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
your seat properly so that :
- you can easily and quick ly 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 offe r
maximum protection
¢ page 108.
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 heed the informa
tion regard ing child safety provided in
¢ page 129, Child Safety.
A WARNING
Incorrect seating position of the driver and
all other passengers can result in serious
personal injury.
- Always keep your feet on the f loor 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
you increase the r isk of injury in the case
of sudden braking or an acc ident. If the
airbag inflates and the seating position
is incorrect this could result in personal
injury or even death.
- It is important for bo th the driver and
front passenger to keep a distance of a t
Seat s an d sto rage 59
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 airbag system can
not protect you properly. In addition to
this, the front seats and head restra ints
must be adjusted to yo ur body height so
that they can give you max imum prote c
tion.
- Always try to keep as much distance as
possible be tween yourself and the s teer
ing wheel o r instrument pane l.
- Do not adjust the driver's or front pas
senger's seat whi le the vehicle is moving.
Your seat may move unexpected ly, caus
ing sudden loss of vehicle control 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:
.,. Adj ust the seat in fore and aft direction so
t ha t you can easily push the peda ls to the
floor whi le keeping your knee sligh tly bent
c::> A in Why is your seat adjustment so im
portant? on page 59 .
.,. 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.
.,. Pos it ion the head restrai nt accord ing to the
occupant 's height
c::> page 62 . For maxi
mum protection, the top of the head re
straint shou ld be at least at eye level, pref
erably higher and idea lly level with the top
of the head
¢ page 94, fig. 100 .
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 funct ion. In
case of sudden braking or an acc ident, you
would not be able to brake or accelerate!
60 Seats and stor age
Front passenger's seat
Always move the front passenger seat into
the rearmost position .
To avoid contact with the airbag while it is de
p loying, do not sit any closer to the instru
ment panel tha n necessary and always wear
the three-point safety belt provided ad justed
correctly . We recommend that you adjust the
passenger's seat i n the follow ing ma nner:
• Bring the back rest up to an (a lmost) upr ight
pos it ion.
Do not r ide w ith the seat reclined .
• The idea l position fo r the head restra int is
with the upper edge of the rest ra in t l eve l
with the top o f your head
¢ page 62. You
sho uld
not lower the top o f the restra int be
l ow 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 adjustment
Various controls on the manual seats provide
a wide range for individual adjustments.
Fig . 67 Adj ust ment contro ls : locat ions o n dr ive r's seat
CD Mov ing the seat forward or backward
@ Ad justing the lumbar support
® Adjusting the seat height
© Adjusting the seatback angle
Some of the contro ls are fitted on certa in
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 leve r CD¢ page 60 , fig. 67 and slide
the seat to the desired position .
• Release the lever and then move the seat
fu rther until you fee l and hea r 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 d irection you
want the seatback to tilt.
,&. WARNING ,--
- Never adjust the drive r's or front pas
senger's seat whi le the vehicle is moving.
If you do th is w hile the veh icle is moving,
you will be out of posi tion. A lways ad just
the dr iver's or front passenger's seat
when the vehicle is not moving.
- Be ca reful when adjustin g the seat
height . Check to see that no one is in the
way, or ser ious injury cou ld result!
- To reduce the risk of injury in the case of
sudden b raking o r accident, front pas
sengers must never r ide in a moving ve
h icle with the seatback reclined. Safety
be lts and the airbag system only offer
maximum protection when the seatback
is upr ight and the safety belts are prop
erly positioned on the body. The more
the sea tba ck is reclined, the gre ater the
risk of person al injury from a n incorrect
seating position and improperly posi
tioned safety belts!
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.
Fig . 68 Adjustment switches: locations on driver seat
The operating logic for the switches corre
sponds to the construction, the design and
the function of the seat . Push or pull either
switch in exactly the same direction you want
the corresponding part of the seat to move.
(!) Adjusting the lumbar support
@ Adjusting seat height and fore-and-aft po
sition
® Adjusting the angle of 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 a ll warnings before you adjust
your seat.
~ &,.
Adjusting the curvature of the lumbar
support
"' Push the forward or rear depress ion on the
switch shell@~
page 61, fig. 68 to in
crease or decrease the backrest curvature.
Seats and storage 61
Adjusting the height of the lumbar
support
"'Push the top or bottom depression on the
switch shell(!) to raise or lower the support
in the backrest.
Moving the front seats forward or
backward
"' Press the switch @forwa rd or backward
horizontally.
Adjusting the seat height
"' Pull or push the switch@even ly at both
ends to raise or lower the seat.
Angling the seat cushion 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
raise or lower the seat.
Adjusting the seatback
"' Push or pull the switch @ in the same direc
tion you want the seatba ck to tilt.
LD._ WARNING
- Never adjust the driver's or front passen
ger seat while the vehicle is moving. If
you do this whi le the vehicle is moving,
you will be out of position. Always adjust
the dr iver's or front passenger 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 ser ious injury could result!
- Because the seats can be e lectrically ad
justed with the ignition key removed,
never leave children unattended in the
veh icle. Unsupervised use of the electric
seat adjustments may cause serious in
Jury.