
Checking and refilling levels
240•Before opening the bonnet to check the brake fluid level, read and
observe the warnings ⇒ page 226.•Brake fluid should be stored in the closed original container in a safe
place out of reach of children. There is a toxic risk.•Complete the brake fluid change according to the Maintenance
Program. Heavy use of the brakes may cause a vapour lock if the brake fluid
is left in the system for too long. This would seriously affect the efficiency
of the brakes and the safety of the vehicle. This may cause an accident.Caution
Brake fluid could damage the paintwork. Wipe off any brake fluid from the
paintwork immediately.
For the sake of the environment
Brake fluid must be drained and disposed of in the proper manner observing
environmental regulations.
BatteryWarnings on handling the battery
WARNING
Always be aware of the danger of injury and chemical burns as well as the
risk of accident or fire when working on the battery and the electrical
system:•Wear eye protection. Protect your eyes, skin and clothing from acid and
particles containing lead.•Battery acid is very corrosive and caustic. Wear protective gloves and
eye protection. Do not tilt the batteries. This could spill acid through the
vents. Rinse battery acid from eyes immediately for several minutes with
clear water. Then seek medical care immediately. Neutralize any acid
splashes on the skin or clothing with a soapy solution, and rinse off with
plenty of water. If acid is swallowed by mistake, consult a doctor immedi-
ately.•Fires, sparks, naked lights and smoking are prohibited. When handling
cables and electrical equipment, avoid causing sparks and electrostatic
WARNING (continued)
Wear eye protection
Battery acid is very corrosive and caustic. Wear protec-
tive gloves and eye protection!
Fires, sparks, naked lights and smoking are prohibited!
A highly explosive mixture of gases is released when the
battery is under charge.
Keep children away from acid and batteries!
altea_EN Seite 240 Mittwoch, 26. August 2009 6:00 18

Checking and refilling levels
242Charging and changing the vehicle battery
The battery is maintenance-free and is checked during the
inspection service. All work on the vehicle battery requires
specialist knowledge.If you often drive short distances or if the vehicle is not driven for long
periods, the battery should be checked by a qualified workshop between the
scheduled services.
If the battery has discharged and you have problems starting the vehicle, the
battery might be damaged. If this happens, we recommend you have the
vehicle battery checked by an Authorised Service Centre where it will be re-
charged or replaced.
Charging the battery
The vehicle battery should be charged by a qualified workshop only, as
batteries using special technology have been installed and they must be
charged in a controlled environment.
Replacing a vehicle battery
The battery has been developed to suit the conditions of its location and has
special safety features.
Genuine SEAT batteries fulfil the maintenance, performance and safety spec-
ifications of your vehicle.
WARNING
•We recommend you use only maintenance-free or cycle free leak-proof
batteries which comply with the standards T 825 06 and VW 7 50 73. This
standard applies as of 2001.•Before starting any work on the batteries, you must read and observe
the warnings ⇒ in “Warnings on handling the battery” on page 240.
For the sake of the environment
Batteries contain toxic substances such as sulphuric acid and lead. They
must be disposed of appropriately and must not be disposed of with ordinary
household waste.
altea_EN Seite 242 Mittwoch, 26. August 2009 6:00 18

General notes on the technical data281
Safety First
Operating instructions
Practical tips
Technical Data
Te c h n i c a l D a t aGeneral notes on the technical dataOutstanding informationImportant considerations
All data in the official vehicle documents take precedence
over this data.All data provided in this manual are valid for the standard model in Spain. The
vehicle data card included in the Maintenance Programme or the vehicle
registration documents shows which engine is installed in the vehicle.
The figures may be different depending on if additional equipment is fitted,
for different models, for special vehicles and for other countries.
Abbreviations used in this paragraph of the Technical DataAbbrevia-
tion
Meaning
kW
Kilowatt, engine power measurement.
bhp
Brake horse power, formerly used to denote engine power
at rpm
Revolutions per minute - engine speed.
Nm
Newton metres, unit of engine torque.
l/100 km
Fuel consumption in litres per 100 km.
g/km
Carbon dioxide emissions in grams per km travelled.
CO2
Carbon dioxide
CN
Cetane number, indication of the diesel combustion power.
RON
Research octane number, indication of the knock resistance
of petrol.
Abbrevia- tion
Meaning
altea_EN Seite 281 Mittwoch, 26. August 2009 6:00 18

General notes on the technical data
282Vehicle identification data
The most important data are given on the type plate and the
vehicle data sticker.Vehicles for certain export countries do not have a type plate.
Type plate
The type plate is located on the left rib inside the engine compartment.
Vehicle identification number
The vehicle identification number (chassis number) can be read from outside
the vehicle through a viewer in the windscreen. This is located on the left-
hand side of the vehicle in the lower area of the windscreen. It is also located
on the right hand side of the engine compartment. Vehicle data
The data sticker is placed on the inside of the spare wheel recess in the
luggage compartment.
The following information is provided on the vehicle data sticker:
⇒fig. 207.
These data are also provided in the Maintenance Program. Production control number
Vehicle identification number (chassis number)
Model code number
Model designation / engine power output
Engine and gearbox code letters
Paintwork number / interior trim code
Optional equipment codes
Consumption values
CO
2 emissions values
Data from 2 to 9 are also provided in the Maintenance Program.
Consumption figures and CO
2
Consumption (litres/100 km) / CO
2 emissions (g/km) urban
Consumption (litres/100 km) / CO2 emissions (g/km) motorway
Consumption (l/100 km) / CO
2 Emissions (g/km) mixed
Fig. 207 Vehicle data
sticker – boot
A1A2A3A4A5A6A7A8A9AAABAC
altea_EN Seite 282 Mittwoch, 26. August 2009 6:00 18

Index303
head restraints
Adjusting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133, 134
adjustment of the head restraint angle . . . 134
Removing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
head restraints, correct adjustment . . . . . . . . . . 13 In-use and non-use positions . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Headlight flashers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Headlight range control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
Headlights Driving abroad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204
Fog lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Washer system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
Heated front seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
Heated window 2C-Climatronic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
Heating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
High pressure cleaners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211
Hill-start aid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
Horn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55IIdentification number . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 282
Ignition key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
Ignition lock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
Indicators indication lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Information texts in the display . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Instrument and switch lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
Instrument lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Instrument panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 Instruments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Interior front light, type 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Interior front light, type 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
Intermittent wipe, windscreen . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
ISOFIX system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
JJump leads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275
Jump-starting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275KKeys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101LLeather cleaning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216
Lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Locks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213
LPG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60, 173, 221
LPG system
Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
Filler neck adapter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223
Level indicator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Refuelling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221
Luggage compartment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17, 152
Luggage compartment net . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143MMain beam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113, 120 Main beam headlights
Indicator lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Main headlight lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267
Maintenance airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Manual gearbox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
Manual mode 2C-Climatronic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
MEDIA-IN connector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
MFD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Mileage display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Mirrors Exterior mirrors, electrical . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
Interior mirror . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
Make-up mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Mobile telephones and radiotelephones . . . . 219
Multi-function display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Multi-purpose* mobile stowage compartment 146 Closing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
Fitting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
Opening . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
Removal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
Uses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
NNumber of seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19OObservations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204
altea_EN Seite 303 Mittwoch, 26. August 2009 6:00 18

Index
304Octane number . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224
Oil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229
Oil change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232
Oil properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230
One-touch opening and closing
Electric windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Opening and locking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
Overview Control lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Instrument panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Instruments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Warning lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77PPaintworkPolishing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212
Parking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
Parking aid acoustic system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
Parking lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Parking system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
Parking system plus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
Pedals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Petrol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224 Driving abroad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204
Petrol additives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225
Petrol engines, starting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
Physical principles of a frontal collision . . . . . . 21
Plastic parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212
Plastic parts cleaning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216 Pollen filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
Power steering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
Power steering system
warning light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Products for vehicle maintenance . . . . . . . . . . 209
RRadio frequency remote control Changing the battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
Radio navigation Steering wheel controls audio + telephone version . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
audio version . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Radio wave remote control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
Rain sensor* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
Rear drink holder* Armrest* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
Rear fog light Indication lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Warning lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Rear interior lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Rear lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 270
Rear reading lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Rear seat bench . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
Rear shelf Storage compartment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
Rear window heating Heating element wires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213
Rear window wiper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
Rear-view mirror . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
Recommended gear display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 Refuelling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220
Registration light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274
Remote control key
Buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
Synchronising . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
Removing and fitting the wheel . . . . . . . . . . . . 258
Repairs airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Replacement keys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
Replacement of parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218
Rev counter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Reverse gear Manual gearbox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
Roll-back function Sliding/tilting roof . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Roof aerial* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219
Roof carrier* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
Roof stowage compartment* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
Rubber seals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213
Running in Engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
SSafe driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Safety equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Safety instructionsCoolant temperature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
altea_EN Seite 304 Mittwoch, 26. August 2009 6:00 18

Index
306Tank
fuel level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
reserve indicator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
tank capacity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
TCS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194
TCS (Traction control system) Warning lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Technical modifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218
The danger of not using the seat belt . . . . . . . . 22
Tightening torque of wheel bolts . . . . . . . . . . . 284
Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251
Tow starting Comments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 278
Towing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 278
Towing a trailer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284
Towing bracket . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
Towing bracket, fitting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207
Towing eye . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 278
Tow-starting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 278
Traction control system warning lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Trailer Trailer towing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205
Trailer eyes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279
Trailer turn signals Warning lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Trailer weights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284
Trips, checklist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Turn signals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120 Warning lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80, 120 Type plate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 282
Tyre Mobility-System (Tyre repair kit) . . . 252, 259
Tyre monitor indicator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Tyre pressure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243
Loss . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245
Tyre pressure monitoring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244
Tyre pressures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284
Tyre repair kit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252, 259
Tyres and wheels Dimensions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248
Tyres service life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245
Tyres tread depth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246
Tyres with directional tread pattern . . . . . . . . . 243
UUnderbody sealant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215
Unlocking and locking Personalisation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98VVehicle battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240
Vehicle data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 282
Vehicle identification data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 282
Vehicle identification number . . . . . . . . . . . . . 282
Vehicle MaintenanceExterior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210
Vehicle modifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218 Vehicle paintwork
Products for vehicle maintenance . . . . . . . 209
Waxing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211
Vehicle tools Storage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251
Vehicle wallet storage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
Vehicle washing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210
Ventilation slits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Volumetric sensor* Activation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
Deactivation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
WWarning lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Warning lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Warning reportsRed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Yellow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Warning texts in the display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Warning triangle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
Washer fluid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
Washing by hand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210
Washing with high pressure cleaners . . . . . . . 211
Water warning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Water in the windscreen wash er tank . . . . . . . 235
Wear indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246
Wheel bolts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255, 284 Torque . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249
Wheel change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253
altea_EN Seite 306 Mittwoch, 26. August 2009 6:00 18