2013 Seat Alhambra brake fluid

270Checking and refilling levels
Closing the fuel tank flap
● Screw on the tank cap clockwise until it you hear it click into position.
● Press the tank flap until you hear it click into place. The tank flap must
be flush with the body contour.
WARNING
Do not continue refilling once the fuel nozzle has switched itself off. The
fuel tank may be filled too much. As a result, fuel may spurt out and spill.
This could lead to a fire, explosion and severe injuries.
CAUTION
● Always remove any fuel spilled on the vehicle paintwork immediately to
avoid damage to the wheel housing, the tyre and vehicle paintwork.
For the sake of the environment
Spilt fuel can contaminate the environment. 
Refilling precautions
Information on bulb replacement ⇒ page 329.
Checklist
Never work on the engine or in the engine compartment if you are not famil-
iar with the operations to be carried out, the applicable safety standards
and especially if you do not have the instruments, liquids and tools neces-
sary ⇒ page 278, Working in the engine compartment! Have the work car-
ried out by a specialised workshop if you are uncertain. Check the following
regularly, preferably when you refuel:
● Windscreen washer fluid level ⇒ page 105
● Engine oil level ⇒ page 282 ●
Engine coolant level ⇒ page 286
● Brake fluid level ⇒ page 184
● Tyre pressure ⇒  page 296
● Vehicle lighting required to guarantee road safety:
Turn signals
Side lights, dipped beam headlights and main beam headlights
Rear lights
Brake lights
Rear fog light ⇒ page 97
WARNING
Not following the checklist prepared for your own safety could lead to ac-
cidents and severe injuries.
● Always follow the check list and perform the necessary operations.

Fuel Introduction
You will find a factory-fitted sticker containing information on the type of
fuel for your vehicle on the inside of the fuel tank flap.
Additional information and warnings:
● ⇒ Booklet Maintenance Programme
● Refuelling ⇒ page 267
● Engine and exhaust system management ⇒ page 231
–
–
–
–
–

278Checking and refilling levels
Working in the engine compartment
Introduction
Before working in the engine compartment, make sure that the vehicle is
parked on horizontal and firm ground.
The engine compartment of the vehicle is a hazardous area. Never work on
the engine or in the engine compartment if you are not familiar with the op-
erations to be carried out, the applicable safety standards and especially if
you do not have the instruments, liquids and tools necessary ⇒ 
! Have
the work carried out by a specialised workshop if you are uncertain. Negli-
gent work can cause serious injury.
Additional information and warnings:
● Windscreen wash system ⇒ page 105
● Start and stop the engine ⇒ page 171
● Brake fluid ⇒ page 184
● Vehicle battery ⇒ page 291
● Checks when filling up ⇒ page 267
● Engine oil ⇒ page 282
● Engine coolant ⇒ page 286
● Accessories, parts replacement, repairs and modifications ⇒ page 260
WARNING
If the vehicle moves unexpectedly, this could cause serious injury.
● Never work underneath the vehicle if it is not secured against moving.
If you must work underneath the vehicle with the wheels in contact with
the ground then it should be parked on flat ground, the wheels should be
prevented from moving and the key must be removed from the ignition.
● If you have to work underneath the vehicle, you must use suitable
stands additionally to support the vehicle, there is a risk of accident!.
The jack is not intended for this kind of work and its failure could lead to
severe injuries.
WARNING
The engine compartment is a dangerous area capable of causing serious
injury.
● For all type of work, always take the utmost precautions, work care-
fully and note the general safety standards in force. Never take personal
risks.
● Never work on the engine or in the engine compartment if you are not
familiar with the necessary operations. If you are not sure about proce-
dures then visit a specialised workshop to carry out the necessary work.
Incorrect work can cause serious injuries.
● Never open the bonnet if you see steam or coolant escaping from the
engine compartment. Hot vapours and coolant can cause serious burns.
Always wait until you cannot see or hear the sound of steam or coolant
coming from the engine compartment.
● Always allow the engine to cool down before opening the bonnet.
● Contact with hot elements of the engine and the exhaust system can
cause burns. 

280Checking and refilling levels
WARNING (Continued)
● Never pour service fluids over the engine. These fluid may ignite hot
engine parts and cause injuries.
● If it is necessary to work on the fuel system or the electrical system,
please follow the instructions below:
–Always disconnect the vehicle battery. When disconnecting the
battery, ensure that the vehicle is unlocked otherwise the anti-theft
alarm will be triggered.
– Never work close to heaters, heat sources or places exposed to
flames or sparks.
● Always keep a recently serviced and perfectly working fire extin-
guisher close by.
CAUTION
When refilling or changing service liquids, ensure that you put the liquids
into the right tank. Making a mistake when refilling could cause serious
malfunctions and damage the engine!
For the sake of the environment
Service fluids leaks are harmful to the environment. For this reason you
should make regular checks on the ground underneath your vehicle. Take
the vehicle to a specialised workshop to be checked if you see stains, oil or
other fluids on the ground. Collect any spilt service fluids and allow a pro-
fessional to dispose of them. 
Preparing the vehicle for work in the engine compartment
Checklist
Carry out the operations below in the order indicated before starting work in
the engine compartment ⇒ 
: ●
Park the vehicle on an even and solid surface.
● Press and hold the brake pedal until the vehicle comes to a standstill.
● Connect the electronic parking brake ⇒ page 184.
● Move the selector lever to its intermediate position or to P ⇒ page 175.
● Stop the engine and remove the key from the ignition ⇒ page 171.
● Wait for the engine to cool down.
● Always keep children and other people far from the engine compart-
ment.
● Ensure that the vehicle can not move off unexpectedly.
WARNING
Ignoring this checklist, drawn up for your own safety, could result in seri-
ous injury.
● Always complete the operations given in the checklist and observe
the general rules of safety.


290Checking and refilling levels
WARNING
Hot vapours and coolant can cause serious burns.
● Never open the coolant expansion tank if steam or coolant is coming
from the engine compartment. Wait until you cannot see or hear any
steam or coolant escaping.
● Always wait until the engine has completely cooled before very care-
fully opening the expansion tank cap. Contact with hot elements of the
engine can cause skin burns.
● Once the engine has cooled, follow the instructions below before
opening the bonnet:
–Turn on the electronic parking brake and place the gear selector
lever in P or the gearbox lever in neutral.
– Remove the key from the ignition.
– Keep children away from the engine compartment and never leave
them unsupervised.
● When the engine is warm or hot, the cooling system is pressurised.
Do not unscrew the cap on the expansion tank when the engine is hot.
Otherwise, coolant may spray out under pressure causing burns and seri-
ous injury.
–Carefully and slowly unscrew the cap anticlockwise, gently press-
ing down on it.
– Always protect your face, hands and arms from hot coolant and
steam using a large, thick cloth.
● When refilling liquids, avoid spilling them on parts of the engine and
the exhaust system. Spilled liquids could cause a fire. Under specific cir-
cumstances, the ethylene glycol can catch fire.CAUTION
● Top up with distilled water only. Any other type of water may lead to con-
siderable rusting in the engine due to its chemical components. This could
consequently damage the engine. If you have not used distilled water but
another type of water to top up the coolant, a specialised workshop must
immediately replace all of the fluid in the engine cooling system.
● Only top up coolant to the top level of the marked area ⇒ Fig. 173. Oth-
erwise the excess coolant will be forced out of the cooling system when the
engine is hot, causing damage.
● If a lot of liquid coolant has been lost, wait for the engine to cool down
completely before adding coolant. Extensive coolant loss is an indication of
leaks in the engine cooling system. Have the engine cooling system inspec-
ted immediately by a specialised workshop. Otherwise you may damage the
engine.
● When refilling or changing service liquids, ensure that you put the liq-
uids into the right tank. Making a mistake when refilling could cause seri-
ous malfunctions and damage the engine! 

298Wheels and tyres
● Replace damaged or worn tyres as soon as possible ⇒ page 302.
● Regularly check tyres for non-visible damage ⇒ page 302.
● Never exceed the maximum permitted speed or loads specified for the
type of tyre fitted on your vehicle ⇒ page 305.
● Do not allow tyres to come into contact with aggressive substances,
grease, oil, fuel or brake fluid ⇒ 
.
● Lost valve caps should be replaced immediately.
Tyres with directional tread pattern
Tyres with directional tread pattern have been designed to operate best
when rotating in only one direction. An arrow on the tyre sidewall indicates
the direction of rotation on tyres with directional tread ⇒ page 305. Always
observe the direction of rotation indicated when mounting the wheel. This
guarantees optimum grip and helps to avoid aquaplaning, excessive noise
and wear.
If the tyre is mounted in the opposite direction of rotation, drive with ex-
treme caution, as the tyre is no longer being used correctly. This is of partic-
ular importance when the road surface is wet. Change the tyre as soon as
possible or remount it with the correct direction of rotation.
Interchanging tyres
To ensure that the wear is equal on all tyres the wheels should be changed
round from time to time according to the system ⇒ Fig. 177. The useful life
of all the tyres will then be about the same time.
SEAT recommends you take the vehicle to a specialised workshop to have
the tyres changed.
Tyres that are over 6 years old
Tyres are subject to an ageing process as a result of physical and chemical
processes. This may affect their performance. Tyres which are stored for
long periods of time without being used, harden and become more fragile
than tyres which are in constant use.
SEAT recommends that tyres over six years old are replaced with new tyres.
This also applies to tyres which appear to be in perfect condition on the out- side and which have a tread depth within the values stipulated by the Law
⇒ 
.
The date of manufacture, part of the tyre identification number (TIN), indi-
cates the age of the tyre ⇒ page 305.
Storing tyres
Mark tyres when you remove them to indicate the direction of rotation (left,
right, forwards, backwards). This ensures you will be able to mount them
correctly when you replace them. When removed, the wheels and/or tyres
should be stored in a cool, dry and preferably dark location. Do not place
tyres mounted on the wheel in a vertical position.
Protect tyres not mounted on wheels from dirt by storing them in suitable
bags and standing them on the ground on their tread.
WARNING
Aggressive fluids or substances could result in visible or invisible dam-
age with the consequent risks.
● Always ensure that tyres do not come into contact with chemical
products, oil, grease, fuel, brake fluid or other aggressive substances.
WARNING
Old tyres, even if they have never been used, may lose air or burst unex-
pectedly while driving, resulting in serious accident or damage.
● If tyres are over six years old, they should only be used in an emer-
gency and with extreme caution.
For the sake of the environment
Old tyres must be disposed of by qualified personnel according to the laws
in the country concerned. 

351
Technical specifications
Technical specifications
Checking fluid levels
From time to time, the levels of the different fluids in the ve-
hicle must be checked. Never fill with incorrect fluids, other-
wise serious damage to the engine may be caused.
Fig. 223 Diagram for the location of the various elements Coolant fluid deposit
Engine oil dipstick
Oil filler neck
Brake fluid reservoir
Vehicle battery (underneath a cover)
Windscreen washer fluid reservoir
The checking and refilling of service fluids are carried out on the compo-
nents mentioned above. These operations are described in ⇒ page 278.
Overview
Further explanations, instructions and restrictions on the technical data are
contained as of ⇒ page 347 
1
23456
Safety FirstOperating instructionsPractical tipsTechnical Specifications

Brake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184Brake servo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188
Electronic parking brake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
Emergency braking function . . . . . . . . . . . 187
Parking brake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
Brake assist systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
Brake assist system (BAS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
Brake fluid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192 Specification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
Brakes Brake assist systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
Brake fluid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
Brake fluid level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
Brake pads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188
Changing the brake fluid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
Control lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
Emergency brake indicator in case of sud-den braking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 316
Running-in brake pads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188
Warning lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
Brake servo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188, 190
Brake system Malfunction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188
Brake systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
Braking assist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190 Brake assist system (BAS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
Breakdown Securing the vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315
Bulb fault See changing bulbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 329 C
Card compartments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
Care See "Care of your vehicle" . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245
Vehicle interior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252
Care of your vehicle Exterior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245
Caring for paintwork . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250
Carrier system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
Catalytic converter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232 Control lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231
Malfunction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232
CD changer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141, 149
Central locking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74, 77 Anti-theft alarm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Locking/unlocking the vehicle . . . . . . . . . . 76
Central locking system After airbag deployment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Opening doors individually . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Centre armrest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
Changing Windscreen wiper blades . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249
Changing a wheel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 309 Changing a wheel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 314
Preparations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 309
Raising the vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 312
Wheel bolts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 310
Changing bulbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 329 Bodywork . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 336
Checklist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 330
Control lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 329 Front bumper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 334
Halogen headlights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 331
Initial operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 330
Number plate light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 338
Rear lid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 335
Sea changing bulbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 329
Tail lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 335, 336
Xenon headlights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 333
Changing gear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175 Automatic gearbox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
Engaging gears (manual gearbox) . . . . . . 178
Manual gearbox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
Manually unlocking the gear selector lever . .322
Selecting gears (automatic gearbox) . . . . 179
Warning and control lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
Changing gears Gear recommendation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
Tiptronic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
Changing the battery of the vehicle key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Changing the wheel After changing the wheel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 314
Checking Tyre pressures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301
Checking the oil level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284
Check list . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Checklist Before working in the engine compart-ment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280
Changing bulbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 330
In case of an emergency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315
369
Index

Tyre monitoring indicator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225
Tyre monitoring systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225
Windscreen wiper fluid level . . . . . . . . . . . 105
Control lamps Lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Controlling function Electric exterior mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Control of function Rain sensor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Control units . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263 Reprogramming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264
Convenience closing Electric windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Panoramic sliding sunroof . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Convenience functions Reprogramming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264
Convenience opening Electric windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Panoramic sliding sunroof . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Convenient entry function for the third row of seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Coolant Control lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287
See engine coolant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 286
Temperature gauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287
Warning lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287
Counter steering assistance system . . . . . . . . 169
Crossing a river Salt water . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Cruise control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213 Control lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213
Operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214
Warning lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213 Cruise control system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213
Curb weight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Curtain airbags
See "Airbag system" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
D Damaged tyres . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 302
Dangers of not using the seat belt . . . . . . . . . . 20
Dash panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 Airbag system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32, 256
Data link connector (DLC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264
Data plate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 348 Model identification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 348
Technical specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 348
Vehicle chassis number . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 348
Data registry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263
Data storage during the journey . . . . . . . . . . . 263
Data stored by the control units . . . . . . . . . . . 263
Daytime driving light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
De-icing the door lock cylinder . . . . . . . . . . . . 251
De-icing the locks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251
Deadlock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Details Driving with a trailer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240
Diagnostics connection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264
Diesel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272 Auxiliary heater . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272
Biodiesel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273
Filling the tank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269
Filter pre-heater . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272 Fuel gauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268
Winter-grade diesel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272
Diesel particulate filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232 Control lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231
Malfunction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232
Recommended gear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
Things to note . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273
Differential lock See "Brake assist systems" . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
Digital clock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Dipped beam headlight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Dipstick . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284
Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57, 58
Disposal Airbag system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259
Belt tensioner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
End-of-life vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259
Door release lever . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Doors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80 Childproof lock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Emergency locking and unlocking . . . . . . 318
Warning lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Drawbar load . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234 Loading the trailer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239
Drawers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
Drink holder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
Drink holders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149, 151
Driving Automatic gearbox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
Check list . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Cross country . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Data storage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263
371
Index