Page 97 of 184

HANDBRAKE fig. 1
The handbrake lever is located between
the two front seats.
Pull the lever upwards to operate the
handbrake. Four or five notches are nor-
mally sufficient to lock the car on flat ter-
rain, while nine or ten may be necessary
on a steep slope with the car loaded.
IMPORTANT If this is not the case, con-
tact Fiat Dealership to have the hand-
brake adjusted.
When the handbrake lever is pulled up
and the ignition key is atMAR, the in-
strument panel warning light will turn
on.
PARKING THE CAR
Proceed as follows:
stop the engine and engage the hand-
brake;
engage a gear (on a slope, engage first
gear if the car is faced uphill or reverse
if it is faced downhill) and leave the
wheels steered.
If the car is parked on a steep slope, it is
further advisable to block the wheels with
a wedge or stone. Do not leave the key in
the ignition switch to prevent draining the
battery. Always remove the key when you
leave the car.
Never leave children unat-
tended in the car. Always re-
move the ignition key when leaving
the car and take it out with you.
WARNING
fig. 1F0R0103m
Proceed as followed to release the hand-
brake:
slightly lift the handbrake and press re-
lease button A;
hold button Apressed and lower the
lever. Warning light on the instru-
ment panel will go out.
Press the brake pedal when carrying out
this operation to prevent the car from
moving accidentally.
96
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 98 of 184

USING THE MANUAL
GEARBOX
To engage the gears, press the clutch ped-
al fully and shift the gear lever into one of
the required positions (the diagram is
shown on the knob fig. 2).
IMPORTANT Reverse may only be en-
gaged when the car is at a standstill. With
the engine running, wait for at least 2 sec-
onds with the clutch pedal fully pressed
before engaging reverse to prevent dam-
age to the gears and grating.
fig. 2F0R0154m
Press the clutch pedal fully
to change gears correctly.
For this reason, there must be no ob-
stacles on the floor under the pedals:
make sure that mat are always flat
and do not interfere with the pedals.
WARNING
Do not drive with your hand
resting on the gear lever as
the force exer ted, even if
slight, could lead over time to
premature wear on the gearbox inter-
nal components.To engage reverse R from neutral position,
shift the lever right-wards and then back
fig. 2.
97
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 99 of 184

Electric devices
Use electric devices only for the amount
of time needed. Rear heated window, ad-
ditional headlights, windscreen wipers and
heater fan need a considerable amount of
energy, therefore increasing the require-
ment of current increases fuel consump-
tion (up to +25% in the urban cycle).
Climate control
The climate control system requires high-
er fue l consumptio n (up to +20% in av-
erage): use the air vents when the exter-
nal temperature allows to.
Spoilers
The use of non-c erti fied aerodynamic
item s may advers ely affe ct air drag and
consumption levels.DRIVING STYLE
Starting
Do not warm the engine up with the car
standing: the engine warms up very slow-
ly in these condition s, increasing con-
sumption and emissions. It is advisable to
start off immediately and slowly keeping
the engine speed down: the engine will
warm up much faster this way.
Unnecessary actions
Avoid revving up when starting at traffic
lights or before stopping the engine. The
latter action, like doubling the clutch, is un-
necessary and causes increase of con-
sumption and pollution.
Gear selection
Use a higher gear as soon as traffic and
road conditions allow. Using a low gear
for faster acceleration will increase con-
sumption.
In the same way improper use of a high
gear increases consumption, emissions an
engine wear.CONTAINING
RUNNING COSTS
Here are some suggestions which may
help you to keep the running costs of your
car down and lower the amount of toxic
emissions released into the atmosphere.
GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS
Car maintenance
Have checks and adjustments carried out
in accordance with the “Service schedule”.
Ty r e s
Check tyre pressure regularly at least
once ever y four weeks: excessively low
pressure will increase consumption be-
cause rolling resistance will be higher.
Unnecessary loads
Do not travel with too much luggage
stowed in the boot. The weight of the car
(especially when driving in town) and its
trim greatly affects consumption and sta-
bility.
98
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 100 of 184

CONDITIONS OF USE
Cold starting
Short distances and frequent cold start-ups
will prevent the engine from reaching op-
timal running temperature. Consequently,
both consumption (from +15 to +30% on
urban cycle ) and emissions will increase.
Traffic and
road conditions
Rather high consumption is caused by
heavy traffic, for instance when travelling
in a queue with frequent use of low gears
or in cities with many traffic lights. Moun-
tain and rough roads also have a negative
effect on consumption.Traffic hold-ups
During prolonged hold-ups (level crossings)
the engine should be switched off. Top speed
Fuel consumption considerably increases
as speed increases. Keep your speed as
even as possible,
avoiding unnecessary
braking and acceleration which cause ex-
cessive fuel consumption and increase
emissions.
Acceleration
Sudden acceleration has a very negative
effect on consumptions and emissions: ac-
celerate gradually and do not go over the
maximum torque ratio.
99
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 101 of 184

CAR INACTIVITY
If the car is to be left inactive for longer
than a month, the following precautions
should be noted:
park the car in covered, dry and if pos-
sible well-ventilated premises;
engage a gear;
check that the handbrake is not en-
gaged;
disconnect the negative battery termi-
nal and check battery charge (see para-
graph “Charge level check”
in chapter
“Maintenance and care”). Repeat this
check once every three months dur-
ing storage. Recharge the battery if nec-
essary (see paragraph “If the battery is
flat” in chapter “In an emergency”);
clean and protect the painted parts us-
ing protective wax;
clean and protect the shiny metal parts
using special compounds readily avail-
able;
sprinkle talcum powder on the rubber
windscreen and rear window wiper
blades and lift them off the glass;
slightly open the windows;
cover the car with a fabric or perfo-
rated plastic terrapin. Do not use com-
pact plastic sheets which do
not allow
humidity to evaporate from the surface
of the car;
inflate tyres to +0.5 bar above the nor-
mal specified pressure and check it at
intervals;
if you don’t disconnect the battery from
the electric system, check its charge
every month (see paragraph “Charge
level check” in chapter “Maintenance
and care”);
recharge the battery if necessary (see
paragraph “If the battery is flat” in chap-
ter “In an emergency”);
do not drain the engine cooling system.
IMPORTANT Where relevant, switch off
the car alarm with the remote control.
CORRECT USE
OF THE CAR
DASHBOARD
AND CONTROLS
SAFETY
DEVICES
WARNING
LIGHTS AND
IN AN
EMERGENCY
CAR
MAINTENANCE
TECHNICAL
SPECIFICATIONS
INDEX
MESSAGES
100
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Page 102 of 184

GENERAL WARNINGS ..................................................... 102
LOW BRAKE FLUID ............................................................ 102
HANDBRAKE ON................................................................ 102
AIR BAG FAILURE ................................................................ 103
HOT
ENGINE COOLANT ........................................................... 103
LOW BATTERY CHARGE ................................................. 104
LOW ENGINE OIL PRESSURE .......................................... 104
INCOMPLETE DOOR LOCKING.................................... 105
SEAT BELTS NOT FASTENED .......................................... 105
EBD SYSTEM FAILURE ........................................................ 105
INJECTION SYSTEM FAILURE
(DIESEL VERSIONS) ............................................................ 106
EOBD SYSTEM FAILURE (PETROL VERSIONS) ......... 106
FRONT PASSENGER AIRBAG DEACTIVATED ........... 107
ABS SYSTEM FAILURE ......................................................... 107
FUEL RESERVE ....................................................................... 107
GLOW PLUG WARMING ................................................ 108
GLOW PLUG WARMING FAILURE ............................... 108
WATER IN DIESEL FUEL FILTER ..................................... 108FIAT CODE PROTECTION
SYSTEM FAILURE .................................................................. 108
EXTERNAL LIGHTS FAILURE........................................... 109
REAR FOG LIGHTS.............................................................. 109
GENERIC FAILURE INDICATION ................................. 109
SIDELIGHTS AND LOW BEAMS ..................................... 110
FOLLOW ME HOME ........................................................... 110
FRONT FOG LIGHTS ........................................................ 110
LEFT-HAND DIRECTION INDICATOR ........................ 110
RIGHT-HAND DIRECTION INDICATOR .................... 110
MAIN BEAM HEADLIGHTS............................................... 110
WW W
A A
R R
N N
I I
N N
G G
L L
I I
G G
H H
T T
S S
A A
N N
D D
M M
E E
S S
S S
A A
G G
E E
S S
101
CORRECT USE
OF THE CAR
CAR
TECHNICAL
INDEX
DASHBOARD
SAFETY
WARNING
LIGHTS AND
MESSAGES
IN AN
EMERGENCY
MAINTENANCE
SPECIFICATIONS
AND CONTROLS
DEVICES
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Page 103 of 184

WARNING LIGHTS
AND MESSAGES
GENERAL WARNINGS
Lighting of a warning light is associated to
a specific message and/or buzzer when ap-
plicable. These indications are brief and
precautionary and as such must not be
considered as exhaustive and/or alterna-
tive to the information contained in
the
Owner’s Handbook, which you are rec-
ommended to read carefully in all
cases.
Refer to the information in this chap-
ter in the event of a failure indication.
IMPORTANT Failure indications
on the
display fall into either of two categories:
seriousfaults and less seriousfaults.
Very seriousfailures are indicated by a
repeated and prolonged warning
“cycle”.
Less seriousfailures are indicated by a lim-
ited warning “cycle”.
Press MENU ESCto stop the warning
cycle in both cases. The warning light on
the instrument panel will stay on until the
cause of the fault is eliminated.LOW BRAKE FLUID
LEVEL (red)
HANDBRAKE ON (red)
Turning the ignition key to MARthe
warning light turns on, but it should go off
after few seconds.
Low brake fluid level
The warning light turns on when the lev-
el of the brake fluid in the reservoir falls
below the minim um level, due to possi-
ble leak in the circuit.
On certain versions the dedicated message
is displayed.
If the warning light turns
on when travelling (on cer-
tain versions together with the mes-
sage on the display) stop the car im-
mediately and contact Fiat Dealer-
ship.
WARNING
Handbrake on
The warning light turns on when the hand-
brake is on.
IMPORTANT If the warning light turns on
when travelling, check that the handbrake
is not engaged.
102
CORRECT USE
OF THE CAR
AND CONTROLS
DEVICES
EMERGENCY
MAINTENANCE
SPECIFICATIONS
INDEX
WARNING
LIGHTS AND
MESSAGES
DASHBOARD
SAFETY
CAR
IN AN
TECHNICAL
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Page 104 of 184

103
AIR BAG FAILURE
(red)
Turn ing the ignit ion key to
MARthe warning ligh t turns on, but it
should go off after few seconds.
The warning light stays on steady if there
is a failure in the airbag system.
On certain versions the dedicated message
is displayed.
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 may not be deployed
in case of impact or, in a minor num-
ber of cases, they be deployed acci-
dentally. Contact Fiat Dealership
immediately to have the system checked.
WARNING
Failure of warning light
(warning light off) is indicat-
ed by warning light which will
blink for longer than the normal 4
seconds indicating that the front pas-
senger airbag is off.
WARNING
HOT ENGINE
COOLANT (red)
Turn ing the igni tion key to
MARthe warning light turns on, but it
should go off after few seconds.
The warning light turns on when the en-
gine is overheated.
If the warning light comes on, proceed as
follows:
during normal travel: s t o p t h e c a r,
stop the engine and check that the wa-
ter level in the vessel is not under the
MINline. In this case, wait for a few
minutes for the engine to cool down
when slowly and carefully open the
cap, top-u p with coolant and check
that the level is between the MINand
MAXreferences on the vessel itself.
Also check for leakages. Go to a Fiat
Dealership if the warning should
come on when the engine is started
again.CORRECT USE
OF THE CAR
EMERGENCY
CAR
MAINTENANCE
TECHNICAL
SPECIFICATIONS
INDEX
DASHBOARD
AND CONTROLS
SAFETY
DEVICES WARNING
LIGHTS AND
MESSAGES
IN AN
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