2013 Seat Altea check oil

243
Checking and refilling levels
Changing windscreen wiper blades
If the windscreen wiper blades are in perfect condition, you
will benefit from an improved visibility. Damaged wiper
blades should be replaced immediately.
Fig. 166 Windscreen
wipers in the service po-
sition
Fig. 167 Changing the
front wiper blades To change the blades it is necessary to change the rest position of
the wipers to the service position.
Service position (For changing wiper blades)
–
Ensure that the wiper blades are not frozen.
– Turn ignition on and off and then (before approx. 8 seconds
have elapsed), move the windscreen wiper lever to the intermit-
tent wipe position. The windscreen wipers will move to the serv-
ice position.
Changing the windscreen wiper blades
– Lift the wiper arm away from the windscreen.
– Push the side buttons, free the blade and pull in the direction of
the arrow ⇒ Fig. 167
Fitting the wiper blade
– Insert a blade of identical length and design into the wiper arm.
– Slide the blade until it clicks into position.
– Push the wiper arms back against the windscreen.
If the windscreen wipers smear , they should be replaced if they are dam-
aged, or cleaned if they are soiled.
If this does not produce the desired results, the setting angle of the wind-
screen wiper arms might be incorrect. They should be checked by a special-
ised workshop and corrected if necessary. 
Safety FirstOperating InstructionsPractical TipsTechnical Specifications

245
Checking and refilling levels
Removing the wiper blade
– Lift the wiper arm away from the glass ⇒ Fig. 168
– Slide the blade adapter in the direction of the arrow and remove
the blade ⇒ Fig. 168.
Fitting the wiper blade
– With one hand, hold the top end of the wiper arm.
– Place the blade as shown in the ⇒ Fig. 169 and slide the adapt-
er along until it engages.
Check the condition of the wiper blade regularly. Change as required.
If the windscreen wiper scrapes, it should be replaced if damaged, or
cleaned if soiled.
If this is not sufficient, refer to a specialised workshop.
WARNING
Do not drive unless you have good visibility through all windows!
● Clean the windscreen wiper blades and all windows regularly.
● The wiper blades should be changed once or twice a year.
CAUTION
● A damaged or dirty window wiper could scratch the rear window.
● Never use fuel, nail varnish remover, paint thinner or similar products to
clean the window.
● Never move the windscreen wiper by hand. This could cause damage. Brake fluid
Checking the brake fluid level
The brake fluid is checked at the intervals given in the serv-
ice schedule.
Fig. 170 In the engine
compartment: Brake fluid
reservoir cover
– Read off the fluid level at the transparent brake fluid reservoir. It
should always be between the “MIN” and “MAX” marks.
The position of the brake fluid reservoir is shown in the corresponding en-
gine compartment illustration ⇒ page 291. The brake fluid reservoir has a
black and yellow cap.
The brake fluid level drops slightly when the vehicle is being used as the
brake pads are automatically adjusted as they wear.
However, if the level goes down noticeably in a short time, or drops below
the “MIN” mark, there may be a leak in the brake system. A display on the
instrument panel will warn you if the brake fluid level is too low ⇒ page 77.

Safety FirstOperating InstructionsPractical TipsTechnical Specifications

246Checking and refilling levels
WARNING
Before opening the bonnet to check the brake fluid level, read and ob-
serve the warnings ⇒ page 233.

Changing the brake fluid
The Maintenance Programme indicates the brake fluid
change intervals. We recommend that you have the brake fluid changed by a Technical Serv-
ice.
Before opening the bonnet, please read and follow the warnings ⇒ 
in
Safety instructions on working in the engine compartment on page 233 in
section “Safety notes for working in the engine compartment”.
Brake fluid absorbs moisture. In the course of time, it will absorb water from
the ambient air. If the water content in the brake fluid is too high, the brake
system could corrode. This also considerably reduces the boiling point of
the brake fluid. Heavy use of the brakes may then cause a vapour lock
which could impair the braking effect.
Be sure to always use the correct brake fluid. Only use brake fluid that ex-
pressly meets VW 501 14 standards.
You can buy VW 501 14 standard brake fluid in a SEAT dealership or SEAT
Official Service. If none is available, use only high quality brake fluid that
meets DIN ISO 4925 CLASS 4 standards, or USA Standards FMVSS 116 DOT
4.
Using any other kind of brake fluid or one that is not of a high quality may
affect operation of the brake system and reduce its effectiveness. Never use
a brake fluid if the container does not state that it complies with VW 501 14,
DIN ISO 4925 CLASS 4 standards, or USA standards FMVSS 116 DOT 4.
WARNING
Brake fluid is poisonous. Old brake fluid impairs the braking effect.
● Before opening the bonnet to check the brake fluid level, read and ob-
serve the warnings ⇒ page 233.
● Brake fluid should be stored in the closed original container in a safe
place out of reach of children. There is a toxic risk.
● Complete the brake fluid change according to the Maintenance Pro-
gramme. Heavy use of the brakes may cause a vapour lock if the brake
fluid is left in the brake system for too long. This would seriously affect
the effectiveness of the brakes and the safety of the vehicle. This may
cause an accident.
CAUTION
Brake fluid damages the vehicle paintwork. Wipe off any brake fluid from
the paintwork immediately.
For the sake of the environment
The brake pads and brake fluid must be collected and disposed of accord-
ing the applicable regulations. The SEAT Technical Service network has the
necessary equipment and qualified personnel for collecting and disposing
of this waste material. 

250Wheels and tyres
Wheels and tyres
Wheels
General notes
Avoiding damage
– If you have to drive over a kerb or similar obstacle, drive very
slowly and at a right angle.
– Keep grease, oil and fuel off the tyres.
– Inspect the tyres regularly for damage (cuts, cracks or blisters,
etc.). Remove any foreign objects embedded in the treads.
Storing tyres
– When you remove the tyres, mark them in order to maintain the
same direction of rotation when they are installed again.
– When removed, the wheels and/or tyres should be stored in a
cool, dry and preferably dark location.
– Store tyres in a vertical position if they are not fitted on wheel
rims.
New tyres
New tyres must be run in ⇒ page 202.
The tread depth of new tyres may vary, according to the type and make of
tyre and the tread pattern. Concealed damage
Damage to tyres and rims is often not readily visible. If you notice unusual
vibrations or the vehicle pulling to one side, this may indicate that one of
the tyres is damaged. The tyres should be checked immediately by a Techni-
cal Service.
Tyres with directional tread pattern
An arrow on the tyre sidewall indicates the direction of rotation on tyres with
directional tread. Always observe the direction of rotation indicated when
fitting the wheel. This guarantees optimum grip and helps to avoid aqua-
planing, excessive noise and wear.
WARNING
● New tyres do not have maximum grip during the first 500 km
(300 miles). Drive particularly carefully to avoid possible accidents.
● Never drive with damaged tyres. This may cause an accident.
● If you notice unusual vibrations or if the vehicle pulls to one side
when driving, stop the vehicle immediately and check the tyres for dam-
age.

Checking tyre pressure
The correct tyre pressure can be seen on the sticker on the
inside of the fuel tank flap. 1. Read the required tyre inflation pressure from the sticker. The values refer to Summer tyres. For Winter tyres, you must add
0.2 bar to the values given on the sticker. 

253
Wheels and tyres
Wear indicators
The original tyres on your vehicle have 1.6 mm high “tread wear indicators”
⇒  Fig. 171, running across the tread. Depending on the make, there will be
6 to 8 of them evenly spaced around the tyre. Markings on the tyre sidewall
(for instance the letters “TWI” or other symbols) indicate the positions of
the tread wear indicators. The minimum tread depth required by law is
1.6 mm (measured in the tread grooves next to the tread wear indicators).
Worn tyres must be replaced. Different figures may apply in export countries
⇒ 
.
Tyre pressure
Incorrect tyre pressure causes premature wear and could cause tyre blow-
out. For this reason, the tyre pressure should be checked at least once per
month ⇒ page 250.
Driving style
Fast cornering, heavy acceleration and hard braking all increase tyre wear.
Changing wheels around
If the front tyres are worn considerably more than the rear ones it is advisa-
ble to change them around as shown ⇒ Fig. 172. The useful life of all the
tyres will then be about the same time.
Wheel balance
The wheels on new vehicles are balanced. However, various factors encoun-
tered in normal driving can cause them to become unbalanced, which re-
sults in steering vibration.
Unbalanced wheels should be rebalanced, as they otherwise cause exces-
sive wear on steering, suspension and tyres. A wheel must also be reba-
lanced when a new tyre is fitted. Incorrect wheel alignment
Incorrect wheel alignment causes excessive tyre wear, impairing the safety
of the vehicle. If tyres show excessive wear, you should have the wheel
alignment checked by a Technical Service.
WARNING
There is a serious danger of accidents if a tyre bursts during driving!
● The tyres must be replaced at the latest when the tread wear indica-
tors are worn ⇒ page 253. Failure to do so could result in an accident.
Worn tyres do not grip well at high speeds on wet roads. There is also a
greater risk of aquaplaning.
● At continuously high speeds, a tyre with insufficient pressure flexes
more. This causes it to overheat. This can cause tread separation and tyre
blow-out. Risk of accident. Always observe the recommended tyre pres-
sures.
● If tyres show excessive wear, you should have the running gear
checked by a Technical Service.
● Keep chemicals such as oil, fuel and brake fluid away from tyres.
● Damaged wheels and tyres must be replaced immediately!
For the sake of the environment
Under-inflated tyres will increase fuel consumption. 
Safety FirstOperating InstructionsPractical TipsTechnical Specifications

256Wheels and tyres
WARNING
● We recommend that you use only wheels and tyres which have been
approved by SEAT for your model. Failure to do so could impair vehicle
handling. Risk of accident.
● Avoid running the vehicle on tyres that are more than 6 years old. If
you have no alternative, you should drive slowly and with extra care at all
times.
● Never use old tyres or those with an unknown history of use.
● If wheel trims are retrofitted, you must ensure that the flow of air to
the brakes is not restricted. This could cause the brake system to over-
heat.
● All four wheels must be fitted with radial tyres of the same type, size
(rolling circumference) and the same tread pattern.
For the sake of the environment
Old tyres must be disposed of according to the laws in the country con-
cerned.
Note
● For technical reasons, it is not generally possible to use the wheels from
other vehicles. This can also apply to wheels of the same model. The use of
wheels or tyres which have not been approved by SEAT for use with your
model may invalidate the vehicle's type approval for use on public roads.
● If the spare tyre is not the same as the tyres that are mounted on the
vehicle (e.g. winter tyres) you should only use the spare tyre for a short peri-
od of time and drive with extra care. Refit the normal road wheel as soon as
possible. Wheel bolts
Wheel bolts must be tightened to the correct torque.
The design of wheel bolts is matched to the rims. If different wheel rims are
fitted, the correct wheel bolts with the right length and correctly shaped
bolt heads must be used. This ensures that wheels are fitted securely and
that the brake system functions correctly.
In certain circumstances, you should not use wheel bolts from a different
vehicle, even if it is the same model ⇒ page 224.
After the wheels have been changed, the tightening torque of the wheel
bolts should be checked as soon as possible with a torque wrench ⇒ 
.
The tightening torque for steel and alloy wheels is 120 Nm.
WARNING
If the wheel bolts are not tightened correctly, the wheel could become
loose while driving. Risk of accident.
● The wheel bolts must be clean and turn easily. Never apply grease or
oil to them.
● Use only wheel bolts which belong to the wheel.
● If the tightening torque of the wheel bolts is too low, they could loos-
en whilst the vehicle is in motion. Risk of accident! If the tightening tor-
que is too high, the wheel bolts and threads can be damaged.
CAUTION
The prescribed tightening torque for wheel bolts for steel and alloy wheels
is 120 Nm. 

291
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. 206 Diagram for the
location of the various el-
ements
Coolant expansion tank
Windscreen washer reservoir
Engine oil filler cap
Engine oil dipstick
Brake fluid reservoir
Vehicle battery (underneath the cover)
The checking and refilling of service fluids are carried out on the compo-
nents mentioned above. These operations are described in the ⇒ page 233.
1
23456
Overview
You will find further explanations, instructions and restrictions on the tech-
nical specifications as of
⇒ page 287. 
Safety FirstOperating InstructionsPractical TipsTechnical Specifications

C
Car care Exterior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213
Catalytic converter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
CCS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
CD changer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
Central lock button Locking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
Unlocking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
Central locking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97 Automatic locking system for involuntaryunlocking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Automatic speed-dependent locking and unlocking system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Emergency unlocking system . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Selective unlocking system . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Unlocking system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Centre armrest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
Cetane number . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232
Changing gear see Manual gearbox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
Changing gear in tiptronic mode . . . . . . . . . . 183
Changing the bulbs Main headlight bulbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273
Tail lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276
Changing the main headlight bulbs Main beam lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275
Side lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276
Turn signal bulbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273
Changing the main headlight lamps dipped lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274 Changing the tail lights
Luggage compartment lights . . . . . . . . . . 279
Rear fog light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 278
Reverse light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 278
Side lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277
Turn signal light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 278
Changing windscreen wiper blades . . . . . . . . 243
Chassis number . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288
Checking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248
Checking battery electrolyte level . . . . . . . . . . 248
Checking engine oil level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237
Checklist Seat upholstery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219
Child safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Child seat Categorisation in groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Group 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Group 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Group 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Groups 0 and 0+ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Safety notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Securing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Child seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 ISOFIX system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
on the front passenger seat . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Top Tether system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Cigarette lighter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
Cleaning alloy wheel rims . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
Cleaning chrome . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216
Cleaning engine compartment . . . . . . . . . . . . 218
Cleaning steel wheel rims . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
Cleaning windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215 Climatic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
Climatronic
General notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
Clock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Clothes hook . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
Cockpit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Compartment for on-board documentation . . 142
control lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Control lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Control lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Controls electric windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Exterior mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
Sliding/tilting sunroof . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Convenience closing Sliding/tilting sunroof . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Convenience opening Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Coolant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240, 241 control lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Coolant level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241 Control lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Coolant loss . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241
Coolant temperature control lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Control lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Gauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Safety instructions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Cornering lights Dynamic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
304 Index