180
ELECTRONIC
AUTOMATIC
GEARBOX
(COMFORTRONIC)
The electronic automatic gearbox,
besides the usual provided opera-
tions, enables a manual operation
sequential gear selection by shifting
the related lever into the special sec-
tor.
IMPORTANTIn order to use the
automatic gearbox in the right way
it is necessary to read this paragraph
fully, to learn from the very begin-
ning how to perform correct opera-
tions, also on the basis of the Shift-
lock and Key-lock functions the
automatic gearbox is fitted with.STARTING THE ENGINE
The engine can be started only with
the selector to Por N (fig. 137).
For safety reasons, it is advisable to
start the engine with the brake pedal
pressed.
IMPORTANTAt the moment of
departure, after starting the engine,
do not press the accelerator pedal
before and during the gear lever
shift. Observing this precaution is
particularly important when the
engine is cold.MOVING OFF
After starting the engine at idle and
while keeping the brake pedal
pressed (Shift-lock safety), shift the
gear lever to D, or to the manual
sequential operation position.
Release the brake pedal and press
gradually the accelerator pedal.
IMPORTANTThe lever shift from
Pis possible only if the ignition key
is at MARand the brake pedal is
depressed (Shift-lock safety).
The gear lever can be shifted freely
from position Dto other positions
without pressing the brake pedal,
according to the diagram shown on
the mask. Only when shifting from
position Pit is necessary, for safety
reasons, to press the brake pedal to
move the lever.
fig. 137
L0A0184b
181
Do not tax the engine
until it has not reached
operating temperature.
STOPPING THE CAR
To stop the car press the brake
pedal, regardless of the gear lever
position.
If the brake pedal is not
pressed, when the gear
lever is to D or R and the
engine is running idle, even on a
flat ground, the car starts moving.The ignition key can be extracted
from the ignition switch only when
the gear lever is at P(Key-lock safe-
ty) and the ignition key is at STOP.
Letter Pon the instrument panel
display (fig. 138) will come on for
30 seconds, then it will go off.IMPORTANTIn case of emer-
gency (failures, flat battery, etc.), it
is possible to remove the ignition key
even if the gear lever is not at P. To
do this, turn the key to STOP, press
button A(fig. 139) and at the same
time remove the key.
fig. 138
L0A0238b
fig. 139
L0A0178b
182
SELECTING THE AUTOMATIC/
MANUAL SEQUENTIAL
OPERATION
The main characteristic of this
gearbox is the possibility to be used
in automatic mode or in manual
sequential mode.
The operating mode can be select-
ed by setting the gear lever to the
right sector at D(automatic mode)
or to the left sector at (+/-) (manual
sequential mode).
On display A(fig. 140) of the
instrument panel it is possible to see
the engaged gear (1to 5in manual
sequential mode) or the symbol D
(automatic gearbox mode).AUTOMATIC OPERATION
To activate automatic operation,
move the lever to the right sector
(fig. 137) to one of the following
positions:
P- parking (the engine can be
started)
R- reverse
N- neutral (engine can be started)
D- automatic forward gear.
IMPORTANTThe lever can be
shifted from position Pis possible
only with the ignition key at MAR
and the brake pedal pressed (Shift-
lock safety).
The gear lever can be shifted freely
from position Dto other positions
without pressing the brake pedal,
according to the diagram shown on
the mask. Only when shifting from
position Pit is necessary, for safety
reasons, to press the brake pedal to
move the lever.
fig. 140
L0A0239b
P - Parking
When parking the car shift the gear
lever to this position. A gearbox
device will block the driving wheels.
To avoid accidental engaging, shift
from position P to any other position
is possible only with the brake pedal
pressed.
To bring the lever back to position
Pit is not necessary to press the
brake pedal, but as a rule it is sug-
gested to keep the brake pedal
pressed even in this case.
IMPORTANTShift the lever to P
only when the car is stationary.
189
If these rules are not
respected, the automatic
gearbox might be severely
damaged.
The car can be towed only for
short distances and at a low
speed: if it is necessary to tow it
for a longer distance, raise the
driving wheels so that the gear-
box is not dragged during towing. TOWING THE CAR
IMPORTANTTo tow the car
observe local current laws and fol-
low the instructions contained in
chapter “In an emergency”.
If the car must be towed, observe
the following precautions:
– if possible, transfer the car on a
towtruck
– otherwise, tow the car by raising
the front driving wheels
– even if the latter solution is not
possible, the car can be towed for
less than 50 Km at a speed of 50
km/h.
Towing shall be performed with
gear lever to N.Before starting towing,
disengage the parking
brake as described in the
relevant paragraph and leave the
Keyless System CID (if any) in the
passenger’s compartment to pre-
vent automatic steering lock. Do
not tow the car with the engine
running.
ESP AND ASR
SYSTEMS
ESP SYSTEM (ELECTRONIC
STABILITY PROGRAM):
GENERAL
ESP is an electronic system con-
trolling the car stability which
affects the driving torque and brakes
the wheels in a different way in case
of grip loss, thus making the car
recover the right driving direction.
During driving the car is subject to
side and longitudinal forces which
can be controlled by the driver until
tire grip is acceptable. When the lat-
ter is lower than the minimum level,
the car starts skidding.
If the road bed is uneven (bumpy
road, presence of ice, mould, etc.)
tyre grip is considerably reduced. In
these conditions, when extreme
manoeuvres are made, the car might
start skidding.
193
The following table summarizes warning light indications according to the different operating conditions.
Operating or failure conditions
Engine start up (key turned to MAR)
Driving in
normal
conditions
Driving inconditions which
might lead to
slipping
ASR fault
ESP fault
System condition
Warning light check
ASR on
ESP on
ASR off
ESP on
ASR active
ESP active
ASR off
ESP active
ASR and ESP off
ASR on
ESP off ASR on
ASR off
manually
ASR on
ASR off
manuallyASR button warning light
On for about 3 seconds
Off
On
Off
On
On
OffESP warning light on
instrument panel
On for about 4 seconds
Off
Off
Flashing
Flashing
On
On
INITIALISING THE ESP SYSTEM CONTROL UNIT
Whenever the battery is electrically connected again or it is reloaded after being completely flat or after replacing one of
the protection fuses, to restore the correct operation of the ESP system, of the door locking, and of the air conditioning, it
is necessary to perform the initialisation operations contained in the paragraph “If battery is to be disconnected” in the chap-
ter “In an emergency”.
195
Turn ring Bto position (+) to set
the speed reached or to increase the
stored speed.
Turn ring Bto position (–) to
decrease the stored speed.
The speed will be increased or
decreased by approximately 1 km/h
each time ring Bis operated. Hold
the ring turned to set the speed con-
tinuously. The new set speed will be
automatically kept.
Button C(RCL) allows to reset the
stored speed.
IMPORTANTTurn the ignition
key to STOPor switch Ato OFFto
delete the stored speed and switch
the system off.Storing the speed
Move switch Ato ONand take the
car to the required speed normally.
Turn ring Bto (+) for at least three
seconds and release it. The car speed
will be stored and you can now
release your foot from the accelera-
tor.
The car will continue at the con-
stant speed until one of the following
events occur:
– the brake pedal is pressed
– the clutch pedal is pressed
– the automatic gear lever is unin-
tentionally shifted to N.
IMPORTANTIf required (e.g. for
overtaking) you can accelerate sim-
ply by pressing the accelerator. The
car will return to the previously set
speed when the accelerator pedal is
released.Resetting the stored speed
To reset the stored speed after
switching the device off, e.g. by
pressing the brake or the clutch ped-
als:
– accelerate progressively to reach
a speed which is close to the previ-
ously set speed
– engage the gear which was
engaged when the speed was set (4
th,
5thor 6th gear)
– press button C (RCL).
Increasing the stored speed
The stored speed can be increased
in two ways:
– by pressing the accelerator pedal
and storing the new speed (turning
ring Bfor longer than three seconds)
199
Ring Ahas four positions:
OFF: system off
x: greatest distance from the vehi-
cle ahead
x: intermediate distance from the
vehicle ahead
x: shortest distance from the vehi-
cle ahead.
The distance between the two vehi-
cles is gradually increased as the
speed is increased, set levels being
equal.
IMPORTANTTurn the ignition
key to STOPor ring Ato OFF, to
delete the stored speed and switch
the system off. To restore system
operation, turn the ring Ato OFF
and repeat the setting operations.When the system is on, that is, ring
Ais in any position other than OFF,
symbol úlights up on the multi-
function display, together with mes-
sage “RADAR CRUISE CONTROL
ON”. The warning light will remain
on until the system is switched off by
turning ring Ato OFF.
Ring Bis used to store the car
speed and keep it constant, or to
increase or decrease the stored
speed.
Turn ring Bto (+) to store the
speed reached or increase the stored
speed.
Turn ring Bto (–) to decrease the
stored speed. Slowing down can also
be obtained, when required, by
braking system automatic operation.
Every time ring Bis turned, the
speed is increased or decreased by
about 1 km/h. By keeping the ring
rotated, the stored speed will change
continuously at intervals of 10
km/h. The new speed reached will
be maintained automatically.
When ring Bis turned, the car’s
actual speed is considered as refer-
ence speed (cruise speed). This
speed can automatically decrease
depending on traffic conditions, and
the system can shift from the speed
control condition to the distance
control condition. The driver is
informed of the system’s operating
condition by the instrument panel
display.
Button C(RCL) allows to reset the
stored speed. In fact, when driving
the car with the system on, the dri-
ver can switch the system off by sim-
ply braking. In this case, the cruise
speed previously set is kept in the
memory and can be enabled again at
any time by pressing button RCL.
PARKING SENSOR
The parking sensor provides dis-
tance information to the driver when
the car moves near obstacles placed
in front of and behind it.
The information on the presence
and distance of obstacles is sent to
the driver by means of sound sig-
nals, the frequency of which
depends on the obstacle distance.
By integrating the direct visual
information with the sound signal
emitted by the system, the driver can
therefore avoid possible collisions.
208
The responsibility for
parking manoeuvres and
other dangerous manoeu-
vres always rests with the driver.
When performing such manoeu-
vres, always make sure that no
persons or animals stand in the
area where the car is to be
parked. The parking assist sys-
tem should be considered as an
aid to the driver; in any case,
greatest attention must be paid
when performing dangerous
manoeuvres, even at low speed.
The system front and rear sensors
are activated automatically when
engaging reverse with the ignition
key at MAR. Disengaging the
reverse gear will turn the rear sen-
sors off; front sensors will stay on
until 15 km/h speed is exceeded to
allow concluding the parking
manoeuvre.Front sensors can be switched on
by pressing button A(fig. 155)
placed on the central console in
front of the gear lever; when the
front sensors are on, warning light
Blights up on the button. To
switch the sensors off, press button
Aagain.
When the sensors are on, the sys-
tem starts sending out sound sig-
nals from the front or rear buzzers
as soon as an obstacle is detected;
the signal frequency increases as
the obstacle gets nearer. When the
obstacle is at a distance of less than
30 cm, a continuous sound is emit-
ted. Depending on the position of
the obstacle (in front or behind),
the sound will be emitted from the
corresponding buzzer (front or
rear). The sound signal will imme-
diately stop if the distance from the
obstacles increases. The tone cycle
remains the same if the distance
measured by the central sensors
does not change; however, if this
condition occurs with side sensors,
the signal will be interrupted after
about 3 seconds, to avoid, for
instance, sending out signals in
case of parking manoeuvres along
walls.
fig. 155
L0A0016b