2012 Seat Altea Freetrack engine coolant

226Checking and refilling levels
Coolant
Coolant specifications
Coolant is a mixture of water and at least 40% coolant addi-
tive. The cooling system must be filled with a mixture of water and at least 40 %
of our coolant additive G12+ or an additive with the specification TT-VW 774
F (it is dyed purple). This mixture provides the necessary freeze protection
down to -25 °C and protects the alloy parts of the cooling system against
corrosion. It also prevents scaling and raises the boiling point of the cool-
ant.
The concentration of coolant must always be at least 40% - even if freeze
protection is not required.
If greater freeze protection is required in very cold climates, the proportion
of the antifreeze additive G12+ can be increased. However, the percentage
of coolant additives should not exceed 60%, as this would reduce the
freeze protection. It would also reduce the cooling effect. A mixture with
60% additive will give antifreeze protection to approx. -40 °C.
WARNING
● The coolant additive is toxic. There is a toxic risk. Always keep the
coolant additive in the original container which should be stored out of
the reach of children. The same applies to coolant which you have
drained off.
● The coolant additive G12+ must be added in sufficient quantities to
provide anti-freeze protection at the coldest ambient temperatures that
can be expected. At extremely cold outside temperatures, the coolant
could freeze, causing the vehicle to breakdown. As the heater would not
work either, there is a risk of freezing to death.
CAUTION
● Other additives may give considerably inferior corrosion protection. The
resulting corrosion in the cooling system can lead to a loss of coolant, caus-
ing serious damage to the engine.
● The coolant additive G12+ (purple) can be mixed with the additive G12
(red) or G11. Never mix G12 (red colour) with G11. 
Checking the coolant level and topping up 
The correct coolant level is important for fault-free function-
ing of the engine cooling system.
Fig. 161 In the engine
compartment: Coolant
expansion tank cap
Before opening the bonnet, read and observe the warnings ⇒ 
in
Safety instructions on working in the engine compartment on
page 219. 

227
Checking and refilling levels
Opening the coolant expansion tank
– Switch off the engine and allow it to cool.
– To prevent scalding, cover the cap on the expansion tank with a
thick cloth and carefully unscrew the cap ⇒ 
.
Checking coolant level
– Look into the open coolant expansion tank and read off the
coolant level.
– If the level is below the “MIN” mark, top up with coolant.
Topping up coolant
– Only use new coolant liquid.
– Do not fill above the “MAX” mark.
Closing the coolant expansion tank
– Screw the cap on again tightly.
The position of the coolant expansion reservoir is shown in the correspond-
ing engine compartment illustration ⇒ page 278.
Make sure that the coolant meets the required specifications ⇒ page 226.
Do not use a different type of additive if additive G12+ is not available. In
this case use only water and bring the coolant concentration back up to the
correct level as soon as possible by putting in the specified additive
⇒  page 226.
Always top up with new coolant.
Do not fill above the “MAX” mark. Otherwise the excess coolant will be
forced out of the cooling system when the engine is hot.
The coolant additive G12+ (dyed purple) may be mixed with G12 (dyed red)
and also with G 11.
WARNING
Any work carried out in the engine compartment or on the engine must
be carried out cautiously.
● When working in the engine compartment, always observe the safety
warnings ⇒ page 219.
● When the engine is warm or hot, the cooling system is pressurised!
Do not unscrew the cap on the expansion tank when the engine is hot.
This is a burn injury risk.
CAUTION
● When mixed with other additives the colour of G12 will change to brown.
If this occurs you should have the coolant changed immediately. Failure to
do so will result in engine damage!
● If a lot of coolant fluid has been lost, wait for the engine to cool down
before putting in cold coolant. This avoids damaging the engine. Large cool-
ant losses are an indication of leaks in the cooling system. See a special-
ised workshop immediately and have the cooling system checked. Other-
wise, there is a risk of engine damage. 
Safety FirstOperating InstructionsPractical TipsTechnical Specifications

278Technical specifications
Technical specifications
Checking fluid levels
From time to time, the levels of the different fluids in the ve-
hicle must be checked. Never fill with incorrect fluids, other-
wise serious damage to the engine may be caused.
Fig. 202 Diagram for the
location of the various el-
ements
Coolant expansion tank
Windscreen washer fluid reservoir
Engine oil filler cap
Engine oil dipstick
Brake fluid reservoir
Vehicle battery (underneath the cover)
The checking and refilling of service fluids are carried out on the compo-
nents mentioned above. These operations are described in the ⇒ page 219.
1
23456
Overview
Further explanations, instructions and restrictions on the technical data are
contained as of
⇒ page 274 

C
Car care Exterior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
Catalytic converter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196
CCS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
CD changer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
Central lock button Locking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Unlocking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Central locking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95 Automatic locking system for involuntaryunlocking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Automatic speed dependent locking and unlocking system* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Emergency unlocking system . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Selective unlocking system* . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Unlocking system* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Centre armrest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
Cetane number . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218
Changing gear see Manual gearbox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174
Changing gear in tiptronic mode . . . . . . . . . . 178
Changing the bulbs Main headlight bulbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260
Tail lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263
Changing the main headlight bulbs Main beam lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 262
Side lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263
Turn signal bulbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261
Changing the main headlight lamps dipped lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261 Changing the tail light bulbs
Position light, fog light and tail light on thetailgate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265
Changing the tail lights Luggage compartment lights . . . . . . . . . . 266
Turn signal, side and brake lights on thebody . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264
Changing windscreen wiper blades . . . . . . . . 229
Chassis number . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275
Checking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234
Checking battery electrolyte level . . . . . . . . . . 234
Checking engine oil level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223
Child safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Child seat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 Categorisation in groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Group 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Group 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Group 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Groups 0 and 0+ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Safety notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Securing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Child seats ISOFIX system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
on the front passenger seat . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Top Tether system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Cigarette lighter* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
Cleaning alloy wheel rims . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210
Cleaning chrome . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
Cleaning engine compartment . . . . . . . . . . . . 211
Cleaning steel wheel rims . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210
Cleaning windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208
Climatic* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156 Climatronic
General notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
Clock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Clothes hook . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
Cloth seat covers cleaning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212
Cockpit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Compartment for on-board documentation . . 138
Control lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Control lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Controls electric windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Exterior mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
Sliding/tilting sunroof . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
Convenience closing Sliding/tilting sunroof . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
Convenience opening Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
Coolant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226 Warning lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Coolant level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226 Warning lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Coolant loss . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226
Coolant temperature Gauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Safety instructions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Correct adjustment of front seat head re- straints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Correct adjustment of rear seat head restraints In-use and non-use positions . . . . . . . . . . . 14
286 Index

Correct sitting positionFront passenger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Incorrect sitting position . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Cruise control Control lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Cruise control system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
Cruise control* Complete system deactivation . . . . . . . . . 186
Cruise speed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183 Control lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Curtain airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Safety notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
D Danger of fitting a child seat on the front pas- senger seat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Dash panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Dash panel cleaning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211
Daytime lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115 Activating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Deactivating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Deactivating front passenger airbag Safety notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Deactivating the airbag Front passenger airbag . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Diesel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218
Diesel engine Winter driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218
Diesel engine particulate filter . . . . . . . . . . . . 197 Differential lock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
Differential lock fault (EDL)
Warning lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Digital clock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Dipped beam headlights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Display (without warning or information texts) 60
Disposal Airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Seat belt tensioners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Door lock cylinders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
Door release lever . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Doors Childproof locks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
warning lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Drawer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
Driver see Correct sitting position . . . . . . . 10, 11, 12
Driveshaft differential XDS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
Drive wheels traction control system . . . . . . . 188
Driving Driving abroad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
Economically / Environmentally friendly . 197
With a trailer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
Driving abroad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200 Headlights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
Driving programmes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
Driving safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Driving with an automatic gearbox / DSG auto- matic gearbox* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
Duplicate keys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
Dust filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164 Dynamic cornering lights
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
Dynamic headlight range control . . . . . . . . . . 117
E
Economical driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
EDL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190 Warning lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Electrical sockets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
Electric power steering Warning lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Electronic differential lock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190 Warning lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Electronic immobiliser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88, 169
Electronic Stability Control . . . . . . . . . . . . 87, 189 description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
Electronic Stability Control (ESP) Warning lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Emergency braking warning . . . . . . . . . . 119, 187
Emergency manual locking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Emergency opening Doors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
Emission control system Warning lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Engine Running in . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
Engine compartment Working in the engine compartment . . . . 219
Engine coolant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226
Engine fault Warning lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
287
Index

N
Number of seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
O Observations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
Octane number . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
Odometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Oil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222
Oil change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225
Oil properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223
One-touch opening and closing Electric windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Opening and locking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
Outside temperature display . . . . . . . . . . . . 64, 72
Overview Control lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Dash panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Instruments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Warning lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
P Paintwork Polishing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208
Parking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
Parking aid acoustic system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
Parking lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Passenger see Correct sitting position . . . . . . . 10, 11, 12
Pedals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Petrol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
Driving abroad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
Petrol additives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218
Physical principles of a frontal collision . . . . . . 21
Plastic parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208
Plastic parts cleaning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211
Pollen filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
Pollution filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
Power steering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
Products for vehicle maintenance . . . . . . . . . . 205
R Radio frequency remote control . . . . . . . . . . . 102 Changing the battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
Radio navigation steering wheel controls Audio version . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Audio + telephone version . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Rain sensor* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
Rear drink holder* Armrest* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
Rear fog light Indicator lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Warning lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Rear interior lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Rear reading lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Rear seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
Rear shelf . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
Rear window automatic wiper/washer . . . . . . 127
Rear window wiper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
Recommended gear display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 Refuelling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216
Registration light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267
Remote control key
Buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
Synchronising . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
Removing and fitting the wheel . . . . . . . . . . . 251
Repairs Airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Replacement keys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
Replacement of parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214
Rev counter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Reverse gear Manual gearbox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174
Roll-back function Sliding/tilting sunroof . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Roof aerial* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215
Roof rack* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
Roof storage compartment* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
Rubber seals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
Run-flat tyres . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240
Running in Engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
S Safe driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Safety equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Safety instructions Coolant temperature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
290 Index