2008 SKODA FABIA warning

Lights and Visibility52
WARNING
The sun visors must not be swivelled to the side windows into the deploy-ment area of the head airbags if any objects, such as ball-point pens etc. are attached to them. This might result in injuries to the occupants if the head airbag is deployed.
Windshield wiper and wash system
Windshield wiper
You can operate the windscreen wipers and automatic wipe/wash
using the windscreen wiper lever.
The windscreen wiper lever ⇒fig. 45 has the following positions:
Finger-operated wiping
– Position the lever down into position if you wish to wipe the wind-
screen only for a single wipe - spring-tensioned position.
Intermittent wiping
– Position the lever up into position .
– Set with the switch the desired break between the individual wiper
strokes
Slow wipe
– Position the lever up into position .
Fast wipe
– Position the lever up into position .
Automatic wipe/wash for windscreen
– Pull the lever towards the steering wheel into position and the
widescreen wiper and wash system will operate - in the sprung posi-
tion.
– Release the lever. The windscreen wash system stops and the wiper
continues for another 1 - 3 wiper strokes (depending on the period of
spraying of the windscreen).
Wiping the rear window pane*
– Push the lever away from the steering wheel into position
⇒fig. 45, the widescreen wiper will operate every 6 seconds.
Automatic wipe/wash for the rear window pane*
– Push the lever away from the steering wheel into position - the
widescreen wiper and wash system will operate - in the sprung posi-
tion.
– Letting go of the lever will cause the windscreen wash system to stop
and the wiper to continue for another 1 - 3 wiper strokes (depending
on the period of spraying of the windscreen). The lever will stay in
position after releasing it .
Switching windscreen wipers off
– Move the lever back into its home position .
Fig. 45 Windscreen wiper lever
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Lights and Visibility53
Using the systemSafetyDriving TipsGeneral MaintenanceBreakdown assistanceTechnical Data
The windscreen wipers and the windscreen washer system only operate if the igni-tion is switched on.
The rear window will be wiped again if the front window wipers are on when reverse gear is selected.
The windscreen washer nozzles are heated* when the ignition is switched on.
Top up with wash liquid ⇒page 193.
WARNING
•Properly maintained windscreen wiper blades are essential for clear visi-bility and safe driving ⇒page 53.
•Do not use the windscreen washer system at low temperatures, without heating the windscreen beforehand. Otherwise the window cleaner could freeze on the windscreen and restrict the view to the front.
•In the event of a freezing up of the windscreen, first of all eliminate the ice ⇒page 172 and then operate the windscreen wiper otherwise the wind-screen wiper blades could be damaged.
Caution
In frosty weather, please first of all check whether the windscreen wiper blades are not frozen to the windscreen before switching them on. Switching on windscreen wipers when the blades are frozen to the windscreen may result in damage both to the blades and the motor of the windscreen wipers!
Headlight cleaning system*
The headlights are being cleaned after the windscreen washer system has been operated for the fifth time, the low beam or main beam are switched on as well as the windscreen wiper lever is held in the position ⇒page 52, fig. 45 for about 1 second.
You should remove stubborn dirt (such as insect residues) from the headlight lenses at regular intervals, for example when refuelling. Please refer to the following guidelines ⇒page 172, “The headlight lenses”.
You should remove any snow from the fixtures of the washer nozzles and clear ice in winter with a de-icing spray in order to ensure proper operation of the cleaning system.
Replacing wiper blades for the windscreen wipers
Taking off the wiper blade
– Fold windscreen wiper arm away from the windscreen.
– Press the locking button, in order to unlock the wiper blade and pull
off in the direction of arrow.
Attaching a wiper blade
– Push the wiper blade until it locks up to the stop.
– Check whether the wiper blade is correctly attached.
– Fold the windscreen wiper arm back onto the windscreen.
Wiper blades in proper condition are essential to obtain good visibility. Wiper blades should not be allowed to become dirtied by dust, insect remains and preserving wax.
Juddering or smearing of the wiper blades could then be due to wax residues left on the windscreen by vehicle washing in automatic vehicle wash systems. It is
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Fig. 46 Wiper blade for the windscreen wiper
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Lights and Visibility54
therefore important to degrease the lips of the wiper blades after every pass through an automatic vehicle wash system.
WARNING
•If the windscreen wipers are handled carelessly, there is a risk of damage to the windscreen.
•You should clean the wiper blades regularly with a windscreen cleaner in order to avoid any smears. Clean a wiper blade with a sponge or cloth if it is very dirty, for example from insect residues.
•Replace the wiper blades once or twice a year for safety reasons. The wiper blades are available from Škoda Service Partners.
Replacing the wiper blade on the rear window wiper
Taking off the wiper blade
– Fold windscreen wiper arm out from the windscreen and position the
wiper blade at right angles to the wiper arm ⇒fig. 47.
– Hold the window wiper arm at the top end with one hand.
– With the other hand unlock the locking button in the direction of
arrow and remove the wiper blade.
Attaching a wiper blade
– Position the wiper blade onto the wiper arm and lock the locking
button .
– Check whether the wiper blade is correctly attached.
The same remarks apply here as for ⇒page 53.
Rear mirror
You can adjust the exterior mirrors electrically*.
Adjust the rear mirror before commencing to drive so that there is a clear
view to the rear.
Dimming the interior mirror
– Pull the lever on the bottom edge of the mirror toward rear (the lever
on the interior mirror must point forwards in it home position).
Heating of the external mirror*
– Turn the rotary knob to position  ⇒fig. 48.
Fig. 47 Wiper blade for rear window
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Fig. 48 Inner part of door: Rotary knob
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Lights and Visibility55
Using the systemSafetyDriving TipsGeneral MaintenanceBreakdown assistanceTechnical Data
Adjusting the left-hand exterior mirror*
– Turn the rotary knob to position . The movement of the mirror surface
is identical to the movement of the rotary knob.
Adjusting the right-hand exterior mirror*
– Turn the rotary knob to position . The movement of the mirror
surface is identical to the movement of the rotary knob.
The vehicle can also be equipped with a second rear mirror*, which is attached above the inner main rear mirror. The second rear mirror* enables an extensive look into the area of the rear seats, e.g. to check on the seated passengers. You can adjust it in the horizontal as well as vertical direction regardless of the inner main rear mirror.
The exterior mirror heater only operates when the engine is running.
WARNING
•Convex (curved outward) or a spherical exterior mirrors increase the vision field. They do, however, make objects appear smaller in the mirror. These mirrors are only of limited use, therefore, for estimating distances to the following vehicles.
•Use whenever possible the interior rear mirror, for estimating the distances to the following vehicles.
Note
•Do not touch the surfaces of the exterior mirrors if the exterior mirror heater is switched on.
•You can set the exterior mirrors by hand, if the power setting function fails at any time, by pressing on the edge of the mirror surface.
•Contact your specialist garage if a fault exists with the power setting of the exte-rior mirrors.
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Seats and Stowage56
Seats and Stowage
Front seats
Basic information
The front seats have a wide range of different settings and can thus be matched to the physical characteristics of the driver and front passenger. Correct adjustment of the seats is particularly important for
•safely and quickly reaching the controls,
•a relaxed, fatigue-free body position,
•achieving the maximum protection offered by the seat belts and the airbag system.
The chapters which follow describe the procedure which you should adopt for adjusting the seats.
WARNING
•Never transport more occupants than the maximum seating in the vehicle.
•Each occupant must correctly fasten the seat belt belonging to the seat. Children must be fastened ⇒page 142, “Transporting children safely” with a suitable restraint system.
•The front seats and the head restraints must always be adjusted to match the body size of the seat occupant as well as the seat belts must always be correctly fastened in order to provide an optimal protection for you and your occupants.
•Always keep your feet in the footwell when the car is being driven - never place your feet on the instrument panel, out of the window or on the surfaces of the seats. This is particularly important for the front seat passenger. You will be exposed to increased risk of injury if it becomes necessary to apply the brake or in the event of an accident. If an airbag is deployed, you may suffer fatal injuries when adopting an incorrect seated position!
•It is important for the driver and front passenger to maintain a distance of at least 25 cm from the steering wheel or dash panel. Not maintaining this minimum distance will mean that the airbag system will not be able to prop-erly protect you - hazard! The front seats and the head restraints must always also be correctly adjusted to match the body size of the occupant.
•Ensure that there are no objects in the footwell as any objects may get behind the pedals during a driving or braking manoeuvre. You would then no longer be able to operate the clutch, to brake or accelerate.
Adjusting the front seats
Adjusting a seat in a forward/back direction
– Pull the lever ⇒fig. 49 up and push the seat into the desired posi-
tion.
– Release the lever and push the seat further until the lock is heard
to engage.
WARNING (continued)
Fig. 49 Controls at seat
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Seats and Stowage57
Using the systemSafetyDriving TipsGeneral MaintenanceBreakdown assistanceTechnical Data
Adjusting height of seat*
– Lift the seat if required by pulling or pumping lever upwards.
– Lower the seat if required by pushing or pumping lever down-
wards.
Adjust the angle of the seat backrest
– Relieve any pressure on the backrest (do not lean on it) and turn the
handwheel to adjust the angle of the backrest.
The driver's seat should be adjusted in such a way that the pedals can be pressed to the floor with slightly bent legs.
The backrest on the driver's seat should be adjusted in such a way that the upper point of the steering wheel can be easily reached with slightly bent arms.
WARNING
•Only adjust the driver seat when the vehicle is stationary - risk of injury!
•Take care when adjusting the seat! Adjusting the seat without care can lead to bruises or injuries.
•The backrests must not be angled too far back when driving otherwise this will affect proper operation of the seat belts and of the airbag system - risk of injury!
Head restraints
Best protection is achieved if the top edge of the head restraint is at the
same level as the upper part of your head.
Adjusting the height of a head restraint
– Grasp the side of the head restraint with both hands and push the
head restraint in the direction of axle of the metal guide rods, in the
direction of arrow ⇒fig. 50 to the top or to the bottom.
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Fig. 50 Adjusting head restraint
Fig. 51 Removing a head restraint
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Seats and Stowage58
– Move the head restraint downwards if required by pressing the locking
button ⇒fig. 51 and by pressing with the other hand the head
restraint downwards.
Removing and installing a head restraint
– Pull the head restraint out of the backrest of the seat as far as the stop.
– Press the locking button in the direction of arrow ⇒fig. 51 and pull
the head restraint out.
– To re-insert the head restraint, push it down into the backrest of the
seat far enough until you hear the locking button engage.
The position of the front, rear outer head restraints and the rear middle head restraint* is adjustable for height.
The head restraints must be adjusted to match the size of the seat occupant. Correctly adjusted head restraints together with the seat belts offer effective protection for the occupants ⇒page 122.
WARNING
•The head restraints must be correctly adjusted in order to offer effective protection for the occupants in the event of an accident.
•Do not drive under any circumstance with removed head restraints - risk of injury!
Heating the front seats*
The seating and leaning surfaces of the driver and front passenger seat
can be heated when the ignition is switched on.
Front seats
– By pressing the rocker switch in the position or switch on the
front seat heating to 25 % or 100 % of its power output ⇒fig. 52.
– To switch off the heating shift the rocker switch into the horizontal
position.
WARNING
•If you have a subdued pain and/or temperature sensitivity, e.g. through medication, paralysis or because of chronic illness (e.g. diabetes), we recommend not to use the seat heating of the driver or front passenger seat. This can lead to burns on the back, the posterior and the legs which are diffi-cult to heal. If the seat heating is used, we recommend to make regular breaks in your journey when driving long distances, so that the body can recuperate from the stress of the journey. Please consult your doctor, who can evaluate your specific condition.
Fig. 52 Rocker switch: Front seat heating
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Seats and Stowage59
Using the systemSafetyDriving TipsGeneral MaintenanceBreakdown assistanceTechnical Data
•Do not use the seat heating if objects are fastened or stored on the seat for example a child seat, a bag etc. - a fault in the seat heating system can occur.
Caution
•You should not kneel on the seats or otherwise apply pressure at specific points in order to avoid damaging the heating elements of the seat heaters.
•Do not clean the seats moist ⇒page 174.
Note
The seat heating should only be switched on when the engine is running. This has a significant effect of saving on the battery capacity.
Rear seats
Folding the rear seats forwards
To enlarge the luggage compartment, the rear seats can be folded
forwards or the rear seats can be removed ⇒page 60. The rear seats can
be folded forward individually on vehicles with divided rear seats*.
Folding the rear seats forwards
– Before folding the rear seats forward adjust the front seats in such a
way that they are not damaged when folding forward the rear seats.
– Pull up the rear seat in the direction of arrow ⇒fig. 53 and fold
forwards in direction of arrow .
– Unlock the rear seat backrest by pulling the securing knob and fold
it forward ⇒fig. 54.
– Pull the head restraints out of the seat backrest.
– The head restraints can be inserted into the relevant holes of the
folded forwards rear seats ⇒page 60, fig. 55.
– Fold the seat backrests forwards completely.
Folding the rear seats back into position
– Install the head restraint in the slightly lifted rear seat backrest.
WARNING (continued)
Fig. 53 Folding the rear seat forwards
Fig. 54 Unlock the seat backrest
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