2009 Seat Altea XL engine coolant

Checking and refilling levels221
Safety First
Operating instructions
Practical tips
Te c h n i c a l D a t a
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 213.
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.
Topping up coolant
–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 273.
Make sure that the coolant meets the required specifications ⇒ page 220.
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 220.
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.
The coolant additive G 12+ (dyed purple) may be mixed with G 12 (dyed red)
and also with G 11.
WARNING
Any work carried out in the engine compartment or on the engine must be
carried out cautiously.•
When working in the engine compartm ent, always observe the safety
warnings ⇒page 213.
Fig. 161 In the engine
compartment: Coolant
expansion tank cap
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Checking and refilling levels
222•
When the engine is warm or hot, th e cooling system is pressurised! Do
not unscrew the cap on the expansion t ank when the engine is hot. This is
a burn injury risk.Caution
•
When mixed with other additives the colour of G 12 will change to brown.
If this occurs you should have the coolant changed immediately. Failure to do
so will result in engine damage!
•
If a lot of coolant has been lost, wait for the engine to cool down before
putting in cold coolant. This avoids damaging the engine. Large coolant
losses are an indication of leaks in the cooling system. See a specialised
workshop immediately and have the cooling system checked. Otherwise,
there is a risk of engine damage.
Washer fluid and windscreen wiper bladesTopping up washer fluid

The water for cleaning the windscreen should always be
mixed with washer fluid.The windscreen washer and the headlight washing system are supplied with
fluid from the windscreen washer flui d container in the engine compartment.
The reservoir is located on the right-hand side of the engine compartment.
Plain water is not enough to clean the windscreen and headlights. We recom-
mend that you always add a product to the windscreen washer fluid.
Approved windscreen cleaning products exist on the market with high deter-
gent and anti-freeze properties, these may be added all-year-round. Please
follow the dilution instructions on the packaging.
WARNING (continued)
Fig. 162 In the engine
compartment: Cap of
windscreen washer fluid
reservoir.
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Technical Data273
Safety First
Operating instructions
Practical tips
Te c h n i c a l D a t a
Te c h n i c a l D a t aChecking fluid levelsFrom time to time, the levels of the different fluids in the
vehicle must be checked. Never fill with incorrect fluids,
otherwise serious damage to the engine may be caused.
Coolant expansion tank
Windscreen washer fluid reservoir
Engine oil filler cap
Engine oil dipstick
Brake fluid reservoir
Vehicle battery (underneath the cover)
The checking and refilling of service fluids are carried out on the components
mentioned above. These operations are described in the ⇒page 213. Overview
Further explanations, instructions and restrictions on the technical data are
contained as of
⇒page 269.
Fig. 203 Diagram for the
location of the various
elements
A1A2A3A4A5A6
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Index
288CCatalytic converter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
CD changer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
Central locking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Automatic speed dependent locking and un-locking system* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Emergency unlocking system . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Locking system for invo luntary unlocking . . 93
Selective unlocking system* . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
Unlocking system* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Central locking button Central locking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
unlocking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Centre arm rest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
Cetane number . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212
Changing gear See Manual gearbox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
Changing the lamps Main headlight lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254
rear lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257
Changing the main headlight lamps
dipped beam lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
main beam lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256
Side lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257
turn signal lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
Changing the r ear light lamps
Position light, fog light and rear light on the tailgate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259 Changing the rear lights
Indicator, side and brake lights on the bodywork . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258
luggage compartment lights . . . . . . . . . . . 260
Changing windscreen wiper blades . . . . . . . . . 223
Chassis number . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 270
Checking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228
Checking battery electrolyte level . . . . . . . . . . 228
Checking engine oil level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
Child safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Child seat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 Categorisation in groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Group 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Group 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Group 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Groups 0 and 0+ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
ISOFIX system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Safety notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Securing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Child seats on the front passenger seat . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Cigarette lighter* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
Cleaning alloy wheel rims . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204
Cleaning and caring for your vehicle . . . . . . . . 199
Cleaning chrome . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
Cleaning engine compartment . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205
Cleaning steel wheel rims . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204
Cleaning windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
Climatic* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
Climatronic General notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161 Clock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Cloth seat covers cleaning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
Clothes hook . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
Cockpit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Control lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Control lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Controls
Electric windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
Light switches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Convenience closing Sliding/tilting roof . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
Convenience opening Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
Coolant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220, 221 Coolant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Coolant Level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221
Coolant level warning light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Coolant Loss . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221
Coolant temperature Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Safety instructions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Cruise control system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179 Warning lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Cruise control* Turning off the cruise control system . . . . 182
Curtain airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Safety notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
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Index289
DDanger of fitting a child seat on the front passenger
seat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Dash panel cleaning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
Daytime lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111 activating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
deactivating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Diesel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212
Diesel engine Winter driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213
Diesel engine particulate filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
Differential lock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
Differential lock fault (EDL) warning lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Digital clock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Dipped headlights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Disabling front passenger airbag Safety notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Disabling the airbag Disabling front passenger airbag . . . . . . . . . 43
Display (without warning or information texts) . 58
Displays in the Multi-function display Memory displays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Disposal Airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Door lock cylinders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
Door release lever . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Doors Childproof locks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Warning lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80 Drawer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
Drinks holders at the front . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
Drive wheels traction control system . . . . . . . . 184
Driveshaft differential
XDS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
Driving Driving abroad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194
Economical/ Environtmental . . . . . . . . . . . 192
With a trailer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196
Driving abroad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194 Headlights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194
Driving programmes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
Driving safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Driving with an automati c gearbox / DSG automatic
gearbox* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
Duplicate keys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Dust filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
Dynamic curve lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Dynamic headlight range control . . . . . . . . . . . 113
EEcological driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
Economical driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
EDL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
EDS Warning lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Electric steering system warning light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Electrical sockets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145 Electronic differential lock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
Warning lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Electronic immobiliser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82, 166
Electronic stabilisation program . . . . . . . . . . . 185
Electronic stabilisation programme . . . . . . . . . . 81 Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
Warning light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
Electronic stabilisation programme (ESP) warning lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Emergency braking function . . . . . . . . . . 115, 183
emergency manual locking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Emergency opening Doors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
Emission control system warning lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Engine Running in . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
Engine compartment Working in the engine compartment . . . . . 213
Engine coolant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220
Engine fault Warning lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Engine management Warning lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Engine oil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216 Changing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219
Checking level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
Oil properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216
Topping up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218
Engine oil dipstick . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
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Index
292Overview
Control lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Instrument panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Instruments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Warning lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73PPaintworkPolishing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
Parking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
Parking lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Parking system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
Parking system plus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
Parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208
Parts replacement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208
Pedals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Petrol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211 Driving abroad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194
Petrol additives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212
Petrol engines, starting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
Physical principles of a frontal collision . . . . . . 20
Plastic key tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Plastic parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
Plastic parts cleaning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
Pollen filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
Power steering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
Products for vehicle maintenance . . . . . . . . . . 199
RRadio frequency remote control Changing the battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Radio navigation Steering wheel controls audio + telephone version . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
audio version . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Radio wave remote control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Rain sensor* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Rear drink holder* Armrest* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
Rear fog light Indication lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Warning lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Rear interior lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
Rear lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257
Rear reading lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
Rear seat bench . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
Rear window heating Heating element wires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
Rear window wiper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Rear-view mirror . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Recommended gear display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Refuelling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210
Registration light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261
Remote control key Buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Synchronising . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Removing and fitting the wheel . . . . . . . . . . . . 245 Repairs
airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Replacement keys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Rev counter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Reverse gear Manual gearbox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
Roll-back function Sliding/tilting roof . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
Roof aerial* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
Roof carrier* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
Roof stowage compartment* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
Rubber seals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
Running in Engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
SSafe driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Safety equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Safety instructionsCoolant temperature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Safety notes Airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Belt tension devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Curtain airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Disabling front passenger airbag . . . . . . . . 44
frontal airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
side airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
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