98
CORRECT USE
OF THE CAR
WARNING
LIGHTS AND
MESSAGES
IN AN
EMERGENCY
CAR
MAINTENANCE
TECHNICAL
SPECIFICATIONS
IINDEX
DASHBOARD
AND CONTROLS
SAFETY
DEVICES
GENERAL WARNINGS
If when turning the key to
MAR the warning light ¬
does not turn on or if it stays on when
travelling there could be a failure in
safety systems; in this event air bags
or pretensioners could not trigger in
case of impact or, in a minor num-
ber of cases, they could trigger acci-
dentally. Contact Fiat Dealership im-
mediately to have the system
checked.
WARNING
Do not cover the backrest of
front seats with trims or cov-
ers that are not suitable to be used
with side bags.
WARNING
Never travel with objects on
your lap, in front of your
chest or with a pipe, pencil, etc. be-
tween your lips; injury may result in
the event of the air bag being trig-
gered.
WARNING
Always keep your hands on
the steering wheel rim when
driving, so that if the air bag is trig-
gered, it can inflate without meeting
any obstacles which could cause seri-
ous 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.
WARNING
Remember that with the key
engaged and at MAR, even if
the engine is not running, the air bags
may be triggered on a stationary car
if it is bumped by another moving car.
Therefore, never seat children on the
front seat even when the car is sta-
tionary. On the other hand remem-
ber that if the key is at STOP, no safe-
ty system (air bags or pretensioners)
is triggered in the event of an impact;
in this case, failure to come into ac-
tion cannot be considered as a sign
that the system is not working prop-
erly.
WARNING
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
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99
CORRECT USE
OF THE CAR
WARNING
LIGHTS AND
MESSAGES
IN AN
EMERGENCY
CAR
MAINTENANCE
TECHNICAL
SPECIFICATIONS
INDEX
DASHBOARD
AND CONTROLS
SAFETY
DEVICES
Do not wash the seat back
rest with pressurised water
or steam (by hand or at automatic
seat washing stations).
WARNING
The front air bag is triggered
for shocks greater in magni-
tude that the pretensioners. For im-
pacts between these two thresholds,
it is therefore normal that only the
pretensioners are triggered.
WARNING
Do not hook rigid objects to
the coat hooks and to the
support handles.
WARNING
The air bag does not substi-
tute the seat belts, but only
increases their effectiveness. More-
over, since the front air bags do not
come into operation in the event of
front impact at low speed, side colli-
sions, bumps from behind or over-
turning, in these circumstances the
occupants would only be protected
by the seat belts which must therefore
always be fastened.
WARNING
When the ignition key is
turned to the MAR position,
the warning light F(with passen-
ger’s front air bag deactivation switch
in the ON position) turns on and
flashes for few seconds to remind that
the passenger’s air bag will be de-
ployed in a crash, after which it
should go off.
WARNING
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101
WARNING
LIGHTS AND
MESSAGES
IN AN
EMERGENCY
CAR
MAINTENANCE
TECHNICAL
SPECIFICATIONS
INDEX
DASHBOARD
AND CONTROLS
SAFETY
DEVICES
CORRECT USE
OF THE CAR
STARTING THE ENGINE ................................................. 102
PARKING................................................................................ 104
USING THE MANUAL GEARBOX.................................. 105
CONTAINING RUNNING COSTS................................. 106
TOWING TRAILERS............................................................ 107
SNOW TYRES....................................................................... 111
SNOW CHAINS................................................................... 111
CAR INACTIVITY................................................................. 112
CC C
O O
R R
R R
E E
C C
T T
U U
S S
E E
O O
F F
T T
H H
E E
C C
A A
R R
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STARTING PROCEDURE
FOR PETROL VERSIONS
Proceed as follows:
❒ensure that the handbrake is up;
❒put the gear lever in neutral;
❒press the clutch pedal down to the
floor without touching the accelerator;
❒turn the ignition key to AVVand let
it go the moment the engine starts.
If the engine does not start at the first at-
tempt, return the ignition key to STOP
before repeating starting.
If, when the ignition key is at MAR, warn-
ing light
Yremains lit together with
warning light Uturn the key to STOP
STOP and then back to MAR; if the warn-
ing light remains on, try with the other
keys provided with the car.
If you are still unable to start the engine,
perform the emergency start-up proce-
dure (see “Emergency start-up” in “In an
emergency” chapter) and contact Fiat
Dealership.
STARTING
THE ENGINE
The car is fitted with an electronic engine
lock device: if the engine fails to start, see
the paragraph “The Fiat CODE system” in
section “Dashboard and controls”.
The engine may be noisier than usual dur-
ing the first seconds of operation, espe-
cially after it has not been used for a while.
This characteristic feature of the hydraulic
tappet system does not compromise func-
tionality or reliability: the system devised
for the Fiat Panda was designed to limit
maintenance interventions.
102
WARNING
LIGHTS AND
MESSAGES
IN AN
EMERGENCY
CAR
MAINTENANCE
TECHNICAL
SPECIFICATIONS
INDEX
DASHBOARD
AND CONTROLS
SAFETY
DEVICES
CORRECT USE
OF THE CAR
We recommend that during
the initial period you do not
drive to full car performance
(e.g.: excessive acceleration,
long journeys at top speed, sharp brak-
ing, etc.).
When the engine is switched
off never leave the ignition
key in the MAR position to
prevent pointless current ab-
sorption from draining the battery.
Running the engine in con-
fined areas is extremely dan-
gerous. The engine consumes oxygen
and produces carbon monoxide
which is a highly toxic and lethal gas.
WARNING
Remember that the servo-
brake and power steering
are not operational until the engine
has been started, therefore much ef-
fort than usual is required on the
brake pedal and steering wheel.
WARNING
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If the engine does not start at the first at-
tempt, return the ignition key to STOP
before repeating starting.
If, when the ignition key is at MAR, warn-
ing light
Yremains lit, turn the key to
STOPand then back to MAR; if the
warning light remains on, try with the oth-
er keys provided with the car.
If you still cannot start the engine, contact
Fiat Dealership.HOW TO WARM UP THE
ENGINE AFTER IT HAS JUST
STARTED
Proceed as follows:❒ Drive off slowly, letting the engine turn
at medium revs. Do not accelerate
abruptly;
❒Do not drive at full performance for the
initial kilometres. Wait until the coolant
temperature gauge starts moving.
EMERGENCY START-UP
If the instrument panel warning light
Ystays on with fixed light, the emergency
start-up can be performed by using the
CODE card code (see section “In an
emergency”). STARTING PROCEDURE
FOR DIESEL 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
mand Yon the in-
strument panel will turn on;
❒Wait for the warning lights Yand
mto turn off. 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 AVVas 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 ac-
celerator pedal shall be completely re-
leased while turning the ignition key to
AVV.
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WARNING
LIGHTS AND
MESSAGES
IN AN
EMERGENCY
CAR
MAINTENANCE
TECHNICAL
SPECIFICATIONS
INDEX
DASHBOARD
AND CONTROLS
SAFETY
DEVICES
CORRECT USE
OF THE CAR
The warning light mwill
flash for 60 seconds at start-
up or during prolonged crank-
ing to indicate a fault in the
glow plug heating system. You can use
the car as usual if the engine starts but
you should contact Fiat Dealership as
soon as possible.
Never bump start the engine
by pushing, towing or coast-
ing downhill. These opera-
tions could cause fuel to flow
into the catalytic exhaust system and
damage it beyond repair.
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PARKING
Proceed as follows:
❒ Stop the engine and engage the hand-
brake;
❒engage a gear (1stif the car is faced up-
hill 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.
Do not leave the ignition key at MARto
prevent draining the battery, always re-
move the ignition key when leaving the
car.
Never leave children unattended in the
car. Always remove the ignition key when
leaving the car and take it out with you.HANDBRAKE fig. 1
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, con-
tact Fiat Dealership to have the handbrake
adjusted.
When the handbrake lever is pulled up
and the ignition key is at MAR, the in-
strument panel warning light xwill turn
on. STOPPING THE ENGINE
Turn the ignition to STOPwhile the en-
gine is idling.
IMPORTANT After taxing drive, you
should allow the engine to “catch its
breath” before turning it off by letting it
idle to allow the temperature in the en-
gine compartment to fall.
fig. 1F0G0037m
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WARNING
LIGHTS AND
MESSAGES
IN AN
EMERGENCY
CAR
MAINTENANCE
TECHNICAL
SPECIFICATIONS
INDEX
DASHBOARD
AND CONTROLS
SAFETY
DEVICES
CORRECT USE
OF THE CAR
A quick burst on the acceler-
ator before turning off the en-
gine serves absolutely no
practical purpose, it wastes
fuel and is damaging especially to tur-
bocharged engines.
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USING THE MANUAL
GEARBOX
To engage the gears, press the clutch ped-
al fully and shift the gear lever into one of
the required positions (the diagram is
shown on the knob fig. 2).
IMPORTANT The car can only be put in-
to reverse gear when it has stopped mov-
ing completely. With the engine running,
before engaging the reverse, wait at least
2 seconds with the clutch pedal fully down
to prevent damage and grating of the
gears.
To engage reverse Rfrom neutral, lift the
sliding ring Aunder the knob and shift the
lever to the right and back. To release the handbrake:
❒slightly lift the handbrake and press re-
lease button A;
❒keep button Apressed and lower the
lever. Warning light xwill turn off.
Press the brake pedal when carrying out
this operation to prevent the car from
moving accidentally.
fig. 2F0G0060m
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WARNING
LIGHTS AND
MESSAGES
IN AN
EMERGENCY
CAR
MAINTENANCE
TECHNICAL
SPECIFICATIONS
INDEX
DASHBOARD
AND CONTROLS
SAFETY
DEVICES
CORRECT USE
OF THE CAR
To change gears properly
you must push the clutch
pedal fully down. It is therefore es-
sential that there is nothing under the
pedals: make sure the mats are lying
flat and do not get in the way of the
pedals.
WARNING
Do not drive with your hand
resting on the gear lever as
the force exerted, even if
slight, could lead over time to
premature wear on the gearbox inter-
nal components.
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Accessories installed on
longitudinal bars
Remove accessories like: roof racks, ski
racks, luggage container, etc. from the roof
as soon as they are no longer used. These
accessories lower air penetration and ad-
versely affect consumption levels. When
needing to carry particularly voluminous
objects, preferably use a trailer.
Electric devices
Use electric devices only for the amount
of time needed. Rear heated window, ad-
ditional headlights, windscreen wipers and
heater fan need a considerable amount of
energy, therefore increasing the require-
ment of current increases fuel consump-
tion (up to +25% in the urban cycle).
Climate control
The air conditioner is an additional load
which greatly affects the engine leading to
higher consumption (on average up to
+20%). When the temperature outside
the car permits it, use the air vents where
possible.
Spoilers
The use of non-certified aerodynamic
items may adversely affect air drag and
consumption levels.DRIVING STYLE
Starting
Do not warm the engine with the car at
a standstill or at idle or high speed: under
these conditions the engine warms up
much more slowly, increasing electrical
consumption and emissions. It is therefore
advisable to move off immediately, slow-
ly, avoiding high speeds: this way the en-
gine will warm faster.
Unnecessary actions
Avoid accelerating when waiting at traffic
lights or before switching off the engine.
This and also double declutching is ab-
solutely pointless on modern cars and al-
so increases consumption and pollution.
Gear selection
As soon as the conditions of the traffic and
road allow, use a higher gear. Using a low
gear to obtain brilliant performance in-
creases consumption.
In the same way improper use of a high
gear increases consumption, emissions an
engine wear.CONTAINING
RUNNING COSTS
Some useful tips are given below for fuel
saving and reducing harmful emissions of
CO
2and other pollutants (nitrogen ox-
ides, unburnt hydrocarbons, Particulate
Matter (PM) etc.).
GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS
Car maintenance
Have checks and adjustments carried out
in accordance with the “Service schedule”.
Tyres
Check the pressure of the tyres routine-
ly at an interval of no more than 4 weeks:
if the pressure is too low, consumption
levels increase as resistance to rolling is
higher.
Unnecessary loads
Do not travel with too much luggage
stowed in the boot. The weight of the car
(especially when driving in town) and its
trim greatly affects consumption and sta-
bility.
106
WARNING
LIGHTS AND
MESSAGES
IN AN
EMERGENCY
CAR
MAINTENANCE
TECHNICAL
SPECIFICATIONS
INDEX
DASHBOARD
AND CONTROLS
SAFETY
DEVICES
CORRECT USE
OF THE CAR
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