2008 SKODA FABIA check engine

Inspecting and Replenishing186
Cooling system
Coolant
The job of the coolant is to cool the engine.
The cooling system does not require any maintenance under normal operating conditions. The coolant consists of water with a concentration of coolant additive of 40 %. This mixture not only provides antifreeze protection down to -25°C but also protects the cooling and heating system from corrosion. It also prevents the formation of scale and significantly increases the boiling point of the coolant.
You must therefore not reduce the concentration of antifreeze agent in the coolant by adding water, also not during the summer months or in countries with a warm climate. The concentration of coolant additive in the coolant must be at least 40%.
You can increase the amount of antifreeze in the coolant if a higher concentration of antifreeze is necessary for climatic reasons but only up to 60% (antifreeze protection down to approx. -40°C). The antifreeze protection tails off above that concentration.
Vehicles exported to countries with a cold climate (e.g. Sweden, Norway, Finland) are already factory-filled with a coolant which offers antifreeze protection down to about -35°C. In these countries the concentration of coolant additive should be at least 50 %.
Coolant
The cooling system is factory-filled with coolant (purple in colour), which complies with the specification TL-VW 774 G.
We recommend that you use the antifreeze agent - G12 PLUS - PLUS (purple in colour).
We recommend that you contact your Škoda Service Partner if you have any ques-tions regarding the coolant or if you wish to fill up with a different coolant.
Your Škoda Service Partner can also supply you with the correct coolant additives.
Caution
•Other coolant additives may cause operational problems which, in partic-ular, involves significantly reducing the anticorrosion effect.
•Any faults or problems resulting from corrosion may cause a loss of coolant and, as a consequence of this, result in major engine damage.
Inspecting the coolant level
The coolant expansion bottle is located in the engine compartment on
the right.
– Switch the engine off.
– Open the bonnet ⇒ in “Working in the engine compartment” on
page 181.
– Check the level of coolant in the coolant expansion bottle ⇒fig. 172.
The coolant level when the engine is cold must lie between the “MIN”
and “MAX” markings. The level may also rise slightly above the
“MAX” marking when the engine is warm.
If the coolant level in the reservoir is too low, this is indicated by the warning light in the instrument cluster  ⇒page 24. We nevertheless recommend inspecting the coolant level directly at the reservoir from time to time.
Fig. 172 Engine compart-ment: Coolant expansion bottle
ABAA
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Inspecting and Replenishing191
Using the systemSafetyDriving TipsGeneral MaintenanceBreakdown assistanceTechnical Data
Battery with a charge level indicator, the so-called magic eye*
There is a so-called magic eye ⇒fig. 175 located on the top of the battery. The “magic eye” changes its colour in line with the charge state of and electrolyte level in the battery.
Air bubbles can influence the colour of the “magic eye”. For this reason carefully knock on the “magic eye” before carrying out the check.
•Green colour - the battery is adequately charged.
•Dark colour - the battery has to be charged
•Colourless or yellow colour - we recommend you have the battery checked by a Škoda Service Partner.
Batteries, which are more than 5 years old, must be replaced. We recommend you have the electrolyte level inspected and adjusted to the correct level or the battery replaced if necessary by a Škoda Service Partner.
Caution
If the vehicle has not been driven for more than 3 to 4 weeks, the battery will discharge because certain electrical components consume electricity (e.g. control units) also in idle state. You can prevent the discharging of the battery by discon-necting the negative terminal or charging the battery constantly with a very low charging current. Please also refer to the notes when working on the battery ⇒page 189, “Working on the battery”.
Inspecting the electrolyte level
The battery is practically maintenance-free under normal operating conditions. We do, however, recommend that you have the electrolyte level inspected from time to time by a Škoda Service Partner when outside temperatures are high or when driving on long trips. You should also check the electrolyte level ⇒page 191 each time the battery is charged.
The battery acid level will also be checked as part of the Inspection Service.
Operation in winter
The battery has to provide greater amounts of electricity during the winter. It also has only part of the initial power output at low temperatures that it has at normal temperatures.
A discharged battery may already freeze at temperatures just below 0°C.
We therefore recommend that you have the battery checked by a Škoda Service Partner before the start of the winter, and recharged if necessary.
Charging the battery
A properly charged battery is essential for reliably starting the
engine.
– Read the warning notes ⇒ in “Working on the battery” on
page 189 and ⇒.
– Switch the ignition and all electrical components off.
– Only for “quick-charging”: Disconnect both battery cables (first of all
“negative”, then “positive”).
– Carefully attach the terminal clamps of the charger to the battery
terminals (red = “positive”, black = “negative”).
– You can now plug the mains cable of the charger into the power socket
and switch on the charger.
Fig. 175 Battery with a charge level indicator
NKO A05F 20.book Page 191 Wednesday, April 2, 2008 1:02 PM

Breakdown assistance207
Using the systemSafetyDriving TipsGeneral MaintenanceBreakdown assistanceTechnical Data
surface or use a wide and stable base. Use a non-slip base (e.g. a rubber foot mat) if the surface is smooth, such as cobbled stones, a tiled floor, etc.
WARNING
•Always raise the vehicle with the doors closed - risk of injury.
•Take suitable measures to prevent the base of the lifting jack from slip-ping off - risk of injury!
•Place the lifting jack only on a solid and even surface.
•Not positioning the lifting jack at the specified points can result in damage to the vehicle. The jack can also slip off if it does not have sufficient grip - risk of injury!
•Never start the engine if the vehicle is lifted - risk of accident.
•Never lie under the vehicle if the vehicle is only lifted with the vehicle lifting jack.
•It is important to support the vehicle with suitable supporting blocks if you wish to work under the lifted vehicle - risk of injury!
Securing wheels against being stolen*
You need a special adapter for slackening the safety wheel bolts.
– Pull off the full wheel trim/cap from the wheel hub or cap from the
safety wheel bolt.
– Insert the adapter with its toothed side fully into the inner toothing
of the safety wheel bolt right down in such a way that only the
outer hexagon is jutting out ⇒fig. 187.
– Insert the wheel wrench fully onto the adapter .
– Slacken the wheel bolt, or tighten it firmly ⇒page 206.
– Reinstall the full wheel trim/wheel cap after removing the adapter or
place the cap onto the safety wheel bolt.
– Have the tightening torque checked with a torque wrench as soon as
possible. Steel and light alloy wheels must be tightened to a tightening
torque of 120 Nm.
The safety wheel bolts on vehicles fitted with them (one safety wheel bolt per wheel) can only be loosened or tighten up by using the adapter provided.
It is meaningful to note the code number hammered into the rear side of the adapter or the rear side of the safety wheel bolts. You can obtain a replacement adapter from a Škoda Service Partner, if necessary, by quoting this number.
We recommend that you always carry the adapter for the wheel bolts with you in the vehicle. It should be stowed in the vehicle tool kit.
Caution
•Damage can occur to the adapter and safety wheel bolt if the safety wheel bolt is tightened up too much.
•On steel wheels, the theft-deterrent wheel bolt must always be installed in the hole, which is close to the valve. Otherwise the full wheel trim cannot be mounted and the full wheel trim can be damaged during the assembly.
Note
The set of safety wheel bolts can be obtained from a Škoda Service Partner.
Fig. 187 Safety wheel bolt with adapter
AB
AA
AB
NKO A05F 20.book Page 207 Wednesday, April 2, 2008 1:02 PM

Index243
Index
A
Abroad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
ABS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
Warning light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Accessories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
Adjusting seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56, 122
Adjusting the steering wheel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Air conditioning system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Air outlet vents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Airbag . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
Deployment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
Front airbag . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
Head airbag . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
Side airbag . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
Warning light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Airbag system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
Warning light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Alarm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Alternator
Warning light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Antilock brake system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
Antilock brake system - ABS
Warning light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Anti-theft alarm system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Ashtray . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Auto Check Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Auto Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Automatic gearbox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
Emergency programme . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
Kickdown . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
Tiptronic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
Automatic vehicle wash systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
Automatic wiper/washer system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Avoiding damage to your vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
B
Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22, 189
change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
Charge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
Inspecting the electrolyte level . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
Operation in winter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
Before setting off . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
Belt tensioner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
Belt tensioners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
Belts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
Bicycle carrier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Bluetooth™ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Bonnet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
Boot lid
Warning light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Brake
Handbrake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Brake booster . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
Brake fluid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188
Brake pads
Warning light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Brake system
Warning light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Brakes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
Bulbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
Button on the driver's door
Central locking system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
C
Car jack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
Car state . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Catalytic converter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
CD changer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
Central locking system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
lock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
unlock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Changing a wheel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
Changing the engine oil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
Changing wheels around . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196
Charging the battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
Warning light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Check engine oil level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
Child safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
Side airbag . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
Child safety lock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
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Index244
Child safety seat
on the front passenger seat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
Safety information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
Child seat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
Classification into groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
ISOFIX system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
Children and safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
Chrome parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
Cigarette lighter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Cleaning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
Climatronic
Air outlet vents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Defrosting windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
Recirculated air mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
Setting temperature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
Clock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Clothes hooks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Cockpit
General view . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Compartments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Convenience operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Converting/masking over headlights . . . . . . . . . . 164
Coolant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
replenishing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
Warning light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Coolant level
Warning light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Coolant temperature gauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Coolant temperature/coolant level
Warning light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Cornering lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Warning light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Correct seated position . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
Counter for distance driven . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Cruise control system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Cup holder
front . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
rear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
D
Deactivating an airbag . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
Defrosting rear window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Defrosting windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84, 87
De-icing the windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
Diesel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
Diesel engines
Starting the engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Diesel particle filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
Warning light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Digital clock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Direction indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Warning light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Distance driven . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Door
Child safety lock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Warning light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Door, luggage compartment door and bonnet ajar warning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Driving economically . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
Driving time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
E
EDL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
Electric power-operated window
Operational faults . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Electric sliding/tilting roof . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Electrically adjustable rear mirror . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Electronic Differential Lock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
Warning light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Electronic Differential Lock (EDL) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
Electronic immobiliser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24, 31
Warning light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Electronic stability programme (ESP) . . . . . . . . . . 151
Warning light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Emergency locking of the door . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Engine
starting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
switching off . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Engine compartment
Safety information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
Engine electronics
Warning light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Engine oil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
check . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
replenishing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
Warning light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Engine revolutions counter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
Environmental compatibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160, 163
ESP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
Warning light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
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