60 Seats and stor age
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
you r seat prope rly 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 be lts and airbag system can offer
maximum protection ¢
page 144.
In 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 regarding child safety provided in
¢ page 165, Child Safety.
WARNING
Refer to¢ page 126, 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.
A 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 applies especially 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 personal
injury 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
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 maximum protection.
- 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 while the vehicle is moving.
Your seat may move unexpectedly, caus
ing sudden loss of veh icle control and
personal injury. If you adjust your 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 following 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
o &. in Why is your seat adjustment so im
portant? on page
60 .
.,. 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.
.. 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 .,.
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Head restraints
Front head restraints
Applies to vehicles: with adj ustable head restraints
Head restraints that are adjusted according
to body size, along with the seat belt , offer
effective protection .
Fig. 64 Fron t seat: adjusting the head rest ra in ts
Ad just the head restraint so the upper edge is
as even as possible with the top of your head.
If that is not poss ible, try to adjust the head
restraint so that it is as close to this position
as possible
¢ page 63.
~ To adjust the height of the head restraint,
grip the head restraint on the sides with
both hands and slide it up/down until it
locks into place
¢fig. 64.
Refer to ¢ page 130, 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 restra ints or with
head restraints that are not properly ad
justed increases the r isk of serious or fa
tal neck injury dramatically.
- Read and heed all WARNINGS
¢ page 130, Proper adjustment of head
restraints.
-
"' l) The head restra ints cann ot be re move d fro m rear rl
~ seats with fixe d backr ests.
Seats and storage 63
@ Tips
Correctly adjusted head restraints and
safety be lts are an extreme ly effective
combination of safety features.
Rear head restraints
Fig. 65 Rear seat: head restraints
Fig. 66 Rear head res train ts : re lease
If there is a passenger in the rear center seat
ing position, slide the center head restraint
upward at least to the next notch¢&_ .
Adjusting the head restraints
~ To move the head restraint up, hold it at the
sides with both hands and slide it upward
until you feel it click into place¢&_ .
~ To move the head restraint down, press the
button @¢
fig. 65 and slide the head re
straint downward .
Removing the head restraints1>
~ Fold the backrest forward¢ page 71.
~ Move the head restraint upwa rd as far as it
can go.
~ Press the release@¢ fig. 66 with the me-
chanical key ¢
page 33 and the button @ ..,.
140 Safety belts
To provide maximum protection, safety belts must always be positioned correctly on the
wearer 's body .
.,. Adjust the front seat and head restraint
properly ¢
page 60, Seats and storage .
.,. Make sure the seatback of the rear seat
bench is in an upright position and securely
latched in place befo re using the belt¢.&, .
.,. Hold the belt by the tongue and pull it even-
ly across the chest and pelvis¢.&, .
.,. Insert the tongue into the correct buckle of
your seat until you hear it latch securely
¢fig . 148.
.,. 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 be lt pre
tensioner that helps to tighten the safety belt
and remove slack when the pretensioner is ac
tivated. The function of the pretensioner is
monitored by a warning light¢
page 20 .
Convertible locking retractor
Every safety belt except the one on the driver
seat is equipped with a convertible locking re
tractor that
must be used when the safety
belt is used to attach a child safety seat. Be
sure to read the important information about
this feature ¢
page 175.
A WARNING
Improperly positioned safety belts can
cause serious injury in an accident
¢ page 140, Safety belt position.
- Safety belts offer optimum protection
only when the seatback is upright and
-
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 when
ever the rear center safety belt is being
used. If the backrest is not securely
latched, the passenger w ill 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
safety seat in the vehicle
c:> page 177.
Safety belt position
Correct belt position is the key to gett ing
maximum protection from safety belts.
Fig. 149 Safety bel t position
Standard features on your vehicle help you ad
just the position of the safety belt to match
your body size.
- belt height adjustment for the front seats,
- automatic belt height adjustment for the
rear seats .
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to the backrest on the vehicle seat. Ad
just or remove the rear seat head restraint if it is difficult to inst all the
child seat with the head restraint in place
¢ page 63. Install the head restraint
again immediately once the child seat is
removed. Driving without head restraints
or with head restraints that are not prop
erly adjusted increases the risk of serious
or fatal neck injury dramatically.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child restrained in ave
hicle is being used
¢page 136, Safety
belts,
¢ page 144, Airbag system and
¢ page 165, Important things to know.
A WARNING
If exceptional circumstances require the
use of a forward-facing child restraint on
the front passenger's seat, the child's safe
ty and well-being require that the follow
ing special precautions be taken:
- Make sure the forward-facing seat has been designed and certified by its manu
facturer for use on a front seat with a passenger front and side airbag.
-Always follow the manufacturer's in
structions provided with the child safety
seat or infant carrier.
- Always move the front passenger seat in
to the rearmost position of the passen
ger seat's fore and aft adjustment range,
and as far away from the airbag as possi
ble before installing the child restraint.
- Always make sure that nothing prevents
the front passenger's seat from being
moved to the rearmost position in its
fore and aft adjustment range.
- Always make sure the backrest is in an
upright position.
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on and stays on all the
time whenever the ignition is switched
on.
- If the light does not stay on, perform the
checks
¢ page 154, Monitoring the Ad
vanced Airbag System.
-
Child Safety 173
- Ta ke the child restraint
off the front pas
senger seat and install it properly at one
of the rear seat positions if the
PASSEN
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not stay on
whenever the ignition is switched on.
Booster seats and safety belts
Properly used booster seats con help protect
children weighing between about 40 lbs. and
80 lbs. (18 kg and 36 kg) who are less than 4
ft. 9 in . (57 inches/1.45 meters) tall.
In .... N 0 ±
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Fig. 165 Rear seat: ch ild properly res trained in a boos
ter seat
The vehicle's safety belts alone will not fit
most children until they are at least 4
ft. 9 in .
(57 inches/1.45 meters) tall and weigh about
80 lbs. (36 kg). Booster seats raise these chil
dren up so that the safety belt will pass prop
erly over the stronger parts of their bodies
and the safety belt can help protect them in a
crash.
.,. Do not use the convertible locking retractor
when using the vehicle's safety belt to re
strain a child on a booster seat.
... The shoulder belt must lie as close to the
center of the child's collar bone as possible
and must lie flat and snug on the upper
body. It must never lie across the throat or
neck . The lap belt must lie across the pelvis
and never across the stomach or abdomen .
Make sure the belt lies flat and snug. Pull on
the belt to tighten if necessary.
.,. If you must transport an older child in a
booster seat on the front passenger seat,
you can use the safety belt height adjust
ment to help adjust the shoulder portion
properly.
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Index 297 ____________________________ ...:.:..:.=.:::.::.:
Remote control key .................. . 32
Personalizing ................ .. .... 32
unlocking/locking ............ .. .. .. 34
Remote rear lid release . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Repair manuals ..................... 283
Repairs
Airbag system
157
Replacement key ................ .... 32
Replacing
Windshield wiper blades .............
58
Replacing bulbs .............. ... ... 272
Replacing tires and wheels ....... .. ... 249
Replacing wiper blades ............... 57
Reporting Safety Defects ....... ... .. . 134
Reset button .... .. .. ... ... .. .. .. .. .. 12
Retractor .... ................. .. ... 139
Reversible floor .................. .... 76
Reversible mat ................ .. .... 75
Right hand drive .............. ... .... 51
Rims
Cleaning . ............... ...... .. .
203
Roof rack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Roof load . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Roof weight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
s
SAFE ..... ......................... 12
Safe driving habits ............ ... .. . 126
Safety belt position ................. 140
Safety belt height adjustment .. .. .. . 142
Safety belts worn by pregnant women . 141
Safety belt pretensioner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
Service and disposal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
Safety belts .. .. .............. ... ... 139
Cleaning . .. .. ........... .. .. .. ... 204
Danger to passengers who do not wear a
safety belt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
13 7
Fastening ........................
139
Height adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
Improperly worn .................. 142
Not worn .. ............. .... .. ... 137
Safety belt position . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
Safety instructions ................. 139
Securing child safety seats . . . . . . . . . . 17 5
Special considerations for pregnant
women ..........................
141
Unfasten ing ..... ................. 141
Warning/indicator light ........... .. 136
w . 1· h arning 1g t .. .. .. ................ 16
Why YOU MUST wear them .......... 136
Worn properly ....... ............. 138
Safety belt warning light ........... .. 136
Safety compliance sticker ............ 280
Safety equipment ...... ............. 126
Safety features for occupant restraint and
protection ... ..... .................
126
Safety guidelines
Seats .............................
60
Safety instructions
Engine compartment ...............
212
for side curtain airbags ............. 163
for using child safety seats ........ .. 168
for using safety belts ............... 139
Monitoring the Advanced Airbag Sys-
tem .............................
156
Seat adjustment
Head restraints .............. .... .
130
Seat belts
refer to Safety belts ... ............. 136
Seat covers
Cleaning ... ..... .. . ..............
205
Seat heating .. .. .. .. . .. ... .... .... .. 80
Seating capacity ... .. ........... .... 136
Seating position
Driver ...........................
127
Front passenger .... .............. . 128
How to adjust the front seats ....... . 128
Incorrect seat position . ............. 130
Occupants . .. .. .. ... ............ .. 127
Rear passengers .. ............. .... 129
Seat memory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Seats
Ad '
t· JUS mg . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 , 62
D . , rivers seat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Folding ..... .. .. ... ............ .. . 71
Front passenger's seat ............... 61
Head restraints .... .............. .. 63
Number of seats ... .............. . 136
Safety guidelines . .................. 60
Securing attachments .. ......... .. .. . 75
Selective unlock feature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Selector lever . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Emergency re lease ................. 100
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