
Inspecting and Replenishing
248
Opening the bonnet
– Unlock the bonnet ⇒page 247, fig. 189 .
– Ensure that the arms of the windscreen wipers are correctly in place against the windscreen before opening the bonnet
otherwise damage could occur to the paintwork.
– Pulling on the handle ⇒page 247, fig. 190 will lock the bonnet
fully.
– Grip with the hand under the radiator grille and lift up the bonnet.
– Take the bonnet support out of its holder and set it in the opening designed for it ⇒page 247, fig. 191.
Closing the bonnet
– Lift the bonnet slightly and unhook the bonnet support. Press the bonnet support into the holder designed to hold it.
– Allow the bonnet to drop from a height of about 30 cm into the lock - bonnet do not press down on it !
WARNING
•Never open the bonnet if you see that steam or coolant is
flowing out of the engine compartment - risk of scalding! Wait long
enough until the steam or coolant has stopped escaping.
•For safety reasons, the bonnet must always be properly closed
when driving. One should therefore check that the lock has in fact
engaged properly after closing the bonnet.
•Stop your vehicle immediately whil e driving if you notice that
the lock is not properly engaged and close the bonnet properly -
risk of an accident!
Caution
Never open the bonnet using the handle - danger of causing damage.
Working in the engine compartment
Particular care is required when carrying out any work in
the engine compartment!
There is a risk of injuries, scalding, accidents and fire when working
in the engine compartment, e.g. inspecting and replenishing oil and
other fluids. For this reason, it is essential to comply with the
warning instructions stated below and with the general applicable
rules of safety. The engine compartment of your car is a hazardous
area ⇒ .
WARNING
•Never open the bonnet if you see that steam or coolant is
flowing out of the engine compartment - risk of scalding! Wait long
enough until the steam or coolant has stopped escaping.
•Switch off the engine and pull out the ignition key.
•Apply the handbrake firmly.
•If your vehicle is fitted with a manual gearbox, move the gear-
shift lever into Neutral, or if it is fitted with automatic gearbox,
move the selector lever into position P.
WARNING (continued)
s24s.book Page 248 Thursday, November 24, 2005 12:27 PM

Inspecting and Replenishing
250
Overview of the en gine compartment
The main inspection points
Fig. 192 1.6 ltr./85 kW Petrol engine
Coolant expansion bottle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Windshield washer fluid reservoir . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Engine oil filler opening . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Engine oil dipstick . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Brake fluid reservoir . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Battery (below a cover) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Note
The location of the inspection points in the engine compartment of petrol
and diesel engines is practically identical.
Engine oil
Engine oil specifications
The grade of engine oil should be selected in accordance
with precise specifications.
The engine of your vehicle has been factory-filled with a high-grade oil
which you can use throughout the year - except in extreme climatic
regions.
You can mix various oils together with each other when refilling with oil.
This does not, however, apply for models with flexible service intervals
(QG1).
Engine oils are, of course, undergoing continuous further development.
Thus the information stated in this Owner's Manual is only correct at the
time of publication.
Škoda dealers are informed by Škoda Auto about current changes. This
why you should always have engine oil changed by your Škoda dealer.
The specifications (VW standards) stated in the following must be indi-
cated separately or together with other specifications on the bottle.
Engine oil specifications for vehicles with fixed service intervals
(QG0, QG2)
A1254
A2262
A3252
A4251
A5256
A6258
Engine oil specifications
Petrol enginesVW 501 01
VW 502 00
VW 504 00
Diesel enginesVW 507 01
a)VW 505
00 b)
a)Only for engines without diesel particle filter ⇒page 33.
s24s.book Page 250 Thursday, November 24, 2005 12:27 PM

Inspecting and Replenishing
256
Caution
Do not continue your journey if for some reason it is not possible
under the conditions prevailing to top up with coolant. Switch of the
engine and contact and obtain professional assistance from a specialist
garage.
For the sake of the environment
Do not re-use coolant if it is necessary to drain the coolant in the system.
It should be collected and disposed of in compliance with environmental
protection regulations.
The radiator fan
The radiator fan may switch on suddenly.
The radiator fan is driven by an electric motor and controlled according to
the coolant temperature.
The radiator fan may continue running for up to 10 minutes after the
engine has been switched off - even if the ignition is also off. It may also
switch on suddenly after a certain time, if
•the coolant temperature has risen because of an accumulation of heat
or
•the warm engine compartment is heated up additionally by strong
sunlight.
WARNING
You must therefore be aware when working in the engine compart-
ment that the fan may switch on suddenly - risk of injury!
Brake fluid
Inspecting the brake fluid level
The brake fluid reservoir is located on the left of the engine
compartment. The brake fluid reservoir on right-hand steering
models is positioned on the other side of the engine compart-
ment.
– Switch the engine off.
– Open the bonnet ⇒ in “Working in the engine compart-
ment” on page 248.
– Inspect the brake fluid level in the reservoir ⇒fig. 195 . The
level must be between the “MIN” and “MAX” markings.
Fig. 195 Engine
compartment: Brake
fluid reservoir
s24s.book Page 256 Thursday, November 24, 2005 12:27 PM

Inspecting and Replenishing257
Using the systemSafetyDriving TipsGeneral MaintenanceBreakdown assistanceTechnical Data
A slight drop in the fluid level results when driving due to normal wear-and-
tear and automatic adjustment of the brake pads, and is perfectly normal.
There may be an indication of a leak in the brake system, however, if the
fluid level drops significantly within a short time or if it drops below the
“MIN” marking. A situation where the brake fluid level is too low is indi-
cated by the warning light
lighting up in the instrument cluster
⇒ page 40. In this case stop the car immediately and do not drive any
further! Contact a Škoda Dealer to obtain professional assistance.
WARNING
•Read and observe the warning notes ⇒page 248, “Working in
the engine compartment” before working in the engine compart-
ment.
•If the fluid level has dropped below the “MIN” marking, do not
drive any further - risk of accident! Contact a Škoda dealer to obtain
professional assistance.
Replacing brake fluid
Brake fluid absorbs moisture. This causes the fluid to absorb moisture
from the surrounding air over a period of time. Excessive water in the
brake fluid may be the cause of corrosion in the brake system. The water
content also lowers the boiling point of the brake fluid. This is why brake
fluid must be replaced every two years.
One may only use new genuine brake fluid from Škoda Auto. The specifi-
cation for the brake fluid is “FMVSS 116 DOT 4”.
We recommend that you have the brake fluid replaced by a Škoda dealer
as part of an Inspection Service.
WARNING
•Using old brake fluid can result in severe stress on the brakes
because of the formation of vapour bubbles in the brake system.
This greatly impairs the braking efficiency and thus also the safety
of your vehicle.
•Brake fluid is toxic! It must therefore be kept safely in closed
original containers and well away from children and unauthorized
persons.
Caution
Brake fluid damages the paintwork of the vehicle.
For the sake of the environment
In view of the problems involved with proper disposal of brake fluid, the
special tools and the professional knowledge required, you should have
the brake fluid replaced by a Škoda dealer.
s24s.book Page 257 Thursday, November 24, 2005 12:27 PM

Index305
Index
A
Abroad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228
ABS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218
Warning light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Accessories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 270
Adjusting seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83, 179 electrically . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Adjusting the steering wheel . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
Airbag . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190 deactivate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
Deployment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
Front airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
Head airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
Side airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
Warning light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Airbag system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190 Warning light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
Alarm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
An overview Cockpit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Antilock Brake System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218
Antilock brake system (ABS) Warning light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Anti-theft alarm system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Ashtrays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
Auto Check Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Auto Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Automatic driving lamp control . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Automatic gearbox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
Emergency programme . . . . . . . . . 154, 161
Kickdown . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
Selector lever-emergency unlocking . . . 154
Tiptronic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
Automatic gearbox DSG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156 Kickdown . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
Selector lever-emergency unlocking . . . 162
Tiptronic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
Automatic seat adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Automatic vehicle wash systems . . . . . . . . . 234
Avoiding damage to your vehicle . . . . . . . . . 228
B
Before setting off . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
Belt tensioners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188
Belts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
Biofuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243
Bluetooth™ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
Bonnet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247
Boot lid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Brake Handbrake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
Warning light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 Brake Assist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218
Brake booster . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
Brake fluid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256
Brake pads
Warning light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Brakes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216
Bulbs Warning light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Buttons for central locking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Buttons on the driver's door Power windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
C
Car jack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274, 280
Catalytic converter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222
Central locking system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46locking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
unlocking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Changing a wheel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276
Changing bulbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 294
Changing the engine oil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253
Changing wheels around . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265
Charging the battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260 Warning light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Chassis number . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 303
Child safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202 Side airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205
s24s.book Page 305 Thursday, November 24, 2005 12:27 PM

Index
310
The air conditioning system . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Air outlet vents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
Defrosting windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Recirculated air mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
The armrest at the rear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
The automatic wiper/washer system . . . . . . 75
The battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40, 258 changing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261
Charge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260
Inspecting the electrolyte level . . . . . . . 260
Operation in winter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260
The CD changer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
The electronic immobiliser . . . . . . . . . . . 32, 45
The outside temperature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
The radiator fan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256
The roof luggage rack system . . . . . . . . . . 102
Thickness of brake pads Warning light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Tilting roof . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Tiptronic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149 automatic gearbox DSG . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274
Towing a trailer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229
Towing a vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283
Towing device . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231
Towing protection monitoring . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Tow-starting a vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283
Tow-starting and towing vehicle Automatic gearbox . . . . . . . . . . . . 155, 162
Traction Control System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215 Traction control system (TCS)
Warning light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Trailer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229 General Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229
Transporting children . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
Tread depth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265
Turn signal lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Turn signals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68 Warning light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Two-way radio systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
Type plate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 303
Tyres . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264 Winter tyres . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268
U
Underbody protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238
Unlocking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46Remote control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Uphill-Start off-Assist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219
V
Vanity mirror . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Vehicle condition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Vehicle data sticker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 303
Vehicle immobiliser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 Warning light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Vehicle tool kit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274
Ventilation Auxiliary ventilation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134 Visors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
W
Warning lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Warning symbols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Warning triangle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273
Washing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234
with high-pressure cleaner . . . . . . . . . . . 235
Washing the vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233
Washing vehicle by hand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234
Wax treatment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
Wheel Changing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276
Spare . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275
Wheel bolts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267
Wheel rims . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263
Wheel trim . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 278
Wheels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263
Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 De-icing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236
Window lifter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Windows De-icing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236
Windscreen washer nozzles . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Windscreen Wiper and Washer System . . . 262 Warning light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Windscreen wipers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Windshield washer fluid reservoir . . . . . . . . 262 Warning light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
s24s.book Page 310 Thursday, November 24, 2005 12:27 PM