90
The dust/pollen filter should be checked
over at least once a year by Alfa Romeo
Authorized Services, preferably at the be-
ginning of summer.
If the vehicle is habitually driven in pol-
luted areas or on dusty roads the system
should be checked and if necessary
changed more often.If the filter is not re-
placed the efficiency of
the climate control sys-
tem may be seriously compro-
mised.ACTIVATED CARBON
DUST/POLLEN AIR FILTER
The filter has the specific capability to
combine the mechanical air filtering func-
tion with an electrostatic effect so that
the outside air admitted to the passenger
compartment is purified and free of parti-
cles such as dust, pollen etc.
In addition to the above-mentioned
function there is also an effective reduc-
tion of the concentration of pollutants
owing to a layer of activated carbons on
the lower surface of the filter.
The filtering action takes place when air
is admitted from outside (recirculation
off) and when the air is recirculated (re-
circulation on).
148ECONOMY AND
ENVIRONMENT-
FRIENDLY DRIVING
How you use and how you drive your
vehicle directly influence fuel consump-
tion and environmental impact.
By following a few simple guidelines
and without incising on the “liveliness”
of the vehicle, it is possible to avoid dam-
aging the environment and often, at the
same time, to limit fuel consumption.
The following helpful suggestions will al-
low you to save in running costs and re-
duce harmful emissions.
GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS
Vehicle maintenance
The conditions of the vehicle are an im-
portant factor which affects fuel consump-
tion as well as driving tranquillity and the
life of the car itself. For this reason, care
should be given to maintenance, having
the checks and adjustments given in the
scheduled maintenance programme car-
ried out (see ... spark plugs, idle speed,
air/fuel oil filter, timing).
Tyres
Check the tyre pressure at least every 4
weeks: if the pressure is too low, consump-
tion increases as resistance to rolling is
higher. It should also be underlined that in
these conditions, tyre wear increases re-
sulting in poor handling and lower safety. Drive at a moderate
speed when snow chains
have been fitted to the
wheels. Avoid potholes, steps and
pavements, and do not drive for
long stretches on snow-free roads,
otherwise you risk damaging the
tyres, suspension and steering.
Snow chains can be fit-
ted only on wheels with
6.5J x 16” rims and
215/55 R16 tyres or 7.5J x 17”
rims and 225/45 R17 tyres.
(*) Pour versions/marchè lorsqu’il
est prèvu pneus 205/55 R16.
155 VEHICLE INACTIVITY
If the vehicle is to be left inactive for
long periods the following precautions
should be noted:
– House the vehicle under a cover in a
dry and possibly ventilated place.
– Engage a gear.
– Release the handbrake.
– Clean and protect the paintwork by
applying silicon wax.
– Cover the rubber windscreen wiper
blades with talcum powder and raise
them off the glass.
– Open the windows slightly.
– Cover the vehicle with a cloth or per-
forated plastic cover. Do not use compact
plastic covers which prevent the humidity
on the surface of the vehicle from evapo-
rating.
– Inflate the tyres to a pressure of 0.5
bars above normal. If possible rest the
tyres on wooden planks and periodically
check the pressure.– Switch off the alarm system (if fit-
ted) with the remote control, then deacti-
vate it with the emergency key.
– Disconnect the terminals from the
battery poles (negative pole first) and
check the battery charge. When the vehi-
cle is in storage, this check should be car-
ried out once a month. If the no-load volt-
age is less than 12.5V, recharge the bat-
tery.
REMOVING FROM STORAGE
Before using your vehicle after a long
period of inactivity the following opera-
tions should first be carried out:
– Do not dust the outside of the vehi-
cle.
– Visually check that there are no
leaks (oil, brake and clutch fluid, engine
coolant etc.).
– Replace the engine oil and filter.
– Check:
Gearbox-differential oil level
Brake-clutch fluid level
Level of engine coolant fluid.– Check the air cleaner and replace if
necessary.
– Check tyre pressure and ensure that
they are not damaged, cracked or cut. If
they are they must be replaced.
– Check the state of the drive belts in
the engine bay.
– Connect the cables of the battery af-
ter checking that the charge is adequate.
– Re-activate the alarm system, if fit-
ted, using the emergency key.
– With the gear lever in neutral start
the engine and allow the engine to run
for a few seconds whilst repeatedly
pumping the clutch pedal.
201
The best way to preserve the performance and safety characteris-
tics of your vehicle is to have it periodically inspected and main-
tained.
It may often be necessary to perform the maintenance op-
erations marked with the symbol illustrated previously in order to
avoid invalidation of the warranty cover.
The following pages contain the Programmed Maintenance Sched-
ule and describe the most common checks and inspections which
are fundamental to a correct maintenance schedule.
These operations should be carried out at the intervals indicated in
the Programmed Maintenance Schedule.PROGRAMMED MAINTENANCE..............................................................page 202
PROGRAMMED MAINTENANCE SCHEDULE
....................................................204
ANNUAL INSPECTION PLAN
..............................................................................206
CHECKING LEVELS
................................................................................................209
AIR CLEANER
...........................................................................................................218
DIESEL FILTER
.........................................................................................................219
DUST/POLLEN FILTER
...........................................................................................219
BATTERY
....................................................................................................................219
ELECTRONIC CONTROL UNITS
............................................................................223
SPARK PLUGS
..........................................................................................................224
WINDSCREEN WIPER BLADES
............................................................................224
SPRAY JETS
..............................................................................................................225
BODYWORK
.............................................................................................................225
INTERIOR FITTINGS
...............................................................................................228
CAR MAINTENANCE
205
thousands of kilometres 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180
Change fuel filter (diesel versions)•••••••••
Change air cleaner cartridge (petrol versions)••••
Change air cleaner cartridge (diesel versions)•••••••••
Check and top up, if required, fluid levels (brakes/hydraulic clutch, power steering,
windscreen washer, battery, engine coolant, etc.)•••••••••
Replacement of timing gear drive belt (*) and Poly-V accessory drive belt•
Replacement of spark plugs (petrol versions)•
Check operation of engine control systems (through diagnostics socket)••••
Check manual gearbox and differential oil level (petrol versions)••
Change engine oil and oil filter •••••••••
Change brake fluid (or every 24 months)•••
Check dust/pollen filter•••••••••
(*)Or every 4 years in harsh conditions (cold climates, stop and go city traffic).
Or every 5 years, regardless of the mileage.
206 ANNUAL INSPECTION
PLAN
An annual inspection plan has
been established for cars that cov-
er less than 20,000 km a year
(e.g. 10,000 km). It consists of
the following:
– Checking the condition/wear of tyres,
and adjusting pressure (including the com-
pact spare wheel, where applicable).
– Checking the lighting system (head-
lights, turn indicators, hazard warning
lights, boot light, passenger compart-
ment, warning lights of instrument panel,
etc.).
– Checking the working order of the
windscreen wiper-washer and adjusting
the nozzles.
– Checking the positioning/wear of the
windscreen wipers.
– Checking the condition and wear of
the front brake pad.– Sight inspect the conditions of: en-
gine, gearbox, transmission, pipes and
hoses (exhaust - fuel - brakes), rubber
parts (boots, sleeves, bushes, etc.).
– Check for bonnet and boot lock clean-
ness, lever cleanness and lubrication.
– Check battery charge and fluid level
(electrolyte).
– Visually checking the condition of the
belts and various controls.
– Checking and topping up, if neces-
sary, the level of liquids (coolant, brake
fluid, windscreen washer fluid, battery
etc.).
– Change engine oil and oil filter, if re-
quired.
– Check and replace pollen filter, if re-
quired.
– Check and replace air cleaner, if re-
quired.
ADDITIONAL OPERATIONS
Every 1000 kmor before long jour-
neys check and if necessary top up:
– the engine coolant fluid level
– brake fluid/hydraulic clutch control
fluid level
– power steering fluid level
– windscreen washer and headlamp
washer fluid level
– tyre pressure and conditions.
– check light system operation (head-
lights, direction indicators, hazard lights,
etc.).
– check windscreen wiper/washer op-
eration and windscreen/rear window
blade position/wear.
Every 3000 kmcheck the level of
the engine oil and top up if necessary.
Every 5000 km(only for fuel oil en-
gines): drain the condensation water
from the filter. You are recommended to
use products of the FL Selenia, de-
signed and developed expressly for Alfa
Romeo cars (see the table “Fluids and lu-
bricants” in the Technical specifications”
chapter).
207
IMPORTANT - Engine oil
Change the engine oil more frequently
than stated in the Scheduled Mainte-
nance Programme if the car is used pre-
vailingly in one of the following particular-
ly harsh conditions:
– trailer or caravan towing
– dusty roads
– short, repeated journeys (less than 7-
8 km) with an outside temperature of be-
low freezing point.
– engine idling frequently or driving
long distances at low speed (e.g. taxi or
door-to-door deliveries) or in the case of
prolonged inactivity.
IMPORTANT - Air cleaner
Using the car on dusty roads, change
the air cleaner more frequently than stat-
ed in the Scheduled Maintenance Pro-
gramme.
For any doubts about the intervals be-
tween engine oil and air cleaner changes
in relation to how the car is used, contact
Authorised Alfa Romeo Services.IMPORTANT - Fuel oil filter
The variety of the degree of purity of
the fuel oil in commerce may make it
necessary to change the fuel oil filter
more frequently than stated in the Sched-
uled Maintenance Programme. If the en-
gine is “sobbing” it is a sign that the fil-
ter needs changing.
IMPORTANT - Pollen filter
If the car is used frequently in dusty or
heavily polluted environments, you are
recommended to change the activated
carbon filtering element more frequently;
in particular, it should be changed if a
lower flow of air admitted to the passen-
ger compartment is noted.IMPORTANT - Batteries
You are recommended to have the bat-
tery charge conditions checked, prefer-
ably at the onset of winter, to avoid the
possibility of freezing the electrolyte.
This check should be carried out more
frequently if the car is used prevailingly
for short journeys, or if it is fitted with
services that absorb high amounts of cur-
rent permanently with the ignition key
off, especially if installed in the after mar-
ket.
In the case of use of the car in hot cli-
mates or particularly harsh conditions, it
is wise to check the level of the battery
fluid (electrolyte) at more frequent inter-
vals than stated in the Scheduled Mainte-
nance Programme.
IMPORTANT - Remote control
If when pressing the remote control but-
ton of the key, the operating led on the
key flashes briefly only once, the battery
need replacing with other of the same
type.
When the cap (B) is
screwed off the reser-
voir ensure that the
electrical connections are not dis-
connected. Make sure that the
highly corrosive brake fluid
does not drip onto the paint-
work. If it does, wash it off
immediately with water.
IMPORTANT Contact Alfa Romeo Au-
thorized Services for maintenance and re-
pair operations.Oil consumption is very
low; if topping up again
is needed shortly after-
wards, have the system checked
for possible leaks by Alfa Romeo
Authorized services.
CHECKING AND TOPPING UP
THE BRAKE AND CLUTCH
FLUID
(fig. 11)
Check that the fluid level in the reservoir
is at maximum. Top up with the brake flu-
id specified in the table “Fluids and lubri-
cants” (see section “Technical Specifica-
tions ").
NOTEClean accurately the tank cap A
and the surrounding surface. When open-
ing the cap take the utmost care to pre-
vent impurities entering the tank. When
topping up, always use a funnel with
built-in filter with mesh equal to or lower
than 0.12 mm. On JTD 20V Multijet versions insert the
tube on the cap and refit the cover fasten-
ing with the three screws.
Do not allow power
steering fluid to touch hot
engine parts: it is inflammable.
WARNING
A0D0102m
fig. 11
216
IMPORTANTFor this operation it is
however recommended to contact Alfa
Romeo Authorised Services.
From time to time check the instrument
panel warning light by pressing cover (B)
of the reservoir (A) (with the ignition
key at MAR) the instrument warning
panel light
xshould come on.