2018 Seat Alhambra belt

Safe driving
Safety
Saf e driv
in
g
Safety first! This chapter contains important information,
tips, s
ug

gestions and warnings that you
should read and consider for both your own
safety and for your passengers' safety. WARNING
● This m

anual contains important informa-
tion about the operation of the vehicle, both
for the driver and the passengers. The other
sections of the on-board documentation also
contain further information that you should
be aware of for your own safety and for the
safety of your passengers.
● Ensure that the on-board documentation is
kept in the
vehicle at all times. This is espe-
cially important when lending or selling the
vehicle to another person. Advice about driving
Intr oduction Depending upon how you expect to use your
v
ehic
l

e, it may a good idea to protect the en-
gine from below. An undercarriage may help to reduce the risk of damage to the lower part
of the v

ehicle and the oil sump when driving
over kerbs, or along dirt tracks or unsurfaced
roads, etc. SEAT recommends you have the
guard fitted by a technical service centre. WARNING
Driving under the influence of alcohol, drugs,
medication or n ar

cotics may result in severe
accidents and even loss of life.
● Alcohol, drugs, medication and narcotics
may
significantly alter perception, affect re-
action times and safety while driving, which
could result in the loss of control of the vehi-
cle. Before setting off
For your own safety and the safety of your
p
a
s

sengers, always note the following points
before every trip:
– Make sure that the vehicle's lights and turn
signal

s are working properly.
– Check tyre pressure.
– Ensure that all windows provide a clear and
good v

iew of the surroundings.
– Make sure all luggage is secured
›››
page 152.
– Make sure that no objects can interfere
with the pedal

s. –
Adjust
front seat, head restraint and mir-
rors properly according to your size.
– Ensure that the passengers in the rear
seats alw

ays have the head restraints in
the in-use position ››› page 144.
– Instruct passengers to adjust the head re-
straints

according to their height.
– Protect children with appropriate child
seats and pr

operly applied seat belts
››› page 75.
– Assume the correct sitting position. Instruct
your pa

ssengers also to assume a proper
sitting position ››› page 58.
– Fasten your seat belt securely. Instruct your
pas

sengers also to fasten their seat belts
properly ››› page 65.
What affects driving safety? As a driver, you are responsible for yourself
and
y
our p

assengers. When your concentra-
tion or driving safety is affected by any cir-
cumstance, you endanger yourself as well as
others on the road ››› , for this reason:
– Always pay attention to traffic and do not
g et
di

stracted by passengers or telephone
calls.
– Never drive when your driving ability is im-
paired (e.

g. by medication, alcohol, drugs). »
57
Technical data
Advice
Operation
Emergencies
Safety

Safety
– Ob
ser
ve traffic laws and speed limits.
– Always reduce your speed as appropriate
for ro

ad, traffic and weather conditions.
– When travelling long distances, take
break

s regularly - at least every two hours.
– If possible, avoid driving when you are tired
or stre

ssed. WARNING
When driving safety is impaired during a trip,
the risk of

injury and accidents increases. Safety equipment
Never put your safety or the safety of your
p
a
s

sengers in danger. In the event of an acci-
dent, the safety equipment may reduce the
risk of injury. The following points cover part
of the safety equipment in your SEAT:
● three-point seat belts,
● belt tension limiters for the front and rear
side seats,
● B

elt tensioners for the front seats,
● front airbags,
● knee airbags,
● side airbags in the front seat backrests,
● side airbags in the rear seat backrests*,
● head-protection airbags, ●
“ISOFIX” anchor points f
or child seats in
the rear side seats with the “ISOFIX” system,
● height-adjustable front head restraints,
● belt height adjustment for the front seats,
● rear head restraints with in-use position
and non-use pos
ition,
● 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! Correct position of the vehicle
occup

ants
Correct sitting position Fig. 79
The correct distance between the driv-
er and the s t
eerin

g wheel must be at least 25
cm (10 inches). Fig. 80
Correct belt web and head restraint
po s
ition

s 58

Safe driving
The correct sitting positions for the driver and
p a
s
sengers are shown below.
If your physical constitution prevents you
from maintaining the correct sitting position,
contact a specialised workshop for help with
any special devices. The seat belt and airbag
can only provide optimum protection if a cor-
rect sitting position is adopted. SEAT recom-
mends taking your car in for technical serv-
ice.
For your own safety and to reduce the risk of
injury in the event of an accident or sudden
braking or manoeuvre, SEAT recommend the
following positions:
Valid for all vehicle occupants:
● 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. 79 and ››› Fig. 80.
● Short people must lower the head restraint
compl
etely, even if your head is below its up-
per edge.
● Tall people must raise the head restraint
compl
etely.
● Adjust the seat backrest to an upright posi-
tion so that
your back rests completely
against it. ●
Alwa
ys keep your feet in the footwell while
the vehicle is in motion.
● Adjust and fasten your seat belt correctly
›››
page 65.
Also valid for the driver:
● Adjust the steering wheel so that there is a
dist
ance of at least 25 cm (10 inches) be-
tween it and your chest ››› Fig. 79 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 (4 inches) ››› Fig. 79.
● 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.
Also valid for the front passenger:
● Move the front passenger seat back as far
as po
ssible for optimum protection should
the airbag deploy. Adjusting the steering wheel position Read the additional information carefully
›› ›

 page 18. 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 ›

››  Fig. 24
1 firmly upwards to
ens ur
e the steering wheel does not acciden-
tally change position 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. 59
Technical data
Advice
Operation
Emergencies
Safety

Safety
Danger of injuries due to an incorrect
s ittin
g po
sitionNumber of seats
Dependin
g on the equipment,

your vehicle
has a total of five or seven seats. Each seat is
equipped with a seat belt.
5 seats
Seats in the frontSeats in thesecond rowSeats in the third row
23–
7 seats
Seats in the frontSeats in thesecond rowSeats in the third row
232 If the seat belts are worn incorrectly or not at
al
l, the ri
sk

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 incorr

ect sitting positions which can be
dangerous to all vehicle occupants.
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 too 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
or seat b
ackrest.
● Never travel in a footwell.
● Never sit on the armrests.
● 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 ac
c

idents 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 75.
● 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 dash panel 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 a dis-
tance of
at least 25 cm (10 inches) between
the centre of 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 60

Safe driving
between your knees and the dash panel is at
le
a
st 10 cm (4 inches). If your physical consti-
tution prevents you from meeting these re-
quirements, contact a specialised workshop
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.
● Sit as far away as possible from the steer-
ing wheel and the d
ash 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
adju
s

ting 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 seat
adjus
tment area.
● Only adjust the height, angle and longitu-
dinal
position of the rear seats when nobody
is in the way.
● The seat adjustment and lock areas must
be kept c
lean. Pedal area
P ed
a

ls Do not allow floor mats or other objects to
o
b
s

truct the free passage of the pedals.
Floor mats should leave the pedal area free
and unobstructed and be correctly secured in
the footwell zone.
In the event of failure of a brake circuit, the
brake pedal must be pressed harder than
normal to brake the vehicle. WARNING
Objects falling into the driver's footwell could
prev ent

use of the pedals. This could lead the driver to lose control of the vehicle, increas-
ing the ri
sk

of a serious accident.
● Make sure the pedals can be used at all
times, with no o
bjects rolling underneath
them.
● Always secure the mat in the footwell.
● Never place other mats or rugs on top of
the original
mat supplied by the factory.
● Ensure that no objects can fall into the driv-
er's footw
ell while the vehicle is in motion. CAUTION
The pedals must always have free and unob-
struct ed p

assage to the floor. For example, in
case of a fault in the brake circuit, the brake
pedal will need to be pressed further to stop
the vehicle. To press the brake pedal down
further will require more force than usual. 61
Technical data
Advice
Operation
Emergencies
Safety

Safety
Seat belts
Wh y
w
ear a seat belt
Introduction Check the condition of all the seat belts at
re
gu

lar intervals. If you notice that the belt
webbing, fittings, retractor mechanism or
buckle of any of the belts is damaged, the
belt must be replaced immediately by a spe-
cialised workshop ››› . The specialised
w ork
shop mu

st use the appropriate spare
parts corresponding to the vehicle, the
equipment and the model year. SEAT recom-
mends taking your car in for technical serv-
ice. WARNING
Unbuckled or badly buckled seat belts in-
cr e

ase the risk of severe or even fatal inju-
ries. The seat belt cannot offer its full protec-
tion if it is not fastened and used correctly.
● Seat belts are the most effective way of re-
ducing the ri
sk of sustaining severe or fatal
injuries in the event of an accident. Seat belts
must be correctly fastened when the vehicle
is in motion to protect the driver and all vehi-
cle occupants.
● Before each trip, every occupant in the ve-
hicle oc
cupants must sit properly, correctly
fasten the seat belt belonging to his or her
seat and keep it fastened throughout the trip. This also applies to other vehicle occupants
when drivin
g in t

own.
● When travelling, children must be secured
in the vehic
le with a child restraint system
suitable for their weight and height and with
the seat belts correctly fastened
››› page 75.
● Instruct your passengers to fasten their
seat belt
s properly before driving off.
● Insert the latch plate into the buckle for the
appropri
ate seat and ensure it is engaged.
Using the latch plate in the buckle of another
seat will not protect you properly and may
cause severe injuries.
● Do not allow liquids or foreign bodies to en-
ter the buc
kle fastenings. This could damage
the buckles and seat belts.
● Never unbuckle your seat belt when the ve-
hicle i
s moving.
● Never allow more than one passenger to
share the s
ame seat belt.
● Never hold children or babies on your lap
sharing the s
ame seat belt.
● Bulky and unbuttoned clothing, such as a
coat
worn over a sweatshirt, impairs the
proper fit and function of the seat belt. WARNING
It is extremely dangerous to drive using dam-
aged se at

belts and could result in serious in-
jury or loss of life. ●
Av oid d

amaging the seat belt by jamming it
in the door or the seat mechanism.
● If the fabric or other parts of the seat belt
are dam
aged, the seat belts could break in
the event of an accident or sudden braking.
● Always have damaged seatbelts replaced
immediately
by seat belts approved for the
vehicle in question by SEAT. Seat belts which
have been worn in an accident and have been
stretched must be replaced by a specialised
workshop. Renewal may be necessary even if
there is no apparent damage. The belt an-
chorage should also be checked.
● Never attempt to repair, modify or remove a
seat belt
yourself. All repairs to seat belts, re-
tractors and buckles must be carried out by a
specialised workshop. 62

Seat belts
Warning lamp Fig. 81
Warning lamp on the instrument pan-
el . Fig. 82
Example of seat belt status display for
the r ear se
ats (here, a 7-seat vehicle) on the
instrument panel above, the second row and,
below, the third row of seats. 
Lights up or flashes
Driver's seat belt not
fastened or front pas-
senger seat belt not
fastened if the front
passenger seat is occu-
pied.
Fasten seat belts!
Objects on the front
passenger seat.Remove any objects from the
front passenger seat and
store them safely.
Some control and warning lamps on the in-
strument
p

anel will come on to check certain
functions when the ignition is switched on.
They will switch off after a few seconds.
An audible warning will be heard for a maxi-
mum of 90 seconds if the seat belts are not
fastened as the car drives off and reaches a
speed of more than 25 km/h (15 mph) or if
the seat belts are unfastened while the vehi-
cle 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. 82.
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 se at
belt

status flashes for a maximum of
30 seconds 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 rear seat display can be enabled or disa-
bled by a technical service centre.
The protective function of seat belts Fig. 83
Drivers with properly worn seat belts
w i
l

l not be thrown forward in the event of sud-
den braking » 63
Technical data
Advice
Operation
Emergencies
Safety

Safety
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 safety 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, r
ollovers 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!
Head-on collisions and the laws of
phys
ics Fig. 84
A driver not wearing a seat belt is
thr own f

orward violently. Fig. 85
The unbelted rear passenger is
thro wn f

orward violently, hitting the driver
wearing a seat belt It is easy to explain how the laws of physics
w
ork
in the c

ase of a head-on collision: when
a vehicle starts moving, a type of energy
called “kinetic energy” is created both in the
passengers and inside the vehicle.
The amount of “kinetic energy” depends on
the speed of the vehicle and on the weight of
the vehicle and of its passengers. The higher
the speed and the greater the weight, the
more energy there is to be “absorbed” in an
accident.
The most significant factor, however, is the
speed of the vehicle. If the speed doubles
from 25 km/h (15 mph) to 50 km/h
(30 mph), for example, the corresponding ki-
netic energy is multiplied by four.
Because the vehicle occupants in our exam-
ple are not restrained by seat belts, in the
64