
Lights and visibility
Windscreen wiper functionsWindscreen wiper performance in different sit-
uations
If the vehicle is at a
standstillThe activated position provision-
ally changes to the previous posi-
tion.
During automatic
wipe
The air conditioner comes on for
approximately 30 seconds in air
recirculation mode to prevent the
smell of the windscreen washer
fluid entering the inside the vehi-
cle.
For the interval wipe
Intervals between wipes depend
on the vehicle's speed. The high-
er the vehicle speed the shorter
the intervals. Heated windscreen washer jets
The heating only thaws the frozen jets, it
does not thaw the water in the washer hoses.
The heated windscreen washer jets automati-
cally adjust the heat depending on the ambi-
ent temperature, when the ignition is switch-
ed on.
Headlight wash/wipe system
The headlight washers/wipers clean the
headlight lenses.
After the ignition is switched on, the first and
every fifth time the windscreen washer is
switched on, the headlights are also washed. Therefore, the windscreen wiper lever should
be pulled towards the steering wheel when
the dipped beam or main beam are on. Any
incrusted dirt (such as insects) should be
cleaned regularly (e.g. when refuelling).
To ensure the headlight washers work cor-
rectly in winter, any snow which has got into
the bumper jet supports should be cleaned
away. If necessary, remove snow with an anti-
icing spray.
Note
The wiper will try to wipe away any obstacles
that are on the windscreen. The wiper will
stop moving if the obstacle blocks its path.
Remove the obstacle and switch the wiper
back on again. Rain sensor*
Fig. 103
Windscreen wiper lever: adjusting
the rain sensor A Fig. 104
Rain sensor sensitive surface The rain sensor controls the frequency of the
windscreen wiper intervals, depending on
the amount of rain
››› . The sensitivity of the
rain sensor can be adjusted manually. Man-
ual wipe ››› page 102 .
Mo v
e the lever to the required position
››› Fig. 103:
Rain sen
sor off.
Rain sensor on; automatic wipe if neces-
sary.
Setting sensitivity level of rain sensor
– Set control to the right: highly sensi-
tive.
– Set control to the left: less sensitive.
When the ignition is switched off and then
back on, the rain sensor stays on and starts
operating again when the windscreen wipers
are in position 1 and the vehicle is travel-
ling at more than 16 km/h (10 mph). »
0 1
A
103
Technical specifications
Advice
Operation
Safety
The essentials

Operation
Seat heating Fig. 107
In the centre console: front seats
heating switch The seat cushions can be heated electrically
when the ignition is switched on. The back-
rest is also heated in some versions.
The seat heating should not be engaged in
any of the following conditions:
● The seat is unoccupied.
● The seat has a covering.
● There is a child seat installed in the seat.
● The seat cushion is wet or damp.
● The indoor or outdoor temperature is great-
er than 25°C (77°F).
Activate
Press the button or . Seat heating is
switched on fully. Adjusting the heating output
Press the button
or
repeatedly until the
desired intensity level is reached.
Deactivating
Press the button
or until all warning
lamps switch off. WARNING
People who, because of medications, paraly-
sis or chronic diseases (e.g. diabetes) cannot
perceive pain or temperature, or have a limi-
ted perception thereof, may suffer burns to
the back, buttocks or legs when using seat
heating, an occurrence that may entail a very
lengthy recovery period or from which it may
not be possible to recover fully. Seek medical
advice if you have doubts regarding your
health.
● People with limited pain and temperature
thresholds must never use seat heating. WARNING
If the fabric of the cushion is wet, this can ad-
versely affect the operation of the seat heat-
ing, increasing the risk of burns.
● Make sure the seat cushion is dry prior to
using the seat heater.
● Do not sit on the seat with clothing that is
wet or damp.
● Do not leave clothing that is wet or damp
on the seat. ●
Do not spill liquid on the seat. CAUTION
● To avoid damaging the heating elements of
the seat heaters, please do not kneel on the
seat or apply sharp pressure to a single point
on the seat cushion or backrest.
● Liquids, sharps objects and insulating ma-
terials (e.g. covers or child seats) can damage
the seat heating.
● In the event of smells, switch off the seat
heating immediately and have it inspected by
a specialised workshop. For the sake of the environment
The seat heating should remain on only when
needed. Otherwise, it is an unnecessary fuel
waste. Front centre armrest
The centre armrest can be adjusted to various
levels.
Adjusting the centre armrest
– To adjust the tilt, lift the armrest from the
starting position so that it is engaged.
– To return the armrest to the starting posi-
tion, remove the armrest from the upper
fixed position and lower it.
108

Operation
●
Always secure objects, even when the lug-
gage compartment floor is properly lifted.
● Only objects that do not protrude more
than 2/3 the height of the floor may be car-
ried between the rear seat and the raised lug-
gage compartment floor.
● Only objects that do not weigh than ap-
proximately 7.5 kg may be carried between
the rear seat and the raised luggage compart-
ment floor. CAUTION
● The maximum weight that can be loaded on
the luggage compartment variable floor in
the top position is 150 kg.
● Do not let the luggage compartment floor
fall when closing it. Always carefully guide it
downwards in a controlled manner. Other-
wise, the lining and the floor of the luggage
compartment could be damaged. Note
SEAT recommends the use of straps to secure
objects to retaining rings. Roof carrier
Introduction The vehicle roof has been designed to opti-
mise aerodynamics. For this reason, cross bars or conventional roof carrier systems can-
not be secured to the roof water drains.
As the roof water drains are integrated in the
roof to reduce air resistance, only SEAT-ap-
proved cross bars and roof carrier systems
can be used.
Cases in which cross bars and the roof
carrier system should be disassembled.
● When they are not used.
● When the vehicle is washed in a car wash.
● When the vehicle height exceeds the maxi-
mum height, for example, in some garages. WARNING
When heavy or bulky loads are transported
on the roof carrier system, car driving per-
formance is affected, as the centre of gravity
shifts and there is greater wind resistance.
● Always secure the load properly using belts
or retaining straps that are suitable and in a
good condition.
● Bulky, heavy, long or flat loads have a neg-
ative effect on aerodynamics, the centre of
gravity and driving performance.
● Avoid sudden braking and manoeuvres.
● Adapt your speed and driving style at all
times to suit visibility, weather, road and traf-
fic conditions. CAUTION
● Remove the cross bars and the roof carrier
system before entering a car wash.
● Vehicle height is increased by the installa-
tion of cross bars or a roof carrier system and
the load secured on them. For this purpose,
check that your vehicle's height does not sur-
pass the headspace limit, for example, for un-
derpasses or for entering garage doors.
● Cross bars, a roof carrier system and the
load secured on them should not interfere
with the roof aerial or hamper the path of the
panoramic sun roof ››› page 92 and the rear
lid.
● On opening the rear lid make sure that it
does not knock into the roof load. For the sake of the environment
When cross bars and a roof carrier system are
installed, the increased air resistance means
that the vehicle uses more fuel. 122

Operation
● Secure the vehicle as usual by applying the
handbrake firmly and putting it in 1st gear. WARNING
● Take measures to reduce the risk of injury
when you leave your vehicle unattended.
● Never park where the hot exhaust system
could ignite inflammable materials, such as
dry grass, low bushes, spilt fuel etc.
● Never allow vehicle occupants to remain in
the vehicle when it is locked. They would be
unable to open the vehicle from the inside,
and could become trapped in the vehicle in
an emergency. In the event of an emergency,
locked doors will delay assistance to vehicle
occupants.
● Never leave children alone in the vehicle.
They could set the vehicle in motion, for ex-
ample, by releasing the handbrake or the
gearbox lever.
● Depending on weather conditions, it may
become extremely hot or cold inside the vehi-
cle. This can be fatal. Manual gearbox
Changing gears Read the additional information carefully
››› page 24
In some countries the clutch pedal must be
fully pressed down for the engine to start. Selecting reverse gear
● Engage reverse gear only when the vehicle
is stopped.
Changing down gears
While driving, changing down a gear must al-
ways be done gradually, i.e. to the gear di-
rectly below and when the engine speed is
not too high ››› . Changing down while by-
passing one or various gears at high speeds
or at high engine speeds can damage the
clutch and the gearbox, even if the clutch
pedal remains depressed ››› .
WARNING
When the engine is running, the vehicle will
start to move as soon as a gear is engaged
and the clutch released. This is also the case
with the electro-mechanical parking brake
switched on.
● Never engage reverse gear when the vehi-
cle is moving. WARNING
If the gear is changed down inappropriately
by selecting a gear that is too low, you may
lose control of the vehicle, causing an acci-
dent and serious injuries. CAUTION
When travelling at high speeds or at high en-
gine speeds, selecting a gear that is too low can cause considerable damage to the clutch
and the gearbox. This can also occur if the
clutch pedal is pressed and held and it does
not engage.
CAUTION
To prevent damage and avoid premature
wear, please observe the following:
● Do not rest your hand on the gear lever
while driving. The pressure applied by your
hand is transmitted to the gearbox selector
forks.
● Always ensure that the vehicle is complete-
ly stopped before engaging the reverse gear.
● Always press the clutch to the floor when
changing gears.
● Never hold the vehicle “on the clutch” on
hills with the engine on. Automatic gearbox/DSG
automatic gearbox*
Introduction Your vehicle is equipped with an electronical-
ly controlled manual gearbox. Torque be-
tween the engine and the gearbox is trans-
mitted via two independent clutches. They re-
place the torque converter found on conven-
tional automatic gearboxes and allow for
132

Operation
– Take your left foot off the brake pedal. WARNING
● Always adapt your driving style to the traf-
fic conditions.
● Only use the launch control programme
when road and traffic conditions permit, and
make sure your manner of driving and accel-
erating the vehicle does not inconvenience or
endanger other road users.
● Make sure that the ESC remains switched
on. Please note that when the ASR and ESC
are deactivated, the wheels may start to spin,
causing the vehicle to lose grip. Risk of acci-
dent!
● After putting the vehicle into gear, the
“sport” mode of the ESC should be deactiva-
ted again by briefly pressing the OFF but-
ton. Note
● After using the Launch control programme,
the temperature in the gearbox may have in-
creased considerably. In this case, the pro-
gramme could be disabled for several mi-
nutes. The programme can be used again af-
ter the cooling phase.
● Accelerating with the Launch control pro-
gramme places a heavy load on all parts of
the vehicle. This can result in increased wear
and tear. Downhill speed control*
The downhill speed control function helps
the driver when driving down steep gradi-
ents.
Downhill speed control is activated when the
selector lever is in D/S and the driver applies
the foot brake. The automatic gearbox auto-
matically engages a lower gear that is suita-
ble for the slope. The downhill speed control
function attempts to maintain the speed at
which the vehicle was travelling when the
foot brake was applied (subject to the laws of
physics and technical drive limitations). It
may be necessary to adjust the speed again
using the foot brake in certain situations. Giv-
en that the downhill speed control can only
change down to 3rd gear, on very steep de-
scents the tiptronic mode may be required. In
this case, manually reduce the tiptronic to
2nd or 1st gear to use the engine brake and
reduce the charge on the brakes.
Downhill speed control is deactivated as
soon as the road levels out again or you
press the accelerator pedal.
On vehicles with cruise control system*
››› page 150 , downhill speed control is acti-
v at
ed when you set a cruising speed. WARNING
The downhill speed control cannot defy the
laws of physics. Therefore, speed cannot be maintained constant in all situations. Always
be prepared to use the brakes!
Inertia mode
The inertia mode enables the kinetic energy
of the vehicle to be harnessed enabling cer-
tain stretches to be driven without using the
accelerator. This enables fuel to be saved.
Use the inertia mode to “let the vehicle roll”
before, for example, arriving in a town.
Switching on inertia mode
Important: selector lever must be in position
D, gradients below 12 %.
–
Select, in SEAT Drive Profile*, Eco mode
››› page 169 .
– Tak
e your foot off the accelerator.
The driver message Inertia will be displayed.
At speeds higher than 20 km/h (12 mph), the
gearbox will automatically disengage and the
vehicle will roll freely, without the effect of
the engine brake. While the vehicle rolls, the
engine runs at idling speed.
Stopping inertia mode
– Press the brake or the accelerator pedal.
To make use of the braking force and switch
off the engine again, simply press the brake
pedal briefly.
138

Driving
Applying both the inertia mode (= prolonged
section w ith l
ess energy) and the switching
off using inertia (= shorter section without
the need for fuel) facilitates improved fuel
consumption and emission balance. WARNING
● If the inertia mode has been switched on,
take into account, when approaching an ob-
stacle and releasing the accelerator pedal,
that the vehicle will not decelerate in the usu-
al manner: risk of accident!
● When using inertia mode while travelling
down hills, the vehicle can increase speed:
risk of accident!
● If other users drive your vehicle, warn them
about inertia mode. Note
● Inertia mode is only available in eco (SEAT
Drive Profile*) driving mode.
● The driver message Inertia is only displayed
w ith the c
urrent consumption. In inertia
mode the gear will no longer be displayed
(for example “E” will appear instead of “E7”).
● On downhill sections with gradients above
15 %, the inertia mode will automatically be
switched off temporarily. Backup programme
A backup programme is in place if a fault
should occur in the control system.
If all the positions of the selector lever are
shown over a light background on the instru-
ment panel display, there is a system fault
and the automatic gearbox will operate in
with the backup programme. When the back-
up programme is activated, it is possible to
drive the vehicle, however, at low speeds and
within a selected range of gears. In some ca-
ses
driving in reverse gear may not be possi-
ble . CAUTION
If the gearbox operates with the backup pro-
gramme, take the vehicle to a specialised
workshop and have the fault repaired without
delay. Clutch
Clutch overheating! Please stop!
The clutch has overheated and could be dam-
aged. Stop the vehicle and wait for the gear-
box to cool with the engine at idling speed
and the selector lever in position P. When the
warning lamp and the driver message switch
off, have the fault corrected by a specialised
workshop without delay. If the warning lamp
and the driver message do not switch off, do not continue driving. Seek specialist assis-
tance.
Faults in the gearbox
Gearbox: Fault! Stop the vehicle and place
the lever in the position P.
There is a fault in the gearbox. Stop the vehi-
cle in a safe place and do not continue driv-
ing. Seek specialist assistance. Gearbox: System fault! You may continue
driving.
Have the fault corrected by a specialised
workshop without delay. Gearbox: System fault! You can continue
driving with restrictions. Reverse gear disa-
bled
Take the vehicle to a specialised workshop
and have the fault repaired without delay. Gearbox: System fault! You can continue
driving in D until switching off the engine
Stop the vehicle in a safe place well away
from moving traffic. Seek specialist assis-
tance. Gearbox: too hot. Adapt your driving ac-
cordingly
Continue driving at moderate speeds. When
the warning lamp switches off, you can con-
tinue driving in a normal manner. »
139
Technical specifications
Advice
Operation
Safety
The essentials

Operation
Gearbox: press the brake and engage a
gear again.
If the fault was caused by a gearbox with a
high temperature, this driver message will be
displayed when the gearbox has cooled
again.
Run-in and economical driving Running in the engine A new vehicle should be run in over a dis-
tance of 1500 km (1000 miles). For the first
1,000 km the engine speed should not ex-
ceed 2/3 of the maximum permissible engine
speed. In doing so, do not accelerate at full
throttle and do not drive with a trailer! From
1000 to 1500 km (600 to 1000 miles) you
can gradually increase the engine rpm and
road speed.
During its first few hours of running, the in-
ternal friction in the engine is greater than
later on when all the moving parts have bed-
ded down.
How the vehicle is driven for the first 1,500
km influences the future engine perform-
ance. Subsequently, also drive at a moderate
rate, especially when the engine is still cold:
this will lead to less engine wear and tear
and will prolong its useful life. You should also avoid driving with the engine
speed too
low
. Change down to a lower gear
when the en
gine no longer runs “smoothly”.
If the engine revs too much, cut fuel injection
to protect the engine.
Environmental friendliness Environmental protection is a top priority in
the design, choice of materials and manufac-
ture of your new SEAT.
Constructive measures to encourage
recycling
● Joints and connections designed for easy
dismantling
● Modular construction to facilitate disman-
tling
● Increased use of single-grade materials.
● Plastic parts and elastomers are marked in
accordance with ISO 1043, ISO 11469 and
ISO 1629.
Choice of materials
● Use of recycled materials.
● Use of compatible plastics in the same part
if its components are not easily separated.
● Use of recycled materials and/or materials
originating from renewable sources. ●
Reduction of volatile components, includ-
ing odour, in plastic materials.
● Use of CFC-free coolants.
Ban on heavy metals, with the exceptions
dictated by law (Annex II of ELV Directive
2000/53/EC): cadmium, lead, mercury, hexa-
v al
ent chromium.
Manufacturing methods
● Reduction of the quantity of thinner in the
protective wax for cavities.
● Use of plastic film as protection during ve-
hicle transport.
● Use of solvent-free adhesives.
● Use of CFC-free coolants in cooling sys-
tems.
● Recycling and energy recovery from resi-
dues (RDF).
● Improvement in the quality of waste water.
● Use of systems for the recovery of residual
heat (thermal recovery, enthalpy wheels,
etc.).
● The use of water-soluble paints.
140

Driving
Exhaust gas filtration system Catalytic converter
Applies to vehicles with petrol engine:
the
vehicle must only be used with unleaded pet-
rol, otherwise the catalytic converter will be
irreparably damaged.
Never drive until the tank is empty; an irregu-
lar supply of fuel can cause faulty combus-
tion. In these cases, unburned fuel reaches
the exhaust system, which can overheat and
damage the catalytic converter.
Diesel particulate filter
Applies to vehicles with diesel engine: the
diesel engine particulate filter eliminates
most of the soot from the exhaust gas sys-
tem. Under normal driving conditions, the fil-
ter cleans itself. The diesel particulate filter is
cleaned automatically without need for indi-
cation by the warning lamp . This may be
noticed because the engine idle speed in-
creases and an odour may be detected.
If automatic filter purification cannot be car-
ried out (because only short trips are taken,
for example), soot will accumulate on the fil-
ter and the Diesel particulate filter warning
lamp will switch on.
Facilitate the automatic filter cleaning proc-
ess by driving in the following manner: drive
for approximately 15 minutes at a minimum
speed of 60 km/h in 4th or 5th gear (auto- matic gearbox: gear S). Maintain the engine
speed at approximately 2,000 rpm. The rise
in temperature causes the soot on the filter
to burn. On completion of the cleaning the
warning lamp will switch off. If the warning
lamp does not switch off, go immediately to a
specialised workshop to rectify the problem.
WARNING
● Because of the high temperatures which
can occur in the exhaust gas control system
(catalytic converter or diesel particulate fil-
ter), do not park the vehicle where the ex-
haust can come into contact with flammable
materials under the car (e.g. on grass or at
the forest edge). Fire hazard!
● Do not apply wax underneath the vehicle
around the area of the exhaust system: Fire
hazard! Driving through flooded roads
To prevent damage to the vehicle when driv-
ing through water, for example, along a floo-
ded road, please observe the following:
● The water should never come above the
lower edge of the bodywork.
● Drive at pedestrian speed. WARNING
After driving through water, mud, sludge,
etc., the braking effect can be delayed slight-
ly due to moisture build-up on the discs and
brake pads. Applying the brakes carefully
several times will remove the moisture and
restore the full braking effect. CAUTION
● Driving through flooded areas may severely
damage vehicle components such as the en-
gine, transmission, running gear or electrical
system.
● Whenever driving through water, the Start-
Stop system* must be switched off
››› page 148. Note
● Check the depth of the water before enter-
ing the flooded zone.
● Do not stop in the water, drive in reverse, or
stop the engine in any situation.
● Note that vehicles travelling in the opposite
direction may splash water that could exceed
the maximum permitted water height for your
vehicle.
● Avoid driving through salt water (corro-
sion). 141Technical specifications
Advice
Operation
Safety
The essentials