Safe driving
●
Alwa y
s 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 event
s 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 m
aximum protection. Correct sitting position for rear seat
p
a
ssen
gers To reduce the risk of injury in the event of a
s
ud
den br ak
ing 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 60. –
Alway
s keep both feet in the footwell in
front of the rear seat.
– Fasten your seat belt securely ››› p
age 61.
– Use an appropriate child restraint system
when you tak
e children in the vehicle
››› page 72. WARNING
● If the pa s
sengers in the rear seats are not
sitting properly, they could sustain severe in-
juries.
● Adjust the head restraint correctly in order
to achieve m
aximum protection.
● Seat belts can only provide optimal protec-
tion when seat bac
krests 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. Examples of incorrect sitting posi-
tion
s Seat belts can provide optimal protection on-
ly
when the belt
we
bs are properly posi-
tioned. Incorrect sitting positions substan-
tially reduce the protective function of seat
belts and increase the risk of injury due to in-
correct seat belt position. As the driver, you
are responsible for all passengers, especially
children. –
Never allow an
yone to assume an incorrect
sitting position in the vehicle while travel-
ling ››› .
The f o
llo
wing list contains examples of sit-
ting positions that could be dangerous for all
vehicle occupants. The list is not complete,
but we would like to make you aware of this
issue.
Therefore, whenever 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 far to the rear.
● Never lean against the dash panel.
● Never lie on the rear bench.
● 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.
● Do not allow anyone to travel in the foot-
well.
● Nev
er travel without wearing the seat belt.
● Do not allow anyone to travel in the lug-
gage comp
artment. »
59
Technical data
Advice
Operation
Emergencies
Safety
Seat belts
●
Do not swap the c entr
e rear head restraint
with either of the outer seat rear head re-
straints. Risk of injury in case of an accident! Note
Note the instructions on the head restraints
a djus tment
.Pedal area
P ed
al
s –
Ensure that you can always press the accel-
er at
or , br
ake and clutch pedals unimpaired
to the floor.
– Ensure that the pedals can return unim-
paired to their initi
al positions.
– Ensure that the floor mats are securely fas-
tened during the trip and do not o
bstruct
the pedals ››› .
On ly
u se floor m
ats which leave the pedals
clear and which are secured to prevent them
from slipping. You can obtain suitable floor
mats from a specialised dealership.
If a brake circuit fails, the brake pedal must
be pressed down thoroughly in order to stop
the vehicle. Wear suitable footwear
Alway
s wear shoes which support your feet
properly and give you a good feeling for the
pedals. WARNING
● If the peda l
s are obstructed, an accident
may occur. Risk of serious injuries.
● Never lay or fit floor mats or other floor cov-
erings o
ver the original floor mats. This
would reduce the pedal area and could ob-
struct the pedals. Risk of accident.
● Never place objects in the driver footwell.
An object
could move into the pedal area and
impair pedal operation. In the event of a sud-
den driving or braking manoeuvre, you will
not be able to operate the brake, clutch or ac-
celerator pedal. Risk of accident! Seat belts
Wh y
w e
ar a seat belt?
Number of seats Your vehicle has
five seats, tw
o in the front
and three in the rear. Each seat is equipped
with a three-point seat belt.
In some versions, your vehicle is approved
only for four seats. Two front seats and two
rear seats. WARNING
● Never tran s
port more than the permitted
amount of people in your vehicle.
● Every vehicle occupant must properly fas-
ten and wear the se
at belt belonging to his or
her seat. Children must be protected with an
appropriate child restraint system. 61
Technical data
Advice
Operation
Emergencies
Safety
Safety
Seat belt lamp* Fig. 79
Warning lamp on the instrument pan-
el . The control lamp illuminates to remind the
driv
er t
o fa
sten his seat belt.
Before starting the vehicle: – Fasten your seat belt securely.
– Instruct your passengers to fasten their
seat belts pr
operly before driving off.
– Protect children by using a child seat ac-
cording t
o the child's height and weight.
When the ignition is switched on, the control
lamp in the instrument panel lights up* if
the driver or passenger* have not fastened
their seat belts.
An audible warning signal will sound for a
few seconds if the seat belts are not fastened
as the vehicle drives off and reaches a speed
of more than approximately 25 km/h (15 mph) or if the seat belts are unfastened
while the v
ehicle is in motion. The warning
lamp will also flash .
The lamp goes out when the driver and
passenger seat belts are fastened with the ig-
nition switched on.
The protective function of seat belts Fig. 80
Drivers with properly worn seat belts
w i
ll
not be thrown forward in the event of sud-
den braking Properly worn seat belts hold the occupants
in the pr
oper po
sition.
These also help pre-
vent uncontrolled movements that may result
in serious injury and reduce the risk of being
thrown out of the vehicle.
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 safety features (such as the airbag sys-
tem) are des
igned 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!
62
Seat belts
Safety instructions on using seat
belt s –
Always wear the seat belt as described in
this section.
– En s
ure that the seat belts can be fastened
at all time
s and are not damaged. WARNING
● If seat belt
s are worn incorrectly or not at
all, the risk of severe injuries increases. The
optimal protection from seat belts can be
achieved only if you use them properly.
● Fasten your seat belt before every trip -
even when driving in t
own. Other vehicle oc-
cupants must also wear the seat belts at all
times, otherwise they run the risk of being in-
jured.
● The seat belt cannot offer its full protection
if the seat belt
is not positioned correctly.
● Never allow two passengers (even children)
to share the s
ame seat belt.
● Always keep both feet in the footwell in
front of
your seat as long as the vehicle is in
motion.
● Never unbuckle a seat belt while the vehi-
cle is
in motion. Risk of fatal injury.
● The seat belt must never be twisted while it
is being w
orn.
● The seat belt should never lie on hard or
fragile o
bjects (such as glasses or pens, etc.)
because this can cause injuries. ●
Do not al lo
w the seat belt to be damaged or
jammed, or to rub on any sharp edges.
● Never wear the seat belt under the arm or
in any other incorr
ect position.
● Loose, bulky clothing (such as an overcoat
over a jac
ket) impairs the proper fit and func-
tion of the seat belts, reducing their capacity
to protect.
● The slot in the seat belt buckle must not be
blocked w
ith paper or other objects, as this
can prevent the latch plate from engaging se-
curely.
● Never use seat belt clips, fastening rings or
similar it
ems to alter the position of the belt
webbing.
● Frayed or torn seat belts or damage to the
connections, belt r
etractors or parts of the
buckle could cause severe injuries in the
event of an accident. Therefore, you must
check the condition of all seat belts at regular
intervals.
● Seat belts which have been worn in an acci-
dent and stret
ched must be replaced by a
specialised workshop. Renewal may be nec-
essary even if there is no apparent damage.
The belt anchorage should also be checked.
● Do not attempt to repair a damaged seat
belt your
self. The seat belts must not be re-
moved or modified in any way.
● The belts must be kept clean, otherwise the
retractor
s may not work properly. Head-on collisions and the laws of
ph
y
sic
s Fig. 81
A driver not wearing a seat belt is
thr o
wn f or
ward violently Fig. 82
The unbelted passenger in the rear
se at
is
thrown forward violently, hitting the
driver who is wearing a seat belt. It is easy to explain how the laws of physics
w
ork
in the c a
se of a head-on collision: when
a vehicle starts moving, a type of energy »
63
Technical data
Advice
Operation
Emergencies
Safety
Airbag system
airbag. In this case, the inflating airbag may
inflict c
ritic al
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
● Wearin g the se
at 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.
Children up to 12 years old should always travel on the rear seat. Never transport chil-
dren in the v
ehic
le if they are not restrained
or the restraint system is not appropriate for
their age, size or weight.
● If you are not wearing a seat belt, or if you
lean for
ward or to the side while travelling or
assume an incorrect sitting position, there is
a substantially increased risk of injury. This
increased risk of injury will be further in-
creased if you are struck by an inflating air-
bag.
● To reduce the risk of injury from an inflating
airbag, alwa
ys wear the seat belt properly.
● Always adjust the front seats properly. Description of airbag system
The airbag system mainly comprises (as per
v
ehic
le equipment):
● an el
ectronic control and monitoring sys-
tem (contro
l unit)
● frontal airbags for driver and passenger,
● side airbags,
● curtain airbags,
● a control lamp on the dash panel
›
›› page 68.
● key-operated switch for front passenger air-
bag,
● a contro
l lamp for disabling/enabling the
front pa
ssenger airbag. The airbag system operation is monitored
electronical
ly. The airbag control lamp will il-
luminate for a few seconds every time the ig-
nition is switched on (self-diagnosis).
There is a fault in the system if the control
lamp :
● does not light up when the ignition is
switched on ›
›› page 68,
● turns off after 4 seconds after the ignition
is swit
ched on
● turns off and then lights up again after the
ignition is swit
ched on
● illuminates or flashes while the vehicle is
moving.
The airb
ag system is not triggered if:
● the ignition is switched off
● there is a minor frontal collision
● there is a minor side collision
● there is a rear-end collision
● the vehicle turns over. WARNING
● The seat belt s
and airbags can only provide
maximum protection if the occupants are
seated correctly ››› page 57, Correct position
for passengers.
● If a fault has occurred in the airbag system,
have the sys
tem checked immediately by a
specialised workshop. Otherwise, during a » 67
Technical data
Advice
Operation
Emergencies
Safety
Airbag system
If any of the airbags are disabled by a Techni-
c al
Ser
vice, the warning lamp flashes for sev-
eral more seconds after verification and will
turn off if there is no fault. WARNING
● If there i s
a malfunction, the airbag and
belt tensioner system cannot properly per-
form its protective function.
● If a malfunction occurs, have the system
checked immedi
ately by a specialised work-
shop. Otherwise, in the event of an accident,
the airbag system and belt tensioners may
not be triggered, or may not be triggered cor-
rectly. Airbag safety instructions
Fr ont
airb ag
sRead the additional information carefully
› ›
›
p
age 14. WARNING
● The seat belt s
and airbags can only provide
maximum protection if the occupants are
seated correctly ››› page 57, Correct position
for passengers.
● The deployment space between the front
passen
gers and the airbags must not in any
case be occupied by other passenger, pets
and objects. ●
The airbags pr
ovide protection for just one
accident; replace them once they have de-
ployed.
● It is also important not to attach any ob-
jects s
uch as cup holders or telephone
mountings to the surfaces covering the air-
bag units.
● Do not attempt to modify components of
the airbag syst
em in any way. Side airbags*
Read the additional information carefully
› ›
›
p
age 15. WARNING
● If y ou do not
wear a seat belt, if you lean
forward, or are not seated correctly while the
vehicle is in motion, you are at a greater risk
of injury if the side airbag system is triggered
in an accident.
● In order for the side airbags to provide their
maximum prot
ection, the prescribed sitting
position must always be maintained with
seat belts fastened while travelling.
● Occupants of the outer seats must never
carry an
y objects or pets in the deployment
space between them and the airbags, or al-
low children or other passengers to travel in
this position. It is also important not to at-
tach any accessories (such as cup holders) to the doors. This would impair the protection
offered b
y
the side airbags.
● The built-in coat hooks should be used only
for lightweight c
lothing. Do not leave any
heavy or sharp-edged objects in the pockets.
● Great forces, such as hard blows or kicks,
must not
be exerted upon the backrest bol-
ster because the system may be damaged. In
this case, the side airbags would not be trig-
gered.
● Under no circumstances should protective
cover
s be fitted over seats with side airbags
unless the covers have been approved for use
in your vehicle. Because the airbag deploys
from the side of the backrest, the use of con-
ventional seat covers would obstruct the side
airbag, seriously reducing the airbag's effec-
tiveness.
● Any damage to the original seat upholstery
or around the seams
of the side airbag units
must be repaired immediately by a special-
ised workshop.
● The airbags provide protection for just one
accident; rep
lace them once they have de-
ployed.
● Any work on the side airbag system or re-
moval
and installation of the airbag compo-
nents for other repairs (such as removal of
the front seat) should only be performed by a
specialised workshop. Otherwise, faults may
occur during the airbag system operation.
● Do not attempt to modify components of
the airbag syst
em in any way. » 69
Technical data
Advice
Operation
Emergencies
Safety
Safety
●
The side and hea d airb
ags are managed
through sensors located in the interior of the
front doors. To ensure the correct operation of
the side and curtain (head) airbags neither
the doors nor the door panels should be
modified in any way (e.g. fitting loudspeak-
ers). If the front door is damaged, the airbag
system may not work correctly. All work car-
ried out on the front door must be done in a
specialised workshop.
● In a side-on collision the side airbags will
not work if
the sensors do not correctly meas-
ure the pressure increase on the interior of
the doors, due to air escaping through the
areas with holes or openings in the door pan-
el.
● Never drive if the interior door panels have
been removed or if
the panels have not been
correctly fitted.
● Never drive the vehicle if the loudspeakers
in the door panels h
ave been removed, un-
less the holes left by the loudspeakers have
been closed properly.
● Always check that the openings are closed
or cover
ed if additional loudspeakers or other
equipment are fitted inside the door panels.
● Any work carried out to the doors should be
made in an authorised s
pecialised workshop.Curtain airbags*
Read the additional information carefully
› ›
›
p
age 16. WARNING
The airbag is deployed at high speed in frac-
tions of a sec
ond.
● Do not obstruct the head-protection airbag
deployment ar
eas.
● Never secure objects over the curtain air-
bag cov
er or in its deployment area.
● Occupants of the front seats and rear side
seats mu
st never carry any other people, ani-
mals or objects in the deployment space be-
tween them and the airbags. Make sure that
all the vehicle occupants, including children,
observe this.
● The clothes hangers are intended only for
light articl
es of clothing. Do not leave any
heavy or sharp-edged objects in the pockets.
● Do not mount accessories on the doors.
● Use only sun blinds which have been ex-
press
ly approved for use in your vehicle.
● Do not turn the sun blinds towards the win-
dows if
there are objects, e.g. pens or garage
remote controls, secured to them. Deactivating airbags
D e
activ ation of
front passenger front
airbag* Fig. 85
In the glove compartment: Switch for
activ atin
g and de activ
ating the front passen-
ger airbag Fig. 86
Centre side of dash panel: control
l amp f
or deactiv
ated front passenger airbag
in centre console 70
Airbag system
Read the additional information carefully
› ›
›
p
age 15
If you fit a rear-facing child seat to the front
passenger seat, the front passenger front air-
bag must be de-activated.
When the front passenger airbag is deactiva-
ted, this means that only the front passenger
front airbag is deactivated. All the other air-
bags in the vehicle remain activated.
Activating the front passenger front airbag
– Switch the ignition off.
– Open the glove compartment on the front
passen
ger side.
– Insert the key into the slot of the switch for
deactivating the fr
ont passenger airbag
››› Fig. 85. About 3/4 of the key should en-
ter, as far as it will go.
– Then turn the key gently to the position.
Do not f
orce it if you feel resistance, and
make sure you have inserted the key fully.
– When the ignition is switched on, check
whether the control
lamp
on the dash panel does ››› Fig. 86 not
light up ››› .
WARNING
● It is the driv
er's responsibility to ensure
that the key-operated switch is set to the cor-
rect position. ●
You shoul d de
activate the front passenger
front airbag only if you have to use a rear-fac-
ing child seat in exceptional cases
››› page 72, Transporting children safely.
● Never install a child seat facing backwards
on the front pa
ssenger seat unless the front
passenger front airbag has been disabled.
Otherwise, there is a risk of death.
● As soon as the child seat is no longer nee-
ded on the front pa
ssenger seat, enable the
front passenger front airbag again.
● Only deactivate the front passenger front
airbag when the ignition is off
, otherwise a
fault may occur in the airbag system, which
could cause the airbag to not deploy properly
or not deploy at all in case of an accident.
● Never leave the key in the airbag disabling
switch a
s it could get damaged or enable or
disable the airbag during driving.
● When the passenger airbag is deactivated,
if the contro
l lamp is not
continuously lit up when the front passenger
airbag is disabled, there may be a fault in the
airbag system:
–Have the airbag system inspected imme-
diately by a specialised workshop.
– Do not use a child seat on the front pas-
senger seat! The front passenger front
airbag could be triggered in the event of
an accident, even if there is a fault in the
system and, as a result, a child could sus-
tain serious or fatal injuries.
– It is unpredictable whether the front pas-
senger airbag will deploy in the event of an accident. Warn all your passengers of
this.
71
Technical data
Advice
Operation
Emergencies
Safety