WARNING■It is prohibited to work with naked flames or lights.■It is prohibited to smoke or carry out any activities that produce sparks.■
Never use a damaged vehicle battery – risk of explosion!
■
Never charge a frozen or thawed vehicle battery – risk of explosion and
chemical burns!
■
Replace a frozen vehicle battery.
■
Never jump-start vehicle batteries with insufficient acid levels – risk of ex-
plosion and chemical burns.
WARNING■ When you charge a battery, hydrogen is released, and a highly explosive gas
mixture is also produced. An explosion can be caused through sparkling over during unclamping or loosening of the cable plug while the ignition is on.■
Creating a bridge between the poles on the battery (e.g. with a metal object
or cable) creates a short circuit - risk of melting the lead bars, and risk of ex-
plosion, battery fire and acid splashes.
■
Avoid creating sparks when working with cables and electrical devices.
Strong sparking represents a risk of injury.
■
Before carrying out any work on the electrical system, switch off the engine,
the ignition and all electrical components and disconnect the negative termi-
nal (-) on the battery.
CAUTION
Improper handling of the battery can lead to damage. We recommend having all
work on the vehicle battery carried out by a specialist garage.
CAUTION
■ The vehicle battery must only be disconnected if the ignition is switched off,
otherwise the vehicle's electrical system (electronic components) can be dam-
aged. When disconnecting the battery from the electrical system, first of all dis-
connect the negative terminal (-) of the battery, followed by the positive terminal
(+).■
When connecting the battery to the electrical system, first of all connect the
positive terminal (+) of the battery, followed by the negative terminal (-). Under no
circumstances must the battery cables be connected incorrectly – risk of a cable fire.
■ Ensure that battery acid does not come into contact with the bodywork – risk of
damage to the paintwork.■
Do not place the battery in direct daylight in order to protect the vehicle battery
housing from the effects of ultra-violet light.
■
If the vehicle has not been driven for more than 3 to 4 weeks, the battery will
discharge. This is because certain electrical components consume electricity (e. g.
control units) also in idle state. Prevent the battery from discharging by discon- necting the battery's negative terminal (-) or continuously charging the battery
with a very low charging current.
■
If the vehicle is frequently used for making short trips, the vehicle battery will
not have time to charge up sufficiently and may discharge.
For the sake of the environment
A vehicle battery that has been removed is a special type of hazardous waste.
These must be disposed of in accordance with national legal regulations.
Note
You should replace batteries older than 5 years.
Opening the cover
Fig. 163
Engine compartment: Polyester cover of the vehicle battery/plastic
cover of the vehicle battery
First read and observe the introductory information and safety warn-ings
on page 207.
The battery is located in the engine compartment in a polyester cover or in a plas-
tic cover » Fig. 163 .
208General Maintenance
›Open the battery cover in the direction of the arrow 1 or press the interlock on
the side of the battery cover in the direction of the arrow 2 » Fig. 163 , fold the
cover up and remove.
The battery cover is installed in reverse order.
The edge of the polyester battery cover is inserted between the battery and theside wall of the battery cover when working on the battery.
Checking the battery electrolyte level
Fig. 164
Vehicle battery: Electrolyte level
indicator
First read and observe the introductory information and safety warn-
ings on page 207.
On vehicles with a vehicle battery fitted with a colour indicator » Fig. 164 , the
electrolyte level can be determined by looking at the change in colour.
Air bubbles can influence the colour of the indicator. For this reason carefullyknock on the indicator before carrying out the check.
› Black colour - electrolyte level is correct.
› Colourless or light yellow colour - electrolyte level too low, the battery must be
replaced.
Vehicles with a START-STOP system are fitted with a battery control unit for checking the energy level for recurring engine start.
We recommend that you have the acid level checked regularly by a specialist ga-
rage, especially in the following cases.
› High external temperatures.
› Longer day trips.
› After each charge.
Winter time
The vehicle battery only has a proportion of the starting power in lower tempera- tures. A discharged vehicle battery may already freeze at temperatures just be-
low 0 °C .
We therefore recommend that you have the battery checked and, if necessary, re-
charged by a specialist garage before the start of the winter.
CAUTION
For technical reasons, on vehicles with the description “AGM”, the electrolyte lev- el cannot be checked.
Note
The battery acid level is also checked regularly by a specialist garage as part of
the inspection service.
Charging
First read and observe the introductory information and safety warn-ings
on page 207.
A properly charged vehicle battery is essential for reliably starting the engine.
›
Switch off the ignition and all of the electrical components.
›
Only when performing a “quick-charge”, disconnect both battery cables (first
“negative”, then “positive”).
›
Attach the terminal clamps of the charger to the battery terminals (red = “posi- tive”, black = “negative”).
›
Plug the mains cable of the charger into the power socket and switch on thedevice.
›
After charging has been successful: Switch off the charger and remove the
mains cable from the power socket.
›
Only then disconnect the charger's terminal clamps.
›
Reconnect the cables to the battery (first “positive”, then “negative”).
It is not necessary to disconnect the cables of the battery if you recharge the ve-
hicle battery using low amperages (for example from a mini-charger). Refer to the
instructions of the charger manufacturer .
A charging current of 0.1 multiple of the total vehicle battery capacity (or lower) must be used until full charging is achieved.
209Inspecting and replenishing
It is necessary to disconnect both cables before charging the battery with high
amperages, known as “ rapid charging”.
The vent plugs of the vehicle battery should not be opened for charging.WARNING“Quick-charging” the vehicle battery is dangerous and requires a special
charger and specialist knowledge.
CAUTION
On vehicles with the START/STOP system, the pole terminal of the charger must
not be connected directly to the negative terminal of the vehicle battery, but only
to the engine earth » page 228, Jump-starting in vehicles with the START-STOP
system .
Note
We therefore recommend that vehicle batteries be rapid charged by a specialist
garage.
Replacing
First read and observe the introductory information and safety warn-
ings
on page 207.
The new vehicle battery must have the same capacity, voltage, current and the
same size as the original Battery. Suitable vehicle battery types can be purchased
from a specialist garage.
We recommend having the battery replaced by a specialist garage, where the
new vehicle battery will be installed properly and the original battery will be dis-
posed of in accordance with national regulations.
Disconnecting and reconnecting
First read and observe the introductory information and safety warn-
ings
on page 207.
On disconnecting and reconnecting the vehicle battery, the following functions
are initially deactivated or are no longer able to operate fault-free.
OperationOperating measureElectrical power window (operational faults)» page 44Panoramic sliding roof (operational faults)» page 234Enter the radio/navigation system code num-
ber» User manual of the radio
or » user manual of the naviga-
tion systemSetting the clock» page 13Data in the multifunction display are deleted.» page 25
Note
We recommend having the vehicle checked by a specialist garage in order to en-
sure full functionality of all electrical systems.
Automatic load deactivation
First read and observe the introductory information and safety warn-ings
on page 207.
The vehicle voltage control unit automatically prevents the battery from discharg-
ing when the battery is put under high levels of strain. This manifests itself by the
following.
› The idling speed is raised to allow the generator to deliver more electricity to
the electrical system.
› Where necessary, large convenience consumers such as seat heaters and rear
window heaters have their power limited or are shut off completely in the event
of an emergency.
CAUTION
■ Despite such intervention by the vehicle electric system management, the vehi-
cle battery may be drained. For example, when the ignition is switched on a long
time with the engine turned off or the side or parking lights are turned on during longer parking.■
Consumers that are supplied via a 12-V power socket can cause the vehicle bat-
tery to discharge when the ignition is switched off.
210General Maintenance
650 kg
670 kg
690 kg
730 kg
775 kg
Speed symbol
This indicates the maximum permissible vehicle speed with fitted tyres in each
category.
160 km/h
170 km/h
180 km/h
190 km/h
200 km/h
210 km/h
240 km/h
270 km/h
CAUTION
The information about the load index and the speed symbol is listed in your vehi-
cle documents.
Unidirectional tyres
First read and observe the introductory information and safety warn-
ings
on page 212.
The direction of rotation of the tyres is marked by arrows on the wall of the tyre.
The indicated direction of rotation must be adhered to in order to ensure the op- timal characteristics of these tyres.
These characteristics mainly relate to the following: › Increased driving stability.
› Reduced risk of aquaplaning.
› Reduced tyre noise and tyre wear.
9394959799QRSTUHVWTyre pressure monitorFig. 167
Button for setting the tyre infla-
tion pressure control value
First read and observe the introductory information and safety warn-
ings on page 212.
System settings
After changing the tyre inflation pressure, after changing one or several wheels
or changing the position of a wheel on the vehicle (e.g. replacing the wheels be-
tween the axles) or if the indicator light illuminates while driving, a system con-
figuration must be carried out as follows.
›
Inflate all of the tyres to the specified inflation pressure » page 213.
›
Switch on the ignition.
›
Press and hold the symbol button
» Fig. 167 for longer than 2 seconds.
If the warning light
lights up and does not go out after the system configura-
tion, this indicates a system fault.
If the warning light flashes
, there is a system fault.
Tyre pressure indicator
The warning light
lights up when any of the following conditions are true.
› The tyre inflation pressure is low.
› The structure of the tyre is damaged.
› The vehicle is loaded on one side.
› The wheels of one axle are loaded more heavily (e.g. when towing a trailer or
when driving uphill or downhill).
› Snow chains are mounted.
› The spare wheel is mounted.
› One wheel per axle was changed.
215Wheels
WARNING■A discharged vehicle battery may already freeze at temperatures just below
0 °C. If the battery is frozen, do not carry out a jump start with the battery of another vehicle – risk of explosion!■
Pay attention to the warning instructions relating to working in the engine
compartment » page 199.
■
The non-insulated parts of the terminal clamps must never touch each other
– risk of short circuit!
■
The jump-start cable connected to the positive terminal of the battery must
not come into contact with electrically conducting parts of the vehicle – risk of
short circuit!
■
Do not clamp the jump-start cable to the negative terminal of the dis-
charged battery. There is the risk of detonating gas seeping out the battery
being ignited by the strong spark which results from the engine being started.
■
Route the jump-start cables so that they cannot be caught by any rotating
parts in the engine compartment.
■
Do not bend over the battery – risk of caustic burns!
■
The vent screws of the battery cells must be tightened firmly.
■
Keep any sources of ignition (naked flame, smouldering cigarettes, etc.)
away from the battery – risk of explosion!
■
Never jump-start vehicle batteries with an electrolyte level that is too low –
risk of explosion and caustic burns.
CAUTION
■ There must not be any contact between the two vehicles otherwise current
may flow as soon as the negative terminals are connected.■
The discharged battery must be properly connected to the system of the vehi-
cle.
■
We recommend you buy jump-start cables from a car battery specialist.
Jump-starting using the battery from another vehicleFig. 179
Jump-starting: A – flat battery, B
– battery providing current
First read and observe the introductory information and safety warn-
ings on page 226.
The battery of another vehicle can be used to jump-start your vehicle if the en-
gine will not start because the battery is flat. Jump-start cables are required for
this purpose.
The jump-start cables must be attached in the following sequence.
›
Attach clamp
1
to the positive terminal of the discharged battery
A
» Fig. 179 .
›
Attach clamp
2
to the positive terminal of the battery supplying power
B
.
›
Attach clamp
3
to the negative terminal of the battery supplying power
B
.
›
Attach the clamp
4
to a solid metal part which is connected firmly to the en-
gine block or to the engine block itself.
Starting engine
›
Start the engine on the vehicle providing the power and allow it to idle.
›
Start the engine of the vehicle with the discharged battery.
›
If the engine does not start, terminate the attempt to start the engine after 10 seconds and wait for 30 seconds before repeating the process.
›
Disconnect the cables in exactly the reverse order
to the one described above.
Both batteries must have a rated voltage of 12 V. The capacity (Ah) of the battery
supplying the power must not be significantly less than the capacity of the dis-
charged battery in your vehicle.
Jump-start cables
Only use jump-start cables which have an adequately large cross-section and in-
sulated terminal clamps. Observe the instructions of the jumper lead manufactur-
er.
Positive cable - colour coding in the majority of cases is red.
227Emergency equipment and self-help
Negative cable - colour coding in the majority of cases is black.
Jump-starting in vehicles with the START-STOP system
Fig. 180
Engine earth: START-STOP sys-
tem
First read and observe the introductory information and safety warn- ings on page 226.
On vehicles with the START-STOP system, the jump-start cable of the charger
must never be connected directly to the negative pole of the vehicle battery, but
only to the engine earth » Fig. 180.
Towing the vehicle
Introduction
This chapter contains information on the following subjects:
Front towing eye
229
Rear towing eye
229
Vehicles with a tow hitch
230
Vehicles with manual transmission may be towed in with a tow bar or a tow rope
or with the front or rear wheels raised.
Vehicles with automatic transmission may be towed in with a tow bar or a tow
rope or with the front wheels raised. If the vehicle is raised at rear, the automatic
gearbox is damaged!
A tow bar is the safest way of towing a vehicle and also minimises any shocks.
Only use a tow rope if a suitable tow bar is not available.
When towing, the following guidelines must be observed.
Driver of the tow vehicle›
Release the clutch particularly gently when starting off or depress the accelera-
tor particularly gently if the vehicle is fitted with an automatic gearbox.
›
On vehicles with a manual transmission, only push down on the accelerator pedal once the rope is taught.
The maximum towing speed is 50 km/h.
Driver of the towed vehicle
›
Switch on the ignition so that the steering wheel is not blocked and so that the
turn signal lights, horn, windscreen wipers and windscreen washer system can be used.
›
Take the vehicle out of gear or move the selector lever into position N if the ve-
hicle is fitted with an automatic gearbox.
Please note that the brake servo unit and power steering only operate if the en-
gine is running. If the engine is not running, significantly more physical force is re- quired to depress the brake pedal and steer the vehicle.
If using a tow rope, ensure that it is always kept taught.
CAUTION
■ Do not tow start the engine – there is a risk of damaging the engine and the
catalytic converter! The battery from another vehicle can be used as a jump-start aid » page 226 , Jump-starting .■
If the gearbox no longer contains any oil because of a defect, your vehicle must
only be towed with the driven wheels raised clear of the ground or on a special
breakdown vehicle or trailer.
■
The vehicle must be transported on a special breakdown vehicle or trailer if it is
not possible to tow in the vehicle in the way described or if the towing distance is
greater than 50 km.
■
To protect both vehicles when tow-starting or towing, the tow rope should be
elastic. Thus one should only use plastic fibre rope or a rope made out of a simi-
larly elastic material.
■
While towing, take care to avoid impermissibly high tensile forces or jerky loads.
There is always a risk of excessive stresses and damage resulting at the points to which you attach the tow rope or tow bar when you attempt to tow a vehicle
which is not standing on a paved road.
■
Attach the tow rope or the tow bar to the towing eyes » page 229
or » page 229 to the detachable ball head of the towing device » page 152 .
228Do-it-yourself
CAUTIONIf the windscreen wipers are handled carelessly, there is a risk of damage to the
windscreen.
Replacing front windscreen wipers
Fig. 191
Windscreen wiper blade
First read and observe the introductory information and safety warn-
ings on page 234.
When in the rest position, the wiper arms cannot be fold down from the wind- screen. Before replacing the windscreen wiper blade, put the windscreen wiper
arms into the service position.
Service position for changing wiper blades
›
Closing the bonnet.
›
Switch the ignition off and on again.
›
Then press the windscreen wiper lever into position
4
» Fig. 36 on page 57
within 10 seconds – the wiper arms move into the service position.
Removing the wiper blade
›
Lift the windscreen wiper arm away from the windscreen.
›
Press the locking button
1
» Fig. 191 to unlock the wiper blade and pull off in
the direction of the arrow
2
.
Attaching the wiper blade
›
Push the windscreen wiper blade until the stop and it locks in place.
›
Check that the wiper blade is correctly attached.
›
Fold the wiper arms back to the windscreen.
The windscreen wiper arms move back into the rest position - after switching on
the ignition and changing the position of the window wiper lever or when driving
at a speed of more than 6°km/h.
Windshield wiper blades in proper condition are essential to obtain good visibility.
Wiper blades should not be allowed to become dirtied by dust, insect remains and
preserving wax.
Juddering or smearing of the wiper blades could then be due to wax residues left
on the windshield by vehicle washing in automatic vehicle wash systems. It is
therefore important to degrease the lips of the windshield wiper blades after ev-
ery pass through an automatic vehicle wash system .
Replacing the rear window wiper blade
Fig. 192
Rear window wiper blade
First read and observe the introductory information and safety warn-
ings on page 234.
Removing the wiper blade
›
Lift the wiper arm away from the window » Fig. 192.
›
Tilt the wiper blade to the stop in the direction of the wiper arm.
›
Hold the upper part of the wiper arm and unlock the securing mechanism
1
.
›
Remove the wiper blade in the direction of the arrow
2
.
Attaching the wiper blade
›
Push the windscreen wiper blade until the stop and it locks in place.
›
Check that the wiper blade is correctly attached.
›
Fold the wiper arm back to the windscreen.
235Emergency equipment and self-help
Fuses and light bulbs
Fuses
Introduction
This chapter contains information on the following subjects:
Fuses in the dash panel
236
Fuses in the engine compartment
237
Assignment of fuses in the engine compartment
238
Individual electrical circuits are protected by fuses.
Switch off the ignition and the corresponding power consuming device before re-
placing a fuse.
Find out which fuse belongs to the component that is not operating » page 236,
Fuses in the dash panel or » page 237 , Fuses in the engine compartment .
Fuse colourMaximum amperagelight brown5dark brown7.5red10blue15yellow20white25green30orange40red50WARNINGAlways read and observe the warnings before completing any work in the en-
gine compartment » page 199.CAUTION■
“Never repair” fuses, and do not replace them with fuses of a higher amperage –
risk of fire! This may also cause damage at another part of the electrical system.■
If a newly inserted fuse blows again after a short time, have the electrical sys-
tem checked as quickly as possible by a specialist garage.
■
A blown fuses is recognisable by the molten metal strip. Replace the faulty fuse
with a new one of the same amperage.
Note
■
We recommend always carrying replacement fuses in the vehicle. A box of re-
placement fuses can be purchased from ŠKODA Original Accessories.■
There can be several power consuming devices for one fuse.
■
Multiple fuses may exist for a single power consuming device.
Fuses in the dash panel
Fig. 193
Cover of the fuse box in the control panel / fuses
First read and observe the introductory information and safety warn- ings
on page 236.
The fuses are located on the left side of the dash panel behind a cover.
Replacing fuses
›
Insert a screwdriver into the opening in the cover in the direction of the ar- row » Fig. 193 .
›
Remove the cover of the fuse box and remove.
›
Remove the plastic clip from the holder in the fuse box cover in the dash panel.
›
Place the clip on the respective fuse and pull this fuse out.
236Do-it-yourself