
Driving and the environment189
Safety First
Controls and equipment
Practical tips
Technical Data
your vehicle has automatic transmission). This makes use of engine
braking and relieves the brakes.
•Never let the brakes “slip” by applying light pressure. Continuous
braking will cause the brakes to overheat and the braking distance will
increase. Apply and then release the brakes alternately.•Never let the vehicle run with the engine switched off. The braking
distance is increased considerably when the brake servo is not active.•Very heavy use of the brakes may cause a vapour lock if the brake fluid
is left in the system for too long. This impairs the braking effect.•Non-standard or damaged front spoilers could restrict the airflow to the
brakes and cause them to overheat. Observe the relevant instructions
before purchasing accessories ⇒page 206, “Technical modifications”.•If a brake circuit fails, the braking distance will be increased consider-
ably. Contact a qualified workshop immediately and avoid unnecessary
journeys.
Exhaust gas purification systemCatalytic converter*To conserve the useful life of the catalytic converter
– Always use unleaded petrol.
– Do not let the fuel get too low in the tank.
– For engine oil changes, do not top the reservoir up ⇒page 220,
“Topping up engine oil ”. – Never tow the vehicle to start it, use jump leads if necessary
⇒page 263.
If you notice misfiring, uneven running or loss of power when the vehicle is
moving, reduce speed immediately and have the vehicle inspected at the
nearest qualified workshop. In general, the exhaust warning lamp will light
up when any of the described symptoms occur ⇒page 75. If this happens,
unburnt fuel can enter the exhaust system and escape into the environment.
The catalytic converter can also be damaged by overheating.
WARNING
The catalytic converter reaches very high temperatures! Fire hazard!•Never park where the catalytic converter could come into contact with
dry grass or inflammable materials under the vehicle.•Do not apply additional underseal or anti-corrosion coatings to the
exhaust pipes, catalytic converter or the heat shields on the exhaust
system. These materials could catch fire when the vehicle is being driven.Caution
Never fully drain the fuel tank because the irregularity of the fuel supply may
cause ignition problems. This allows unburnt fuel to enter the exhaust
system, which could cause overheating and damage the catalytic converter.
For the sake of the environment
Even when the emission control system is working perfectly, there may be a
smell of sulphur from the exhaust under some conditions. This depends on
the sulphur content of the fuel used. Quite often the problem can be solved
by changing to another fuel brand.
WARNING (continued)
Leon_EN.book Seite 189 Dienstag, 8. September 2009 5:25 17

Index299
Curtain airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Disabling front passenger airbag . . . . . . . . . 43
frontal airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
side airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Using child seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Using seat belts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Safety system- safe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Seals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
Seat adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129, 132
Seat belt position Pregnant women . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Seat belts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Seat belt release . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Seat belt warning lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Seat belts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Incorrectly fastened . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Not worn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Safety notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Warning lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Seat belts cleaning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205
Seat belts protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Seat heating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
Seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Selective opening* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Selector lever locking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
Selector lever positions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
Service interval display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
servotronic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
Shoes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Side airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Safety notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Side lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Sitting position Driver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Front passenger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Incorrect sitting position . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Passengers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Sitting position, occupants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Sliding/tilting roof . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Snow chains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239, 272
Soot accumulation in the diesel engine particulate filter
Indicator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Spare wheel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241
Starting Petrol engines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
Starting the engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158, 159 After the fuel tank has been run dry . . . . . . 159
Start-Stop deactivating and activating . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
Steam jets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
Steering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155 Steering lock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
Steering wheel audio controls audio + telephone version . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
audio version . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Steering wheel height adjustment . . . . . . . . . . 155 Stowage area
Other stowage areas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
Stowage compartment Front passenger side . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
Stowage compartments Front left hand side seat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
Sun visors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Sunroof . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Sunroof blind Sliding/tilting roof . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Switch Hazard warning lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Switches Electric windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
Electrical exterior mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
Sliding/tilting roof . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Switching off the engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
TTailgate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104 Emergency opening . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
Warning lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Tank fuel level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
reserve indicator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
tank capacity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
TCS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
TCS (Traction control system) Warning lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Technical modifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
Leon_EN.book Seite 299 Dienstag, 8. September 2009 5:25 17