2012 Seat Exeo bonnet

Trailer towing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
Trailer towing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
Removable towing bracket . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
Vehicle maintenance and cleaning . . . . . . . . . 209
General notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
Care of the vehicle exterior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210
Vehicle interior maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215
Accessories, replacement of parts and
modifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221
Accessories and spare parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221
Technical modifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221
Mobile phones and two-way radios . . . . . . . . . . . 222
Athermic windscreen* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222
Checking and refilling levels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223
Refuelling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223
Petrol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224
Diesel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225
Bonnet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226
Engine oil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228
Cooling system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231
Washer fluid and windscreen wiper blades . . . . 234
Brake fluid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236
Vehicle battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237
Wheels and tyres . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241
Wheels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241
If and when . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251
Tools, tyre repair kit and spare wheel . . . . . . . . . 251
Changing a wheel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253
Tyre repair* (Tyre-Mobility-System) . . . . . . . . . . . 258
Fuses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 262
Bulbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264
Changing bulbs. Halogen headlights . . . . . . . . . 265
Changing bulbs. Bi-Xenon AFS headlights . . . . . 271
Changing tail light bulbs (on side panel) . . . . . . 275
Changing tail light bulbs (on rear lid) . . . . . . . . . 280
Side turn signals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283 Luggage compartment lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284
Registration light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284
Sun visor light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285
Jump-starting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285
Towing and tow-starting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289
Technical Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . 292
Description of specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 292
Important information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 292
Information on fuel consumption . . . . . . . . . . . . 294
Towing a trailer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 294
Wheels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 295
Technical specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 296
Engine specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 296
Dimensions and capacities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 304
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305
4Table of Contents

57
Cockpit
Operating Instructions Cockpit
Overview Dash panel overview
Electric windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Door handle
Central locking switch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
Electric control for exterior mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .131
Air outlets with thumbwheel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
Light switch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Lever for turn signals and main beam headlights . . . . . . . . . . .122
Instrument panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Levers and switches for:
– Windscreen wipers and washer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
– Onboard computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
– Menu display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Ignition lock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
Depending on equipment fitted:
– Electronic Stability Control (ESC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .69
– Start-Stop switch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
– Warning lamp indicating that front passenger airbag has
been disabled . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
– Switch for acoustic parking aid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174
– Sun blind . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
123456789
1011
Hazard warning lights
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Drink holder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
Storage compartment
Depending on equipment fitted: Sound system or navigation
system
Lockable glove compartment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
Front passenger airbag . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Air conditioner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
Switch for heated rear window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
Thumbwheel for seat heating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
Ashtray . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
Manual gear lever
Cigarette lighter / Power socket . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
Auxiliary socket
Tyre pressure monitoring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Storage compartment
Handbrake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
Seat memory* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
Bonnet lock release . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226
Headlight range control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
– coming home and leaving home: delayed lights off and
anticipated lights on function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
Lever for cruise control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
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Safety FirstOperating InstructionsPractical TipsTechnical Specifications

60Cockpit
CHECK button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Call-up button for service indicator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .75
Reset button for trip recorder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Coolant temperature gauge
Fig. 38 Engine coolant
temperature gauge
The coolant temperature gauge ⇒ Fig. 38 only works when the ignition is
switched on. In order to avoid engine damage, please read the following
notes for the different temperature ranges.
Cold temperature A
If the needle is still on the left of the dial, this indicates that the engine has
not yet reached operating temperature. Avoid high revs and heavy accelera-
tion and do not make the engine work hard.
Normal temperature B
In normal operations, the needle will settle somewhere in the centre of the
dial once the engine has reached running temperature. The temperature
may also rise when the engine is working hard, especially at high outside8
910
temperatures. This is no cause for concern, provided the warning lamp

does not light up in the instrument panel.
Warning temperature C
If the symbol
 flashes in the display, this means that either the coolant
temperature is too high or the coolant level is too low ⇒ page 79.
WARNING
● Before opening the bonnet and checking the coolant level, observe
the warning information ⇒ page 227.
● Never open the bonnet when steam or coolant is being released from
it. This could lead to burns. Wait until you can no longer see or hear es-
caping steam or coolant.
CAUTION
Accessories in front of the air inlet reduce the cooling effect of the coolant.
At high outside temperatures and high engine loads, there is a risk of the
engine overheating. 

68Cockpit
Where a turn signal bulb does not work, either on the trailer or on the tow-
ing vehicle, the turn signal bulb will not flash. 
Anti-lock brake system (ABS) 
The warning lamp monitors the ABS and the integrated elec-
tronic differential lock (EDL).
The warning lamp  lights up for a few seconds when the ignition is switch-
ed on and while the engine is being started. The lamp goes out again after
the system has run through an automatic test sequence.
There is a fault in the ABS if:
● The warning lamp does not light up when the ignition is switched on
● The warning lamp does not go out again after a few seconds
● The warning lamp lights up when the vehicle is moving
The vehicle can still brake in the normal way (except that the ABS control
function is out of action). Please take the vehicle to a specialised workshop
as soon as possible. For further information on the ABS, see ⇒ page 189.
If a malfunction should occur in the ABS, the ESC warning lamp will also
light up.
Entire brake system fault
If the ABS warning lamp  lights up together with the brake warning lamp
 ⇒  page 71 (with the handbrake released), this indicates not only a
fault in the ABS function, but probably also a malfunction in the main brake
system ⇒ 
.
The symbol  will light up on the instrument panel if there if a fault in the
brake system. Please refer to ⇒ page 78. Electronic differential lock (EDL) fault
The EDL works in conjunction with the ABS. The ABS indicator lamp will light
up  to indicate an EDL fault. Please take the vehicle to a specialised work-
shop as soon as possible. For further information on the EDL, see
⇒ page 190.
WARNING
● Before opening the bonnet and checking the brake fluid level, ob-
serve the warning information in ⇒ page 227, Work in the engine com-
partment.
● If the brake warning lamp  should light up together with the ABS
warning lamp , stop the vehicle immediately and check the brake fluid
level in the reservoir. If the fluid level has dropped below the "MIN" mark
you must not drive on, as there is a risk of accident. Obtain technical as-
sistance.
● If the brake fluid level is correct, the fault in the brake system may
have been caused by a fault in the ABS control function. As a result, the
rear wheels can lock relatively easily when braking. Under certain cir-
cumstances, the rear of the vehicle could suddenly sway from side to
side, with the subsequent danger of skidding. Drive carefully to the near-
est specialised workshop and have the fault repaired.

Seat belt warning lamp* 
The warning lamp acts as a reminder to the driver to fasten
the seat belt. After switching on the ignition, the warning lamp  will remain lit until the
driver and front passenger (if applicable) have fastened their seat belts.
When the vehicle has reached a certain speed, you will also hear a warning
signal and the warning light will flash.
For further information on the seat belts, see ⇒ page 23.

71
Cockpit
When the engine is warm, or at outside temperatures above +8 °C, the
warning lamp will only light up very briefly.
Note
● If the glow plug indicator lamp should start flashing while the vehicle is
moving, this indicates a fault in the engine management system. The en-
gine should be serviced without delay.
● If the indicator lamp fails to light up when the ignition is switched on,
this can mean that the glow plug system is defective. The engine should be
serviced. 
Brake system 
The warning lamp flashes when the handbrake is applied, or
if the brake fluid level is too low or if there is a fault in the
ABS system. If the warning lamp  flashes (and the handbrake is not applied), stop the
vehicle and check the brake fluid level ⇒ 
⇒ page 236.
If a failure should occur in the ABS, the ABS warning lamp  will light up
together with the brake warning lamp  ⇒ 
.
Handbrake on
The warning lamp  also lights up when the handbrake is applied. In addi-
tion to this, the handbrake warning ⇒ page 77 switches on after driving
for 3 seconds at a speed above 5 km/h.
WARNING
● Before opening the bonnet and checking the brake fluid level, ob-
serve the warning information in ⇒ page 227, Work in the engine com-
partment.
● If the brake warning lamp does not go out, or if it lights up when driv-
ing, the brake fluid level in the reservoir is too low and this may cause an
increased accident risk. Stop the vehicle and do not drive on. Obtain
technical assistance.
● If the brake warning lamp lights up together with the ABS warning
lamp, this can mean that there is a fault in the ABS control function. As a
result, the rear wheels can lock relatively easily when braking. Under cer-
tain circumstances, the rear of the vehicle could suddenly sway from side
to side, with the subsequent danger of skidding. Drive carefully to the
nearest specialised workshop and have the fault repaired.

Safety FirstOperating InstructionsPractical TipsTechnical Specifications

75
Cockpit
Door and rear lid warning
Fig. 51 Display: Door
and rear lid warning
The door and rear lid warning symbol lights up if one or more of the doors,
or the bonnet or rear lid are not properly closed when the ignition is on. The
symbol also indicates which of these is not properly closed. The display in
the illustration ⇒ Fig. 51 shows that the driver door is open.
The corresponding part of the pictogram will flash if either the bonnet or
rear lid are open. The warning symbol goes out when the bonnet, rear lid
and all the doors are closed.
In vehicles with a driver information system and an onboard computer* the
door catches/rear lid warning symbol can be switched off by briefly press-
ing one of the control switches for the onboard computer ⇒ page 87. How-
ever, the warning symbol will appear again if any of the doors or the bonnet
or rear lid is opened or closed. Service indicator
This display reminds the driver when the next routine serv-
ice is due.
Fig. 52 Detailed view of
the instrument panel:
Service indicator
Displaying distance to next service
When you press the service button 1
briefly with the ignition switched on,
the display will show how far the vehicle can be driven before the next serv-
ice is due. This check can be carried out with the engine stopped or running
up to 5 km/h. Before the first 500 km and after the ignition cycle, the kilo-
metres and days before the service inspection are not displayed.
If the service button 1
is pressed before the first 500 km the following indi-
cation appears on screen:
Service in ----- km --- days
This is only valid for vehicles with “LongLife Service Intervals”*. 
Safety FirstOperating InstructionsPractical TipsTechnical Specifications

79
Cockpit
WARNING
● Before opening the bonnet and checking the brake fluid level, ob-
serve the warning information in ⇒ page 227, Work in the engine com-
partment.
● If the brake fluid level in the reservoir is too low, this could result in
an accident. Do not drive on! Obtain technical assistance.
● If the brake warning lamp lights up together with the ABS warning
lamp, this can mean that there is a fault in the ABS control function. As a
result, the rear wheels can lock relatively easily when braking. Under cer-
tain circumstances, the rear of the vehicle could suddenly sway from side
to side, with the subsequent danger of skidding. Drive carefully to the
nearest specialised workshop and have the fault repaired.

Fault in the cooling system 
Faults in the cooling system must be repaired immediately.
If the  symbol flashes in the display, this means that either the
coolant temperature is too high or the coolant level is too low. The
following message will appear in the display together with the
symbol:
Switch off engine and check coolant level
– Stop the vehicle.
– Switch the engine off.
– Check the coolant level ⇒ page 232.
– Add more coolant if necessary ⇒ page 233.
– Wait for the symbol to go out before driving on. –
Obtain professional assistance if necessary.
If the coolant level is correct, the overheating may be caused by a malfunc-
tion of the radiator fan.
If the alternator warning lamp lights up as well ⇒ page 70, it is possible that
the drive belt has broken.
CAUTION
Do not drive on if the symbol  has come on to indicate a fault in the cool-
ing system, otherwise there is a risk of engine damage. 
Engine oil pressure too low 
If the engine oil pressure is too low the fault must be re-
paired immediately.
If the  symbol flashes in the display, the oil pressure is too low.
The following message will appear in the display together with the
symbol:
Switch off engine, check oil level
– Stop the vehicle.
– Switch the engine off.
– Check the engine oil level ⇒ page 230.
– Obtain professional assistance if necessary.
Engine oil level too low
If the engine oil level is too low, add more oil ⇒ page 231.

Safety FirstOperating InstructionsPractical TipsTechnical Specifications

107
Unlocking and locking
Re-synchronising
Should the remote control fail to lock or unlock the vehicle,
the system must be re-synchronised.
– If the vehicle is locked, use the key to unlock the driver door.
– Press the unlock button 
on the remote control.
– Insert the key into the ignition and switch on the ignition.
– Switch off the ignition and remove the key.
– Press the unlock 
or the lock button . 
Anti-theft alarm system* Description
The system triggers an alarm if anyone attempts to break in-
to the vehicle.
The anti-theft alarm helps to prevent the vehicle being broken into or sto-
len. If the system senses interference with the vehicle, it triggers an audible
and visible alarm.
How is the system enabled?
The anti-theft alarm system is enabled automatically when the vehicle is
locked with the remote control or by turning the key in the driver door (if the
door is closed). The anti-theft alarm is enabled about 30 seconds after the
vehicle is locked. How is the system disabled?
The anti-theft alarm is only disabled when the vehicle is unlocked using the
remote control. The vehicle will lock again automatically if none of the doors
is opened within 60 seconds after pressing the remote control button.
If the vehicle is unlocked by turning the key in the driver door, all the other
doors, the rear lid and the tank flap will remain locked.
If the vehicle has been unlocked with the key in the driver door, the key
must be inserted in the ignition lock and the ignition switched on within 15
seconds of opening the door in order to disable the alarm.
The alarm will be
triggered if the ignition is not switched on within 15 seconds.
Opening and closing function in cars with alarm
When using the key only without remote control to lock and unlock:
in unlocking all the doors, they unlock simultaneously.
When using the key only without remote control to lock and unlock: in unlocking all the doors, they unlock simultaneously.
When combining locking using the remote control key and unlocking using
the key but without the remote control: when unlocking, only the driver door will unlock.
When does the system trigger the alarm?
The following parts of the vehicle are monitored when the vehicle is locked:
● Engine compartment (bonnet)
● Luggage compartment
● Doors
● Tilt angle (tow-away protection)
● Ignition
● Radio (only with a factory-fitted SEAT radio)
● Interior ⇒ page 108 
–
–
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Safety FirstOperating InstructionsPractical TipsTechnical Specifications