2008 SKODA FABIA service interval

Towing a trailer167
Using the systemSafetyDriving TipsGeneral MaintenanceBreakdown assistanceTechnical Data
should be attached to folding arms. Adjust the mirrors so that they provide you with an adequate field of view to the rear.
Headlights
Before starting off with a hitched trailer, also check the setting of the headlights. Alter the setting as necessary with the aid of the headlight beam adjuster ⇒page 47.
Detachable ball head
The ball rod is detachable on vehicles with towing device and suppliable from Škoda original accessories. It is stowed together with separate fitting instructions in the spare wheel well in the luggage compartment of the vehicle.
Note
•We recommend that you also have your vehicle inspected between service intervals if you tow a trailer frequently.
•The handbrake on the towing vehicle must be put on when coupling and decoupling the trailer.
•Keep the mechanism of the ball head of the towing device clean and take proper care of it with a suitable preservative.
Driving Tips
Particular caution is required when towing a trailer.
– Do not, as far as possible, drive with your vehicle unladen and the
trailer laden.
– Do not make full use of the legal maximum speeds. This applies in
particular to downhill sections.
– Apply the brakes in good time.
– Keep a check on the coolant temperature gauge if the outside temper-
ature is high.
Distribution of weight
The distribution of the weight is very poor if your vehicle is unladen and the trailer is laden. Maintain a particularly low speed if you cannot avoid driving with this combination.
Driving speed
Do not drive faster than 80 km/hour for safety reasons. This also applies for coun-tries in which higher speeds are allowed.
The fact that the driving stability of the vehicle + trailer combination reduces with increasing speed means that the legally allowed speed should not be used when there are unfavourable road, weather or wind conditions, particularly near accident black spots.
You must always reduce your speed immediately as soon as you detect even just the slightest swaying of the trailer. On no account attempt to stop the trailer from “swaying” by accelerating.
Apply the brakes in good time! If the trailer is fitted with a trailer brake, apply the brakes gently at first and then brake firmly. This will avoid brake jolts resulting from the trailer wheels locking. Shift down gears in good time before negotiating a down-hill section to allow the engine to also act as a brake.
Engine overheating
Please keep a check on the coolant temperature gauge if you have to negotiate a lengthy slope in a low gear at a high engine speed when the outside temperature is very high ⇒page 10.
If the needle of the coolant temperature gauge moves into the right-hand area or even the red area of the scale, reduce your speed immediately. Stop and switch off the engine if the warning light  in the instrument cluster begins flashing. Wait a few minutes and check the level of coolant in the coolant expansion bottle ⇒page 186, “Inspecting the coolant level”.
Please refer to the following guidelines ⇒page 24, “Coolant temperature/coolant level ”.
The coolant temperature can be reduced by switching on the heating.
Any increase in the cooling effect of the coolant fan through shifting down a gear and increasing the engine speed is not possible since the fan speed is independent
NKO A05F 20.book Page 167 Wednesday, April 2, 2008 1:02 PM

Taking care of your vehicle and cleaning the vehicle173
Using the systemSafetyDriving TipsGeneral MaintenanceBreakdown assistanceTechnical Data
Wheels
Steel wheels
You should also thoroughly wash the wheels and wheel trims when giving your vehicle its regular wash. This prevents any brake dust, dirt and road salt from sticking to the wheel hubs. You can remove stubborn brake abrasion adhering to t h e w h e e l s w i t h a n i n d u s tr i a l c l e a n e r. To u c h u p a n y d a m a g e to t h e p a i n tw o r k o n th e wheels before rust is able to form.
Light alloy wheels
Regular care of light alloy wheels is necessary in order to retain their decorative appearance over long periods. It is particularly important to remove any road salt and brake abrasion from light alloy wheels every two weeks, otherwise the surface will suffer. Wash thoroughly and then treat the wheels with a protective product for light alloy wheels which does not contain any acidic components. You should provide the wheel hubs with a hard wax layer every three months. You must not use any products which cause abrasion when treating the wheel hubs. Any damage to the paint layer on the wheel hubs must be touched up immediately.
We recommend using a preservative from Škoda genuine accessories offered by your Škoda dealer.
WARNING
One should remember when cleaning the wheels that moisture, ice and road salt may adversely affect braking efficiency - risk of an accident!
Note
Severe layers of dirt on the wheels can also result in wheel imbalance. This may show itself in the form of a wheel vibration which is transmitted to the steering wheel which, in certain circumstances, can cause premature wear of the steering. This means it is necessary to remove the dirt.
Underbody protection
The underside of your vehicle is protected for life against chemical and mechanical influences.
One cannot, however, completely rule out damage to the protective layer when driving so we recommend that you inspect the protective layer on the underside of your vehicle and on the chassis at certain intervals - this is best done at the begin-ning and end of the winter - and to touch up any damaged areas.
Škoda Service Partners have suitable spray products available as well as the neces-sary equipment and are familiar with the instructions for use. We therefore recom-mend to have repairs and additional corrosion protection measures preferably carried out by a Škoda Service Partner.
WARNING
Never use additional underbody protection or corrosion-protection agents for the exhaust pipes, catalytic converters or heat shields. Such substances might ignite when driving - risk of fire!
Protection of hollow spaces
All the cavities of your vehicle which are at risk from corrosion are protected for life by a layer of protective wax applied in the factory.
This wax protection does not require to be inspected or re-treated. Please remove any small amount of wax which flows out of the cavities at high temperatures with a plastic scraper and clean the spot using petroleum cleaner.
WARNING
Safety and environmental protection regulations should observed when using petroleum cleaner to remove wax - a risk of fire!
NKO A05F 20.book Page 173 Wednesday, April 2, 2008 1:02 PM

Inspecting and Replenishing183
Using the systemSafetyDriving TipsGeneral MaintenanceBreakdown assistanceTechnical Data
Engine oil
Engine oil specifications
The grade of engine oil should be selected in accordance with
precise specifications.
The engine of your vehicle has been factory-filled with a high-grade oil which you can use throughout the year - except in extreme climatic regions.
You can mix various oils together with each other when refilling with oil. This does not, however, apply for models with flexible service intervals (QG1).
Engine oils are, of course, undergoing continuous further development. Thus the information stated in this Owner's Manual is only correct at the time of publication.
Škoda Service Partners are informed by Škoda Auto a.s. about current changes. We recommend having this oil change undertaken by a Škoda Service Partner.
Engine oil specifications for vehicles with fixed service intervals (QG0, QG2)
Engine oil specifications for models with flexible service intervals (QG1)
Caution
Only the above-mentioned oils may be used on vehicles with flexible service inter-vals (QG1). We recommend always refilling with oil of the same specification since this will maintain the properties of the oil. In exceptional cases, you must top up only once engine oil complying with Specification VW 502 00 (only for petrol engines) or Specification VW 505 01 (only for diesel engines) to maximum 0.5 litres. You must not use other engine oils - risk of engine damage!
Note
•Before a long drive we recommend that you purchase and carry with you engine oil which complies with the specification for your vehicle. Consequently, you will always have the correct engine oil for refilling.
•We recommend using a preservative from the Škoda original accessories offered by your Škoda dealer.
•For further information - see Service shedule.
Engine oil specifications
Petrol engines
VW 501 01 VW 502 00 VW 504 00
ACEA A2 a) or A3 a)
a)Only to be used in exceptional cases if the oils specified above are not available.
Diesel enginesVW 505 01b)
VW 507 00 c)
b)Only for engines without diesel particle filter ⇒page 29.c)Only for engines with diesel particle filter ⇒page 29.
Engine oil specifications
Petrol enginesVW 504 00 alternative VW 503 00
Diesel enginesVW 507 00
alternative VW 506 01 a)
a)Only for engines without diesel particle filter ⇒page 29.
NKO A05F 20.book Page 183 Wednesday, April 2, 2008 1:02 PM

Inspecting and Replenishing185
Using the systemSafetyDriving TipsGeneral MaintenanceBreakdown assistanceTechnical Data
Replenishing engine oil
– Inspect the oil level ⇒page 184.
– Unscrew the cap of the engine oil filler opening.
– Wipe off the oil from the sealing surface of the cover and on the coun-
terpart using a clean cloth.
– Pour in a suitable grade of oil in portions of 0.5 litres ⇒page 183,
“Engine oil specifications”.
– Inspect the oil level ⇒page 184.
– Carefully screw on the cap of the filler opening and push the dipstick
in fully.
WARNING
•Avoid dripping oil onto hot parts of the engine when topping up will oil - a risk of fire!
•Read and observe the warning notes ⇒page 181, “Working in the engine compartment” before working in the engine compartment.
For the sake of the environment
The oil level must on no account be above the range ⇒page 184. Oil will other-wise be drawn in through the crankcase ventilation and may pass through the exhaust system to atmosphere. The oil may combust in the catalytic converter and damage it.
Changing engine oil
The engine oil must be changed at the intervals stated in the Service schedule or according to the service interval indicator ⇒page 11.
WARNING
•Only carry out the engine oil change, if you have the required profes-sional knowledge!
•Read and observe the warning notes ⇒page 181, “Working in the engine compartment” before working in the engine compartment.
•Let the engine cool down - risk of burning from hot oil.
•Wear an eye protection - risk of caustic burns due to oil splashes.
•Oil is toxic! Store old oil in a safe place out of the reach of children and unauthorized persons until you dispose of it properly.
Caution
You must not pour any additives into the engine oil - risk of engine damage! Damage, which results from such product, are excluded from the warranty.
For the sake of the environment
•You must on no account pour oil into the ground or into the sewage system.
•In view of the problems involved in properly disposing of old oil, the material, equipment and the knowledge required for such work, we recommend that you have the oil and oil filter change carried out by your Škoda Service Partner.
Note
After your skin has come in contact with the oil, you must thoroughly wash your skin.
Aa
NKO A05F 20.book Page 185 Wednesday, April 2, 2008 1:02 PM

Index247
Range . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Rear fog light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Warning light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Rear mirror . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Rear seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Rear window heater . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Recharge battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
Recirculated air mode
Air conditioning system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Heating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Refuelling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
Remote control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Synchronisation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Replacing bulbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
Replacing fuses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213
Replacing the wiper blades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Roof aerial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
Running in the car . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
S
Safe securing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Safety information
Engine compartment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
Saving electrical energy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
Seat belt height adjuster . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
Seat belt warning light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
Seat belts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
Cleaning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
fastening . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
Height adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
Safety information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
taking off . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
Warning light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Heating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Selector lever . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
Selector lever positions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
Service Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Service Interval Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Setting temperature
Air conditioning system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Heating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Setting the clock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Shifting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Side airbag . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
Side lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Snow chains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
Spare wheel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
Stability programme (ESP) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
Starting the engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Diesel engines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Petrol engines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Steering force assistance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
Storage compartment
Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Storage compartments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Storage facilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Sun visors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Switch in the driver door
Power windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Switching lights on and off . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Switching off the engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
T
Tailgate
Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Taking care of your vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
TCS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
Warning light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Telephone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Temperature
outside . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
the first 1 500 kilometres . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
The roof luggage rack system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Thickness of brake pads
Warning light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Tilting roof . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Tiptronic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
Towing a trailer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
Towing eye
front . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210
rear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211
Towing protection monitoring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
towing vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
Tow-starting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
Tow-starting and towing vehicle
Automatic gearbox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
Traction control system (TCS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
Warning light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Trailer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
General Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
Transporting children safely . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
Tread depth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
NKO A05F 20.book Page 247 Wednesday, April 2, 2008 1:02 PM