Seats and storage
General information
Why is your seat adjustment so important?
The safety belts and the airbag system can only
provide maximum protection if the front seats are corr ectly 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 reducing
physical stress and fatigue
- the safety belts and a irbag system can offer
maximum protection
<=:> page 142.
In the following sections, you will see exact ly
how you can best adjust your seats.
There are spec ial regulations and instr uctions for
installing a child seat on the front passenger's
seat . Always fo llow the information regarding
child safety provided in¢
page 166, Child safe
ty .
A WARNING
Incorrect seating position of the driver and all
other passengers can result in serious person
al injury .
- Always keep your feet on the floor when the
vehicle is in motion - never put your feet on
top of the instrument pane l, o ut of the win
dow or on top of the sea t cushion. This ap
plies espe cially to the passengers.
If your
seating pos it ion is inco rrect, yo u increase
the risk of injury in the case of sudden brak
ing or an accident. If the ai rbag inf lates and
the seating position is incorrect, this cou ld
result in personal injury or even death.
- It is important for both the driver and front
passenger to keep a d istance of at least
10 inches (25 cm) between themselves and
the steering wheel and/or instrument pan el. If you're s itting any closer than this, the
airbag system can not protect you properly.
Seat s and sto rage
In addition, the front seats and head re
stra ints must be adjusted to your body
he ight so that they can g ive you maximum
protection .
- Always try to keep as much distance as pos
sible between yourself and the steer ing
wheel or instrument panel.
- Do not adjust the driver's or front passeng
er's seat while the veh icle is moving . Your
seat may move unexpectedly, causing sud
den loss of vehicle contro l and personal in
jury.
If yo u ad just yo ur seat while the veh icle
is moving, you a re o ut of pos ition.
Driver's seat
The correct seat position is important for safe
and relaxed driving.
We recommend that you adjust the dr iver's seat
i n the following manner:
.. Adjust the seat in fore and aft direction so that
you can eas ily push the pedals to the floor
while keeping yo ur knees slightly bent<=:>.&,
in
Why is your seat adjustment so important? on
page
53 .
.,. Adjust the bac krest so that when you s it w ith
your back agains t the backrest, yo u can st ill
grasp the to p of the steering wheel.
.. For adj ustab le head restraints : adjust the head
restraint so the upper edge is as even as possi
ble with the top of your head. If that is not pos
sible, try to adjust the head restraint so that it
is as close to this posit ion as possible
<=:> page 56 . Move the head restra int so that it
is as close to the back of the head as poss ible .
A WARNING
Neve r pla ce any objects in the dr iver's foot
well. An objec t could ge t into the pedal area
a nd interfe re with pedal func tion. In case of
sud den braking or an accident, you would no t
be ab le to b rake o r accelerate .
-
53
