1 1 6 D r iv in g an d o p e ra t io n
Cata ly tic conv erter, exhaust
ga s es
Ca taly tic con v er ter for pe trol e n gin e s
L eade d fuel will damage the catalytic
co n ver t e r a n d p a r t s o f t h e el ec tr o n i c
system, thereby rendering them
inoperative .
High qua lity fuels other tha n those liste d on
page s 11 4 and 1 7 5 (e .g. LRP
1)) could
dam age the catalytic conv erter.Damage to the ca talytic conve rte r or the
vehicle may res ult if the follow ing points
are not obs erve d:
zC onsult a workshop as quickly a s
pos sible in the e ve nt of misfiring,
irregular engine running following a cold
s tart, a s ignificant los s of engine power
or other unusual m alfunctions w hich
may indicate a fault in the ignition
system. If necessary, driving ma y be
continue d for a short time at a low spe ed
and w ith a low engine sp ee d.
Irregular engine running and lack of
powe r when the Ele ctronic S tability
Program (E SP) kicks in are for
ope ra tional re as ons and ca n be
ignored – s ee page 1 19 .zIf unburned fuel enters the catalytic
conv erter, this may res ult in ove rhe ating
and irre parable damage to the c atalytic
conv erter.
You should therefore avoid
unnecessarily long use of the starter
when starting-off, running the tank d ry
(an irre gular fuel s upply w ill lead to
overhea ting) and starting the e ngine by
pushing or towing.
zIf the e mis sion control ind ic ator Z
fla shes, slow down until the flashing
stops and the control indicator is s teady .
Consult a work shop imm ediately.
Emis s ion control indicator Z –
se e page 11 7 .
1)LR P = Lea d Replacement Petrol.
13 1Self-help, vehicle care
To ope n com plete ly, lift bonnet upw ards
from the edge neare st the windscree n. Air
pre ss uris ed support rods will hold the
bonnet open.
When the bonnet is opened, leaves, dirt or
snow can obstruct the air intake. Remove
any le ave s, dirt or s now. Air inta ke –
s ee page 1 09 .
Ne ve r drive with bonne t open.To clos e bonne t, lowe r it gradually before
pushing it firmly into its catch.
Check that the b onnet is latched in position
before driving, by pulling a t its re ar e dge . If
it is not e ngaged , rep eat clos ing
p r oc edu r e.
Sta rting
D o not s ta rt wit h quick charge r
This preve nts d amage to ele ctronic
compone nts .
D o not s ta rt by pus hing or tow ing
Be cause your ve hicle is fitted with a
cataly tic converte r, it must not be starte d
by pushing or towing – se e page 11 6 .
T h e v eh i cl e ca n o n l y be st a r t e d us i n g j um p
le ads – s ee follow ing page .
9 Warning
To avoid causing da mage to the doors
and the bonnet, ensure the driver’s door
and the p ass enge r’s door are both clos e d
correctly before closing the bonne t.
9 Wa r nin g
If t h e v eh i cl e ba t t er y r equ i r es ch a r g i n g
while s till in the ve hicle, ens ure there is
adeq uate ventila tion in and around the
battery compartme nt to preve nt risk of
exp l os i o n .
134 Self-help, vehicle care
zDo not c onnec t leads to negative
te rminal of discharged battery!
zRoute the le ads so that the y ca nnot
catch on rotating p arts in the engine
com partment.
zStart the e ngine of the ve hicle p rov id ing
th e j u m p s t a r t .
zAfte r 5 minute s, sta rt the other e ngine .
Start attem pts should be made for no
longe r than 15 s econds at an interva l of
1 m i nu t e .
zAfte r the start, allow b oth engines to idle
for 3 minutes with the leads connected.
zIn ord er to av oid ex ces s voltage in the
el ec tr i ca l sy st e m , be f o r e r e m o vi n g a
le ad, switch on an e lectrical cons umer
(e .g. lamps , h ea te d re ar win do w) in th e
vehicle rece iving the jump start.
zReverse above sequence exactly when
re m o v i n g l e a d s .
Towing
Tow ing the vehicl e
Screw the front towing ey e (stowed in a
bag in the lugga ge compartme nt) fully into
the front towing point.
Attac h a tow rope 3 - or b etter still, a tow
ro d 3 - to the towing ey e, neve r to the
bumper or front suspension units.
Plac e the gear s hift le ve r in ne utra l. Switch
on the ignition to re lease the stee ring
colum n lock and to p ermit operation of the
brake lamps , horn and winds cree n wipers . Drive off slowly and avoid jerky
mov eme nts . Impe rm iss ible trac tiv e force s
could da mage the ve hicles .
To prevent the entry of exha ust gases from
the tow ing vehicle , switch on the air re -
circulation sy stem and close the windows.
S ee k the a ss istance of a works hop.
Towi ng serv ice
E ntrust your ve hicle only to the towing
service of your choice and obtain an
e stimate on towing costs be fore e mploying
any tow ing se rvice. In this way y ou avoid
unnecessary c osts and possible insurance
proble ms during claim proce ss ing.
9 Warning
Ne ve r lift the ve hicle using the towing
eye!
9 Wa r nin g
More brake pedal pressure is necessary
w h en b ra ki n g s i n ce t he br a ke s er vo un i t i s
operative only when the engine is
running.
Conside rably greate r ste ering force is
necessary since the power steering unit is
operative only when the engine is
running.
162 Self-help, vehicle care
Soft top car e
Particular care should be take n when
washing the fabric soft top. C arefully
vacuum the soft top before washing, to
rem ov e e xce ss dus t and dirt p artic le s .
W ash in s hade with a s ponge (a chamois
lea the r will lea ve lint, while a brus h may
abrade the thre ads ) and use an O pel Car
Shamp oo and lukewa rm wate r solution.
W ash the entire top uniformly to avoid
rings or spots. Rinse with plenty of clean
wate r.
Re move surface water with a s ponge and
allow to air dry . Be sure to allow the soft top
to dry complete ly be fore stowing , as
prolong ed stowage of a wet or dam p soft
top will ca use rotting of the fabric.zRe move bird droppings from the soft top
imme diate ly.
zDo not use agg ressive cleaning agents
or stain remove rs.
zDo not direc t water je ts on to the e dges
of the soft top.
zDo not use s harp-edge d obje cts to
rem ove snow and ic e from the soft top.
Whils t the s oft top is weathe rp roof, it
cannot b e guarante ed to b e fully
waterproof if the v ehicle is w ashe d in an
autom atic car wash. It is the refore
recommended tha t the vehicle is hand-
washe d and that automatic c ar was hes are
avoided .E xte rior st or age
Due to the soft top design be ing
we atherproof and not wate r tight in all
conditions , exte nded periods of rainfa ll
ma y res ult in s om e w ater colle ction in the
p a s s en g e r co m p a r t m e nt . T h er ef o r e, i t i s
recommended that the vehicle is not stored
outside without a s uitab le prote ctive
cove ring s uch as a s howe r cover (availab le
from y our Opel Serv ice Partner).
Waxing
W ax yo u r veh icle regu larly, in particu lar
afte r it has bee n was he d us ing shamp oo
and a t the late st w he n wate r no longe r
forms bea ds on the paintwork, otherwise
the paintwork will dry out.
N eve r let things de te riora te this far.
Waxing p revents harmful chem ical action.
Also wax edges and folds on opened doors
and flaps as we ll as the a reas they cover.
Polishing
Polishing is nece ss ary only if the pa int
has be come dull or if solid de pos its have
be come attached to it.
Paintwork polis h with silicone forms a
protec tiv e film, making w axing
unnecessary.
Plastic body p arts must not be tre ated with
pre se rvation and polis hing a gents.
Use Metallic Paintwork W ax on vehicle s
with a metallic-e ffe ct paint finish.
170 Service, maintenanc e
Additional servicing
Add itional op era tions ⊕
Additional w ork is work tha t is not req uire d
e very se rvice but can be pe rforme d in
conjunction with a re gular service .
Time allowances for such w ork are not
included in the scope of re gular se rvice s
and will b e charge d for add itionally. It is
more economic if these operations are
pe rforme d as part of a sc he duled se rvice
than having them performe d s eparate ly.
Severe operating conditions o
O perating conditions are clas sifie d as
severe w hen one or m ore of the following
occurs frequently:
zcold starts ,
zstop and go,
ztraile r/carav an towing ,
zgradients and/or high altitudes ,
zpoor road surface s,
zsand a nd dust,
zextreme temperature fluctuations.
Police v ehicles , ta xis and driving s chool
ve hic le s are also cla ss ifie d as ope rating
under sev ere conditions.
U n d e r s e v e r e o p e ra t in g c o nd it i o n s , i t m a y
be nece ss ary to ha ve certain s che duled
service work done more fre quently tha n the
s cheduled inte rvals .
F or exa mple, if f ue l is u se d th at do e s no t
comply with required sta nda rd s, the fuel
filter ma y need m ore frequent draining or
rep la ceme nt and it may also be nece s sary
to change other components more often
(e. g. s park p lugs ).It i s r eco m m en ded t o s eek t e ch n ic a l a dvi ce
on the servicing requirements dependent
on the spe cific ope rating conditions of your
veh icle .
Recommend ed fluid s, and
lu b r ic a n t s
Only use prod ucts that have be en te ste d
and approved . Damage res ulting from the
us e of non-approve d m aterials will not be
covere d by the warranty.
Checking and topp ing up flui ds
se e p age 15 2 .
En g in e oi l
Engine oil is ide ntifie d by its q ua lity and
also its v iscos ity. Q ua lity is more im porta nt
than vis cosity whe n se lecting which engine
oil to us e.
Engine o il quality
E urope an s pe cificat ions
O p el e ng in e o il m e et s cl a s si f i ca t i o n G M - LL -
A-025 and is therefore suita ble for petrol
eng ines.
I nt erna tional s pe cific ations
The above spe cification is v alid only if the
service inte rval is re duced to that shown for
the inte rna tional s erv ice s chedule - s ee
pag e 1 6 5.
Topp ing up e ngine oil
O ils of diffe re nt m anufacturers and bra nds
can b e m ix ed as long as you comply with
the s pecified e ng ine oil criteria (q uality and
vis co s ity ).
N ot eve r y e n g i ne o i l a va il a bl e o n t h e
m a rk et m ee ts t h e qu a l i t y r e qui r e m en t s ,
alway s check the req uire d s pecification
and ra ting is m arked on the containe r.
If e ngine oil of the required quality is not
av ailable, a max imum of 1 litre of AC EA
A3/B4 or A3/B3 grade ma y be used (only
once betwe en e ach oil change ). The
viscosity should be of the correct rating.
9 Warning
O perating m aterials are haz ardous and
mus t be hand led w ith the appropriate
le vel of ca re . I f cons ume d, s ee k me dical
attention immediately. Do not inhale
fumes and avoid s kin contact. K ee p out
of rea ch of childre n. Do not allow
ope ra ting materials to contaminate the
sewag e system, surface water, ground
water or soil. Dispose of empty containers
prope rly . Alway s b ear in m ind that
ope ra ting materials are hazardous to
your hea lth.
GM-LL-A-025: Petrol engines
G M G e n e ra l M o t o rs E u ro p e
LL Lo n g l i f e
A Engine oil quality
sp ecification
02 5 Va lid ity index
ACEA-A3: Petrol engines