54 Seat s a nd s tor ag e
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 adjust ing 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 prope rly supported thus reduc
ing physical stress and fatigue
- the safety be lts and airbag system can offer
maximum protection
¢ page 108 .
In the following sec tions, you will see exactly
how you can best adjust you r seats .
There are special regulations and instructions
for insta lling a child safety seat on the front
passenger's seat. Always heed the informa
tion rega rd ing child safety provided in
~ page 130, Child Safety.
A WARNING
Incorrect seating position of the driver and
all other passengers can result in serious
personal in jury.
- Always keep your feet on the floor when
the vehicle is in motion -never p ut your
feet on top of the instrument panel, out
of the w indow or on top of the seat cush
ion! This applies espec ially to the passen
gers .
If your seating position is incorrect
yo u increase the r isk of injury in the case
of sudden braking or an acc ident.
If the
airbag infla tes and the seating position
is incorrect this could result in personal
injury or even death.
- It is import ant for bo th 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
strument panel. If you're s itting any
closer than th is, the a irbag system can
not protect you properly . In addition to
this, the front seats and head restra ints
must be adjusted to your body height so
that they can give you max imum protec
tion.
- Always try to keep as much distance as
possible between yourself and the s teer
ing wheel or instrument pane l.
- Do not adjust the driver's o r fron t pa s
senger's seat whi le the vehicle is moving.
Your seat may move unexpected ly, caus
ing sudden loss of vehicle contro l and
personal injury . If you ad just yo ur seat
while the veh icle is moving, you are out
of posit ion.
Driver's seat
The correct seat position is important for safe
and relaxed driving.
We recommend that you adjust the driver's
seat in the fo llowing manner:
.,. Adjust the seat in fore and aft direction so
t ha t you can easily p ush the peda ls to the
floor wh ile keeping your knee slightly bent
~ A in Why is your seat adjustment so im
portant? on page 54 .
.,. Adjust the seatback so that when you sit
w ith your back against the seatback, you can
still grasp the top of the steering wheel.
.,. Posit ion the head restraint accord ing to the
occupant 's height~
page 57 . For maxi
mum protection, t he top of the head re
s t raint shou ld be a t least at eye level, pref
erably higher and idea lly level with the top
of the head
¢ page 94, fig. 92.
A WARNING "--
Never place any objects in the dr iver's foot-
well. An object could get into the pedal
area and interfere with pedal function. In
case of sudden braking or an acc ident, 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
pos it ion .
Do not ride with the seat reclined .
.. The idea l posit ion for the head restraint is
with the upper edge of the restraint level
with the top of your head
¢ page 5 7. You
shou ld
not lower the top of the restraint be
low the level of your eyes .
.. Place your feet on the floor in front of the
passenger's seat.
Adjusting front seats manually
Adjustment controls
Applies to vehicles: with manual seat adjustme nt
Various controls on the manual seats provide
a wide range for individual adjustments.
Fig. S5 Ad just men t contro ls : locat ions o n drive r's seat
CD Moving the seat forward or backward
@ Adjusting the lumbar support
@ Adjusting the seat height
@ Adjusting the seatback angle
® Releasing the seatback
Seats and storage 55
@ Tips
Some of the controls are fitted on certain
models only or they are optional equip
ment .
Adjusting the manual seats
Applies to vehicles: with manual seat adjustment
Position, angle and shape of the manual
seats can be adjusted to provide safe and
comfortable seating .
Reed and heed all WARNINGS ¢.&. before
you adjust your seat .
Moving the front seats forward or
backward
.. Lift the lever CD¢ page 55, fig. 55 and slide
the seat to the desired position.
.. Release the lever and then move the seat
further until you feel and hear it engage.
Adjusting the seat height
.. Pull the lever ® up and pump it to raise the
seat .
.. Push the lever down and pump it to lower
the seat.
Adjusting the seatback angle
.. Lean forward to take your weight off the
seatback .
.. Turn the hand wheel@ in the direction you
want the seatback to tilt.
Releasing seatback
.. Pull the lever ® up .
.. Push the seatback forward.
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 dr iver's or front passenger's seat
when the vehicle is not moving .
- Be careful when adjusting the seat
he ight. Check to see that no one is in the
way, or serious injury cou ld result!
56 Seats and storage
- To reduce the r isk of injury in the case of
sudden braking or accident, front pas
sengers must never ride in
a moving ve
hicle with the seatback recl ined . Safety
belts and the airbag system only offer
maximum protection whe n the seatback
is up right and the safe ty belts a re p rop
erly posi tioned on the body. The more
the seatback is re clin ed, the greate r the
risk of personal injury from an incorrect
seating posit ion and improperly posi
t ioned safety be lts!
Power seats
Adjustment switches
App lies to vehicles: with power seats
The operating logic for the switches corre
sponds to the construction and function of
the seat.
Fi g. 56 Adjust ment sw itches : locat io ns on driver seat
The operating logic for the switches corre
sponds to the constr uction, the design and
the function of the seat . Push or pull e ither
switch in exactly the same d irect ion you want
the corresponding part of the seat to move.
Adjustment switches
CD Adjusting the lumbar s upport
@ Adjusting seat height and fore-and-aft po
sition
@ Adjusting the ang le of the seatback
@ Releasing the seatback
Power seat adjustment
Applies to vehicles: with power seats
The switches can be moved in various direc
tions to allow precise adjustment.
Read and heed all warnings before you adjust
your seat.¢ &.
Adju sting the curv atur e of the lumbar
support
.,._ Push the forward or rear depression on the
sw itch shell CD¢
page 56, fig. 56 to in
crease or decrease the back rest curvature.
Adju sting the he ight of the lumbar
support
.,._ Push the top or bottom depress ion on the
sw itch shell (!) to raise or lower the support
in the back rest .
Mo ving the front se ats forward or
ba ckward
.,._ Press the switch @forward or backward
hor izontally.
Ad ju sting the seat height
.,._ Pull or push the switch @even ly at both
ends to ra ise or lower the seat.
Angling the seat cu shion up and down
(front )
.,._ Pull or push the switch @at the front only
to raise or lower the seat .
Angling the seat cushion up and down
( rear)
.,._ Pull or push the switch @at the rear on ly
to ra ise or lower the seat.
Ad ju sting the seatback
.,._ Push or pull the switch @ in the same direc-
tion you want the seatback to tilt .
Releasing seatback
.,. Pull the lever@ up .
.,. Push the seatback forward.
A WARNING
-Never adjust the driver's or front passen
ger seat while the vehicle is moving. If
you do this while the vehicle is moving,
you will be out of posit ion. Always adjust
the driver's or front passenger seat when
the vehicle is not moving.
- Be careful when adjusting the seat
height. Check to see that no one is in the
way, or serious injury could result!
- Beca use the seats can be electrically ad
justed wi th the ign it ion key removed,
never leave children unattended in the
vehicle. Unsupervised use of the e lectric
seat adj ustments may cause serious in
jury.
- To reduce the r isk of injury in the case of
sudden braking or accident, front pas
sengers must never ride in a moving ve hicle with the seatback recl ined. Safety
belts and the airbag system offer maxi
mum p rotection only when the seatback
is upright and the safety be lts a re prop
erly posit ioned on the body. The more
the seatback is recl ined, the greate r the
risk of personal injury from an inco rrec t
seating position and improperly posi
t ioned safety be lts!
- Always make sure the front seatbac ks are
in the upright position and securely
locked in place when driving.
S ea ts a nd s to rage 57
Head restraints
Adjusting head restraints, front seats
The head restraints must be adjusted proper
ly to provide protection.
Fi g. 57 Driver's seat head restra int: adjust ing the
he ig ht
The head restraints on the front seats can be
adjusted to provide safe support to head and
neck at the optimum height . When optimally
adjusted , the top of the rest raint should be
level with the top of the head
~ page 94,
Proper adjustment of head restraints .
.. Grasp the sides of the head restraint with
both hands and slide it upward/downward
until you fee l it click into place<>
fig. 57.
A WARNING
- Driving withou t head restraint s or wit h
head restra ints tha t are not properly ad
justed increases the risk of serious o r fa
tal neck injury dramatica lly .
- Read and heed all WARNINGS
<> page 94 .
{i) Tips
Correctly adjusted head restraints and
safety be lts are an ext reme ly effect ive
combination of safety features.
-