
If and when255
Safety First
Operating instructions
Tips and Maintenance
Te c h n i c a l D a t a
Notes for the driver of the towing vehicle
– Drive slowly at first until the tow-rope is taut. Then accelerate
gradually.
– Begin and change gears cautiously. If you are driving an auto- matic vehicle, accelerate gently.
– Remember that the brake servo and power steering are not working in the vehicle you are towing. Brake earlier than you
would normally, but with a more gentle pressure on the brake.
Notes for the driver of the towed vehicle
– Ensure that the tow-rope remains taut at all times when towing.
Fitting the towing eye
– Take the towing ring and the wheel spanner out of the vehicle tool kit.
– Pull the lower front cover down and leave the cover hanging on the vehicle.
– Remove the cover of the screw hole, insert a screwdriver into the lower slot and lever gently.
– Screw the towing eye as shown by arrow anti-clockwise to the
limit position in the front ⇒page 254, fig. 194 or rear
⇒ page 254, fig. 195 threaded hole.
– Use the wrench for leverage to tighten the towing eye.Tow-rope or tow-bar
It is easier and safer to tow a vehicle with a tow-bar. You should only use a
tow-rope if you do not have a tow-bar. A tow-rope should be slightly elastic to
reduce the loading on both vehicles.
It is advisable to use a tow-rope made of synthetic fibre or similarly elastic
material.
Attach the tow-rope or the tow-bar only to the towing eyes provided or a
towing bracket.
Driving style
Towing requires some experience, especially when using a tow-rope. Both
drivers should be familiar with the technique required for towing. Inexperi-
enced drivers should not attempt to tow-start or tow away another vehicle.
Do not pull too hard with the towing vehicle and take care to avoid jerking the
tow-rope. When towing on an unpaved road, there is always a risk of over-
loading and damaging the anchorage points.
The ignition of the vehicle being towed must be switched on to prevent the
steering wheel from locking and also to allow the use of the turn signals,
horn, windscreen wipers and washers.
As the brake servo does not work if th e engine is not running, you must apply
considerably more pressure to the brake pedal than you normally would.
As the power assisted steering does not work if the engine is not running, you
will need more strength to steer than you normally would.
Towing vehicles with an automatic gearbox
•
Put the selector lever into position “N”.
•
Do not drive faster than 50 km/h when towing a vehicle.
•
Do not tow further than 50 km.
•
If a breakdown vehicle is used, the vehicle must be towed with the front
wheels raised.Note
•
Observe legal requirements when towing or tow-starting.
altea_ingles Seite 255 Dienstag, 4. Oktober 2005 6:57 18

If and when
256•
Switch on the hazard warning lights of both vehicles. However, observe
any regulations to the contrary.
•
For technical reasons, vehicles with an automatic gearbox must not be
tow-started.
•
If damage to your vehicle means that there is no lubricant in the gearbox,
you must raise the drive wheels while the vehicle is being towed.
•
If the vehicle has to be towed more than 50 km, the front wheels must be
raised during towing, and towing should be carried out by a qualified person.
•
The steering wheel is locked when the vehicle has no electrical power. The
vehicle must then be towed with the front wheels raised. Towing should be
carried out by a qualified person.
altea_ingles Seite 256 Dienstag, 4. Oktober 2005 6:57 18

Index279
Coolant Loss . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211
Coolant temperature
Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Safety instructions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Cruise control system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171 Warning lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Cruise control* Turning off the cruise control system . . . . . 174
Curtain airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Safety notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42DDanger of fitting a child seat on the front passenger seat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Diesel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
Diesel engine Winter driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
Differential lock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
Differential lock fault (EDL) warning lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Digital clock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Dipped headlights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Disabling front passenger airbag Safety notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Disabling the airbag Disabling front passenger airbag . . . . . . . . . 44
Display (without warning or information texts) . 59Displays in the Mult
i-function display
Memory displays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Door lock cylinders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
Door release lever . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Doors Childproof locks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Warning lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Drawer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
Drinks holders at the front . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
Drive wheels traction control system . . . . . . . . 176
Driving Driving abroad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
With a trailer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
with a trailer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
Driving abroad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181 Headlights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
Driving economically . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
Driving programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
Driving safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Driving with an automati c gearbox / DSG automatic
gearbox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
Driving with respect for the environment . . . . . 185
Duplicate keys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Dust filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
Dynamic headlight range control . . . . . . . . . . . 113
EEDL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
EDS Warning lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77 Electric steering system
warning light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Electrical sockets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
Electronic differential lock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178 Warning lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Electronic immobiliser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81, 160 warning message . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Electronic stabilisation program . . . . . . . . . . . 177
Electronic stabilisation programme . . . . . . . . . . 80 Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
Warning lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
Electronic stabilisation programme (ESP) warning lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
emergency manual locking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Emergency opening Doors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
Emission control system warning lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Engine Running in . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
Engine compartment Working in the engine compartment . . . . . 203
Engine coolant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211
Engine fault Warning lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Engine management Warning lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Engine oil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206 Changing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210
Checking level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208
Oil properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207
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Index283
Seat belts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Incorrectly fastened . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Not worn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Safety notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Warning lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Seat belts protect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Seat heating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
Seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Selective opening* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Selector lever locking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
Selector lever positions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
Service interval display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Shoes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Side airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Safety notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Side lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Sitting position Driver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Front passenger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Incorrect sitting position . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Passengers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Sitting position, occupants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Sliding/tilting roof . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Snow chains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225, 261
Soot accumulation in the diesel engine particle fil- ter *
Indicator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Spare wheel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227 Starting Petrol engines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
Starting the engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160, 161
After the fuel tank has been run dry . . . . . . 162
Steam cleaners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
Steering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157 Steering lock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
Steering wheel audio controls audio + telephone version . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
audio version . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Steering wheel controls Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Steering wheel height adjustment . . . . . . . . . . 157
Storage compartment Lock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
Stowage area Centre arm rest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
Front seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
Other stowage areas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
Stowage compartment Front passenger side . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
Stowage in the luggage compartment . . . . . . . 135
Sun visors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
Sunroof . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Sunroof blind Sliding/tilting roof . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Switch Hazard warning lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
Switches Electric windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
Electrical exterior mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Sliding/tilting roof . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108 Switching off the engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
TTailgate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
Emergency opening . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
Warning lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Tank fuel level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
reserve indicator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
tank capacity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
TCS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
TCS (Traction control system) Warning lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
The danger of not using the seat belt . . . . . . . . 22
Tightening torque of wheel bo lts . . . . . . . . . . . 261
Tire-Mobility-System (Tyre r epair kit) . . . . . . . . 233
Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226
Towing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254
Towing a trailer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183, 260
Towing bracket . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
Towing bracket, fitting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
Towing eye . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254
Tow-starting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254
Traction control system warning lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Trailer turn signals Indicator lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Warning lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Trailer weights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260
Trips, checklist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
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