274 Che cking and filling
-If you drain the coolant, it must be
caught and safely stored in a proper con
tainer clearly marked "poison".
(D Note
- Coolant pollutes the environment and
could cause an engine fire . Excess coo l-
ant will be forced out through the pres
sure relief valve in the cap when the en
gine becomes hot.
- If, in an emergency, only water can be
added, the correct ratio between water
and antifreeze
c:;, page 271 must be re
stored as soon as possible .
@ For the sake of the environment
Dra ined coolant should not be reused. Al
ways dispose of used coolant while observ ing all environmental regulations.
Radiator fan
The radiator fan switches on automatically by
itself
The radiator fan is driven by the engine via the
V-belt . The viscous clutch regulates the speed
of the fan accord ing to t he temperature of the
coolant.
An auxiliary electric radiator fan* switches on
and off depending on coolant temperature
and other vehicle operating conditions.
After you switch the engine off, the auxiliary
fan can continue running for up to 10 minutes - even with the ignition off. It can even switch
on again later by itself
c:;, &. , if
- the temperature of the engine coolant rises
due to the heat build-up from the engine in
the engine compartment, or
- the engine compartment heats up because
the vehicle is parked in intense sunlight.
_&. WARNING
- To reduce the risk of personal injury nev
er touch the radiator fan . -
The auxiliary electric fan is temperature
controlled and can switch on suddenly
even when the engine is not running.
- The auxiliary radiator fan switches on au
tomatically when the engine coolant
reaches a certain temperature and will
continue to run until the coolant temper
ature drops.
Brake fluid
Checking brake fluid level
The brake fluid level can be checked with a
quick glance.
Fig. 248 Eng ine compart men t: cover on the brake fluid
reservoir
Before you check anyth ing in the engine com
partment,
always read and heed all WARN
INGS c:;, _&. in Working in the engine compart
ment on page 264.
.,. Read the brake fluid level from the brake
fluid reservoir
c::> fig. 248, c:;, page 266,
fig. 243.
The brake fluid level m ust be be
tween the "MIN" and "MAX" markings.
The brake fluid reservoir is located at the rear
part ition of the engine compartment on the
left side
c:;, page 266.
The fluid level may drop slightly after some
time due to the automatic adjustment of the brake pads. This is not cause for alarm .
If the brake flu id level falls
considerably be
low the
"MIN" mark, the brake warn ing/indi
cator light ( U.S. models:
1111 , Canadian
models :. will come on
c::> page 19 and
c::>page 32. Do not continue to operate the ve-
hicle. The complete brake system should be ..,.
