2011 SKODA OCTAVIA mirror

The light comes on after the doors have been locked or on opening the boot lid.
The light goes out after switching on the ignition or up to 30 seconds after closing
all the doors and the boot lid.
If a door or the boot lid remains open, the light goes out within 2 minutes if the
ignition is switched off. WARNING
If the entry light comes on, do not touch its cover - risk of burns! 
Luggage compartment light The lighting comes on automatically when the boot lid is opened. If the lid remains
open for more than about 10 minutes, the luggage compartment lighting switches
off automatically.

Visibility Rear window heater Fig. 34 Switch for rear window heater
– You can switch the rear window heater on or off by pressing the switch ⇒ 
fig. 34 - the indicator light in the switch comes on or goes out.
The rear window heater only operates when the engine is running.
The rear window heater switches off automatically after 10 minutes. For the sake of the environment
As soon as the window is de-iced or free from mist, the heating should be switch-
ed off. The reduced current consumption will have a favourable effect on fuel
economy ⇒ page 165, Saving electricity. Note
● If the on-board voltage drops, the rear window heater switches off automati-
cally, in order to provide sufficient electrical energy for the engine control
⇒
 page 190, Automatic consumer shut-off.
● The position and the shape of the switch can differ depending on equipment
installed in the vehicle. 
Sun visors Fig. 35 Sun visor: Swivelling out/double sun visor
You can pull the sun visor for the driver or front passenger out of the fixture and
swivel it toward the door in the direction of the arrow
1
⇒
 fig. 35.
The vanity mirrors in the sun visors are provided with covers. Push the cover in di-
rection of arrow 2 .
On vehicles which are equipped with double sun visor, you can also unfold the
auxiliary visor in direction of arrow 3 after swivelling the sun visor.
WARNING
The sun visors must not be swivelled to the side windows into the deploy-
ment area of the head airbags if any objects, such as ball-point pens etc. are
attached to them. This might result in injuries to the occupants if the head air-
bag is deployed. 52
Lights and Visibility

Attaching the wiper blade
–
Position the wiper blade onto the wiper arm and lock the locking button A .
– Check whether the wiper blade is correctly attached.
– Fold the windscreen wiper arm back onto the windscreen.
The same remarks apply here as for ⇒ page 56
.
Rear-view mirror Manual dimming interior rear-view mirror Basic setting
–
Pull the lever on the bottom edge of the mirror forward.
Dimming mirror
– Pull the lever on the bottom edge of the mirror back. 
Automatic dimming interior mirror Fig. 40 Automatic dimming interior mir-
ror
Switching on the automatic dimming
– Press the button B
⇒  fig. 40 , the warning light A lights up.
Switching off the automatic dimming
– Press again the button B - the warning light goes out
A .If the automatic dimming is switched on, the mirror dims
automatically depending
on the light striking the mirror from the rear. The mirror has no lever on the bot-
tom edge of the mirror. After the reverse gear is engaged, the mirror always
moves back into the normal position.
Do not attach external navigation devices on the windscreen or in the vicinity of
the automatic dimming interior mirror ⇒

  .
WARNING
The display lighting of the external navigation device may cause malfunction
of the automatic dimming interior mirror – risk of accident. Note
● Automatic mirror dimming operates only properly if the sun screen for the rear
window in the housing on the luggage compartment cover is not in use or the
light striking the interior rear-view mirror is not affected by other objects.
● Do not affix any stickers in front of the light sensor, so that you do not impair
the automatic dimming function or put it out of operation.
● If you switch off the automatic dimming interior rear-view mirror, also the ex-
terior mirror dimming is switched off. 
Exterior mirror You can adjust the exterior mirrors electrically.
Fig. 41 Inner part of door: Rotary knob
Adjust the rear mirror before commencing to drive so that there is a clear view to
the rear. £ 57
Lights and Visibility Using the system Safety Driving Tips General Maintenance Breakdown assistance Technical data

Heating of the external mirror
–
Turn the rotary knob to position  ⇒  fig. 41.
The exterior mirror heater only operates when the engine is running and up to an
outside temperature of +20 °C.
Adjusting left and right exterior mirrors simultaneously
– Turn the rotary knob to position . The movement of the mirror surface is iden-
tical to the movement of the rotary knob.
The adjustment of both mirrors simultaneously or each individual mirror is possi-
ble in the Information display ⇒

 page 19 in the menu point Mirror adjust. (Mirror
adjust.).
Adjusting the right-hand exterior mirror
– Turn the rotary knob to position . The movement of the mirror surface is iden-
tical to the movement of the rotary knob.
Switching off operating control
– Turn the rotary knob to position .
Folding in both exterior mirrors
– Turn the rotary knob to position .
Fold in the exterior mirrors using the remote control key
– If all the windows are closed, press the unlock button 3 on the radio remote
control ⇒ fig. 18 for approx. 2 seconds.
Tilting surface of front passenger exterior mirror
On vehicles fitted with a memory for the driver seat, the surface of the mirror tilts
down slightly when the rear gear is engaged and the rotary knob is in the posi-
tion  ⇒  fig. 41 . This provides an aid in seeing the kerb of the pavement when park-
ing the car.
The mirror returns into its initial position, after the rotary knob is moved out of the
position  and put into another position or if the speed is more than 15 km/h.
Memory for exterior mirrors
On vehicles fitted with a memory for the driver seat, the relevant setting of the
exterior mirror is also stored automatically when the seat position is stored
⇒  page 61. WARNING
● Convex (curved outward) or a spherical exterior mirrors increase the vision
field. They do, however, make objects appear smaller in the mirror. These mir-
rors are only of limited use, therefore, for estimating distances to the follow-
ing vehicles.
● Use whenever possible the interior rear mirror, for estimating the distan-
ces to the following vehicles. Note
● If the exterior mirrors are folded in using the remote control of the vehicle key,
these are folded back into the driving position after opening the door or switching
on the ignition.
● If the exterior mirrors are folded in using the rotary knob ⇒
 fig. 41, they can on-
ly be folded back into the driving position using the rotary knob.
● If the exterior mirrors were folded in using the remote control of the vehicle
key and if the rotary knob was in the fold-in position before switching on the igni-
tion, the mirrors remain in the fold-in position the next time the ignition is switch-
ed on. Folding back into the driving position is performed by actuating the rotary
knob in a different position from the fold-in position.
● Do not touch the surfaces of the exterior mirrors if the exterior mirror heater is
switched on.
● You can set the exterior mirrors by hand, if the power setting function fails at
any time, by pressing on the edge of the mirror surface.
● Contact your specialist garage if a fault exists with the power setting of the
exterior mirrors. 
Automatic dimming exterior mirror on the driver's side The exterior mirror on the driver's side is dimmed together with the interior mirror.
If the automatic dimming is switched on, the mirror dims automatically depending
on the light striking the mirror from the rear.
After the reverse gear is engaged, the mirror always moves back into the normal
(not dimmed) position. £58
Lights and Visibility

Note
● Automatic mirror dimming operates only properly if the sun screen for the rear
window is not in use or the light striking the rear of the interior rear-view mirror is
not affected by other objects.
● Do not affix any stickers in front of the light sensor, so that you do not impair
the automatic dimming function or put it out of operation.
● If you switch off the automatic dimming interior rear-view mirror, also the ex-
terior mirror dimming is switched off.  59
Lights and Visibility Using the system Safety Driving Tips General Maintenance Breakdown assistance Technical data

Storing setting
Fig. 44 Driver seat: Memory buttons
and SET button
Storing seat and exterior mirror settings for driving forward
– Switch on the ignition.
– Adjust the seat ⇒  page 61.
– Adjust both exterior mirrors ⇒
 page 57.
– Press button SET A
⇒  fig. 44 .
– Press one of the memory buttons B within 10 seconds after pressing the but-
ton SET - an acknowledgement signal confirms that the seat setting is stored..
Storing exterior mirror setting for reversing
– Switch on the ignition.
– Turn the exterior mirror control to position  ⇒
 page 57.
– Engage reverse gear.
– Move the right exterior mirror into the desired position ⇒
 page 57.
– Take the vehicle out of gear. The set position of the exterior mirror is stored.
Station keys
Memory for the seat offers the possibility to store the individual driver seat and
external mirror position. An individual position can be allocated to each of the
three memory buttons B
⇒  fig. 44 , that is three in total. After pressing the corre-
sponding memory button B , the seat and the exterior mirror are automatically
moved into the positions which have been allocated to this button ⇒

 page 62. Emergency Off
You can interrupt the setting operation at any time, if you operate any button of
the driver seat. Note
● When storing settings with the memory buttons, we recommend that you be-
gin with the front button and assign a memory button to each additional driver.
● Each new setting stored with the same button erases the previous setting.
● Each time you store the seat and exterior mirror settings for driving forward
you also have to re-store the individual setting of the exterior mirror on the pas-
senger side for reversing. 
Assigning the remote control key to the memory buttons After storing the settings of the seat and exterior mirrors, you have 10 seconds in
order to assign the remote control to the appropriate memory button.
– Withdraw the ignition key.
– Press the unlock button ⇒
 page 36, after the successful assignment an audible
signal will sound. The setting is stored with the memory button which you
have selected.
If you wish to be able to retrieve the settings which are stored in the memory by
also using the remote control, you have to assign the remote control to a memory
button in each case.
If you wish, you can obtain an additional remote control key from an authorised
ŠKODA Service partner and then assign the remote control key to another memo-
ry button. Note
● If the remote control had previously been assigned to another memory button,
this setting is then erased by the new assignment.
● If you assign the remote control to a memory button which has already been
assigned to a remote control, the old assignment is also replaced by a new assign-
ment in this case. £62
Seats and Stowage

●
The assignment of the radio remote control to a memory button is retained,
however, after reassigning the seats and exterior mirrors.
● After the successful assignment, the turn signal lights flash and an audible
signal will sound as a confirmation. The setting is stored with the memory button
which you have selected. 
Retrieving settings of the seat and mirrors You can retrieve the stored settings either with the memory but-
tons or with the remote control.
Retrieving settings with memory buttons
– In order to retrieve the stored setting, you have two possibilities:
– By pressing briefly: briefly press the desired memory button B
⇒ fig. 44 . The
seat and exterior mirror are moved automatically into the stored positions (this
applies only if the ignition is switched on and the speed is less than 5 km/h).
– Memory keying : Press and hold the desired memory button B pressed long
enough until the seat and the exterior mirror are moved into the stored posi-
tions.
Retrieving settings with remote control
– If the driver door is closed and the ignition is switched off, briefly press the un-
lock button of the remote control ⇒ page 36
and then open the driver door.
– The seat and exterior mirrors now move automatically into the stored posi-
tions.
Retrieving setting of exterior mirror for reversing
– Turn the rotary knob for the exterior mirror setting into the position 
⇒  page 57 before engaging the reverse gear.
The mirror returns into its initial position, after the rotary knob is moved out of the
position  and put into another position or if the speed is more than 15 km/h.
Emergency Off
You can interrupt the setting operation at any time, if you operate any button of
the driver seat. Note
If the inclination angle of the seat backrest is more than 102° in relation to the
seat cushion, the backrest remains in this position, after reaching this angle, when
retrieving the setting by briefly pressing the memory button. Once the stored an-
gle is reached, it is necessary to press the memory button and hold it pressed until
the seat is in the stored position. 
Head restraints Fig. 45 Head restraint: Adjusting/pulling out
Best protection is achieved if the top edge of the head restraint is at the same
level as the upper part of your head.
Adjusting the height of a head restraint
–
Grasp the side of the head restraint with both hands and push it in upward di-
rection as desired ⇒ fig. 45 - left.
– Move the head restraint downwards if required by pressing and holding the
safety button with one hand ⇒ fig. 45 - right and by pressing with the other
hand the head restraint downwards.
Removing and installing a head restraint
– Pull the head restraint up out of the seat backrest as far as the stop (on the
rear head restraints fold forward the seat backrest).
– Press the locking button in the direction of arrow ⇒
 fig. 45 - right and pull the
head restraint out.
– To re-insert the head restraint, push it down into the seat backrest far enough
until you hear the locking button engage. £ 63
Seats and Stowage Using the system Safety Driving Tips General Maintenance Breakdown assistance Technical data

●
Ensure that no objects can obstruct the pedal.
● Adjust the mirror, the front seat and the head restraint to match your body
size.
● Point out to your occupants that the head restraints must be adjusted to
match their body size.
● Protect the children in suitable child seats with correctly fastened seat belts
⇒ page 147, Transporting children safely.
● Adopt the correct seated position ⇒
 page 132, Correct seated position. Also
inform your occupants to adopt the correct seated position.
● Fasten the seat belt correctly. Also inform your occupants to properly fasten
the seat belts ⇒

 page 137, How are seat belts correctly fastened?. 
What influences the driving safety? The driving safety is primarily determined by the style of driving
and the personal behaviour of all the occupants.
The driver is fully responsible for himself and his occupants. If your driving safety
is effected, you place yourself and the oncoming traffic at risk.
Please refer to the following guidelines.
● Do not get distracted from concentrating on the traffic situation, e.g. by your
occupants or mobile phone calls.
● Never drive when your driving ability is impaired, e.g. through medication, alco-
hol, drugs.
● Keep to the traffic regulations and the permissible speed limit.
● Adjust the driving speed at all times to the road condition as well as to the
traffic and weather conditions.
● Take regular breaks on long journeys - at the latest every two hours. Correct seated position
Correct seated position for the driver Correct seated position for the driver is important for safe and re-
laxed driving.
Fig. 116 The correct distance of the driver from the steering wheel/The correct head restraint
adjustment for the driver
For your own safety and to reduce the risk of injury in the event of an accident, we
recommend the following setting.
● Adjust the steering wheel so that the distance between the steering wheel
and your chest is at least 25 cm ⇒ fig. 116 - left.
● Position the driver seat in the forward/back direction so that you are able to
fully press the pedals with your legs at a slight angle.
● Adjust the seat backrest so that you are able to reach the highest point of the
steering wheel with your arms at a slight angle.
● Adjust the head restraint so that the top edge of the head restraint is at the
same level as the upper part of your head ⇒

 fig. 116 - right.
● Fasten the seat belt correctly ⇒
 page 137, How are seat belts correctly fas-
tened?.
Manual driver seat adjustment ⇒ page 60, Adjusting the front seats.
Electrical driver seat adjustment ⇒ page 61, Adjusting front seats electrically. £132
Passive Safety

Towing a trailer
Technical requirements Your vehicle is designed primarily for transporting persons and luggage. It can,
however, also be used for towing a trailer - provided certain technical equipment
is fitted.
If your vehicle has been
factory-fitted with a towing device or has a towing device
from ŠKODA Original Accessories, then the towing device satisfies all technical
and legal requirements.
Your vehicle is fitted with a 13-pin power socket for the electrical connection be-
tween the vehicle and trailer. If the trailer which you wish to tow has a 7-pin con-
nector, you can use a suitable adapter from
ŠKODA Original Accessories.
This work must be carried out in accordance with the manufacturer's specifica-
tions if a towing device is retrofitted.
Authorised ŠKODA Service Partners can provide detailed information about retro-
fitting a towing device and for any necessary modifications to the cooling system. WARNING
We recommend that you have the towing device from ŠKODA Original Acces-
sories installed by an authorised
ŠKODA Service Partner. He is familiar with all
the relevant details relating to retrofitting such equipment. There is a risk of
an accident if the towing device is not properly fitted! 
General Maintenance Trailer load
The permissible trailer load must on no account be exceeded.
You can negotiate appropriately steeper inclines and descents if you do not make
full use of the permissible trailer load.
The trailer loads specified only apply for
altitudes up to 1000 metres above mean
sea level. The fact that the engine power output drops with increasing height due
to a lowering of air pressure and thus the ability to climb, means that the towed
weight must be reduced by 10 % for every further increase of 1 000 metres in height above sea level. The towed weight is the weight of the (laden) vehicle and
the (laden) trailer together. One should take this into account before driving up to
higher altitudes.
The trailer and drawbar load information on the type plate of the towing device
are merely test data for the towing device The data relating to your vehicle,
which is often less than this test data, can be found in your vehicle registration
documents.
Distribution of the load
Distribute the load in the trailer in such a way that any heavy items are located as
close as possible to the axle. Secure the items to prevent them slipping.
Tyre pressure
Correct the tyre inflation pressure on your vehicle for that of

“fully laden”
⇒  page 192. The inflation pressure of the tyres fitted to the trailer adjust in ac-
cordance with the manufacturer's recommendation.
Exterior mirrors
You have to have additional exterior mirrors fitted if you are not able to see the
traffic behind the trailer with the standard rear-view mirrors. Both exterior mirrors
should be attached to folding arms. Adjust the mirrors so that they provide you
with an adequate field of view to the rear.
Headlights
Before starting off with a hitched trailer, also check the setting of the headlights.
Alter the setting as necessary with the aid of the headlight beam adjuster
⇒  page 49.
Detachable ball head
The ball head is detachable on vehicles with towing device and can be obtained
from ŠKODA Original Accessories. It is stowed together with separate fitting in-
structions in the spare wheel well in the luggage compartment of the vehicle. Note
● We recommend that you also have your vehicle inspected between service in-
tervals if you tow a trailer frequently.
● The handbrake on the towing vehicle must be put on when coupling and de-
coupling the trailer. 168
Towing a trailer