2011 SKODA OCTAVIA technical data

Storage compartment on the dash panel
Fig. 78 Dash panel: Storage compart-
ment
– Press in the middle of the storage compartment ⇒ fig. 78 - the lid folds open
Certain model versions are equipped without lid for the storage compartment. WARNING
● The storage compartment is not a substitute for the ashtray and must also
not be used for such purposes - risk of fire!
● The storage compartment must always be closed when driving for safety
reasons.
● Do not put any highly inflammable objects or objects which are sensitive to
heat (e.g. lighters, sprays, spectacles, carbonated drinks) in the storage com-
partment. 
Stowage compartment in front centre console Fig. 79 Front centre console: Storage
compartment–
Press on the bottom part of the storage compartment in the area A ⇒ 
fig. 79 -
the lid opens. WARNING
The storage compartment is not a substitute for the ashtray and must also
not be used for such purposes - risk of fire! 
Storage net on the front centre console Fig. 80 Front centre console: Storage
net
The storage net in the front centre console ⇒ fig. 80 is designed for the transport
of smaller objects. WARNING
● In the storage net you must only stow objects (up to a total weight of 0.5
kg). Heavy objects are not secured sufficiently - risk of injury!
● No objects with sharp edges should be stored in the luggage net, because
they can damage the luggage net. 79
Seats and Stowage Using the system Safety Driving Tips General Maintenance Breakdown assistance Technical data

The armrest is adjustable for height and length.
Opening storage compartment
–
Open the lid of the armrest in the direction of arrow ⇒  fig. 84 - left.
Closing storage compartment
– Open the lid up to the stop, then you can fold it downwards.
Setting height
– First of all fold the lid to the bottom and lift it in the direction of arrow into one
of the 4 fixed positions.
Adjusting in forward/back direction
– Push the lid into the desired position.
Opening air inlet
– Pull the lock A in upward direction.
Closing air inlet
– Push the lock A as far as the stop downwards.
On vehicles fitted with air conditioning, the storage compartment is equipped
with a lockable inlet for thermally treated (warmed-up) air.
At open air supply, air flows into the storage with a temperature which is as high
as the one out of the air outlet nozzles, depending on temperature setting.
The air inlet in the storage compartment is connected to position  through ad-
justment of the control dial for air distribution. This position causes the maximum
amount of air to flow into the storage compartment (depending on the rotary reg-
ulator position for the fan).
You can use the storage compartment, for example, to temper drinks cans, etc.
If you do not use the air inlet in the storage compartment, the end cover should
always be kept closed. Note
Push the lid of the armrest up to stop to the rear before operating the handbrake. Rear seat armrest with storage compartment
Fig. 85 Armrest of rear seats:
The armrest includes a storage compartment. You open the compartment by
pressing the button on the front side and raising the cover ⇒

 fig. 85 . 
Stowage compartment in rear centre console Fig. 86 Centre console at rear: Stowage
compartment
The storage compartment is equipped with a removable insert.
– Open the storage compartment by pulling on the upper edge of the storage
compartment A in the direction of arrow
⇒ fig. 86 . WARNING
The storage compartment is not a substitute for the ashtray and must also
not be used for such purposes - risk of fire! 81
Seats and Stowage Using the system Safety Driving Tips General Maintenance Breakdown assistance Technical data

WARNING
● After placing skis into the through-loading bag, you must secure the bag
with the securing strap B .
● The strap A must hold the skis tight.
● Make sure that the strap A holds the skis in front of the binding (see also
imprint on the removable through-loading bag). Note
● The through-loading bag is foreseen for four pairs of skis. The total weight of
the skis which are transported must not exceed 17 kg.
● You must put the skis and the sticks in the removable through-loading bag
with the tips facing the rear.
● If there are several pairs of skis in the removable through-loading bag, ensure
that the bindings are positioned at the same height.
● Carefully fold the empty (dry) through-loading bag together, place it in the lug-
gage compartment and secure it to prevent it slipping. The removable through-
loading bag must never be folded together or stowed when moist. 
Side compartment Fig. 89 Luggage compartment: Side
compartment
– You can open the compartment by turning the locks in the direction of arrow.
The CD changer is housed in this compartment. Stowage compartment behind the rear seats (Estate car)
Fig. 90 Removing the storage compart-
ment
Removing
– First remove the foldable luggage compartment cover ⇒  page 70.
– Grasp the housing with both hands and remove it by pulling in direction of ar-
row ⇒ fig. 90 .
Install
– Push the housing up to the stop into the catch.
– Re-insert the foldable luggage compartment cover. WARNING
Only place small and light objects up to a total weight of 3 kg into the storage
compartment. In the event of a vehicle collision heavy objects could be thrown
out of the compartment - risk of injuries! For this reason, the front part of the
luggage compartment cover must always cover over the storage compart-
ment. 
Clothes hooks The clothes hooks are located on the middle pillar and on the handle of the head-
liner above each of the rear doors.
£ 83
Seats and Stowage Using the system Safety Driving Tips General Maintenance Breakdown assistance Technical data

Heating and air conditioning system
Introduction
Description and information The heating effect is dependent upon the coolant temperature, thus full heat out-
put only occurs when the engine has reached its operating temperature.
If the cooling system is switched on, the temperature and air humidity drops in
the vehicle. The well-being of the occupants of the car is enhanced as a result of
this particularly at high outside temperatures and a high air humidity. The system
prevents the windows misting up during the cold season of the year.
It is possible to briefly activate recirculated air mode in order to enhance the cool-
ing effect - air-conditioning system ⇒ page 90
, Climatronic ⇒ page 93.
The air inlet in front of the windscreen must be free of ice, snow or leaves in order
to ensure that the heating and cooling systems operate properly.
After switching on the cooling Condensation from the evaporator of the air condi-
tioning may drip down and form a puddle below the vehicle. This is quite normal
and not an indication of a leak! WARNING
● For your own safety and that of other road users, ensure that all the win-
dows are free of ice, snow and misting. Please familiarize yourself about how
to correctly operate the heating and ventilation systems, how to demist and
defrost the windows, as well as with the cooling mode.
● You should not leave recirculated air mode on over a longer period of time,
as

“stale” air may result in fatigue in the driver and occupants, divert your at-
tention and also cause the windows to mist up. The risk of having an accident
increases. Switch recirculated air mode off as soon as the windows begin
misting up. Note
● The used air streams out through the air removal openings in the luggage
compartment.
● We recommend that you do not smoke in the vehicle when the recirculating air
mode is operating since the smoke which is drawn at the evaporator from the in-
terior of the vehicle forms deposits in the evaporator of the air conditioning sys- tem. This produces a permanent odour when the air conditioning system is oper-
ating which can only be eliminated through considerable effort and expense (re-
placement of compressor).
● Please refer to the information regarding the recirculated air mode for heating
⇒

  page 88 and/or for air-conditioning system ⇒ page 90 or Climatronic
⇒  page 93.
● To ensure the heating system, air conditioning system or Climatronic work per-
fectly, the air outlet vents must not be covered by any objects. 
Using the air conditioning system economically The compressor on the air conditioning system uses power from the engine when
in cooling mode which will effect the fuel consumption.
It recommended to open the windows or the doors of a vehicle for which the inte-
rior has been strongly heated through the effect of direct sunlight in order to al-
low the heated air to escape.
The cooling system should not be switched on while travelling when the window
is open.
The desired interior temperature can also be achieved without switching in the
cooling system just by switching to fresh air mode. For the sake of the environment
When you economize on fuel, you also reduce pollutant emissions. 
Operational problems If the cooling system does not operate at outside temperatures higher than +5 °C,
there is a problem in the system. The reasons for this may be:
●
The fuse on the air conditioning system has blown. Check the fuse, replace it if
necessary ⇒ page 211.
● The cooling system has switched off automatically for a short time because
the coolant temperature of the engine is too hot ⇒ page 11.
If you are not able to rectify the operational problem yourself, or if the cooling ca-
pacity decreases, switch the cooling system off. Contact a specialist garage.  85
Heating and air conditioning system Using the system Safety Driving Tips General Maintenance Breakdown assistance Technical data

Heating
Using the system The heating system delivers air into the interior of the vehicle and
warms it as required.
Fig. 93 Heating: Control elements
Setting temperature
–
Turn the control dial A
⇒  fig. 93 to the right in order to increase the tempera-
ture.
– Turn the control dial A to the left in order to increase the temperature.
Controlling blower
– Turn the blower switch B into one of the positions, 1 to 4, in order to switch
the blower on. –
Turn the blower switch B into position 0 in order to switch the blower off.
– If you wish to shut off the fresh air supply, use the button 1 - recirculated air
mode ⇒ page 88

.
Control for air distribution
– You can adjust the direction of the inlet air flow ⇒
 page 86 using air distribu-
tion regulator C .
Rear window heater
– Press button 2 . Further information
⇒ page 52, Rear window heater
.
Auxiliary heating (parking heating)
– Press the button 3 in order to directly switch on/off the auxiliary heating
(auxiliary heating and ventilation). Further information ⇒

 page 94, Auxiliary
heating (auxiliary heating and ventilation).
All controls apart from the control dial B can be set to any desired intermediate
position.
The blower should always be on to prevent the windows from misting up. Note
If the air distribution is positioned towards the windows, the total amount of air is
used to defrost the windows and thus no air will be fed to the footwell. This can
lead to restriction of the heating comfort. 
Set heating Recommended basic settings of heating controls for:
£ 87
Heating and air conditioning system Using the system Safety Driving Tips General Maintenance Breakdown assistance Technical data

The cooling only operates if button
AC ⇒ 
fig. 94 1 is pressed, and the following
conditions are met:
● engine running,
● outside temperature above approx. +2 °C and
● blower switch switched on (positions 1 to 4).
Air at a temperature of about 5 °C may flow out of the vents under certain circum-
stances when the cooling system is operating. Lengthy and uneven distribution of
the air flow out of the vents and large differences in temperature, for example
when getting out of the vehicle, can result in chills in sensitive persons. Note
● We recommend that you have the air conditioning system cleaned by a spe-
cialist garage once every year. 
Using the system Fig. 94 The air conditioning system: Control elements
Setting temperature
–
Turn the control dial A
⇒
 fig. 94 to the right in order to increase the tempera-
ture.
– Turn the control dial A to the left in order to increase the temperature.
Controlling blower
– Turn the blower switch B into one of the positions, 1 to 4, in order to switch
the blower on. –
Turn the blower switch B into position 0 in order to switch the blower off.
– If you wish to shut off the fresh air supply, use the button 
4 - recirculated
air mode ⇒

 page 90.
Control for air distribution
– You can adjust the direction of the inlet air flow ⇒
 page 86 using air distribu-
tion regulator C .
switching cooling on and off
– Press the button AC
1 ⇒
 
fig. 94 . The warning light lights up in the button.
– When you again press the switch AC , the cooling system is switched off. The
warning light in the button goes out.
Rear window heater
– Press button 
2 . Further information
⇒
 page 52, Rear window heater.
Auxiliary heating (parking heating)
– Press the button 
3 in order to directly switch on/off the auxiliary heating
(auxiliary heating and ventilation. Further information ⇒ page 94

, Auxiliary
heating (auxiliary heating and ventilation). Note
● The whole heat output will be needed to defrost the windscreen and side win-
dows. No warm air will be fed to the footwell. This can lead to restriction of the
heating comfort.
● The warning light AC lights after activation, even if not all of the conditions for
the function of the cooling system have been met. As a result, the readiness for
cooling is signalled when all conditions are satisfied ⇒

 page 88, Description of the
air conditioning system.  89
Heating and air conditioning system Using the system Safety Driving Tips General Maintenance Breakdown assistance Technical data

WARNING
You should not leave recirculated air mode on over a longer period of time, as
“stale ” air may result in fatigue in the driver and occupants, divert your atten-
tion and also cause the windows to mist up. The risk of having an accident in-
creases. Switch recirculated air mode off as soon as the windows begin mist-
ing up. 
Climatronic (automatic air conditioning) Description The Climatronic system is an automatic heating, fresh air and cool-
ing system which provides optimal comfort for the occupants of the
car.
The Climatronic maintains fully automatically a convenience temperature. This is
achieved by automatically varying the temperature of the outflowing air, the
blower stages and the air distribution. The system also takes into account sun-
light which eliminates the need to alter the settings manually. The automatic
mode
⇒

 page 92 ensures maximum well-being of the occupants at all times of
the year.
Description of Climatronic system
The cooling operates only if the following conditions are met:
● engine running,
● outside temperature above approx. +2 °C,
● AC switched on.
The AC compressor is switched off at a high coolant temperature in order to pro-
vide cooling at a high load of the engine.
Recommended setting for all periods of the year:
● Set the desired temperature, we recommend 22 °C.
● Press the button AUTO
⇒  fig. 95 .
● Move the air outlet vents 3 and 4 so that the air flow is directed slightly up-
wards. Note
● We recommend that you have Climatronic cleaned by a specialist garage once
every year.
● On vehicles equipped with a factory-fitted radio or radio navigation system,
the information of the Climatronic is also shown on the display. This function can
be switched off, see operating instructions of the radio or the radio navigation
system. 
Overview of the control elements The controls enable a separate setting of the temperature for the
left and right side.
Fig. 95 Climatronic: Control elements
The buttons
Defrost windscreen intensively  Air flow to the windows
 Air flow to head
 Air flow in the footwell
 Recirculated air mode
 with air quality sensor
Rear window heater  £
1 2
3
4
5
6 91
Heating and air conditioning system Using the system Safety Driving Tips General Maintenance Breakdown assistance Technical data

Recirculated air mode
In recirculated air mode air is sucked out of the interior of the vehi-
cle and then fed back into the interior. When the automatic air dis-
tribution control is switched on, an air quality sensor measures the
concentration of pollutants in the drawn in air.
Recirculated air mode prevents polluted air outside the vehicle from getting into
the vehicle, for example when driving through a tunnel or when standing in a traf-
fic jam. If a considerable increase in concentration of pollutants is recognized by
the air quality sensor, when the automatic air distribution control is switched on,
the air distribution control will temporarily be switched off. If the concentration of
pollutants decreases to the normal level, the air distribution control is automati-
cally switched off so that fresh air can be guided into the vehicle interior.
Switching recirculated air mode on
– Press the button repeatedly  until the warning light on the left side of the
button lights up.
Switch on automatic air distribution control
– Press the button repeatedly  until the warning light on the right side of the
button lights up.
Switch off automatic air distribution control temporarily
– If the air quality sensor does not switch on the air distribution control auto-
matically when there is a nauseating smell, you can switch it on yourself by
pressing the button  . The warning light lights up in the button on the left
side.
Switching recirculated air mode off
– Press the button AUTO or press the button
 repetitively, until the warning
lights in the button go out. WARNING
You should not leave recirculated air mode on over a longer period of time, as
“stale ” air may result in fatigue in the driver and occupants, divert your atten-
tion and also cause the windows to mist up. The risk of having an accident in-
creases. Switch recirculated air mode off as soon as the windows begin mist-
ing up. Note
● If the windscreen mists up, press the button 
1 ⇒
 
fig. 95 . After the wind-
screen has been demisted, press the button AUTO .
● The automatic air distribution control operates only if the outside temperature
is higher than approx. 2 °C. 
Controlling blower There are a total of seven blower stages available.
The Climatronic system controls the blower stages automatically in line with the
interior temperature. You can also, however, adapt the blower stages manually to
suit your particular needs.
–
Press again the button  on the left side (reduce blower speed) or on the
right side (increase blower speed).
If you switch off the blower, the Climatronic is switched off.
The set blower speed is displayed above the button  when the respective num-
ber of warning lights come on. WARNING
● “Stale air
” may result in fatigue in the driver and occupants, reduce atten-
tion levels and also cause the windows to mist up. The risk of having an acci-
dent increases.
● Do not switch the Climatronic system off for longer than necessary.
● Switch the Climatronic system on as soon as the windows mist up. 
Defrosting windscreen Defrosting windscreen - switching on
– Press the button 
⇒  fig. 95 .
Defrosting windscreen - switching off
– Once again press the button  or the button
AUTO .
The temperature control is controlled automatically. More air flows out of the air
outlet vents 1.  93
Heating and air conditioning system Using the system Safety Driving Tips General Maintenance Breakdown assistance Technical data