2012 Seat Alhambra towing

184Driving
Recommended gear display
In some vehicles, the recommended gear for reducing fuel consumption is
displayed on the instrument panel:
DisplayMeaning
Optimum gear.
Recommendation to change up a gear.
Recommendation to change down a gear.
Information for cleaning the diesel particulate filter
The exhaust gas system control recognises when the diesel particulate filter
is blocked, and helps to clean it by recommending a specific gear for driv-
ing. It may therefore be necessary to drive with the engine at an exception-
ally high speed ⇒ page 232.
WARNING
The recommended gear display is intended as a guideline only; it should
never replace the driver's attention to driving carefully.
● Responsibility for selecting the correct gear for each situation contin-
ues to lie with the driver, for example when overtaking, climbing a hill or
towing a trailer.
For the sake of the environment
Selecting the most appropriate gear for the situation will help you to save
fuel.
Note
The recommended gear display is switched off when the clutch pedal is
pressed. 

185
Driving
Braking, stopping and parking
Introduction
The assisted braking systems include the anti-lock braking system (ABS),
the brake assist system (BAS), the electronic differential lock (EDL), the trac-
tion control system (ASR) and the electronic stability control (ESC).
Additional information and warnings:
● Towing mode ⇒ page 237
● Start assist systems ⇒ page 196
● Wheels and tyres ⇒ page 297
● Accessories, parts replacement, repairs and modifications ⇒ page 261
WARNING
Driving with worn brake pads or a faulty brake system may lead to seri-
ous accident.
● If  lights, alone or accompanied by a warning message on the in-
strument panel, please go immediately to a specialised workshop to
check the brake pads and to replace them if they are worn.
WARNING
Careless parking can cause serious injury.
● Never remove the key from the ignition if the vehicle is in motion. The
steering lock may engage and locked the steering wheel making the vehi-
cle impossible to control.
● Always park your vehicle so that no part of the exhaust system can
come in contact with flammable materials (such as wood, leaves, spilled
fuel, dried grass, etc).
WARNING (Continued)
● Always apply the electronic parking brake when you leave your vehi-
cle and when you park.
● Never leave children or disabled people alone in the vehicle. They
could release the electronic parking brake, activate the selector lever or
gear stick and start the vehicle moving. This could result in serious acci-
dent.
● Always take all the keys with you whenever you leave the vehicle. The
engine could accidentally be started and electrical equipment such as
the windows could accidentally be operated resulting in serious injury.
● Never leave children or disabled people alone in the car. They could
be trapped in the car in an emergency and will not be able to get them-
selves to safety. For example, depending on the time of the year, temper-
atures inside a locked and closed vehicle can be extremely high or ex-
tremely low resulting in serious injuries and illness or even death, partic-
ularly for young children.
CAUTION
● Special care should be taken when parking in areas with high kerbs or
fixed barriers. Objects protruding from the ground may damage the bumper
or other parts of the vehicle during manoeuvres. To avoid damage, stop be-
fore the wheels touched the barrier or kerb.
● Special attention is required when driving through entrances, over
ramps, kerbs or other objects. The vehicle underbody, bumpers, mudguards
and running gear, and the engine and exhaust system could be damaged as
you drive over these objects. 
Safety FirstOperating instructionsPractical tipsTechnical Specifications

198Driving
Start-Stop Function*
Fig. 140 Detailed view of
the centre console: Start-
Stop function button.
In Start-Stop mode, the engine is automatically switched off when the vehi-
cle is at a standstill. The engine restarts automatically when required.
The function is enabled automatically whenever the ignition is switched on.
The instrument panel displays information on the current status.
Vehicles with a manual gearbox
● When the vehicle is at a standstill, leave it in neutral and take your foot
off the clutch. The engine switches off.
● Simply depress the clutch pedal to move off again.
Vehicles with an automatic gearbox
● When the vehicle is at a standstill, depress the brake or keep it pressed
down. The engine switches off.
● The engine will start again as soon as you release the brake pedal.
● With the gear lever set to P, the engine will not start until a range of
gears is selected or the accelerator pedal is depressed. Important conditions for the engine to automatically switch off
●
The driver seat belt must be buckled.
● The driver door must be closed.
● The bonnet must be closed.
● The factory-fitted towing bracket must not be electrically connected to a
trailer.
● A minimum engine temperature has been reached.
● The steering wheel must not be turned more than 270 degrees.
● The vehicle has moved since the last stop.
● In vehicles with Climatronic: The temperature inside the vehicle is within
the preset temperature range.
● The temperature set is neither very high nor very low.
● The air conditioning defrost function is not switched on.
● In vehicles with Climatronic: the blower has not been manually set to a
high speed.
● The power level of the vehicle's battery is sufficient.
● The vehicle's battery temperature is neither too high nor too low.
● The vehicle is not on a steep gradient or slope.
● The front wheels are not overly turned.
● The heated windscreen is not switched on.
● Reverse gear is not engaged.
● The park assist system is not switched on.
Conditions for automatically restarting the engine
The engine may automatically restart under the following conditions:
● If the vehicle interior is too hot or too cold.
● If the vehicle moves.
● If the vehicle's battery voltage drops.
Conditions requiring the key to restart the engine
The engine must be started using the key under the following conditions: 

203
Driving
Distance from the vehicle to the
obstacleAcoustic sig-
nalDisplayed in colour on
the screen: colour of the
segment if an obstacle is recognised
in front: approx. 31 – 120 cm
behind: approx. 31 – 160 cmbeepingsoundYellow
approx. 0 – 30 cm in front or be-
hind a)permanent
soundRed
a) The permanent sound starts at a somewhat greater distance on vehicles with a factory-fit-
ted towing bracket.
With towing bracket
A specific image is displayed on the screen of vehicles with a factory-fitted
towing bracket and an electrically connected trailer. In this case, the distan-
ces behind the vehicle are not indicated.
Switching the parking sensor system sound on and off
If the 
button on the radio or navigation system screen may mute the
sound of OPS warnings. To switch the warnings back on, press the button
again briefly.
When the OPS is switched off and back on again, muting is cancelled. Error
messages cannot be switched off.
WARNING
Do not be distracted from the traffic when looking at the screen.

Safety FirstOperating instructionsPractical tipsTechnical Specifications

204Driving
Park Assist system*
Introduction
The Park Assist system helps the driver to find a suitable place to park, to
insert the vehicle into parallel and perpendicular parking places and to
leave parallel parking places.
The Park Assist system is limited to the system abilities and requires that
the driver is especially attentive ⇒ 
.
The parking sensor system is a component of the Park Assist system that
helps to park the vehicle.
For vehicles with the optical parking system, the radio navigation systems
screen displays the detected zones in front of and behind the vehicle, indi-
cating - within the limits of the system - the position of obstacles compared
to the vehicle.
The park assist system cannot be switched on if the factory-fitted towing
bracket is electrically connected to a trailer.
Additional information and warnings:
● Braking, stopping and parking ⇒ page 185
● Parking sensor system ⇒ page 200
● Caring for and cleaning the vehicle exterior ⇒ page 246
● Accessories, parts replacement, repairs and modifications ⇒ page 261
WARNING
Despite the assistance provided by the park assist system, do not run
any risks when parking. The system is not a replacement for driver
awareness.
● Unintentional movements of the vehicle could cause serious injury.
● Adjust your speed and driving style to visibility, road, traffic and
weather conditions.
● The surface of certain objects and items of clothing and external
sound sources may have a negative affect on the park assist signals or on
the system sensors or may not reflect its signals.
● The sensors have blind spots in which obstacles and people are not
registered.
● Always observe the area around the vehicle, as the sensors do not al-
ways detect small children, animals or objects.
CAUTION
● The park assist system aims exclusively at other parked vehicles, with-
out taking curbs or other circumstances into account. Make sure you do not
damage the tyres and wheel rims when parking. Where necessary, stop ma-
noeuvring to avoid damaging the vehicle.
● The sensors may not always be able to detect objects such as trailer
draw bars, thin rails, fences, posts and trees, etc. This could result in dam-
age to your car.
● Although the parking sensor system detects and warns of the presence
of an obstacle, the obstacle could disappear from the angle of measure-
ment of the sensors if it is too high or low and the system would no longer
indicate it. Therefore, it will not warn you of these objects. Ignoring the
warnings of the parking sensor system could cause considerable damage to
the vehicle. This is also valid when using the park assist (e.g. to park be-
hind a truck or motorcycle). Therefore, always keep a close watch on the
area in front of and behind the vehicle while parking, and intervene prompt-
ly if necessary. 

211
Driving
Things to note
1) Do not use the rear assist system in the following cases:– If there is a fault in the dynamic chassis control (DCC).– If the image displayed is not very clear or reliable (low visibility or dirty
lens).
– If the space behind the vehicle cannot be clearly or completely recog-
nised.
– If the vehicle has been overloaded at the rear.– If the driver is not familiar with the system.– If the tailgate is open.– If the position and installation angle of the camera have been changed,
e.g. in a rear-end collision. Have a specialised workshop check the system.
2) Optical illusions of the camera (examples)The rear assist camera produces two-dimensional images. Any cracks in or
objects protruding from the ground or from other vehicles are more diffi-
cult to spot or cannot be seen due to a lack of depth in the image dis-
played.
Objects or other vehicles may seem to be closer or further away than what
they really are:
– On changing from a flat surface to a slope or gradient.– On changing from a slope or gradient to a flat surface.– If the vehicle has been overloaded at the rear.– On approaching protruding objects. These objects may be outside the
angle of vision of the camera when reversing.
Cleaning the camera lens
Keep the camera lens clean and clear of snow and ice:
● Moisten the lens using a commercially available, alcohol-based glass
cleaning agent and clean the lens with a dry cloth ⇒ 
.
● Remove snow using a small brush.
● Use de-icing spray to remove any ice ⇒ 
.
CAUTION
● Never use abrasive cleaners to clean the camera lens.
● Never remove snow or ice from the camera lens using warm or hot water.
This could damage the lens.
Note
● SEAT recommends that you practise parking with the rear assist system
in a quiet location or in a car park to become familiar with the system, in-
cluding the orientation lines and their function.
● The orientation lines will not be displayed on the screen if the tailgate is
open or the factory-fitted towing bracket is electrically connected to a trailer. 
Parking perpendicular to the road (mode 1)
Fig. 149 Display: orien-
tation lines for the park-
ing space behind the ve-
hicle. 
Safety FirstOperating instructionsPractical tipsTechnical Specifications

227
Driving
WARNING (Continued)
● If tyres are inflated at different pressures or a tyre pressure is too low,
a tyre may be damaged and burst resulting in a loss of control of the ve-
hicle.
● The driver is responsible for ensuring that all of the vehicle tyres are
correctly inflated to the right pressure. The recommended tyre pressure
is indicated on the label ⇒ fig. 178.
● The tyre monitoring system can only operate correctly if all of the
tyres are inflated to the correct pressure when cold.
● Driving with tyres at the wrong pressure can cause damage to them
and result in an accident. Ensure that the tyre pressures of all the tyres
correspond to the vehicle load.
● Before starting a journey, always inflated tyres to the correct pres-
sure.
● If tyre pressure is too low then the tyre is subject to greater forces
and it may be heated to such an extent that the tread can rupture and the
tyre will burst.
● With an overloaded vehicle at high speed, the tyres can overheat and
burst resulting in a loss of vehicle control.
● Tyre pressures which are too high or too low reduce the useful life of
the tyre, affecting the vehicle's performance.
● If a tyre has not been punctured then it does not have to be changed
immediately; drive to the nearest specialised workshop at a moderate
speed and have the tyre checked and inflated to the correct pressure.
WARNING
If the warning lamps and messages are ignored, the vehicle may stall in
traffic, or may cause accidents and severe injuries.
● Never ignore the warning lamps or text messages.
● Stop the vehicle safely as soon as possible.
CAUTION
Failure to heed the warning lamps and text messages when they appear
may result in faults in the vehicle. 
Tyre monitoring indicator
Fig. 156 Detailed view of
the centre console: but-
ton for the tyre pressure
monitoring indicator.
The tyre monitor indicator compares wheel revolutions and, with this infor-
mation, the tread of each wheel using the ABS sensors. If the tread of a
wheel is changed, the tyre monitoring indicator will indicate as such on the
instrument panel. The wheel tread changes when:
● Tyre pressure is insufficient.
● Tyre structure is damaged.
● The vehicle is unbalanced because of a load.
● The wheels on an axle are subject to a heavier load (e.g. when towing a
trailer). 
Safety FirstOperating instructionsPractical tipsTechnical Specifications

228Driving
● The vehicle is fitted with snow chains.
● The wheel on one axle is changed.
There may be a delay in the reaction of the tyre monitoring indicator  or it
may not indicate anything under certain circumstances (e.g. sports driving,
snow-covered or unpaved roads).
Adaptation of the tyre monitoring indicator
On adjusting tyre pressure or changing one or more wheels, the ⇒ fig. 156
button on the tyre monitoring indicator must be kept pressed down, with
the ignition on, until a signal is heard. Do the same, for example, when the
front and rear wheels are swapped ⇒ fig. 177.
If the wheels are subjected to an excessive load (towing a trailer, heavy
load), the tyre pressure must be increased to the maximum recommended
pressure ⇒  page 297. Press the tyre monitoring indicator button to confirm
the new pressure value.
Note
An erroneous indication may be given when snow chains are in use because
the chains increase the tread of the wheel. 