WARNING■Never use the safety eyelet for towing!■Adapt your speed to the conditions of the road surface and to the traffic sit-
uation.■
Improper or incorrectly connected electric cables can energise the trailer and
cause functional faults to the vehicle's entire electrical system as well as acci-
dents and severe injuries.
■
Work on the electrical system must only be carried out by specialist garages.
■
Never directly connect the trailer's electrical system with the electrical con-
nections for the tail lights or other current sources.
Note
■ After coupling the trailer and connecting the power socket, check that the rear
lights on the trailer are working correctly.■
If there is an error in the trailer lighting, check the fuses in the fuse box in the
dash panel » page 244.
■
Contact between the breakaway cable and the safety eyelet can result in me-
chanical wear on the surface protection of the eyelet. Such wear does not impair
the functioning of the safety eyelet and does not constitute a fault. It is excluded from the warranty coverage.
■
If you tow a trailer frequently, you should also have your vehicle inspected be-
tween service intervals.
■
The handbrake on the towing vehicle must be applied when coupling and un-
coupling the trailer.
Trailer stabilisation
First read and observe the introductory information and safety warn-
ings
on page 165.
The trailer stabilisation is an extension of the stabilisation control that works in
conjunction with the counter-steering assistance to reduce the amount the trail-
er "sways".
After turning on the ignition, the ESC indicator light
in the instrument cluster
lights up for about 2 seconds longer than the ABS indicator light.
Function requirements for trailer stabilisation.
The coupling device was factory-fitted or purchased from the ŠKODA OriginalAccessories.
The ESC is active. (Warning lights or do not illuminate in the instrument
cluster).
The trailer is electrically connected to the towing vehicle via the trailer sock-
et.
The speed is higher than approx. 60 km/h.
The trailer has a rigid drawbar.WARNINGThe increased safety offered by the trailer stabilisation must not tempt you to take greater risks than otherwise.
CAUTION
■ The trailer stabilisation need not be able to correctly detect all of driving situa-
tions.■
Light trailers that sway are not always detected and therefore stabilised accord-
ingly by the trailer stabilisation.
■
Release the pressure on the accelerator pedal if the system is being regulated.
■
Avoid abrupt and sudden driving/braking manoeuvres.
Note
The trailer stabilisation works for both braked and unbraked trailers.
Anti-theft alarm system
First read and observe the introductory information and safety warn-
ings
on page 165.
When the vehicle is locked, the alarm is activated when the electrical connection
to the trailer is interrupted.
Always switch off the anti-theft alarm system before a trailer is coupled or uncou- pled » page 38 .
167Towing a trailer
WARNINGObserve the following instructions for handling the airbag system.■It is prohibited to manipulate individual parts of the airbag system, as this
might result in the airbag being deployed.■
Never install any airbag parts into the vehicle that have been removed from
old cars or have been recycled.
■
Never install damaged airbag parts in the vehicle. The airbags may then not
be deployed properly or even at all in the event of an accident.
■
No modifications of any kind must be made to parts of the airbag system.
WARNING■ A change to the vehicle's wheel suspension, including the use of non-ap-
proved wheels and tire combinations, can alter the functioning of the airbag system - risk of accident and fatal injury!■
Never make any changes to the front bumper or the bodywork.
WARNINGThe airbag control unit operates using pressure sensors located in the front
doors. For this reason, no adjustments may be carried out to the doors or door
panels (e.g. installation of additional loudspeakers). Resulting damage can have a negative impact on the function of the airbag system. Any work on thefront doors and door panels must be carried out by a specialist garage. The
following instructions must be observed.■
Never drive with inner door panels removed.
■
Never drive if parts of the inner door panel have been removed and the re-
sulting openings have not been properly sealed.
■
Never drive if the loudspeakers in the doors have been removed, unless the
loudspeaker openings have been properly sealed.
■
Always make sure that the openings are covered or filled if additional loud-
speakers or other equipment parts have been installed in the inner door pan-
els.
Washing your car
Introduction
This chapter contains information on the following subjects:
Washing by hand
197
Automatic car wash systems
197
Washing with a high-pressure cleaner
197
The best way to protect your vehicle against harmful environmental influences is frequent washing.
How often the vehicle should be washed depends on factors such as: › Frequency of use.
› Parking situation (garage, under trees etc.).
› Season.
› Weather conditions.
› Environmental influences.
The longer insect residues, bird droppings, tree sap, road and industrial dust, tar,
soot particles, road salt and other aggressive deposits remain adhering to the paintwork of your vehicle, the more detrimental their destructive effect can be.
High temperatures, such as those caused by intensive sun's rays, accentuate this
caustic effect.
It is essential to also thoroughly clean the underside of the vehicle at the end of
the winter.
WARNING■ When washing your vehicle in the winter: Water and ice in the braking sys-
tem can affect the braking efficiency – risk of accident!■
Only wash the vehicle when the ignition is switched off – risk of accident!
CAUTION
Do not wash your vehicle in bright sunlight – risk of paint damage.
For the sake of the environment
Only wash the vehicle at washing bays intended for this purpose.
196General Maintenance
Full wheel trimFirst read and observe the introductory information and safety warn-
ings
on page 220.
Pulling off
›
Hook the clamp found in the vehicle tool kit into the reinforced edge of the wheel trim.
›
Push the wheel wrench through the clamp, support on the tyre and pull off the
wheel trim.
Install
›
Press the wheel trim onto the wheel rim at the designated valve opening.
›
Then press the trim into the wheel rim until its entire circumference locks cor- rectly in place.
CAUTION
■ Use the pressure of your hand only, do not strike the full wheel trim. Avoid
heavy impacts when the trim has not yet been inserted into the wheel rim. This
could cause damage to the guide and centring elements of the trim.■
When using the anti-theft wheel bolt, ensure that it is in the hole in the valve
area » page 231 , Securing wheels against theft .
■
If wheel trims are retrofitted it must be ensured that an adequate flow of air is
assured to cool the brake system.
Wheel bolts
Fig. 173
Remove the capFirst read and observe the introductory information and safety warn-
ings on page 220.
Pulling off
›
Push the extraction pliers » page 228 sufficiently far onto the cap until the in-
ner catches of the pliers are positioned at the collar of the cap » Fig. 173.
›
Remove the cap.
Install
›
Push the caps onto the wheel bolts up to the stop.
The wheel bolt caps are housed in a plastic box in the spare wheel or in the stor-
age space for the spare wheel.
Hubcaps
Fig. 174
Pull off the wheel trim cap on
light alloy wheels
First read and observe the introductory information and safety warn-
ings on page 220.
Pulling off
›
Carefully remove the wheel trim cap using the wire clamp from the vehicle tool
kit » Fig. 174 .
225Wheels
›Grasp the end of the wrench and turn the bolt against the direction of the ar-
row » Fig. 179 until it is tight.WARNINGUndo the wheel bolts only a little (about one turn) provided that the vehicle
has not yet been jacked up. Otherwise the wheel could come off and fall down
– risk of injury!
Note
If it proves difficult to undo the bolts, carefully apply pressure to the end of the
wrench with your foodt. Keep hold of the vehicle when doing so, and make sure
you keep your footing.
Raising the vehicle
Fig. 180
Jacking points for positioning
lifting jack
Fig. 181
Attach lifting jack
First read and observe the introductory information and safety warn-
ings on page 229.
Position the car jack below the jacking point that is closest to the faulty
wheel » Fig. 180 . The jacking point is located directly below the engraving in the
lower sill.
›
Insert the crank into the mount on the car jack » page 228.
›
Position the lifting jack below the jacking point with the crank and move it up
until its claw is positioned below the vertical web of the lower sill.
›
Align the lifting jack so that its claw grasps the web » Fig. 181 - .
›
Support the base plate of the jack with its entire surface resting on level ground
and ensure that the lever is located in a vertical position to the area where the
claw grasps the web » Fig. 181 -
.
›
Continue turning up the jack until the wheel is just about lifted off the ground.
WARNING■
Only raise the vehicle at the attachment points.■Choose a flat and firm surface for jacking the vehicle.
Securing wheels against theft
Fig. 182
Principle sketch: Anti-theft
wheel bolt with adapter
First read and observe the introductory information and safety warn- ings on page 229.
The anti-theft wheel bolts can only be removed/tightened with the aid of the
adapter » page 228 , Vehicle tool kit .
›
Pry the cover off the anti-theft wheel bolt.
231Emergency equipment and self-help