Towing a trailer135
Using the system
Safety
Driving Tips
General Maintenance
Breakdown assistance
Technical Data
Headlights
Before starting off with a hitched trailer, also check the setting of the headlights. Alter
the setting as necessary with the ai
d of the headlight beam adjuster page 48.
Detachable ball head
The ball rod is detachable on vehicles which feature a factory-fitted towing device. It is
stowed together with separate fitting instructions in the spare wheel well in the
luggage compartment of the vehicle.
Further information on the towing device page 136.
Note
We recommend that you also have your vehicle inspected between service inter-
vals if you tow a trailer frequently.
The handbrake on the towing vehicle must be put on when coupling and decou-
pling the trailer.
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 temperature 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 combina-
tion.
Driving speed
Do not drive faster than 80 km/hour 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 cond
itions, particularly near accident black
spots.
You must always reduce your speed immediat ely 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 downhill
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 engi ne 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 153,
“Inspecting the coolant level”.
Please refer to the following guidelines page 28, “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 of the
engine speed. One should also not drop a gear for this reason when towing a trailer as
long as the engine can manage th e slope without any drop in speed.
s2rc.book Page 135 Thursday, April 22, 2010 10:58 AM
Fuses and light bulbs181
Using the system
Safety
Driving Tips
General Maintenance
Breakdown assistance
Technical Data
light bulbs. This applies, in particular, to
bulbs which can only be reached from the
engine compartment.
We therefore recommend that you have any bulbs changed by a specialist garage or,
in exceptional cases, by calling on other professional assistance.
Please note that the engine compartment is a hazardous area page 148.
We recommend that you always have a small box of replacement bulbs in your vehicle.
You can obtain replacement bulbs from Škoda original accessories or from a specialist
garage
8).
A stowage place for the bulbs is located in the box in the spare wheel*.
Fitted with a xenon headlight
Change of bulbs on vehicles with Xenon lights (low beam lights, parking lights and
main beam lights) should be und ertaken by a specialist garage.
Bulb - Overview
WARNING
Light bulbs H4 and H1 are pressurise d and may burst when changing the
bulb - risk of injury!
It is recommended to wear gloves and safety glasses when changing a bulb.
Gas discharge bulbs* (xenon bulbs) op erate with a high voltage, profes-
sional knowledge is required - danger to life!Caution
Do not take hold of the glass bulb with naked fingers (even the smallest amount of dirt
reduces the working life of the light bulb). Use a clean cloth, serviette or something
similar.
Note
This Owner's Manual only describes the replacement of bulbs where it is assumed that
no major complications will arise. Other li ght bulbs should be replaced by your
specialist garage.
8)The small box with replacement bulbs is part of th e basic equipping of the vehicle in some coun-
tries.Front headlight
Halogen headlight
Xenon headlight
Low beam light
H4
D2S
Main beam light
H4
H1
Parking lights
W5W
Tu r n s i g n a l s
PY21W
Fog lights
H3
Rear light unit
Bulb (Octavia)
Bulb (Combi)
Reversing light
P21W
P21W
Tu r n s i g n a l s
PY21W
PY21W
Brake lights
P21W
P21/5W
Parking lights
P21/4W
P21/5W
Fog lights
P21/4W
P21W
Others
Bulb (Octavia)
Bulb (Combi)
Side turn signal lights
WY5W
WY5W
Licence plate light
W5W
W5W
3. Brake light
W2, 3W
LED
Interior lighting
C10W
C10W
Reading light
W5W
W5W
Luggage compartment light
C5W
C10W
Storage compartment light -
front passenger side
C3W
C3W
Interior mirror light
W2, 3W
W2, 3W
s2rc.book Page 181 Thursday, April 22, 2010 10:58 AM
