2008 Seat Altea Freetrack check engine

Checking and refilling levels
230BatteryWarnings on handling the battery
WARNING
Always be aware of the danger of injury and chemical burns as well as the
risk of accident or fire when working on the battery and the electrical
system:•
Wear eye protection. Protect your ey es, skin and clothing from acid and
particles containing lead.
•
Battery acid is very corrosive and caustic. Wear protective gloves and
eye protection. Do not tilt the batteries. This could spill acid through the
vents. Rinse battery acid from eyes immediately for several minutes with
clear water. Then seek medical care immediately. Neutralize any acid
splashes on the skin or clothing with a soapy solution, and rinse off with
plenty of water. If acid is swallowed by mistake, consult a doctor immedi-
ately.
•
Fires, sparks, naked lights and smoki ng are prohibited. When handling
cables and electrical equipment, avoid causing sparks and electrostatic charge. Never short the battery terminals. High-energy sparks can cause
injury.
•
A highly explosive mixture of gases is released when the battery is
under charge. The batteries should be charged in a well-ventilated room
only.
•
Keep children away from acid and batteries.
•
Before working on the electrical system, you must switch off the
engine, the ignition and all consumers. The negative cable on the battery
must be disconnected. When a light bu lb is changed, you need only switch
off the light.
•
Deactivate the anti-theft alarm by unlocking the vehicle before you
disconnect the battery! The alar m will otherwise be triggered.
•
When disconnecting the battery from the vehicle electrical system,
disconnect first the negative ca ble and then the positive cable.
•
Switch off all electrical consumers before reconnecting the battery.
Reconnect first the positive cable and then the negative cable. Never
reverse the polarity of the connections. This could cause an electrical fire.
•
Never charge a frozen battery, or one which has thawed. This could
result in explosions and chemical burns. Always replace a battery which
has frozen. A flat battery can freeze at temperatures around 0°C.
•
Ensure that the vent hose is always connected to the battery.
•
Never use a defective battery. This may be fatally explosive. Replace a
damaged battery immediately.Caution
•
Never disconnect the battery if the ignition is switched on or if the engine
is running. This could damage the elec trical system or electronic compo-
nents.
•
Do not expose the battery to direct sunlight over a long period of time, as
the intense ultraviolet radiation can damage the battery housing.

Wear eye protection

Battery acid is very corrosive and caustic. Wear protec-
tive gloves and eye protection!

Fires, sparks, naked lights and smoking are prohibited!

A highly explosive mixture of gases is released when the
battery is under charge.

Keep children away from acid and batteries!
WARNING (continued)
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Checking and refilling levels231
Safety First
Operating instructions
Tips and Maintenance
Te c h n i c a l D a t a
•
If the vehicle is left standing in cold conditions for a long period, protect
the battery from frost. If it “freezes” it will be damaged.
Checking the electrolyte level
The electrolyte level should be checked regularly in high-
mileage vehicles, in hot countries and in older batteries.– Open the bonnet and open the battery cover at the front ⇒ in
“Safety instructions on working in the engine compartment” on
page 215 ⇒ in “Warnings on handling the battery” on
page 230.
– Check the colour display in the "magic eye" on the top of the battery.
– If there are air bubbles in the window, tap the window gently until they disperse.The position of the battery is shown in the corresponding engine compart-
ment diagram ⇒page 279.
The round window (“magic eye”) on the top of the battery changes colour,
depending on the charge level and electrolyte level of the battery.
If the colour in the window is colourless or bright yellow, the electrolyte level
of the battery is too low. Have the battery checked by a qualified workshop.
The colours green and black are used by the workshops for diagnostic
purposes.
Charging and changing the vehicle battery
The battery is maintenance-free and is checked during the
inspection service. All work on the vehicle battery requires
specialist knowledge.If you often drive short distances or if the vehicle is not driven for long
periods, the battery should be checked by a qualified workshop between the
scheduled services.
If the battery has discharged and you have problems starting the vehicle, the
battery might be damaged. If this happens, we recommend you have the
vehicle battery checked by an Authorised Service Centre where it will be re-
charged or replaced.
Charging the battery
The vehicle battery should be charged by a qualified workshop only, as
batteries using special technology have been installed and they must be
charged in a controlled environment.
Replacing a vehicle battery
The battery has been developed to suit the conditions of its location and has
special safety features.
Genuine SEAT batteries fulfil the maintenance, performance and safety spec-
ifications of your vehicle.
WARNING
•
We recommend you use only maintenance-free or cycle free leak-proof
batteries which comply with the standards T 825 06 and VW 7 50 73. This
standard applies as of 2001.
•
Before starting any work on the batteries, you must read and observe
the warnings ⇒ in “Warnings on handling the battery” on page 230.
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Wheels and tyres235
Safety First
Operating instructions
Tips and Maintenance
Te c h n i c a l D a t a
Significant tyre pressure lossThe tyre symbol
 is displayed and indicates that the tyre pressure for a least
one tyre is insufficient.
- Stop the vehicle.
- Switch the engine off.
- Check the tyre(s).
- Change the wheel if necessary ⇒page 243.
Tyre service life
The service life of tyres is dependent on tyre pressure, driving
style and fitting.
Wear indicators
The original tyres on your vehicle have 1.6 mm high “tread wear indicators”
⇒fig. 173 , running across the tread. Depending on the make, there will be
six to eight of them evenly spaced around the tyre. Markings on the tyre side-
wall (for instance the letters “TWI” or other symbols) indicate the positions of
the tread wear indicators . The minimum tread depth required by law is
1.6 mm (measured in the tread grooves next to the tread wear indicators).
Worn tyres must be replaced. Different figures may apply in export countries
⇒ .
Tyre pressure
Incorrect tyre pressure causes premature wear and could cause tyre blow-out.
For this reason, the tyre pressure should be checked at least once per month
⇒ page 233.
Driving style
Fast cornering, heavy acceleration and hard braking all increase tyre wear.
Fig. 173 Tyre tread wear
indicators
Fig. 174 Changing
wheels
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Technical data279
Safety First
Operating instructions
Tips and Maintenance
Te c h n i c a l D a t a
Te c h n i c a l d a t aChecking fluid levelsFrom time to time, the levels of the different fluids in the
vehicle must be checked. Never fill with incorrect fluids, to do
so may cause serious damage to the engine.
Radiator expansion tank
Windscreen washer fluid reservoir
Engine oil filler cap
Engine oil dipstick
Brake fluid reservoir
Vehicle battery (underneath the cover)
The checking and replenishment of the service fluids are carried out on the
components mentioned above. These operations are described in the
⇒ page 215. Overview
Further explanations, instructions and restrictions on the technical data are
contained as of
⇒page 275.
Fig. 210 Diagram for the
location of the various
elements
A1A2A3A4A5A6
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Index
306Brake system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228
Brake servo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
Brakes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
Warning lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Brakes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
Braking distance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
Bulb changes general notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259
Bulb defect warning lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Buzzer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117, 163CCar care Exterior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
Car care products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
Catalytic converter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
CD changer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
Central locking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93 Automatic speed dependent locking and un-locking system* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Emergency unlocking system . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Locking system for invo luntary unlocking . . 95
Selective unlocking system* . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Central locking button Central locking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
unlocking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Central locking system Automatic speed dependent locking and un-locking system* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95 Centre arm rest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
Cetane number . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214
Changing gear
See Manual gearbox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
Changing the lamps Main headlight lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260
rear lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263
Changing the main headlight lamps dipped beam lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261
main beam lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 262
Side lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263
turn signal lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261
Changing the rear light lamps Position light, fog ligh t and rear light on the
tailgate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265
Changing the rear lights Indicator, side and brake lights on the bodywork . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264
luggage compartment lights . . . . . . . . . . . 266
Changing windscreen wiper blades . . . . . . . . . 226
Chassis number . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276
Checking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231
Checking battery electrolyte level . . . . . . . . . . 231
Checking engine oil level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220
Child safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Child seat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 Categorisation in groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Group 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Group 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Group 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Groups 0 and 0+ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 Safety notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Securing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Child seats ISOFIX and Toptether systems . . . . . . . . . . . 52
on the front passenger seat . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Cigarette lighter* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
Cleaning alloy wheels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
Cleaning and caring for your vehicle . . . . . . . . 201
Cleaning chrome . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205
Cleaning cloth seat covers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208
Cleaning dash panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208
Cleaning engine compartment . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207
Cleaning fabric trim . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208
Cleaning leather . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208
Cleaning plastic parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208
Cleaning seat belts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
Cleaning steel wheels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
Cleaning windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204
Cleaning wooden trim . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208
Climatic* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
Climatronic General notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
Clock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Clothes hook . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
Cockpit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Control Light switches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Control lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Control lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
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Index
308Emission control system
warning lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Engine Running in . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
Engine compartment Working in the engine compartment . . . . . 215
Engine coolant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223
Engine fault Warning lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Engine management Warning lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Engine oil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218 Changing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222
Checking level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220
Oil properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219
Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218
Topping up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221
Engine oil dipstick . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220
Engine oil pressure Warning lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64, 78
Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194
Environmental friendliness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
Environmental tip Avoiding pollution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213
ESP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81, 183
Example of menu use Open the configuration menu . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Program a speed limit warning . . . . . . . . . . 67
To activate and deactivate the speed limit warning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68 Examples of menu use
Open the main menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Open the winter tyres menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
To close the winter tyres menu . . . . . . . . . . 68
Exterior mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204
FFastening rings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Fire extinguisher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
Floor mats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Fog lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
folding table* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
Folding the seat backrests down . . . . . . . . . . . 133
Four-wheel drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
Freetrack towing eye . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274
Front airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Safety notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Front interior light type 1 Switching light off . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
Switching light on . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
Front interior light type 2 Switching light off . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
Switching light on . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
Front passenger airbag deactivation . . . . . . . . . 44
Front reading lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
Front seat adjustment Lumbar support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131 Fuel
Diesel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214
Petrol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213
Fuel level Indicator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Fuel reserve . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75 Warning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Fuel Tank Opening the fuel tank flap . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212
Fuel tank See Fuel reserve . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Fuel: save . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194
Fuses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252
GG 12 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223
Gear shift pattern . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
General overview of the engine compartment 279
Glove compartment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
Glow plug system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166 Warning lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81HHandbrake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173Warning lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77, 173
Hazard warning lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
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