2009 Seat Alhambra open bonnet

Checking and refilling levels
218•
Before opening the bonnet, read and observe the warnings
⇒ page 211, “Safety instructions on working in the engine compartment”.
•
Wait for the engine to cool down. Hot oil may cause burn injuries.
•
Wear eye protection to avoid injuries caused by splashes of oil.
•
When removing the oil drain plug with your fingers, keep your arm hori-
zontal to help prevent oil from running down your arm.
•
Wash your skin thoroughly if it comes into contact with engine oil.
•
Engine oil is poisonous! Used oil must be stored in a safe place out of
the reach of children until it is disposed of.Caution
No additives should be used with engine oil. This could result in engine
damage. Any damage caused by the use of such additives would not be
covered by the factory warranty.
For the sake of the environment
•
Because of the disposal problems, the necessary special tools and
specialist knowledge required, we recommend that you have the engine oil
and filter changed by an Authorised Service Centre.
•
Never pour oil down drains or into the ground.
•
Use a suitable container when draining the used oil. It has to be large
enough to hold all the engine oil
CoolantCoolant specifications
Coolant is a mixture of water and at least 40% coolant addi-
tive.The cooling system must be filled with a mixture of water and at least 40 % of
our coolant additive G 12+ or an additive with the specification TT-VW 774 F
(it is dyed purple). This mixture gives the necessary frost protection down to
-25°C and protects the alloy parts of the cooling system against corrosion. It
also prevents scaling and raises the boiling point of the coolant.
The concentration of coolant must always be at least 40% - even if frost
protection is not required.
If greater frost protection is required in very cold climates, the proportion of
the antifreeze additive G 12+ can be increased. However, the percentage of
coolant additives should not exceed 60%, as this would reduce the frost
protection. It would also reduce the cooling effect. A mixture with 60%
coolant additive will give frost protection to approx. -40°C.
WARNING
•
The coolant additive is toxic. There is a toxic risk. Always keep the
coolant additive in the original container which should be stored out of the
reach of children. The same applies to coolant which you have drained off.
•
The coolant additive G 12+ must be added in sufficient quantities to
provide anti-freeze protection at the coldest ambient temperatures that
can be expected. At extremely cold ambient temperatures, the coolant
could freeze, causing the vehicle to breakdown. As the heater would also
not work in this situation, there is a risk of suffering exposure!
WARNING (continued)
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Checking and refilling levels219
Safety First
Operating instructions
Tips and Maintenance
Te c h n i c a l D a t a
Caution
•
Other additives may give considerably inferior corrosion protection. The
resulting corrosion in the cooling system can lead to a loss of coolant,
causing serious damage to the engine.
•
The coolant additive G 12+ (purple) can be mixed with the additive G 12
(red) or G 11. Never mix G12 (red colour) with G 11.
Checking the coolant level and topping up

The correct coolant level is important for fault-free func-
tioning of the engine cooling system.Before opening the bonnet, read and observe the warnings ⇒ in
“Safety instructions on working in the engine compartment” on
page 211. Opening the coolant expansion tank
– Switch off the engine and allow it to cool.
– To prevent scalding, cover the cap on the expansion tank with a
thick cloth and carefully unscrew the cap ⇒.
Checking coolant level
– Look into the open coolant expansion tank and read off the coolant level.
– If the level is underneath the “MIN” mark, top up with coolant.
To p p i n g u p c o o l a n t
–Only use new coolant.
– Do not fill above the “MAX” mark.
Closing the coolant expansion tank
– Screw the cap on again tightly.
The position of the coolant expansion reservoir is shown in the corresponding
engine compartment diagram ⇒page 262.
Make sure that the coolant meets the required specifications ⇒page 218.
Do not use a different type of additive if coolant additive G 12+, is not avail-
able. In this case use only water and bring the coolant concentration back up
to the correct level as soon as possible by putting in the specified additive
⇒ page 218.
Always top up with new coolant.
Do not fill above the “MAX” mark. Otherwise the excess coolant will be forced
out of the cooling system when the engine is hot.
Fig. 143 In the engine
compartment: Coolant
expansion tank cap
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Checking and refilling levels
224However, if the level goes down noticeably in a short time, or drops below the
“MIN” mark, there may be a leak in the brake system. A display on the instru-
ment panel will warn you if the brake fluid level is too low ⇒page 72.
WARNING
Before opening the bonnet to check the brake fluid level, read and observe
the warnings ⇒ page 211.Changing the brake fluid
The Maintenance Program indicates the brake fluid change
intervals.We recommend that you have the brake fluid changed by an Authorised
Service Centre.
Before opening the bonnet, please read and follow the warnings ⇒ in
“Safety instructions on working in the engine compartment” on page 211 in
“Working in the engine compartment”.
Brake fluid absorbs moisture. In the course of time, it will absorb water from
the ambient air. If the water content in the brake fluid is too high, the brake
system could corrode. This also considerably reduces the boiling point of the
brake fluid. Heavy use of the brakes may then cause a vapour lock which
could impair the braking effect.
It is important that you use only brake fluid compliant with the US standard
FMVSS 116 DOT 4. We recommend the use of Genuine SEAT brake fluid.
WARNING
Brake fluid is poisonous. Old brake fluid impairs the braking effect.
•
Before opening the bonnet to check the brake fluid level, read and
observe the warnings ⇒page 211.
•
Brake fluid should be stored in the closed original container in a safe
place out of reach of children. There is a toxic risk.
•
Complete the brake fluid change according to the Maintenance
Program. Heavy use of the brakes may cause a vapour lock if the brake fluid
is left in the system for too long. This would seriously affect the efficiency
of the brakes and the safety of the vehicle. This may cause an accident.Caution
Brake fluid could damage the paintwork. Wipe off any brake fluid from the
paintwork immediately.
For the sake of the environment
Brake fluid must be drained and disposed of in the proper manner observing
environmental regulations.
WARNING (continued)
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Checking and refilling levels
226•
If the vehicle is left standing in cold conditions for a long period, protect
the battery from frost. If it “freezes” it will be damaged.
Checking the electrolyte level
The electrolyte level should be checked regularly in high-
mileage vehicles, in hot countries and in older batteries.– Open the bonnet and open the battery cover at the front ⇒ in
“Safety instructions on working in the engine compartment” on
page 211 ⇒ in “Warnings on handling the battery” on
page 225.
– Check the colour display in the "magic eye" on the top of the battery.
– If there are air bubbles in the window, tap the window gently until they disperse.The position of the battery is shown in the corresponding engine compart-
ment diagram ⇒ page 262.
The round window (“magic eye”) on the top of the battery changes colour,
depending on the charge level and electrolyte level of the battery.
If the colour in the window is colourless or bright yellow, the electrolyte level
of the battery is too low. Have the battery checked by a qualified workshop.
The colours green and black are used by the workshops for diagnostic
purposes.
Charging and changing the vehicle battery
The battery is maintenance-free and is checked during the
inspection service. All work on the vehicle battery requires
specialist knowledge.If you often drive short distances or if the vehicle is not driven for long
periods, the battery should be checked by a qualified workshop between the
scheduled services.
If the battery has discharged and you have problems starting the vehicle, the
battery might be damaged. If this happens, we recommend you have the
vehicle battery checked by an Authorised Service Centre where it will be re-
charged or replaced.
Charging the battery
The vehicle battery should be charged by a qualified workshop only, as
batteries using special technology have been installed and they must be
charged in a controlled environment.
Replacing a vehicle battery
The battery has been developed to suit the conditions of its location and has
special safety features.
Genuine SEAT batteries fulfil the maintenance, performance and safety spec-
ifications of your vehicle.
WARNING
•
We recommend you use only maintenance-free or cycle free leak-proof
batteries which comply with the standards T 825 06 and VW 7 50 73. This
standard applies as of 2001.
•
Before starting any work on the batteries, you must read and observe
the warnings ⇒ in “Warnings on handling the battery” on page 225.
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Index
274Belt tension devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Belt tensioner
Warning lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Biodiesel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
Bonnet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213
Brake assist system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
Brake fluid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223 Changing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224
Brake pad wear Warning lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
Brake pad wear indicator* Indicator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Brake pads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
Brake servo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181, 187
Brake system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223 brake servo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
Warning lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
warning lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
Brakes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181, 187
Braking distance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
Breakdown set storage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233
Bulb change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245
Bulb defect warning lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Buzzer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163CCar care Exterior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196 Car care products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
Car phone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205
Car washes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196
Catalytic converter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188
CCS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
CD changer
Location . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
Central locking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89 individual opening of doors . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Central locking button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
Central stowage on instrument panel . . . . . . . 134
Cetane number . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
Changing a light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245
Changing a wheel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238, 242
Changing brake pads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
Changing bulbs lights on tailgate/rear door . . . . . . . . . . . . 247
Lights on vehicle body . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247
Reading light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249
Registration plate light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248
Changing gear See Manual gearbox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
Changing the bulbs interior light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248
rear lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246
Changing the lamps Side indicator lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246
Chassis number . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258
Checking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226
Checking battery electrolyte level . . . . . . . . . . 226 Checking engine oil level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216
Child safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Child seat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Categorisation in groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Group 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Group 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Group 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Groups 0 and 0+ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
in front passenger seat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Safety notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
securing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Childproof locks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Cigarette lighter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
Cleaning alloy wheels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
Cleaning and caring for your vehicle . . . . . . . . 195
Cleaning chrome . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
Cleaning cloth seat covers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
Cleaning dash panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
Cleaning engine compartment . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
Cleaning fabric trim . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
Cleaning leather . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
Cleaning plastic parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
Cleaning seat belts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
Cleaning windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
Cleaning wooden trim . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
Climatronic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153 Air outlet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
faults . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
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Index
276Electric windows
controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
one-touch closing and opening . . . . . . . . . 103
roll-back function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
Electrical accessories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
Electrical windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
Electronic differential lock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184 Warning lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
warning lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
Electronic immobiliser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
Electronic stabilisation program . . . . . . . . . . . 184
Electronic stabilisation programme . . . . . . . . . . 76 Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
warning lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163, 185
Electronic stabilisation programme (ESP) warning lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Emergency opening Doors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Engine Running in . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
Engine compartment Working in the engine compartment . . . . . 211
Engine coolant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218
Engine fault indicator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Engine hood See Bonnet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213
Engine management Warning lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75 Engine oil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214
Changing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
Checking level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216
Oil properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215
Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214
Topping up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
Engine oil dipstick . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216
Engine oil pressure Warning lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Engine oil temperature display . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Engine oil temperature gauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189 Environmental friendliness . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
Environmentally friendly driving . . . . . . . . . . . 189
ESP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76, 184 warning lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
Exhaust gas indicator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Exterior mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120, 198
External aerial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205
FFastening rings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17, 145
Fastening seat belt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Fault in the exhaust system* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Fault messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Faults in operation of air conditioning . . . . . . 159
First-aid kit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
Floor mats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Fog lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109 Foot brake
Warning lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Four-wheel drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186 Replacing tyres . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
Snow chains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
Winter tyres . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
Front airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Safety notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Front passenger airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Front seats adjusting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
heating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
safety instructions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
Fuel Diesel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
Petrol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
Fuel level Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Fuel reserve . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Fuel tank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208 See also Fuel reserve . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Fuel tank cap . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208
Fuel: save . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
Fuse box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244
Fuses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243
GG 12 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218
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