2014 Seat Altea XL technical specifications

211
Trailer towing
Note
● Towing a trailer places additional demands on the vehicle. We recom-
mend additional services between the normal inspection intervals if the ve-
hicle is used frequently for towing a trailer.
● Find out whether special regulations apply to towing a trailer in your
country. 
Ball coupling of towing bracket*
Depending on the model version, the spherical head on the trailer hook
may be stored in the tool box.
The ball coupling is provided with instructions on fitting and removing the
ball coupling of the towing bracket.
WARNING
The towing bracket ball coupling must be stored securely in the luggage
compartment to prevent them being flung through the vehicle and caus-
ing injury.
Note
● By law, the ball coupling must be removed if a trailer is not being towed
if it obscures the number plate. Driving tips
Driving with a trailer always requires extra care.
Weight distribution
The weight distribution of a loaded trailer with an unladen vehicle is very
unfavourable. However, if this cannot be avoided, drive extra slowly to allow
for the unbalanced weight distribution.
Speed
The stability of the vehicle and trailer is reduced with increasing speed. For
this reason, it is advisable not to drive at the maximum permissible speed
in an unfavourable road, weather or wind conditions. This applies especially
when driving downhill.
You should always reduce speed immediately if the trailer shows the slight-
est sign of snaking. Never try to stop the “snaking” by increasing speed.
Always brake in due course. If the trailer has an overrun brake, apply the
brakes gently at first and then, firmly. This will prevent the jerking that can
be caused by locking of trailer wheels. Select a low gear in due course be-
fore going down a steep downhill. This enables you to use the engine brak-
ing to slow down the vehicle.
Reheating
At very high temperatures and during prolonged slopes, driving in a low
gear and high engine speed, always monitor the coolant temperature gauge
⇒ page 55.
Electronic Stability Control*
The ESC* system helps to stabilise the trailer in case of skidding or rocking. 
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Trailer towing
Note
For the sports model (Altea FR), fitting of a trailer bracket is not recommen-
ded due to the design of the bumpers. 
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215
Vehicle maintenance and cleaning
Care of the vehicle exterior Automatic car wash tunnel
The vehicle can normally be washed without problem in an
automatic car wash.
The vehicle paintwork is so durable that the vehicle can normally be washed
without problems in an automatic car wash tunnel. However, the paintwork
wear depends to a large extent on the kind of the car wash tunnel, the
brushes used, its water filtering and the type of cleaning and preservative
products.
Before going through a vehicle wash, be sure to take the usual precautions
such as closing the windows and sunroof.
If the vehicle has special accessories such as spoilers or a roof rack or two-
way radio aerial, etc., it is advisable to consult the car wash tunnel operator.
After washing, the brakes could take some time to respond as the brake
discs and pads could be wet, or even frozen in winter. Dry the brakes by
braking several times.
WARNING
Water, ice and salt on the brake system can reduce braking effectiveness.
Risk of accident.
CAUTION
If an automatic car wash tunnel is used, before entering the tunnel, put the
aerial down parallel to the roof and do not tighten to avoid damage. Washing by hand
Vehicle washing
–
First soften the dirt and rinse it off with water.
– Clean your vehicle from top to bottom with a soft sponge, a
glove or a brush. Use very light pressure.
– Rinse the sponge or glove often with clean water.
– Special car shampoo should only be used for very stubborn dirt.
– Leave the wheels, sill panels etc. until last, using a different
sponge or glove.
– Rinse the vehicle thoroughly with water.
– Dry the vehicle surface gently with a chamois leather.
– In cold temperature, dry the rubber seals and their surfaces to
prevent them from freezing. Apply silicone spray to the rubber
seals.
After washing the vehicle
– After washing, avoid sudden and sharp braking. Dry the brakes
by braking several times ⇒ page 204, Braking capacity and
braking distance. 
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Vehicle maintenance and cleaning
Vehicle paint maintenance
Regular waxing protects the paintwork. You need to apply wax to your vehicle if water does not form small drops
and run off the paintwork when it is clean.
Good quality hard wax products are available at your Technical Service.
Regular wax applications help to protects the paintwork from environmental
contaminants. ⇒ page 214. It also protects against minor scratches.
Even if a wax solution is used regularly in the vehicle washing tunnel, it is
advisable to protect the paint with a hard wax coating at least twice a year. 
Polishing the paintwork
Polishing brings back gloss to the paintwork. Polishing is only necessary if the paint has lost its shine, and the gloss can-
not be brought back by applying wax. Polishing products can be purchased
in your Technical Service.
The vehicle must be waxed after polishing if the polish used does not con-
tain wax compounds to seal the paint ⇒ page 217, Vehicle paint mainte-
nance.
CAUTION
To prevent damage to the paintwork:
● Do not use polishes and hard wax on painted parts with a matt finish or
on plastic parts.
● Do not polish your vehicle in a sandy or dusty environment. Caring for plastic parts
Solvents damage plastic parts.
If normal washing fails to clean plastic parts, clean them with approved
sol-
vent-free plastic cleaning and care products.
CAUTION
● The use of liquid air freshener directly over the air vents of the vehicle
may damage the plastic parts if the liquid is accidentally spilled.
● Cleaning products which contain solvents will damage the material. 
Cleaning windows and exterior mirrors
Cleaning windows
– Moisten the windows with commercially available, alcohol
based glass cleaner.
– Dry the windows with a clean chamois leather or a lint-free
cloth.
Removing snow
– Use a small brush to remove snow from the windows and mir-
rors.
Removing ice
– Use a de-icer spray.
Use a clean cloth or chamois leather to dry the windows. The chamois leath-
ers used on painted surfaces are not suitable to clean windows because
they are soiled with wax deposits which could smear the windows. 
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Vehicle maintenance and cleaning
CAUTION
To prevent scratching chrome surfaces:
● Never use an abrasive cleaning product on chrome.
● Do not clean or polish chrome parts in a sandy or dusty environment. 
Steel wheel rims
– Clean steel wheel rims regularly using a separate sponge.
Use an industrial cleaner to remove brake dust. Any damage to the paint on
steel wheel rims should be repaired before starting to rust.
WARNING
● Never wash tyres with a cylindrical jet. Even at large spraying distan-
ces 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. Directly after washing, avoid sudden and sharp
braking. “Dry” the brakes by braking several times ⇒ page 204.

Alloy wheel rims
Every two weeks
– Wash salt and brake dust from alloy wheels.
– Use an acid free detergent to clean the wheel rims. Every three months
–
Apply a hard wax compound to the wheels.
Alloy wheels require regular attention to preserve their appearance. If road
salt and brake dust are not often removed, the aluminium finish will be im-
paired.
Always use an acid-free detergent for alloy wheel rims.
Car polish or other abrasive agents should not be used for maintaining the
rims. If the protective coating is damaged, e.g. by flying stones, the dam-
aged area should be repaired immediately.
WARNING
● Never wash tyres with a cylindrical jet. Even at large spraying distan-
ces 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. Directly after washing, avoid sudden and sharp
braking. “Dry” the brakes by braking several times ⇒ page 204.

Underbody protection
The vehicle underbody is coated to protect it from chemical
and mechanical damage.
The protective coating can be damaged when driving. We recommend you
to check the protective coating under the body and on the running gear, and
reinstated if necessary, before and after the winter season.
We recommend you to go to your Technical Service to carry out repair work
and additional anti-corrosion work. 
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Vehicle maintenance and cleaning
The longer stains or dirt remain on the vehicle surfaces, especially the fab-
rics covering the padded upholstery, the more difficult it becomes to clean
and maintain them. If stains and dirt are left for a long time, it may be that
they are impossible to remove.
WARNING
Car-care products may be toxic and hazardous. Using unsuitable car-care
products or, using them in the wrong way, may cause accidents, serious
injury, burns or intoxication.
● Keep your car-care products in their original containers.
● Read the instructions.
● Never keep car-care products in empty food containers, bottles or
other similar containers. Other people may confuse them.
● Keep all car-care products out of the reach of children.
● Some products may give off harmful vapours during use. Therefore,
they should be used outdoors in well-ventilated places.
● Never use fuel, turpentine, engine oil, nail-varnish remover or any
other volatile product for washing, maintenance or cleaning. These are
toxic and highly flammable.
WARNING
Unsuitable maintenance and cleaning of vehicle components may impair
proper operation of safety equipment and cause serious injury.
● Maintain and clean vehicle components according to the manufactur-
er's instructions.
● Only use approved or recommended cleaning products.
CAUTION
● Cleaning products which contain solvents have a corrosive effect and
may damage the material irreparably.
● Stains and dirt containing aggressive substances or solvents attack the
material and may damage it irreparably, even when they are cleaned quick-
ly.
● Dirt and stains should not be allowed to dry and should be cleaned as
quickly as possible.
● In the case of stubborn stains, take the vehicle to a specialised work-
shop to avoid damage. 
Treating your upholstery
Checklist
To treat and maintain your seat upholstery, keep the following in mind ⇒ 
:
 Before entering the vehicle, close any Velcro fasteners that might
snag on the upholstery or trim fabric. Any open Velcro fasteners may
damage the trim or upholstery fabrics.
 To prevent damage, avoid direct contact between sharp decorative
objects and the upholstery and trim fabrics. Decorative objects in-
clude zips, rivets and rhinestones on clothing and belts.
 From time to time, clean the dust that gathers in the perforations,
folds and seams so that the surfaces of the seats are not damaged
by its abrasive effect.
 Make sure clothes are colour-fast to avoid them running and staining
the upholstery. This is especially important if the upholstery is light
in colour.

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Vehicle maintenance and cleaning
CAUTION
If the upholstery on electrically operated seats or seats with airbag compo-
nents gets soaked, the vehicle's electric system and certain other compo-
nents may be damaged.
● If the seat gets soaked, take the vehicle immediately to a specialised
workshop to be dried and for the system components to be inspected.
● Do not use steam cleaning equipment as the dirt becomes more encrus-
ted and fixed in the material.
● High-pressure cleaning equipment and cold aerosols may damage the
upholstery.
CAUTION
● Brushes should only be used to clean the carpet and floor mats! Other
fabrics may be damaged if cleaned with a brush.
● If cream detergents or detergents for delicate garments are applied with
a damp cloth or sponge, they may, for example, leave rings when dry be-
cause of the surfactant components they contain. Generally, such rings are
very difficult or almost impossible to remove.
CAUTION
● Do not let water soak into Alcantara ®
under any circumstances.
● Do not use leather cleaning products, solvents, wax polish, shoe cream,
stain removers or similar products on Alcantara ®
.
● Never use brushes for cleaning damp material as they could damage the
surface. 
Cleaning and maintenance of natural leather upholstery
Consult a professional cleaning workshop if you have any doubts on clean-
ing and maintaining the leather equipment in your vehicle. Maintenance and treatment
Nappa natural leather is delicate because it has no additional protective
layer.
●
After cleaning, regularly apply a conditioner with sun-screen and im-
pregnating action. These products nourish the leather, soften it and make it
more breathable, as well as re-hydrating it. They also provide it with a pro-
tective film.
● Clean the leather every two or three months and remove stains as they
appear.
● Treat the leather regularly (about twice a year) with a suitable mainte-
nance product.
● Apply as few cleaning and maintenance products as possible, always
using a dry, lint-free cotton or woollen cloth. Do not apply cleaning and
maintenance products directly to the leather.
● Remove recent ball-point pen and ink stains, lipstick, shoe cream and
similar stains as soon as possible.
● Maintain the colour of the leather. To do this, use a special cream espe-
cially coloured for leather to achieve the same overall colour, if necessary.
● Afterwards, go over it with a soft cloth.
Cleaning the vehicle
SEAT recommends using a slightly damp cotton or woollen cloth for general
cleaning purposes.
Generally, the leather should never be soaked at any point, nor should wa-
ter penetrate the seams.
Before cleaning the leather upholstery, bear in mind the following recom-
mendations ⇒ page 222, Cleaning the fabric on heated seats and electrical-
ly adjustable seats or seats with airbag components. 
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Vehicle maintenance and cleaning
Cleaning the radio and climate controls
To clean the radio and/or climate controls, use a soft damp cloth. For more
resistant dirt, a neutral soap solution may be used. 
Seat belt cleaning
A dirty belt may not work properly.
Check all seat belts regularly and keep them clean.
Seat belt cleaning
– Pull the dirty seat belt right out and unroll it.
– Clean dirty seat belts with a gentle soap solution.
– Allow it to dry.
– Do not roll the seat belt up until it is dry.
If large stains form on the belts, it will not retract correctly into the automat-
ic belt retractor.
WARNING
● Do not use chemical cleaning agents on the seat belts, as this can im-
pair the strength of the webbing. Ensure that seat belts do not come into
contact with corrosive fluids.
● Check the condition of the seat belts at regular intervals. If you notice
that the belt webbing, fittings, retractor mechanism or buckle of any of
the belts is damaged, the belt must be replaced by a specialised work-
shop.
● Do not attempt to repair a damaged seat belt yourself. The seat belts
must not be removed or modified in any way.
CAUTION
After cleaning, allow seat belts to dry completely before rolling them up.
Otherwise, the belt retractors could become damaged. 
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