2003 SKODA FABIA warning

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the vehicle immediately.
Please read the attached instructions care-
fully before the repair.
The spray for repairing a tyre is located with the warning triangle in a bag.
There is a velcro fastener on the underside of the bag. The bag is fixed to
the floor of the luggage compartment with the aid of the velcro fastener in
such a way that the side of the bag lies against the right-hand side of the
luggage compartment and the rear seat.
The spray bottle in vehicles of the type estate car and sedan is placed
in the spare wheel well under the luggage compartment floor behind the
spare wheel.
Note
Vehicles which do not have a spare wheel have the spray bottle stored in
a box under the luggage compartment floor.
Tyre repair kit*
The tyre repair kit is intended for the repair of minor tyre defects. The tyre
repair kit contains a compressor, inflation bottle, operating instructions
and accessories.
The repair with the tyre repair kit is not at all intended to replace a
permanent repair on the tyre, this repair only serves to reach the next
workshop. The repair can be undertaken on the vehicle immediately.
Please read the attached instructions carefully before the repair.
The tyre repair kit is located in a textile bag. There is a velcro fastener on
the underside of the bag. The bag is fixed to the floor of the luggage
compartment with the aid of the velcro fastener in such a way that the side
of the bag lies against the right-hand side of the luggage compartment and
the rear seat. The spray bottle in
vehicles of the type estate car and sedan is placed
in the spare wheel well under the luggage compartment floor behind the
spare wheel.
Spare wheel*
The spare wheel lies in a well under the luggage compartment floor and
is fixed in place along with the vehicle tool kit box using special screws
⇒ fig. 141 .
One should check the air pressure in the spare wheel (at best when
generally checking the tyre air pressures - see sign on the fuel filler
flap ⇒page 169) to ensure that the spare wheel is always ready to use.
Unidirectional tyres*
If you have such tyres on your vehicle, please refer to the notes below:
Fig. 141 Luggage
compartment: Spare
wheel

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198
•The spare wheel provided with a car fitted with unidirectional tyres has
different dimensions. The wheel is provided with a warning sticker.
•After fitting on the wheel, the warning sticker must not be concealed
(e.g. by the wheel trim).
•Do not drive with this spare wheel at more than 80 km/h - risk of acci-
dent. Avoid accelerating at full throttle, sharp braking and fast cornering.
•The inflation pressure for this spare wheel is identical to the inflation
pressure of the standard tyres.
•Use this spare wheel only to reach the nearest service station as it is
not intended for continuous use.
Note
Some vehicles are only fitted with spray to make tyre repairs
⇒ page 196.
Changing a wheel
Preliminary work
The following steps should be carried out before actually
changing the wheel.
– If it is necessary to change a wheel, park the vehicle as far
away as possible from the traffic flow. The place you choose
should be level.
– Have all the occupants get out. While changing a wheel, the
occupants of the vehicle should not stand on the road (it is
better behind a crash barrier). – Apply the
handbrake firmly.
– Engage 1st gear or if your vehicle is fitted with an automatic
gearbox, move the selector lever into position P .
– If a trailer is coupled, uncouple it.
– Take the vehicle tool kit and the spare wheel ⇒ page 196
out of the luggage compartment.
Caution
If you have to change a wheel on a slope first block the opposite wheel
with a stone or similar object in order to secure the vehicle from unexpect-
edly rolling away.
Note
Comply with any legal regulations.
WARNING
•If you find yourself in flowing traffic put on the hazard warning
lights system and place the warning triangle on the side of the road
at the prescribed distance from your vehicle while observing all
national legal provisions. In this way you are protecting not only
yourself but also other road users.
•Never start the engine with the vehicle sitting on the raised jack
- danger of suffering injury!

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Changing a wheel
Always change a wheel on a leve l surface as far as possible.
– Remove the full wheel trim* ⇒page 200.
– In the case of light alloy wheels remove the wheel trim cap ⇒page 200.
– Slacken the wheel bolts ⇒page 201.
– Jack up the vehicle until the wheel to be changed is clear of the ground ⇒page 201.
– Unscrew the wheel bolts and place them on a clean surface (cloth, paper etc.).
– Take off the wheel.
– Fit on the spare wheel and tighten the wheel bolts slightly.
– Lower the car.
– Tighten the wheel bolts firmly, alternately and diagonally using the wheel wrench ⇒page 201.
– Fit the full wheel trim/wheel trim cap.
Note
•All bolts must be clean and must turn easily.
•You must never grease or oil the wheel bolts!
Subsequent steps
After changing the wheel, you must perform the following steps.
– Stow and attach the replaced wheel in the spare wheel well.
– Stow the vehicle tool kit in the space provided.
–Check the tyre pressure on the spare wheel just mounted as
soon as possible.
– Have the tightening torque of the wheel bolts checked with
a torque wrench as soon as possible. Steel and light alloy
wheels must be tightened to a tightening torque of 120 Nm.
– Have the defective tyre repaired as soon as possible.
Note
•If you find, when changing the wheel, that the wheel bolts are corroded
and difficult to turn, the bolts must be replaced before checking the tight-
ening torque.
•Drive cautiously and only at a moderate speed to a workshop where
the tightening torque can be checked.
WARNING
It is necessary to observe the guidelines given on ⇒page 189,
“New tyres and wheels” if the vehicle is subsequently fitted with
tyres which are different to those it was fitted with at the works.

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Slackening and tightening wheel bolts
Slacken the wheel bolts before jacking up the vehicle.
Slackening wheel bolts
– Push the wheel wrench fully onto the wheel bolt
4).
– Grasp the end of the wrench and turn the bolt about one turn
to the left ⇒fig. 144 .
Tightening wheel bolts
– Push the wheel wrench fully onto the wheel bolt
4).
– Grasp the end of the wrench and turn the bolt to the right until it is tight. Note
Apply pressure carefully with your
foot to the end of the wheel wrench if
it proves difficult to slacken the wheel bolts. Hold tight on the vehicle when
doing this and ensure that you have a steady position.
Car jack
You have to raise the vehicle with a lifting jack in order to
be able to take off the wheel.
4)Use the appropriate adapter for slackening and tightening the safety wheel bolts
⇒ page 202.
Fig. 144 Changing a
wheel: Slackening
wheel bolts
WARNING
Slacken the wheel bolts only a little (about one turn) as long as the
vehicle has not yet been jacked up - risk of an accident!.
Fig. 145 Changing a
wheel: Points for posi-
tioning car jack

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202
– Position the lifting jack by selecting the jacking point - lower sill - which is closest to the wheel to be removed ⇒page 201,
fig. 145 .
– Position the lifting jack below the jacking point and move it up until its claw is positioned directly below the vertical web of the
lower sill.
– Align the lifting jack so that its claw grasps the web of the lower sill and the moving base plate of the jack is resting flat
against firm ground.
– Turn the lifting jack up further until the wheel is just clear of the ground.
Ground below the lifting jack which is soft and slippery can cause the
vehicle to slip off the jack. It is therefore always necessary to place the
lifting jack on a solid surface or use a wide and stable base. Use a non-
slip base (e.g. a rubber foot mat) if the surface is smooth, such as
cobbled stones, a tiled floor,etc.
Securing wheels against being stolen*
You need a special adapter for slackening the safety
wheel bolts.
– Pull off the full wheel trim/cap from the wheel hub or cap from the safety wheel bolt.
– Push the adapter with its toothed side into the inner toothing of the safety wheel bolt right down in such a way
that only the outer hexagon is jutting out ⇒fig. 146 .
– Push the wheel wrench fully onto the adapter .
– Slacken the wheel bolt, or tighten it firmly ⇒page 201.
– Reinstall the full wheel trim/wheel cap after removing the adapter or place the cap onto the safety wheel bolt.
WARNING
•Take suitable measures to prevent the base of the lifting jack
from slipping off - risk of injury!
•Not positioning the lifting jack at the specified points can result
in damage to the vehicle. The jack can also slip off if it does not
have sufficient grip - risk of injury!.
•It is important to support the vehicle with suitable supporting
blocks if you wish to work under the lifted vehicle - risk of injury!
AAAB
Fig. 146 Safety wheel
bolt with adapter
AB
AA
AB

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– Have the tightening torque checked with a torque wrench as
soon as possible. Steel and light alloy wheels must be tight-
ened to a tightening torque of 120 Nm.
The safety wheel bolts on vehicles fitted with them (one safety wheel bolt
per wheel) can only be loosened or tighten up by using the adapter
provided.
It is meaningful to note the code number hammered into the rear side of
the adapter or the rear side of the safety wheel bolts. You can obtain a
replacement adapter from a Škoda Dealer, if necessary, by quoting this
number.
We recommend that you always carry the adapter for the wheel bolts with
you in the vehicle. It should be stowed in the vehicle tool kit.
Caution
Damage can occur to the adapter and safety wheel bolt if the safety wheel
bolt is tightened up too much.
Note
The set of safety wheel bolts can be obtained from your Skoda dealer as
an original accessory.
Jump-starting
Initial steps
You can use the battery of another vehicle for jump-starting yours if the
engine does not start because the battery on your vehicle is flat. You will
require jump-start cables for this purpose. Both batteries must have a rated voltage of 12 V. The
capacity (Ah) of the
battery supplying the power must not be significantly less than the
capacity of the discharged battery in your vehicle.
Jump-start cables
Only use jump-start cables which have an adequately large cross-section
and insulated terminal clamps. Please pay attention to the manufacturer's
instructions.
Positive cable - colour coding in the majority of cases red.
Negative cable - colour coding in the majority of cases black.
Note
•There must not be any contact between the two vehicles otherwise
current may flow as soon as the negative terminals are connected.
•The discharged battery must be properly connected to the system of
the vehicle.
•Switch off any installed telephone and also pay attention to the instruc-
tions for use of the telephone in such a situation.
•We recommend purchasing jump-start cables from a Skoda dealer as
an original accessory or from retailers who sell branded batteries.
WARNING
•A discharged battery may already freeze at temperatures just
below 0°C. It is essential to thaw out a frozen battery before you
connect the jump-start cables - risk of an explosion!
•Please pay attention to the warning instructions relating to
working in the engine compartment ⇒page 172.

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204
Starting engine
It is important to connect the jump-start cables in the correct
order.
Connecting positive terminals
– Attach one end to the positive terminal ⇒fig. 147 of the
discharged battery .
– Attach the other end to the positive terminal of the battery supplying the power .
Connecting negative terminal and engine block
– Attach one end to the negative terminal of the battery supplying the power .
– Attach the other end to a solid metal part which is connected firmly to the engine block, or to the engine block
itself. Starting engine
– Start the engine of the vehicle providing current and run the
engine at idling speed.
– Now start the engine of the vehicle with the discharged battery.
– Interrupt the attempt at starting an engine after 10 seconds if it does not start right away and wait for about 30 seconds
before repeating the attempt.
– Disconnect the cables on th e engine in exactly the reverse
order they were connected up.
Fig. 147 Jump-starting
using the battery from
another vehicle: A - flat
vehicle battery, B -
battery providing
current
A1
AA
A2
AB
A3
AB
A4
WARNING
•The non-insulated parts of the terminal clamps must never
make contact with each other. Furthermore, the cable connected to
the positive terminal of the battery must not come into contact with
electrically conducting parts of the vehicle - risk of a short circuit!
•Do not affix the jump starting cables to the negative terminal of
the discharged battery. There is the risk of detonating gas seeping
out the battery being ignited by the strong spark which results
from the engine being started.
•Run the jump-start cables so that they cannot be caught by any
rotating parts in the engine compartment.
•Do not bend over the batteries - risk of caustic burns!
•The vent screws of the battery cells must be tightened firmly.
•Keep any sources of ignition (naked flame, smouldering ciga-
rettes etc.) away from the battery - risk of an explosion!

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Rear towing eye
The rear towing eye is located below the rear bumper on the right
⇒fig. 150 .
Tow-starting a vehicle
The following points should be observed by the driver of the
vehicle vehicle being towed before tow-starting begins:
– Engage 2nd or 3rd gear with the vehicle stationary.
– Depress the clutch pedal fully and keep it depressed.
– Switch on the ignition.
– Wait until both vehicles are moving then release the clutch
pedal slowly. – Depress the clutch pedal fully when the engine fires and take
the vehicle out of gear.
First make an attempt to start the engine using the battery of another
vehicle if the engine does not start ⇒page 203. You can try tow-starting
the vehicle if this attempt to start the engine does not prove successful.
Towing your vehicle causes the engine to start through the motion of the
driven wheels.
Models fitted with an automatic gearbox must not be tow-started at all for
technical reasons
Caution
•Vehicles which are fitted with a catalytic converter should not be tow-
started over a distance of more than 50 metres. Unburnt fuel may get into
the catalytic converter and damage it.
•Tow-starting a vehicle is not recommended (even when observing the
guidelines outlined in this chapter) since it may, under certain circum-
stances, lead to major damage to the engine. One should attempt to start
the engine using jump start cables or call on the services of the SERVICE
mobile.
Towing in a vehicle fitted with a manual gearbox
Please refer to the notes ⇒page 205.
Fig. 150 Rear towing
eye
WARNING
There is high risk of having an accident when tow-starting a
vehicle, when for example the towed vehicle runs into the towing
vehicle.