2009 SKODA OCTAVIA fuel

Driving and the Environment
201
Using the system
Safety
Driving Tips
General Maintenance
Breakdown assistance
Technical Data
Driving and the EnvironmentThe first 1 500 kilometres and then afterwardsA new engine The engine has to be run in during the first 1 500 kilometres.Up to 1 000 kilometres – Do not drive faster than 3/4 of the
maximum speed of the gear in use,
that is 3/4 of the maximum permissible engine speed.
– Do not use full throttle.– Avoid high engine revolutions. – Do not tow a trailer. From 1 000 up to 1 500 kilometres – Increase the power output of the engine
gradually
up to the full
speed of the gear engaged, that
is up to the maximum permissible
engine revolutions.
During the first operating hours the engine
has higher internal
friction than later
until all of the moving parts have harmonized. The driving style which you adopt during the first approx.1 500 kilometres
plays a decisive part in the success of
running in yo
ur vehicle.
You should not drive at unnecessarily
high engine revolutions
even after the
running-in period is
complete. The maximum permissib
le engine spee
d is marked
by the beginning of the red zone on the scale of the revolutions counter. Shift up into the next higher gear on a vehicle
fitted with manual gearbox before the red
zone is reached.
Extremely
high engine revolutions are automatically governed, by
the way. For a vehicle fitted with a manual gearbox
the converse situation also applies: Do
not drive at engine revolutions which are
too low
. Shift down as soon as the engine
is no longer running smoothly.
Caution
All the speed and engine revolution figure
s apply only when the engine is at its
normal operating temperature. Never rev up
an engine which is cold, neither when
the vehicle is stationary nor when driving in individual gears.
For the sake of the environment
Not driving at unnecessarily high engine revolutions and shifting to a higher gear as early as possible are ways to minimise fuel consumption and operating noise levels and protects the environment.New tyresNew tyres have to be “run in” since they do
not offer optimal grip at first. You should
take account of this fact for the first 500 kilometres and drive particularly carefully.New brake padsAllow for the fact that new brake pads do
not achieve their full braking efficiency
until approximately 200 kilometres. New brake pads must be first “run in” before they develop their optimal friction force.
You can, however, compensate for this
slightly reduced braking force by increasing the pressure on the brake pedal. This guideline also applies to any new
brake pads installed at a future date.
During the running-in period, you should
avoid excessive stresses on the brakes.
This includes, for example, violent braking,
particularly from very high speeds, and
also when crossing mountain passes.
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Driving and the Environment
202
Catalytic converterProper operation of the emission co
ntrol system (catal
ytic converter)
is of major significance for drivin
g your vehicle in an environmen-
tally conscious way.Please refer to the following guidelines: – For vehicles with petrol engine
only refuel with unleaded petrol
⇒
page 219, “Grades of petrol”.
– Never run the fuel tank completely empty. – Do not switch off the ignition while you are driving the vehicle. – Do not pour too much oil into the engine
⇒
page 228, “Replenishing
engine oil”.
– Do not tow-start the vehicle over a
distance of more than 50 metres
⇒
page 253, “Tow-starting and towing vehicle”.
If you drive your vehi
cle in a country in which unleaded
petrol is not available, you
must have the catalytic converter replaced
later when driving the vehicle into a
country in which use of a cata
lytic converter is mandatory.
WARNING
•
In view of the high temperatures which may be produced in the catalytic
converter, one should always park a vehicle in such a way that the catalytic converter cannot come into contact with
easily flammable materials below
the vehicle - a risk of fire!•
Never use additional underbody protection or corrosion-protection
agents for the exhaust pipes, catalyti
c converters or heat shields. Such
substances might ignite when driving - risk of fire!
Caution
•
On vehicles fitted with
a catalytic converter, never let the fuel tank run
completely empty. An irregular fuel supply can result in poor ignition or misfiring. Unburnt fuel may get into the exhaust sy
stem and damage the catalytic converter.
•
Filling the tank even only once with le
aded petrol will resu
lt in the catalytic
converter being destroyed.•
If you detect misfiring, a drop in performance or irregular engine running when
driving, reduce your speed immediately and have the vehicle inspected by the nearest specialist garage. The symptoms described may be caused by a fault in the ignition system. Unburnt fuel may get in
to the exhaust system and damage the
catalytic converter.
For the sake of the environment
Even if the exhaust system is operating properly, a sulphur-like exhaust odour may be produced under certain op
erating conditions of the en
gine. This depends on the
sulphur content of the fuel. It is often su
fficient to refuel with unleaded premium-
grade petrol of a different brand or at a different filling station.Driving in an economical and environmentally conscious mannerGeneral Your personal style of driving is a major factor.Your fuel consumption, any pollution of
the environmental and the wear-and-tear
to the engine, brakes and tyres, depend essentially on three factors:•
your personal style of driving,
•
the conditions under which
your vehicle is operated,
•
technical aspects.
You can easily improve your fuel economy by 10 - 15 percent by driving in an economical way with foresight. This section is intended to provide you with a
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Driving and the Environment
203
Using the system
Safety
Driving Tips
General Maintenance
Breakdown assistance
Technical Data
number of tips on how to protect the environment and at the same time save money. The fuel consumption can naturally also be
influenced by factors which are beyond
the driver's control. It is,
for example, normal for the fu
el consumption to increase
in winter and under worsened
conditions such as poor road conditions, towing a
trailer, etc. The technical requirements for low fuel
usage and economic efficiency of the
vehicle have already been built into the ve
hicle at the works.
Special attention has
been given to minimising ne
gative effects on the environment. It is necessary to
take note of the guidelines given in this
chapter in order to make best use of these
characteristics and to maintain their effectiveness. The optimal engine speed should be obtained when accelerating, in order to avoid a high fuel consumption an
d resonance of the vehicle.
Looking ahead when driving A vehicle's highest fuel consumption occurs it accelerates.Avoid accelerating and brakin
g unnecessarily. If you drive
with forsight you will not
need to brake so often and will also then
not have to accelerate so much. Let your
vehicle coast to a stop, for example, if this
is possible, when you see that the next
set of traffic lights is at red.
Shifting gears and saving energy Shifting up early saves on fuel.Manual gearbox – Drive no more than about one length of your vehicle in first gear. – Always shift up into the next higher gear at approx. 2 000 to 2 500 revs. Automatic gearbox – Depress the accelerator pedal
slowly
. Do not depress it beyond the
kickdown position, however.
An effective way of achieving good
fuel economy is to shift up
early
. You will
consume more fuel if you drive at unnecessa
rily high revolutions in any given gear.
The
⇒fig. 200
shows the ratio of fuel consumption to the speed of your vehicle in
the relevant gears. Fuel consumption in 1st
gear is the highest, while that in 5th or
the 6th gear is the lowest. Only depress the accelerator pedal slowly if
your vehicle is fitted with an automatic
gearbox in order to automatically select an economic driving programme. You will achieve good fuel economy by shifting
up early and shifting down late.
Fig. 200 Fuel consumption in litres/100 km. and speed in km/h.
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Driving and the Environment
204
Note
Also use the information supplied by the multi-functional indicator*
⇒page 21.
Avoiding full throttle Driving more slowly means saving fuel.Sensitive use of the accelera
tor will not only significantly reduce fuel consumption
but also positively influence environmen
tal pollution and wear of your vehicle.
You should avoid fully exploi
ting the top speed of your vehicle wherever possible.
Fuel consumption, pollutant emissions and vehicle noises increase disproportion- ally at high speeds. The
⇒fig. 201
shows the ratio of fuel consumption to the speed of your vehicle.
You will cut your fuel consumption by half
if you only make use three-quarters of
the possible top speed of your vehicle.Reducing idling Idling also costs fuel.It is worthwhile switching off the engine in
a traffic jam or when waiting at a level
crossing or at traffic lights with a length
y red phase. Even after just 30 - 40 seconds
you will have saved more fuel than that
is needed when you start the engine up
again. If an engine is only idling it takes much
longer for it to reach its normal operating
temperature. Wear-and-tear and pollutant emissions, though, are particularly high in the warming-up phase. This is why you
should drive off right after starting the
engine. Do avoid high engine re
volutions at this time, however.
Regular servicing A poorly tuned engine consumes an unnecessarily high amount of fuel.Having your vehicle serviced regularly at a specialist garge enables you to satisfy one
of the requirements for economical moto
ring even before you set off on your
journey. Keeping your vehicle properly servic
ed not only has a positive effect on the
safety of your vehicle and maintaining its value, but also saves on
fuel
.
A poorly tuned engine can result in a fu
el consumption which is 10% higher than
normal. The foreseen maintenance work should be undertaken exactly according to the Service schedule by a specialist garage. Also check the
oil level
after refueling.
Oil consumption
is dependent to a consid-
erable extent on the load and speed of
the engine. Oil consum
ption could be as
high as 0.5 litres/1 000 km depending on your style of driving. It is quite normal that a new engine ha
s a higher oil consumption at first, and
reaches its lowest level only
after a certain running in
time. It is therefore not
possible to correctly assess the oil cons
umption of a new vehicle until after you
have driven about 5 000 km.
For the sake of the environment
•
You can achieve additional improvements
in your fuel economy by using high-
lubricity oils.•
Check the ground below your vehicle at re
gular intervals to detect any leakages
in good time. Please have yo
ur vehicle inspected by a specialist garge if you find any
stains caused by oil or
other fluids on the floor.
Fig. 201 Fuel consumption in litres/100 km. and speed in km/h.
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Driving and the Environment
205
Using the system
Safety
Driving Tips
General Maintenance
Breakdown assistance
Technical Data
Avoid driving short distances Short distances result in an above-average high fuel consumption.– Avoid driving a distance of no more than 4 km if the engine is cold.The engine and catalytic converter mu
st first have reached their optimal
operating
temperature
in order to effectively reduce fu
el consumption and pollutant emis-
sions. The cold engine vehicle consumes approx. 15 - 20 litres/100 km of fuel immediately after starting. Fuel co
nsumption drops to 10 litres/100 km after just 1 kilometre. The
engine reaches its operating temperat
ure (outside temperature and engine
dependent) only after about
4 to 10
kilometres and the fuel consumption then
stabilizes. You should therefore avoid driving short distances whenever possible. An important factor in this connection is also the
ambient temperature
. The
⇒ fig. 202
shows the different fuel consumptions for the same distance, on the one
hand at +20°C and on the other hand at
-10°C. Your vehicle has a higher fuel
consumption in winter than in summer.Checking tyre inflation pressures Tyres which are correctly inflated save fuel.Always ensure that your tyres are inflated
to the correct pressure at all times. The
rolling resistance will be increased if the tyre filling pressure is too low. This will not
only increase fuel consumption but also
tyre wear and the driving behaviour will
worsen. Always check the inflation pressure of the tyres when
cold
.
Do not drive with
winter tyres
all year round for this costs about 10 % more fuel.
Winter tyres are also louder.No unnecessary ballast Transporting ballast costs fuel.The fact that every kilogram of extra
weight
increases your fuel consumption
means that it is worth taking a look in the luggage compartment to avoid trans- porting any unnecessary ballast. It is particularly in town traffic, when one
is accelerating quite often, that the vehicle
weight will have a significant effect upon
the fuel consumption. A rule of thumb
here is that an increase in weight of 100
kilograms will cause an increase in fuel
consumption of about 1
litre/100 kilometres.
You may frequently also leave a
roof rack fitted
on just out of convenience,
although you no longer need it. The incr
eased aerodynamic drag of your vehicle
causes it to use about 10% more fuel th
an normal at a speed of 100 - 120 km/h,
even when you are not carr
ying a load on the roof.
Saving electricity Generating electricity costs fuel.– Switch off electrical components as
soon as you no longer need them.
When the engine is running, the alternator
generates and supplies
electrical power.
The greater the load on the alternator as a result of having a large number of elec-trical components switched on, the more
fuel will be consumed for operating the
alternator.
Fig. 202 Fuel consumption in litres/100 km at different temperatures
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Driving and the Environment
206
Keeping a log of your fuel consumptionIf you really wish to ke
ep a close check on your
fuel consumption
, it is best to enter
the figures in a logbook. This does not take
much time but is a very worthwhile exer-
cise. It enables you to detect any change
(positive and negative) at an early stage
and to take any appropriate action. If you find that your fuel
consumption is too high, you sh
ould reflect on how, where
and in what conditions you have driven
the vehicle since you last refuelled.
Environmental compatibilityEnvironmental protection has played a majo
r role in the design, selection of mate-
rials and manufacture of your new Škoda.
Particular emphasis
has been paid to a
number of aspects, including: Design measures•
Joints designed to
be easily detached.
•
Simplified disassembly due to the modular structure system.
•
Improved purity of differ
ent classes of materials.
•
Identification of all plastic parts in
accordance with VDA Recommendation°260.
•
Reduced fuel consumption
and exhaust emission CO
2.
•
Minimum fuel leakage during accidents.
•
Reduced noise.
Choice of materials•
Extensive use of recyclable material.
•
Air conditioning filled wi
th CFC-free refrigerant.
•
No cadmium.
•
No asbestos.
•
Reduction in the “vaporisation” of plastics.
Manufacture•
Solvent-free cavity protection.
•
Solvent-free protection of the vehicle for transportation from the production
plant to the customer.•
The use of solvent-free adhesives.
•
No CFCs used in the production process.
•
Without use of mercury.
•
Use of water-soluble paints.
Motoring abroadGeneral Other circumstances may exist abroad.It is also possible, in certain countries, that the Škoda Service Partner network is limited or has not been established yet.
This is the reason why obtaining certain
spare parts may be somewhat complicate
d and specialist garage personnel may
o n l y b e a b l e t o m a ke l i m i te d re p a i rs . Š ko d a A u to i n t h e C z e c h R e pu b l i c a n d re l e v a n t importers are happy to provide information
about technical aspects of the vehicle,
required maintenance work and possibilities for getting repairs done.Unleaded petrolA vehicle fitted with a petrol engine must always be refuelled with unleaded petrol ⇒ page 202. The automobile associations can provide you with information regarding the locations of filling stations which offer unleaded petrol.HeadlightThe low beam of your headlights is set asym
metrically. It illuminates the side of the
road on which you are driving to a greater
extent. If you drive abroad on the other
side of the road, you wi
ll dazzle oncoming traffic.
In order to prevent the dazzling of oncoming
traffic, it is necessary that an adjust-
ment of the headlights is carried out by
your authorised Škoda Service Partner.
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Taking care of your vehicle and cleaning the vehicle
216
Engine compartmentGood corrosion protection is very importan
t, particularly in winter when one often
drives over its salt-strewn roads. One should therefore clean the whole engine compartment before and after the salt spre
ading period and treat with preservative
in order to prevent the salt from being destructive. The authorised Škoda Service Partners have the cleaning agents and preservatives recommended by the manufacturer and also the required equipment.
WARNING
•
It is necessary to observe the guidelines given in the chapter before
working on the engine compartment
⇒page 225, “Working in the engine
compartment”.•
Let the engine cool down before
cleaning the engine compartment.
Caution
•
Engine cleaning may be only be und
ertaken when the ignition is off.
•
It is recommended to cover the generator before washing the engine compart-
ment.
For the sake of the environment
The dirty water produced by
washing the engine has washed away petrol, and resi-
dues of grease and oil and should therefor
e be cleaned by an oil separator. This is
why engine washing should only be undertake
n in a specialist garage or at a fueling
station (when these are fitted with the required equipment).
Care of the interior of vehiclePlastic parts, artificial leather and clothsYou can clean plastic parts and artificial le
ather with a moist cloth. You should only
treat such parts with special
solvent-free plastic cleaning and care products
it
does prove to be adequate. Upholstery cloth and cloth trim on the
doors, luggage compartment cover, head-
liner etc. are best treated with special
cleaning products, using if necessary a
dry
foam
and a soft sponge or brush.
We recommend using a cleaning product
from Škoda genuine accessories offered
by your Škoda dealer.
Caution
Solvent-free cleaners attack the material and can damage it.Fabric covers of electrically heated seatsDo
not clean
the seat covers moist as this may result in damage to the seat heating
system. Clean such covers using special agents, for example dry foam.Natural leather Natural leather requires quite particular care and attention.Leather should be treated from time
to time according the following
guidelines depending on how much it is used. Normal cleaning – Clean soiled areas of the leather
with slightly moistened cotton or
woollen cloth.
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Fuel
219
Using the system
Safety
Driving Tips
General Maintenance
Breakdown assistance
Technical Data
FuelPetrolGrades of petrolThere are various grades of petrol. Please read
⇒page 271, “Technical Data” in
order to know which grade of petrol your
vehicle requires. You will also find the
same information affixed to the inside of
the fuel filler flap of your vehicle
⇒ page 222, fig. 206
.
A distinction is made between unleaded an
d leaded petrol. All Škoda vehicles with
petrol engines are equipped with a catalyti
c converter and must therefore be only
driven with
unleaded petrol
. Unleaded petrol
complies with the
standard
DINEN228
.
The individual grades of petr
ol are distinguished by their
octane number
(RON).
Please adopt the following procedure if the grade of petrol which you normally use is not be available in
exceptional circumstances.
Engines which need
unleaded premium petrol 95 RON
can also be run on
unleaded regular petrol 91 RON. This does, however, result in a slight loss in performance. If, in an emergency, the only fuel availa
ble is one which has a lower octane number
than that required by the engine then only drive at medium engine speeds and lower engine loadings. You can make unlimited use of fuel whic
h has a higher octane
number than that
required by the engine. There will, howeve
r, be no advantages gained by this in
terms of engine performance and fuel consumption! The handling, performance and
life of your engine are determined to a significant
extent by the quality of the fuel.
Do not use any petrol additives.
Use a fuel
complying with
the standard.
You can find further information on refuelling
⇒page 222, “Refuelling”.
Caution
•
Filling the tank even only once with lead
ed petrol will result in the catalytic
converter being destroyed.•
Operating the engine with petrol of a lo
w octane number can result in engine
damage at high revolutions or severe engine loading.Biofuel Ethanol E85*Ethanol E85* Only valid for vehicles with
1.6/75°kW MultiFuel engine.
Biofuel Ethanol E85 consists of 85% bioethanol and 15% unleaded petrol complying with the standard (DIN) EN°228. Biofuel Ethanol E85 in accordance with th
e standard (DIN) EN 2
28 can be mixed in
any desired ratio with unleade
d petrol, see Owner's Manual.
Drive the vehicle for at leas
t 5 minutes without interrupti
on, if biofuel Ethanol E85
has been refuelled, so that the engine co
ntrol unit can determine the share of the
biofuel in the fuel. During this period do
not drive at top speed
of your vehicle or
high engine speeds and not at full throttle
. During this process
decrease the idling
speed.
WARNING
Pay attention to any legal requirements if you do carry a spare canister in the vehicle. We do not recommend carrying
any fuel canisters in your vehicle for
safety reasons. The canister can be da
maged in the event of an accident and
fuel may leak out.
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