30)Do not use the seat warmer with
anything having high moisture retention
ability such as a blanket or cushion on the
seat. The seat may be heated excessively
and cause a low-temperature burn.
31)Do not place objects on the seat or on
the backrest that may isolate the heat,
such as a cover or a pillow. It may cause
the seat heating device to overheat. Sitting
on an overheated seat may cause severe
burns due to the increase in temperature of
the seat surface.
32)Do not place heavy objects with sharp
projections on the seat, or insert needles or
pins into it. This could cause the seat to
become excessively heated and result in
injury from a minor burn.
IMPORTANT
7)The fabric upholstery for the seats has
been designed to withstand long-term wear
deriving from normal use of the vehicle.
Nevertheless, some precautions are
required. Avoid prolonged and/or excessive
rubbing involving clothing accessories such
as metal buckles, bosses, Velcro strips and
the like, which, by applying a high pressure
on the fabric in a limited area, could cause
it to break, thereby damaging the
upholstery.
HEAD RESTRAINTS
33)
Non-Adjustable Head Restraints
Your vehicle is equipped with non
adjustable head restraints on the
driver's and passenger's seatbacks.
The non adjustable head restraints
consist of a trimmed foam covering
over the upper structure of the
seatbacks and are intended to help
protect you and the passenger from
neck injury.
Adjust the seatbacks to their upright,
on-road positions so that the head
restraint is positioned as close as
possible to the back of your head.
WARNING
33)Make sure the seatbacks are properly
adjusted to their upright, on-road positions
before the vehicle is driven. Driving with the
seatbacks not adjusted properly is
dangerous. With no support behind your
head, your neck could be seriously injured
in a collision.
STEERING WHEEL
STEERING WHEEL
ADJUSTMENT
34) 35) 36)
To change the angle of the steering
wheel:
stop the vehicle, and then pull down
the lock release lever 1 fig. 12 under the
steering column;
tilt the steering wheel to the desired
positions, then push the lever up to lock
the column;
attempt to push the steering wheel
up and down to make sure it's locked
before driving.
1204050101-12A-001AB
21
inside the vehicle.
Switching the auto-wiper lever from the
OFFto theAUTOposition while driving
activates the windshield wipers once,
after which they operate according to
the rainfall amount.
The auto-wiper control may not operate
when the rain sensor temperature is
about –10°C or lower, or about 85°C or
higher.
If the windshield is coated with water
repellent, the rain sensor may not be
able to sense the amount of rainfall
correctly and auto-wiper control may
not operate properly.
If dirt or foreign matter (such as ice or
matter containing salt water) adheres to
the windshield above the rain sensor or
if the windshield is iced, it could cause
the wipers to move automatically.
However, if the wipers cannot remove
this ice, dirt or foreign matter, the
auto-wiper control will stop operation.
In this case, set the wiper lever to the
low speed position or high speed
position for manual operation, or
remove the ice, dirt or foreign matter by
hand to restore the auto-wiper
operation.
Because heavy ice and snow can jam
the wiper blades, the wiper motor is
protected from motor breakdown,overheating and possible fire by a
circuit breaker. This mechanism will
automatically stop operation of the
blades, but only for about 5 minutes. If
this happens, turn off the wiper switch
and park off the right-of-way, and
remove the snow and ice. After
5 minutes, turn on the switch and the
blades should operate normally. If they
do not resume functioning, contact an
Abarth Dealership as soon as possible.
Drive to the side of the road and park
off the right-of-way. Wait until the
weather clears before trying to drive
with the wipers inoperative.
WINDSCREEN WASHER
Pull the lever toward you and hold it to
spray washer fluid.
With the wiper lever in theOFFor
intermittent position/AUTOposition,
the wipers will operate continuously
until the lever is released.
If the washer does not work, inspect
the fluid level. If the fluid level is normal,
contact an Abarth Dealership.With headlight washers
When the headlights are on, the
headlight washers operate
automatically once every fifth time the
windshield washer operates.HEADLIGHT WASHER(where provided)
The ignition must be switched ON and
the headlights must be turned on.
The headlight washers fig. 22 operate
automatically once every fifth time the
windshield washer operates. If you
want to operate headlight washers,
double flick the wiper lever.
2104110109-115-001AB
29
Warning light What it means
ACTIVE BONNET
The light turns on when the ignition is switched on for an operation check, and turns off a few
seconds later.
A problem in the system may be indicated under the following conditions:
the light does not turn on when the ignition is switched ON;
remains turned on/flashing;Contact an Abarth Dealership.
62)
HIGH ENGINE COOLANT TEMPERATURE WARNING LIGHT
The light flashes when the engine coolant temperature is extremely high, and illuminates when
the engine coolant temperature increases further. Stop the vehicle in a safe place immediately
and contact an Abarth Dealership.
Handling procedure
Illuminated light: this indicates the possibility of overheating. Park the vehicle in a safe place
immediately and stop the engine. Refer to “Overheating” paragraph in “In an mergency” chapter.
IMPORTANT Do not drive the vehicle with the high engine coolant temperature warning light
illuminated. Otherwise, it could result in damage to the engine.
AIR BAG / SEAT BELT PRETENSIONER SYSTEM WARNING
A system malfunction is indicated if the warning light constantly flashes, constantly illuminates or
does not illuminate at all when the ignition is switched ON. If any of these occur, contact an
Abarth Dealership as soon as possible. The system may not operate in an accident.
61)
56
KNOWING THE INSTRUMENT PANEL
accelerator pedal when driving in D
range, 5th gear/6th gear, the gear may
shift to M4/M5.
Manually shifting up / down
Using selector lever
To shift upto a higher gear, tap the
selector lever back+once.To shift
downto a lower gear, tap the selector
lever forward–once.
Using steering shift switch
142)
To shift up to a higher gear with the
steering shift switches, pull the UP
switch+/OFFfig. 89 toward you once
with your fingers. To shift down to a
lower gear with the steering shift
switches, pull the DOWN switch–
toward you once with your fingers.Second gear fixed mode
When the selector lever is moved back
while the vehicle speed is about 2 km/h
or less, the gearbox is set in the second
gear. The gear is set in second while in
this mode for easier acceleration from a
stop and driving on slippery roads such
as snow-covered roads.
SHIFT GEAR (SHIFTING)
SPEED LIMIT
Shift up
The gear does not shift up while the
vehicle speed is lower than the speed
limit.
Shift down
The gear does not shift down while the
vehicle speed exceeds the speed limit.
Kickdown
When the accelerator pedal is
depressed fully while driving, the gear
shifts down.
Auto-shift down
The gear shifts down automatically
depending on the vehicle speed during
deceleration.
DIRECT MODE(where provided)
Direct mode can be used for
temporarily switching gears by
operating the steering shift switch whilethe vehicle is being driven with the
selector lever in the D range.
Direct mode is cancelled (released)
when the vehicle is stopped.
IMPORTANT Shifting up and down
while in direct mode may not be
possible depending on the vehicle
speed.
DRIVING TIPS
143) 144)
Passing
For extra power when passing another
vehicle or climbing steep grades,
depress the accelerator fully. The
transmission will shift to a lower gear,
depending on vehicle speed.
Climbing steep grades from a stop
To climb a steep grade from a stopped
position depress the brake pedal, shift
to D or M1, depending on the load
weight and grade steepness, release
the brake pedal while gradually
accelerating.
Descending steep grades
When descending a steep grade, shift
to lower gears, depending on load
weight and grade steepness.
Descend slowly, using the brakes only
occasionally to prevent them from
overheating.
8907040110-124-007AB
115
before connecting it disconnect both
cables of the battery itself. Do not use a
“quick-type” battery charger to provide
the starting voltage.
IMPORTANT After reconnecting the
battery, perform the phonic wheel
learning procedure described in the
“Battery maintenance” in this chapter.
BATTERY CHARGING
PROCEDURE
Charge battery as follows:
remove the caps before recharging
the battery;
connect the charger cables to the
battery terminals, observing the polarity;
turn on the charger;
when finished, turn the charger off
before disconnecting the battery;
reconnect the negative battery
terminal.
WARNING
205)Battery fluid is poisonous and
corrosive: avoid contact with skin and
eyes. The battery recharging operation
must be performed in a ventilated place,
away from naked flames or possible
sources of sparks to avoid the risk of
explosion and fire.206)Do not try to recharge a frozen
battery: it must be thawed first, otherwise it
may explode. If the battery was frozen,
have it inspected by specialized personnel
before recharging to check that the internal
elements are not damaged and that the
casing is not cracked, which causes the
risk of leakage of poisonous, corrosive
acid.
WHEELS AND TIRES
SAFETY INFORMATION
207) 208) 209)
48) 49)
Before embarking on a long trip, and
approximately every two weeks, check
the tire inflation pressure, including the
spare wheel, if present. Check the tires
when cold.
It is normal for the pressure to increase
when the vehicle is used due to tire
heating; for the correct tire inflation
pressure, see the “Wheels and tire
specifications” paragraph in the
“Technical specifications” chapter.
The tires must be replaced when the
tread is less than 1.6 mm thick.
REPLACING A TIRE
210)
If a tire wears evenly, a wear indicator
will appear as a solid band across the
tread. Replace the tire when this
happens (see figure): 1: new tread/2:
worn tread (3 = tread wear indicator).
170
MAINTENANCE AND CARE