2015 Seat Altea airbag

Foreword
This Instruction Manual and its correspond-
ing supplements should be read carefully to
familiarise yourself with your vehicle.
Besides the regular care and maintenance of
the vehicle, its correct handling will help pre-
serve its value.
For safety reasons, always note the informa-
tion concerning accessories, modifications
and part replacements. If selling the vehicle, give all of the on-board
documentation to the new owner, as it
should be kept with the vehicle.
You can access the information in this man-
ual using:
● Thematic table of contents that follows the
manual’s general chapter structure
● Alphabetical index with many terms and
synonyms to help you find information. WARNING
Read and always observe safety informa-
tion concerning the passenger's front air-
bag ››› page 25, Important information
regarding the front passenger's airbag .

Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Safe driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Safety first! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Advice about driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Proper sitting position for occupants . . . . . . . . 6
Pedal area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Seat belts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
The reason why we should wear seat belts . . . 11
How to properly adjust your seatbelt . . . . . . . . 14
Seat belt tensioners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Airbag system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Brief introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Airbag overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Deactivating airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Transporting children safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Safety for children . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Child seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Dash panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Instruments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Warning lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Digital instrument panel display . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Instrument panel menus* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Steering wheel controls* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
General information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Audio system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Radio navigation system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Opening and closing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Central locking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Keys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Radio frequency remote control . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Anti-theft alarm system* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Boot hatch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71 Electric windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Sliding/tilting sunroof* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Lights and visibility
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Interior lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Visibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Windscreen wiper and rear window wiper
systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Rear vision mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Seats and head restraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Adjusting the seat and head restraints . . . . . . 88
Seat functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Rear seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
Transport and practical equipment . . . . . . . . . 93
Compartments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Multi-purpose mobile storage compartment* . 96
Ashtray*, cigarette lighter* and power sockets 98
First-aid kit, warning triangle, fire extinguisher 100
Luggage compartment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
Roof carrier/rack system* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
Air conditioning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Heating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Climatic* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
2C-Climatronic* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
General notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
Power steering (servotronic*) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
All-wheel drive* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
Driving with LPG* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
Journeys abroad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Ignition lock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Braking and parking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Manual gearbox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
Automatic gearbox/DSG automatic gearbox* . 127
Run-in and economical driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
Driver assistance systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
Braking and stability systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
Start-Stop System* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138 Parking aid acoustic system* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
Cruise speed* (cruise control system - CCS) . . . 142
Towing bracket device
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
Trailer towing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
Advice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
Care and maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
Accessories and technical modifications . . . . . 147
Care and cleaning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
Care of the vehicle exterior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
Caring for the vehicle interior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
Checking and refilling levels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
Fuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
Petrol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
Diesel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
LPG system (Liquefied petroleum gas)* . . . . . . 160
Working in the engine compartment . . . . . . . . 163
Engine oil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
Cooling system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
Windscreen washer reservoir . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
Brake fluid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
Vehicle battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
Wheels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
Wheels and tyres . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
Winter service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
Emergencies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
Vehicle tools, spare wheel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
Wheel change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
Tyre repair . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
Jump-starting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
Towing and tow-starting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
Emergency locking and unlocking . . . . . . . . . . 193
Changing the wiper blades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194
Fuses and bulbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196
Fuses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196
Changing the lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
3

Safety
● Belt tensioners for the front seats
● Belt height adjustment for the front seats
● Front airbags
● Side airbags in the front seat backrests
● Head-protection airbags
● Active front head restraints*
● “ISOFIX” anchorage points for child seats
in the rear side seats with the “ISOFIX” sys-
tem,
● height-adjustable front head restraints,
● rear head restraints with in-use position
and non-use position,
● adjustable steering column.
The safety equipment mentioned above
works together to provide you and your pas-
sengers with the best possible protection in
the event of an accident. However, these
safety systems can only be effective if you
and your passengers are sitting in a correct
position and use this equipment properly.
Safety is everyone's business! Proper sitting position for
occupants
Correct sitting position for driver Fig. 1
The proper distance between driver
and steering wheel Fig. 2
Correct head restraint position for the
driver. For your own safety and to reduce the risk of
injury in the event of an accident, we recom-mend the following adjustments for the driv-
er:
– Adjust the steering wheel so that there is a
distance of at least 25 cm between the
steering wheel and the centre of your chest
››› Fig. 1 .
– Mo v
e the driver seat forwards or backwards
so that you are able to press the accelera-
tor, brake and clutch pedals to the floor
with your knees still slightly angled ››› .
– Ensure that you can reach the highest point
of the steering wheel.
– Adjust the head restraint so that its upper
edge is at the same level as the top of your
head, or as close as possible to the same
level as the top of your head ››› Fig. 2 .
– Mo v

e the seat backrest to an upright posi-
tion so that your back rests completely
against it.
– Fasten your seat belt securely ››› page 11.
– Keep both feet in the footwell so that you
have the vehicle under control at all times.
Adjustment of the driver seat ››› page 88. WARNING
● An incorrect sitting position of the driver
can lead to severe injuries.
● Adjust the driver seat so that there is at
least 25 cm distance between the centre of 6

Safe driving
the chest and the centre of the steering
wheel
››› Fig. 1. If you are sitting closer than
25 c m, the airb
ag system cannot protect you
properly.
● If your physical constitution prevents you
from maintaining the minimum distance of 25
cm, contact a specialised workshop. The
workshop will help you decide if special spe-
cific modifications are necessary.
● When driving, always hold the steering
wheel with both hands on the outside of the
ring at the 9 o'clock and 3 o'clock positions.
This reduces the risk of injury when the driver
airbag is triggered.
● Never hold the steering wheel at the 12
o'clock position, or in any other manner (e.g.
in the centre of the steering wheel). In such
cases, if the airbag is triggered, you may sus-
tain injuries to the arms, hands and head.
● To reduce the risk of injury to the driver
during sudden braking manoeuvres or an ac-
cident, never drive with the backrest tilted far
back! The airbag system and seat belts can
only provide optimal protection when the
backrest is in an upright position and the
driver is wearing his or her seat belt correct-
ly.
● Adjust the head restraint properly to ach-
ieve optimal protection. Adjusting the steering wheel position
Fig. 3
Adjusting the steering wheel position. The height and reach of the steering wheel
can be freely adjusted to suit the driver.
– Adjust the driver seat to the correct posi-
tion.
– Push the lever under the steering column
››› Fig. 3 down
›
›› .
– Adjust the steering wheel until the correct
position is set ››› Fig. 1.
– Then push the lever up again firmly ››› .
WARNING
● Incorrect use of the steering column adjust-
ment function and an incorrect seating posi-
tion can result in serious injury. ●
To avoid accidents, the steering column
should be adjusted only when the vehicle is
stationary.
● Adjust the driver seat or steering wheel so
that there is a distance of at least 25 cm be-
tween the steering wheel and your chest
››› Fig. 1. If you fail to observe the minimum
di s

tance, the airbag will not protect you. Risk
of fatal injury.
● If your physical constitution does not allow
you to maintain the minimum distance of
25 cm, contact a Technical Service. The Tech-
nical Service will help you to decide if certain
specific modifications are necessary.
● If you adjust the steering wheel so that it
points towards your face, the driver airbag
will not protect you properly in the event of
an accident. Make sure that the steering
wheel points towards your chest.
● When driving, always hold the steering
wheel with both hands on the outside of the
ring at the 9 o'clock and 3 o'clock positions.
Never hold the steering wheel at the 12
o'clock position, or in any other manner (e.g.
in the centre of the steering wheel, or on the
inside of the rim). In such cases, if the airbag
is triggered, you may sustain injuries to your
arms, hands and head. 7Technical specifications
Advice
Operation
Safety

Safety
Correct sitting position for front
passenger For your own safety and to reduce the risk of
injury in the event of an accident, we recom-
mend the following adjustments for the front
passenger:
– Move the front passenger seat back as far
as possible ››› .
– Move the seat backrest to an upright posi-
tion so that your back rests completely
against it.
– Adjust the head restraint so that its upper
edge is at the same level as the top of your
head, or as close as possible to the same
level as the top of your head ›››
page 9.
– Always keep both feet in the footwell in
front of the front passenger seat.
– Fasten your seat belt securely ›››
page 11.
It is possible to deactivate the front passen-
ger airbag in exceptional circumstances .
Adju s
ting the front passenger seat
››› page 89. WARNING
● An incorrect sitting position of the front
passenger can lead to severe injuries.
● Adjust the front passenger seat so that
there is at least 25 cm between your chest
and the dash panel. If you are sitting closer than 25 cm, the airbag system cannot protect
you properly.
●
If your physical constitution prevents you
from maintaining the minimum distance of 25
cm, contact a specialised workshop. The
workshop will help you decide if special spe-
cific modifications are necessary.
● Always keep your feet in the footwell when
the vehicle is moving; never rest them on the
dash panel, out the window or on the seat. An
incorrect sitting position exposes you to an
increased risk of injury in case of a sudden
braking or an accident. If the airbag is trig-
gered, you could sustain severe injuries due
to an incorrect sitting position.
● To reduce the risk of injury to the front pas-
senger in events such as sudden braking ma-
noeuvres or an accident, never travel with the
backrest tilted far back! The airbag system
and seat belts can only provide optimal pro-
tection when the backrest is in an upright po-
sition and the front passenger is wearing his
or her seat belt properly. The further the seat
backrests are tilted to the rear, the greater
the risk of injury due to incorrect positioning
of the belt web or to the incorrect sitting po-
sition!
● Adjust the head restraint correctly in order
to achieve maximum protection. Correct sitting position for passengers
in the rear seats
To reduce the risk of injury in the event of a
sudden braking manoeuvre or an accident,
passengers on the rear seat bench must con-
sider the following:
–
Sit up straight.
– Adjust the head restraint to the correct po-
sition ››› page 10.
– Alw

ays keep both feet in the footwell in
front of the rear seat.
– Fasten your seat belt securely ›››
page 11.
– Use an appropriate child restraint system
when you take children in the vehicle
››› page 24. WARNING
● If the passengers in the rear seats are not
sitting properly, they could sustain severe in-
juries.
● Adjust the head restraint correctly in order
to achieve maximum protection.
● Seat belts can only provide optimal protec-
tion when seat backrests are in an upright
position and the vehicle occupants are wear-
ing their seat belts correctly. If passengers In
the rear seats are not sitting in an upright po-
sition, the risk of injury due to incorrect posi-
tioning of the seat belt increases. 8

Safety
● Do not allow anyone to travel in the foot-
well.
● Never travel without wearing the seat belt.
● Do not allow anyone to travel in the lug-
gage compartment. WARNING
● Any incorrect sitting position increases the
risk of severe injuries.
● Sitting in an incorrect position exposes the
vehicle occupants to severe injuries if airbags
are triggered, by striking a vehicle occupant
who has assumed an incorrect sitting posi-
tion.
● Before the vehicle moves, assume the prop-
er sitting position and maintain it throughout
the trip. Before every trip, instruct your pas-
sengers to sit properly and to stay in this po-
sition during the trip ››› page 6, Proper sitting
position for occupants. Correct adjustment of rear seat head
restraints
Fig. 5
Head restraints in the correct position. Fig. 6
Head restraint position warning label. Properly adjusted head restraints are an im-
portant part of passenger protection and can
reduce the risk of injuries in most accident
situations.Rear outer seat head restraints
– The rear outer seat head restraints have 3
positions.
– Two positions for use
›
›› Fig. 5. In these po-
sitions, the head restraints are used nor-
mally, and along with the rear seat belts,
protect passengers in the rear seats.
– And one position for non-use.
– T

o fit the head restraints in position for use,
pull on the edges with both hands in the
direction of the arrow.
Centre rear head restraint
– The centre head restraint only has two posi-
tions, in-use (head restraint up) and non-
u

se (head restraint down). WARNING
● Under no circumstances should the rear
passengers travel while the head restraints
are in the non-use position. See the warning
label located on the rear side fixed window
››› Fig. 6.
● Do not sw

ap the centre rear head restraint
with either of the outer seat rear head re-
straints. Risk of injury in case of an accident! CAUTION
Note the instructions on the adjustment of
the head restraints ››› page 90.10

Safety
– Instruct your passengers to fasten their
seat belts properly before driving off.
– Protect children by using a child seat ac-
cording to the child's height and weight.
The control lamp  on the instrument panel
lights up 1)
if the driver's seat belt is not fas-
tened when the ignition is switched on.
If, when starting to drive, the speed surpass-
es 25 km/h (15 mph) approx. and no seat
belt is worn or it is unfastened during the
drive, a warning sound will be heard for a few
seconds. The warning light will also flash .
The  lamp goes out when the seat belt is
fastened with the ignition switched on. Seat belt protection Fig. 7
Drivers with properly worn seat belts
will not be thrown forward in the event of sud-
den braking Properly worn seat belts hold the occupants
in the proper position. They also help prevent
uncontrolled movements that may result in
serious injury and reduce the risk of being
thrown out of the vehicle in case of an acci-
dent.
Vehicle occupants wearing their seat belts
correctly benefit greatly from the ability of the
belts to absorb kinetic energy. The front part
of your vehicle and other passive safety fea-
tures (such as the airbag system) are also de-
signed to absorb the kinetic energy released
in a collision. Taken together, all these fea-
tures reduce the releasing kinetic energy and
consequently, the risk of injury. This is why itis so important to fasten seat belts before ev-
ery trip, even when "just driving around the
corner".
Ensure that your passengers wear their seat
belts as well. Accident statistics have shown
that wearing seat belts is an effective means
of substantially reducing the risk of serious
injury and improving the chances of survival
when involved in an accident. Furthermore,
properly worn seat belts improve the protec-
tion provided by airbags in the event of an
accident. For this reason, wearing a seat belt
is required by law in most countries.
Although your vehicle is equipped with air-
bags, the seat belts must be fastened and
worn. The front airbags, for example, are only
triggered in some cases of head-on collision.
The front airbags will not be triggered during
minor frontal or side collisions, rear-end colli-
sions, rollovers or accidents in which the air-
bag trigger threshold value in the control unit
is not exceeded.
Therefore, you should always wear your seat
belt and ensure that all vehicle occupants
have fastened their seat belts properly before
you drive off!
1)
Depending on the model version
12

Airbag system
work, must be performed by a specialised
workshop only.
●
The belt tensioners will only provide pro-
tection for one accident and must be changed
if they have been activated. Airbag system
Brief introduction Why wear a seat belt and assume the
correct sitting position? For the inflating airbags to achieve the best
protection, the seat belt must always be worn
properly and the correct sitting position must
be assumed.
The airbag system is not a substitute for seat
belts, but it is an integral part of the vehicle's
overall passive safety system. Please bear in
mind that the airbag system can only work ef-
fectively when the vehicle occupants are
wearing their seat belts correctly and have
adjusted the head restraints properly. There-
fore, it is most important to wear the seat
belts at all times, not only because this is re-
quired by law in most countries, but also for
your safety
›››
page 11, The reason why we
should wear seat belts .
The airbag inflates in a matter of seconds, so
if you are not properly seated when the air-
bag is triggered, you may sustain fatal inju-
ries. Therefore, it is essential that all vehicle
occupants assume a correct sitting position
while travelling.
Sharp braking before an accident may cause
a passenger not wearing a seat belt to be thrown forward into the area of the deploying
airbag. In this case, the inflating airbag may
inflict critical or fatal injuries on the occu-
pant. This also applies to children.
Always maintain the greatest possible dis-
tance between yourself and the front airbag.
This way, the front airbags can completely
deploy when triggered, providing their maxi-
mum protection.
The most important factors that will trigger
an airbag are: the type of accident, the angle
of collision and the speed of the vehicle.
Whether or not the airbags are triggered de-
pends primarily on the vehicle deceleration
rate resulting from the collision and detected
by the control unit. If the vehicle deceleration
occurring during the collision and measured
by the control unit remains below the speci-
fied reference values, the front, side and/or
curtain airbags will not be triggered. Take in-
to account that the visible damage in a vehi-
cle involved in an accident, no matter how
serious, is not a determining factor for the
airbags to have been triggered.
WARNING
● Wearing the seat belt incorrectly or assum-
ing an incorrect sitting position can lead to
critical or fatal injuries.
● All vehicle occupants, including children,
who are not properly belted can sustain criti-
cal or fatal injuries if the airbag is triggered. » 17Technical specifications
Advice
Operation
Safety