2007 FIAT 600 Owners Manual

56GETTING TO KNOW YOUR CAR
Warning light >alone,
with the engine running,
normally indicates a fault
in the ABS system only. In this
case, the braking system is still
efficient, though without the
anti-locking device. Under these
conditions, performance of the
EBD system may be reduced.
Also in this case, you are advised
to go immediately to the nearest
Fiat Dealership, driving in such a
way to avoid sharp braking to
have the system checked. FRONT AIRBAGS
The car is fitted with front air bags
(for versions/markets where applica-
ble) for the driver and the passenger.
FRONT AIR BAGS fig. 80
The front air bag (driver and pas-
senger) has been designed to protect
the occupants in the event of head-
on crashes of medium-high severity,
by placing the cushion between the oc-
cupant and the steering wheel or dash-
board.
Front air bags are designed to pro-
tect car’s occupants in front crashes
and therefore non-activation in other
types of collision (side collisions, rear
shunts, roll-overs, etc.) is not a system
malfunction.In case of front crash, an electronic
control unit, when required, triggers
the inflation of the cushion.
The cushion immediately inflates,
placing itself as a protection between
the body of the front occupants and
the structure that could cause injuries.
Immediately after, the cushion deflates.
The front air bag (driver and pas-
senger) is not a replacement of but
complementary to the use of belts,
which should always be worn, as spec-
ified by law in Europe and most non-
European countries.
In case of crash, a person not wear-
ing the seat belt moves forward and
may come into contact with the cush-
ion while it is still inflating. Under this
circumstance the protection offered
by the air bag is reduced.
Front air bag can be activated in the
following situations:
– in collisions against highly
deformable objects not affecting
the vehicle front surface (e.g.
bumper collision against guard
rail); If the xbrake fluid low
warning light comes on,
stop the vehicle immedi-
ately and contact the nearest
Fiat Dealership. Fluid leaks from
the hydraulic system, in fact, can
compromise brake system oper-
ation, both traditional systems
and systems with ABS.
fig. 80
P4Q00074
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57GETTING TO KNOW YOUR CAR
Do not apply stickers or
other objects to the
steering wheel or to the
passenger's air bag cover or on
the side roof lining. Never apply
objects on the dashboard on pas-
senger side (e.g. mobile phones)
since they could interfere with
proper passenger air bag inflation
and cause severe injuries. – car wedging under other vehicles
or protective barriers (for
example under a truck or guard
rail);
as it offers no additional protection
compared with the seat belts, conse-
quently, it would be pointless. There-
fore, failure to come into action in the
above circumstances does not mean
that the system is not working prop-
erly.FRONT AIRBAG
PASSENGER SIDEThe passenger side airbag was de-
signed and calibrated to protect a per-
son wearing seat belts.
When fully inflated, the bag will fill
most of the space between the dash-
board and the passenger.
Manual deactivation
The passenger side airbag can be de-
activated if it is absolutely necessary
to carry a child in the front passenger
seat.
Turn the specific control switch un-
der the middle of the dashboard be-
tween the sound system compart-
ment and the oddment compartment
fig. 81with the ignition key to deac-
tivate the airbag. SERIOUS DAN-
GER: Never place
cradle child’s seats
on the front passenger seat of
cars fitted with passenger air bag.
Air bag activation could cause se-
rious injuries, even mortal. In the
case of need, always deactivate
the passenger’s air bag when a
child’s seat is placed on the front
seat. The front passenger’s seat
shall be adjusted in the most
backward position to prevent any
contact between child’s seat and
dashboard. Even if not compul-
sory by law, you are recom-
mended to reactivate the air bag
immediately as soon as child
transport is no longer necessary.
fig. 81
P4Q00183
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58GETTING TO KNOW YOUR CAR
The switch has two positions:
1) Passenger side airbag activated:
(position ON
P), instrument panel
warning light off. Do not carry chil-
dren on the front seat.
2)Passenger side airbag deactivated:
(position OFF F), instrument panel
warning light on. A child can be car-
ried on the front seat with a suitable
restraint system.
The instrument panel warning light
Fwill stay on until the passenger
side airbag is reactivated. GENERAL WARNINGS
The front airbags (on driver and pas-
senger side, where fitted) can be trig-
gered if the car is subjected to strong
knocks or impacts underneath, e.g. vi-
olent crashes into steps, kerbs or fixed
projections from the ground, falling to
large holes or dips in the road.
When the airbag inflates it emits heat
and a small amount of smoke. This is
harmless and does not indicate the be-
ginning of a fire.
The air bag system has a validity of
14 years as concerns the pyrotechnic
charge and 10 years as concerns the
coil contact (see the plate located on
the front left door post near door
hinges).
As these dates approach, contact Fi-
at Dealershipto have them replaced.After an accident which triggered the
airbags, go to a Fiat Dealershipto
have the entire safety system, the elec-
tronic control unit, the seat belts and
the pretensioners replaced. The Fiat
Dealershipwill also check the in-
tactness of the electrical system.
Any diagnostic, repair or replace-
ment operations concerning the airbag
system must exclusively be carried out
at a Fiat Dealership.
If you are having the car scrapped,
have the airbag system deactivated at
a Fiat Dealershipfirst.
If the car changes hands, the new
owner must be made aware of the in-
dications given above and be given this
Owner Handbook.
Pretensioners and front airbags are
triggered by the electronic control
unit according to different types of im-
pacts. Missed triggering of the system,
consequently, does not indicate a fault
in the system.
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59GETTING TO KNOW YOUR CAR
If the ¬warning light
does not turn on when
turning the ignition key
to MAR or if it stays on when
travelling, this could indicate a
failure in safety retaining sys-
tems; under this condition air
bags or pretensioners could not
trigger in the event of collision
or, in a restricted number of
cases, they could trigger acci-
dentally. Stop the car and con-
tact Fiat Dealership to have the
system checked immediately.
Do not travel with ob-
jects on your lap or in
front of you. Do not hold
a pipe, a pencil or similar be-
tween your lips. You could seri-
ously hurt yourself if the airbag
inflates in a collision. The warning light Fshould come on for ap-
proximately four seconds
and then flash for other four sec-
onds when the passenger side
airbag deactivation switch is
turned to ON and the ignition
key is turned to MAR to remind
you that the passenger side
airbag will be fired in the event of
an accident. The warning light
should then go out.
Always drive with both
hands on the rims of the
steering wheel so that the
airbag is free to inflate during a
head-on collision and protection
yourself from serious injury. Do
not drive with your body bending
towards the steering wheel but
sit in an upright position with
your back resting against the
seat. If an attempt has been
made to steal the car or if
it has actually been stolen
or vandalised in any way or sub-
jected to flooding, have the
airbag system checked at a Fiat
Dealership.
Please note that airbags
can be triggered when
the engine is running also
if the car is stationary and an-
other vehicle crashes into it at
suitably high speed. As a conse-
quence, never sit children in the
front seat, also when the car is
still. On the other hand, the
airbags will not be fired if the car
is stationary and the key is not
turned. Missed operation in these
circumstances does not indicate
a fault.
The failure of the ¬
warning light is also indi-
cated by the flashing for
more than the normal 4 seconds
of the passenger’s front air bag
deactivated warning light
F. In
addition the air bag system will
deactivate automatically the pas-
senger’s air bags (front and side
where provided). In this event,
warning light
¬could not indi-
cate safety systems failures. Con-
tact Fiat Dealership immediately
to have the system checked.
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60GETTING TO KNOW YOUR CAR
Correct operation of
the front airbags and the
pretensioners is guaran-
teed as long as the car is not
overloaded.
The airbag does not re-
place seat belts but
rather increases their ef-
fectiveness. Furthermore, the
front airbag is not fired in the
event of low speed front colli-
sions, side collisions, rear-end
shunts and roll-overs. In these
cases, the passengers are only
protected by the seat belts which
for this reason must be fastened
at all times. EOBD SYSTEM
The EOBD (European On Board Di-
agnosis) system continuously monitors
the car emission system components.
Furthermore, the system warns the
driver of deterioration concerning the
emission system components by
means of the Uwarning light on the
instrument panelThe objective is to:
– monitor system efficiency;
– warn when failures can increase
emissions over the threshold estab-
lished by the European regulations;
– warn of the need to replace dete-
riorated components.
Furthermore, the system is equipped
with a connector for interfacing with
specific tools used to read the error
codes stored in the control unit mem-
ory along with a set of diagnostic and
engine specific parameters. This check can also be performed by
traffic controller agents.
Contact a Fiat Dealer-
ship as soon as possible if
the Uwarning light ei-
ther does not come on when the
key is turned to MAR or comes
on, with fixed or flashing light,
when travelling.
IMPORTANTAfter eliminating
the problem, your Fiat Dealership
will run a bench test to fully check the
system. In some cases, a long road
test may be required.
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61GETTING TO KNOW YOUR CAR
ELECTRICAL POWER
STEERING SYSTEM
IMPORTANT The electrical
power steering system only works
when the ignition key is at MAR.
A new electrically controlled power
steering system called EPAS (Electri-
cal Power Assisted Steering) is fitted
in the Fiat 600.
The EPAS system is operated by an
electric motor and consists of only
two parts: a steering column with
built-in electric motor and an elec-
tronic control unit.
The control unit processes the data
from the various sensors located in
the car and converts the signals into
commands for the power steering
motor to reduce the effect on the
steering wheel both when parking and
when cornering.
P4Q00503
fig. 82
1)Electronic power assisted steering control unit;
2)Car speed sensor;
3)Injection control unit;
4)Electric power steering motor;
5)Electrical power steering unit.
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62GETTING TO KNOW YOUR CAR
The system is programmed at the
factory to ensure variable degrees of
assistance according to the require-
ments. In other words, power is in-
creased for parking and reduced as
the car’s speed increases.
The EPAS system only works when
the engine is running to avoid deploy-
ing the battery accidentally. Further-
more, it is equipped with a self-test
function to detect faults and incorrect
signals.
IMPORTANTThe steering wheel
may stiffen slightly in parking manoeu-
vres requiring a great deal of steering:
this is normal and caused by the
power steering motor overheat pro-
tection system tripping. The problem
does not require servicing and the
electric power steering system will
work normally the next time the car
is used.If the warning light comes on, see
chapter
GETTING TO KNOW YOUR CAR,
paragraph
WARNING LIGHTS.
FIAT 600 VAN
The version herein illustrated differs
from Fiat 600 saloon described in this
handbook for the different size of the
boot and the availability of two front
seats only.
Load recommendations
Fiat 600 Van has been designed and
approved on the basis of several set
maximum values:
– kerb weight
– payload
– gross vehicle weight
– total weight on the front axle
– total weight on the rear axle
– towable weight.
Each of these limits must be borne
in mind and must never be exceeded
under any circumstances. It is absolutely forbidden
to carry out whatever af-
ter-market operation in-
volving steering system or steer-
ing column modifications (e.g.: in-
stallation of anti-theft Device)
that could badly affect perfor-
mance and safety, cause the lapse
of warranty and also result in
non-compliance of the car with
homologation requirements.
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63GETTING TO KNOW YOUR CAR
IMPORTANT Sudden braking or
collisions can cause sudden shifts of
the load which could jeopardise the
safety of the driver and the passen-
gers: before you start off make sure
the load is firmly secured.Use metal cables, ropes or straps
strong enough to support the weight
of the load to be fixed.In addition to these general precau-
tions, some simple measures could
enhance driving safety, comfort and
the length of your vehicle’s life:
– distribute the load evenly over the
load floor: if you need to concentrate
it all in one point choose the part be-
tween the axles;
– remember that the lower the load
is, the lower the vehicle’s centre of
gravity will be, contributing to a safe
drive; you should therefore always po-
sition the heavier goods at the bottom;
– finally, remember that the way in
which the vehicle moves is influenced
by the weight being carried. In partic-
ular, stopping distance lengthens par-
ticularly at high speed.
P4Q00568
fig. 83
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