fuel container in your vehicle. The con
tainer, full or empty may leak and could
cause a fire, especially in a crash.
- If, under exceptional circumstances, you
must transport a portable fuel container,
please observe the following:
- Never fill a portable fue l container
while it is anywhere in or on the vehicle
(for example, in the luggage compart
ment, or on the tr unk). Static electrici
ty can build up while filling and can ig nite fuel vapors causing a fire .
- Always place a portable fuel container
on the ground before filling.
- Always keep the fi ller nozzle comp lete
ly inside the portable container before
and during filling.
- If filling a portable container made of
metal, the filler nozz le must always be
in contact with the container. Th is w ill
help prevent static electricity from dis
charging and cause a fire .
- Never sp ill fuel inside the vehicle or
luggage compartment. Fuel vapors are
h ighly flammable .
- Always observe local and state/provin
cial laws regarding the use, storage
and transportation of fuel containers .
- Make certain the fuel container meets
industry standards (ANSI/ ASTM
F852 -86) .
(D Note
If any fuel has spilled onto the car, it
should be removed immediately to prevent
damage to the paint.
~ For the sake of the environment
As soon as the correctly operated nozzle sw itches off automatically for the first
time, the tank is full. Do not try to add more fue l because fuel may spill out . In
add it ion, the expans ion space in the fuel
tank will be fi lled -causing the fuel to
overflow when it becomes warm and pol
lute the environment.
Fu el su ppl y and filling your fuel ta nk 231
@ Tips
- Running your engine while refue lling
may cause vapors to escape or even
cause fuel to spill out of the tank. This
would then shut off the fuel nozzle be
fore the tank is full.
- Do not refuel your vehicle with the igni
tion switched on. The fuel gauge may
otherwise not ind icate the correct fuel
level after refuell ing .
- The fuel filler flap of your vehicle is not
locked when you lock the vehicle from
the inside.
Fuel filler flap emergency release
You can open the fuel filler flap by hand if the
power locking system should fail .
Fig. 192 Rig ht s ide tr im panel in t he luggage compart
ment : emerge ncy re lease mechanis m
The emergency release mechanism is located
behind the right side trim panel in the lug
gage compartment .
.,. Loosen the loop
o fig. 192 from the retain
er and then pull on the loop carefully
o (D.
.,. Press on the left side of the fuel filler door
to open
o page 230, fig . 190 .
(J) Note
Only pull on the loop until you feel resist
ance . You w ill not hear it release . Other
wise you could damage the emergency re
lease mechanism.
246 Checking and filling
Battery charging
Starting the engine requires a well charged
battery.
Fig . 202 Engine co mpartme nt: connectors fo r a charg
er and jump sta rt cables
Always read and heed all WARNINGS below
c:> A and c:> A in Working on the battery on
page 244 .
.,. Switch off the ignition and all electrical con
sumers .
.,. Make sure the area is well ventilated when
you charge the battery .
.,. Open the engine hood
r:::.> page 232 .
.,. Remove the cover© by press ing on the ar
row
c:>fig . 202.
.,. Open the cover @on the positive term inal.
.,. Connect the charger connectors according
to the instructions to the
jump start bolts.
(Bolts under the red cover= "positive" , Bolts
with hex head = "negative").
.,. Only now plug the mains lead for the charg
ing equipment into the wall outlet and turn
it on
r:::.> &_ .
.,. Make sure the charging rate i s not over
30 amps/14.8 Volt.
.,. When the battery is fully charged: Turn the
charging equipment off and remove the
mai ns lead from the wall outlet.
.,. Now
remove the clamps for the charging
equipment.
.. Close the red cover on the posit ive pole .
.,. Close the hood
c:> page 233 .
A discharged battery can freeze at tempera
tures of only 32 F
0 (0 °C). Allow a frozen bat
tery to thaw completely before attempting to
charge it
r:::.> &. . However , we recommend not
using a thawed battery again because the bat -tery casing can be cracked due to ice forma
tion and can leak battery acid.
Battery charging (Maximum charging rate
of 30 amps/14.8 Volt)
When charging at low voltages (e.g. with a
trickle charger), the battery cables do not
have to be disconnected f irst. The battery
caps should
not be opened when charging a
battery.
It i s not necessary to remove the battery from
the luggage compartment, and it is also not
necessary to disconnect the cables.
Fast charging the battery (charging rate
above 14 .8 Volts )
For technical reasons do not use a battery
charger that uses voltage greater than 14.8
Volts to charge your vehicle's battery .
A WARNING
Charging a battery can be dangerous.
- Always follow the operating instructions
provided by the battery charger manu
facturer when charg ing your battery .
- Never charge a frozen battery. It may ex
plode because of gas trapped in the ice .
Allow a frozen battery to thaw out first .
- Do not reuse batteries wh ich were fro
zen. The battery housing may have
cracked and weakened when the battery
froze.
- Charge the battery in a well ventilated area . Keep away from open flame or elec
tr ica l spar k. Do not smoke. Hydrogen gas
generated by the battery is explos ive .
- To reduce the danger of explosion,
never
connect or disconnect charger cables
while the charger is operating .
- Fast charging a battery is dangerous and
should only be attempted by a compe
tent technician with the proper equip
ment .
- Battery acid that may spill dur ing charg
ing should be washed off with a solution
of warm water and baking soda to neu
tralize the acid.
@ Tips
- The discharged battery must be properly
connected to the vehicle's electrical sys
tem. When jump start ing or charging the
battery, never connect the negative
ground cable to the battery negative post because the battery manager sys
tem must be able to detect the battery's
state of cha rge. A lways connect the neg
ative g round cab le to the negative
gro und post o f the battery manage r con
trol uni t.
Use of jumper cables
Make sure to connect the jumper coble
clomps in exactly the order described below!
Fig. 229 Engine compartment: connecto rs for jump
start cables and charger
Fi g. 230 Jump start ing w ith the battery of another ve
hicle: @-booste r batte ry, @ -discharged vehicle bat
te ry
The procedure described below fo r connecting
jumper cab les is intended to provide a jump
start for your veh icle.
Vehicle with discharged batt ery:
.. Turn off lights and acc esso ries, move leve r
of automat ic t ransm ission to N (Neutral) o r
P (Park) and set pa rking brake .
Emergenc y situ ation s 285
Connect POSI TIVE(+) to POSITIVE (+ )
(red )
.. Open the red cover on the positive terminal
¢fig. 229.
1. Connect one end of the red positive cable
on the
jump sta rt bolt ¢ fig. 230 (D (bolt
under the red cover = "positive") of the ve
hicle to be started @.
2. Co nnect th e other end to the pos itive ter-
mina l@ of the booster battery @.
Connect NEGATIVE( -) to NEGATIVE(-)
(black )
3. Connect one end of the black negative ca ble to the negat ive termina l@ of the
booster b attery @.
4 . Connect the othe r end to the
jump start
pin @ (bolts with hex head bolt = "nega
tive") of the vehicle to be started @.
Starting the engine .. Sta rt the engine of the veh icle w ith the
booste r ba ttery @. Ru n the engine at a
moderate speed .
.. Start engine wit h discha rged vehicle battery
@ in the usual manner .
.. If the eng ine fails to start, do not keep the
starter cranking for longer than 10 seconds.
Wait for about 30 seco nds a nd the n try
aga in .
.. With engi ne runni ng, remove j umper cab les
from both vehicles in the exact
reverse o r
de r .
.. Close the red cover on the positive term inal.
T he battery is vented to th e outside to p rev ent
gases from en ter ing the veh icle in ter io r. Ma ke
s ur e th at the j umper clamps are well connec t
ed with their meta l parts in full con ta ct w ith
the battery term inals.
A WARNING
To avoid se rious personal injury and dam
age to the veh icle, heed all warnings and
instructions of the jumper cable man ufac
turer. If in doubt, call for road service .
- J umper cables m ust be long enough so
that the veh icles d o not touch.
-