Page 89 of 184

88
fig. 11F0R0099m
The airbags are not deployed in the event
of collisions of low severity (for which the
withholding action of the seat belts is suf-
ficient). For this reason, the seat belt must
be worn at all times. In the case of side
collisions, the seat belts hold occupants in
the correct position and prevent being
thrown out of the car by a very violent
collision. DRIVER’S FRONT AIR BAG fig. 11
It consists of an instant-inflating cushion
contained in a special recess in the cen-
tre of the steering wheel.
Do not apply stickers or oth-
er objects on the steering
wheel, passenger side airbag cover or
side upholstery on roof. Do not place
objects on the passenger side dash-
board because these could interfere
with the correct opening of the airbag
(e.g. mobile phones) and cause severe
injury to occupants.
WARNINGIn the event of a collisio n, a person not
wearing a sea t belt may be thrown for-
ward and con into contact with the bag
before it has fully opened. The protection
offered by the cushion is reduced in such
a case.
Front air bag may not be activated in the
following situations:
in collisions against highly deformable
objects not affecting the car front sur-
face (e.g. bumper collision against guard
rail, etc.);
jamming of the car underneath other
vehicles or protective barriers (e.g. un-
derneath a truck or a guard rail); in this
case, the bags would offer no addition-
al protection with respect to the seat
belt and their deployment is unneces-
sar y. No deployment in such cases is
consequently not the sign of a fault.
DASHBOARD
AND CONTROLS
SAFETY
DEVICES
CORRECT USE
OF THE
CAR
WARNING
LIGHTS AND
MESSAGES
IN AN
EMERGENCY
CAR
MAINTENANCE
TECHNICAL
SPECIFICATIONS
INDEX
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Page 90 of 184

89
MANUAL DEACTIVATION OF
PASSENGER’S FRONT AIR BAG
Should it be absolutely necessary to car-
ry a child on the front seat, the passenger’s
front air bag can be deactivated.
The instrument panel warning light
will stay on glowing steadily until reacti-
vating the passenger’s front air bag.
SEV ERE DANGER: Do not
arrange cradle child re-
straints facing backwards if
the passenger’s airbag is on.
Deployment of the airbag in
an accident could cause fa-
tal injuries to the baby. Always deac-
tivate the passenger’s airbag when
placing a child seat on the front seat.
Move the passenger’s seat as far back
as possible to avoid contact between
the cradle and the dashb oard. Al-
though this is not mandatory by law,
the airbag should be immediately re-
activated when children are no longer
carried to ensure better protection to
adults.
WARNING
To deactivate the passen-
ger’s front air bag, refer to
paragraphs “Digita l display” and
“Multifunctional display” in section
“Dashboard and controls”.
WARNINGCORRECT USE
OF THE
CAR
WARNING
LIGHTS AND
MESSAGES IN AN
EMERGENCY
CAR
MAINTENANCE
TECHNICAL
SPECIFICATIONS
INDEX
DASHBOARD
AND CONTROLS
SAFETY
DEVICES
PASSENGER’S FRONT AIR BAG
fig. 12
It consists of an instant-inflating cushion
contain ed into a special recess in the
dashboard, this cushion has a volume big-
ger than that of the driver.
fig. 12F0R0100m
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Page 91 of 184

IMPORTANT The front air bags may be
deployed if the car is subject to heavy kno-
cks or accidents involving the underbody
area, such as for example violent shocks,
against steps, kerbs of low obstacles, fall-
ing of the car in big holes or sags in the
road.
IMPORTANT A small amount of dust will
be rele ase d when the airb ags are de-
ployed. The dust is not harmful and does
not indicate the beginning of a fire. Fur-
thermore, the surface of the deployed bag
and the interior of the car may be covered
in a dusty residue: this dust may irritate
the skin and the eyes. Wash with mild
soap and water in the event of exposure.
The expiration date of the explosive
charge and the clock wire are shown on a
specific label contained in the oddment
compartment. Go to a Fiat Dealership
to have the devices replaced when
the expiration date approaches.
IMPORTANT Should an accident occur in
which any of the safety devices is activat-
ed, take the car to a Fiat Dealership
to have the devices activated replaced
and to have the system checked.
All inspection, repair and replacement op-
erations concerning the air bags must on-
ly be carried out c/o Fiat Dealership.If you are having the car scrapped, have
the air bag system deactivated at a Fiat
Deal ers hi p firs t. If the car chang es
ownership, the new owner must be info-
rmed of the meth od of us e of ai r ba gs
and the above warnings and also be gi-
ven this “Owner’s Handbook”.
IMPORTANT Pretensioners, front airbags
are deployed according to different logics
on the basic of the type of collision. Non
depl oym ent of one of the de vi ces does
not therefore indicate a system fault.
Never rest head, arms and
elbows on the door, on the
windows area to prevent possible in-
juries during inflation phase.
WARNING
Never lean head, arms and
elbows out of window.
WARNING
GENERAL WARNINGS
If when turning the key to
MAR the warning light
does not turn on or if it stays on when
travelling (together with the message
on the multifunctional display, where
provided) there could be a failure in
safety systems; in this event air bags
or pretensioners could not trigger in
case of impact or, in a minor number
of cases, they could trigger acciden-
tally. Contact Fiat Dealership im-
mediately to have the system checked.
WARNING
Do not cover the backrest of
front and rear sea ts with
trims or covers that are not suitable
to be used with side bags.
WARNING
Never travel with objects on
your lap , in front of your
chest or with a pipe, pencil, etc. be-
tween your lips; injury may result in
the event of the air bag being trig -
gered.
WARNING
90
AND CONTROLS
DEVICES
CORRECT USE
OF THE
CAR
MESSAGES
EMERGENCY
MAINTENANCE
SPECIFICATIONS
INDEX
DASHBOARD
SAFETY
LIGHTS AND
CAR
IN AN
TECHNICAL
WARNING
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Page 92 of 184

Always drive holding your
hands on the steering wheel
rim so that the airbag can inflate
freely in the case of need. Do not dri-
ve with your body bent forward. Keep
your back straight against the back
rest.
WARNING
Airbags may be deployed if
another vehicle crashes if the
key is inserted and at MAR also if the
engine is not running and the car is
stationary. For this reason, children
must never sit on the front seat, even
if the car is not moving. On the oth-
er hand, if the key is inserted and at
STOP, none of the saf ety devi ces
(airbag or pretensioners) will be de-
ployed in a collision. Non deployment
of the devices in this case does not in-
dicate a system fault.
WARNING
Do not wash the seats with
press urised water or ste am
(by hand or in automatic seat wash-
ing stations).
WARNING
The airb ag deployment
threshold is higher than that
of the pretensioners. For collisions in
the range between the two thresh-
olds, it is normal for only the preten-
sioners to be activated.
WARNING
Do not hook rigid objects to
the coat hooks and to the
support handles.
WARNING
Airbags do not replace seat
belts but increase their effi-
cien cy. Fur the rmore , since front
airbags are not deployed in low speed
collisi ons, side collisi ons, rear-e nd
shunts or roll-overs, the occupants are
only protected by the seat belts which
must be fastened at all times.
WARNING
When the key is turn ed to
MAR warning light (with
passenger front airbag activate) will
blink for a few seconds to remind you
that the airbag will be deployed in the
event of a collision after which it
should go out.
WARNING
Have the airbag system
checked by a Fiat Dealership
if the car was sto len , if theft was
attempted, or if the car was subjec-
ted to vandalism or flooding.
WARNING
91
CORRECT USE
OF THE
CAR
WARNING
IN AN
CAR
TECHNICAL
INDEX
DASHBOARD
SAFETY
LIGHTS AND
EMERGENCY
MAINTENANCE
SPECIFICATIONS
AND CONTROLS
DEVICES
MESSAGES
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Page 93 of 184
ENGINE STARTING ........................................................... 93
PARKING THE CAR ............................................................ 96
USING THE MANUAL GEARBOX ................................. 97
CONTAINING RUNNING COSTS ................................. 98
CAR INACTIVITY ............................................................... 100
CC C
O O
R R
R R
E E
C C
T T
U U
S S
E E
O O
F F
T T
H H
E E
C C
A A
R R
92
CORRECT USE
OF THE CAR
AND CONTROLS
DEVICES
EMERGENCY
MAINTENANCE
SPECIFICATIONS
INDEX
MESSAGES
DASHBOARD
SAFETY
LIGHTS AND
IN AN
CAR
TECHNICAL
WARNING
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Page 94 of 184

ENGINE STARTING
The car is provided with an electronic en-
gine lock device: refer to “The Fiat CODE
system” paragraph in “Dashboard and
controls” if you cannot start the engine.
The engine may be noisier during the first
seconds of operation, particularly after a
long period of inactivity. This is charac-
teristic of hydraulic tappets, the timing sys-
tem chosen to reduce the number of ser-
vicing interventions and does effects nei-
ther functionality nor reliability.
It is advisable not to demand
maximum performance from
your car (e.g. excessive accel-
erations, long distances at top
rpm, excessive intense braking, etc.) as
soon as the engine is started.
Do not leave the key in the ig-
nition switch with the engine
off to avoid unnecessary con-
sumption of electricity which
could drain the battery. It is dangerous
to run the engin e in clo sed environ-
ments.
Running the engine in con-
fined areas is extremely dan-
gerous. The engine consumes oxygen
and produces carbo n monoxide
which is a highly toxic and lethal gas.
WARNING
Remember that the brake
booster and power steering
are not operational until the engine
has been started, therefore much ef-
for t than usual is required on the
brake pedal and steering wheel.
WARNING
STARTING PROCEDURE FOR
PETROL VERSIONS
Proceed as follows:
ensure that the handbrake is up;
put the gear lever into neutral;
press the clutch pedal down to the
floor without touching the accelerator;
turn the ignition key to AV Vand let
it go the moment the engine starts.
If the engine does not start at the first at-
tempt,
return the ignition key to STOP
before repeating starting.
93
CORRECT USE
OF THE CAR
WARNING
IN AN
CAR
TECHNICAL
INDEX
DASHBOARD
SAFETY
LIGHTS AND
EMERGENCY
MAINTENANCE
SPECIFICATIONS
AND CONTROLS
DEVICES
MESSAGES
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Page 95 of 184

If, when the ignition key is at MAR, the in-
strument panel warning light remains
lit together with warning light turn the
key to STOPand then back to MAR; r e -
main on, try with the other keys provid-
ed with the car.
IMPORTANT if on the instrument
panel remains on and steady,
go to a Fiat
Dealership immediately.
IMPORTANT
Never leave the ignition key
to MARwhen the engine is off.STARTING PROCEDURE FOR
DIESEL VERSIONS
Proceed as follows:
ensure that the handbrake is up;
put the gear lever into neutral;
turn the ignition key to MAR; instru-
ment panel warning lights and
will light up;
wait for the warning light e to
turn off. The hotter the engine is, the
quicker this will happen;
press the clutch pedal down to the
floor without touching the accelerator;
turn the ignition key to AV Vas soon
as warning light goes out. Waiting
too long will waste the work done by
the glow plugs. Release the key as soon
as the engine starts.If the engine does not start at the first at-
tempt, return the ignition key to STOP
before repeating starting.
If, when the ignition key is at MAR, the
instrument panel warning light re-
mains lit together with warning light
turn the key to STOPand then back to
MAR; if the warning lights remain on, try
with the other keys provided with the car.
IMPORTANT If the instrument panel
warning light
stays on glowing
steadily, contact immediately Fiat
Dealership.
IMPORTANT Never leave the ignition key
to MARwhen the engine is off.
Warning light will blink
for 60 seconds after starting
or during prolonged cranking
to indicate a fault to the glow
plug heating system.
Use the car nor-
mally if the engine starts and go to a
Fiat Dealership as soon as possible.
94
CORRECT USE
OF THE CAR
AND CONTROLS
DEVICES
EMERGENCY
MAINTENANCE
SPECIFICATIONS
INDEX
MESSAGES
DASHBOARD
SAFETY
LIGHTS AND
IN AN
CAR
TECHNICAL
WARNING
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Page 96 of 184

STOPPING THE ENGINE
Turn the ignition to STOPwhile the en-
gine is idling.
IMPORTANT After a taxing drive, you
should allow the engine to “catch its
breath” before turning it off by letting it
idle to allow the temperature in the en-
gine compartment to fall.
A quick burst on the acceler-
ator before turning off the en-
gine serves absolutely no
practic al purpose , it waste s
fuel and is damaging especially to tur-
bocharged engines.HOW TO WARM UP THE
ENGINE AFTER IT HAS JUST
STARTED
(petrol and diesel engines)
Proceed as follows:
drive off slowly, letting the engine turn
at medium revs. Do not accelerate
abruptly;
do not demand too high performance
for the first few kilometres. Wait until
the engine coolant gauge starts moving.
Remember that the brake
booster and power steering
are not operational until the
engine has been star ted,
therefore much effort than usual is re-
quired on the brake pedal and steering
wheel.Never jump start the engine
by pushing, towing or driving
downhill. This could cause a
flow of fuel into the catalyt-
ic converter and damage it beyond re-
pair.
95
CORRECT USE
OF THE CAR
WARNING
IN AN
CAR
TECHNICAL
INDEX
DASHBOARD
SAFETY
LIGHTS AND
EMERGENCY
MAINTENANCE
SPECIFICATIONS
AND CONTROLS
DEVICES
MESSAGES
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