
Towing a trailer181
Using the systemSafetyDriving TipsGeneral MaintenanceBreakdown assistanceTechnical Data
Towing a trailer
Towing a trailer
Technical requirements
The towing device must satisfy certain technical requirements.
Your vehicle is designed primarily for transporting persons and luggage. It can, however, also be used fo r towing a trailer - provided certain technical equip- ment is fitted.
If your vehicle has alread y been supplied with a factory-fitted towing device then everything that is necessary for towi ng a trailer in technical terms, and in terms of the law, has already been taken into account.
Your vehicle is fitted with a 13-pin powe r socket for the electrical connection between the vehicle and trailer. If the trailer which you wish to tow has a 7-pin connector , you can use a suitable adapter 4) from Škoda original accessories.
This work must be carried out in accordance with the manufacturer's specifica- tions if a towing device is retrofitted.
Škoda Service Partners are familiar with de tails relating to retrofitting a towing device and for any necessary modifications to the cooling system.
WARNING
We recommend that you have the towing device from Škoda original accessories installed by a Škoda Servic e Partner. He is familiar with all the relevant details relating to retrofit ting such equipment. There is a risk of an accident if the towing device is not properly fitted!
General Maintenance
There are a number of points to pay attention to when towing
a trailer.
Tr a i l e r l o a d
The permissible trailer load must on no account be exceeded.
You can negotiate appropriat ely steeper inclines and descents if you do not make full use of the pe rmissible trailer load.
The trailer loads specified only apply for altitudes up to 1 000 metres above mean sea level. The fact that the engi ne power output drops with increasing he ig ht due to a low ering of a ir pres sure and thus the ability to climb, means that the towed weight must be reduced by 10 % for every further increase of 1 000 metres in height above sea level. The towed weight is the weight of the (laden) vehicle and the (laden) trailer together. One should take this into account before driving up to higher altitudes.
The trailer and drawbar load informatio n on the type plate of the towing device are merely test data for the towi ng device The data relating to your vehicle, which is often less than this test data, can be found in your vehicle registration documents or in the brochure - Technical Data .
Distribution of the load
Distribute the load in the trailer in such a way that any heavy items are located as close as possible to the axle. Secu re the items to prevent them slipping.
Tyre pressure
Correct the tyre inflation pressure on yo ur vehicle for that of “fully laden”, ⇒ page 214. The inflation pressure of the tyres fitted to the trailer adjust in accordance with the manufacturer's recommendation.
4)In some countries the adapter is supplied with the towing device.
NKO A05Fabia 20.book Page 181 Tuesday, September 26, 2006 8:38 AM

Inspecting and Replenishing198
Opening the bonnet
– Unlock the bonnet ⇒page 197, fig. 141.
– Ensure that the arms of the windscreen wipers are correctly in
place against the windscreen before opening the bonnet other-
wise damage could occur to the paintwork.
– Press the locking button ⇒page 197, fig. 142, the bonnet unlocks
itself.
– Grip the bonnet and lift it up.
– Take the bonnet support out of its holder and set it in the opening
designed for it ⇒page 197, fig. 143.
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
•Before opening the bonnet, ensure that the arms of the windscreen wipers are correctly in place against the windscreen. Otherwise, there is a risk of damage to the paintwork.
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 appl icable 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 gearshift lever into Neutral, or if it is fitted with automatic gearbox, move the selector lever into position P.
•Allow the engine to cool down.
•Keep children clear of the engine compartment.
•Do not touch any hot engine parts - risk of burns!
NKO A05Fabia 20.book Page 198 Tuesday, September 26, 2006 8:38 AM

Wheels and Tyres216
tools and replacement parts available plus the required specialist knowledge and is also in a position to properly di spose of the old tyres. A large number of Škoda Service Partners also have an attractive range of tyres and wheels avail-able.
The tyre/wheel combinations which are ap proved for your vehicle are indicated in your vehicle documents. Approval an d licensing may differ according to the legislation prevailing in individual countries.
Proper knowledge of the tyre data makes it easier for you to select the correct type of tyre. Tyres do, for example, have the following inscription on their walls:
185 / 65 R 14 86 T
What this means is:
The following speed restrictions apply to tyres.
The date of manufacture is also stated on the tyre wall (possibly only on the inside of wheel):
DOT ... 05 06...
means, for example, that the tyre was manufactured in the th week of the year 2006.
Any spare wheel which differs from the tyres fitted to the vehicle (e.g. winter tyres or low-profile tyres) should only be used only for a short time in the event of a puncture and when adopting an appr opriately cautious style of driving. It should be replaced as quickly as possible by a normal wheel.
WARNING
•Only use those tyres or wheel rims which have been approved for your model of Škoda Auto a.s. vehicle. Failure to observe this instruction will adversely affect the road safety of your vehicle - risk of accident! Approval and licencing of your vehicl e on public roads may also become void as a result.
•You must on no account drive at a higher speed than is permissible for your tyres - risk of an accident resulting from tyre damage and loss of control over your vehicle.
•Tyres which are 6 years old or more should only be fitted in excep- tional cases and when adopting an appropriately cautious style of driving.
•Never fit tyres which have already been used without having adequate knowledge of their previous history. Tyres age even if they have not been used at all or only very little. A spare tyre must only be
185Tyre wi dt h i n mm
65Height/width ratio in %
RCode letter for the type of tyre - Radial
14Diameter of wheel in inches
86Load index
TSpeed symbol
Speed symbolPermissible maximum speed
Q160 km/h
R170 km/h
S180 km/h
T190 km/h
H210 km/h
V240 km/h
W270 km/h
Speed symbolPermissible maximum speed
NKO A05Fabia 20.book Page 216 Tuesday, September 26, 2006 8:38 AM
5

Index253
R
Radiator fan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205
Radio
Operating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
Radio systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
Raise vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227
Range . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Rear fog light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Warning light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Rear mirror . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Rear seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Rear window heater . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Recharge battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210
Recirculated air mode
Air conditioning system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Heating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Refuelling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
Remote control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Synchronisation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Replacing bulbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239
Replacing fuses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
Replacing the wiper blades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Roof aerial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
Running in the car . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
S
Safe securing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
Safety information
Engine compartment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
Saving electrical energy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
Seat belt height adjuster . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
Seat belt warning light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
Seat belts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
Cleaning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
fastening . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
Height adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
Safety information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
taking off . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
Warning light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Heating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Selector lever . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Selector lever positions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Service Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Service Interval Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Setting temperature
Air conditioning system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Heating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Setting the clock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Shifting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Side airbag . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
Side lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Snow chains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218
Spare wheel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223
Stability programme (ESP) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
Starting the engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
Diesel engines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
Petrol engines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
Steering force assistance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
Storage compartment
Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Storage compartments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Storage facilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Sun visors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Switch in the driver door
Power windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Switching lights on and off . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Switching off the engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
T
Tailgate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Warning light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Taking care of your vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
TCS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
Warning light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Telephone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Temperature
outside . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
the first 1 500 kilometres . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
The roof luggage rack system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Thickness of brake pads
Warning light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Tilting roof . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Tiptronic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
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