2003 SKODA FABIA steering

Wheels and Tyres
188
The life of your tyres very much depends on the following points:
Tyre inflation pressure
The working life of tyres will be shortened considerably if the tyres are
insufficiently or over-inflated and this will have an adverse effect on the
handling of your vehicle.
Check the inflation pressure of the tyres at least once a month. The tyre
inflation pressures for summer tyres are indicated on the inside of the
fuel filler flap ⇒page 187, fig. 135 . The inflation pressures for winter
tyres are 0.2 bar higher than those for summer tyres ⇒page 191.
Correctly inflated tyres are of particular importance when travelling at high
speeds. It is therefore good to check the pressure at least once a month
and also before setting off on a long trip. Please do not forget the spare
wheel when checking the tyres.
The tyre pressure should be at the highest pressure specified for your
vehicle at all times.
Always check the inflation pressure of tyres when cold. Do not reduce the
higher pressure of warm tyres. Adapt the inflation pressure of the tyres
accordingly if your vehicle is carrying a significantly higher payload.
Driving style
Fast cornering, sharp acceleration and braking (squealing tyres) increase
wear-and-tear on your tyres.
Balancing wheels
The wheels of a new vehicle are balanced. There are a wide range of influ-
ences when driving which may result in an imbalance and which makes
themselves felt through vibration in the steering.
You should have the wheels rebalanced since any imbalance increases
wear-and-tear on the steering, the suspension and tyres. A wheel must
also be rebalanced when a new tyre is fitted and each time a tyre is
repaired. Wheel alignment errors
Incorrect wheel alignment at the front and rear will not only increase wear-
and-tear to the tyres, but also has an adverse effect on vehicle safety.
Contact your Škoda dealer if you notice any unusual tyre wear.
For the sake of the environment
Tyres which are insufficiently inflated increase your fuel consumption.
Wear indicators
WARNING
If the inflation pressure is too low, the tyre must perform a greater
flexing work. At higher speeds the tyre will warm up as a result of
this. This can result in tread separation and even a tyre blowout.
Fig. 136 Tyre tread
with wear indicators

Breakdown assistance205
Using the systemSafetyDriving TipsGeneral MaintenanceBreakdown assist-
anceTechnical DataFabia Praktik
Tow-starting and towing vehicle
General
Please pay attention to the following instructions if you are going
to use a tow rope:
Driver of the towing vehicle
– Do not drive off until the tow rope is taught.
– Release the clutch particularly gently when starting off or
depress the accelerator particularly gently if your vehicle is
fitted with an automatic gearbox.
Driver of the towed vehicle
– Switch the ignition on so that the steering wheel is not blocked and you can also operate the turn signal lights, the headlight
flasher, the windscreen wipers and windscreen washer
system.
– Take the vehicle out of gear or move the selector lever into position N if your vehicle is fitted with an automatic gearbox.
– Note that the brake servo unit and power steering only operate if the engine is running. You will require significantly greater
physical force to depress the brake pedal and to steer the
vehicle if the engine is not running.
– Ensure that the tow rope is always kept taught.
Tow rope or tow bar
A tow bar is safest way of towing a vehicle and also minimizes any
shocks. You can use a tow rope only if a suitable tow bar is not available.
The tow rope must be elastic to protect the vehicle. Thus one should only
use plastic fibre rope or a rope made out of a similarly elastic material.
Only attach the tow rope to the towing eyes provided for this purpose
⇒ page 206, “Front towing eye” and ⇒page 207, “Rear towing eye”.
Driving style
Towing another vehicle requires a certain amount of practice. Both drivers
should be familiar with the particular points about towing a vehicle.
Unskilled drivers should not attempt to tow-start or tow in another vehicle.
One should be constantly vigilant not to allow impermissibly high towing
forces or jerky loadings. There is always a risk of excessive stresses and
damage resulting at the points to which you attach the tow rope or tow bar
when you attempt to tow a vehicle which is not standing on a paved road.
Caution
If the gearbox of your vehicle no longer contains any oil because of a
defect, your vehicle must only be towed in with the driven wheels raised
clear of the ground, or on a special vehicle transporter or trailer.
Note
•Please comply with any legal requirements particularly regarding the
switched on signal systems, when towing in or tow-starting another
vehicle.
•The tow rope must not be twisted as it may in certain circumstances
result in the front towing eye being unscrewed out of your vehicle.

Fuses and light bulbs
210
Caution
•Never attempt to “repair” fuses and also do not replace them with a
fuse of a higher amperage - risk of fire! This may also cause damage at
another part of the electrical system.
•Have the electrical system checked as quickly as possible by a Škoda
dealer if a newly inserted fuse blows again after a short time.
Fuse assignment at battery
Certain electrical components are only standard on certain vehicle model
versions or only suppliable as optional equipment for certain models.
Fuse assignment in the dash panel
Certain electrical components are only standard on certain vehicle model
versions or only suppliable as optional equipment for certain models.
yellow20
white25
green30
No.Power consumerAmperes
1Dynamo175
2Interior11 0
3Power steering50
4Glow plugs40
5The radiator fan40
6ABS or TCS or ESP40
7ABS or TCS or ESP25
8The radiator fan30
ColourMaximum amperage
9Not assigned
10Central control unit5
11The air conditioning system5
12Not assigned
13Automatic gearbox5
14Not assigned
15Not assigned
16Not assigned
No.Power consumerAmperes
Fig. 152 Schematic
representation of fuse
carrier

Fuses and light bulbs211
Using the systemSafetyDriving TipsGeneral MaintenanceBreakdown assist-
anceTechnical DataFabia Praktik
No.Power consumerAmperes
1Instrument cluster, ESP5
2Brake lights10
3Power supply for the diagnostics, air-conditioning
system5
4Interior lighting10
5Door warning light5
6Lights and Visibility5
7Engine electronics, power-assisted steering5
8Not assigned
9Lambda probe10
10S-contact a)5
11Electrically adjustable rear mirror b)5
12Ventilation system, air-conditioning system, Xenon
headlight5
13Reversing light10
14Diesel engine control unit10
15Headlight cleaning system, window wiper10
16Instrument cluster5
17Petrol engine - control unit c)5
18Telephone5
19Automatic gearbox10
20Control unit for lamp failure5
21Heated windscreen washer nozzles5
22Not assigned
23Right main beam10
24Engine electronics10
25Control unit for ABS, TCS
control unit for ESP5
10
26Not assigned
27Not assigned
28Cruise control, switch for the brake and clutch pedal5
29Not assigned
30Main beam on the left and indicator light10
31Central locking system - door lock for the boot lid10
32Rear window wiper10
33Parking light on the right5
34Parking light on the left5
35Injector - petrol engine10
36Licence plate light5
37Rear fog light and indicator light5
38Heating of the external mirror5
39Rear window heater20
40Horn20
41Front window wiper20
42Cigarette lighter, power socket15
43Central control unit, selector lever lock for the auto-
matic gearbox20
44Turn signals15
No.Power consumerAmperes

Index227
Index
A
Abroad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
ABS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
Accessories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194
Adjusting seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Adjusting the steering wheel . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Airbag . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Deployment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Front airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
Warning light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Airbag system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Alarm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Antilock Brake System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
Antilock brake system (ABS) Warning light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Anti-theft alarm system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Armrest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Ashtray . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Auto Check Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Automatic gearbox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
Automatic vehicle wash systems . . . . . . . . . 160
B
Belt tensioners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
Belts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Biodiesel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167 Bonnet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
Brake
Warning light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Brake booster . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
Brake fluid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
Brake pads Warning light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Brakes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
Bulbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195 Warning light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Buttons on the driver's door Central locking system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
C
Car jack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196, 201
Catalytic converter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
Central locking system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Changing a wheel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
Changing bulbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212
Changing oil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
Changing wheels around . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
Charging the battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184Warning light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Chassis number . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223
Child safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
Child safety locks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 Child safety seats
ISOFIX system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
Child seat on the front passenger seat . . . . . . . . . . 131
Safety instructions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
Cigarette lighter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Cleaning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
Clock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Compartments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Convenience operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Coolant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177 Warning light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Coolant temperature gauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Coolant temperature/coolant level Warning light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Counter for distance driven . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Cruise control system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
D
Deactivating an airbag . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
Defrosting windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88, 92
De-icing windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
Detachable towing device . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
Diesel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
Digital clock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Dipstick . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175

Index229
L
Lashing eyes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Leather care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
Lighting of the interior of the vehicle . . . . . . . 56
Lights
Converting/masking over headlights . . . 154
switching them on and off . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Warning lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Lights and Visibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Locking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39, 40
Low beam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 Warning light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Luggage compartment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Luggage compartment door . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Warning light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
M
Main beam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52, 54Warning light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Manual shifting of gears . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Memory for the on-board computer . . . . . . . . 17
Mobile phone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108, 109
Motoring abroad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
Multi-functional indicator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
N
Navigation system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Note holder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
O
Oil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174
Warning light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Onboard computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Open door Warning light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Operation in winter Biodiesel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
De-icing windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
The battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
Overview of the engine compartment . . . . . 173
P
Paint . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
Paint damage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
Parking aid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
Parking light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Parking lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Pedals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Petrol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
Power socket . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Power steering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146 Warning light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Power windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 Operational problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
R
Rear fog light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53Warning light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Rear seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Rear window heater . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Rear-view mirror . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Recirculated air mode Heating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
The air conditioning system . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Refuelling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
Remote control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Replacing fuses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
Roof aerial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
Running in the car . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
S
Safety wheel bolts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
Saving energy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
Seat belt height adjuster . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Seat belt warning light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Seat belts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112 Cleaning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
Fasten . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Height adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Safety instructions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
Seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Service Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Service Interval Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15