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PASSENGER SEAT COMPLIANCE WITH REGULATIONS ON CHILD’S SEAT USE
This vehicle complies with the new European Directive 2000/3/CE regulating child’s seat assembling on the different
car seats according to the following table:
SEAT
Group Range of weight Front passenger Rear passenger Central passenger
side rear
Group 0, 0+ until 13 kg U U *
Group 1 9-18 kg U U *
Group 2 15-25 kg U U *
Group 1 22-36 kg U U *
Key:
U = suitable for child restraint systems of the “Universal” category, according to European Standard ECE-R44 for the specified “Groups”.
* Never mount child restraint systems on the rear central seat.
MANUALLY DEACTIVATING PASSENGER’S
AIR BAG (Front and Side bag) (where required)
Should it be absolutely necessary to carry a child on the front seat, the
passenger’s air bag on the car can be deactivated.
Deactivation/activation takes place with ignition key at STOP and
operating it in the special key switch on the right-hand side of the
dashboard.
IMPORTANT Operate the switch only when the engine is not running
and the ignition key is removed.
The key-operated switch has two positions:
❒passenger’s air bag (Front and Side bag) activated (ON position P):
warning light Fon instrument cluster off; it is absolutely prohibited
to carry a child on the front seat.
❒passenger’s front air bag (Front and Side bag) deactivated (OFF
position F): warning light Fon instrument cluster on; it is
possible to carry a child protected by special restraint system on the
front seat.
The warning light Fon the cluster stays on permanently until the
passenger’s air bag is reactivated (Front and Side bag).
The key can be removed when in both positions.
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GENERAL WARNINGS
WARNING
If warning light ¬does not come on when turning the key to MAR or if it stays on
when travelling it could indicate a failure in restraint systems; in this case air bags
or pretensioners could not trigger in the event of an accident, or in a restricted
numbers of cases they could trigger accidentally. Stop the car and contact Fiat
Dealership to have the system checked immediately.WARNING
WARNINGAlways keep your hands on the steering wheel rim when driving, so that if the air
bag is triggered, it can inflate without meeting any obstacles which could cause
serious harm to you. Do not drive with the body bent forwards, keep the seat back
rest in the erect position and lean your back well against it. Do not cover the back rest of front seats with trims or covers there are not set for
the use of side bags.
If the car has been stolen or an attempt to steal it has been made, if it has been
subjected to vandals or floods, have the air bag system checked by Fiat Dealership.WARNING
WARNINGRemember that with the key engaged and in the MAR position, even with the
engine not running, the air bags may be triggered on a stationary vehicle if it is
bumped by another moving car. Therefore, never seat children on the front seat
even when the vehicle is stationary. On the other hand remember that if the key is
at STOP, no safety system (air bags or pretensioners) is triggered in the event of an
impact; in these case, failure to come into action cannot be considered as a sign
that the system is not working properly.
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WARNING
WARNINGWhen the ignition key is turned to the MAR position, the warning light F(with
passenger’s front air bag deactivation (where required) switch in the ON position)
turns on and flashes for few seconds to remind that passenger’s air bag will be
deployed in a crash, after which it should go off.
Do not wash the seat back rest with pressurised water or steam (by hand or at
automatic seat washing stations).
Never travel with objects on your lap, in front of your chest or with a pipe, pencil,
etc. between your lips; injury may result in the event of the air bag being triggered.WARNING
The front air bag is triggered for shocks greater in magnitude than the
pretensioners. For impacts between these two thresholds, it is therefore normal
that only the pretensioners are triggered.WARNING
WARNINGThe air bag does not substitute the seat belts, but only increases their
effectiveness. Moreover, since the front air bags do not come into operation in
the event of front impact at low speed, side collisions, bumps from behind or
overturning, in these circumstances the occupants would only be protected by
the seat belts which must therefore always be fastened.
WARNINGDo not hook rigid objects to the coat hooks and to the support handles.
ENGINE STARTING
The car is fitted with an electronic engine lock device.
If the engine fails to start, see paragraph “Fiat CODE
system” in section “Dashboard and controls”.
The engine may be noisier than usual during the first
seconds of operation, especially after it has not been
used for a while. This characteristic feature of the
hydraulic tappet system does not compromise
functionality or reliability. The system devised for the
Fiat Idea was designed to limit maintenance
interventions.STARTING PROCEDURE FOR PETROL
VERSIONS
Proceed as follows:
❒Ensure that the handbrake is up;
❒Put the gear lever into neutral;
❒Press the clutch pedal down to the floor without
touching the accelerator;
❒Turn the ignition key to AVV and let it go the
moment the engine starts.
If the engine does not start at the first attempt, return
the ignition key to STOP before repeating starting.
If, when the ignition key is on MAR, warning light
Y
remains lit together with warning light U, turn the
key to STOP and then back to MAR; if the warning
light remains on, try with the other keys provided with
the car.
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We recommend that during the initial period you do not drive to full vehicle performance (e.g.:
excessive acceleration, long journeys at top speed, sharp braking, etc.).
When the engine is switched off never leave the ignition key in the MAR position to prevent
pointless current absorption from draining the battery.
WARNINGRunning the engine in confined areas is extremely dangerous. The engine consumes
oxygen and produces carbon monoxide which is a highly toxic and lethal gas.
If you are still unable to start the engine, perform the
emergency start-up procedure (see “Emergency start-
up” in section “In an emergency”) and contact Fiat
Dealership.
IMPORTANT Never leave the ignition key at MAR
when the engine is off.
STARTING PROCEDURE FOR MULTIJET
VERSIONS
Proceed as follows:
❒Ensure that the handbrake is up;
❒Put the gear lever into neutral;
❒Turn the ignition key to MAR: the warning lights
m, Uand Ywill light up on the instrument
panel;
❒Wait for the warning lights
Yand m. The
hotter the engine is, the quicker this will happen;
❒Press the clutch pedal down to the floor without
touching the accelerator;❒Turn the ignition key to AVV as soon as warning
light
mgoes out. If you wait too long you will
lose the benefit of the work done by the glow
plugs. Release the key as soon as the engine starts.
IMPORTANT With cold engine, the accelerator pedal
shall be completely released while turning the ignition
key to AVV.
If the engine does not start at the first attempt, return
the ignition key to STOP before repeating starting.
If, when the ignition key is on MAR, warning light Y
remains lit, turn the key to STOP and then back to
MAR; if the warning light remains on, try with the
other keys provided with the car.
If you still cannot start the engine, contact Fiat
Dealership.
IMPORTANT Never leave the ignition key at MAR
when the engine is off.
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The warning light mwill flash for 60 seconds at start-up or during prolonged cranking to signal a
fault in the glow plug heating system. You can use the car as usual if the engine starts but you should
contact a Fiat Dealership as soon as possible.
PARKING
Proceed as follows:
❒stop the engine and engage the handbrake;
❒engage a gear (on a slope, engage first gear if the car is faced uphill or
reverse if it is faced downhill) and leave the wheels steered.
Block the wheels with a wedge or a stone if the car is parked on a steep
slope. Avoid leaving the car parked with a wheel on the sidewalk or
steered against the kerb. Do not leave the ignition key at MAR to
prevent draining the battery. Always remove the key when you leave
the car.
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HANDBRAKE
The handbrake lever is located between the two front seats.
Pull the handbrake lever upwards until the car cannot be moved.
Four or five clicks are generally enough when the car is on level ground while nine or ten may be required if the car
is on a steep slope or laden.
IMPORTANT If this is not the case, contact Fiat Dealership to have the handbrake adjusted.
When the handbrake lever is pulled up and the ignition key is at MAR the panel warning light xwill come on.
To release the handbrake:
❒slightly lift the handbrake and press release button (A);
❒keep button (A) pressed in and lower the lever. Warning light xwill go out.
Press the brake pedal when carrying out this operation to prevent the car from moving accidentally.
IMPORTANT If the handbrake lever tends to approach the end of stroke (slot on central console), contact Fiat
Dealership to have the handbrake adjusted.
WARNINGNever leave children unattended in the car. Always remove the ignition key when
leaving the car and take it out with you.
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GENERAL WARNINGS
Failure indicationsshown on the reconfigurable
multifunction display together with buzzer sounding
(adjustable) and warning light (if any) coming on on the
cluster, are accompanied by specific warning
messages(e.g.: “Switch off engine”, etc...). These
indications are concise and cautionaryand are
aimed to suggest the prompt actionthe 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 contained in this “Owner Handbook”,
which shall always be read through carefully and
thoroughly. In case of failure indication always refer
to the specifications contained in this section.
IMPORTANT Failure indications displayed on the
reconfigurable multifunction display are divided into
two categories: very serious failures and
serious/minor failures.
The message and the warning indication corresponding
to very serious failures are displayed alternately for
few seconds. This “cycle” is repeated indefinitely and it
stops any previous indication on the display. It is
displayed every time the ignition key is turned to MAR,
until the cause of malfunctioning is removed. Should failure disappear, message and warning light will
however stay on for about 2 seconds. Eliminating the
failure, the warning light and the displayed message will
go off. It is possible to stop this “cycle” by pressing
button Q; in this case the screen active before the
failure will be resumed and the warning light will stay
on until eliminating the failure cause.
The message and the warning indication corresponding
to serious/minorfailures are displayed alternately for
few seconds. This “cycle” is repeated for about 20
seconds and then goes off, but it comes on again every
time the ignition key is turned to MAR.
Should failure disappear during the 20 seconds
displaying, message and warning light will stay on for
about 2 seconds. Eliminating the failure, the warning
light and the displayed message will go off.
At the end of the display cycle (which lasts approx. 20
seconds), or if button Qis pressed, the screen active
before the failure will be resumed and the warning
light will stay on until eliminating the failure cause.
Q= Press button “MODE” for less than two seconds
R= Press button “MODE” for over two seconds