2009 SKODA FABIA coolant temperature

Heating and air conditioning system95
Using the system
Safety
Driving Tips
General Maintenance
Breakdown assistance
Technical Data
Using the air conditioning system economicallyThe compressor on the Climatic uses power from the engine when in cooling mode
which will effect the fuel consumption.
It recommended to open the windows or the doors of a vehicle for which the inte-
rior has been strongly heated through the effect of direct sunlight in order to allow
the heated air to escape.
The cooling system should not be switched on while travelling when the window is
open.
The desired interior temperature can also be achieved without switching in the
cooling system just by switching to fresh air mode.
For the sake of the environment
When you economize on fuel, you also reduce pollutant emissions.Operational problemsIf the cooling system does not operate at outside temperatures higher than +2 °C,
there is a problem in the system. The reasons for this may be:•
The fuse of the Climatic is defective. Check the fuse, replace it if necessary
⇒page 216.
•
The cooling system has switched off automatically for a short time because the
coolant temperature of the engine is too hot ⇒page 16.
If you are not able to rectify the operational problem yourself, or if the cooling
capacity decreases, switch the cooling system off. Contact a specialist garage.
If there is a fault at the Climatronic, all symbols on the display flash after switching
on the ignition for 15 seconds. Contact a specialist garage.
Climatronic (automatic air conditioning)*Description
The Climatronic system is a combination of an automatic heating,
fresh air and cooling system which provides optimal comfort for the
occupants of the car.The Climatronic maintains a constant temperature fully automatically, once it has
been set. This is achieved by automatically varying the temperature of the
outflowing air, the blower stages and the air distribution. The system also takes into
account sunlight which eliminates the need to alter the settings manually. The
automatic mode ⇒page 97 ensures maximum wellbeing of the occupants at all
times of the year.
Description of Climatronic system
The cooling operates only if the following conditions are met:•
engine running,
•
outside temperature above +2°C,
•
the button is not pressed.
If the cooling system is switched on, the temperature and air humidity drops in the
vehicle. The wellbeing of the occupants of the car is enhanced as a result of this
particularly at high outside temperatures and a high air humidity. The system
prevents the windows misting up during the cold season of the year.
The heating effect is dependent upon the coolant temperature, thus full heat
output only occurs when the engine has reached its operating temperature.
It is possible to briefly activate recirculated air mode in order to enhance the
cooling effect ⇒.
The air inlet in front of the windscreen must be free of ice, snow or leaves in order
to ensure that the heating and cooling systems operate properly.
The AC compressor is switched off at a high coolant temperature in order to provide
cooling at a high load of the engine.
ECON
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Starting-off and Driving101
Using the system
Safety
Driving Tips
General Maintenance
Breakdown assistance
Technical Data
•
The clutch pedal should be fully depressed when starting the engine - the
starter then only has to crank the engine.
•
Let go of the key as soon as the engine starts otherwise there may be damage
to the starter.
The engine running noises may louder at first be louder for a short time after
starting the cold engine until oil pressure can be built up in the hydraulic valve
clearance compensation. This is quite normal and is not an operating problem.
If the engine does not start ...
You can use the battery of another vehicle as a jump-start aid ⇒page 211.
It is only possible to tow-start vehicles fitted with a manual gearbox. The tow-
starting distance must not be more than 50 metres ⇒page 214.
WARNING
•
Never run the engine in non ventilated or enclosed areas. The exhaust
gases of the engine contain besides the odorless and colourless carbon
monoxide a poisonous gas - hazard! Carbon monoxide can cause uncon-
sciousness and death.
•
Never leave your vehicle unattended with the engine running.Caution
•
The starter may only be operated (ignition key position ), if the engine is not
running. If the starter is immediately operated after switching off the engine, the
starter or the engine can be damaged.
•
Avoid high engine revolutions, full throttle and high engine loads as long as the
engine has not yet reached its normal operating temperature - risk of damaging the
engine!
•
Vehicles which are fitted with an exhaust gas catalytic converter should not be
tow-started over a distance of more than 50 metres.
For the sake of the environment
Never warm up the engine when the vehicle is standing. Drive off right away. When
driving the engine reaches its operating temperature more rapidly and the pollutant
emissions are lower.Petrol enginesThese engines are fitted with a starter system which selects the correct fuel-air
mixture for every external air temperature.•
Do not operate accelerator before and when starting engine.
•
Interrupt the attempt at starting after 10 seconds if the engine does not start
right awayand wait for about 30 seconds before repeating the attempt.
•
It is possible that the fuse on the electrical fuel pump is defect if the engine still
does not start. Check the fuse and replace it if necessary ⇒page 216.
•
If the engine does not start, contact the nearest specialist garage to obtain
professional assistance.
It may be necessary, if the engine is very hot, to slightly depress the accelerator
after the engine has started.
Diesel enginesGlow plug system
Diesel engines are equipped with a glow plug system, the preglow period being
controlled automatically in line with the coolant temperature and outside temper-
ature.
The preglow indicator light
 comes on after the ignition has been switched on.
You should not switch on any major electrical components during the heating
period otherwise the vehicle battery will be drained unnecessarily.
•
You should start the engine immediately after the glow plug warning light

has gone out.
A3
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Starting-off and Driving 102•
The glow plug warning light will come on for about one second if the engine is
at a normal operating temperature or if the outside temperature is above +5°C. This
means that you can start the engine right away.
•
Interrupt the attempt at starting after 10 seconds if the engine does not start
right awayand wait for about 30 seconds before repeating the attempt.
•
It is possible that the fuse on the diesel preglow system is defect if the engine
still does not start. Check the fuse and replace it if necessary ⇒page 216.
•
Contact the nearest specialist garage to obtain professional assistance.
Starting the engine after fuel tank has run dry
It may take longer than normal to start the engine after refuelling if the fuel tank has
run completely dry - up to one minute. This is because the fuel system must first of
all be filled while the attempting to start the engine.
Switching off the engine– The engine can be switched off by turning the ignition key from posi-
tion into ⇒page 100, fig. 124.
WARNING
•
Never switch off the engine before the vehicle is stationary - risk of acci-
dent!
•
The brake booster only operates when the engine is running. Greater
physical effort for braking is required when engine is switched off. Because
if you do not stop as normal, this can cause an accident and severe injuries.Caution
you should not switch the engine off right away at the end of your journey after the
engine has been operated for a lengthy period at high loads but should be allowed
it to run at idling speed for about 2 minutes. This prevents any accumulation of heat
when the engine is switched off.
Note
•
The radiator fan may continue running for a further 10 minutes or so after the
engine and the ignition have been switched off. The coolant fan may, however, also
switch on again after some time if the coolant temperature rises because of an
accumulation of heat in the engine or if the engine is warm and the engine
compartment is additionally heated by strong sunlight.
•
This is why particular care is required when carrying out any work in the engine
compartment ⇒page 185, “Working in the engine compartment”.
Shifting (manual gearbox)Shift into reverse only when the vehicle is stationary. Depress the clutch pedal and
hold it fully depressed. Wait a moment before engaging reverse gear in order to
avoid any shift noises.
The reversing light will come on once reverse gear is engaged, provided the ignition
is on.
WARNING
Never engage the reverse gear when driving - risk of accident!
A1
Fig. 125 Shift pattern on
models fitted with 5-speed
manual gearbox
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Towing a trailer171
Using the system
Safety
Driving Tips
General Maintenance
Breakdown assistance
Technical Data should be attached to folding arms. Adjust the mirrors so that they provide you with
an adequate field of view to the rear.
Headlights
Before starting off with a hitched trailer, also check the setting of the headlights.
Alter the setting as necessary with the aid of the headlight beam adjuster
⇒page 53.
Detachable ball head
The ball rod is detachable on vehicles with towing device and suppliable from
Škoda original accessories. It is stowed together with separate fitting instructions in
the spare wheel well in the luggage compartment of the vehicle.
Note
•
We recommend that you also have your vehicle inspected between service
intervals if you tow a trailer frequently.
•
The handbrake on the towing vehicle must be put on when coupling and
decoupling the trailer.
•
Keep the mechanism of the ball head of the towing device clean and take
proper care of it with a suitable preservative.
Driving Tips
Particular caution is required when towing a trailer.– Do not, as far as possible, drive with your vehicle unladen and the
trailer laden.
– Do not make full use of the legal maximum speeds. This applies in
particular to downhill sections.
– Apply the brakes in good time.
– Keep a check on the coolant temperature gauge if the outside temper-
ature is high.
Distribution of weight
The distribution of the weight is very poor if your vehicle is unladen and the trailer
is laden. Maintain a particularly low speed if you cannot avoid driving with this
combination.
Driving speed
Do not drive faster than 80 km/h for safety reasons. This also applies for countries
in which higher speeds are allowed.
The fact that the driving stability of the vehicle + trailer combination reduces with
increasing speed means that the legally allowed speed should not be used when
there are unfavourable road, weather or wind conditions, particularly near accident
black spots.
You must always reduce your speed immediately as soon as you detect even just
the slightest swaying of the trailer. On no account attempt to stop the trailer from
“swaying” by accelerating.
Apply the brakes in good time! If the trailer is fitted with a trailer brake, apply the
brakes gently at first and then brake firmly. This will avoid brake jolts resulting from
the trailer wheels locking. Shift down gears in good time before negotiating a down-
hill section to allow the engine to also act as a brake.
Engine overheating
Please keep a check on the coolant temperature gauge if you have to negotiate a
lengthy slope in a low gear at a high engine speed when the outside temperature is
very high ⇒page 16.
If the needle of the coolant temperature gauge moves into the right-hand area or
even the red area of the scale, reduce your speed immediately. Stop and switch off
the engine if the warning light
 in the instrument cluster begins flashing. Wait a
few minutes and check the level of coolant in the coolant expansion bottle
⇒page 189, “Inspecting the coolant level”.
Please refer to the following guidelines ⇒page 29, “Coolant temperature/coolant
level ”.
The coolant temperature can be reduced by switching on the heating.
Any increase in the cooling effect of the coolant fan through shifting down a gear
and increasing the engine speed is not possible since the fan speed is independent
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Inspecting and replenishing191
Using the system
Safety
Driving Tips
General Maintenance
Breakdown assistance
Technical Data
For the sake of the environment
Do not re-use coolant if it is necessary to drain the coolant in the system. It should
be collected and disposed of in compliance with environmental protection
regulations.Radiator fan
The radiator fan may switch on suddenly.The radiator fan is driven by an electric motor and controlled by a thermostat
according to the coolant temperature.
The radiator fan may continue running for up to 10 minutes after the engine has
been switched off - even if the ignition is also off. It may also switch on suddenly
after a certain time, if•
the coolant temperature has risen because of an accumulation of heat or
•
the warm engine compartment is heated up additionally by strong sunlight.
WARNING
You must therefore be aware when working in the engine compartment that
the fan may switch on suddenly - risk of injury!
Brake fluidInspecting the brake fluid levelThe brake fluid reservoir is located on the left of the engine compartment.
The brake fluid reservoir on right-hand steering models is positioned on
the other side of the engine compartment.
– Switch the engine off.
– Open the bonnet ⇒ in “Working in the engine compartment” on
page 185.
– Inspect the brake fluid level in the reservoir ⇒fig. 185. The level must
be between the “MIN” and “MAX” markings.A slight drop in the fluid level results when driving due to normal wear-and-tear
and automatic adjustment of the brake pads, and is perfectly normal.
There may be an indication of a leak in the brake system, however, if the fluid level
drops significantly within a short time or if it drops below the “MIN” marking. A situ-
ation where the brake fluid level is too low is indicated by the warning light

lighting up in the instrument cluster ⇒page 33. In this case stop immediately and
do not drive any further! Obtain professional assistance.
Fig. 185 Engine compart-
ment: Brake fluid reservoir
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Index 248Child seat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
Classification into groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
ISOFIX system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
Children and safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
Chrome parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
Cigarette lighter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Cleaning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
Climatronic
Defrosting windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Setting temperature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Clock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Clothes hooks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Cockpit
General view . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Compartments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Convenience operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Converting/masking over headlights . . . . . . . . . . 168
Coolant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
replenishing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
Warning light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Coolant level
Warning light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Coolant temperature gauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Coolant temperature/coolant level
Warning light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Cornering lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Warning light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Correct seated position . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
Counter for distance driven . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Cruise control system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104Cup holder
front . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
rear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
DDeactivating an airbag . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
Defrosting rear window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
De-icing the windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
Diesel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
Diesel engines
Starting the engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
Diesel particle filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
Warning light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Digital clock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Direction indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Warning light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Distance driven . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Door
Child safety lock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Warning light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Door, luggage compartment door and bonnet ajar
warning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Driving economically . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
Driving time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22EEDL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
Electric power-operated window
Operational faults . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Electric sliding/tilting roof . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49Electrical power windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Electrically adjustable rear mirror . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Electronic Differential Lock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
Warning light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Electronic Differential Lock (EDL) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
Electronic immobiliser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30, 37
Warning light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Electronic stability programme (ESP) . . . . . . . . . . 155
Warning light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Emergency locking of the door . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Engine
starting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
switching off . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
Engine compartment
Safety information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
Engine electronics
Warning light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Engine oil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188
check . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
replenishing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188
Warning light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Engine revolutions counter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
Environmental compatibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164, 167
ESP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
Warning light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Exhaust gas
Warning light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Exhaust gas inspection
Warning light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Explanations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
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