2014 Seat Altea oil pressure

216Vehicle maintenance and cleaning
WARNING
● Wash your vehicle with the ignition switched off.
● Protect your hands and arms from cuts on sharp metal edges when
cleaning the underbody, the inside of the wheel housings etc. Risk of in-
jury.
● Water, ice and salt on the brake system can reduce braking effective-
ness. Risk of accident.
CAUTION
● Never remove dirt, mud or dust if the vehicle surface is dry. Never use a
dry cloth or sponge for cleaning purposes. This could scratch the paintwork
or glass on your vehicle.
● Washing the vehicle in low temperatures: when washing the vehicle
with a hose, do not direct water into the lock cylinders or the gaps around
the doors, rear lid, or sunroof. Risk of freezing.
For the sake of the environment
To protect environment, the vehicle should be washed only in specially pro-
vided wash bays. This prevents toxic, oil-laden waste water entering the
sewerage system. In some places, washing vehicles outside wash bays is
prohibited.
Note
Do not wash the vehicle in direct sunlight. Washing the vehicle with a high pressure cleaner
Be particularly careful when using a high pressure cleaner!
– Always observe the instructions for the high-pressure cleaner,
particularly those concerning the pressure and the spraying
distance.
– Increase the spraying distance for soft materials and painted
bumpers.
– Do not use a high pressure cleaner to remove ice or snow from
windows ⇒ page 217.
– Never use concentrated jet nozzles (“rotating jets”) ⇒ 
.
– After washing, avoid sudden and sharp braking. “” Dry the
brakes by braking several times ⇒ page 204.
WARNING
● Never wash tyres with a concentrated jet (“rotating nozzle”). Even at
large spraying distances and short cleaning times, visible and invisible
damage can occur to the tyres. This may cause an accident.
● Water, ice and salt on the brake system can reduce braking effective-
ness. Risk of accident.
CAUTION
● Do not use water hotter than +60 °C (+140 °F). This could damage the
vehicle.
● To avoid damage to the vehicle, keep a sufficient distance from sensitive
materials such as flexible hoses, plastic, soundproofing material, etc. This
is also important for bumpers painted in the colour of the bodywork. The
closer the nozzle is to the surface, the greater the wear on the material. 

253
Wheels 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 204.
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 (2.9 psi / 20 kPa) to the values given on the sticker. 
Safety FirstOperating instructionsPractical TipsTechnical Specifications

256Wheels and tyres
Wear indicators
The original tyres on your vehicle have 1.6 mm high “tread wear indicators”
⇒ Fig. 176, 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 253.
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. 177. 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 256. 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. 

EngineRunning in . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204
Engine compartment Working in the engine compartment . . . . 235
Engine coolant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242 G 12 plus-plus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242
G 13 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242
Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242
Engine fault Control lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Engine management control lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Engine oil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238 Changing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241
Checking engine oil level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240
Oil properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239
Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238
Topping up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241
Engine oil dipstick . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240
Engine oil pressure control lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66, 86
Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206 Environmental friendliness . . . . . . . . . . . . 208
Environmentally friendly driving . . . . . . . . . . . 206
Environmental tip Avoiding pollution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229
ESC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88, 172, 198 see also Electronic Stability Control . . . . . 172
Example of menu use Program a speed limit warning . . . . . . . . . . 69
To activate and deactivate the speed limitwarning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 Example of the use of the menus
Open the Configuration menu with the MFIlever . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Open the Configuration menu with the steering wheel controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Examples of menu use Open the main menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Open the winter tyres menu . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
To close the winter tyres menu . . . . . . . . . . 69
Exhaust gas purification system . . . . . . . . . . . 205
Exterior mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
F
Fastening rings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Fire extinguisher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
First-aid kit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
Flexible service interval display . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Floor mats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Fog lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Fog lights with cornering function . . . . . . . . . 120
Folding table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
Folding the seat backrests down . . . . . . . . . . 140
Front airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Safety notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Front drinks holders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
Front interior light type 1 Switching light off . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Switching light on . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123 Front interior light type 2
Switching light off . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Switching light on . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Front passenger airbag deactivation . . . . . . . . 44
Front reading lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Front seat adjustment Lumbar support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
Fuel Diesel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234
Petrol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233
fuel consumption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
Fuel consumption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 294
Fuel level Indicator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Fuel reserve . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80 Warning message . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Fuel tank see Fuel reserve . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Fuel Tank Opening the fuel tank flap . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228
Fuel: save . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
Fuses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272 Fuse box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273
Identifying blown fuses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274
Identifying by colours . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273
Preparation before replacing . . . . . . . . . . . 274
Replacement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274
G
Gear shift pattern . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
General overview of the engine compartment 297
312 Index