2012 Seat Altea Freetrack sensor

190Intelligent technology
Electronic Stability Control ESC* (ESP)
The ESC (ESP) reduces the danger of skidding by braking the wheels indi-
vidually.
The system uses the steering wheel angle and road speed to calculate the
changes of direction desired by the driver, and constantly compares them
with the actual behaviour of the vehicle. If the desired course is not being
maintained (for instance, if the vehicle is starting to skid), then the ESC
(ESP) compensates automatically by braking the appropriate wheel.
The forces acting on the braked wheel bring the vehicle back to a stable
condition. If the vehicle tends to oversteer, the system will act on the front
wheel on the outside of the turn.
Steering manoeuvre recommendations
This is a complementary safety function included in the ESC (ESP). This
function aids the driver to better stabilize the vehicle in a critical situation.
For example, in case of sudden braking surface with varied adherence, the
vehicle will tend to destabilise its trajectory to the right or to the left. In this
case the ESC (ESP) recognises the situation and helps the driver with a
counter steering manoeuvre from the power steering.
This function simply provides the driver with a recommended manoeuvre in
critical situations.
The vehicle does not steer itself with this function, the driver has full control
of the vehicle at all times.
WARNING
● Remember that ESC (ESP) cannot defy the laws of physics. This
should be kept in mind, particularly on slippery and wet roads and when
towing a trailer.
● Always adapt your driving style to suit the condition of the roads and
the traffic situation. Do not let the extra safety afforded by ESC (ESP)
tempt you into taking any risks when driving.
CAUTION
● To ensure that the ESC (ESP) functions correctly, all four wheels must be
fitted with the same tyres. Any differences in the rolling radius of the tyres
can cause the system to reduce engine power when this is not desired.
● Modifications to the vehicle (e.g. to the engine, the brake system, run-
ning gear or any components affecting the wheels and tyres) could affect
the efficiency of the ABS, EDL, ESC (ESP) and ASR (TCS). 
Anti-lock brake system (ABS)
The anti-lock brake system prevents the wheels locking during braking
⇒ page 188. 
Electronic differential lock (EDL)*
The electronic differential lock helps prevent the loss of trac-
tion caused if one of the driven wheels starts spinning.
EDL helps the vehicle to start moving, accelerate and climb a gradient in
slippery conditions where this may otherwise be difficult or even impossi-
ble.
The system will control the revolutions of the drive wheels using the ABS
sensors (in case of an EDL fault the warning lamp for ABS lights up)
⇒ page 82.
At speeds of up to approximately 80 km/h, it is able to balance out differen-
ces in the speed of the driven wheels of approximately 100 rpm caused by a
slippery road surface on one side of the vehicle. It does this by braking the
wheel which has lost traction and distributing more driving force to the oth-
er driven wheel via the differential. 

237
Wheels and tyres
2. The tyre pressures should only be checked when the tyres are cold. The slightly raised pressures of warm tyres must not be re-
duced.
3. Adjust the tyre pressure to the load you are carrying.
Tyre pressure
The correct tyre pressure is especially important at high speeds. The pres-
sure should therefore be checked at least once a month and before starting
a journey.
The sticker with the tyre pressure values can be found on the inside of the
tank flap. The tyre pressure values given are for cold tyres. Do not reduce
the slightly raised pressures of warm tyres ⇒ 
.
WARNING
● Check the tyre pressure at least once per month. Checking the tyre
pressure is very important. If the tyre pressure is too high or too low,
there is an increased danger of accidents - particularly at high speeds.
● A tyre can easily burst if the pressure is too low, causing an accident!
● At continuously high speeds, a tyre with insufficient pressure flexes
more. In this way it becomes too hot, and this can cause tread separation
and tyre blow-out. Always observe the recommended tyre pressures.
● If the tyre pressure is too low or too high, the tyres will wear prema-
turely and the vehicle will not handle well. Risk of accident!
For the sake of the environment
Under-inflated tyres will increase fuel consumption. Tyre pressure monitoring
The tyre pressure monitoring system constantly checks the
pressure of the tyres.
The system uses the speed sensors of the ABS wheels. It operates by analy-
sing the speed and frequency spectrum of each wheel.
For optimum performance, use genuine SEAT tyres. In addition, check and
adjust tyre pressures regularly.
Whenever the tyre pressures are changed or one or more tyres are changed,
the system should be Reset by pressing the SET switch on the centre con-
sole.
The system warns the driver in the event of a loss of pressure by means of
symbols and messages in the instrument panel display. The system uses
ESC (ESP) ⇒ page 189.
Note that tyre pressure also depends on tyre temperature. Tyre pressure in-
creases about 0.1 bar for each 10 °C in tyre temperature increase. The tyre
heats up while the vehicle is being driven and the tyre pressure will rise ac-
cordingly. For this reason, you should only adjust the tyre pressures when
they are cold (i.e. approximately at ambient temperature).
To ensure that the tyre pressure monitoring system works reliably, you
should check and, if necessary, adjust the tyre pressures at regular intervals
and store the correct pressures (reference values) in the system.
A tyre pressure information label is attached to the inside of the fuel tank
flap. 
Safety FirstOperating InstructionsPractical TipsTechnical Specifications

257
If and when
Fuses on left side of dash panel
Fuses
NumberConsumerAmps1Vacant 2Vacant 3Vacant 4Vacant 5Vacant 6Vacant 7Vacant 8Vacant 9Airbag510RSE input (roof screen)1011Vacant 12Left xenon headlight10
13Instrument panel (oil level)/Cable control unit
(BCM)/Heater/ABS, ESC (ESP)/Park Pilot/Gate-
way/Flow meter5
14Gearbox/Power steering/Brake light sensor/Trail-
er/ABS, ESC (ESP)/Haldex/Light switch10
15Heated windscreen / Instrument lighting / Diag-
nosis switchboard/Engine management/Addi-
tional heating/AFS headlights/Park Pilot10
16Right xenon headlight1017Engine management1018Vacant 19Vacant
20Park Pilot (parking aid)/Gear lever/ESC (ESP) con-
trol unit10
21Vacant
NumberConsumerAmps22Volumetric alarm sensor/ Alarm horn523Diagnosis / Rain sensor / Light switch1024Trailer hook pre-installation assistant1525Vacant 26Vacuum pump2027RSE input (roof screen)1028Rear window wiper motor2029Vacant 30Cigarette lighter / socket2031Vacant 32Vacant 33Heater4034Vacant 35Vacant 36Vacant 37Vacant 38Vacant 39Trailer control unit (coupling)15
40Trailer control unit (turn signals, brakes and left
side)20
41Trailer control unit (fog light, reverse light and
right side)20
42BCM wiring switchboard2043Trailer pre-installation4044Heated rear window2545Electric windows (front)3046Rear electric windows3047Engine (Fuel control unit, petrol relay)1548Convenience controls20 
Safety FirstOperating InstructionsPractical TipsTechnical Specifications

258If and when
NumberConsumerAmps49Heating controls4050Heated seats3051Sunroof2052Headlight washer system2053Trailer hook pre-installation assistant2054Taxi (taximeter power supply)555Trailer hook pre-installation assistant2056Taxi (transmitter power supply)1557 58Central locking control unit30
Some of the electrical items listed in the table are only fitted on certain
models or are optional extras.
Please note that the above list, while correct at the time of printing, is sub-
ject to alterations. If discrepancies should occur, please refer to the sticker
on the inside of the fuse cover for the correct information for your model. 
Fuses layout, engine compartment, left part
Fuses
NumberConsumerAmps1Windscreen wipers202DQ200 gearbox303Cable control unit54ABS205AQ gearbox156Instrument panel/Steering column57Ignition key40
NumberConsumerAmps8Radio159Telephone/TomTom Navigator5
10Engine management5Engine management1011Vacant 12Electronic control unit5
13Petrol injection module supply15Diesel injection module supply3014Coil20
15Engine management5Pump relay1016Right lighting3017Horn1518Vacant 19Clean30
20Water pump10Pressure sensor pump for 1.8 engine2021 a)Lambda probe1522Brake pedal, speed sensor5
23a)Engine management5Engine management10Engine management1524AKF, gearbox valve1025a)ABS pump4026Left lighting30
27a)Engine management40Engine management5028Vacant


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

Tilting sunroof . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245
Top Tether system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Tow-starting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271
Towing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271
Towing a trailer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276
Towing bracket . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
Towing bracket, fitting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
Towing eye . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271
Traction control systemControl lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Trailer Trailer towing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
Trailer eyes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273
Trailer turn signals Warning lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Trailer weights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276
Turn signals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119 Indicator lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Warning lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Tyre Mobility-System (Tyre repair kit) . . . . . . . 246
Tyre Mobility System (Tyre repair kit) . . . . . . . 252
Tyre pressure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236 Loss . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238
Tyre pressure monitoring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237
Tyre pressure warning lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Tyre repair kit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246, 252
Tyres and wheels Dimensions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241
Tyres service life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238
Tyres tread depth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239 Tyres with directional tread pattern . . . . . . . . 236
U Underbody protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210
Unlocking and locking Personalisation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
V Vehicle battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232
Vehicle data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275
Vehicle identification data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275
Vehicle identification number . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275
Vehicle modifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214
Vehicle paintwork Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208
Products for vehicle maintenance . . . . . . . 205
Vehicle tools Storage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245
Vehicle washing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
Ventilation slits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Volumetric sensor* Activation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
Deactivation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
W Warning lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Warning lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Warning messages in the display . . . . . . . . . . . 65 Warning reports
Red . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65, 78
Yellow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65, 78
Warning symbols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Warning triangle and first-aid kit . . . . . . . . . . 149
Washer fluid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228
Washing by hand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
Washing the vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
Washing with high pressure cleaners . . . . . . . 207
Water Warning message . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Water in the windscreen washer tank . . . . . . . 228
Wear indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239
Wearing suitable shoes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Wheel bolts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249 Tightening torque . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242
Wheel change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246
Wheels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236
Wheel trims . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248
Why assume the correct sitting position? . . . . . 30
Why should head restraints be correctly adjus- ted? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Why wear seat belts? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19, 21, 30
Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Windscreen washer fluid Warning lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Windscreen wiper blades Cleaning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
Windscreen wipers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124 Changing blades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229
Changing the rear wiper blade . . . . . . . . . 230
292 Index