Safety
● Adju s
t
the seat so that there is a distance
of at least 25 cm between the steering wheel
and your chest ››› Fig. 64 and so that you can
hold the steering wheel with both hands on
the outside of the ring at the 9 o'clock and 3
o'clock positions with your arms slightly
bent.
● The adjusted steering wheel must face your
ches
t and not your face.
● Adjust the driver seat forwards or back-
ward
s so that you are able to press the accel-
erator, brake and clutch pedals to the floor
with your knees slightly angled and the dis-
tance between your knees and the dash pan-
el is at least 10 cm ››› Fig. 64.
● Adjust the height of the driver seat so that
you can e
asily reach the top of the steering
wheel.
● Keep both feet in the footwell so that you
have the
vehicle under control at all times.
● Adjust and fasten your seat belt correctly
›››
page 51.
Valid for the passenger:
● Adjust the seat backrest to an upright posi-
tion so that
your back rests completely
against it.
● Move the front passenger seat back as far
as po
ssible for optimum protection should
the airbag deploy.
● Always keep your feet in the footwell while
the vehic
le is in motion. ●
Adjust
and fasten your seat belt correctly
››› page 51.
Valid for the passengers in the rear section:
● 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 lev-
el as the top of your head and under no cir-
cumstances below eye level. Keep the back
of your neck as close as possible to the head
restraint ››› Fig. 64 and ››› Fig. 65.
● Short people must lower the head restraint
to the firs
t anchorage position, even if your
head is below its upper edge.
● Tall people must raise the head restraint
compl
etely.
● Always keep your feet in the footwell while
the vehic
le is in motion.
● Adjust and fasten your seat belt correctly
›››
page 51.
Adjusting the steering wheel position Read the additional information carefully
› ›
›
page 14.
Adjust the steering wheel before your trip
and only when the vehicle is stationary.
Adjust the correct distance between the driv-
er and the steering wheel ›››
Fig. 64 using the
controls on the driver seat ›››
page 12. WARNING
Incorrect use of the steering wheel adjust-
ment f u
nction and an incorrect adjustment of
the steering wheel can result in severe or fa-
tal injury.
● After adjusting the steering column, push
the lever firm
ly upwards to ensure the steer-
ing wheel does not accidentally change posi-
tion while driving.
● Never adjust the steering wheel while the
vehicl
e is in motion. If you need to adjust the
steering wheel while the vehicle is in motion,
stop safely and make the proper adjustment.
● The adjusted steering wheel should be fac-
ing y
our chest and not your face so as not to
hinder the driver's front airbag protection in
the event of an accident.
● When driving, always hold the steering
wheel with both h
ands on the outside of the
ring at the 9 o'clock and 3 o'clock positions
to reduce injuries when the driver's front air-
bag deploys.
● 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 driver's airbag deploys, you may
sustain injuries to your arms, hands and
head. 48
Safe driving
Danger of injuries due to an incorrect
s ittin
g po
sitionNumber of seats
The v
ehic
le has a total of 4 seats: 2 front
seats and 2 rear seats. Each seat is equipped
with a seat belt.
If the seat belts are worn incorrectly or not at
all, the risk of severe injuries increases. Seat
belts can provide optimal protection only if
the belt web is properly worn. Being seated
in an incorrect position means the seat belt
cannot offer its full protection. This could re-
sult in severe and even fatal injuries. The risk
of severe or fatal injuries is especially height-
ened when a deploying airbag strikes a vehi-
cle occupant who has assumed an incorrect
sitting position. The driver is responsible for
all passengers in the vehicle, particularly
children.
The following list shows just some examples
of incorrect sitting positions which can be
dangerous to all vehicle occupants.
When the vehicle is in motion:
● Never stand in the vehicle.
● Never stand on the seats.
● Never kneel on the seats.
● Never tilt your seat backrest too far to the
re ar
.
● Never lean against the dash panel. ●
Never lie on the re
ar seats.
● Never sit on the front edge of a seat.
● Never sit sideways.
● Never lean out of a window.
● Never put your feet out of a window.
● Never put your feet on the dash panel.
● Never put your feet on the surface of a seat
or seat b
ackrest.
● Never travel in a footwell.
● Never travel on a seat without wearing the
seat belt
.
● Never carry any person in the luggage com-
partment
. WARNING
An incorrect sitting position in the vehicle
can l e
ad to severe injuries or death in the
event of sudden braking or manoeuvres, colli-
sion or accidents or if the airbag deploys.
● Before the vehicle moves, assume the prop-
er sitting po
sition and maintain it throughout
the trip. This also includes fastening the seat
belt.
● Never transport more people than there are
seats
with a seat belt available in the vehicle.
● Children must always be protected with an
appro
ved child restraint system suited to
their height and weight ››› page 63,
››› page 58.
● Always keep your feet in the footwell while
the vehic
le is in motion. Never, for example, put your feet on the surface of a seat or on
the da
sh p
anel and never put them out of a
window. Otherwise the airbag and seat belt
offer insufficient protection and the risk of in-
jury in the event of an accident is increased. WARNING
Before every trip, adjust the seat, the seat
belt and the he a
d restraints and instruct your
passengers to fasten their seat belts proper-
ly.
● Move the front passenger seat back as far
as po
ssible.
● Adjust the driver seat so that there is at
lea
st 25 cm distance between your chest and
the hub of the steering wheel. Adjust the
driver seat so that you are able to press the
accelerator, brake and clutch pedals to the
floor with your knees slightly angled and that
the distance between your knees and the
dash panel is at least 10 cm. If your physical
constitution prevents you from meeting these
requirements, contact a specialised work-
shop to make any modifications required.
● Never drive with the seat backrest tilted far
back.
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 position!
● Never drive with the seat backrest tilted
forw
ards. Should a front airbag deploy, it
could throw the seat backrest backwards and
injure the passengers of the rear seats. » 49
Technical data
Advice
Operation
Emergencies
Safety
Safety
●
Sit a s
far away as possible from the steer-
ing wheel and the dash panel.
● Keep your back straight and resting com-
plet
ely against the seat backrest and the
front seats correctly adjusted. Never place
any part of your body in the area of the airbag
or very close to it.
● If passengers on the rear seats are not sit-
ting in an upright po
sition, the risk of severe
injury due to incorrect positioning of the belt
web increases. WARNING
Incorrect seat adjustment may lead to acci-
dents and sev
ere injuries.
● Only adjust the seats when the vehicle is
station
ary, as the seats could move unex-
pectedly while the vehicle is in motion and
you could lose control of the vehicle. Further-
more, an incorrect position is adopted when
adjusting the seat.
● Only adjust the height, seat backrest and
forw
ards or backwards position of the seat
when there is nobody in the seat adjustment
area.
● There must be no objects blocking the front
seat a
djustment area. Adjusting the rear head restraints
Fig. 66
Adjusting the rear head restraints All seats are equipped with a head restraint.
The fr
ont
se
at head restraints are integrated
in the backrests and adjusting them is not
possible.
Adjusting height
● Push the head restraint up or down in the
direction of the arr
ow with the button press-
ed ››› Fig. 66 1
› ›
› .
● The head restraint must engage securely in
po s
ition.
C
orrect adjustment of head restraints
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 lev-
el as the top of your head and under no cir-
cumstances below eye level. Keep the back of your neck as close as possible to the head
res
traint.
Adjusting the head restraint for short people
Set the head restraint in the first anchorage
position, even if your head is below its upper
edge. When the head restraint is at its low-
est, it is possible that a small gap remains
between it and the seat backrest.
Adjusting the head restraint for tall people
Raise the head restraint completely. WARNING
Travelling with the head restraints removed
or improperly a
djusted increases the risk of
severe or fatal injuries in the event of acci-
dents and sudden braking or manoeuvres.
● Always fit and adjust the head restraint
properly whenev
er a person is occupying a
seat.
● All vehicle occupants must correctly adjust
the head r
estraint according to their height to
reduce the risk of back injuries in the event of
an accident. The upper edge of the head re-
straint must be as close as possible to the
same level as the top of your head and under
no circumstances below eye level. Keep the
back of your neck as close as possible to the
head restraint.
● Never adjust the head restraint while the
vehicl
e is in motion.50
Seat belts
On the instrument panel
display
A passenger in the rear seats has fastened their seat
belt, if the seat is occupied.* Several warning and indication lamps light
up for a f
ew sec
onds when the ignition is
switched on, signalling that the function is
being verified. They will switch off after a few
seconds.
An audible warning will be heard if the seat
belts are not fastened as the vehicle drives
off and reaches a speed of more then
25 km/h (15 mph) or if the seat belts are un-
fastened while the vehicle is in motion. The
seat belt warning lamp will also flash.
The warning lamp does not switch off until
the driver and front passenger fasten their
seat belts while the ignition is switched on.
Seat belt status display for rear seats
The seat belt status display on the instru-
ment panel informs the driver, when the igni-
tion is switched on, whether any passengers
in the rear seats have fastened their seat
belts. The symbol indicates that the pas-
senger in this seat has fastened “his or her”
seat belt ›››
Fig. 68.
The seat belt status is displayed for around
30 seconds when a seat belt in the rear seats
is fastened or unfastened. You can switch off
this display by pressing the 0.0 / SET button.The seat belt status flashes for a maximum of
30 sec
ond
s
when a seat belt in the rear seats
is unfastened while the vehicle is in motion.
An audible warning will also be heard if the
vehicle is travelling at over 25 km/h
(15 mph).
The protective function of seat belts Fig. 69
Drivers with properly worn seat belts
w i
l
l not be thrown forward in the event of sud-
den braking Properly worn seat belts hold the occupants
in the pr
oper po
s
ition. 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. In addition, the front part of your vehicle and other pas-
sive s
afety features (such as the airbag sys-
tem) are designed to absorb the kinetic ener-
gy released in a collision. Taken together, all
these features reduce the releasing kinetic
energy and consequently, the risk of injury.
This is why it is so important to fasten seat
belts before every trip, even when "just driv-
ing 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 injury
and improving the chances of survival when
involved in a serious 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!
53
Technical data
Advice
Operation
Emergencies
Safety
Safety
● Pu
l
l the belt to ensure that the latch plate is
securely engaged in the buckle.
Unfastening the seat belt
The seat belt must not be unfastened until
the vehicle has come to a standstill ››› .
● Press the red button on the buckle
› ›
›
Fig. 72 B. The latch plate is released from
the buckle.
● Guide the belt back by hand so that it rolls
up eas
ily and the trim will not be damaged.
Correct seat belt position
Seat belts offer their maximum protection in
the event of an accident and reduce the risk
of sustaining severe or fatal injuries only
when they are properly positioned. Further-
more, if the webbing is correctly positioned,
the seat belt will hold the vehicle occupants
in the optimum position to ensure the airbag
provides the maximum protection. The seat
belt must therefore always be worn and the
webbing correctly positioned.
Incorrectly worn seat belts can cause severe
or even fatal injuries ››› page 47, Correct po-
sition of the vehicle occupants .
● The shoulder part of the seat belt must lie
on the centre of
the shoulder, never across
the neck or the arm, under the arm or behind
the shoulder. ●
The lap par
t of the seat belt must lie across
the pelvis, never across the stomach.
● The seat belt must lie flat and fit comforta-
bly. P
ull the belt tight if necessary to take up
any slack.
In the case of pregnant women , the seat belt
must lie evenly across the chest and as low
as possible over the pelvis, never across the
stomach and must be worn properly at all
times during the pregnancy ››› Fig. 73.
Adapting the position of the belt webbing to
your size
The seat belt can be adapted using the fol-
lowing equipment:
● Front seat height adjustment. WARNING
An incorrectly worn seat belt web can cause
sever e or f
atal injuries in the event of an acci-
dent.
● The seat belt cannot offer its full protection
unl
ess the seat backrest is in an upright posi-
tion and the seat belt is worn correctly, ac-
cording to your size.
● Unbuckling your seat belt while the vehicle
is in motion c
an cause severe or fatal injuries
in the event of an accident or sudden braking.
● The seat belt itself or a loose seat belt can
cause sev
ere injuries if the belt moves from hard areas of the body to soft areas (e.g. the
st
om
ach).
● The shoulder part of the seat belt must lie
on the centre of
the shoulder, never across
the neck or the arm.
● The seat belt must lie flat and fit comforta-
bly on the t
orso
● The lap part of the seat belt must lie across
the pelvis, nev
er across the stomach. The
seat belt must lie flat and fit comfortably on
the pelvis Pull the belt tight if necessary to
take up any slack.
● For pregnant women, the lap part of the
seat belt
must lie as low as possible over the
pelvis and always lie flat, “surrounding” the
stomach.
● Do not twist the seat belt while it is fas-
tened.
● Never p
ull the seat belt away from your
body us
ing your hand.
● Do not lie the seat belt across rigid or frag-
ile o
bjects, e.g. glasses, pens or keys.
● Never use seat belt clips, retaining rings or
simil
ar instruments to alter the position of
the belt webbing. Note
If your physical constitution prevents you
from m aint
aining the correct position of the
belt webbing, contact a specialised workshop
for help with any special devices to ensure
the optimum protection of the seat belt and 56
Seat belts
airbag. SEAT recommends taking your car in
for t
ec
hnical service. Seat belt tensioners
Autom atic
belt retractor, belt tension-
er, belt tension limiter Seat belts are part of the vehicle safety con-
cept
›
›› page 58 and consist of the follow-
ing important functions:
Automatic belt retainer
Every seat belt is equipped with an automatic
belt retainer on the shoulder belt. If the belt
is pulled slowly or during normal driving, the
system allows for total freedom of movement
on the shoulder belt. However, during sud-
den braking, during travel in mountains or
bends and during acceleration, the automat-
ic belt retainer on the seat belt is locked is
pulled quickly.
Belt tensioners
The seat belts for the occupants in the front
seats are equipped with belt tensioners.
Sensors trigger the belt tensioners during se-
vere head-on, lateral and rear collisions and
retract and tighten the seat belts. If the seat
belt is loose, it is retracted to reduce the for-
wards movement of occupants or movement in the direction of the collision. The belt ten-
sioner w
ork
s in combination with the airbag
system. The belt tensioner will not be trig-
gered in the event of the vehicle overturning
if the side airbags are not deployed.
If the belt tensioner is triggered, a fine dust is
produced. This is normal and it is not an indi-
cation of fire in the vehicle.
Belt tension limiter
The belt tension limiter reduces the force of
the seat belt on the body in the event of an
accident. Note
The relevant safety requirements must be ob-
serv ed when the
vehicle is dismantled or sys-
tem components are removed. These require-
ments are known to specialised workshops
››› page 57. Service and disposal of belt tension
dev
ice
s If you work on the belt tensioners or remove
and in
s
t
all other parts of the vehicle when
performing other repair work, the seat belt
may be damaged. The consequence may be
that, in the event of an accident, the belt ten-
sioners function incorrectly or not at all. So that the effectiveness of the belt tensioner
is not
reduced and that removed parts do not
cause any injuries or environmental pollu-
tion, regulations must be observed. These re-
quirements are known to specialised work-
shops. WARNING
● Improper u se or r
epairs not carried out by
qualified mechanics increase the risk of se-
vere or fatal injuries. The belt tensioners may
fail to trigger or may trigger in the wrong cir-
cumstances.
● Never attempt to repair, adjust, remove or
inst
all parts of the belt tensioners or seat
belts.
● The seat belt tensioner, seat belt and auto-
matic r
etractor cannot be repaired.
● Any work on the belt tensioners and seat
belts, includin
g the removal and refitting of
system parts in conjunction with other repair
work, must be performed by a specialised
workshop only.
● The belt tensioners will only provide pro-
tection for one ac
cident and must be changed
if they have been activated. For the sake of the environment
Airbag modules and belt tensioners may con-
tain per c
hlorate. Observe the legal require-
ments for their disposal. 57
Technical data
Advice
Operation
Emergencies
Safety
Safety
Airbag system
Brief intr
oduction
Intr
oduction Front airbags have been installed for both
driver and p
a
ssenger. The front airbags can
also protect the chest and head of driver and
passenger if the seats, seat belts head re-
straints and, for the driver, the steering
wheel are correctly adjusted and used. Air-
bags are considered as additional safety
equipment. An airbag cannot replace the
seat belt, which must be worn at all times,
even in front seats where front airbags have
been installed.
The airbag can protect vehicle occupants in
the event of an accidents, cushioning the
movement of the occupants in the direction
of the collision in frontal and side accidents.
Deployed airbags fill with a propellant gas.
This causes the airbag covers to break and
the airbags to deploy extremely quickly in
their entire deployment space within frac-
tions of a second. When an occupant with the
seat belt properly fastened puts pressure on
the inflated airbag, the propellant gas es-
capes to absorb the force of the impact and
slow the movement. This reduces the risk of
severe or fatal injuries. Airbag deployment
does not mean that other types of injury such as swelling, bruising and skin injuries can be
rul
ed out
. Upon deployment of the airbag,
friction can cause the generation of heat.
Airbags do not protect the arms or the lower
part of the body.
The most important factors for triggering the
airbag are the type of accident, the angle of
impact, the vehicle speed and the character-
istics of the object the vehicle hits. Therefore,
airbags are not triggered every time the vehi-
cle is visibly damaged.
The activation of the airbag system depends
on the magnitude of the deceleration of the
vehicle caused by a collision, which registers
through an electronic control unit. If the de-
celeration magnitude value is below the ref-
erence value programmed in the control unit,
the airbags will not deploy even though seri-
ous damage might be caused to the vehicle
as the result of an accident. Damage suffered
by the vehicle, reparation costs or absence of
damage suffered from the accident are not
indications of whether an airbag should have
been deployed. Due to the varying nature of
collision situations, it is impossible to define
a speed range of the vehicle and reference
values. For this reason, it is not possible to
cover all types of collisions and collision an-
gles resulting in the deployment of the air-
bag. Factors necessary for the airbag to be
deployed can be, the characteristics of the
object (hard or soft) against which the vehi- cle collides, the collision angle and the vehi-
cle s
peed.
Airbags act in conjunction with the three-
point seat belts in certain accident situa-
tions, when the vehicle deceleration rate is
severe enough to trigger the airbags. Airbags
only deploy once and only under certain cir-
cumstances. Seat belts remain present to of-
fer protection in situations where airbags are
not triggered or where they have already de-
ployed. For example, when a vehicle hits an-
other after an initial collision or is hit by an-
other vehicle. The airbag system is an integral part of the
car's passive safety system. The airbag sys-
tem can only work effectively when the vehi-
cle occupants are wearing their seat belts
correctly and have adjusted the head re-
straints properly ››› page 47. WARNING
Never exclusively trust the airbag system as a
mean s
of protection.
● Even when triggered, airbag protection is
only aux
iliary.
● The airbags provide the best protection
when the seat belt
s are properly fastened,
thus reducing the risk of sustaining injuries
››› page 51, Why wear a seat belt? .58
Airbag system
●
Bef or
e each trip, every occupant must sit
properly, correctly fasten the seat belt be-
longing to his or her seat and keeping it fas-
tened throughout the trip. This rule is valid
for all vehicle occupants. WARNING
Occupants sitting in the front of the vehicle
mu st
never carry any objects in the deploy-
ment space between them and the airbags,
as this increases the risk of sustaining inju-
ries if the airbag is triggered. This modifies
the airbag deployment space or the objects
may fly uncontrollably and hit your body.
● Never carry objects in your hand or on your
lap whil
e the vehicle is in motion.
● Never transport objects on the front pas-
senger se
at. In the event of sudden braking
and manoeuvres, the objects may end up in
the airbag deployment space and fly uncon-
trollably around the interior if the airbag is
activated.
● Occupants of the front and rear seats must
never carr
y any other people, pets or objects
in the deployment space between them and
the airbags. Make sure children and other
passengers also respect this recommenda-
tion. WARNING
The airbag system provides protection for
one acc ident
only. If they have been de-
ployed, they must be replaced. ●
Ens ur
e deployed airbags and the system
components involved are immediately re-
placed with new, SEAT-approved components
for the vehicle.
● Have any repairs or modifications carried
out at a s
pecialised workshop. Specialised
workshops have the necessary tools, diag-
nostics equipment, repair information and
qualified personnel.
● Never fit recycled or reused airbag compo-
nents in
your vehicle.
● Never modify the airbag system compo-
nents. WARNING
If the airbags are triggered, a fine dust is pro-
duced. Thi
s is normal and it is not an indica-
tion of fire in the vehicle.
● This fine dust may irritate the skin and eyes
and cause br
eathing difficulties, particularly
in people suffering from or who have suffered
from asthma or other illnesses of the respira-
tory tract. To reduce breathing difficulties,
get out of the vehicle and open and doors and
windows to breath in fresh air.
● Should you touch the dust, wash your
hands
and face using a mild soap and water
before you eat.
● Prevent the dust from affecting the eyes or
open wound
s.
● Rinse your eyes with water if you have dust
in them. WARNING
Solvents cause the surfaces of the airbag
modul e
s to become porous. If an airbag is ac-
cidentally triggered, the detachment of plas-
tic parts could cause serious injury.
● Never clean the dash panel and the surfa-
ces
of the airbag modules with cleaners con-
taining solvents. Description of airbag system
Vehicle safety components
The f
o
l
lowing safety equipment makes up the
vehicle safety design to reduce the risk of se-
vere and fatal injuries. Depending on the ve-
hicle equipment, some equipment may not
be fitted in the vehicle or may not be availa-
ble in some markets.
● Optimised seat belts for all seats.
● Seat belt tension devices for driver and
pas
senger.
● Seat belt force limiters for driver and pas-
senger
.
● Seat belt warning lamp
● Front airbags for driver and passenger.
● Side airbags for driver and passenger.
● Airbag control lamp .
● Control units and sensors. »
59
Technical data
Advice
Operation
Emergencies
Safety