2003 FIAT PALIO ESP

58
The bag inflates instantly and acts as
a soft protective barrier between the
driver’s body and the structures that
could cause injury. The bag deflate im-
mediately afterwards.
A person not wearing the seat belt
may crash into the bag before it is ful-
ly inflated. In this case the protection
is considerably decreased.
As a consequence, the air bag is not
a replacement for the use of seat belts
but rather a complement. We rec-
ommend that seat belts are worn at all
times as prescribed by legislation in Eu-
rope and most other countries world-
wide.In the event of a less severe collision
(for which seat belts are sufficient pro-
tection) the airbag is not activated.
For impacts against very deformable
or mobile objects (traffic sign poles,
heaps of gravel or snow, parked vehi-
cles), side impacts, wedging under oth-
er vehicles or barriers (e.g. under a
track or guard rail), the airbag is not
necessary. In the event of frontal im-
pacts involving, for example, the mud-
guard against a guardrail, the airbags
are not triggered as they would not of-
fer additional protection with respect
to the seat belts.
Therefore, the fact that the airbag
does not inflate is not a sign of sys-
tem malfunction.AIR BAG
DESCRIPTION
AND OPERATION fig. 68
The air bag is a safety device which is
immediately triggered in the event of
a frontal impact. It is available only for
the driver.
It consists of an instantly inflatable
bag housed in a special compartment
located in the centre of the steering
wheel.
The air bag is a device designed to
protect the driver in the event of a
frontal collision of medium-high sever-
ity, by interposing the cushion be-
tween the occupant and the steering
wheel.
In a collision, an electronic control
unit processes the signals from a de-
celeration sensor and, where required,
inflates the airbag.
fig. 68
P4E02039
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DRIVING YOUR CAR
To help you handle your Fiat Palio in the best and
safest possible way, and above all use it to its fullest
potential, we have given you some hints in this chap-
ter on “what to do, what not to do and what to
avoid” when at the wheel of your Fiat Palio.
In most cases, these behaviours are valid also on
other cars. In other cases, they are related to opera-
tional particularities exclusive to Fiat Palio. It is nec-
essary to pay utmost attention while reading this
chapter, to know the use and driving behaviours
allowing you to derive the maximum from your Fiat
Palio.STARTING THE ENGINE ...................................... PAGE 65
PARKING .................................................................... PAGE 67
USING THE GEARBOX ......................................... PAGE 68
SAFE DRIVING .......................................................... PAGE 68
ECONOMICAL RUNNING THAT RESPECTS
THE ENVIRONMENT .............................................. PAGE 73
CONTAINING RUNNING COST AND
POLLUTION .............................................................. PAGE 75
SNOW CHAINS ....................................................... PAGE 77
STORING THE CAR ................................................ PAGE 78
RECURRENT CHECKS
AND BEFORE LONG DISTANCE TRIPS ......... PAGE 78
ACCESSORIES PURCHASED
BY THE OWNER ..................................................... PAGE 79
USEFUL ACCESSORIES ........................................... PAGE 79
64
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71
DRIVING AT NIGHT
If you are driving at night these are
the main rules to follow:
– Drive carefully: it is harder to dri-
ve at night.
– Slow down especially if the road is
not lit.
– At the first signs of sleepiness, stop:
continuing would be a risk for yourself
and everybody else. Only start driving
again when you have had enough rest
– Keep a greater safety distance from
the cars in front of you than during
daylight hours: it is hard to judge how
fast other cars are going when all you
can see are their lights.
– Make sure the headlight beams are
properly positioned: if they are too
low, they reduce visibility and strain
your eyes. If they are too high they can
dazzle other drivers.
– Only use main beam headlights
when you are driving outside town
and make sure they do not annoy oth-
er drivers.– Dip your headlights as soon as you
see cars coming in the other direction
and pass them with the headlights
dipped.
– Keep all lights clean.
– Be careful of animals crossing the
road when driving in the country.
DRIVING IN THE RAIN
Rain and wet road surfaces spell dan-
ger.
All manoeuvres are more difficult on
a wet road because the grip of the
wheels on the tarmac is greatly re-
duced. This is why braking distances
are much longer and road-holding is
lower.
Here is some advice for driving in the
rain:
– Reduce speed and maintain a
greater safety distance from the cars
in front.
– If it is raining particularly heavily, vis-
ibility is also reduced. In these cases,
switch on the dipped headlights even if
it is still daylight so you can be seen
more easily. – Do not drive through puddles at
speed and hold on tightly to the wheel
if you do: a puddle taken at high speed
might cause you to lose control of the
car (“aquaplaning”).
– Move the ventilation controls to
the position for demisting the win-
dows (see chapter “Getting to know
your car”) to avoid visibility problems.
– Periodically check the condition of
the windscreen wiper blades.
DRIVING IN FOG
– If the fog is thick, do not start out
on a journey.
If driving in mist, blanket fog or when
there is the danger of fog patches:
– Keep your speed down.
– Turn on the dipped headlights and
front foglights, if fitted, even during the
day. Do not drive with your headlights
at main beam.
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73
ECONOMICAL
RUNNING THAT
RESPECTS THE
ENVIRONMENT
Environmental protection has been
one of the guiding principles in the
production of the Fiat Palio.
It is no accident that its pollution
control equipment is much more ef-
fective than that required by current
legislation.
Nonetheless, the environment can-
not get by without a concerted effort
from everyone.
By following a few simple rules you
can avoid harming the environment
and often cut down fuel consumption
at the same time.
On this subject, a few useful tips have
been given below to supplement those
marked by symbol #
, at various points
of the handbook.
You are asked to read both the for-
mer and the latter carefully.
DRIVING WITH ABS
The ABS is a braking system that es-
sentially offers two advantages:
1)It prevents wheel lock and con-
sequent skidding in emergency stops,
particularly when the road does not
offer much grip.
2)It makes it possible to brake and
steer at the same time so you can
avoid unexpected obstacles and direct
the car where you want while braking.
The extent to which this can be done
will depend on the physical limits of
the tyre’s sideways grip.
To exploit the ABS at best:
– During emergency stops or when
grip conditions are poor, you will feel
a slight pulsation on the brake pedal.
This is the sign that the ABS is work-
ing. Do not release the brake pedal but
continue to press so as not to inter-
rupt the braking action.– ABS prevents the wheels from lock-
ing but it does not increase actual grip
conditions between tyre and road.
Therefore, even if your car is fitted
with ABS, respect the safety distance
from the car in front of you and keep
your speed down when driving into
bends.
The ABS serves to increase your
control over the car, not to enable
you to go faster.
Warning light >, with
the engine running, nor-
mally indicates a faulting
the ABS system only. In this case,
the braking system is still effi-
cient, though without the an-
tilocking device. You are advised
to go immediately to the nearest
Fiat Dealership, driving in a man-
ner to avoiding sharp braking and
get the system checked.
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74
If the engine begins to “lose its
smoothless” when travelling, continue
your journey but reduce the demands
you are making on the engine and go
to a
Fiat Dealership as soon as you
can.
When the instrument panel fuel re-
serve warning light comes on, fill up as
soon as possible. A low level of fuel
can cause an uneven supply of fuel to
the engine with the inevitable increase
in the temperature of the exhaust gas
and serious damage to the catalytic
converter.
Never run the engine with one or
more spark plugs disconnected, even
for testing purposes.
Do not warm up the engine by letting
it idle for a while before moving off un-
less the outside temperature is very low
and, even in this case, only do so for less
then 30 seconds.Do not install other heat shields and
do not remove those already fitted to
the catalytic converter and exhaust
pipe.
Do not allow anything to be sprayed
onto the catalytic converter, lambda
sensor and exhaust pipe.
Ignoring the above rules
may lead to fire.
The catalytic converter
develops high tempera-
ture during normal oper-
ation. Do not park the car on
grass, dry leaves, pine needles or
other flammable material: fire
hazard
LOOKING AFTER EMISSION
CONTROL DEVICES
The correct use of pollution control
devices not only ensures respect for
the environment but also has an effect
on the car’s performance.
Keeping these devices in good con-
dition is therefore a fundamental rule
for driving that is easy on your pock-
et and on the environment too.
The first step to take is to follow the
Service Schedule to the letter.
Use only unleaded petrol.
If you have trouble starting, do not
keep turning the ignition key for long
periods. Be especially careful to avoid
bump starting the car by pushing, tow-
ing or rolling downhill: these are all
manoeuvres that can damage the cat-
alytic exhaust. Use an auxiliary battery
for start-ups only (see “Starting with
auxiliary battery” in the chapter “In an
emergency”).
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93
BOOT LIGHT
To replace the 12V-5W cylindrical
bulb, remove the transparent element
A-fig. 29by levering with a screw dri-
ver in point indicated by the arrow.
Remove the plastic guard
Band re-
place the bulb.
fig. 31
P4E01428
IF A FUSE BLOWS
REPLACING THE FUSES
If an electrical device is not working,
check whether the respective fuse is
blown
fig. 31.
A- Undamaged fuse.
B- Fuse with broken filament.
Replace broken filament fuse with
undamaged fuse.
Before changing a fuse,
check the ignition key has
been removed and that
all the other electric devices have
been turned off/disabled.
Never change a fuse
with another amperage:
fire risk.
If the problem occurs
again, have the car in-
spected at a Fiat Dealer-
ship.
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94
Fig. 33
A
- Fuse tongs.
The devices protected by the fuses
in the fusebox, are listed in the fol-
lowing tables.
fig. 33
P4E02052
Do not attempt to re-
pair a blown maxi fuse.
Go to a Fiat Dealership.If the fuse blows again,
have the car inspected at
a Fiat Dealership.Never replace a broken
fuse with anything other
than a new fuse. Always
use a fuse of the same colour.
FUSES IN FUSEBOX
The fusebox is located under the
dashboard to the right of the steer-
ing wheel.
To reach the fuses, unscrew the fix-
ing screws
A-fig. 32and remove the
cover
B.
Graphic symbols identifying the elec-
trical component corresponding to
each fuse are shown on the inside of
the cover.
fig. 32
P4E02051
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CAR MAINTENANCE
The Fiat Palio is new throughout, even in its ser-
vicing schedule.
For instance: the first scheduled servicing coupon
is prescribed at 1,000-1,500 kms or 3 months
whichever is earlier from the date of sale of vehicle.
However, it is useful to remember that the car
needs always ordinary attentions such as systematic
control with possible fluid level refuelling, tyre pres-
sure restoration, etc.
You should nonetheless bear in mind that the
proper maintenance of your car is certainly the best
way to keep it in tip-top conditions for years to
come and safeguard its performance and safety fea-
tures, while respecting the environment and keeping
running costs down.
Remember that the scrupulous compliance with
the servicing rules marked by the symbol ∑
can
constitute the condition necessary for the mainte-
nance of the warranty.
SCHEDULED SERVICING .................................... PAGE 105
SCHEDULED SERVICING
PLAN ............................................................................ PAGE 106
ADDITIONAL INTERVENTIONS ....................... PAGE 108
LEVEL CHECK ........................................................... PAGE 110
AIR CLEANER ............................................................ PAGE 116
BATTERY .................................................................... PAGE 117
ELECTRONIC CONTROL UNITS ..................... PAGE 120
SPARK PLUGS ........................................................... PAGE 121
WHEELS AND TYRES ............................................ PAGE 121
RUBBER PIPES ........................................................... PAGE 123
WINDSCREEN/REAR WINDOW WIPER......... PAGE 123
MANUAL CLIMATE SYSTEM ............................... PAGE 125
BODYWORK ............................................................ PAGE 125
INTERIORS ................................................................. PAGE 127
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