2004 SKODA FABIA Owner's Manual

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216
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
5).
– Grasp the end of the wrench and turn the bolt about one turn
to the left ⇒fig. 156.
Tightening wheel bolts
– Push the wheel wrench fully onto the wheel bolt
5).
– Grasp the end of the wrench and turn the bolt to the right until it is tight.
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!.
Note
•Do not use the hexagon socket in the handle of the screwdriver for
slackening or tightening the wheel bolts.
•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.
Raise vehicle
You have to raise the vehicle with a lifting jack in order to
be able to take off the wheel.
5)Use the appropriate adapter for slackening and tightening the safety wheel bolts
⇒ page 217.
Fig. 156 Changing a
wheel: Slackening
wheel bolts
Fig. 157 Changing a
wheel: Points for posi-
tioning car jack

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– Position the lifting jack by selecting the jacking point - lower sill
- which is closest to the wheel to be removed ⇒page 216,
fig. 157.
– 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.
WARNING
•Always raise the vehicle with th e doors closed - risk of injury.
•Take suitable measures to prevent the base of the lifting jack
from slipping off - risk of injury!
•Place the lifting jack only on a solid and even surface.
•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!
•Never start the engine if the vehicle is lifted - risk of accident.
•Never lie under the vehicle if the vehicle is only lifted with the
vehicle lifting jack.
•It is important to support the vehicle with suitable supporting
blocks if you wish to work under the lifted vehicle - risk of injury!
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. 158 .
– Push the wheel wrench fully onto the adapter .
AAAB
WARNING (continued)
Fig. 158 Safety wheel
bolt with adapter
AB
AA
AB

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– Slacken the wheel bolt, or tighten it firmly ⇒page 216.
– Reinstall the full wheel trim/wheel cap after removing the adapter or place the cap onto the safety wheel bolt.
– 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.
•On steel wheels, the theft-deterrent wheel bolt must always be
installed in the hole, which is close to the valve. Otherwise the full wheel
trim cannot be mounted and the full wheel trim can be damaged during the
assembly.
Note
The set of safety wheel bolts can be obtained from your Škoda dealer.
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.
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 183.
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.

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Using the systemSafetyDriving TipsGeneral MaintenanceBreakdown assistanceTechnical Data
•Switch off any mobile phone, pay attention to the instructions for use
of the mobile phone in such a situation.
•We recommend purchasing jump-start cables from a Škoda dealer as
a Škoda original accessory or from retailers who sell branded batteries.
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. 159 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 the engine in exactly the reverse
order they were connected up.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.
Fig. 159 Jump-starting
using the battery from
another vehicle: A - flat
vehicle battery, B -
battery providing
current
A1
AA
A2
AB
A3
AB
A4

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•Do not affix the cable end to parts of the fuel and brake
system.
•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!
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.
Attach the tow rope or the tow bar only to the towing eyes provided for
this purpose ⇒ page 221, “Front towing eye” and ⇒page 222, “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 in another vehicle or to be
towed in.
One should be constantly vigilant not to allow impermissibly high towing
forces or jerky loadings. There is always a risk of excessive stresses and
WARNING (continued)
A4

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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.
Front towing eye
The towing eye is stored in the box for the vehicle tool kit.
Remove the protective grille carefully as follows:
Fig. 160 Front
bumper: Protective
grille
Fig. 161 Front
bumper: Installing the
towing eye

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– Stick a screwdriver through the opening of the protective grille (near the licence plate) ⇒fig. 160 and press downwards
thereby pressing off the spring clip on the protective grille.
Grab the edge of the protective grille by the hand at the same
time (arrow ) and loosen it.
– Hold the loosened protective grille in one hand. Push the screwdriver through the second bore hole, free up the protec-
tive grille completely and remove it.
– Screw in the towing eye anticlockwise down to the stop ⇒fig. 161 and tighten up using the wheel wrench (push the
wheel wrench through eye).
– Put the protective grille in place after screwing out the towing eye again and press into place. The protective grille must
engage firmly.
Rear towing eye
The rear towing eye is located below the rear bumper on the right
⇒fig. 162 .
Tow-starting a vehicle
If the engine does not start, we generally do not recommend to
tow-start your vehicle. One should attempt to start the engine
using jump start cables ⇒page 218 or call on the services of the
SERVICE mobil.
If your vehicle has to be towed:
– Engage 2nd or 3rd gear with the vehicle stationary.
– Depress the clutch pedal fully and keep it depressed.
AA
Fig. 162 Rear towing
eye

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Using the systemSafetyDriving TipsGeneral MaintenanceBreakdown assistanceTechnical Data
– 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.
For technical reasons it is not possible to tow-start a car fitted with an
automatic gearbox .
WARNING
There is high risk of having an accident when tow-starting a
vehicle, when for example the towe d vehicle runs into the towing
vehicle.
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.
Towing in a vehicle fitted with a manual gearbox
Please refer to the notes ⇒page 220.
The car can be towed in with a tow bar or a tow rope or with the front or
rear wheels raised. The maximum towing speed is 50 km/h.
Towing of a vehicle with an automatic gearbox
Please refer to the notes ⇒page 220.
The car can be towed in with a tow bar or a tow rope. Refer at the same
time to the following guidelines:
•Move selector lever into N .
•The maximum towing speed is 50 km/h.
•The maximum permissible towing distance is 50 km. The gear oil
pump does not operate when the engine is not running and the gear would
not be adequately lubricated at higher speeds and over longer towing
distance.
Caution
If the vehicle is towed in by a recovery vehicle, it should only be towed in
with the front wheels raised. If the vehicle is raised at rear, the automatic
gearbox is damaged!
Note
The vehicle must be transported on a special vehicle or trailer if it is not
possible to tow in the vehicle in the way described or if the towing distance
is greater than 50 km.