52 Seat s a nd s tor ag e
Seats and storage
General information
Important information
& WARNING
Refer to the chapter Driving Safely
r::!>poge 121, Driving safety for important
information, t ips, suggestions and warn
ings that you should read and follow for
your own safety and the safety of your pas sengers.
Why is your seat adjustment so important?
The safety belts and the airbag system con
only provide maximum protection if the front
seats ore 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 quickly 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 offer
maximum protection
r::!> page 140.
In the following sections, you will see exactly
how you can best adjust your seats .
There are special regulations and instructions
for insta lling a child seat on the front pas
senger's seat. Always follow the information regarding child safety provided in
r::!> page 166, Child Safety .
& 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 f loor when
the vehicle is in motion - never p ut your
feet on top of the instrumen t panel, out of the window or on top of the seat c
ush
ion. This applies espec ially to the passen
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 could result in pe rsonal
inj ury or even death.
- It is important for both the drive r 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 sitting any
closer than this, the airbag 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 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 cont ro l and
pe rsonal injury. If you adjust yo ur seat
while the veh icle is moving, yo u are ou t
of posit 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 fo llow ing manne r:
.. Adjust the seat in fore and aft direction so
that you can easily push the peda ls to the
floor wh ile keeping your knees sl ightly bent
r::!> &. in Why is your seat adjustment so im
portant? on page 52.
.. Ad just the bac krest so tha t when you sit
w ith your back against the backrest, you can
still hold the top of the steering wheel.
.. For adjustab le head restraints: adjust the
head restra int so the upper edge is as even
as poss ible with the top of your head. If that
is not possible, try to adjust the head ..,.
54 Seats and storage
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.
Power seat adjustment
Appl ies to vehicles: with power a djustable seats
Fig. 43 Front seat: power seat adjustment
@-Adjusting the lumbar support: press the
button in the desired direction.
@-Moving the seat up/down: press the but
ton up/down . To adjust the front seat cushion,
press the front button up/down. To adjust the
rear seat cushion, press the rear button up/
down .
@-Moving the seat forward/back: press the
button forward/back.
©-Adjusting the backrest angle: press the
button forward/back.
@-Lengthening/shortening the upper thigh
support*: lift the handle.
.&_ WARNING
- Only adjust the front seat with when the
vehicle is stationary. Otherwise, this in
creases the risk of an accident
- The power adjustment for the front seats
also works with the ignition switched off
or with the ignition key removed. For this
reason, children should never be left un
attended in the vehicle -they could be in
jured! -
Exerc ise caution when adjusting the seat
height. Unsupervised or careless seat ad
justment can pinch fingers or hands
causing injuries .
- The front seat backrests must be not tilt
ed too far back when driving, because
this affects the effectiveness of the safe
ty belts and airbag system, which in
creases the risk of 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.
Front center armrest
App lies to vehicles: wit h front cente r armrest
The center armrest con be adjusted to several
levels.
Fig. 44 A rmr est between the driver's/fro nt passenger's
seats
.. To adjust the ang le, raise the armrest
¢ fig. 44 notch by notc h.
.. To bring the armrest back down, raise it out
of the top notch and fold it back down . Then
lift the armrest to the desired position, if
necessary .
Please note that the driver 's arm movements
may be restricted with the armrest folded
Ill>
down. For this reason, the armrest should not
be folded down when driving in city traffic.
The arm rest can slide forward and back.
There is a storage compartment under the
armrest .
Rear center armrest
Applies to vehicles : wit h rear center armrest
The storage compartment and cupholder are
integrated in the armrest.
Fig. 45 Rear armrest
Folding the armrest down
~ Tilt the armrest all the way down .
Opening the storage compartment
~ Lift the cover on the upper rim.
For more information on the use of the cu
pholders, see¢
page 57 .
Head restraints
Front head restraints
Applies to vehicles : wit h adjustab le head restra ints
Fig. 46 Front seat : adjusting standard head restraints
Seats and storage 55
Applies to vehicles with super sport seats* (no
illustration): The head restraints are integrat
ed in the backrest and cannot be adjusted.
Adjusting standard head restraints
Adjust the head restraints so the upper edge
i s as even as possible with the top of your
head. If that is not possible, try to adjust as
close to this position as possib le. Push the
head restraint as close as possible to the back
of the head.
~ To move the head restraint up or forward,
slide it until it locks into place.
~ To move the head restraint down or back,
press the side button -arrow-¢
fig. 46 and
slide the head restraint until it locks into
place .
Refer to ¢
page 12 5, Proper adjustment of
head restraints
for guidelines on how to ad
just the height of the front head restraints to
su it the occupant's body size.
A WARNING
-Driving without head restraints or with
head restra ints that are not properly ad
justed increases the risk of ser ious or fa
tal neck injury dramatically.
- Read and heed all WARNINGS
¢ page 12 5, Proper adjustment of head
restraints
(D Tips
Correct ly adjusted head restraints and
safety belts are an extreme ly effective
combina tion of safety features.
, Rear head restraints
Fig . 47 Outer rear head restraint s: release point
-
To provide maximum protection, safety belts
must always be positioned correctly on the
wearer's body.
... Adjust the front seat and head restraint
properly
c::> page 53, Front seats.
• Make sure the seatback of the rear seat
bench is in an upright position and securely
latched in place before using the belt
c::> ,&..
... Hold the belt by the tongue and pull it even
ly across the chest and pelvis
c::> ,&. .
""Insert the tongue into the correct buckle of
your seat until you hear it latch securely
c::>fig. 117.
.., Pull on the belt to make sure that it is se-
curely latched in the buckle.
Automatic safety belt retractors
Every safety belt is equipped with an automat
ic belt retractor on the shoulder belt . This fea
ture locks the belt when the belt is pulled out
fast, during hard braking and in an accident.
The belt may also lock when you drive up or
down a steep hill or through a sharp curve. During normal driving the belt lets you move
freely.
Safety belt pretensioners
The safety belts are equipped with a belt pre
tensioner that helps to tighten the safety belt
and remove slack when the pretensioner is ac
tivated
c::> poge 137. The function of the pre
tensioner is monitored by a warning light
c::> page 21.
Switchable locking feature
Every safety belt except the one on the driver
seat is equipped with a switchable locking fea
ture that
must be used when the safety belt is
used to attach a child seat. Be sure to read the important information about this feature
c::> page 177 .
A WARNING
Improperly positioned safety belts can
cause serious injury in an accident
c::> page 135, Safety belt position.
-Safety belts offer optimum protection
only when the seatback is upright and
Safety belts 135
belts are properly positioned on the
body.
- Always make sure that the rear seat
backrest to which the center rear safety
belt* is attached is securely latched
whenever the rear center safety belt is
being used. If the backrest is not secure
ly latched, the passenger will move for
ward with the backrest during sudden
braking, in a sudden maneuver and espe
cially in a crash .
- Never attach the safety belt to the buck
le for another seat . Attaching the belt to
the wrong buckle will reduce safety belt
effectiveness and can cause serious per
sonal injury.
- A passenger who is not properly restrain
ed can be seriously injured by the safety
belt itself when it moves from the stron
ger parts of the body into critical areas
like the abdomen.
- Always lock the convertible locking re
tractor when you are securing a child seat in the vehicle
c::> page 179.
(D Tips
For information on safety belt pretension
ers, refer to
c::> page 13 7.
Safety belt position
Correct belt position is the key to getting
maximum protection from safety belts.
Fig. 118 Safety belt position
Use the height adjustment to change the posi
tion of the shoulder belt of the front safety
belts .
~