2012 Seat Altea Freetrack fuel cap release

196Driving and the environment
WARNING (Continued)
● On steep slopes, if brakes are excessively used, they will overheat.
Before driving down a long steep slope, it is advisable to reduce speed
and change down into a lower gear or range (depending on the type of
transmission). This makes use of engine braking and relieves the brakes.
● Never let the brakes “drag” by applying light pressure. Continuous
braking will cause the brakes to overheat and the braking distance will
increase. Apply and then release the brakes alternately.
● Never let the vehicle run with the engine switched off. The braking
distance is increased considerably when the brake servo is not active.
● If the brake fluid loses its viscosity and is subjected to heavy use, va-
pour bubbles can form in the brake system. This reduces the efficiency of
the brakes.
● Non-standard or damaged front spoilers could restrict the airflow to
the brakes and cause them to overheat. Before purchasing accessories
please observe the relevant instructions ⇒ page 214, Technical modifi-
cations.
● If a brake circuit fails, the braking distance will be increased consider-
ably. Contact a specialised workshop immediately and avoid unnecessa-
ry journeys.

Exhaust gas purification system Catalytic converter*
To maintain the useful life of the catalytic converter
– Use only unleaded petrol with petrol engines, as lead damages
the catalytic converter.
– Do not let the fuel get too low in the tank. –
For engine oil changes, do not replenish with too much engine
oil ⇒ page 224, Topping up engine oil .
– Never tow the vehicle to start it, use jump leads if necessary
⇒ page 268.
If you notice misfiring, uneven running or loss of power when the vehicle is
moving, reduce speed immediately and have the vehicle inspected at the
nearest specialised workshop. In general, the exhaust gas warning lamp
will light up when any of the described symptoms occur ⇒ page 76. If this
happens, unburnt fuel can enter the exhaust system and escape into the en-
vironment. The catalytic converter can also be damaged by overheating.
WARNING
The catalytic converter reaches very high temperatures! There is a risk of
fire.
● Never park where the catalytic converter could come into contact with
dry grass or flammable materials under the vehicle.
● Do not apply additional underseal or anti-corrosion coatings to the
exhaust pipes, catalytic converter or the heat shields on the exhaust sys-
tem. These materials could catch fire when the vehicle is being driven.
CAUTION
Never run the fuel tank completely dry because the irregularity of the fuel
supply may cause ignition problems. This allows unburnt fuel to enter the
exhaust system, which could cause overheating and damage the catalytic
converter.
For the sake of the environment
Even when the emission control system is working perfectly, there may be a
smell of sulphur from the exhaust gas under some conditions. This depends
on the sulphur content of the fuel used. Quite often the problem can be
solved by changing to another brand of fuel. 

216Checking and refilling levels
Checking and refilling levels
Refuelling
The tank flap is released manually. The tank holds approxi-
mately 55 litres. For all-wheel drive vehicles, the tank ca-
pacity is approximately 60 litres.
Fig. 156 Tank flap open
Unscrewing the tank cap
– Lift the lid.
– Hold the cap firmly with one hand, then insert the key into the
lock and rotate 180° to the left.
– Unscrew the cap, turning it anti-clockwise. Closing the tank cap
–
Screw the tank cap to the right, until the point of feeling a
“click”.
– Turn the key in the lock, without releasing the cap, clockwise
through 180°.
– Remove the key and close the flap until it clicks into place. The
tank cap is secured with an anti-loss attachment
The tank flap is at the rear of the vehicle on the right.
If the automatic filler nozzle is operated correctly, it will switch itself off as
soon as the tank is “full”. Never attempt to fill beyond this point, as this will
fill the expansion chamber. Fuel may leak out if ambient conditions are
warm.
The correct fuel grade for your vehicle is given on a sticker on the inside of
the fuel tank flap. Further notes on fuel can be found there. 

Safety notesAirbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Curtain airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Deactivating front passenger airbag . . . . . . 45
Front airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Seat belt tensioners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Side airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Using child seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Using seat belts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Safety system - Safe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Seals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
Seat adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131, 134, 136
Seat belt cleaning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213
Seat belt position Pregnant women . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Seat belts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Seat belt protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Seat belt release . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Seat belts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Incorrectly fastened . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Not worn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Safety notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Warning lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Seat belt tensioner Warning lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Seat belt tensioners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Seat belt warning lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Seat heating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
Selective opening* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Selector lever locking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
Selector lever positions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175 servotronic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
Side airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Safety notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Side lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Sitting position Driver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Front passenger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Sitting position, occupants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Sliding/tilting sunroof . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
Snow chains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243
Soot accumulation in the diesel engine particu- late filter
Indicator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Spare parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214
Spare wheel* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245
Start-Stop Activating and deactivating . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
Function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
Starting petrol engines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
Starting Petrol engines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
Starting the engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169, 170 After the fuel tank has been run dry . . . . . 170
Steam jets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207
Steering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166 Steering lock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
Steering wheel audio controls Audio version . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Audio + telephone version . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Steering wheel height adjustment . . . . . . . . . 166 Storage compartment
Centre armrest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
Front passenger side . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
Other storage compartments . . . . . . . . . . 141
Storage in the luggage compartment . . . . . . . 140
Stowage area Front seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
Sun blind . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Sun visor Sliding/tilting sunroof . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Sun visors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Switch Hazard warning lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
Light switch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Switches electric windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Switching off the engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
T Tailgate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106 Emergency opening . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
warning lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Tail lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263
Tank Fuel level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Reserve indicator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Tank capacity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
TCS see ASR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87, 188
Technical modifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214
The danger of not using the seat belt . . . . . . . . 22
291
Index