PARKING THE CAR
Proceed as follows:
❒Stop the engine and engage the hand-
brake;
❒Engage a gear (on a slope, engage first
gear if the car is faced uphill or reverse
if it is faced downhill; position P with
automatic transmission) and leave the
wheels steered.
Block the wheels with a wedge or a stone
if the car is parked on a steep slope. Do
not leave the key in the ignition switch to
prevent draining the battery. Always re-
move the key when you leave the car.
Never leave children unattended in the
car. Always remove the ignition key when
leaving the car and take it out with you.HANDBRAKE fig. 3
The handbrake lever is located between
the two front seats.
Pull the handbrake lever upwards until the
car cannot be moved. Four or five clicks
are generally enough when the car is on
level ground while nine or ten may be re-
quired if the car is on a steep slope or
laden.
IMPORTANT If this is not the case, con-
tact Fiat Dealership to have the handbrake
adjusted.
When the handbrake lever is pulled up
and the ignition key is at ONthe instru-
ment panel warning light
xwill come on. IMPORTANT If after turning the engine
off with the car stopped, it is not possi-
ble to remove the key from the ignition
switch, try to turn it to ONand then to
OFF. If the problem persists, remove the
emergency key without forcing and fit it
into the proper slot A-fig. 2in the igni-
tion switch; now it will be possible to turn
the key to OFFand remove it. Contact
Fiat Dealership.
WARNING If you turn the electronic key
to OFFposition, external lights and elec-
tronic safety systems are turned off.
131
WARNING
LIGHTS AND
MESSAGES
IN AN
EMERGENCY
CAR
MAINTENANCE
TECHNICAL
SPECIFICATIONS
INDEX
DASHBOARD
AND CONTROLS
SAFETY
DEVICES
CORRECT USE
OF THE CAR
fig. 2FF0L0207mfig. 3F0L0373m
127-144 Croma TRW GB 28-05-2008 16:32 Pagina 131
MANUAL
TRANSMISSION
To engage the gears, press the clutch ped-
al fully and shift the gear lever into one of
the required positions (the diagram is
shown on the knob).
IMPORTANT The car can only be put in-
to reverse gear when it has stopped mov-
ing completely. With the engine running,
before engaging the reverse, wait at least
2 seconds with the clutch pedal fully down
to prevent damage and grating of the
gears.
To engage reverse (R) from neutral pro-
ceed as follows:
Petrol versions fig. 4
❒shift the lever to the right and then
back;
Multijet versions fig. 5
❒lift the sliding ring Aunder the knob
and shift the lever straight to the left
and then forward. To release the handbrake:
❒slightly lift the handbrake and press re-
lease button A;
❒keep button Apressed and lower the
lever. Warning light xwill turn off.
Press the brake pedal when carrying out
this operation to prevent the car from
moving accidentally.
132
WARNING
LIGHTS AND
MESSAGES
IN AN
EMERGENCY
CAR
MAINTENANCE
TECHNICAL
SPECIFICATIONS
INDEX
DASHBOARD
AND CONTROLS
SAFETY
DEVICES
CORRECT USE
OF THE CAR
fig. 4FF0L0146m
fig. 5F0L0200m
127-144 Croma TRW GB 28-05-2008 16:32 Pagina 132
ELECTRONIC
AUTOMATIC
TRANSMISSION
The car may be fitted with 5-speed (petrol
versions) or 6-speed (Multijet versions)
automatic transmission with electronic
control. Gears are shifted automatically
according to instant car parameters of use
(speed and accelerator pedal position).
Gears can however be shifted manually us-
ing transmission in sequential mode.
IMPORTANT Read carefully the follow-
ing points to learn how to use the elec-
tronic automatic transmission right from
the start.GEAR LEVER fig. 6
PParking
RReverse
NIdle
DDrive, automatic forward gear
+To upshift in sequential mode
–To downshift in sequential mode
133
WARNING
LIGHTS AND
MESSAGES
IN AN
EMERGENCY
CAR
MAINTENANCE
TECHNICAL
SPECIFICATIONS
INDEX
DASHBOARD
AND CONTROLS
SAFETY
DEVICES
CORRECT USE
OF THE CAR
To change gears properly
you must push the clutch
pedal fully down. It is therefore es-
sential that there is nothing under the
pedals: make sure mats are lying flat
and do not get in the way of the ped-
als.
WARNING
Do not drive with your hand
resting on the gear lever as the
force exerted, even if slight,
could lead over time to pre-
mature wear on the gearbox internal
components.
IMPORTANT The clutch pedal must be
used for gear shift only. Never drive with
the foot resting, even if slightly, on the
clutch pedal. For versions / markets where
applicable, the clutch pedal control elec-
tronics can intervene interpreting the
wrong drive style as a fault
fig. 6FF0L0315m
127-144 Croma TRW GB 28-05-2008 16:32 Pagina 133
Proceed as follows:
❒Set gear lever to N and press the
brake pedal
❒Restart the engine by turning the key
to STARTand set the gear lever to
D.IMPORTANT: Take the utmost care in
the following conditions: handbrake and
brake pedal released with engine idling and
gear lever at D, R or sequential since the
car can move also without pressing the ac-
celerator pedal.
The above condition can be used for park-
ing in narrow spaces, taking care to op-
erate the brake pedal only. ENGINE STARTING
❒Handbrake engaged and gear lever at
P or N: engine can be only started with
the gear lever in one of these posi-
tions.
❒With lever at P press the brake pedal
and turn the ignition key to START
without pressing the accelerator ped-
al.
❒With lever at N press the brake ped-
al and turn the ignition key to START
without pressing the accelerator ped-
al.
If the engine fails to start at first attempt,
turn the key to OFFbefore trying to
restart.
IMPORTANT With engine off, never leave
the ignition key at ONto prevent drain-
ing the battery.
IMPORTANT: if when travelling
with gear lever at D or in sequential
mode you turn inadvertently the key
to OFF the engine will turn off and
transmission will fail.
135
WARNING
LIGHTS AND
MESSAGES
IN AN
EMERGENCY
CAR
MAINTENANCE
TECHNICAL
SPECIFICATIONS
INDEX
DASHBOARD
AND CONTROLS
SAFETY
DEVICES
CORRECT USE
OF THE CARRunning the engine in con-
fined areas is extremely dan-
gerous. The engine consumes oxygen
and produces carbon monoxide
which is a highly toxic and lethal gas.
WARNING
MOVING OFF
Proceed as follows:
❒at P position, press the brake pedal;
❒press the gear lever button and move
the gear lever to the required position
(D or R);
❒accelerate gradually; the car moves off
and gearshifting will be automatic.
Never leave children unat-
tended in the car.
WARNING
Shifting from P, with ignition
key at ON, is only possible
with brake pedal pressed.
127-144 Croma TRW GB 28-05-2008 16:32 Pagina 135
When stopping the car with a gear high-
er than 1st gear, transmission will set au-
tomatically at 1st gear.
When stopping the car under poor grip
conditions (snow, ice), at next starting the
transmission control unit could engage a
gear higher than 1st gear to prevent wheel
slipping. This shall not be considered as a
fault
IMPORTANT: in the event of excessive
oil temperatures (see section “Warning
lights and messages”), the electronic con-
trol intervenes excluding sequential mode
and activating automatic mode in order to
safeguard transmission life. Sequential
mode will be resumed as soon as regular
operating temperatures are restored.AUTOMATIC MODE
D can be selected from sequential mode
under whatever driving condition.
When passing from sequential mode to D,
the gear to engage is selected by trans-
mission control unit according to engine
rpm and speed (accelerator pedal posi-
tion).
Low engine power demand will result in
long gears engagement and reduced fuel
consumption. Increasing speed by press-
ing the accelerator will automatically en-
gage short gears that will result in im-
proved performance as to pickup and ac-
celeration: in this case fuel consumption
will increase.
For speedy pickup:
❒press the accelerator pedal flat-out,
the kick-down device will cut in to ob-
tain max. performance in terms of
pickup and acceleration. In this case fu-
el consumption will obviously increase.
IMPORTANT When driving under poor
grip conditions (snow, ice, etc.) avoid to
engage the kick-down device. SEQUENTIAL MODE
In sequential mode, the electronic auto-
matic transmission works like a fixed gear
sequential gearbox.
From position D move the gear lever left-
wards:
❒move gear lever to +: to upshift;
❒move gear lever to –: to downshift.
Gears are displayed by digits on the in-
strument panel. Non-stop monitoring car-
ried out by transmission control unit ex-
cludes whatever possibility of error.
Downshifting (or upshifting) is only pos-
sible if engine rpm enables it.
In sequential mode, electronic transmis-
sion control can however intervene in self-
adapting mode by shifting gears automat-
ically when engine rpm exceeds or falls be-
low the admitted rpm limit.
136
WARNING
LIGHTS AND
MESSAGES
IN AN
EMERGENCY
CAR
MAINTENANCE
TECHNICAL
SPECIFICATIONS
INDEX
DASHBOARD
AND CONTROLS
SAFETY
DEVICES
CORRECT USE
OF THE CAR
127-144 Croma TRW GB 28-05-2008 16:32 Pagina 136
❒clean and protect the painted parts us-
ing protective wax;
❒clean and protect the shiny metal parts
using special compounds readily avail-
able;
❒sprinkle talcum powder on the rubber
windscreen and rear window wiper
blades and lift them off the glass;
❒slightly open the windows;
❒cover the car with a cloth or perfo-
rated plastic sheet. Do not use sheets
of non-perforated plastic as they do
not allow moisture on the car body to
evaporate;
❒inflate tyres to +0,5 bar above the
normal specified pressure and check it
at intervals;
❒when the battery is not disconnected
from the electric system, if the vehicle
is equipped with a battery with an op-
tical indicator, control its charge sta-
tus every 30 days and if the optical in-
dicator shows a dark colour without
the central green zone, recharge it;
❒do not drain the engine cooling sys-
tem.
IMPORTANT Where relevant, switch off
the car alarm with the remote control.
CAR INACTIVITY
If the car is to be left inactive for longer
than a month, the following precautions
should be noted:
❒park the car in covered, dry and if pos-
sible well-ventilated premises;
❒engage a gear (position P with auto-
matic transmission);
❒check that the handbrake is not en-
gaged;
❒disconnect battery terminals (first dis-
connect the negative terminal);
❒if the vehicle is equipped with a bat-
tery with an optical indicator, control
its charge status. This check is to be
repeated every three months when
the car is left inactive. Recharge if the
optical indicator shows a dark colour
without the central green area;
144
WARNING
LIGHTS AND
MESSAGES
IN AN
EMERGENCY
CAR
MAINTENANCE
TECHNICAL
SPECIFICATIONS
INDEX
DASHBOARD
AND CONTROLS
SAFETY
DEVICES
CORRECT USE
OF THE CAR
127-144 Croma TRW GB 28-05-2008 16:33 Pagina 144
145
IN AN
EMERGENCY
CAR
MAINTENANCE
TECHNICAL
SPECIFICATIONS
INDEX
DASHBOARD
AND CONTROLS
SAFETY
DEVICES
CORRECT USE
OF THE CAR
WARNING
LIGHTS AND
MESSAGES
GENERAL WARNINGS ...................................................... 146
INSUFFICIENT BRAKE LIQUID ....................................... 146
HAND BRAKE ENGAGED ............................................... 146
AIR BAG FAILURE................................................................ 146
PASSENGER SIDE FRONT AND SIDE CHEST
PROTECTION AIR BAGS (SIDE BAGS) OFF ............... 147
SEAT BELTS NOT FASTENED ......................................... 147
EXCESSIVE ENGINE COOLANT TEMPERATURE ..... 148
INSUFFICIENT BATTERY RECHARGING .................... 148
ABS SYSTEM FAILURE ........................................................ 148
EBD FAILURE......................................................................... 148
INSUFFICIENT ENGINE OIL PRESSURE........................ 149
DEGRADED OIL................................................................... 149
POWER STEERING FAILURE ........................................... 149
INCOMPLETE DOOR CLOSURE .................................... 149
INJECTION SYSTEM FAILURE ......................................... 149
ENGINE CONTROL SYSTEM FAILURE (EOBD) ........ 149
FUEL RESERVE ..................................................................... 150
SPARK PLUG PREHEATING ............................................. 150
SPARK PLUG PREHEATING FAILURE ........................... 150
WATER IN DIESEL FILTER ................................................ 151
FIAT CODE - VEHICLE PROTECTION
SYSTEM FAILURE ................................................................ 151
ALARM FAILURE .................................................................. 151
BREAK-IN ATTEMPT .......................................................... 151
ELECTRONIC KEY NOT RECOGNISED ..................... 151
EXTERIOR LIGHT FAILURE .............................................. 152
REAR FOG LIGHTS ............................................................. 152GENERIC SIGNALLING ..................................................... 152
ESP SYSTEM FAILURE ......................................................... 154
HILL HOLDER FAILURE .................................................... 154
POSITION LIGHTS AND LOW BEAMS ........................ 154
FOLLOW ME HOME ........................................................... 154
FOG LIGHTS ......................................................................... 154
LEFT TURN SIGNAL ........................................................... 154
RIGHT TURN SIGNAL ....................................................... 154
HIGH BEAMS ......................................................................... 155
POSSIBILITY OF ICE ON ROADS ................................... 155
LIMITED RANGE .................................................................. 155
ASR SYSTEM .......................................................................... 155
AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION FAILURE ..................... 155
MAXIMUM AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION OIL
TEMPERATURE .................................................................... 155
SET SPEED LIMIT EXCEEDANCE .................................... 156
CONSTANT SPEED REGULATOR
(CRUISE CONTROL) .......................................................... 156
BRAKE PAD WEAR ............................................................. 156
MINIMUM ENGINE OIL LEVEL ....................................... 156
REAR SIDE CHEST PROTECTION AIR BAGS
(REAR SIDE BAGS) OFF ..................................................... 156
TURNING OFF A MOVING VEHICLE ........................... 156
STARTING PROCEDURE DISPLAY INFORMATION
MESSAGES (AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION)............... 156
STARTING PROCEDURE DISPLAY INFORMATION
MESSAGES (MANUAL TRANSMISSION) ...................... 156
WW W
A A
R R
N N
I I
N N
G G
L L
I I
G G
H H
T T
S S
A A
N N
D D
M M
E E
S S
S S
A A
G G
E E E
S S
145-156 Croma TRW GB 28-05-2008 15:18 Pagina 145
HIGH GEARBOX OIL
TEMPERATURE
The warning light comes on
(together with the message o the
display and the warning buzzer) glowing
steadily to indicate that the temperature
of the automatic transmission oil is too
high.Contact immediately Fiat
Dealership in case of trans-
mission failure to have the
system checked.AUTOMATIC
TRANSMISSION
FAILURE
Turning the ignition key to ON,
the warning light on the dial shall turn on
and then go off after a few seconds.
The warning light (together with the mes-
sage o the display and the warning buzzer)
flashes to indicate a transmission failure.
155
IN AN
EMERGENCY
CAR
MAINTENANCE
TECHNICAL
SPECIFICATIONS
INDEX
DASHBOARD
AND CONTROLS
SAFETY
DEVICES
CORRECT USE
OF THE CAR
WARNING
LIGHTS AND
MESSAGES
MAIN BEAMS (blue)
The warning light turns on
when the main beams are
turned on.
1
LIMITED RANGE
(versions with reconfigurable
multifunction display)
The display will show the dedicated mes-
sage to warn the driver that the cruising
range is less than 50 km.
ASR SYSTEM (versions with recon-
figurable multifunction display)
The ASR system can be turned off by
pressing the button ASR OFF.
The display will show the dedicated mes-
sage to warn the driver that the system
is off; at the same time the button led will
turn on.
Pressing again button ASR OFFwill turn
off the button led and the display will show
the dedicated message to warn the dri-
ver that the system is active again. POSSIBLE PRESENCE OF ICE
ON THE ROAD
(versions with reconfigurable
multifunction display)
This indication starts flashing when the
outside temperature reaches or falls be-
low 3°C to warn the driver of the possi-
ble presence of ice on the road.
The display will show the dedicated mes-
sage.
t
t
145-156 Croma TRW GB 28-05-2008 15:18 Pagina 155