247
Checking and refilling levels
A highly explosive mixture of gases is released when the bat-
tery is under charge.
Keep children away from acid and batteries!
WARNING
Always be aware of the danger of injury and chemical burns as well as
the risk of accident or fire when working on the battery and the electrical
system:
● Wear eye protection. Protect your eyes, skin and clothing from acid
and particles containing lead.
● Battery acid is very corrosive and caustic. Wear protective gloves and
eye protection. Do not tilt the batteries. This could spill acid through the
vents. Rinse battery acid from eyes immediately for several minutes with
clear water. Then seek medical care immediately. Neutralise any acid
splashes on the skin or clothing with a soapy solution, and rinse off with
plenty of water. If acid is swallowed by mistake, consult a doctor immedi-
ately.
● Fires, sparks, open flames and smoking are prohibited. When han-
dling cables and electrical equipment, avoid causing sparks and electro-
static charge. Never short the battery terminals. High-energy sparks can
cause injury.
● A highly explosive mixture of gases is released when the battery is
under charge. The batteries should be charged in a well-ventilated room
only.
● Keep children away from acid and batteries.
● Before working on the electrical system, you must switch off the en-
gine, the ignition and all consumers. The negative cable on the battery
must be disconnected. When a light bulb is changed, you need only
switch off the light.
WARNING (Continued)
● Deactivate the anti-theft alarm by unlocking the vehicle before you
disconnect the battery! The alarm will otherwise be triggered.
● When disconnecting the battery from the vehicle electrical system,
disconnect first the negative cable and then the positive cable.
● Switch off all electrical consumers before reconnecting the battery.
Reconnect first the positive cable and then the negative cable. Never re-
verse the polarity of the connections. This could cause an electrical fire.
● Never charge a frozen battery, or one which has thawed. This could
result in explosions and chemical burns. Always replace a battery which
has frozen. A flat battery can also freeze at temperatures close to 0°C.
● Ensure that the vent hose is always connected to the battery.
● Never use a defective battery. This could cause an explosion. Replace
a damaged battery immediately.
CAUTION
● Never disconnect the battery if the ignition is switched on or if the en-
gine is running. This could damage the electrical system or electronic com-
ponents.
● Do not expose the battery to direct sunlight over a long period of time,
as the intense ultraviolet radiation can damage the battery housing.
● If the vehicle is left standing in cold conditions for a long period, protect
the battery from freezing. If it freezes it will be damaged.
Charging the battery
A fully-charged battery is important for reliable starting. – Note the warnings ⇒
in Important safety warnings for han-
dling a vehicle battery on page 247 and ⇒ .
Safety FirstOperating InstructionsPractical TipsTechnical Specifications
248Checking and refilling levels
–Switch off the ignition and all electrical equipment.
– Only if fast-charging: both battery cables must be disconnected
(first the negative cable, then the positive cable).
– Connect the charger cables to the battery terminals, noting the
colour code (red = positive; black or brown = negative).
– Now connect the battery charger to the power socket and switch
on.
– After charging the battery: switch off the battery charger and
disconnect the power point cable.
– Finally disconnect the charger cables from the battery.
– If necessary, reconnect both battery cables to the battery (first
the positive cable, then the negative cable).
When charging with a low current (for instance with a small battery charger)
the battery does not normally have to be disconnected. However, both bat-
tery cables must be disconnected before fast-charging the battery with a
high current. However, always follow the instructions given by the manufac-
turer of the battery charger.
The fast-charging procedure for a battery is dangerous ⇒
in Important
safety warnings for handling a vehicle battery on page 247, as it requires a
special charger and the corresponding level of knowledge. We therefore rec-
ommend that this work should only be performed by a specialised work-
shop.
A flat battery can freeze at temperatures of around 0°C. The battery must be
defrosted before charging ⇒
. It is advisable to replace the battery if it has
frozen, because the ice can crack the battery casing and allow the battery
acid to escape.
The battery caps should not be opened while the battery is being charged.
WARNING
Never charge a frozen battery. Failure to comply could result in an explo-
sion.
Index
Numbers and Symbols
230 V socket . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
A
Accessories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228 Towing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208
Adaptive headlights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123 Faulty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Airbag Warning lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Airbag covers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Airbag system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Curtain airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Front airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Side airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Warning lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Air conditioner 2C-Climatronic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
Air distribution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
Air outlets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
Air purity sensor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
Air recirculation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
Air recirculation (automatic) . . . . . . . . . . . 167
Automatic mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
Blower . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
Defrosting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
ECON Mode (economy) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166 Economical use . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
Key settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
Solar-powered blower/sunroof . . . . . . . . . 170
Temperature selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
Air duct Fitting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274, 281
Removing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274, 280
Air purity sensor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
Alcantara . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224
Alternator Warning lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Ambient lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
Anti-lock brake system How it works . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196
Anti-theft alarm system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110 Interior monitoring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Antifreeze . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238
Aquaplaning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254
Armrest Storage compartment in front armrest . . . 143
Armrests Adjusting the front armrest . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
Ashtray Front . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
Rear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
ASR How the system works . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
Warning lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Athermic windscreen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229 Auto-check system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Automatic car wash tunnel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
Automatic gearbox
Dynamic gear control programme . . . . . . . 191
Kick-down feature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
multitronic® . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
Paddle levers (tiptronic mode) . . . . . . . . . 193
Safety interlock for ignition key . . . . . . . . . 173
Selector lever lock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
Selector lever positions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
Steering wheel with paddle levers . . . . . . 193
tiptronic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
tiptronic mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
Automatic headlight control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
Auxiliary heater . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
B
Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245 Battery voltage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Charging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247
Disconnection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246
Long periods of non-use . . . . . . . . . . 245, 246
Replacing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245, 246
Testing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245
Winter operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245, 246
Bicycle rack Towing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208
Biodiesel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232
Biodiesel fuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232
313
Index