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.
73DRIVING YOUR CAR
IMPORTANT Reverse gear can
only be engaged when the car is com-
pletely stationary. With the engine
running, before engaging the reverse
gear, wait for at least two seconds
with the clutch pedal pressed fully
down to avoid damaging or grating the
gears. SAFE DRIVING
In designing the Fiat 600, Fiat has
made every effort to come up with a
car able to provide driver and pas-
sengers with top-class levels of safety.
Nevertheless it is always the behav-
iour of the person at the wheel that
determines road safety.
Below you will find some simple tips
to help you travel in safety under dif-
ferent conditions. You will no doubt
be familiar with many of them already
but it will be useful to read them all
carefully.
BEFORE GETTING BEHIND
THE WHEEL
– Make sure all lights including the
headlights are working properly.
– Adjust the position of the seats,
steering wheel, inside and outside rear
view mirrors properly for the best
driving position.
– Carefully adjust the head restraints
so the back of the head and not the
nape of the neck is supported. – Make sure that nothing (mats etc.)
gets in the way of the pedals when
they are pushed down.
– Make sure that any child restraint
systems (child seats, carriers etc.) are
properly fixed preferably on the back
seat.
– Place any objects in the boot in
such a way that they cannot be
thrown forwards in the event of an
accident.
– Do not eat a heavy meal before
travelling. Light eating will help keep
your reflexes prompt. Above all, do
not have anything alcoholic to drink.
Periodically, remember to check:
– tyre pressure and condition
– level of battery electrolyte
– engine oil level
– coolant level and condition of the
system
– brake fluid level
– windscreen washer fluid level. To change the gear
properly (with mechani-
cal clutch) you must push
the clutch pedal fully down. It is
therefore essential that there is
nothing under the pedals. Make
sure mats are lying flat and do
not get in the way of the pedals.
74DRIVING YOUR CAR
WHEN TRAVELLING
– The first rule of safe driving is pru-
dence.
– Prudence also means putting your-
self into a position where you can pre-
dict wrong or imprudent behaviour
from other drivers.
– Stick closely to the rules of the
road in the particular country where
the vehicle is being driven and, above
all, do not exceed speed limits.
– Ensure that, besides yourself, all
the other passengers in the car have
their seat belts fastened, that children
are sitting in the appropriate child
seats and any animals in the car are
placed in suitable compartments.
– You should be physically fit and
mentally alert before setting out on
long journeys. Always fasten both front
and back seat belts and
those of any child seats.
Travelling with the seat belts un-
fastened increases the risk of in-
jury or death if you are in a colli-
sion.
Driving while drunk or
under the influence of
drugs or certain medi-
cines is dangerous for both you
and other road users.
Water, ice or salt on
road surfaces can deposit
on brake disks, reducing
braking efficiency on the first
braking.
Consider that fitting ex-
tra spoilers, alloy rims or
non standard wheel caps
can reduce ventilation of the
brakes and reduce their effi-
ciency under conditions of violent
or repeated braking or long
downhill travel.
Do not drive with ob-
jects on the floor in front
of the driver’s seat: they
could get caught under the ped-
als making braking or accelerat-
ing impossible. Pay attention to the
mats: even a minor prob-
lem to the braking sys-
tem may require increases brake
pedal stroke with respect to nor-
mal.
– Do not drive too many hours at a
time but stop at intervals to stretch
your legs and recover your energies.
– Constantly change the air in the
passenger compartment.
– Never coast downhill (i.e. with the
engine off): if you do, you lose the aid
of the engine brake, brakes booster
and power steering, so that braking
and steering require greater effort.
91IN AN EMERGENCY
Please note:
– The jack requires no adjustments.
– The jack cannot be repaired. If it
breaks it must be replaced with a new
jack.
– No tool, other than its handle, in-
dicated in this chapter, can be fitted
onto the jack. CHANGING THE WHEEL
1)Loosen the wheel bolts on the
wheel to be changed by approximately
one turn fig. 4.
2)Turn the jack handle so that the
jack opens partially.
3)Position the jack near the wheel
to be changed.
4)Ensure that grooves A-fig. 5in
the jack fits properly into the side-
member B.
5)Warn any people present that the
vehicle is about to be raised; make
sure they keep at a safe distance and
do not touch the car until it is low-
ered once more.
fig. 4
P4Q00095
fig. 3
P4Q00092
fig. 5
P4Q00094
6) Insert the handle in the jack and
turn it until the wheel to be changed
lifts a few centimetres off the ground.
When turning the handle make sure it
rotates freely without danger of graz-
ing your hands on the ground. Also
the moving parts of the jack (screws
and joints) can cause injury: do not
touch them. Clean yourself up if you
are soiled with lubricating grease.
7)Remove the wheel cap having re-
moved the three bolts securing it.
Then loosen the fourth bolt A-fig. 6
and remove the wheel.
fig. 6
P4Q00096
111CAR MAINTENANCE
thousands of kilometres
Check anti-evaporation system
Replace air cleaner cartridge
Top up fluids (engine coolant, brakes, windscreen washer, battery, etc.)
Check timing belt conditions
Replace timing belt (*)
Replace spark plugs
Check engine control systems via diagnostic socket
Check mechanical gearbox oil level
Change engine oil
Replace engine oil filter
Change brake fluid (or every two years) 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180
●●
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●●●●●●●●●
●●
●
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(*) or every 3 years for demanding use (cold climates, prolonged idling in city traffic)
or every 5 years, regardless of distance
112CAR MAINTENANCE
ANNUAL INSPECTION SCHEDULE
– Inspect conditions of. engine, gear-
box, transmission, piping (exhaust -
fuel feed - brakes), rubber parts
(boots - sleeves - bushings - etc.),
brake and fuel line hoses.
– Check for bonnet and boot lock
cleanness, lever cleanness and lubri-
cation.
– Check battery charge status.
– Check conditions of various con-
trol belts.
– Check and top up fluid levels (en-
gine coolant, brakes, windscreen
washer, battery, etc.).
– Change engine oil.
– Replace engine oil filter.
– Replace pollen filter (where fitted). The following annual inspection
schedule is recommended for
cars travelling less than
20,000 km a year (e.g. approxi-
mately 10,000 km). The schedule
includes the following operations:
– Check tyre condition and wear
and adjust pressure, if required (in-
cluding spare wheel).
– Check operation of lights (head-
lights, direction indicators, hazard
lights, boot light, passenger compart-
ment ceiling light, glove compartment
light, instrument panel lights, etc.).
– Check windscreen wiper/washer
and adjust nozzles.
– Check position wear of wind-
screen/rear window wiper blades.
– Check front brake pad conditions
and wear.
ADDITIONAL
CHECKS
Every 1,000 kmor before long
trips, check and top up as necessary:
– engine coolant level, brake fluid
level, windscreen washer liquid level,
tyre pressure and conditions.
Every 3,000 kmcheck and top up
as necessary: engine oil level.
We recommend using FL Selenia
products which were specifically de-
signed and made for use in Fiat vehi-
cles (see
CAPACITIEStable in TECHNICAL
SPECIFICATIONS
).
113CAR MAINTENANCE
IMPORTANT - Remote control
If when the remote control button
is pressed the doors are not
locked/unlocked or the performed
operation signal (indicator lights on)
does not appear, change the battery,
using spare batteries of the same kind.
IMPORTANT - Engine oil
Should the prevailing use of the car
be under one of the following specially
heavy conditions:
– trailer towing
– dusty roads
– short distances (less than 7-8 km)
repeated and with external tempera-
tures below zero.
– frequently idling engines or long
distance low speed driving (e.g. taxis
or door-to-door deliveries) or in case
of a long term inactivity replace engine
oil more frequently than required on
SCHEDULED MAINTENANCE PLAN.IMPORTANT - Air cleaner
Replace the air cleaner more fre-
quently if the car is used on dusty
roads.
If you are in doubt about how often
the engine oil or the air cleaner should
be changed in relation to how you use
the car, contact a Fiat Dealership.
IMPORTANT - Battery
The charge in your battery should be
checked, where possible at the start
of the winter, to limit the risk of the
battery electrolyte freezing. This
check should be carried out more fre-
quently if the car is mainly used for
short trips or if it is fitted with acces-
sories that permanently take in elec-
tricity even when the ignition key is
removed, especially in the case of af-
ter market accessories.You should check the battery fluid
(electrolyte) level more frequently
than shown in the
SERVICE SCHEDULEin
this chapter if the vehicle is used in
hot climates or particularly demand-
ing conditions.
Maintenance of your car
should be entrusted to a
Fiat Dealership. For ordi-
nary routine maintenance oper-
ations which you are able to
carry out yourself, ensure that
you have the necessary tools and
original Fiat spare parts and flu-
ids available. Do not carry out
servicing operations if you have
no experience.
115CAR MAINTENANCE
Be very careful under
the bonnet: you risk
burning yourself. Re-
member that when the engine is
hot, the fan can start up and
cause injuries.
ENGINE OIL CONSUMPTION
Max. engine oil consumption is usu-
ally 400 grams every 1000 km.
During the beginning of the car’s use,
the engine is being run in. Engine oil
consumption can be considered sta-
bilised only after the first five-six thou-
sand kilometres.
IMPORTANTOil consumption
depends on the driving style and the
conditions of use. IMPORTANT After topping up or
changing the oil, let the engine turn
for a few seconds and wait a few min-
utes after stopping it before you check
the level. Do not add oil with dif-
ferent specifications from
the oil already in the en-
gine.
fig. 2
P4Q01039
Used engine oil and re-
placed oil filters contain
substances which can
harm the environment. We rec-
ommend you have the car seen
to at a Fiat Dealership for the oil
and filter change. It is suitably
equipped for disposing of used oil
and filters in an environmentally-
friendly way that complies with
the law.
ENGINE COOLANT fig. 3
Do not take the cap A of
the reservoir off when the
engine is very hot as you
run the risk of scalding yourself.
The coolant system is
under pressure. If the cap
A requires changing, use
only an original spare part, oth-
erwise the system efficiency
could be affected.
fig. 3
P4Q01040