2007 Lancia Thesis Owner handbook (in English)

184
If the accelerator pedal is pressed
rapidly, the gearbox selects the sporty
driving programme to meet the re-
quest for a higher car performance.
To disengage this function, release the
accelerator gradually.
If the accelerator pedal is pressed
more slowly, the economy programme
is automatically selected.
The electronic control unit is able
to recognize particular situations
like a curve, detected as a different
speed of front wheel instant rotation
through the ABS active sensors, thus
preventing shifting to the higher
gear until the engine revolution limit
is reached. Only with this condition
or at the end of the curve will it be
possible to shift gear. This strategy is
useful to improve the car balance
and to guarantee a prompt accelera-
tion when coming out of the curve,
since the car has already the right
gear engaged.Likely, during sudden braking, the
lower gear is engaged to exploit the
engine braking action at best. In
case of a curve, the new gear will be
engaged during slowing down before
the curve, therefore when coming
out of the curve it will not be neces-
sary to shift gear to accelerate.
Sporty driving on mixed roads is
recognized by the control unit
because the accelerator pedal is
released rapidly; if this condition is
detected, the gear selected is main-
tained even if the accelerator has
been released, without shifting to
higher gears, in order to increase the
engine efficiency for the following
acceleration. The gear electronic control unit is
able to recognize hills as a result of
the torque signals coming from the
engine on the basis of the car speed,
therefore it is able to eliminate use-
less gear shifts when the accelerator
is released (e.g. before cornering)
and to use only those gears required
to improve the driving comfort.
Likely, the control unit is able to
recognize slopes and to prevent
shifting to higher gears when the
accelerator is released, in order to
use the “exhaust brake” at best to
the advantage of the braking system
and the car control.
IMPORTANTThe “exhaust brake”
function and shifting to a lower gear
during braking is not activated when
the ABS is operating.
A longer gear (5
th) can be used
when the car is driving for long dis-
tances with constant high speed, but
limited engine rpm, thus reducing
driving noise and fuel consumption.
That is why, when a higher car per-

185
Winter programme
When starting to drive with a
reduced road grip (snow-covered,
icy road, etc.), the shift control unit
automatically engage the “ICE” pro-
gramme.
This programme allows starting
with the 2
ndgear engaged, in order to
improve the gear shift efficiency
according to grip conditions.
“ICE” programme activation is
possible only when the gear lever is
at D. If the lever is in the sequential
gear sector, the gear engaged at the
moment of moving off is always that
selected by the driver.
When the “ICE” programme has
been activated, Kickdown is not
operating.Kick down
When maximum acceleration is
required (e.g. during overtaking), if
the accelerator is rapidly and fully
depressed, lower gears are automat-
ically engaged, provided the engine
rpm enable this operation.
Later, when the accelerator pedal
is released, the gear engaged is
selected according to the type of dri-
ving and the position of the acceler-
ator.
Kick-down can be engaged only
when the gear lever is at D.
IMPORTANTIt is suggested to use
Kick-down only when required, e.g.
during overtaking, to limit the fuel
consumption.
When the engine is run-
ning idle and the lever is
at D, the car starts moving
even if on a flat ground: keep the
brake pedal pressed until moving
off. formance is requested in terms of
acceleration and maximum speed,
this gear is almost never selected.
The electronic automatic gearbox
is fitted with a device reducing
inside gearing dragging when the car
is stationary and the brake pedal
depressed. The advantages of such a
function are a considerable noise
reduction, with consequent vibra-
tion reduction and limited fuel con-
sumption.

186
MANUAL SEQUENTIAL
OPERATION
To use the manual sequential oper-
ation move the lever to the two-posi-
tion left sector (fig. 137):
(+) = higher gear
(–) = lower gear.
Shifting to the manual sequential
sector is possible only from position
D: the gear automatically selected
when the lever is moved will remain
engaged.
It is possible to pass to the gear
manual sequential control in any
driving condition.
To engage a higher gear, move the
lever to (+) and to shift a lower gear
move the lever to (–).IMPORTANTIf gear shift gener-
ates a runaway speed rate, such gear
is cancelled by the electronic control
unit and the driver is warned by a
buzzer and by the engaged gear
flashing on the instrument panel dis-
play.
When the manual
sequential operation is
set, gears shall be shifted
manually, as for versions with the
traditional manual gearbox. Only
when the car stops the gear auto-
matically engaged is the first one.If the lever is brought back to Dthe
gearbox immediately starts to work
automatically and will be engaged
according to the type of driving
selected.
IMPORTANTThe electronic con-
trol unit is programmed to shift one
gear at a time, therefore rapid and
repeated actions do not correspond
to rapid and repeated gear engaging.
A higher or lower gear is engaged by
shifting the lever to position (+) or
(–) after the previous request has
been realized.
In case of failure of the manual
sequential system, the electronic
control unit will select the automatic
operation.

187
Even in fault conditions it is possi-
ble to move the lever to R, Nand D.
If the lever is in position D,the con-
trol unit of the automatic gearbox
will select only certain gears, accord-
ing to the type of failure detected.
In case of failure of the
automatic gearbox, take
the car immediately to a
Lancia Dealership to have the
failure eliminated.FAILURE INDICATION
Automatic gearbox faults are indi-
cated by multifunction display
warning light tcoming on with
the following messages:
– AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
OIL TEMP. HIGH
– AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
FAULT.
Automatic transmission oil tem-
perature high
This message is displayed when the
gearbox oil has reached the maxi-
mum preset temperature. In this
case the electronic control unit has
an emergency programme.
Anyway, it is suggested to stop the
car, to set the lever to Por Nand to
keep the engine running idle until
the message displayed disappears.
Then start driving again without
taxing the engine.If the message is displayed again,
re-stop the car and let the engine
run idle until the message disap-
pears.
If the interval between the first and
second message appearance is lower
than 15 minutes, stop the car, stop
the engine and wait until the engine-
gearbox unit is completely cold.
Automatic transmission fault
If this message is displayed during
driving, it means that there is a fail-
ure in the automatic gearbox. In this
case the electronic control unit has
an emergency programme.
In such conditions, stop the car and
stop the engine for at least 1 minute.
When the engine is restarted, the
self-diagnosis system could exclude
that failure, that however will be
stored by the electronic control unit.

188
If the failure is signalled when the
engine is started, it means that the
electronic control unit had stored it
previously, before stopping the
engine. Even in this case, go to a
Lancia Dealershipto have the
automatic gearbox checked.
When driving with auto-
matic gearbox faulty,
drive carefully consider-
ing the limited car efficiency in
terms of acceleration and speed.
In addition, when driving with
automatic gearbox faulty, the
reverse block might not be oper-
ating: for this reason it is
absolutely necessary to move the
lever to position R while the car
is moving.SOUND SIGNAL
A buzzer will sound in the follow-
ing conditions:
– for about 15 seconds when the
driver’s door is opened while the
engine is running or not and the gear
lever has a position different from P
– for about 15 seconds when the
engine is turned off and the gear
lever has a position different from P
– for about 4 seconds when the
gear lever is shifted to R(reverse)
– with the manual sequential oper-
ation on, when the selected gear is
not accepted by the electronic con-
trol unit (e.g. since it might generate
a runaway speed rate). BUMP STARTING
Never bump starting the engine (by
pushing, towing, etc.). In an emer-
gency, when the battery is flat, start
the engine with the appropriate
emergency battery according to the
instructions contained in chapter “In
an emergency”.

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.

190
If the sensors detect the conditions
which might cause car skidding, the
ESP system affects the engine and
the brakes by generating a torque
which makes the car recover the
right driving direction.
The system operations,
in terms of safety, should
not make the driver run
useless risks. The driving behav-
iour must always be appropriate,
according to the conditions of the
road bed, visibility and traffic.
Anyway, the driver is held
responsible for a safe driving.
The ESP system helps the driver
control the car in case of tyre grip
loss, however the forces used by
the system to control the car sta-
bility still depend on the grip
ratio between tyres and road bed.ESP SYSTEM OPERATION
ESP is automatically started when
the car is started and it cannot be
disengaged. On the contrary, it is
possible to exclude the ASR system
by pressing the related button on the
central console.
The ESP main components are the
following:
– an electric-hydraulic control unit
processing signals coming from the
various sensors and choosing the
most appropriate strategy by operat-
ing solenoid valves and the engine
control unit;
– a sensor detecting the steering
wheel rotation angle;
– 4 sensors detecting the rotation
speed of each wheel;
– a sensor detecting the car rota-
tion around a vertical axis;
– a sensor detecting side accelera-
tion (centrifugal force).The ESP core is a sensor, of aero-
nautic origin, detecting the car rota-
tions around its vertical axis.
Centrifugal forces generated when
the car is cornering are detected by a
high-sensitive side acceleration sen-
sor.
The ESP stabilizing action is based
on the signals coming from the steer-
ing wheel rotation sensors, from the
side acceleration sensors and the
wheel speed sensors, thus recogniz-
ing the driving direction selected by
the driver when turning the steering
wheel.
The control unit processes each
information coming from the sensors
and is able to recognize every single
moment of the car position and to
compare it with the direction the
driver is willing to follow. In case of
discrepancy, the control unit
instantly selects and controls the
most appropriate actions to make
the car recover the required direc-
tion: it brakes with a different inten-
sity one or more wheels and, if nec-
essary, reduces the power supplied
by the engine. Corrections are con-

191
To make ESP, ASR and
ABS systems work prop-
erly, the tyres must
absolutely be of the same brand
and type on all wheels, in perfect
conditions and, above all, of type,
brand and size specified. stantly changed and controlled in
the attempt to keep the driver’s
direction.
The ESP system considerably
increases the car safety in several
critical conditions and it is particu-
larly useful during overtaking, when
the grip conditions on the road bed
change.ASR FUNCTION (ANTISLIP
REGULATION)
General
The ASR function is part of the
ESP system and it checks the car
drive, taking action every time one
or both driving wheels slip, thus pre-
venting car instability and tyre wear.
On the basis of slipping conditions,
two different check systems are acti-
vated:
– if slipping affects both driving
wheels, as a result of the excessive
force transmitted, the ASR function
reduces the power supplied by the
engine;
– if slipping affects only one of the
driving wheels, the ASR function
automatically brakes the slipping
wheel, with an effect similar to the
self-locking differential.The action of the ASR function is
particularly useful in the following
conditions:
– internal wheel slipping when cor-
nering due to load dynamic varia-
tions and excessive acceleration;
– excessive power supplied to
wheels according to the road bed;
– acceleration on slippery ground,
covered with snow or ice;
– in case of grip loss on wet ground
(aquaplaning).
ASR function activation
The ASR function is activated
automatically whenever the engine
is started.
During driving it is possible to dis-
engage and engage this function by
pressing button A(fig. 142) on the
central console.
When the ASR function is on, sym-
bol Vis lighted on the multifunc-
tion display together with the mes-
sage “ASR ON”.