Checking and refilling levels233
Safety First
Controls and equipment
Practical tips
Technical Data
•A highly explosive mixture of gases is released when the battery is
under charge. The batteries should be charged in a well-ventilated room
only.•Keep children away from acid and batteries.•Before working on the electrical system, you must switch off the
engine, the ignition and all consumers. The negative cable on the battery
must be disconnected. When a light bulb is changed, you need only switch
off the light.•Deactivate the anti-theft alarm by unlocking the vehicle before you
disconnect the battery! The alarm will otherwise be triggered.•When disconnecting the battery from the vehicle electrical system,
disconnect first the negative cable and then the positive cable.•Switch off all electrical consumers before reconnecting the battery.
Reconnect first the positive cable and then the negative cable. Never
reverse the polarity of the connections. This could cause an electrical fire.•Never charge a frozen battery, or one which has thawed. This could
result in explosions and chemical burns. Always replace a battery which
has frozen. A flat battery can freeze at temperatures around 0°.•Ensure that the vent hose is always connected to the battery.•Never use a defective battery. This may be fatally explosive. Replace a
damaged battery immediately.Caution
•Never disconnect the battery if the ignition is switched on or if the engine
is running. This could damage the electrical system or electronic compo-
nents.•Do not expose the battery to direct sunlight over a long period of time, as
the intense ultraviolet radiation can damage the battery housing.•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.
Charging the battery
A fully-charged battery is important for reliable starting.–Note the warnings ⇒ in “Important safety warnings for
handling a car battery” on page 232 and ⇒.
– Switch off the ignition and all electrical equipment.
– Only if “fast-charging”: both battery cables must be discon- nected (first the “negative” cable, then the “positive” cable).
– Connect the charger cables to the battery terminals, noting the colour code (red is used for “positive”, black or brown for “nega-
tive”).
– Now connect the battery charger to the power point and switch on.
– After charging the battery: switch off the battery charger and disconnect the power point cable.
– Finally disconnect the charger cables from the battery.
– If necessary, reconnect both battery cables to the battery (first the “positive” cable, then the “negative” cable).When charging with a low current (for instance with a small battery charger)
the battery does not normally have to be disconnected. However, both
battery cables must be disconnected before “ fast-charging” the battery with
a high current. However, always follow the instructions given by the manufac-
turer of the battery charger.
The fast-charging procedure for a battery is dangerous ⇒ in “Important
safety warnings for handling a car battery” on page 232, as it requires a
WARNING (continued)
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Checking and refilling levels
234special charger and the corresponding level of knowledge. We therefore
recommend that this work should only be performed by a specialist garage.
A flat battery can freeze at temperatures of around 0°C. The battery must be
defrosted before charging ⇒. It is advisable to replace the battery if it has
frozen, because the ice can crack the battery casing and allow the battery
acid to escape.
The battery caps should not be opened while the battery is being charged.
WARNING
Never charge a frozen battery. Failure to comply could result in an
explosion.
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Index299
Index
AAccessories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214
Towing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196
Adaptive headlights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Air conditioner 2C-Climatronic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
Defrosting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
Solar-powered blower/solar roof . . . . . . . . 163
Air duct Fitting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259, 266
Removing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258, 265
Air purity sensor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
Airbag Warning lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Airbag covers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Airbag system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Curtain airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Front airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Side airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Warning lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Alternator Warning lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Ambient temperature display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Anti-freeze . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225
Anti-lock brake system How it works . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
Anti-puncture tyres . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240 Anti-theft alarm system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
Interior monitoring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Aquaplaning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239
Armrest Storage compartment in front armrest . . . . 141
Armrests Adjusting the front armrest . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
Ashtray Front . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
Rear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
Athermic windscreen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215
Auto-check system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Automatic car wash tunnel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
Automatic gearbox Dynamic gear control program . . . . . . . . . . 180
Kick-down feature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
multitronic® . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
Paddle levers (tiptronic mode) . . . . . . . . . . 182
Safety interlock for ignition key . . . . . . . . . 165
Selector lever lock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
Selector lever positions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
Steering wheel with paddle levers . . . . . . . 182
tiptronic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175, 181
Automatic headlight control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
BBackground lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124 Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231
Battery voltage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Charging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233
Disconnection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231
Long periods of non-use . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231
Replacing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231, 232
Testing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231
Winter operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231, 232
Belt tension device Disposal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Warning lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Belt tension devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Bicycle rack Towing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196
Biodiesel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218
Biodiesel fuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218
Bonnet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220 Closing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222
Opening . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220
Releasing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220
Brake light Failure control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Brake pads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
Brake servo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
Brake system Brake servo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
Brakes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
Malfunction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
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