2
MUST BE READ!
REFUELLING
Refuel petrol engine vehicles with unleaded petrol, octane rating (RON) no lower than 95.
The use of other products or mixtures may irreparably damage the engine with invalidation of the warranty due
to the damage caused.
ENGINE START-UP
Make sure the handbrake is pulled 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 release it as soon as the engine starts.
PARKING OVER INFLAMMABLE MATERIAL
When functioning normally, the catalytic converter reaches high temperatures. For this reason do not park
the vehicle over inflammable material, grass, dry leaves, pine needles, etc.: fire hazard.
K
PROTECTING THE ENVIRONMENT
A system for continuously monitoring emission system components to ensure greater environmental protec-
tion is fitted in your vehicle.
U
10GETTING TO KNOW YOUR CAR
fig. 6
P4Q01074
fig. 6a
P4Q01075
When the car is parked on a steep
slope the reel mechanism may block;
this is normal. The reel mechanism
prevents the webbing coming out
when it is jerked or if the car brakes
sharply, as in a collision or when cor-
nering at high speed.
The rear seat is fitted with inertial
seat belts with three anchor points
and reel.
CENTRAL REAR SEAT
For versions /markets where ap-
plicable the centre seat, if any, is
fitted with lap belt with two an-
chor points. To unfasten the seat belts, press but-
ton D. Guide the seat belt with your
hand while it is rewinding, to prevent
it from twisting.SEAT BELTS
USING THE SEAT BELTS
The belt should be worn keeping the
chest straight and rested against the
seat back.
Take hold the tongue B-fig. 5and
insert it into the buckle C, until hear-
ing the locking click.
If it jams, let it rewind for a short
stretch, then pull it out again without
jerking.
fig. 5
P4Q01060
Do not press button D
when running.
Through the reel, the belt automat-
ically adapts to the body of the pas-
senger wearing it, allowing freedom of
movement.
20GETTING TO KNOW YOUR CAR
IGNITION SWITCH
The key can be turned to four dif-
ferent positions fig. 16.
– STOP: engine off, key can be re-
moved and the steering column is
locked mechanically. Some electrical
devices can be used (e.g. sound sys-
tem).
– MAR: drive position. All electrical
devices can be used.
– AVV: engine ignition.
– PARK: engine off, parking lights
on, steering column locked. Press but-
ton Aand turn the key to PARK.
STEERING COLUMN LOCK
To engage the lock: remove the
ignition key at STOPor PARKand
turn the steering wheel until it locks. If the ignition switch has
been tampered with (e.g.
someone has tried to
steal your car), get a Fiat Deal-
ership to make sure it is still func-
tioning properly before you start
driving again.
Always remove the igni-
tion key when you get
out of the car. This will
prevent anyone from acciden-
tally working the controls. Re-
member to apply the handbrake
and, if the car is faced down on a
steep slope engage the first gear.
If it is facing up, engage the re-
verse gear.
Never remove the igni-
tion key while the car is
moving. The steering
wheel would automatically lock
as soon as you try to turn it. This
also applies when the car is being
towed.
fig. 16
P4Q00004
To release the lock: rock the
steering wheel slightly as you turn the
ignition key to MAR.
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.
28GETTING 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.ELECTRICAL
POWER STEERING
FAILURE (red)
In the following two cases:
1- When the power steering elec-
trical motor is overheated by repeat-
ed, complete steering. In this case,
hold the steering wheel still and wait
for the light to go out.
2- When there is an electrical
power steering system failure.
When the key is turned to MARthe
warning light should come on for ap-
proximately four seconds only. If the
warning lights stays on, the power
steering system will not be working.
The effort on the steering wheel will
increase without compromising steer-
ability. Contact a Fiat Dealership.
g
HANDBRAKE
ENGAGED / LOW
BRAKE FLUID
LEVEL (red)
In three cases:
1.When the handbrake is engaged.
2.When the brake fluid level falls
below the minimum
3. With the
>warning light to in-
dicate an EBDelectronic brake force
corrector failure.
x
If the xwarning light
comes on when travel-
ling, check whether the
handbrake is engaged. If the
warning light stays on and the
handbrake is not engaged, stop
immediately and contact a Fiat
Dealership.
AIRBAG FAILURE
(red)
This warning light is
found in cars fitting two airbags (dri-
ver’s side and passenger’s side) and in
cars fitting an electronic driver’s side
û
BATTERY NOT
RECHARGING
PROPERLY (red)
When there is a fault in the current
generating system.
When the key is turned to MAR the
light comes on but should go out the
moment the engine is started.
w
airbag system. The warning light will
come on to indicate a system failure.
47GETTING TO KNOW YOUR CAR
BOOT
OPENING/CLOSING
THE TAILGATE
For sedan versions, the boot tailgate
can only be opened from the passen-
ger compartment using lever A-
fig. 66.
To open the boot from the outside
(VAN versions only), unlock it with
the ignition key fig. 64.
fig. 64
P4Q00066
Do not unlock the boot
while the car is in motion.
To open it from inside the car, pull
lever A-fig. 66at the side of the dri-
ver’s seat.
The opening of the boot is made
easier by the gas-filed struts on each
side.
To close the boot, lower it and press
the lock or the Fiat logo until it clicks.
A hole fig. 65in the inside of the
tailgate is provided to offer an easy
grip for closing the tailgate. When using the boot,
make sure that the load
you are carrying does not
exceed the permitted weight
(see
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS).
Also ensure that the items in the
boot are arranged properly to
prevent them being thrown for-
wards and injuring passengers
should you brake sharply.
Never travel with the
boot open: the exhaust
fumes could enter the
passenger compartment.
fig. 65
P4Q01048
fig. 66
P4Q00024
54GETTING TO KNOW YOUR CAR
ADJUSTING THE FRONT
FOGLIGHTS
The foglight beam can be adjusted by
means of screw A-fig. 79.
Have the lights checked at a Fiat
Dealershipand adjusted if necessary. If you have never driven a car with
ABS before, you should practice using
the system on slippery terrain, obvi-
ously with the necessary safety pre-
cautions and keeping to the Highway
Code of the country you are in. It is
also a good idea to read the following
information carefully.
The advantage in using the ABS sys-
tem is that it continues to give you
maximum manoeuvrability even when
braking hard in conditions of poor grip
by preventing the wheels locking.
You should, however, not expect
the braking distance to always de-
crease: for example surfaces with
gravel or fresh snow on a slippery
road will in fact increase the braking
distance.
To exploit the ABS system to the full
in the event of necessity, you should
take heed of the following advice:ABS
The car is fitted with an ABS braking
system, which prevents the wheels
from locking when braking, makes the
most of road grip and gives the best
control when emergency braking un-
der difficult road conditions.
The driver can tell the ABS system
has come into play because the brake
pedal pulsates slightly and the system
gets noisier.
This should not be interpreted as a
fault in the brakes; on the contrary it
is a sign that the ABS system is work-
ing: it tells the driver that the car is
travelling at the limit of its road grip
and that the speed should be altered
to fit the type of road surface.
The ABS is an addition to the basic
braking system. If there is a malfunc-
tion, the system turns off automati-
cally and only the ordinary brakes
continue to work.
If a failure occurs, and, consequently,
the wheel anti-locking system is not
effective, the braking system will con-
tinue to work as usual.
fig. 79 Versione S and Active
P4Q01017
55GETTING TO KNOW YOUR CAR
The ABS exploits the
road hold available as
much as possible but can-
not increase it. You should al-
ways drive carefully on slippery
surfaces and avoid any unneces-
sary risks.Braking while cornering always re-
quires extreme care even when using
ABS.
The most important advice to follow
is this:
If the ABS intervenes, it
means that the grip be-
tween the type and the
road is reduced with respect to
the normal conditions. Reduce
speed immediately to match the
poor road conditions.
If there is a fault in the
system and the instru-
ment panel warning light
>comes on, drive you car
slowly to a Fiat Dealership, to
have the system checked and put
right.When the ABS cuts in,
and you feel the brake
pedal pulsating, do not
remove your foot, but keep it
pressed. In doing so you will stop
in the shortest amount of space
possible under the current road
conditions.
If you follow these tips you will be
able to brake better in any situation.
IMPORTANTCars with ABS may
only be fitted with wheel rims, tyres
and brake pads of the make and
model approved by the manufacturer.The system is completed with an
electronic brake force distributor
called EBD which improves braking
system performance by means of the
ABSsystem control unit and sensors.
The car is fitted with an
electronic braking device
(EBD). The >and x
warning light will come on at the
same time when the engine is
running to indicate that there is
an EBD system failure. In this
case violent braking may be ac-
companied by early rear wheel
locking with the possibility of
skidding. Drive the car extremely
carefully to the nearest Fiat Deal-
ership to have the system
checked.
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