2008 SKODA OCTAVIA Owner's Manual

Taking care of your vehicle and cleaning the vehicle
216
Engine compartment
Good corrosion protection is very importan t, particularly in winter when one often
drives over its salt-strewn roads. One should therefore clean the whole engine
compartment before and after the salt spre ading period and treat with preservative
in order to prevent the salt from being destructive.
Škoda Service Partners have the cleaning agents and preservatives recommended
by the manufacturer and also the required equipment.
WARNING
•It is necessary to observe the guidelines given in the chapter before
working on the engine compartment ⇒page 225, “Working in the engine
compartment”.
•Let the engine cool down before cleaning the engine compartment.
Caution
•Engine cleaning may be only be und ertaken when the ignition is off.
•It is recommended to cover the generator before washing the engine compart-
ment.
For the sake of the environment
The dirty water produced by washing the engine has washed away petrol, and resi-
dues of grease and oil and should therefor e be cleaned by an oil separator. This is
why engine washing should only be undertake n in a specialist garage or at a fueling
station (when these are fitted with the required equipment).
Care of the interior of vehicle
Plastic parts, artificial leather and cloths
You can clean plastic parts and artificial le ather with a moist cloth. You should only
treat such parts with special solvent-free plastic cleaning and care products it
does prove to be adequate.
Upholstery cloth and cloth trim on the doors, luggage compartment cover, head-
liner etc. are best treated with special cleaning products, using if necessary a dry
foam and a soft sponge or brush.
We recommend using a cleaning product from Škoda genuine accessories offered
by your Škoda dealer.
Caution
Solvent-free cleaners attack the material and can damage it.
Fabric covers of electrically heated seats
Do not clean the seat covers moist as this may result in damage to the seat heating
system.
Clean such covers using special agents, for example dry foam.
Natural leather
Natural leather requires quite particular care and attention.
Leather should be treated from time to time according the following
guidelines depending on how much it is used.
Normal cleaning
– Clean soiled areas of the leather with slightly moistened cotton or
woollen cloth.
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Taking care of your vehicle and cleaning the vehicle217
Using the systemSafetyDriving TipsGeneral MaintenanceBreakdown assistanceTechnical Data
Severe soiling
– Clean severely soiled areas with a cloth dipped in a mild soapy solu-
tion (2 spoonfuls of natural soap to 1 litre of water).
– Ensure that the leather is not soaked through at any point and that no water gets into the stitching of the seams.
– Dry off the leather with a soft, dry cloth.
Removing stains
– Remove fresh stains which are water-based (e.g. coffee, tea, juices,
blood etc.) with an absorbent cloth or household paper or use the
cleaner from the care set for a stain which has already dried in.
– Remove fresh stains on a fat base (e.g. butter, mayonnaise, chocolate
etc.) with an absorbent cloth or household cleaning paper or with the
cleaner from the care set if the stain has not yet penetrated into the
surface.
– Use a grease dissolver for grease stains which have dried in .
–Eliminate special stains (e.g. ball-point pens, felt pen, nail varnish,
dispersion paint, shoe cream etc.) with a special stain remover suit-
able for leather.
Leather care
– Treat the leather every six months with the leather care product avail- able from Škoda Service Partners.
– Apply only a small amount of the care product.
– Dry the leather off with a soft cloth
It is best to consult your Škoda Service Partner if you have any questions regarding
cleaning and care of the leather interior.
Caution
•You must on no account treat the leathe r with solvents (e.g. gasoline, turpen-
tine), floor wax, shoe cream or such like.
•Avoid leaving your vehicle for lengthy periods in bright sunlight in order to
avoid bleaching the leather. If you leave yo ur vehicle parked in the open for lengthy
periods, protect the leather from the direct rays of the sun by covering it over.
•Sharp-edged objects on items of clothing such as zip fasteners, rivets, sharp-
edged belts may leave permanent scratches or signs of rubbing on the surface.
Note
•Use a care cream with light blocker and impregnation effect regularly and each
time after cleaning the leather. The cream no urishes the leather, allows it to breathe
and keeps it supple and also provides moisture. It also creates surface protection.
•Clean the leather every 2 to 3 months, remove fresh soiling each time this
occurs.
•Remove fresh stains such as those from ball-point pens, ink, lipstick, shoe
cream etc., as quickly as possible.
•Care also for the leather dye. Refreshen areas which have lost their colour with
a special coloured leather cream as required.
•The leather is a natural material with specific properties. During the use of the
vehicle, minor optical change s can occur on the leather parts of the covers (e. g
wrinkles or creases as a result of the stress of the covers).
Seat belts
– Keep the seat belts clean!
– Wash seat belts which have become soiled using a mild soapy solu-
tion.
– Inspect the seat belts regularly to ensure they are in good condition.
Belt webbing which has become severely so iled may prevent the inertia reel from
reeling up the belt properly.
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Taking care of your vehicle and cleaning the vehicle
218
WARNING
•The seat belts must not be removed for cleaning.
•Never clean the seat belts chemically as dry cleaning may destroy the
fabric. The seat belts must also not be allowed to come into contact with
corrosive liquids (such as acids etc.).
•Seat belts which have damage to the webbing, the connections, the
inertia reel or the lock should be replaced by a Škoda Service Partner.
•Inertia reel belts must be complete ly dried before being reeled up.
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Fuel219
Using the systemSafetyDriving TipsGeneral MaintenanceBreakdown assistanceTechnical Data
Fuel
Petrol
Grades of petrol
There are various grades of petrol. Please read ⇒ page 269, “Technical Data” in
order to know which grade of petrol your vehicle requires. You will also find the
same information affixed to the inside of the fuel filler flap of your vehicle
⇒ page 222, fig. 207 .
A distinction is made between unleaded an d leaded petrol. All Škoda vehicles with
petrol engines are equipped with a catalyti c converter and must therefore be only
driven with unleaded petrol . Unleaded petrol complies with the standard
DINEN228 .
The individual grades of petr ol are distinguished by their octane number (RON).
Please adopt the following procedure if the grade of petrol which you normally use
is not be available in exceptional circumstances.
Engines which need unleaded premium petrol 95 RON can also be run on
unleaded regular petrol 91 RON. This does, however, result in a slight loss in
performance.
If, in an emergency, the only fuel availa ble is one which has a lower octane number
than that required by the engine then only drive at medium engine speeds and
lower engine loadings.
You can make unlimited use of fuel which has a higher octane number than that
required by the engine. There will, howeve r, be no advantages gained by this in
terms of engine performa nce and fuel consumption!
The handling, performance and life of your engine are determined to a significant
extent by the quality of the fuel. Do not use any petrol additives. Use a fuel
complying with the standard.
You can find further information on refuelling ⇒page 222, “Refuelling”.
Caution
•Filling the tank even only once with leaded petrol will result in the catalytic
converter being destroyed.
•Operating the engine with petrol of a low octane number can result in engine
damage at high revolutions or severe engine loading.
Biofuel Ethanol E85*
Ethanol E85*
Only valid for vehicles with 1.6/75 kW MultiFuel engine.
Biofuel Ethanol E85 consists of 85% bi oethanol and 15% unleaded petrol
complying with the standard (DIN) EN 228.
Biofuel Ethanol E85 in accordance with th e standard (DIN) EN 228 can be mixed in
any desired ratio with unleaded petrol, see Owner's Manual.
Drive the vehicle for at least 5 minutes without interruption, if biofuel Ethanol E85
has been refuelled, so that the engine co ntrol unit can determine the share of the
biofuel in the fuel. During this period do not drive at top speed of your vehicle or
high engine speeds and not at full throttle . During this process decrease the idling
speed.
WARNING
Pay attention to any legal requirements if you do carry a spare canister in the
vehicle. We do not recommend carrying any fuel canisters in your vehicle for
safety reasons. The canister can be da maged in the event of an accident and
fuel may leak out.
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Fuel
220
Caution
•Even inadvertently filling the fuel tank with another biofuel such as Ethanol°E85
can result in damage to the fuel system.
•If you park the car for a lengthy period, fill with petrol complying with (DIN)
EN°228, because Ethanol E85 can contain lo w quantities of impurities, which can
lead to corrosion.
For the sake of the environment
If you use Ethanol E85, the CO2 emission of your vehicl e is lowered up to 5%.
Note
•When operating with Ethanol E85, the fuel consumption increases by approx
33%, as a lower quantity of energy is contained in the bioethanol than in unleaded
petrol.
•Biofuel Ethanol E85 contains only a low quantity of additives in contrast to
unleaded petrol. Therefore we recommend to fill up the tank with unleaded petrol
complying with EN 228 every 15 000 km (e.g. before the oil change) and run it
empty, so that the engine remains clean. Make sure not to use the whole content of
the tank ⇒page 222, “Refuelling”.
•The interval of 15 000 km applies for the oil change.
Operation in winter
If you use biofuel Ethanol E85 at very low temperatures, it is necessary to preheat
the engine before an engine start.
The power socket for the engine preheating is located in the front bumper next to
the fog light ⇒fig. 205 .
If an engine preheating is not possible at outside temperatures lower than -10 °C,
the share of unleaded petrol complying with EN 228 must be as high as possible.
Thus the cold start property of the engine is clearly improved.
If there is biofuel Etha nol E85 in the tank and the engine is not preheated, it can lead
at temperatures below -15°C to very poor or no starting of the engine.
For the sake of the environment
The use of engine preheating at temperatures below -10°C has a positive effect on
the fuel consumption and thus on the environment.
The outside temperatureDuration of engine preheating
lower than -10 °Cwe recommend up to 1 hour
lower than -15 °Cat least 1 hour
lower than -25 °Cat least 2 hour
Fig. 205 MultiFuel - power
socket
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Fuel221
Using the systemSafetyDriving TipsGeneral MaintenanceBreakdown assistanceTechnical Data
Note
An extension cable used for connecting to the electrical network is located in the
luggage compartment.
Diesel
Diesel fuel
Your vehicle can be operated with diesel fuel, which complies with the standard
DIN EN 590 .
Fuel additives
You must not use fuel additives, so-called “flow improvers” (petrol and similar
products) in diesel fuel.
If the quality of the diesel fuel is p oor, it is then necessary to drain the fuel filter
more often than stated in the Service schedule.
You can find information on refuelling ⇒page 222, “Refuelling”.
Caution
•Only use fuel which complies with the standard DINEN590. Filling the tank
even only once, which does not comply with the standard, can result in damage to
the fuel system.
•Water which has collected in the fuel fi lter can result in engine problems.
•Your vehicle is not adapted for use of biodiesel, therefore this fuel must not be
refuelled and driven. Using this biodiesel ca n lead to damage to the engine or the
fuel system.
Operation in winter
Winter-grade diesel fuel
A different grade of diesel fuel is available at filling stations in winter than during the
summer. Using “summer-grade diesel fuel” at temperatures below 0°C can result in
operational problems because the diesel be comes viscous as a result of paraffin
separation.
It is therefore the case that DIN EN 590 prescribes diesel fuel class for certain
periods of the year which can also be pu rchased at the corresponding time during
the year. “Winter-grade diesel fuel” will still operate properly even at a temperature
of -20°C.
It is often the case in countries with diff erent climatic conditions that diesel fuels
available have a different temperature characteristic. Škoda Service Partners and
filling stations in the country concerned wi ll be able to provide you with informa-
tion regarding the diesel fuels available.
Prewarming fuel
The vehicle is fitted with a fuel filter prewarming system. This secures operation of
a vehicle using diesel fuel down to an environmental temperature of -25°C.
Caution
It is not permitted to add the various fuel additives on the market, including petrol,
to diesel fuel in order to improve its flow properties.
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Fuel
222
Refuelling
The filler flap is automatically unlocked or locked* with the central
locking.
Opening the fuel filler cap
– Press onto the left side of the fuel filler flap ⇒fig. 206 .
– The fuel filler cap on the fuel filler tube must be unlocked to the left using the vehicle key (only valid for vehicles which do not have auto-
matic unlocking of the fuel filler flap). – Unscrew the fuel filler cap anti-clo
ckwise and place the fuel filler cap
from above on the fuel filler flap ⇒fig. 207.
Closing fuel filler cap
– Screw on the cap by turning it to the right until it is heard to lock.
– The fuel filler cap on the fuel filler tube must be locked to the right using the vehicle key (only valid for vehicles which do not have auto-
matic locking of the fuel filler flap).
– Press the fuel tank flap closed.
The correct grade of fuel for your vehicle as well as the tyre size and inflation pres-
sures are stated on a sticker affixed to the inside of the fuel filler flap. Further infor-
mation on fuel ⇒page 219.
The fuel tank has a capacity of about 55°litres or 60 litres
20).
WARNING
Pay attention to any legal requirements if you do carry a spare canister in the
vehicle. We do not recommend carrying any fuel canisters in your vehicle for
safety reasons. The canister can be damaged in the event of an accident and
fuel may leak out.
Caution
•Before refuelling it is necessary to switch off the auxiliary heating system (auxil-
iary heating and ventilation) *.
•Remove any fuel which has spilled onto the paintwork of your vehicle immedi-
ately - risk of paint damage!
•Vehicles fitted with cataly tic converter should never be allowed to let the fuel
tank to run completely empty. An irregular supply of fuel to the engine can result in
misfiring and unburnt fuel may get into the exhaust system, which may result in
overheating and damage to the catalytic converter.
Fig. 206 Right rear side of
the vehicle: Fuel filler flap
Fig. 207 Filler flap with cap
unscrewed
20)Valid for Octavia Combi 4x4 and Octavia Scout.
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Fuel223
Using the systemSafetyDriving TipsGeneral MaintenanceBreakdown assistanceTechnical Data
•Make sure that the valve is not pressed into the filler tube when inserting the
pump nozzle into the filler tube. Otherwis e you are unintentionally filling up the
volume, which in case of heat can cause an expansion of the fuel. This can lead to
an overflow of fuel or damage to parts of the fuel reservoir.
•T h e f u e l t a n k i s f u l l j u s t a s s o o n a s t h e pump nozzle switches off for the first time,
provided the nozzle has been operated properly. Do not continue refuelling -
otherwise the expansion volume is filled up.
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