat head restraints
The front seat head restraints are designed so
that they can be adjusted to two different
height positions.
NOTE
•When the vehicle leaves the factory, the
front seat head restraints will be in the
lower position.
•It is advisable to have the front seat
head restraints in the lower position if
you wish to fold down the seat's back-
rest.
The head restraints should be put in the upper
or lower position according to the height of the
occupant of the seat.
The upper edge of the head restraint should be
at least on a level with the upper-most point of
the seat occupant's ear (see illustration).
To raise or lower a head restraint:
Raising or lowering a head restraint1. Release the head restraint by pressing the
button underneath its left side, at the base
of the support (see the illustration).
2. Move the head restraint until it clicks
(locks) into the upper or lower position.
WARNING
After adjusting the head restraint, be sure
that it is securely locked in the new position
by pressing and/or pulling it.
Removing a head restraintThe front seat head restraints can be removed,
for example, when cleaning the upholstery or if
the front passenger's seat backrest is folded
down to accommodate a long load. To do so:
1. Release the head restraint by pressing the
release button underneath its left side, at
the base of the support.
2. While holding in the release button, press
the locking button at the base of the head
restraint's right support with a screw
driver, etc., and lift the head restraint until
it can be removed completely.

04 Interior
Rear seat
04
116
WARNING
•The red lock indicator is VISIBLE when
the backrest is NOT locked in position
and hidden when the backrest is cor-
rectly locked in place. When the back-
rest is in the upright position, push and
pull it to make sure that it is correctly
locked in place.
•When the rear seat is folded down, do
not place heavy objects against the
backs of the front seats. This places a
severe strain on the folded down back-
rest of the rear seat. Be sure to secure
cargo.
•Cargo must not be stacked higher than
the top of seat backs. This will reduce
the possibility of luggage, etc. becom-
ing projectiles during sudden maneu-
vers, rapid braking or an accident.

06 Starting and driving
Transporting loads
06
164
Loading the vehicle
Your vehicle's load-carrying capacity is affec-
ted by factors such as:
•the number of passengers
•tire inflation
•the amount of optional or accessory equip-
ment installed
•the amount of cargo.
See the chapter "Wheels and tires" for more
detailed information.
Before loading the car, turn off the engine, and
apply the parking brake when loading or
unloading long objects. The gear selector can
be inadvertently knocked out of position by
long cargo, causing the car to move.
Keep the following in mind when
loading the vehicle:
•Load objects in the cargo area against the
rear seat backrest.
•Load heavy cargo as low as possible.
•Center wide loads.
•Secure all cargo with restraining straps
anchored to the load securing eyelets.
•Cover sharp edges on the load.
•Seats can be folded down and head
restraints removed to extend the cargo
compartment, see page 114.
WARNING
•Remember that an object weighing
44 lbs (20 kg) produces a force of
2,200 lbs (1,000 kg) in a head-on colli-
sion at 30 mph (50 km/h)!
•When the rear backrest(s) are folded
down, the vehicle should not be loaded
to a level higher than 2 in. (5 cm) below
the upper edge of the rear side win-
dows. Objects placed higher than this
level could impede the function of the
Inflatable Curtain.
Load carriers (accessory)
Load carriers are available as Volvo accesso-
ries. Follow the installation instructions sup-
plied with the load carriers.
Observe the following points when using load
carriers:
•To avoid damaging your car and to achieve
maximum safety when driving, we recom-
mend using the load carriers that Volvo has
developed especially for your car.
•Volvo-approved removable roof racks are
designed to carry the maximum allowable
roof load for this vehicle: 165 lbs (75 kg).
For Non-Volvo roof racks, check the man-
ufacturer's weight limits for the rack.
•Never exceed the rack manufacturer's
weigh limits and never exceed the maxi-
mum rated roof load of 165 lbs (75 kg).
•Avoid single-point loads. Distribute loads
evenly.
•Place heavier cargo at the bottom of the
load.
•Secure the cargo correctly with appropri-
ate tie-down equipment.
•Check periodically that the load carriers
and load are properly secured.
•Remember that the car's center of gravity
and handling change when you carry a
load on the roof.
•The car's wind resistance and fuel con-
sumption will increase with the size of the
load.
•Drive smoothly. Avoid rapid starts, fast
cornering and hard braking.

12 Index
12
284
DSTC, stability system............................ 156
E
Economical driving.................................. 138
Electrical current – conserving................ 140
Electrically operated moonroof.................. 82
Electrical system...................................... 275
Electronic Brake Force Distribution
(EBD)........................................................ 153
Electronic Climate Control......................... 93
air distribution table............................ 101
Electronic Climate Control (ECC)............... 98
Emergency brake..................................... 155
Emergency locking retractor...................... 38
Emergency starting.................................. 160
Emergency towing................................... 158
Emission inspection readiness................ 213
Engine
specifications...................................... 273
starting................................................ 146
starting with keyless drive.................. 148
Engine compartment overview................216Engine oil................................................. 217
changing............................................. 217
checking............................................. 217
specifications...................................... 272
volumes.............................................. 271
Environment............................................... 14
Equalizer, audio system........................... 245
Eyelets for anchoring loads..................... 119
F
Federal Clean Air Act............................... 212
Flat tires
changing..................................... 190, 197
repairing with tire sealing system....... 192
Fluids and oils.......................................... 271
FM1/FM2 menu....................................... 246
Fog lights
front...................................................... 65
rear........................................................ 65
Front airbags.............................................. 24
disconnecting passenger’s side airbag 28
Front fog lights........................................... 65
Front seats............................................... 104
adjusting the head restraints.............. 107folding backrests................................ 104
manually operated.............................. 104
power.................................................. 105
Fuel filler door
unlocking.............................................. 66
Fuel gauge................................................. 54
Fuel requirements.................................... 142
Fuel tank volume.....................................271
Fuses, replacing......................................231G
Gasoline requirements............................. 142
Geartronic................................................ 150
Glossary of tire terminology..................... 183
Glove compartment................................. 112
locking................................................ 131
Gross vehicle weight (GVW)............184, 269
H
Hand brake (parking brake)..................... 155
Hazard warning flashers............................ 76

12 Index
12
286
Locks, child safety................................... 132
Long distance trips.................................. 140
Lug nuts (wheel nuts)............................... 189
M
Maintenance............................................ 212
hoisting the vehicle............................. 213
performed by the owner.....................213
Manual climate control.............................. 95
Mirrors....................................................... 79
Model plate.............................................. 267
Moonroof................................................... 82
Motor oil........................................... 217, 272
checking............................................. 217
N
Net in cargo area.............................118, 119
O
Occupant safety........................................ 18
Occupant weight sensor............................ 28
Octane recommendations.......................142
Oil............................................................. 217
changing............................................. 217
checking............................................. 217
On Call Roadside Assistance.................. 280
Opening the hood.................................... 215
Owner maintenance................................. 213
P
Panel lighting, instrument.......................... 65
Park assist............................................... 169
Parking brake........................................... 155
Parking lights............................................. 64
Passenger’s side front airbag, disabling. . . 28
Periodic owner-performed maintenance. 213
Permissible axle weight........................... 184
Personal settings....................................... 84
Power door mirrors.................................... 80Power front seat...................................... 105
memory function................................. 106
Power moonroof........................................ 82
Power steering fluid................................. 220
Power windows......................................... 77
Pregnancy, using seat belts during........... 21
R
Radio
Sirius satellite radio............................250
Radio functions........................................ 246
HD digital radio................................... 248
Rain sensor - windshield wipers................ 74
Rear fog light............................................. 65
Rear park assist....................................... 169
Rear seat backrests, folding down.......... 114
Rear seats
center head restraint........................... 114
Rearview mirror.......................................... 79
auto-dim function................................. 79
Rearview mirror with compass.................. 79
Recalls, child restraints.............................. 49
Refrigerant (A/C system).................... 92, 271