2009 FIAT BRAVO Owners Manual

128
DASHBOARD
AND CONTROLS
CORRECT USE
OF THE CAR
WARNING
LIGHTS AND
MESSAGES
IN AN
EMERGENCY
CAR
MAINTENANCE
TECHNICAL
SPECIFICATIONS
INDEX
SAFETY
DEVICES
The air bag does not substi-
tute the seat belts, but only
increases their effectiveness. More-
over, since the front air bags do not
come into operation in the event of
front impact at low speed, side colli-
sions, bumps from behind or over-
turning, in these circumstances the
occupants would only be protected
by the seat belts which must therefore
always be fastened.
WARNING
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129
DASHBOARD
AND CONTROLS
WARNING
LIGHTS AND
MESSAGES
IN AN
EMERGENCY
CAR
MAINTENANCE
TECHNICAL
SPECIFICATIONS
INDEX
SAFETY
DEVICES
CORRECT USE
OF THE CAR
ENGINE STARTING ........................................................... 130
PARKING................................................................................ 133
USING THE GEARBOX ......................................................134
CONTAINING RUNNING COSTS................................. 135
TOWING TRAILERS............................................................137
SNOW TYRES....................................................................... 139
SNOW CHAINS................................................................... 139
CAR INACTIVITY............................................................... 140
C C
O O
R R
R R
E E
C C
T T

U U
S S
E E

O O
F F

T T
H H
E E

C C
A A
R R
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ENGINE STARTING
The car is fitted with an electronic engine
lock device: if the engine fails to start, see
the paragraph “The Fiat CODE system” in
section “Dashboard and controls”.
The engine may be noisier than usual dur-
ing the first seconds of operation, espe-
cially after it has not been used for a while.
This characteristic feature of the hydraulic
tappet system does not compromise func-
tionality or reliability. This timing system
for petrol engines was adopted to limit
servicing.
Engine starting is guaranteed up to a min-
imum temperature of –18°C (Italy and
Middle Europe) and –20°C (North Eu-
rope).
130
SAFETY
DEVICES
WARNING
LIGHTS AND
MESSAGES
IN AN
EMERGENCY
CAR
MAINTENANCE
TECHNICAL
SPECIFICATIONS
INDEX
DASHBOARD
AND CONTROLS
CORRECT USE
OF THE CAR
STARTING PROCEDURE FOR
PETROL VERSIONS
Proceed as follows:
❒pull up the handbrake;
❒set the gear lever to neutral;
❒press the clutch pedal down to the
floor without touching the accelerator;
❒turn the ignition key to AVVand let
it go the moment the engine starts.
If the engine does not start at the first at-
tempt, return the ignition key to STOP
before repeating starting.
If, when the ignition key is at MAR, warn-
ing light
Yremains (or the symbol on dis-
play) lit together with warning light U,
turn the key to STOPand then back to
MAR; if the warning light remains on, try
with the other keys provided with the car.
We recommend that during
the initial period you do not
drive to full car performance
(e.g.: excessive acceleration,
long journeys at top speed, sharp brak-
ing, etc.).
Running the engine in con-
fined areas is extremely dan-
gerous. The engine consumes oxygen
and produces carbon monoxide
which is a highly toxic and lethal gas.
WARNING
When the engine is switched
off never leave the ignition key
at MARto prevent pointless
current absorption from drain-
ing the battery.
If you are still unable to start the engine,
perform the emergency start-up proce-
dure (see “Emergency start-up” in section
“In an emergency”) and contact Fiat Deal-
ership.
IMPORTANT Never leave the ignition key
at MARwhen the engine is off.
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131
DASHBOARD
AND CONTROLS
WARNING
LIGHTS AND
MESSAGES
IN AN
EMERGENCY
CAR
MAINTENANCE
TECHNICAL
SPECIFICATIONS
INDEX
SAFETY
DEVICES
CORRECT USE
OF THE CAR
STARTING PROCEDURE
FOR DIESEL VERSIONS
Proceed as follows:
❒ Ensure that the handbrake is up;
❒set the gear lever to neutral;
❒turn the ignition key to MAR. The
warning lights
mand Y(or the sym-
bol on display) on the instrument pan-
el will turn on;
❒wait for the warning lights Y(or the
symbol on display) and mto turn off.
The hotter the engine is, the quicker
this will happen;
❒press the clutch pedal down to the
floor without touching the accelerator;
❒turn the ignition key to AVVas soon
as warning light mturns off. If you
wait too long you will lose the benefit
of the work done by the glow plugs. Re-
lease the key as soon as the engine
starts.IMPORTANT Never leave the ignition key
at MARwhen the engine is off.
The warning light
mwill
flash for 60 seconds at start-
up or during prolonged crank-
ing to signal a fault in the glow
plug heating system. You can use the
car as usual if the engine starts but you
should contact a Fiat Dealership as
soon as possible.
IMPORTANT With cold engine, the ac-
celerator pedal shall be completely re-
leased while turning the ignition key to
AVV.
If the engine does not start at the first at-
tempt, return the ignition key to STOP
before repeating starting.
If, when the ignition key is at MAR, warn-
ing light
Yon the instrument panel (or
the symbol on display) stays on, turn the
key to STOPand then back to MAR; if
the warning light remains on, try with the
other keys provided with the car.
If you still cannot start the engine, contact
Fiat Dealership.
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132
SAFETY
DEVICES
WARNING
LIGHTS AND
MESSAGES
IN AN
EMERGENCY
CAR
MAINTENANCE
TECHNICAL
SPECIFICATIONS
INDEX
DASHBOARD
AND CONTROLS
CORRECT USE
OF THE CAR
STOPPING THE ENGINE
Turn the ignition to STOPwhile the en-
gine is idling.
IMPORTANT After a taxing drive, you
should allow the engine to “catch its
breath” before turning it off by letting it
idle to allow the temperature in the en-
gine compartment to fall.
Never bump start the engine
by pushing, towing or coasting
downhill as this could cause
fuel to flow into the catalytic
exhaust system and damage it beyond
repair.
Remember that the servo-
brake and power steering
are not operational until the engine
has been started, therefore much ef-
fort than usual is required on the
brake pedal and steering wheel.
WARNING
A quick burst on the acceler-
ator before turning off the en-
gine serves absolutely no prac-
tical purpose, it wastes fuel
and is damaging especially to tur-
bocharged engines.
HOW TO WARM UP THE
ENGINE AFTER IT HAS
JUST STARTED
(petrol and diesel engines)
Proceed as follows:
❒ Drive off slowly, letting the engine turn
at medium revs. Do not accelerate
abruptly;
❒ Do not drive at full performance for the
initial kilometres. Wait until the coolant
temperature gauge starts moving.
EMERGENCY START-UP
If the instrument panel warning light
Y(or the symbol on display) stays on with
fixed light, contact Fiat Dealership.
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133
DASHBOARD
AND CONTROLS
WARNING
LIGHTS AND
MESSAGES
IN AN
EMERGENCY
CAR
MAINTENANCE
TECHNICAL
SPECIFICATIONS
INDEX
SAFETY
DEVICES
CORRECT USE
OF THE CAR
PARKING
Proceed as follows:
❒ Stop the engine and engage the hand-
brake;
❒Engage a gear (first if the car is faced up-
hill or reverse if it is faced downhill) and
leave the wheels steered.
Block the wheels with a wedge or a stone
if the car is parked on a steep slope. Do
not leave the ignition key at MARto pre-
vent draining the battery. Always remove
the key when you leave the car.HANDBRAKE
The handbrake lever is located between
the two front seats.
Pull the handbrake lever upwards until the
car cannot be moved.
Four or five clicks are generally enough
when the car is on level ground while nine
or ten may be required if the car is on a
steep slope or laden.
IMPORTANT If this is not the case, con-
tact Fiat Dealership to have the handbrake
adjusted.
In cars fitted with front armrest, lift the
latter so that it does not hinder the hand-
brake engaging procedure.When the handbrake lever is pulled up
and the ignition key is at MAR, the in-
strument panel warning light
xwill turn
on.
To release the handbrake:
❒slightly lift the handbrake and press re-
lease button A-fig. 1;
❒keep button Apressed and lower the
lever. Warning light xwill turn off.
Press the brake pedal when carrying out
this operation to prevent the car from
moving accidentally.
fig. 1F0Q0628m
Never leave children unat-
tended in the car. Always re-
move the ignition key when leaving
the car and take it out with you.
WARNING
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134
SAFETY
DEVICES
WARNING
LIGHTS AND
MESSAGES
IN AN
EMERGENCY
CAR
MAINTENANCE
TECHNICAL
SPECIFICATIONS
INDEX
DASHBOARD
AND CONTROLS
CORRECT USE
OF THE CAR
USING THE GEARBOX
To engage the gears, press the clutch ped-
al fully and shift the gear lever into the re-
quired position (the diagram of gear po-
sition is shown on the knob fig. 2and
fig. 3.
To engage 6
thgear (1.416V, 1.4 T-JET,
1.6 Multijet, 1.9 Multijet 16V version,
2.0 Multijet) press the lever to the right to
prevent engaging 4
thgear by mistake. A
similar action is required to shift down
from 6
thto 5th.
IMPORTANT The car can only be put in-
to reverse gear when it has stopped mov-
ing completely. With the engine running,
before engaging the reverse, wait at least
2 seconds with the clutch pedal fully down
to prevent damage and grating of the
gears.
To engage reverse Rfrom neutral, lift the
sliding ring A-fig. 2or A-fig. 3 under the
knob and shift the lever to the right and
back.
fig. 2F0Q0734mfig. 3F0Q0602m
To change gears properly
you must push the clutch
pedal fully down. It is therefore es-
sential that there is nothing under the
pedals: make sure the mats are lying
flat and do not get in the way of the
pedals.
WARNINGDo not drive with your hand
resting on the gear lever as the
force exerted, even if slight,
could lead over time to pre-
mature wear on the gearbox internal
components.
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CONTAINING
RUNNING COSTS
Here are some useful tips to save fuel and
minimize polluting emissions of CO
2and
other pollutants (nitric oxide, unburnt hy-
drocarbons, fine dusts etc…).
GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS
Car maintenance
Have checks and adjustments carried out
in accordance with the “Service schedule”.
Tyres
Check the pressure of the tyres routine-
ly at an interval of no more than 4 weeks:
if the pressure is too low, consumption
levels increase as resistance to rolling is
higher.Unnecessary loads
Do not travel with too much luggage
stowed in the boot. The weight of the car
(especially when driving in town) and its
trim greatly affects consumption and sta-
bility.
Roof rack/ski rack
Remove the roof rack or the ski rack from
the roof as soon as they are no longer
used. These accessories lower air pene-
tration and adversely affect consumption
levels. When needing to carry particular-
ly voluminous objects, preferably use a
trailer.
Electric devices
Use electric devices only for the amount
of time needed. Rear heated window, ad-
ditional headlights, windscreen wipers and
heater fan need a considerable amount of
energy, therefore increasing the require-
ment of current increases fuel consump-
tion (up to +25% in the urban cycle).Climate control
The air conditioner is an additional load
which greatly affects the engine leading to
higher consumption (on average up to
+20%). When the temperature outside
the car permits it, use the air vents where
possible.
Spoilers
The use of non-certified aerodynamic
items may adversely affect air drag and
consumption levels.
135
DASHBOARD
AND CONTROLS
WARNING
LIGHTS AND
MESSAGES
IN AN
EMERGENCY
CAR
MAINTENANCE
TECHNICAL
SPECIFICATIONS
INDEX
SAFETY
DEVICES
CORRECT USE
OF THE CAR
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