Seat Alhambra 2015 User Guide

Safe driving
●
Always keep your feet in the footwell while
the vehicle 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 head restraints and instruct your
passengers to fasten their seat belts proper-
ly.
● Move the front passenger seat back as far
as possible.
● 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 be-
tween your knees and the dash panel is at
least 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
forwards. 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 dash panel.
● Keep your back straight and resting com-
pletely 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 position, the risk of severe
injury due to incorrect positioning of the belt
web increases. WARNING
Incorrect seat adjustment may lead to acci-
dents and severe injuries.
● Only adjust the seats when the vehicle is
stationary, 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
forwards or backwards position of the seat
when there is nobody in the seat adjustment
area.
● There must be no objects blocking the seat
adjustment 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 clean. Pedal area
Pedals Do not allow floor mats or other objects to
obstruct 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
prevent use of the pedals. This could lead the
driver to lose control of the vehicle, increas-
ing the risk of a serious accident.
● Make sure the pedals can be used at all
times, with no objects 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 footwell while the vehicle is in motion. » 9Technical specifications
Advice
Operation
Safety

Safety
CAUTION
The pedals must always have free and unob-
structed passage 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. Seat belts
The whys and wherefores of
seat belts Introduction Check the condition of all the seat belts at
regular 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
workshop must 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-
crease 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 risk 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 occupants 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 driving in town.
●
When travelling, children must be secured
in the vehicle with a child restraint system
suitable for their weight and height and with
the seat belts correctly fastened
››› page 26.
● Ins
truct your passengers to fasten their
seat belts properly before driving off.
● Insert the latch plate into the buckle for the
appropriate 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 buckle fastenings. This could damage
the buckles and seat belts.
● Never unbuckle your seat belt when the ve-
hicle is moving.
● Never allow more than one passenger to
share the same seat belt.
● Never hold children or babies on your lap
sharing the same seat belt.
● Loose, bulky clothing (such as a jacket) im-
pairs the proper fit and function of the seat
belt. 10

Seat belts
WARNING
It is extremely dangerous to drive using dam-
aged seat belts and could result in serious in-
jury or loss of life.
● Avoid damaging the seat belt by jamming it
in the door or the seat mechanism.
● If the fabric or other parts of the seat belt
are damaged, 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 stretched
must be replaced by a specialised workshop.
Renewal may be necessary even if there is no
apparent damage. The belt anchorage 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. Warning lamp
Fig. 4
Warning lamp on the instrument panel. Fig. 5
Example of seat belt status display for
the rear seats (here, a 7-seat vehicle) on the
instrument panel above, the second row and,
below, the third row of seats.Lights
up or
flashesPossible causeSolution 
Driver's seat belt not
fastened or front
passenger seat belt
not fastened if the
front passenger seat
is occupied.
Fasten seat belts!

Objects on the front
passenger seat.
Remove any ob-
jects from the front
passenger seat
and store them
safely.
Some control and warning lamps on the in-
strument panel 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. »
11
Technical specifications
Advice
Operation
Safety

Safety
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-
sen g
er in this seat has fastened “his or her”
seat belt ››› Fig. 5.
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 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. Seat belt protection Fig. 6
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. 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, 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!
12

Seat belts
Frontal collisions and the laws of
physics Fig. 7
A driver not wearing a seat belt is
thrown forward violently Fig. 8
The unbelted rear passenger is thrown
forward violently, hitting the driver wearing a
seat belt It is easy to explain how the laws of physics
work in the case 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 the weight of
the vehicle and 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
event of crashing against a wall, all of the oc-
cupants' kinetic energy will be absorbed
solely by said impact.
Even at speeds of 30 km/h (19 mph) to
50 km/h (30 mph), the forces acting on bod-
ies in a collision can easily exceed one tonne
(1000 kg). At greater speed these forces are
even higher.
Vehicle occupants not wearing seat belts are
not “attached” to the vehicle. In a head-on
collision, they will move forward at the same
speed their vehicle was travelling just before
the impact. This example applies not only to
head-on collisions, but to all accidents and
collisions.
Even at low speeds the forces acting on the
body in a collision are so great that it is not
possible to brace oneself with one's hands.
In a frontal collision, unbelted passengers
are thrown forward and will make violent con-
tact with the steering wheel, dash panel,
windscreen or whatever else is in the way
››› Fig. 7 .
It i
s also important for rear passengers to
wear seat belts properly, as they could other-
wise be thrown forward violently through the
vehicle interior in an accident. Passengers in
the rear seats who do not use seat belts en-
danger not only themselves but also the front
occupants ››› Fig. 8.
Us

ing seat belts Twisted seat belt
If it is difficult to remove the seat belt from
the guide, the seat belt may have become
twisted inside the side trim after being
wound too quickly on unfastening:
● Pull out the seat belt completely, carefully
pulling on the latch plate.
● Untwist the belt and guide it back, assist-
ing it by hand.
The seat belt must be fastened even if it is
impossible to untwist it. In this case, the
twisted area must not be in an area in direct
contact with your body. Have the seat belt »
13
Technical specifications
Advice
Operation
Safety

Safety
untwisted urgently by a specialised work-
shop. WARNING
An improperly handled seat belt increases
the risk of sustaining severe or fatal injuries.
● Regularly check that the seat belts and
their components are in perfect condition.
● Always keep your seat belt clean.
● Do not jam or damage the seat belt or rub it
with sharp edges.
● Make sure there are no liquids or foreign
bodies on the latch plate and in the buckle. How to properly adjust your
seatbelt
Fastening and unfastening your seat
belt Fig. 9
Insert the latch plate into the buckle Fig. 10
Position of seat belt during pregnan-
cy. Properly worn seat belts hold the vehicle oc-
cupants in the position that most protects
them in the event of an accident or sudden
braking
››› .
Fastening the seat belt
Fasten your seat belt before each trip.
● Adjust the front seat and head restraint cor-
rectly ›››
page 6 .
● En g
age the seat backrest of the rear seat in
an upright position ››› .
● Pull the latch plate and place the belt web-
bing evenly across your chest and lap. Do not
twist the seat belt when doing so ››› .
● Engage the latch plate in the buckle of the
corresponding seat ›››
Fig. 9
A
.
14

Seat belts
● Pull 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. 9
B . The latch plate is released from the buckle.
● Guide the belt b
ack by hand so that it rolls
up easily and the trim will not be damaged.
Correct 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 6, Sitting posi-
tion for occupants.
● The shoul

der 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 part of the seat belt must lie across
the pelvis, never across the stomach. ●
The seat belt must lie flat and fit comforta-
bly. Pull 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. 10.
Adaptin

g the position of the belt webbing to
your size
The seat belt can be adapted using the fol-
lowing equipment:
● Belt height adjustment for the front seats.
● Front seat height adjustment. WARNING
An incorrectly worn seat belt web can cause
severe or fatal injuries in the event of an acci-
dent.
● The seat belt cannot offer its full protection
unless 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 can 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 severe injuries if the belt moves from
hard areas of the body to soft areas (e.g. the
stomach). ●
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 torso
● The lap part of the seat belt must lie across
the pelvis, never 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 pull the seat belt away from your
body using your hand.
● Do not lie the seat belt across rigid or frag-
ile objects, e.g. glasses, pens or keys.
● Never use seat belt clips, retaining rings or
similar instruments to alter the position of
the belt webbing. Note
If your physical constitution prevents you
from maintaining 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
airbag. SEAT recommends taking your car in
for technical service. 15Technical specifications
Advice
Operation
Safety

Safety
Fastening or unfastening the seat belt
with two buckles Fig. 11
Fasten the seat belt on the centre seat
in the second row of seats Properly worn seat belts hold the vehicle oc-
cupants in the position that most protects
them in the event of an accident or sudden
braking
››› .
The seat belts for the centre seat in the sec-
ond row of seats and for the seats in the third
row of seats are fastened using two buckles.
Fastening the seat belt
Fasten your seat belt before each trip.
● Adjust the rear seat and head restraint cor-
rectly ››› page 6 .
● En g
age the seat backrest of the rear seat in
an upright position ››› .●
Use latch plate of the belt ››› Fig. 11 1 to
pull the seat belt down. Do not twist the seat
belt when doin

g so ››› .
● Engage the latch plate 1 in the buckle of
the corresponding seat A .
● Use the latch plate ››› Fig. 11 2 to pull the
seat belt across your lap.
● Engage the latch plate 2 in the buckle of
the corresponding seat B .
● Pull the belt to ensure that both latch
p l

ates are securely engaged in the buckles.
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. 11 A . The latch plate is released from
the buckle.
● Press the red button on the buckle
››› Fig. 11 B . The latch plate is released from
the buckle.
● Guide the belt back by hand so that it rolls
up easily and the trim will not be damaged. WARNING
An incorrectly worn seat belt web can cause
severe or fatal injuries in the event of an acci-
dent.
● The seat belt cannot offer its full protection
unless the seat backrests are in an upright position and the seat belt is worn correctly,
according to your size.
●
Unbuckling your seat belt while the vehicle
is in motion can cause severe or fatal injuries
in the event of an accident or sudden braking. Note
Seat belts with two buckles include a dia-
gram to show how to fasten the seat belt. Belt height adjustment
Fig. 12
Next to the front seats: belt height ad-
juster Using the height adjusters for the front seats
and the outer seats of the second row, the
position of the seat belts can be adjusted in
the shoulder area according to the height of
the occupant:
16

Seat belts
● Keep the guide device pressed down in the
direction of the arrow ››› Fig. 12 .
● Mo v
e the guide device up or down until the
seat belt lies over the centre of your shoulder
››› page 14.
● Rel

ease the guide device.
● Pull the belt sharply to check that the de-
vice is engaged securely. WARNING
Never adjust the belt height while the vehicle
is in motion. Seat belt tensioners
Automatic belt retainer, belt
tensioner, belt tension limiter Seat belts are part of the vehicle’s safety fea-
tures and consist of the following 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 on the front seats and the out-
er seats of the second row 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 vehicle occupants or
movement in the direction of the collision.
The belt tensioner works in combination with
the airbag system. The belt tensioner will not
be triggered in the event of the vehicle over-
turning 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-
served when the vehicle is dismantled or sys-
tem components are removed. These require-
ments are known to specialised workshops
››› page 17. Service and disposal of belt
tensioners
If you work on the belt tensioners or remove
and install 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 handling and homemade repairs of
seat belts, automatic belt retainers and ten-
sion devices increase the risk of sustaining
severe or fatal injuries. The belt tensioner
may fail to trigger or may trigger in the wrong
circumstances.
● Never attempt to repair, adjust or remove or
install parts of the belt tensioners or seat
belts. Any work must be performed by a spe-
cialised workshop only ››› page 189.
● Belt tensioners and automatic belt retain-
ers cannot be repaired and must be replaced. » 17
Technical specifications
Advice
Operation
Safety

Safety
For the sake of the environment
Airbag modules and belt tensioners may con-
tain perchlorate. Observe the legal
requirements for their disposal. Airbag system
Brief introduction Introduction Front airbags have been installed for both
driver and passenger. 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.
WARNING
Never exclusively trust the airbag system as a
means of protection.
● Even when triggered, airbag protection is
only auxiliary.
● The airbags provide the best protection
when the seat belts are properly fastened,
thus reducing the risk of sustaining injuries
››› page 14, How to properly adjust your seat-
belt.
● Bef
ore 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
Vehicle occupants sitting in the front of the
vehicle must never carry any objects in the
deployment space between them and the air-
bags, as this increases the risk of sustaining
injuries if the airbag is triggered. This modi-
fies the airbag deployment space or the ob-
jects may fly uncontrollably and hit your
body.
● Never carry objects in your hand or on your
lap while the vehicle is in motion.
● Never transport objects on the front pas-
senger seat. In the event of sudden braking
and manoeuvres, the objects may end up in
the airbag deployment space and fly uncon-
trollably around the vehicle interior if the air-
bag is activated.
● Vehicle occupants of the front and outer
rear seats must never carry any other people,
pets or objects in the deployment space be-
tween them and the airbags. Make sure chil-
dren and other passengers also respect this
recommendation. WARNING
The airbag system provides protection for
one accident only. If they have been de-
ployed, they must be replaced.
● Ensure deployed airbags and the system
components involved are immediately re-
placed with new, SEAT-approved components
for the vehicle. 18