52 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
you r seat prope rly 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 a irbag system can offer
maximum protection ¢
page 147.
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 seat on the front pas
senger's seat. Always fo llow the information
regarding ch ild safety provided in
q page 173, Child Safety .
A WARNING
Incorrect seating position of the dr iver 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 . Th is applies especially 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 a ccident. If th e
a ir bag infla tes and the se ating position
is inco rre ct, this could resul t in personal
injury o r even death.
- It is import ant for both the driver an d
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, the
front seats and head restraints must be adjusted 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 o r inst rument pane l.
- Do not adjust the driver's o r front pas
senger's seat whi le the vehicle is moving.
Your sea t may move unexpected ly, caus
ing sudden loss of vehicle cont rol and
personal injury . If yo u adjust yo ur seat
while the veh icle is moving, yo u are out
of posit ion.
Driver's seat '
The correct seat position is important for safe
and relaxed driving.
We recommend tha t you adjus t the dr iver's
seat in the fo llowing manner :
.,. Adjust t he seat in fore and aft direction so
t ha t you can eas ily push the peda ls to the
floor w hile keeping your knees sl igh tly bent
q A in Why is your seat adjustment so im
portant? on page 52.
.. Adjust the backrest so that when you sit
w ith your back against t he backrest, you can
still grasp the top of the steering wheel.
.. Adjust the head restraint so the upper edge
is as even as poss ible with the top of your
head . If that is not poss ible , try to adjust
t he head restraint so that it is as close to
t his pos it ion as possib le
q page 55. Move
the head restraint so that it is as close to the
back of the head as poss ible .
A WARNING "--
Neve r 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
wo uld not be able to brake or accelerate .
