246Wheels and tyres
Wheel balance
The wheels on new vehicles are balanced. However, various factors encoun-
tered in normal driving can cause them to become unbalanced, which re-
sults in steering vibration.
Unbalanced wheels should be rebalanced, as they otherwise cause exces-
sive wear on steering, suspension and tyres. A wheel must also be reba-
lanced when a new tyre is fitted.
Incorrect wheel alignment
Incorrect wheel alignment causes excessive tyre wear, impairing the safety
of the vehicle. If tyres show excessive wear, you should have the wheel
alignment checked by an Authorised Service Centre.
WARNING
There is a serious danger of accidents if a tyre bursts during driving!
● The tyres must be replaced at the latest when the tread wear indica-
tors are worn ⇒ page 245. Failure to do so could result in an accident.
Worn tyres do not grip well at high speeds on wet roads. There is also a
greater risk of aquaplaning.
● At continuously high speeds, a tyre with insufficient pressure flexes
more. This causes it to overheat. This can cause tread separation and tyre
blow-out. Risk of accident. Always observe the recommended tyre pres-
sures.
● If tyres show excessive wear, you should have the running gear
checked by an Authorised Service Centre.
● Keep chemicals such as oil, fuel and brake fluid away from tyres.
● Damaged wheels and tyres must be replaced immediately!
For the sake of the environment
Under-inflated tyres will increase fuel consumption. Run-flat tyres*
Run-flat tyres allow you to continue driving even with a
punctured tyre, in the majority of cases.
In vehicles that are factory-fitted with run-flat tyres 1)
the loss of tyre
pressure is indicated on the instrument panel.
Driving with run-flat tyres (emergency running)
– Leave the ESP/TCS (Electronic Stability Programme) switched
on, or switch on ⇒ page 68.
– Continue driving carefully and slowly (80 km/h maximum).
– Avoid sudden manoeuvres and sharp turns.
– Avoid driving over obstacles (for example kerbs) or potholes.
– Look out for the ESP/TCS intervening often, smoke coming from
the tyres or the smell of rubber, the vehicle vibrating or a clat-
tering noise. If any of these occur, stop the vehicle.
The run-flat tyres have a tag on the side of the tyre, with the description:
“DSST”, “Eufonia”, “RFT”, “ROF”, “RSC”, “SSR” or “ZP”.
The sides of this type of tyre are reinforced. When the tyres lose air they are
supported on the sides (emergency driving).
The loss of pressure in the tyre is shown on the instrument panel. You can
then drive a maximum of 80 km and if the circumstances are favourable (for
example, low load), even more.
The damaged tyre should be changed as soon as possible. The rim should
be checked in a specialist workshop to detect possible damage and replace
1)
Depending upon version and country.
247
Wheels and tyres
it if necessary. We recommend you contact Technical Service. If more than
one tyre is being used under emergency conditions, this reduces the dis-
tance which can be travelled.
Starting driving in emergency conditions
When loss in tyre pressure is displayed on the instrument panel, this means
that at least one tyre is being driven in emergency conditions ⇒
.
End of emergency operation
Do not drive on if:
● smoke is coming from one of the tyres,
● there is a smell of rubber,
● the vehicle vibrates,
● there is a rattling noise.
When is it no longer possible to continue driving even using run-flat tyres?
● If the Electronic Stability Programme (ESP) is out of operation.
● If the tyre pressure monitoring system* does not work.
● If one of the tyres has been severely damaged in an accident, etc. If a
tyre has been badly damaged there is a risk that parts of the tread can be
thrown off and cause damage to the fuel lines, brake pipes or fuel filler.
● It is also advisable to stop driving if severe vibrations occur, or if the
wheel starts overheating and gives off smoke.
WARNING
When driving in emergency conditions, the driving quality of the vehicle
is considerably impaired.
● The maximum permitted speed of 80 km/h is subject to road and
weather conditions. Please observe legal requirements when doing so.
● Avoid sharp turns and rapid manoeuvres, and brake earlier than usu-
al.
WARNING (Continued)
● Avoid driving over obstacles (for example kerbs) or potholes.
● If one or more tyres are being driven in emergency conditions, the
driving quality of the vehicle is impaired and there is a risk of accident.
Note
● The run-flat tyres do not “deflate” on losing pressure because they are
supported on the reinforced sides. Therefore defects in the tyre cannot be
detected with a visual inspection.
● Snow chains must not be used on front tyres used in emergency condi-
tions.
New tyres and wheels
New tyres and wheels have to be run in.
The tyres and wheel rims are an essential part of the vehicle's design. The
tyres and rims approved by SEAT are specially matched to the characteris-
tics of the vehicle and make a major contribution to good road holding and
safe handling ⇒
.
Tyres should be replaced at least in pairs and not individually (i.e. both front
tyres or both rear tyres together). A knowledge of tyre designations makes it
easier to choose the correct tyres. Radial tyres have the tyre designations
marked on the sidewall, for example: 195/65 R15 91T
This contains the following information: Tyre width in mm
Height/width ratio in %
Tyre construction: Radial
195
65
R
Safety FirstOperating InstructionsPractical TipsTechnical Specifications
287
If and when
How to jump start: description
Fig. 241 How to connect
the jump leads
On ⇒ fig. 241 A
shows the flat battery and B the charged bat-
tery.
Jump lead terminal connections
– Switch off the ignition of both vehicles ⇒
.
1. Connect one end of the red jump lead to the positive ⇒ fig. 241
+
terminal of the vehicle with the flat battery ⇒ .
2. Connect the other end of the red jump lead to the positive ter- minal +
in the vehicle providing assistance.
3. Connect one end of the black jump lead to the negative termi- nal -
on the battery of the vehicle providing assistance.
4. Connect the other end of the black jump lead X
to a solid met-
al component which is bolted on to the engine block, or onto the engine block itself of the vehicle with the flat battery. Do not
connect it to a point near the battery
⇒
.
5. Position the leads in such a way that they cannot come into contact with any moving parts in the engine compartment.
Starting
6. Start the engine of the vehicle with the boosting battery and let it run at idling speed.
7. Start the engine of the vehicle with the flat battery and wait one or two minutes until the engine is running.
Removing the jump leads
8. Before you remove the jump leads, switch off the headlights (if they are switched on).
9. Turn on the heater blower and heated rear window in the vehi- cle with the flat battery. This helps minimise voltage peaks
which are generated when the leads are disconnected.
10. When the engine is running, disconnect the leads in reverse order to the details given above.
Connect the battery clamps so they have good metal-to-metal contact with
the battery terminals.
If the engine fails to start, switch off the starter after about 10 seconds and
try again after about half a minute.
Safety FirstOperating InstructionsPractical TipsTechnical Specifications
RepairsAirbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Replacement of parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220
Rev counter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Reverse gear Automatic gearbox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
Manual gearbox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
Roof rack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150 Attachment points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
Roof load . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
Roof rails . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
Rubber seals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215
Run-flat tyres . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246
Running in Engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196
S SAFE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Safe driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Aspects to take into account . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Before setting off . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Driving safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Safety equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Safety instructions Engine compartment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226
Safety notes Airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Curtain airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Deactivating front passenger airbag . . . . . . 46
Front airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Seat belt tensioners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Side airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Using child seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Using seat belts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Seals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215
Seat adjustment Lumbar support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
Seat belt cleaning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219
Seat belt position Pregnant women . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Seat belts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Seat belt protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Seat belt release . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Seat belts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Height adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Incorrectly fastened . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Not worn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Safety notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Warning lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19, 68
Seat belt tensioner Warning lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Seat belt tensioners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Seat belt warning lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Seat heating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
Seats Electric adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
Electric backrest adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . 136
Manual adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
Manual adjustment of lumbar support . . . 134
Manual backrest angle adjustment . . . . . 134 Moving the seat forwards and backwards 133
Seat height adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
Selector lever positions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
Service indicator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Servotronic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
Side airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Safety notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Side lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Sitting position Driver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Front passenger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Sitting position, occupants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Ski bag . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
Sliding/tilting sunroof . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111 Automatic close function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Closing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Emergency activation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Manual operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
Opening . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Snow chains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249, 295
Solar-powered blower/sunroof . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
Solar sunroof . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Spare keys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Spare parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220
Spare wheel Steel rim . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253
Speedometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Speed warning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81, 82
Speed warning function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Steam jets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213
313
Index