2012 Seat Altea airbag off

44Airbag system
Deactivating airbags*
Front passenger airbag deactivation
If you fit a rear-facing child seat to the front passenger seat,
the front passenger airbag must be de-activated.
Fig. 26 In the glove com-
partment: switch for acti-
vating and deactivating
the front passenger air-
bag
Fig. 27 Warning lamp for
deactivated passenger
airbag in centre console
When the passenger airbag is deactivated, only the front airbag is
deactivated. All the other airbags in the vehicle remain activated.
Deactivating the front passenger airbag
– Switch the ignition off.
– Turn the ignition switch in the key operated switch in the glove
compartment to the position OFF ⇒ fig. 26.
– Check that the warning lamp “OFF” on the instrument panel
⇒ fig. 27 remains lit when the ignition is switched on ⇒ 
.
Activating the front passenger airbag
– Switch the ignition off.
– Turn the ignition key in the key-operated switch in the glove
compartment to the position ON ⇒ fig. 26.
– Check that the warning lamp on the instrument panel ⇒ fig. 27
does not light up when the ignition is switched on ⇒ 
.

45
Airbag system
WARNING
● The driver is responsible for the proper position of the key-operated
switch.
● You should only deactivate the front passenger airbag when, in ex-
ceptional cases, you have to use a rear-facing child seat on the front pas-
senger seat ⇒ page 46, Child safety.
● Never install a child seat facing backwards on the front passenger
seat unless the front passenger airbag has been disabled. Otherwise,
there is a risk of death. If under exceptional circumstances it is necessary
to transport a child in a rear-facing child seat on the front passenger
seat, you must always disable the front passenger airbag.
● As soon as the child seat is no longer needed on the front passenger
seat, enable the front passenger airbag again.
● Only deactivate the passenger airbag when the ignition is off, other-
wise a fault may occur in the airbag system, which could cause the airbag
to not deploy properly or not deploy at all.
● When the passenger airbag is deactivated, if the warning lamp AIR-
BAG OFF is not continuously lit up, there may be a fault in the airbag sys-
tem:
–Have the airbag system inspected immediately by a specialised
workshop.
– Do not use a child seat on the front passenger seat! The front pas-
senger airbag could be triggered despite the fact that there is a fault
in the system and, as a result, a child could sustain serious or fatal
injuries.
– It is unpredictable whether the front passenger airbag will deploy
in the event of an accident. Warn all your passengers of this.
● When using the ignition key to activate/deactivate the front passen-
ger airbag, only the front passenger airbag will be activated/deactivated.
The side airbag and head airbag on the passenger side will remain ac-
tive.

Safety FirstOperating InstructionsPractical TipsTechnical Specifications

99
Unlocking and locking
Automatic speed-dependent locking and unlocking
system*
This is a safety system which prevent the access to the vehi-
cle from the outside when it is running (for example, when
stopped at a traffic light).
Locking
The doors and the tailgate are automatically locked when vehicle speed ex-
ceeds 15 km/h.
If the vehicle is stopped and one of the doors is opened, when the vehicle
moves off again and exceeds a speed of 15 km/h, the unlocked door(s) will
be locked once more.
Unlocking
The driver door automatically unlocks when the key is removed from the ig-
nition.
Each door can be unlocked and opened independently from the inside (for
example, when a passenger gets out of it). To do it, simply operate the lever
inside the door.
WARNING
The door handles must not be operated when the vehicle is running: the
door would open.
 Automatic locking system for involuntary unlocking*
It is an anti-theft system and prevents the unintentional un-
locking of the vehicle.
If the vehicle is unlocked and any of the doors (including the tailgate) are
opened within 30 seconds, it gets re-locked automatically. This function
prevents the vehicle from remaining unlocked if the unlock button is press-
ed by mistake. 
Emergency unlocking system
If the airbags are triggered during an accident, the vehicle is unlocked, ex-
cept for the luggage compartment. It is possible to lock the vehicle from in-
side with the central locking, after turning the ignition off and back on
again.
If the doors must be locked from the outside, see “Emergency locking of the
doors” 
Safety FirstOperating InstructionsPractical TipsTechnical Specifications

219
Vehicle maintenance and cleaning
WARNING
Never clean the dash panel and the airbag module surface with cleaners
containing solvents. Solvents cause the surface to become porous. If the
airbag triggered, plastic parts could become detached and cause inju-
ries.
CAUTION
Cleaning products which contain solvents will damage the material. 
Wooden trim cleaning*
– Clean the wooden trim with a water-moistened clean cloth.
– If this does not provide satisfactory results, use a gentle soap
solution.
CAUTION
Cleaning products which contain solvents will damage the material. 
Cloth seat covers and fabric trim cleaning
Cloth seat covers and fabric trim on the doors, headlining etc. can be
cleaned with a special interior cleaner or with dry foam and a soft brush. Cleaning the radio and climate controls
To clean the radio and/or climate controls, use a soft damp cloth. For more
resistant dirt, a neutral soap solution may be used.

Leather cleaning*
Normal cleaning
– Moisten a cotton or woollen cloth with water and wipe over the
leather surfaces.
Cleaning stubborn stains
– More stubborn dirt can be removed using a mild soap solution
(pure liquid soap; two tablespoons diluted in one litre of water)
and a cloth.
– Do not let the water soak through the leather or soak into the
seams.
– Then wipe off with a soft, dry cloth.
Leather maintenance
– The leather should be treated twice a year with a special leath-
er-care product, available in your Authorised Service Centre.
– Apply these products very sparingly.
– Then wipe off with a soft, dry cloth.
SEAT does everything possible to preserve the genuine qualities of this nat-
ural product. Due to the natural properties of the specially selected hides
employed, the finished leather has a certain sensitivity to grease and dirt, 
Safety FirstOperating InstructionsPractical TipsTechnical Specifications

221
Accessories, parts replacement and modifications
Accessories, parts replacement and modifications Accessories and spare parts
Always consult an Authorised Service Centre before purchas-
ing accessories and parts.Your vehicle is designed to offer a high standard of active and passive safe-
ty.
Before purchasing accessories and parts, and before making technical
changes to your vehicle, we recommend you to consult your Authorised
Service Centre.
SEAT dealerships will be happy to provide you with the latest information
about the use, legal requirements and recommendations from the manufac-
turer regarding accessories and parts.
We recommend you use only SEAT Approved Accessories®
and SEAT Ap-
proved Spare Parts ®
. This way, SEAT can guarantee that the product in
question is suitable, reliable and safe. SEAT Authorised Service Centres
have the necessary experience and facilities to ensure that parts are correct-
ly and professionally installed.
Despite a continuous observation of the market, SEAT is not able to assess
the reliability, safety and suitability of those parts SEAT has not approved.
For this reason, SEAT cannot assume responsibility for any non-genuine
parts used, even if these parts have been approved by an official testing
agency or are covered by an official approval certificate.
Any equipment subsequently installed which has a direct effect on the driv-
er's control of the vehicle (e.g. cruise control system or electronically-con-
trolled suspension) must be approved by SEAT and bear the e mark (the Eu-
ropean Union's authorisation symbol). If any
additional electrical components are fitted which do not serve to con-
trol the vehicle itself (e.g. refrigerator box, laptop or ventilator fan), these
must bear the CE mark (European Union manufacturer conformity declara-
tion).
WARNING
Accessories, for example telephone holders or cup holders, should never
be fitted on the covers, or within the working range, of the airbags. Oth-
erwise, there is a danger of injury if the airbag is triggered in an accident.

Technical modifications
Modifications must always be carried out according to our
specifications.
Unauthorised modifications to the electronic components or software in the
vehicle may cause malfunctions. Due to the way the electronic components
are linked together in networks, other indirect systems may be affected by
the faults. This can seriously impair safety, lead to excessive wear of compo-
nents, and also invalidate your vehicle registration documents.
SEAT Authorised Service Centres cannot be held liable for any damage
caused by modifications and/or work incorrectly performed.
For this reason, we recommend having all work performed by a SEAT Author-
ised Technical Service using Genuine SEAT®
Spare Parts. 
Safety FirstOperating InstructionsPractical TipsTechnical Specifications

Index
A
ABS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195Warning lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Accessories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221
Acoustic signal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Acoustic warning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
Adaptive headlights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Adjusting the seat belt height . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
AFS (cornering lights) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Airbag covers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Airbag system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Curtain airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Front airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Side airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Warning lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Air conditioner 2C-Climatronic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
General notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
Air conditioner automatic mode 2C-Climatronic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
Air conditioning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
Air recirculation mode 2C-Climatronic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
Manual air conditioner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
Alarm system Switching off . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
All-wheel drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198 Alternator
Warning lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Anti-freeze . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237
Anti-lock brake system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195 Warning lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Anti-theft alarm system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107 Switching off . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Anti-theft wheel bolts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259
Aquaplaning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250
Ashtray . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
Aspects to note before setting off . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
ASR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195 Warning lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Automatic anti-dazzle interior mirror Activating the anti-dazzle function . . . . . . 132
Deactivating the anti-dazzle function . . . . 132
Automatic car wash tunnel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213
Automatic gearbox Kick-down feature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
Automatic gearbox/DSG automatic gearbox . 180
Automatic lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
Automatic windscreeen wiper/washer . . . . . . 128
Auxiliary audio input: AUX-IN . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
B
Ball coupling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209 Battery
Changing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245
Charging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245
Winter conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243
Before setting off . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Biodiesel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229
Biodiesel fuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229
Bonnet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232
Brake fluid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242 Changing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243
Warning lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Brake pads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
Brake pedal warning lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Brakes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202 Worn brake pads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Brake servo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194, 202
Brake system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242 Brakes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
Brake servo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
Warning lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Braking distance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
Bulb changes General notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268
Bulb defect Warning lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Buzzer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123, 171
301
Index

Safety equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Safety instructionsCoolant temperature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Safety notes Airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Curtain airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Deactivating front passenger airbag . . . . . . 45
Front airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Seat belt tensioners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Side airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Using child seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Using seat belts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Seals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216
Seat adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135, 138, 140
Seat belt cleaning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220
Seat belt position Pregnant women . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Seat belts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Seat belt protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Seat belt release . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Seat belts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Incorrectly fastened . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Not worn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Safety notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Warning lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Seat belt tensioner Warning lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Seat belt tensioners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Seat belt warning lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Seat heating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
Selective opening . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98 Selector lever locking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
Selector lever positions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
servotronic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
Side airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Safety notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Side lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Sitting position Driver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Front passenger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Sitting position, occupants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Sliding/tilting sunroof . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Snow chains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254, 286
Soot accumulation in the diesel engine particu- late filter *
Indicator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Spare parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221
Spare wheel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
Start-Stop Activating and deactivating . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
Function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
Starting petrol engines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
Starting Petrol engines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
Starting the engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172, 173 After the fuel tank has been run dry . . . . . 173
Steam jets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214
Steering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169 Steering lock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
Steering wheel audio controls Audio version . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Audio + telephone version . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91 Steering wheel height adjustment . . . . . . . . . 169
Storage compartment
Centre armrest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
Front passenger side . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
Front seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
Lock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
Other storage compartments . . . . . . . . . . 145
Storage in the luggage compartment . . . . . . . 144
Sun visor Sliding/tilting sunroof . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
Sun visors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
Switch Hazard warning lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Light switch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Switches electric windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Switching off the engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174
T Tailgate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109 Emergency opening . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
warning lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Tail lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272
Tank Fuel level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Reserve indicator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Tank capacity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
TCS see ASR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89, 195
Technical modifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221
The danger of not using the seat belt . . . . . . . . 22
307
Index