
Seats  and  storage 
General  recommen
dations 
Why  is your seat adjustment  so important? 
The safety  belts  and  the  airbag system  can 
only provide  maximum  protection  if  the  front 
seats  are correctly adjusted. 
There  are  various  ways  of adjusting  the  front 
seats  to  provide  safe  and  comfortable  support 
for  the  driver  and  the  front  passenger.  Adjust 
your  seat  properly  so  that : 
- you  can  easily  and  quick ly  reach  all  the 
switches  and  controls  in the  instrument 
panel 
- your  body  is properly  supported  thus  reduc ing  physical  stress  and  fatigue 
- the  safety  belts  and  airbag  system  can  offe r 
maximum  protection 
¢ page  140. 
I n the  following  sections,  you  will see  exactly 
how you  can  best  adjust  your  seats . 
There  are  special  regulations  and  instructions 
for  installing  a  child  safety  seat  on  the  front  passenger's  seat.  Always follow  the  informa
tion  regard ing  child  safety  provided  in 
¢ page  161,  Child Safety. 
.&_ WARNING 
-
Refer  to ¢ page  121,  Driving Safely for 
important  information,  tips,  suggestions 
and  warnings  that  you  should  read  and  fol
low for  your  own  safety  and  the  safety  of 
your  passengers. 
.&_ WARNING 
Incorrect  seating  position  of  the  driver  and 
all  other  passengers  can  result  in serious 
personal  injury. 
- Always  keep  your  feet  on  the  floor  when 
the  vehicle  is in motion  -never  put  your 
feet  on  top  of  the  instrument  panel,  out  of the  w indow  or on  top  of  the  seat  cush
ion.  This  app lies  especially  to  the  passen-
S eat s an d  sto rage  61 
gers . If  your  seating  position  is  incorrect, 
you  increase  the  risk of  injury  in the  case 
of sudden  braking  or  an  accident . If  the 
airbag  inflates  and  the  seating  position 
is incorrect,  this  cou ld  result  in pe rsonal 
in jury or  even  death. 
- It  is  important  for  both  the  driver  and  front  passenger  to  keep  a  distance  of at least  10  inches  (25  cm)  between  them
selves  and  the  steering  wheel  and/or  in
s trumen t panel.  If you're  s itting  any 
closer  than  th is, the  airbag  system  can 
not  protect  you  properly.  In  addition,  the 
front  seats  and  head  restraints  m ust  be 
adj usted  to  your  body  height  so  that  they 
can  give you  max imum  protect ion. 
- Always try  to  keep  as  much  distance  as 
possible  between  yourself  and  the  steer
ing wheel  or  instrument  panel. 
- Do not  adjust  the  driver's  or  front  pas senger's  seat  whi le  the  vehicle  is  moving. 
Your seat  may  move  unexpectedly,  caus
ing  sudden  loss  of veh icle  control  and 
pe rsonal  injury.  If you  adjust  you r seat 
while  the  veh icle  is  moving,  you  are  ou t 
of  po sit ion. 
Driver's seat 
The correct seat  position  is important  for safe 
and  relaxed  driving  . 
We  recommend  that  you  adjust  the  dr iver's 
seat  in the  follow ing  manner: 
..,  Adjust  the  seat  in fore  and  aft  direction  so 
that  you  can  easily  push  the  pedals  to  the 
floor  wh ile  keeping  your  knees  slightly  bent 
¢ .&, in Why is your  seat  adjustment  so  im 
portant?  on page  61 . 
"" Adjust  the  seatback  so  that  when  you  sit 
w ith  your  back  against  the  seatback , you  can 
s ti ll grasp  the  top  of t he steering  wheel. 
...  App lies  to  vehicles  with  adjustable  head  re
straints:  Adjust  the  head  restraint  so  the  up
per  edge  is as  even  as  possible  wit h the  top 
of your  head.  If  that  is  not  possib le,  try  to 
adjust  the  head  restraint  so  that  it  is as  .,.  

62  Seats  and storage 
close  to  this  position  as  possible 
¢page 64. 
A WARNING 
Never place  any  objects  in the  driver's  foot
well.  An object  could  get  into  the  pedal  area  and  interfere  with  pedal  function.  In 
case  of  sudden  braking  or  an  accident,  you 
would  not  be  able  to  brake  or  accelerate . 
Front passenger's  seat 
Always move the front  passenger  seat into 
the  rearmost  position. 
To  avoid  contact  with  the  airbag  while  it is  de
ploying,  do  not  sit any  closer  to  the  instru
ment  panel  than  necessary  and  always  wear 
the  three-point  safety  belt  provided  adjusted  correctly . We  recommend  that  you  adjust  the 
passenger's  seat  in  the following  manner: 
•  Bring the  backrest  up  to  an  (almost)  upright 
position.  Do not  ride  with  the  seat  reclined. 
•  Applies  to  vehicles  with  adjustable  head  re
straints:  Adjust  the  head  restraint so  the  up
per  edge  is as  even  as  possible  with  the top 
of your  head.  If that  is not  possible,  try  to 
adjust  the  head  restraint  so  that  it is as 
close  to  this  position  as  possible 
¢ page  64. 
• Place  your  feet  on  the  floor  in front  of  the 
passenger's  seat. 
Front  seats 
Power  seat adjustment 
Applies  to vehicles: with  power adjustab le seats 
Fig.  67 Front  seats:  power  seat adjustment 
Controls 
@-Adjusting  the  lumbar  support* : press  the 
button  in the  corresponding  position  ¢ .&, . 
@ -Moving  the  seat  up/down:  press  the  but
ton  up/down  ¢ .&, . 
@ -Moving the  seat  forward/back:  press  the 
button  forward/back¢ .&,. 
©-Adjusting  the  backrest  angle: press the 
button  forward/back¢ .&.. 
©-Raising/lowering * the  head  restraints: 
press  the  button  up/down¢.&. . 
@ -Lengthening/shortening  the  upper thigh 
support* : lift  the  handle.  A spring  moves  the 
front  seat  cushion  forward  ¢ .&. . 
A WARNING 
---Never adjust  the  driver's  or front  pas 
senger's  seat  while  the  vehicle  is moving. 
If you  do  this  while  the  vehicle  is moving, 
you  will  be  out  of  position . Always adjust 
the  driver's  or  front  passenger's  seat 
when  the  vehicle  is not  mov ing. 
- Be careful  when  adjusting  the  seat 
height.  Check to  see  that  no  one  is in the 
way,  or  serious  injury  could  result! 
- Because  the  seats  can  be  electrically  ad
justed  with  the  ignition  off  or with  the 
ignition  key  removed, never leave chil
dren  unattended  in the  vehicle.  Unsuper
vised  use  of the  electric  seat  adjust
ments  may  cause  serious  injury. 
- To  reduce  the  risk of  injury  in the  case  of 
sudden  braking  or accident,  front  pas 
sengers  must  never  ride  in a  moving  ve
hicle with  the  backrest  reclined.  Safety 
belts  and  the  airbag  system  only  offer  maximum  protection  when  the  backrest 
is upright  and  the  safety  belts  are  prop
erly  positioned  on  the  body.  The  more 
the  backrest  is reclined,  the  greater  the 
risk  of  personal  injury from  an  incorrect 
seating  position  and  improperly  posi
tioned  safety  belts.  

64  Seats  and  storage 
Center  armrest 
The center  armrest  can be adjusted  to several 
levels. 
Fig. 70 Armrest  between  the  driver's/front  passenger's 
seats . 
Adjusting  the  center armrest 
.. To adjust  the  angle,  raise  the  armrest  from 
t he  starting  position 
¢ fig. 70 detent  by de
tent. 
"  To bring  the  armrest  back  into  the  starting 
position,  raise  it  out  of  the  top  detent  and 
fold  it  back  down . 
The armrest  can  slide  forward  and  back . 
Head  restraints 
Front  head  restraints 
Applies to  vehicles:  with  a djustable  head  restrain ts 
Head restraints  that  are adjusted  according 
to  body size,  along  with  the seat  belt , offer 
effective  protection. 
Fig. 71 Fro nt seat:  adjusting  the  manual  head re
st raint s 
Fig.  72 Front  seat:  ad just ing the  power head  restraint 
Adjust  the  head  restraint  so  the  upper  edge  is 
as  even  as  possible  with  the  top  of your  head. 
If  that  is  not  possible,  try to  adjust  the  head 
restraint  so  that  it  is as  close to this  position 
as  possible 
¢ page  64 . 
.,. To adjust  the  height  of the  manual  head  re
straint*,  grip  the  head  restraint on  the  sides 
with  both  hands  and  slide  it  up/down  until  it 
locks  into  p lace 
¢fig.  71. 
"' To adjust  the  height  of the  power  head  re
straint*,  press  the  button  up/down 
¢ fig. 72. 
Refer  to¢ page 124, Proper  adjustment  of 
head  restraints 
for  guidelines  on  how  to  ad
just  the  height  of the  front  head  restraints  to  suit  the  occupant's  body  size. 
A WARNING 
- Driving without  head restraints  or with 
head  restraints  that  are  not  properly  ad
justed  increases  the  risk of  serious  or  fa
tal  neck  injury  dramatically. 
- Read  and  heed  all  WARNINGS 
¢page 124 , 
@ Tips 
Correctly  adjusted  head  restraints  and 
safety  belts  are  an  extremely  effective 
combination  of  safety  features . 
Seat  memory 
Description 
Applies  to  vehicles : wi th  memo ry  fun ctio n 
The  memory  function  allows  you  to  quickly 
and  easily  store  and  recall  personal  seating