Page 96 of 222

95GETTING TO KNOW YOUR VEHICLE
Pretensioners, front airbags and side
airbags are triggered by the electron-
ic control unit according to different
types of impacts. Missed triggering of
the system, consequently, does not in-
dicate a fault in the system.
If when turning the key
to MAR the warning light
¬does not turn on or if it
stays on when travelling there
could be a failure in safety sys-
tems; in this event air bags or
pretensioners could not trigger in
case of impact or, in a minor
number of cases, they could trig-
ger accidentally. Contact Fiat
Dealership immediately to have
the system checked.When the passenger’s
front airbag is active (pas-
senger front airbag deac-
tivation switch at ON), the
F
warning light will come on for ap-
proximately four seconds and
flash for other four seconds when
the ignition key is turned to MAR
to remind the driver than the
passenger’s front and side airbags
(where fitted) will be fired in the
event of a crash. The warning
light should go out immediately
afterwards.
If an attempt has been
made to steal the vehicle,
or if it has actually been
stolen or has been vandalised in
any way or subjected to flooding,
have the airbag system checked
over at a Fiat Dealership.The front air bag is trig-
gered for shocks greater
in magnitude that the
pretensioners. For impacts be-
tween these two thresholds, it is
therefore normal that only the
pretensioners are triggered.
Do not apply stickers or
other objects to the
steering wheel or to the
dashboard on the passenger’s
side. Do not travel with objects
on your lap or in front of you nor
with a pipe, pencil or similar be-
tween your lips; you could seri-
ously hurt yourself if the airbag
inflates in a collision.
001-105 Doblo GB 16-12-2008 14:22 Pagina 95
Page 109 of 222

108DRIVING YOUR VEHICLE
IMPORTANTAfter a taxing drive
you should allow the engine to “catch
its breath” before turning it off by let-
ting it idle to allow the temperature in
the engine compartment to fall.
PARKING
Switch off the engine, pull up the
handbrake and engage a gear (1st gear
or reverse, according to whether the
vehicle is facing up or downhill) and
leave the wheels turned. If the vehi-
cle is left on a steep slope, wedges or
a rock should be used to lock the
wheels.
Do not leave the ignition key at
MARto prevent draining the battery.
Always remove the key when you
leave the vehicle.HANDBRAKE
The handbrake lever is located be-
tween the two front seats.
Pull the handbrake lever upwards un-
til the vehicle cannot be moved. Four
or five clicks are generally enough
when the vehicle is on level ground
while nine or ten may be required if
the vehicle is on a steep slope or laden.
IMPORTANTIf this is not the
case, take the vehicle to a Fiat Deal-
ership to have the handbrake adjust-
ed.
Instrument panel warning light x
will come on when the handbrake
lever is pulled up and the ignition key
is at MAR.
To release the handbrake:
1)Slightly lift the handbrake and
press release button A-fig.1.
2)Keep the button pressed in and
lower the lever. Warning light xwill
go out.
3)Press the brake pedal when car-
rying out this operation to prevent the
vehicle moving accidentally. STOPPING THE ENGINE
Turn the key to STOPwhile the
engine is idling.
A quick burst on the ac-
celerator before turning
off the engine serves ab-
solutely no practical purpose and
wastes fuel.
Never leave children un-
supervised in the vehicle.
A
fig. 1
F0A0034b
106-118 Doblo GB 9-05-2008 12:09 Pagina 108
Page 118 of 222

SNOW TYRES
These tyres have been specially de-
signed for driving on snow or ice, to
be fitted in place of the standard tyres.
Use snow tyres of the same size as
the standard tyres provided with the
vehicle.
Fiat Dealership will be happy to
provide advice concerning the most
suitable type of tyre for the customer’s
requirements.
For the type of tyre to be used, in-
flation pressures and the specifications
of snow tyres, follow the instructions
given at paragraph “Wheels” in section
“Technical Specifications”.The winter features of these tyres
are reduced considerably when the
tread depth is below 4 mm. In this
case, they should be replaced.
Due to the snow tyre features, un-
der normal conditions of use or on
long motorway journeys, the perfor-
mance of these tyres is lower than that
of standard tyres.
It is therefore necessary to limit their
use to the purposes for which they are
certified.IMPORTANTWhen snow tyres
are used with a max. speed index be-
low the one that can be reached by
the vehicle (increased by 5%), place a
notice in the passenger compartment,
plainly in the driver’s view which states
the max. permissible speed of the
snow tyres (as per EC Directive).
All four tyres should be the same
(brand and track) to ensure greater
safety when driving and braking and
better driveability.
Remember that it is inappropriate to
change the direction of rotation of
tyres.
The max. speed for
snow tyres with “T”
marking , is 190 km/h. The
Road Traffic Code speed limits
must however be always strictly
observed.
117DRIVING YOUR VEHICLE
106-118 Doblo GB 9-05-2008 12:09 Pagina 117
Page 183 of 222

182TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
TRANSMISSION
CLUTCH
Hydraulic, self-adjusting external
control.
GEARBOX
Five forward gears and reverse with
synchromesh for front gear engage-
ment.
Cyclical gear reduction and differen-
tial assembly incorporated in the gear-
box.
Drive transmission to the front
wheels by means of drive shafts con-
nected to the differential assembly and
the wheels with CV joints.
BRAKES
SERVICE AND
EMERGENCY BRAKES
Front:
– disc, floating shoe, self-ventilated.
Rear:
– drum, self-centring callipers.
Crossed hydraulic circuit control.
Vacuum brake booster.
ABS system with four sensors and
EBD.
Automatic take-up of friction liner
wear.
Lacking the ABS, there is the brake
force distributor that acts on rear
brake circuit according to load on rear
axle
HANDBRAKE
Controlled by a lever, it works me-
chanically on the rear brake shoes.
SUSPENSIONS
FRONT
Independent wheel, McPherson sus-
pension with steel wishbones an-
chored to an auxiliary crossmember.
Coil springs and sway bar.
Double acting telescopic hydraulic
shock absorbers.
REAR
Stiff axle with wishbones.
Double acting telescopic hydraulic
shock absorbers.
Sway bar in Fiat Doblò Passengers
Transport versions.
174-211 Doblo GB 16-12-2008 14:26 Pagina 182