2012 Seat Leon 5D roof

Table of Contents
Manual structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Content . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Safety First . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Safe driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Brief introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Sitting position for vehicle occupants . . . . . . . . . 10
Pedal area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Storing objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Seat belts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Brief introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Why wear seat belts? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Seat belts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Seat belt tensioners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Airbag system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Brief introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Front airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Knee airbag* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Side airbags* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Curtain airbags* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Deactivating airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Child safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Brief introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Child seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Securing child seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 Operating instructions
. . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Controls and displays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Instruments and warning/control lamps . . . . 61
Instruments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Control lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Driver information system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Information system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Introduction to the Easy Connect system* . . . 79
System settings (CAR)* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Opening and closing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Central locking system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Anti-theft alarm system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Emergency locking and unlocking . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Rear lid (luggage compartment) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Electric windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
Panoramic sliding sunroof* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
Lights and visibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
Lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
Sun blind . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Windscreen wiper system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Rear vision mirror . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
Seats and storage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
General notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Front seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Seat functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
Head restraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
Storage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
Luggage compartment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
Air conditioning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
Heating, ventilation, cooling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134 Driving
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
Steering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
Ignition lock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
Kick-down . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
Handbrake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
Hill hold assist* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
Speed warning function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
Start-Stop system* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
Manual gearbox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
Automatic gearbox/DSG automatic gearbox* . . . 154
Driver assistance systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
Cruise control system (CCS)* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
Lane Assist system* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
SEAT Drive Modes* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
Tiredness detection (break recommendation)* . 173
Tyre monitoring systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
Parking aid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
Practical Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
Intelligent technology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
Electronic Stability Control (ESC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
Brakes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
Electro-mechanical steering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
Power Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
Information recorded in the control units . . . . . . 189
Driving and the environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
Running in the engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
Driving through flooded roads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
Installation of exhaust gas filtration systems . . . 190
Economic and ecological driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
Environmental friendliness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
3
Table of Contents

31
Airbag system
WARNING (Continued)
● To reduce the risk of injury from an inflating airbag, always wear the
seat belt properly ⇒ page 19.
● Always adjust the front seats properly.

The danger of fitting a child seat on the front passenger
seat
Rear-facing child seats must never be used on the front pas-
senger seat when the front passenger airbag is enabled. The front passenger front airbag is a serious risk for a child if it is activated.
The front passenger seat is life threatening to a child if he/she is transpor-
ted in a rear-facing child seat. Children up to 12 years old should always
travel on the rear seat.
If a rear-facing child seat is secured to the front passenger seat, an inflating
airbag can strike it with such force that it can cause critical or fatal injuries.
Therefore we strongly recommend you to transport children on the rear
seats. That is the safest place for children in the vehicle. Alternatively, the
front passenger airbag can be disabled with a key-operated switch
⇒ page 44. When transporting children, use a child seat suitable for the
age and size of each child ⇒ page 47.
For those vehicles that do not include a key lock switch to turn the airbag
off, a Technical Service must be consulted.
WARNING
● If a child seat is secured to the front passenger seat, the risk to the
child of sustaining critical or fatal injuries in the event of an accident in-
creases.
● Never secure a rear-facing child seat to the front passenger seat if the
front passenger airbag is enabled. The child can suffer critical or fatal in-
juries if the front passenger airbag is triggered.
● An inflating front passenger airbag can strike the rear-facing child
seat and project it with great force against the door, the roof or the back-
rest.
● For those vehicles that do not include a key lock switch to turn the
airbag off, a Technical Service must be consulted.
● If, under special circumstances, it is necessary to transport a child in
a rear-facing child seat on the front passenger seat, it is absolutely es-
sential that you observe the following safety measures:
–Deactivate the front passenger airbag ⇒ page 44.
– Child seats must be approved by the child seat manufacturer for
use on a front passenger seat with front or side airbag.
– Follow the installation instructions given by the child seat manu-
facturer and observe the safety instructions ⇒ page 47, Child safe-
ty.
– Before properly installing the child seat, push the front passenger
seat completely backwards so that the greatest possible distance to
the front passenger airbag is ensured.
– Ensure that no objects prevent the front passenger seat from being
pushed completely back.
– The backrest of the front passenger seat must be in an upright po-
sition.

Safety FirstOperating instructionsPractical TipsTechnical specifications

43
Airbag system
In certain types of accident the front, side and curtain airbags may be trig-
gered together.
When the system is triggered, the airbag is filled with propellant gas. In the
process, the curtain airbag covers the side windows and door pillars.
The airbags deploy extremely rapidly, within thousandths of a second, to
provide additional protection in the event of an accident. A fine dust may
develop when the airbag deploys. This is normal and it is not an indication
of fire in the vehicle.
The fully deployed airbags cushion the movement of the front occupants
and help to reduce the risk of injury to the upper body.
The special design of the airbag allows the controlled escape of the propel-
lant gas when an occupant puts pressure on the bag. Thus, the head and
chest are surrounded and protected by the airbag. 
Safety notes on the operation of the curtain airbag system
If you use airbags correctly, they can considerably reduce
the risk of injury in many kinds of accident.
WARNING
● In order for the side airbags to provide their maximum protection, the
prescribed sitting position must always be maintained with seat belts
fastened while travelling.
● For safety reasons, the curtain airbag must be disabled in those vehi-
cles fitted with a screen dividing the interior of the vehicle. See a Techni-
cal Service to make this adjustment.
WARNING (Continued)
● There must be no other persons, animals or objects between the oc-
cupants of the outer seats and the deployment space of the curtain air-
bags so that the curtain airbag can deploy without restriction and pro-
vide the greatest possible protection. Therefore, sun blinds which have
not been expressly approved for use in your vehicle may not be attached
to the side windows.
● The built-in coat hooks should be used only for lightweight clothing.
Do not leave any heavy or sharp-edged objects in the pockets. Please, do
not hang the clothes on coat hangers.
● The airbags provide protection for just one accident; replace them
once they have deployed.
● Any work on the curtain airbag system or removal and installation of
the airbag components for other repairs (such as removal of the roof lin-
ing) should only be performed by a specialised workshop. Otherwise,
faults may occur during the airbag system operation.
● Do not attempt to modify components of the airbag system in any
way.
● The side and head airbags are managed through sensors located in
the interior of the front doors. To ensure the correct operation of the side
and head airbags neither the doors nor the door panels should be modi-
fied in any way (e.g. fitting loudspeakers). If the front door is damaged,
the airbag system may not work correctly. All work carried out on the
front door must be done in a specialised workshop.

Safety FirstOperating instructionsPractical TipsTechnical specifications

87
Opening and closing
To deactivate the alarm, press the button 
on the remote control key, or
switch on the ignition. After a certain time, the alarm will automatically
switch off.
Switch off the vehicle interior monitoring and tow-away protection if you
wish to prevent the alarm from being triggered accidentally ⇒ page 95.
Turn signals
The turn signals will flash twice when the vehicle is unlocked and once
when the vehicle is locked.
If the signals do not flash, this indicates that one of the doors, the rear lid or
the bonnet is not closed correctly.
Accidental lock-out
The central locking system prevents you from being locked out of the vehi-
cle in the following situations:
● If the driver door is open, the vehicle cannot be locked with the central
locking switch ⇒ page 93.
Lock the vehicle with the remote control key, when all the doors and the rear
lid have been closed. This prevents the accidental locking of the vehicle.
WARNING
Do not leave anyone (especially children) in the vehicle if it is locked from
the outside and the anti-theft security system* is enabled, as the doors
and windows cannot then be opened from the inside. Locked doors could
delay assistance in an emergency, potentially putting lives at risk.
Note
● Never leave any valuable items in the vehicle unattended. Even a locked
vehicle is not a safe.
● If the diode on the driver door sill lights up for about 30 seconds when
the vehicle is locked, the central locking system or anti-theft alarm* is not
working properly. You should have the fault repaired at a SEAT Official Serv-
ice or specialised workshop.
● The vehicle interior monitoring of the anti-theft alarm* system will only
function as intended if the windows and the sunroof* are closed. 
Safety FirstOperating instructionsPractical TipsTechnical specifications

95
Opening and closing
The vehicle interior monitoring and anti-tow sensor (tilt sensor) are auto-
matically switched on when the anti-theft alarm is switched on. In order to
activate it, all the doors and the rear lid must be closed.
If you wish to switch off the vehicle interior monitoring and the anti-tow sys-
tem, it must be done each time that the vehicle is locked; if not, they will be
automatically switched on.
The vehicle interior monitoring and the anti-tow system should be switched
off if animals are left inside the locked vehicle (otherwise, their movements
will trigger the alarm) or when, for example, the vehicle is transported or
has to be towed with only one axle on the ground.
False alarms
The interior monitoring only operates correctly if the vehicle is completely
closed. Please observe legal requirements when doing so.
The following cases may cause a false alarm:
● opened windows (partially or fully)
● panoramic/tilting sunroof open (partially or completely).
● movement of objects inside the vehicle, such as loose papers, items
hanging from the rear vision mirror (air fresheners), etc.
Note
● If the vehicle is relocked and the alarm is activated without the volumet-
ric sensor function, relocking will activate the alarm with all its functions,
except the volumetric sensor. This function is reactivated when the alarm is
switched on again, unless it is deliberately switched off.
● If the alarm has been triggered by the volumetric sensor, this will be in-
dicated by a flashing of the warning lamp on the driver door when the vehi-
cle is opened. The flash is different to the flash indicating the alarm is acti-
vated. ●
The vibration of a mobile phone left inside the vehicle may cause the ve-
hicle interior monitoring alarm to trigger, as both sensors react to move-
ments and shakes inside the vehicle.
● If on activating the alarm, any door or the rear lid is open, only the alarm
will be activated. The vehicle interior monitoring and the anti-tow system
will only be activated once all the doors are closed (including the rear lid). 
Deactivating the vehicle interior monitoring and tow-away
protection 1)
Fig. 51 Vehicle interior
monitoring/tow-away
protection button
When the vehicle is locked, the alarm will be triggered if move-
ments are detected in the interior (e.g. by animals) or if the vehi-
cle's inclination is changed (e.g. during transport). You can prevent
the alarm from being triggered accidentally by switching off the ve-
hicle interior monitoring and/or tow-away protection.
– To switch off the vehicle interior monitoring and tow-away pro-
tection, switch off the ignition and press button ⇒ Fig. 51. The
button will light up. 
1)
Only available in certain markets.
Safety FirstOperating instructionsPractical TipsTechnical specifications

96Opening and closing
–When the vehicle is locked now, the vehicle interior monitoring
and the tow-away protection are switched off until the next time
the door is opened.
If the anti-theft security system (Safelock)* ⇒  page 86 is switched off, the
vehicle interior monitoring and the tow-away protection are automatically
switched off.
WARNING
Do not leave anyone (especially children) in the vehicle if it is locked from
the outside and the anti-theft security system* is enabled, as the doors
and windows cannot then be opened from the inside. Locked doors could
delay assistance in an emergency, potentially putting lives at risk.

Emergency locking and unlocking Introduction
The doors, rear lid and panoramic tilting sunroof can be locked manually
and partially opened, for example if the key or the central locking is dam-
aged.
Additional information and warnings:
● Vehicle key set ⇒ page 88
● Central locking and locking system ⇒ page 86
● Rear lid ⇒  page 98
WARNING
Opening and closing doors carelessly can cause serious injury.
● If the vehicle is locked from outside, the doors and windows cannot
be opened from the inside.
● Never leave children or disabled people alone in the car. They could
be trapped in the car in an emergency and will not be able to get them-
selves to safety.
● Depending on the time of the year, temperatures inside a locked and
closed vehicle can be extremely high or extremely low resulting in seri-
ous injuries and illness or even death, particularly for young children.
WARNING
Getting in the way of the doors and the rear lid is dangerous and can lead
to serious injury.
● Open and close the doors and the rear lid only when there is nobody
in the way.
CAUTION
When opening and closing in an emergency, carefully disassemble compo-
nents and then reassemble them carefully to avoid damage to the vehicle. 

101
Opening and closing
WARNING (Continued)
● The electric windows will work until the ignition has been switched
off and one of the front doors has been opened.
● If necessary, use the safety switch to disable the rear electric win-
dows. Make sure that they have been disabled.
Note
If the window is not able to close because it is stiff or because of an ob-
struction, the window will automatically open again ⇒ page 102. If this
happens, check why the window could not be closed before attempting to
close it again. 
Convenience opening/closing
Use the convenience opening/closing function to easily open/
close all the windows and the sliding/tilting sunroof* from the out-
side.
Convenience open function
– Press and hold button 
on the remote control key until all the
windows and the sliding/tilting sunroof* have reached the de-
sired position, or
– First unlock the vehicle using button 
on the remote control
key and then keep the key in the driver door lock until all the
windows and the sliding/tilting sunroof* have reached the re-
quired position.
Convenience close function
– Press and hold button 
on the remote control key until all the
windows and the sliding/tilting sunroof* are closed ⇒ , or –
Keep the key in the driver door in the "lock" position until all the
windows and the sliding/tilting sunroof* are closed.
Programming convenience opening in the Easy Connect*
– Select: function button CAR
> control button
Vehicle systems* >
Vehicle settings > Central locking > Open the window by holding
button down or > Front window on/off or Sunroof on/off*
WARNING
● Take care when closing the sliding/tilting sunroof* and windows.
There is a risk of suffering injury.
● For safety reasons, you should only use the remote control open and
close functions within about 2 metres of the vehicle. To avoid injuries, al-
ways keep an eye on the windows and the sliding/tilting sunroof* when
pressing the button to close them. The windows stop moving as soon as
the button is released.

One-touch opening and closing*
One-touch opening and closing means you do not have to
hold down the button.
Buttons ⇒ Fig. 56 1
, 2, 3 and 4 have two positions for open-
ing windows and two for closing them. This makes it easier to open
and close windows to the desired position.
One-touch closing
– Pull up the window button briefly up to the second position. The
window closes fully. 
Safety FirstOperating instructionsPractical TipsTechnical specifications

103
Opening and closing
Panoramic sliding sunroof* Introduction
Additional information and warnings:
● SEAT information system ⇒  page 73
● Central locking and locking system ⇒ page 86
WARNING
Careless or uncontrolled use of the panoramic sliding sunroof can cause
serious injuries.
● Only open or close the panoramic sliding sunroof when nobody is in
the way of its travel.
● Always take all the keys with you whenever you leave the vehicle.
● Never leave children or disabled persons in the vehicle, particularly if
they have access to the keys. Uncontrolled use of the key could lock the
vehicle, start the engine, turn on the ignition and operate the panoramic
sliding sunroof.
● The panoramic sliding sunroof can be operated for up to about ten mi-
nutes after the ignition has been switched off, provided the driver door
and the front passenger door are not opened.
Note
In case of a fault in the operation of the panoramic sliding sunroof, the anti-
trap function will not operate correctly. Visit a specialised workshop. Opening or closing the panoramic sliding sunroof
Fig. 57 On the interior
roof lining: use the rotary
button for opening and
closing
Fig. 58 On the interior
roof lining: Press the but-
ton and pull on it to lift
and close the sliding
sunroof
To open the panoramic sliding sunroof, the switch must be in the position A
. 
Safety FirstOperating instructionsPractical TipsTechnical specifications