233
Checking and refilling levels
WARNING (Continued)
● A highly explosive mixture of gases is released when the battery is
under charge. The batteries should be charged in a well-ventilated room
only.
● Keep children away from acid and batteries.
● Before working on the electrical system, you must switch off the en-
gine, the ignition and all consumers. The negative cable on the battery
must be disconnected. When a light bulb is changed, you need only
switch off the light.
● Deactivate the anti-theft alarm by unlocking the vehicle before you
disconnect the battery! The alarm will otherwise be triggered.
● When disconnecting the battery from the vehicle electrical system,
disconnect first the negative cable and then the positive cable.
● Switch off all electrical consumers before reconnecting the battery.
Reconnect first the positive cable and then the negative cable. Never re-
verse the polarity of the connections. This could cause an electrical fire.
● Never charge a frozen battery, or one which has thawed. This could
result in explosions and chemical burns. Always replace a battery which
has frozen. A flat battery can freeze at temperatures around 0 °C.
● Ensure that the vent hose is always connected to the battery.
● Never use a defective battery. This could cause an explosion. Replace
a damaged battery immediately.
CAUTION
● Never disconnect the battery if the ignition is switched on or if the en-
gine is running. This could damage the electrical system or electronic com-
ponents.
● Do not expose the battery to direct sunlight over a long period of time,
as the intense ultraviolet radiation can damage the battery housing.
● If the vehicle is left standing in cold conditions for a long period, protect
the battery from freezing. If it freezes it will be damaged. Charging the battery
A fully-charged battery is important for reliable starting.
– Note the warnings ⇒
in Important safety warnings for han-
dling a vehicle battery on page 232 and ⇒ .
– Switch off the ignition and all electrical equipment.
– Only if fast-charging: both battery cables must be disconnected
(first the negative cable, then the positive cable).
– Connect the charger cables to the battery terminals, noting the
colour code (red = positive; black or brown = negative).
– Now connect the battery charger to the power socket and switch
on.
– After charging the battery: switch off the battery charger and
disconnect the power point cable.
– Finally disconnect the charger cables from the battery.
– If necessary, reconnect both battery cables to the battery (first
the positive cable, then the negative cable).
When charging with a low current (for instance with a small battery charger)
the battery does not normally have to be disconnected. However, both bat-
tery cables must be disconnected before fast-charging the battery with a
high current. However, always follow the instructions given by the manufac-
turer of the battery charger.
The fast-charging procedure for a battery is dangerous ⇒
in Important
safety warnings for handling a vehicle battery on page 232, as it requires a
special charger and the corresponding level of knowledge. We therefore rec-
ommend that this work should only be performed by a qualified workshop.
Safety FirstOperating InstructionsPractical TipsTechnical Specifications
234Checking and refilling levels
A flat battery can freeze at temperatures of around 0 °C. The battery must be
defrosted before charging ⇒
. It is advisable to replace the battery if it has
frozen, because the ice can crack the battery casing and allow the battery
acid to escape.
The battery caps should not be opened while the battery is being charged.
WARNING
Never charge a frozen battery. Failure to comply could result in an explo-
sion.
Index
Numbers and Symbols
230 V socket . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
A
Accessories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215 Towing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
Adaptive headlights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121 Faulty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Airbag Warning lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Airbag covers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Airbag system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Curtain airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Front airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Side airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Warning lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Air conditioner 2C-Climatronic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
Air distribution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
Air outlets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
Air purity sensor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
Air recirculation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
Air recirculation (automatic) . . . . . . . . . . . 160
Automatic mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
Blower . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
Defrosting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
ECON Mode (economy) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159 Economical use . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
Key settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
Solar-powered blower/sunroof . . . . . . . . . 163
Temperature selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
Air duct Fitting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260, 267
Removing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260, 266
Air purity sensor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
Alternator Warning lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Ambient lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Anti-lock brake system How it works . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
Anti-theft alarm system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106 Interior monitoring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Antifreeze . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225
Aquaplaning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240
Armrest Storage compartment in front armrest . . . 142
Armrests Adjusting the front armrest . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
Ashtray Front . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
Rear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
Athermic windscreen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216
Auto-check system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Automatic car wash tunnel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207 Automatic gearbox
Dynamic gear control programme . . . . . . . 181
Kick-down feature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
multitronic® . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
Paddle levers (tiptronic mode) . . . . . . . . . 183
Safety interlock for ignition key . . . . . . . . . 166
Selector lever lock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
Selector lever positions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
Steering wheel with paddle levers . . . . . . 183
tiptronic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
tiptronic mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
Automatic headlight control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Auxiliary heater . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
B
Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231 Battery voltage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Charging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233
Disconnection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231
Long periods of non-use . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231
Replacing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231, 232
Testing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231
Winter operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231, 232
Bicycle rack Towing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
Biodiesel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219
Biodiesel fuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219
301
Index