
Towing a trailer158
Towing a trailer
To w i n g a t r a i l e r
Technical requirements
The towing device must satisfy certain technical requirements.
Your vehicle is designed primarily for transporting persons and luggage. It can, however, also be used for towing a traile r - provided certain technical equipment is fitted.
If your vehicle has been eq uipped with a towing device from Škoda Original Acces- sories, then the towing device satisfies all technical and legal requirements.
Your vehicle is fitted with a 13-pin po wer socket for the electrical connection between the vehicle and trailer. If th e trailer which you wish to tow has a 7-pin connector , you can use a suitable adapter 5) from Škoda original accessories.
This work must be carried out in accordan ce with the manufacturer's specifications if a towing device is retrofitted.
Škoda Service Partners are familiar with de tails relating to retrofitting a towing device and for any necessary modi fications to the cooling system.
WARNING
We recommend that you have the towing device from Škoda original acces- sories installed by a Škoda Service Partner. He is familiar with all the relevant details relating to retrofitting such equi pment. There is a risk of an accident if the towing device is not properly fitted!
General Maintenance
There are a number of points to pay attention to when towing a
trailer.
Trailer load
The permissible trailer load must on no account be exceeded.
You can negotiate appr opriately steeper inclines and descents if you do not make full use of the perm issible trailer load.
The trailer loads specified only apply for altitudes up to 1 000 metres above mean sea level. The fact that the engine power ou tput drops with increasing height due to a lowering of air pressure and thus the abil ity to climb, means that the towed weight must be reduced by 10% for every further increase of 1 000 metres in height above sea level. The towed weight is the weight of the (laden) vehicle and the (laden) trailer together. One should take this into account before driving up to higher alti- tudes.
The trailer and drawbar load information on the type plate of the towing device are merely test data for the tow ing device The data relating to your vehicle, which is often less than this test data, can be found in your vehicle registration documents or in the brochure - Technical Data .
Distribution of the load
Distribute the load in the trailer in such a way that any heavy items are located as close as possible to the axle. Secure the items to prevent them slipping.
Tyre pressure
Correct the tyre inflation pressure on yo ur vehicle for that of “fully laden”, ⇒ page 186. The inflation pressure of the tyres fitted to the trailer adjust in accord- ance with the manufacturer's recommendation.
Exterior mirrors
You have to have additional exterior mirrors fitted if you are not able to see the traffic behind the trailer with the standard rear-view mirrors. Both exterior mirrors 5)In some countries the adapter is supplied with the towing device.
NKO A05F 20 MR08.book Page 158 Thursday, April 19, 2007 11:34 AM

Inspecting and Replenishing173
Using the systemSafetyDriving TipsGeneral MaintenanceBreakdown assistanceTechnical Data
– Grip the bonnet and lift it up.
– Take the bonnet support out of its holder and set it in the opening
designed for it ⇒page 172, fig. 146.
Closing the bonnet
– Lift the bonnet slightly and unhook the bonnet support. Press the
bonnet support into the hold er designed to hold it.
– Allow the bonnet to drop from a height of about 30 cm into the lock -
bonnet do not press down on it!
WARNING
•Never open the bonnet if you see that steam or coolant is flowing out of the engine compartment - risk of scaldi ng! Wait long enough until the steam or coolant has stopped escaping.
•For safety reasons, the bonnet must always be properly closed when driving. One should therefore check that the lock has in fact engaged prop- erly after closing the bonnet.
•Stop your vehicle immediately while driv ing if you notice that the lock is not properly engaged and close the bonne t properly - risk of an accident!
Caution
•Before opening the bonnet, ensure that the arms of the windscreen wipers are correctly in place against the windscreen. Otherwise, there is a risk of damage to the paintwork.
Working in the engine compartment
Particular care is required when carrying out any work in the engine
compartment!
There is a risk of injuries, scalding, accidents and fire when working in the engine compartment, e.g. inspecting and replenishing oil and other fluids. For
this reason, it is essential to comply with the warning instructions stated below and with the general applicable rules of safety. The engine compart- ment of your car is a hazardous area ⇒.
WARNING
•Never open the bonnet if you see that steam or coolant is flowing out of the engine compartment - risk of scaldi ng! Wait long enough until the steam or coolant has stopped escaping.
•Switch off the engine and pull out the ignition key.
•Apply the handbrake firmly.
•If your vehicle is fitted with a ma nual gearbox, move the gearshift lever into Neutral, or if it is fitted with automatic gearbox, move the selector lever into position P.
•Allow the engine to cool down.
•Keep children clear of the engine compartment.
•Do not touch any hot engine parts - risk of burns!
•Never spill oil and other fluids over the hot engine. Such fluids (e.g. the antifreeze contained in the coolant) may ignite!
•Avoid short circuits in the electrical system - particularly on the battery.
•Never place your hand into the radiator fan as long as the engine is still warm. The fan might suddenly start running!
•Never open the cap of the coolant expa nsion bottle as long as the engine is still warm. The cooling system is pressurized!
•Cover over the cap of the coolant expansion reservoir with a large cloth when opening it as protection for your face, hands and arms from hot steam or hot coolant.
•Do not let objects, such as e.g cleaning cloth or tools lie in the engine compartment.
•If you wish to work under the vehicle, you must secure the vehicle from rolling away and support it with suitable supporting blocks: the car jack is not sufficient for this - risk of injury!
•In cases where it be necessary to carry out inspection work when the engine is running there is an additional risk from rotating parts (e.g. the V-
NKO A05F 20 MR08.book Page 173 Thursday, April 19, 2007 11:34 AM

Wheels and Tyres188
Changing wheels around
If significantly greater wear is present on the front tyres, we recommend changing the front wheels around with the rear wheels. You will then obtain approximately the same life for all the tyres.
It may be advantageous to swap the tyre s over “crosswise” when certain types of wear characteristic ar ise on the running surface of the tyres (but not in the case of unidirectional tyres). Škoda Service Pa rtners can provide you with details.
We recommend that you change the wheels around every 10 000 km in order to achieve even wear on all wheels and to obtain optimal tyre life.
New tyres and wheels
Tyres and wheel rims are important design elements. One should therefore use the tyres and wheel rims which have been re leased for use by Škoda Auto. They are exactly matched to the vehicle type and th erefore contribute significantly to good road holding and safe driving characteristics ⇒.
Only fit radial tyres of the same type on all 4 wheels, size (rolling circumference) and, if possible, the same tread pattern on one axle.
Škoda Service Partners have access to the most current information about which tyres we have released for use on your vehicle.
We recommend that you have any work rela ting to tyres or wheels carried out by your Škoda Service Partner. Your dealer has all of the necessary special tools and replacement parts available plus the required specialist knowledge and is also in a position to properly dispose of the old tyres. A large number of Škoda Service Part- ners also have an attractive range of tyres and wheels available.
The tyre/wheel combinations which are appr oved for your vehicle are indicated in your vehicle documents. Approval and lice nsing may differ according to the legis- lation prevailing in individual countries.
Proper knowledge of the tyre data makes it easier for you to select the correct type of tyre. Tyres do, for example, have the following inscription on their walls:
185 / 65 R 14 86 T
What this means is:
The following speed restrictions apply to tyres:
The date of manufacture is also stated on the tyre wall (possibly only on the inside of wheel):
DOT ... 05 07...
means, for example, that the tyre was manufactured in the 40th week of the year 2007.
Any spare wheel which differs from the tyres fitted to the vehicle (e.g. winter tyres or low-profile tyres) should only be used only for a short time in the event of a puncture and when adopting an appropriately cautious style of driving. It should be replaced as quickly as possible by a normal wheel.
185Ty re w i d t h i n m m
65Height/width ratio in %
RCode letter for the type of tyre - R adial
14Diameter of wheel in inches
86Load index
TSpeed symbol
Speed symbolPermissible maximum speed
Q160 km/h
R170 km/h
S180 km/h
T190 km/h
H210 km/h
V240 km/h
W270 km/h
NKO A05F 20 MR08.book Page 188 Thursday, April 19, 2007 11:34 AM

Technical Data217
Using the systemSafetyDriving TipsGeneral MaintenanceBreakdown assistanceTechnical Data
Dimensions
Dimensions (mm)
Length3992
Width1642
Width including exterior mirror1886
Height1498/1513a)
a)The value is valid for vehicles with rough road package.
Wheel base2462
Tr a c k g a u g e f r o n t / r e a r1436/1426
NKO A05F 20 MR08.book Page 217 Thursday, April 19, 2007 11:34 AM

Index237
Recirculated air mode
Air conditioning system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Heating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Refuelling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
Remote control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Synchronisation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Replacing bulbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
Replacing fuses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205
Replacing the wiper blades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Roof aerial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
Running in the car . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
S
Safe securing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Safety information
Engine compartment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
Saving electrical energy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
Seat belt height adjuster . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Seat belt warning light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Seat belts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
Cleaning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
fastening . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Height adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Safety information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
taking off . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
Warning light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Heating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Selector lever . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Selector lever positions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Service Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Service Interval Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Setting temperature
Air conditioning system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Heating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Setting the clock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Shifting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Side airbag . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
Side lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Snow chains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
Spare wheel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194
Stability programme (ESP) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
Starting the engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Diesel engines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Petrol engines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Steering force assistance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
Storage compartment
Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Storage compartments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Storage facilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Sun visors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Switch in the driver door
Power windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Switching lights on and off . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Switching off the engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
T
Tailgate
Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Taking care of your vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
TCS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
Warning light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Telephone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
Temperature
outside . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
the first 1 500 kilometres . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
The roof luggage rack system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Thickness of brake pads
Warning light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Tilting roof . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Tiptronic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194
Towing a trailer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
Towing eye
front . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
rear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
Towing protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
towing vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
Tow-starting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
Tow-starting and towing vehicle
Automatic gearbox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Traction control system (TCS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
Warning light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Trailer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
General Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
Transporting children safely . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
Tread depth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
Turn signal light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211
Turn signal lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Warning light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Turn signal system for vehicles towing a trailer
Warning light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
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