2011 SKODA OCTAVIA towing

Jump-starting in vehicles with the “START-STOP” system
Fig. 172 Jump-starting on vehicles with
the START-STOP system
On vehicles with the “START STOP” system, the negative cable of the charger
must never be connected directly to the negative pole of the vehicle battery, but
only to the engine earth ⇒ fig. 172. 
Towing the vehicle General Vehicles with manual transmission can be towed in with a tow bar or a tow rope
or with the front or rear wheels raised.
Vehicles with automatic transmission can be towed in with a tow bar or a tow
rope or with the front wheels raised. If the vehicle is raised at rear, the automatic
gearbox is damaged!
Vehicles with four-wheel drive can be towed in with a tow bar or a tow rope or
with the front wheels raised.
A tow bar
is safest way of towing a vehicle and also minimizes any shocks. You
can use a tow rope only if a suitable tow bar is not available.
Refer to the following guidelines when towing:
Driver of the towing vehicle
– Release the clutch particularly gently when starting off or depress the acceler-
ator particularly gently if your vehicle is fitted with an automatic gearbox.
– On vehicles with manual transmission, only push down on the accelerator ped-
al once the rope is taught. The maximum towing speed is
50 km/h.
Driver of the towed vehicle
– Switch the ignition on so that the steering wheel is not blocked and you can
also operate the turn signal lights, the headlight flasher, the windscreen wip-
ers and windscreen washer system.
– Take the vehicle out of gear or move the selector lever into position N if your
vehicle is fitted with an automatic gearbox.
Note that the brake servo unit and power steering only operate if the engine is
running. You will require significantly greater physical force to depress the brake
pedal and to steer the vehicle if the engine is not running.
When using a tow rope, always ensure that the tow rope is always kept taught. CAUTION
● Do not tow start the engine - danger of damaging the engine. On vehicles with
a catalytic converter, unburnt fuel may get into the catalytic converter where it
may ignite. This in turn may damage or destroy the catalytic converter. You can
use the battery of another vehicle as a jump-start aid ⇒ page 206, Jump-starting
.
● If the gearbox of your vehicle no longer contains any oil because of a defect,
your vehicle must only be towed in with the driven wheels raised clear of the
ground, or on a special vehicle transporter or trailer.
● The vehicle must be transported on a special vehicle or trailer if it is not possi-
ble to tow in the vehicle in the way described or if the towing distance is greater
than 50

km.
● To protect both vehicles when tow-starting or towing, the tow rope should be
elastic. Thus one should only use plastic fibre rope or a rope made out of a similar-
ly elastic material.
● One should be constantly vigilant not to allow impermissibly high towing
forces or jerky loadings. There is always a risk of excessive stresses and damage
resulting at the points to which you attach the tow rope or tow bar when you at-
tempt to tow a vehicle which is not standing on a paved road.
● Attach the tow rope or the tow bar only to the towing eyes provided for this
purpose ⇒ page 209

, Front towing eye and ⇒ page 210, Rear towing eye. £208
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Note
● We recommend a tow rope from the range of ŠKODA Original Accessories that
you can purchase from an authorised ŠKODA Service Partner.
● Towing another vehicle requires a certain amount of practice. Both drivers
should be familiar with the particular points about towing a vehicle. Unskilled driv-
ers should not attempt to tow in another vehicle or to be towed in.
● When towing, respect the national legal provisions, especially those which re-
late to the identification of the towing vehicle and the vehicle being towed.
● The tow rope must not be twisted as it may in certain circumstances result in
the front towing eye being unscrewed out of your vehicle. 
Front towing eye The towing eye is stored in the box of the vehicle tool kit.
Fig. 173 Front bumper: protective grille/installing the towing eye
Carefully remove the cover as follows.
–
Guide the fingers into the opening A
⇒
 fig. 173.
– By pulling in the direction of arrow 1 , first of all slacken the cover in the up-
per area on the side to the fog lights.
– Afterwards, also slacken the cover on the other side in the direction of arrow
2 and remove it.
– Screw in the towing eye by hand to the left up to the stop ⇒ fig. 173 - right and
tighten. For tightening, we recommend that you use for example the wheel
wrench, the lashing eye of another vehicle or a similar object which you can
push through the eye. –
In order to reinstall the cover after screwing out the towing eye, first of all in-
sert it starting on the side facing the marking. Then press the cover closed on
the side facing the fog light. The cover must engage firmly. CAUTION
The towing eye must always be screwed in fully and firmly tightened, otherwise
the towing eye can tear when towing in or tow-starting! 
Front towing eye for Octavia RS and Octavia Scout The towing eye is stored in the box of the vehicle tool kit.
Fig. 174 Front bumper Octavia RS: Protective grille/Octavia Scout: Cover
Octavia RS
–
Guide one finger into the opening A of the grille
⇒ fig. 174 .
– Unlock the cover by pulling it in direction 1 and remove it.
– Screw in the towing eye by hand to the left up to the stop ⇒ fig. 173 - right and
tighten it as much as possible.
– Put the cover in place after screwing out the towing eye again and press into
place. The cover must engage firmly.
Octavia Scout
– Press on the upper part of the cover B and remove it.
– Screw in the towing eye by hand to the left up to the stop ⇒ fig. 173 - right and
tighten it as much as possible. For tightening, we recommend that you use for
example the wheel wrench, the lashing eye of another vehicle or a similar ob-
ject which you can push through the eye. £ 209
Breakdown assistance Using the system Safety Driving Tips General Maintenance Breakdown assistance Technical data

–
Put the cover in place after screwing out the towing eye again and press into
place. The cover must engage firmly. CAUTION
The towing eye must always be screwed in fully and firmly tightened, otherwise
the towing eye can tear when towing in or tow-starting. 
Rear towing eye Fig. 175 Rear bumper: Remove cover/rear bumper: Installing the towing eye
–
Unlock the bottom part of the cover by pulling it downwards in direction of ar-
row 1
⇒  fig. 175.
– Unlock the upper part of the cover by pulling it in direction of arrow 2 and re-
move it.
– Screw in the towing eye by hand to the left up to the stop ⇒ fig. 175 - right and
tighten it as much as possible. For tightening, we recommend that you use for
example the wheel wrench, the lashing eye of another vehicle or a similar ob-
ject which you can push through the eye.
– In order to reinstall the cover after screwing out the towing eye, first of all in-
sert the upper part of the cover and then press in the lower part. The cover
must engage firmly. CAUTION
The towing eye must always be screwed in fully and firmly tightened, otherwise
the towing eye can tear when towing in or tow-starting. 210
Breakdown assistance

Fuse assignment in the dash panel
Fig. 179 Schematic representation of
the fuse carrier in the dash panel
Certain electrical components are only standard on certain vehicle model versions
or only available as optional equipment for certain models. No. Power consumer
1 Diagnostic socket, Engine control unit, Electrical fuel pump
2 Control unit for ABS, ESP
3 Airbag
4 Heating, Air conditioning system, Reversing lights
5 Control unit for headlamp beam adjustment
6 Instrument cluster, control unit for automatic gearbox, control unit for
electromechanical power steering, parking aid, Haldex coupling 7 Not assigned
8 Not assigned
9 Not assigned
10 Not assigned
11 Not assigned
12 Central locking control unit
13 Diagnostic socket, Light switch
14 Control unit for automatic gearbox, Selector lever lock
15 Central control unit - interior lights
16 Climatronic
17 Not assigned
18 Rear window wiper
19 Control unit for trailer detection No. Power consumer
20 Not assigned
21 Cornering lights for the left and right side
22 Air blower for Climatronic
23 Front power window
24 Cigarette lighter
25 Rear window heater
Rear window heater, Auxiliary heating (auxiliary heating and ventila-
tion)
26 Power socket in the luggage compartment
27 Fuel pump relay, Injection valves (diesel engine)
28 Radio
29 Engine control unit, Crankcase ventilation heater
30 Control unit for automatic gearbox
31 Vacuum pump
32 Rear power window
33 Electric sliding/tilting roof
34 Control unit for convenience functions
35 Anti-theft alarm system
36 Headlight cleaning system
37 Front seat heating
38 Heated rear seats
39 Instrument cluster, windshield wiper lever and turn signal light lever
40 Air blower for heating and air conditioning
41 Not assigned
42 Not assigned
43 Towing device
44 Towing device
45 Towing device
46 Seat heaters
47 Relay for auxiliary heating
48 Phone
49 Light switch
£ 213
Fuses and light bulbs Using the system Safety Driving Tips General Maintenance Breakdown assistance Technical data

The roof luggage rack system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Through-loading bag
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Tilting roof . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Tiptronic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
Top Tether . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
Towing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208
Towing a trailer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
Traction control system (TCS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156 Warning light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Trailer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168 General Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
Transporting children safely . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
Tread depth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
Turn signal lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Two-way radio systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Tyre . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
Tyre inflation pressure Warning light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Tyre repair kit Tyre repair . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204
Tyres Winter tyres . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
U Underbody protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
unlock Central locking system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Unlocking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Remote control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Uphill Start Assist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
V
Vanity mirror . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Vehicle key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Vehicle tool kit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
Ventilation Auxiliary ventilation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94 Visors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
W
Warning lights
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Warning symbols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Warning triangle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
Washing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170 with a high-pressure cleaner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
Washing the vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
Washing vehicle by hand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
Wax treatment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
Weight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221
Wheel Changing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
Spare . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
Wheel bolts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
Wheels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
Wheel trim . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192, 201
Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 de-icing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
Windscreen washer nozzles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Windshield washer fluid reservoir . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190 Warning light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Windshield washer system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
Windshield wiper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Winter tyres . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
Wiper blades Replacing the wiper blades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
X
XDL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
Xenon headlights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214 243
Index Using the system Safety Driving Tips General Maintenance Breakdown assistance Technical data