2008 SKODA OCTAVIA Owner's Manual

Lights and Visibility
64
Headlamp range adjustment 
Once the low beam is switched on you can then adapt the range of
the headlights to the load of the vehicle.
– Turn the control dial ⇒fig. 60 until you have adjusted the low beam
so that oncoming traffic is not dazzled.
Settings
The positions correspond approximat ely to the following vehicle loads:
Front seats occupied, lu ggage compartment empty.
All seats occupied, luggage compartment empty.
All seats occupied, luggage compartment laden.
Driver seat occupied, luggage compartment laden.
Caution
Set the headlight beam adjustment in su ch a way as to avoid dazzling oncoming
traffic.
Note
Headlights fitted with Xenon bulbs* adapt automatically to the load and driving
state of the vehicle (e.g. accelerating, braking) when the ignition is switched on and
when driving. Vehicles which are equi pped with Xenon bulbs* do not have a
manual headlight range adjustment control.
Switch for hazard warning lights 
–Press switch  ⇒ fig. 61 to switch the hazard warning light system on
or off.
All the turn signal lights on the vehicle flash at the same time when the hazard
warning light system is switched on. The indicator light for the turn signals and the
indicator light in the switch also flash at the same time. You can also switch on the
hazard warning light system if the ignition is switched off.
The hazard warning light system is switch ed on automatically if an airbag is
deployed in the event of an accident.
Please comply with any legal requirements when using the hazard warning light
system.
Fig. 60 Dash panel: Lights
and Visibility
A-
A1
A2
A3
Fig. 61 Dash panel: Switch
for hazard warning lights
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Lights and Visibility65
Using the systemSafetyDriving TipsGeneral MaintenanceBreakdown assistanceTechnical Data
Note
Switch on the hazard warning light system if, for example:
•you encounter traffic congestion,
•your vehicle breaks down or an emergency situation occurs.
The turn signal   and main beam lever 
The parking lights and headlight flas her are also switched on and off
using the turn signal and main beam lever.
The turn signal and main beam lever perform the following functions:
Right
 and left  turn signal light
– Push the lever upwards or downwards ⇒fig. 62 .
– If you only wish to flash three times* (the so-called convenience turn signal), push the lever briefly up to the upper or lower pressure point
and release it. This function can be activated/deactivated in the infor-
mation display* ⇒page 26.
– Turn signal for changing lanes - in or der to only flash briefly, move the
lever up or down to the pressure po int and hold it in this position. Main beam

– Switch on the low beam.
– Push the lever forwards.
– Pull the lever back into the initial position in order to switch the main
beam off again.
Headlight flasher

– Pull on the lever of the steering wheel (sprung position) - the main beam and warning light in the instrument cluster come on.
Parking light

– Switch off the ignition.
– Push the lever up or down - the right-hand or left-hand parking light is switched on.
Information concerning the function of the lights.
•The turn signal system only operates when the ignition is switched on. The
corresponding indicator light  or  in the instrument cluster also flashes.
•The turn signal is automatically cancelled after negotiating a curve.
•The indicator light flashes at twice its normal rate if a bulb of the turn signal light
fails.
•The side light and rear light on the appropriate side of the vehicle are switched
on when the parking light is selected. The parking light only operates if the ignition
is switched off.
Caution
Use main beam or the headlight flasher only if this does not risk dazzling other road
users.
Fig. 62 Turn signal and main
beam lever
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Lights and Visibility
66
Note
•If you have switched on the right or left turn signal light and you switch off the
ignition, the parking light is not automatically switched on.
•Use only in accordance with the legal requirements the described lighting and
signal systems.
Interior lighting
Vehicle interior lighting front and rear*
The same principles apply for the lighti ng of the front and rear part of the
vehicle.
Switching the interior light on
– Press the switch to the left, the symbol
 ⇒ fig. 63 appears.
Switching the interior light off
– Press the switch into the middle position O.
– On the version without reading lights press the switch to the right, the symbol O appears. Door contact setting
– Press the switch to the right, the symbol
 appears.
– On the version without reading lights press the switch into the middle position
.
Reading lights*
– Press on one of the switches in order to switch the right or left reading light on or off.
The interior light comes on as soon as yo u unlock the car or open a door or when
the ignition key has been removed. The light goes out again about 30 seconds after
all the doors have been closed. The interior lighting is switched off when you lock
the car or switch the ignition on. This on ly applies when the switch for the corre-
sponding interior lights is stan ding n the door contact setting.
The interior lighting goes off after about 10 minutes when a door has been left open
in order to avoid discharging the battery of the vehicle.
If the switch is in the position
 (permanent lights), the interior lighting goes off at
the latest after 10 minutes in order to avoid discharging the battery of the vehicle.
Note
We recommend having these bulbs re placed by a specialist garage.
Lighting of the storage compartment on front passenger side*
– When opening the flap of the storage compartment on the front
passenger side the lighting in the storage compartment comes on.
– The light switches on automatically when the parking light is switched
on and goes out when the flap is closed.
Fig. 63 Detail of the head-
liner: Front and rear interior
lighting
AA
AA
AA
AA
AA
AB
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Lights and Visibility67
Using the systemSafetyDriving TipsGeneral MaintenanceBreakdown assistanceTechnical Data
Front door warning light*
The warning light is located in the door trim panel below ⇒fig. 64 .
The warning light goes on every time the door is opened. The light goes out about
10 minutes after opening the door in order to avoid discharging the battery of the
vehicle.
There is a reflector installed on some vehicles instead of the warning light.
Luggage compartment light*
The lighting comes on automatically when the boot lid is opened. The luggage
compartment lighting will switch off agai n automatically if the boot lid remains
open for more than about 30 minutes.
Entry lighting*
The lighting is positioned on the bottom edge of the exterior mirror.
The light beam is directed towards the entry area of the front door.
The light comes on after the doors have been locked or on opening the boot lid. The
light goes out after switching on the ignition or up to 30 seconds after closing all the
doors, the bonnet and the boot lid. If a door, the bonnet or the boot lid remains open, the light goes out within 2
minutes if the ignition is switched off.
WARNING
If the entry light comes on, do not touch its cover - risk of burns!
Visibility
Rear window heater
– You can switch the rear window heater
on or off by pressing the switch
⇒ fig. 65 - the indicator light in the switch comes on or goes out.
The rear window heater only oper ates when the engine is running.
The rear window heater switches off automatically after 10 minutes.
For the sake of the environment
You should switch off the rear window heater as soon as the rear window is clear.
The reduced current consumption will have a favourable effect on fuel economy
⇒ page 205, “Saving electricity”.
Fig. 64 Front door: Warning
light
Fig. 65 Switch for rear
window heater

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Lights and Visibility
68
Note
•The position and the shape of the switch can differ depending on equipment
installed in the vehicle.
•If the on-board voltage drop s, the rear window heater is switched off automat-
ically, in order to provide sufficient electrical energy for the engine control.
Sun visors
You can pull the sun visor for the driver or front passenger out of the fixture and
swivel it toward the door in the direction of the arrow ⇒fig. 66 . The vanity mirrors* in the sun visors are provided with covers. Push the cover in
direction of arrow .
On vehicles which are equipped with doub
le sun visor*, you can also unfold the
auxiliary visor after swivelling the sun visor⇒ fig. 67.
WARNING
The sun visors must not be swivelled to the side windows into the deploy-
ment area of the head airbags if any obje cts, such as ball-point pens etc. are
attached to them. This might result in injuries to the occupants if the head
airbag is deployed.
Sun screen*
Fig. 66 Sun visor: swivelling
out
Fig. 67 Double sun visor
A1
A2
Fig. 68 Unroll the sun screen
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Using the systemSafetyDriving TipsGeneral MaintenanceBreakdown assistanceTechnical Data
The sun screen is located in a ho using on the luggage compartment
cover. If required, you can remove the housing with the sun screen from
the luggage compartment cover.
Unrolling
– Pull the sun screen at the loop and hang it in the brackets ⇒page 68, fig. 68 .
Rolling up
– Take the sun screen out of the brackets and hold it at the loop so that it can roll up slowly and without damage into the housing on
the luggage compartment cover.
Removing
– Unhook the fastening elements from the luggage compartment cover .
– Roll up the sun screen again into the housing on the luggage compart- ment cover.
– Press the locking button in the direction of arrow and take out the sun screen in the direction or arrow ⇒fig. 69 .
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. 70 has the following positions:
Finger-operated wiping
– If you wish to wipe the windscreen only briefly, push the lever into the
sprung position . If you hold the le ver in the lower position for more
than 1 second, the wiper wipes faster.
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 .
Fig. 69 Remove the sun
screen
AAAB
ABAA
AC
A1
A2
Fig. 70 Windscreen wiper
lever
A4
A1
AA
A2
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Lights and Visibility
70
Fast wipe
– Position the lever up into position .
Automatic wipe/wash for windscreen
– Pull the lever towards the steering wheel into sprung position , the wash system sprays immediately, the windscreen wiper starts wiping
a little later. The wash system and the windscreen wiper operate
simultaneously at a speed of more than 120 km/h.
– Release the lever. The windscreen wash system stops and the wiper continues for another 3 - 4 wiper stro kes (depending on the period of
spraying of the windscreen). At a speed of more than 2 km/h, the wiper
wipes once again* 5 seconds after the last wiper stroke in order to
wipe the last drops from the windsc reen. This function can be acti-
vated/deactivated by a specialist garage.
Rain sensor*
– Move the lever into position .
– You can set the sensitivity of the sensor individually with switch .
Wiping the rear window pane*
– Push the lever away from the steering wheel into position - the widescreen wiper will operate every 6 seconds.
Automatic wipe/wash for the rear window pane*
– Press the lever from the steering wheel forward into the sprung posi- tion , the wash system sprays immediately, the windscreen wiper
starts wiping a little later. As long as you hold the lever in this position,
the wiper operates as well as the wash system.
– Letting go of the lever will cause the windscreen wash system to stop and the wiper to continue for anot her 2 - 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 .
After the windscreen wiper switches off each
time or the ignition switches off for
the third time, the position of the windscreen wiper changes, this counteracts an
early fatigue of the wiper rubbers.
The windscreen wipers and the wash system only operate if the ignition is switched
on and the bonnet is closed
10).
If the intermittent wipe is switched on, the intervals are also controlled depending
on speed.
The rain sensor* automatically regulates the break between the individual wiper
strokes depending on the intensity of the rain.
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 235.
Winter position
If the windscreen wipers are in rest posi tion, they cannot be folded out from the
windscreen. For this reason we recommend adjusting the windscreen wipers in
winter so that they can be folded out fr om the windscreen easily. You can set this
rest position as follows:
•Switch on the windscreen wipers.
•Switch off the ignition. The windscreen wipers remain in the position in which
they were when switching off the ignition.
You can also use the service position ⇒page 71 as a winter position.
A3
A5
A1
AA
A6
A7
A6
10)On vehicles which do not have a contact swit ch for the bonnet, the windshield wiper and
wash system operates also when the bonnet is opened.
A0
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Lights and Visibility71
Using the systemSafetyDriving TipsGeneral MaintenanceBreakdown assistanceTechnical Data
WARNING
•Properly maintained windscreen wiper blades are essential for clear visi-
bility and safe driving ⇒page 71.
•Do not use the windscreen washer sy stem at low temperatures, without
heating the windscreen beforehand. Otherwise the window cleaner could
freeze on the windscreen and re strict the view to the front.
•The rain sensor only operates as a support. The driver is not released
from the responsibility to set the function of the windscreen wipers manu-
ally depending on the visibility conditions.
Caution
In frosty weather, please first of all check whether the windscreen wiper blades are
not frozen to the windscreen before swit ching 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!
Note
•If the slower or the faster wiper setting is switched on ⇒page 69, fig. 70
and the vehicle speed decreases to below 4 km/h, the lower wiper step is switched
on automatically. At a speed increase of more than 8 km/h the previous wiper
setting is esta blished again.
•If there is an obstacle on the windscre en, the wiper will try to push away the
obstacle. If the obstacle continues to block the wiper, th e wiper stops after 5 cycles,
in order to avoid a damage to the wiper. Remove the obstacle and and switch on
the wiper again.
Headlight cleaning system*
The headlights are being cleaned after the windscreen has been sprayed for the first
time and fifth time, the low beam or ma in beam are switched on and the wind-
screen wiper lever was he ld in the position ⇒page 69, fig. 70 for about 1
second. The headlight washer nozzles are moved forward out of the bumper by the water
pressure for cleaning the headlights.
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 214, “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
One cannot fold out the wiper arms in the rest position from the wind-
screen. Before replacing the wiper arms you must put them into the
service position.
Service position for changing wiper blades
– Close the bonnet.
– Switch the ignition on and then again off.
– Then press the windscreen wiper lever in the position ⇒page 69,
fig. 70 within 20 seconds - the wiper arms move into the service posi-
tion.
A2A3
A5
Fig. 71 Wiper blade for the
windscreen wiper
A4
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