2006 Alfa Romeo 159 Owner handbook (in English)

159
SAFETY
DEVICES
WARNING
LIGHTS AND
MESSAGES
IN AN
EMERGENCY
CAR
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CORRECT USE
OF THE CAR
Engage a low gear when driving down-
hill, rather than constantly using the
brake.
The weight the trailer exerts on the car
tow hook reduces by the same amount
the actual car loading capacity. To make
sure the maximum towable weight is
not exceeded (given in the log book)
account should be taken of the fully
laden trailer, including accessories and
personal belongings.
Do not exceed the speed limits of the
country you are driving in. In any case
do not exceed 100 km/h.TOWING TRAILERS
IMPORTANT NOTES
For towing caravans or trailers the car
must be fitted with a certified tow hook
and an adequate electric system. In-
stallation should be carried out by spe-
cialised personnel who release a special
document for circulation on the road.
Install any specific and/or additional
rear-view mirrors as specified by law.
Remember that when towing a trailer,
steep hills are harder to climb, the brak-
ing spaces increase and overtaking takes
longer depending on the overall weight.
The ABS system with
which the car may be
fitted does not control the
trailer braking system. Drive
with extreme care on slippery
roadbeds.
WARNING
Under no circumstances
should the car brake
system be altered to control
the trailer brake. The trailer
braking system must be fully
independent of the car hy-
draulic system.
WARNING

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For the electric connection a unified con-
nector should be used which is gener-
ally placed on a special bracket normally
fastened to the towing device.
For the electrical connection, 7 pin
12VDC connection is to be used (CU-
NA/UNI and ISO/DIN Standards). Fol-
low the instructions provided by the car
manufacturer and/or the tow hitch man-
ufacturer.
An electric brake or other device (elec-
tric winch, etc.), if required, should be
supplied directly by the battery through
a cable with a cross section of no less
than 2.5 mm
2. In addition to the elec-
trical branches, the car’s electric system
can only be connected to the supply ca-
ble for an electric brake and to the ca-
ble for an internal light, though not
above 15W.Assembly diagram fig. 4
The tow hook structure must be fas-
tened in the points shown by the sym-
bol
Øusing a total of 10 M10 screws.
Fastening points (1) shall be fitted with
spacers with 20x4 mm diameter.
Counterplate (2) shall have 5 mm min-
imum thickness.
IMPORTANTIt is compulsory to fas-
ten a label (plainly visible) of suitable
size and material with the following
wording:
MAX LOAD ON BALL 70 kg
After fitting, screw holes shall be sealed
to prevent exhaust gas inlet.
IMPORTANTThe hook should be fas-
tened to the body avoiding any type of
drilling and trimming of the bumper.
INSTALLING THE TOW HOOK
The towing device should be fastened
to the body by specialised personnel ac-
cording to any additional and/or inte-
grative information supplied by the Man-
ufacturer of the device.
The towing device must meet current
regulations with reference to 94/20/EC
Directive and subsequent amendments.
For any version the towing device used
must match the towable weight of the
car on which it is to be installed.

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fig. 4A0E0306m
REAR AXLE
Existing
M10 nut
Standard tow ball
full load
Existing
M10 nut

162
SAFETY
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LIGHTS AND
MESSAGES
IN AN
EMERGENCY
CAR
MAINTENANCE
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INDEX
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AND
CONTROLS
CORRECT USE
OF THE CAR
Due to the snow tyre features, under
normal conditions of use or on long mo-
torway journeys, the performance of
these tyres is lower than that of normal
tyres. It is therefore necessary to limit
their use to the purposes for which they
are certified.
IMPORTANTWhen snow tyres are
used with a max speed index below the
one that can be reached by the car (in-
creased by 5%), place a notice in the
passenger compartment, plainly in the
driver’s view which states the max per-
missible speed of the snow tyres (as per
EC Directive).
All four tyres should be the same (brand
and track) to ensure greater safety
when driving and braking and better dri-
veability.
Remember that it is inappropriate to
change the direction of rotation of tyres.SNOW TYRES
Use snow tyres of the same size as the
normal tyres provided with the car.
Alfa Romeo Authorized Services will be
glad to provide advice concerning the
most suitable type of tyre for the cus-
tomer’s requirements.
For the type of tyre to be used, inflation
pressures and the specifications of snow
tyres, follow the instructions given in para-
graph “Wheels” in section “Technical
specifications”.
The winter features of these tyres are re-
duced considerably when the tread
depth is below 4 mm. In this case, they
should be replaced.
The max speed for
snow tyres with “Q”
marking is 160 km/h; 190
km/h for tyres with “T”
marking and 210 km/h for
tyres with H marking. The
Road Traffic Code speed lim-
its must however be always
strictly observed.
WARNING

163
SAFETY
DEVICES
WARNING
LIGHTS AND
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IN AN
EMERGENCY
CAR
MAINTENANCE
TECHNICAL
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INDEX
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AND
CONTROLS
CORRECT USE
OF THE CAR
IMPORTANTSnow chains cannot be
fitted to the space-saver spare wheel.
So, if a front (drive) wheel is punctured
and chains are needed, a rear wheel
should be fitted to the front of the car
and the spare wheel should be fitted to
the rear (adjust tyre pressure to the spec-
ified value as soon as possible). This
way with two normal drive wheels,
snow chains can be fitted to them to
solve an emergency.
Tyres 235/45 R18” can-
not be fitted with snow
chains due to interference
with the fender. On 3.2 JTS version snow
chains shall be fitted to
FRONT wheels.SNOW CHAINS
Use of snow chains should be in compli-
ance with local regulations.
Snow chains should only be applied to
the driving wheels (front wheels).
Check the tension of the chains after the
first few metres have been driven.
Use snow chains with reduced size: for
tyres 205/55 R16” and 215/55
R16” use snow chains with reduced size
with max protrusion beyond the tyre pro-
file of 9 mm.
Use of snow chains may be compulso-
ry also for cars with four-wheel drive.
Traditional snow chains
may not be used on tyres
type 225/50 R17” on-
ly spider type chains can be used.
Keep your speed down
when snow chains are
fitted. Do not exceed
40 km/h. Avoid pot-
holes, steps and pave-
ments and avoid also to drive
for long distances on roads not
covered with snow to prevent
damaging the car and the
roadbed.
WARNING
When snow chains are
fitted, switch the ASR
system off. Press the
ASR/VDC button (see para-
graph “ASR system” in section
“Dashboard and controls”).

164
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CORRECT USE
OF THE CAR
CAR INACTIVITY
If the car is to be left inactive for longer
than a month, the following precautions
should be noted:
❒ park the car in covered, dry and if
possible well-ventilated premises;
❒ engage a gear;
❒check that the handbrake is not en-
gaged;
❒disconnect battery negative terminal
and check the battery charge. This
check is to be repeated every three
months when the car is left inactive.
Recharge if the optical indicator
shows a dark colour without the cen-
tral green area (see paragraph “Bat-
tery” in “Car maintenance” section);
❒clean and protect the painted parts
using protective wax;
❒clean and protect the shiny metal
parts using special compounds read-
ily available;
❒sprinkle talcum powder on the rubber
windscreen and rear window wiper
blades and lift them off the glass;
❒slightly open the windows;
❒cover the car with a cloth or perfo-
rated plastic sheet. Do not use sheets
of non-perforated plastic as they do
not allow moisture on the car body
to evaporate;
❒inflate tyres to +0.5 bar above the
normal specified pressure and check
it at intervals;
❒if you don’t disconnect the battery
from the electric system, check its
charge every month and recharge it
if the optical indicator shows a dark
colour without the central green area;
❒do not drain the engine cooling sys-
tem.
IMPORTANTIf the car is fitted with
alarm system, switch off the alarm with
the remote control.

165
SAFETY
DEVICES
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MAINTENANCE
TECHNICAL
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INDEX
CORRECT USE
OF THE CAR
DASHBOARD
AND
CONTROLS
WARNING
LIGHTS AND
MESSAGES
W W
A A
R R
N N
I I
N N
G G
L L
I I
G G
H H
T T
S S
A A
N N
D D
M M
E E
S S
S S
A A
G G
E E
S S
LOW BRAKE FLUID/HANDBRAKE ON ..................... 167
BRAKE PAD WEAR ............................................. 167
SEAT BELTS NOT FASTENED ................................. 167
AIR BAG FAILURE................................................ 168
FRONT AIR BAGS DEACTIVATED ............................ 168
ENGINE COOLANT
HIGH TEMPERATURE ........................................... 169
ENGINE OIL HIGH TEMPERATURE .......................... 170
LOW ENGINE OIL PRESSURE/
EXHAUST OIL..................................................... 170
LOW BATTERY CHARGE ....................................... 170
INCOMPLETE DOOR LOCKING ............................... 171
BONNET OPEN ................................................... 171
BOOT OPEN....................................................... 171
INJECTION SYSTEM FAILURE/
EOBD SYSTEM FAILURE....................................... 171
CAR PROTECTION SYSTEM FAILURE/
STEERING LOCK INHIBITION................................. 172
ALARM FAILURE/BREAK-IN ATTEMPT
ELECTRONIC KEY NOT RECOGNIZED ...................... 172
POSSIBLE PRESENCE OF ICE ON THE ROAD............ 173
PRE-HEATING GLOW PLUGS/
PRE-HEATING GLOW PLUG FAILURE ....................... 173
WATER IN DIESEL FUEL FILTER ............................. 174
INERTIAL FUEL CUT-OFF
SWITCHED ON .................................................. 174
ABS SYSTEM FAILURE......................................... 175
EBD SYSTEM FAILURE......................................... 175
VDC SYSTEM .................................................... 175HILL HOLDER FAILURE ........................................ 176
ASR SYSTEM (WHEEL ANTISKID SYSTEM) ............. 176
EXTERNAL LIGHTS FAILURE .................................. 176
BRAKE LIGHTS FAILURE ....................................... 177
REAR FOGLIGHTS ............................................... 177
FRONT FOG LIGHTS ............................................ 177
SIDE/TAILLIGHTS/FOLLOW ME HOME .................. 177
DIPPED BEAM HEADLIGHTS.................................. 177
MAIN BEAM HEADLIGHTS .................................... 177
LEFT-HAND DIRECTION INDICATOR ........................ 177
RIGHT-HAND DIRECTION INDICATOR ...................... 177
LIGHT SENSOR FAILURE........................................ 178
RAIN SENSOR FAILURE......................................... 178
PARKING SENSORS FAILURE ................................ 178
FUEL RESERVE – LIMITED CRUISING RANGE .......... 178
CRUISE CONTROL .............................................. 178
DIESEL PARTICULATE FILTER CLOGGED .................. 178
ANTIPINCH SYSTEM FAILURE ............................... 179
WINDSCREEN WASHER FLUID LOW LEVEL ............. 179
SPEED LIMIT EXCEEDED ..................................... 179
T.P.M.S. SYSTEM FAILURE ................................... 179
CHECK TYRE PRESSURE ...................................... 179
LOW INFLATION PRESSURE ................................. 180
TYRE PRESSURE UNSUITABLE FOR SPEED ............. 180

166
SAFETY
DEVICES
IN AN
EMERGENCY
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TECHNICAL
SPECIFICATIONS
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CORRECT USE
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DASHBOARD
AND
CONTROLS
WARNING
LIGHTS AND
MESSAGES
Very serious failures
These failures are repeated on the display
indefinitely and stop any previous indi-
cation on the display. These failures are
repeated each time the key is fitted into
the ignition device until the cause of mal-
functioning is removed. To stop this “cy-
cle” press buttonMENU: in this case
the failure symbol stays on the display at
the bottom of the screen until the cause
of malfunctioning is removed.WARNING LIGHTS
AND MESSAGES
GENERAL WARNINGS
Failure indications shown on the display
are divided into two categories: very se-
rious and less serious failures.
Every failure indication is accompanied
by the turning on of the relevant warn-
ing light (where provided) and by ded-
icated warning messages, if any.
In certain cases, failure indications can
be accompanied by the sound of a
buzzer (adjustable).
These indications are concise and cau-
tionary and are aimed to suggest the
prompt action the driver must adopt
when a car malfunctioning appears.
These indications, however, shall not be
considered as exhaustive and/or as an
alternative to the specifications con-
tained in this “Owner’s Manual”, which
shall always be read through carefully
and thoroughly.
In case of failure indication always refer
to the specifications contained in this
section.Serious failures
These failures are repeated on the display
for about 20 seconds and then they go
off. These failures are repeated each time
the key is fitted into the ignition device.
At the end of the displaying cycle (ap-
prox. 20 seconds), or when pressing but-
tonMENU, the failure symbol will stay
on the display at the bottom of the screen
until the cause of malfunctioning is re-
moved.