Adjusting the seating position -> Introduction for Your Volkswagen Passat SUV Seventh Generation (2010-2014)

Adjusting the seating position  
¤ Introduction  
In this section you’ll find information about:  
Examples of improper seating positions  
Proper seating position  
Manual controls on the driver and front passenger seats  
Electrical controls on the driver and front passenger seats  
Adjusting the front and rear head restraints  
Removing and reinstalling the head restraints  
Adjusting the steering wheel position  
Center armrest  
Number of seats  
The vehicle has a total of 5 seating positions: 2 in front and 3 in the  
rear. Each seating position has a safety belt.  
More information:  
Seat functions  
Safety belts  
Airbag system  
Child safety and child restraints  
WARNING  
Improper seating positions increase the risk of severe or fatal  
injuries in a crash or other accidents, especially when the air-  
bag deploys.  
All occupants must sit properly and be properly restrained at  
all times.  
Never let more people ride in the vehicle than there are seat-  
ing positions with safety belts available.  
Always secure children in the vehicle with an approved and  
suitable restraint system appropriate for their age, weight, and  
height  
Always keep your feet on the floor in front of the seat. Never  
rest them on the seat, instrument panel, out of the window, etc.  
The airbag system and safety belt will not be able to protect  
you properly and can even increase the risk of injury in a crash.  
WARNING  
Always adjust seat, safety belts, and head restraints properly  
before driving and make sure that all passengers are properly  
restrained.  
Push the passenger seat as far back as possible. Always be  
sure that there are at least 10 inches (25 cm) between the front  
passenger's breastbone and the instrument panel.  
Always adjust the driver's seat and the steering wheel so that  
there are at least 10 inches (25 cm) between your breastbone  
and the steering wheel.  
Adjust the driver's seat so that you can easily push the ped-  
als all the way to the floor while keeping your knee(s) slightly  
bent. The distance to the instrument panel in the knee area  
must be at least 4 inches (10 cm).  
If these requirements cannot be met for physical reasons,  
contact an authorized Volkswagen dealer or an authorized  
Volkswagen Service Facility to see whether adaptive equipment  
is available.  
Always hold the steering wheel on the outside of the steering  
wheel rim with your hands at the 9 o'clock and 3 o'clock posi-  
tions to help reduce the risk of personal injury if the driver's  
airbag inflates.  
Never hold the steering wheel at the 12 o'clock position or  
with your hands at other places inside the steering wheel rim or  
on the steering wheel hub. Holding the steering wheel the  
wrong way can cause serious injuries to the hands, arms, and  
head if the driver's airbag inflates.  
Pointing the steering wheel toward your face decreases the  
ability of the driver's airbag to help protect you in a collision.  
Never drive with backrests reclined or tilted back farther than  
necessary to drive comfortably. The farther back the backrests  
are tilted, the greater the risk of injury caused by incorrect posi-  
tioning of the safety belts and improper seating position.  
Never drive with the front seat passenger backrest tilted for-  
ward. If the front airbag deploys, the front backrest can be  
forced backward and injure passengers on the rear seat.  
Sit as far back as possible from the steering wheel and the  
instrument panel.  
Always sit upright with your back against the backrest with  
the front seats properly adjusted. Never lean against or place  
any part of your body too close to the area where the airbags  
are located.  
Rear seat passengers who are not properly seated and re-  
strained are more likely to be seriously injured in a crash.  
WARNING  
Improper adjustment of the seats can cause accidents and se-  
vere injuries.  
Never adjust the seats while the vehicle is moving. Your seat  
may move unexpectedly and you could lose control of the vehi-  
cle. In addition, you will not be in the correct seating position  
while adjusting the seats.  
Adjust the front seat height, angle and longitudinal direction  
only if the seat adjustment area is clear.  
The adjustment of the front seats must not be restricted by  
things in the footwell in front or behind the seats.  
WARNING  
Some kinds of cigarette lighters can be lit unintentionally, or  
crushed causing a fire that can result in serious burns and ve-  
hicle damage.  
Always make sure that there are no lighters in the seat tracks  
or near other moving parts before adjusting the seats.  
Before closing a storage compartment, always make sure  
that no cigarette lighter can be activated, crushed, or otherwise  
damaged.  
Never leave a cigarette lighter in a storage compartment, on  
the instrument panel, or in other places in the vehicle. Heat  
buildup in the passenger and luggage compartment of a parked  
vehicle can result in temperatures in the vehicle that are much  
higher than the outside temperatures, particularly in summer.  
High temperatures could cause the cigarette lighter to catch  
fire.