2017 OPEL ASTRA K stop start

162Driving and operatingVehicles with automatic transmission
or manual transmission automated
If the vehicle is at a standstill with
depressed brake pedal, Autostop is
activated automatically.
The engine will be switched off while
the ignition stays on.
The stop-start system will be disabled
on inclines of 15% or more.
Indication
An Autostop is indicated by the
needle at the AUTOSTOP position in
the tachometer.
After restart, the idle speed is
indicated.
During an Autostop, the heating and
brake performance will be
maintained.
Conditions for an Autostop
The stop-start system checks if each
of the following conditions is fulfilled.
● The stop-start system is not manually deactivated.
● The bonnet is fully closed.
● The driver's door is closed or the driver's seat belt is fastened.
● The vehicle battery is sufficiently charged and in good condition.
● The engine is warmed up.
● The engine coolant temperature is not too high.
● The engine exhaust temperature is not too high, e.g. after driving
with high engine load.
● The ambient temperature is above -5 °C.
● The climate control system allows an Autostop.
● The brake vacuum is sufficient.● The self-cleaning function of the diesel particle filter is not active.
● The vehicle was driven at least at
walking speed since the last
Autostop.
Otherwise an Autostop will be
inhibited.
Certain settings of the climate control
system may inhibit an Autostop. See
Climate control chapter for more
details 3 146.
Immediately after motorway driving
an Autostop may be inhibited.
New vehicle running-in 3 156.
Vehicle battery discharge protection
To ensure reliable engine restarts, several vehicle battery discharge
protection features are implemented
as part of the stop-start system.
Power saving measures
During an Autostop, several electrical
features such as auxiliary electric
heater or rear window heating are
disabled or switched to a power
saving mode. The fan speed of the
climate control system is reduced to
save power.

Driving and operating163Restart of the engine by the driverVehicles with manual transmission
Depending on the engine, two
versions of a restart are available.
See engine data to identify the engine identifier code for your vehicle
3 280.
A restart for all engines except
B16DTU is possible at a standstill or
at a low speed up to 7 km/h and up to
14 km/h for engine B16DTU.
Conventional restart
All engines have conventional restart. Depress the clutch pedal withoutpressing the brake pedal to restart the
engine.
On engines with late restart only
possible without depressed brake
pedal.
Late restart
All petrol engines and the diesel
engines B16DTU and B16DTR have
late restart in addition to conventional
restart. Late restart is only active on
gradients up to 5%.
● Depress the brake pedal.
● Depress the clutch pedal.● Select first gear.
● Release the brake pedal to restart the engine.Vehicles with automatic transmission
or manual transmission automated:
Release the brake pedal or move
selector lever out of D into N or P to
restart the engine.
Restart of the engine by the stop-
start system
On vehicles with manual transmission
which are in a conventional Autostop,
the selector lever must be in neutral
to enable an automatic restart.
On vehicles with manual transmission
which are in an early Autostop, an
automatic restart is possible in every
selector lever position.
On vehicles with automatic
transmission or manual transmission
automated, the selector lever must be
in D to enable an automatic restart.
If one of the following conditions
occurs during an Autostop, the
engine will be restarted automatically by the stop-start system:
● The stop-start system is manually deactivated.
● The bonnet is opened.
● The driver's seat belt is unfastened and the driver's door
is opened.
● The engine temperature is too low.
● The charging level of the vehicle battery is below a defined level.
● The brake vacuum is not sufficient.
● The vehicle is driven at least at walking speed.
● The climate control system requests an engine start.
● The air conditioning is manually switched on.
If the bonnet is not fully closed, a
warning message is displayed in the
Driver Information Centre.
If an electrical accessory, e.g. a
portable CD player, is connected to
the power outlet, a brief power drop
during the restart might be noticeable.

Driving and operating165Emergency operation under
extreme cold temperatures9 Warning
This emergency operation may
only be carried out in case of
extremely cold temperatures and if the vehicle is parked on a levelsurface.
In countries with extreme cold
temperatures it may be necessary to
park the vehicle without applied
parking brake.
This is an emergency operation to
avoid freezing of the parking brake.
Vehicles equipped with manual
transmission automated, electric
parking brake and power button
On vehicles with manual transmission
automated the ignition can only be
switched off if the parking brake is
applied. Therefore the following items must be carried out to release the
electric parking brake:
1. Apply electric parking brake and switch off ignition.
2. Switch on ignition by pressing and
holding Engine Start/Stop for six
seconds without operating brake
pedal.
3. Press brake pedal and release electric parking brake.
4. Switch off ignition.
Vehicles equipped with manual
transmission automated, electric
parking brake and ignition switch
On vehicles with manual transmission
automated the ignition can only be
switched off if the parking brake is
applied. Therefore the following items
must be carried out to release the
electric parking brake:
1. Apply electric parking brake and switch off ignition.
2. Press brake pedal and release electric parking brake.
3. Remove key from ignition switch.Engine exhaust9 Danger
Engine exhaust gases contain
poisonous carbon monoxide,
which is colourless and odourless and could be fatal if inhaled.
If exhaust gases enter the interior
of the vehicle, open the windows.
Have the cause of the fault
rectified by a workshop.
Avoid driving with an open load
compartment, otherwise exhaust
gases could enter the vehicle.

166Driving and operatingDiesel particle filterAutomatic cleaning process
The diesel particle filter system filters
harmful soot particles out of the
exhaust gases. The system includes
a self-cleaning function that runs
automatically during driving without
any notification. The filter is cleaned
by periodically burning off the soot
particles at high temperature. This
process takes place automatically
under set driving conditions and may
take up to 25 minutes. Typically it
needs between seven and twelve
minutes. Autostop is not available
and fuel consumption may be higher
during this period. The emission of
smells and smoke during this process is normal.
System requires manual cleaning
process
Under certain driving conditions, e.g.
short distances, the system cannot
clean itself automatically.
If cleaning of the filter is required and
if previous driving conditions did not
enable automatic cleaning, it will beindicated by % and a warning
message in the Driver Information
Centre.
% with a warning message
illuminates when diesel particle filter
is full. Start cleaning process as soon as possible.
% with a warning message flashes
when diesel particle filter has reached
the maximum filling level. Start
cleaning process immediately to
avoid damage to the engine.
Activate manual cleaning process To activate cleaning process,
continue driving, keep engine speed
above 2000 revolutions per minute.
Shift down if necessary. Diesel
particle filter cleaning is then started.
Cleaning takes place quickest at high
engine speeds and loads.
The control indicator % extinguishes
as soon as the self-cleaning
operation is complete. Keep on
driving until self-cleaning operation is
complete.Caution
If the cleaning process is
interrupted, there is a risk of
provoking severe engine damage.
Cleaning process not possible
If cleaning is not possible for anyreasons, Z illuminates and a warning
message appears in the Driver
Information Centre. Engine power
may be reduced. Seek the assistance
of a workshop immediately.
Catalytic converter
The catalytic converter reduces the
amount of harmful substances in the
exhaust gases.

Driving and operating171When clutch slip is detected for aspecific time, the engine power will be
reduced. A warning is displayed in the
Driver Information Centre. Release
the clutch.Caution
It is not advisable to drive with the hand resting on the selector lever.
Gear shift indication 3 111.
Stop-start system 3 161.
Manual transmission
automated
The automated manual transmission permits manual gearshifting (manual
mode) or automatic gearshifting
(automatic mode), both with
automatic clutch control.
Manual shifting is possible by tapping the selector lever in manual mode.
Note
When unlocking or opening a
vehicle door, a sound may be
audible caused by the hydraulic
system.Transmission display
In automatic mode, the driving
programme is indicated by D in the
Driver Information Centre.
In manual mode, M and the number
of the selected gear is indicated.
R indicates reverse gear.
N indicates neutral.

172Driving and operatingSelector lever
Always move the selector lever in the
appropriate direction as far as it will
go. Upon release, it automatically
returns to the centre position.
Note
Do not hold the selector lever in an
intermediate position. Not fully
engaging a gear may lead to
malfunction and an error message
may be displayed in the Driver
Information Centre.
Return the selector lever to the
centre position. After a short while N
will be displayed in the Driver
Information Centre and the system
will operate normally again.N:neutral positionD/M:switch between automatic (D)
and manual (M) shift mode.
The transmission display
shows either D or M with the
selected gear<:upshifting in manual mode]:downshifting in manual modeR:reverse gear. Engage only
when vehicle is stationary
If selector lever is moved from R to the
left, D is directly engaged.
If selector lever is moved from D to +
or -, manual mode M is selected and
the transmission shifts.
Starting off Depress the brake pedal and move
the selector lever to D/M or R. If D is
selected, transmission is in automatic
mode and first gear is engaged. If R
is selected, reverse gear is engaged.
The vehicle starts to move when the
brake pedal is released.
To start-off without depressing the
brake pedal, accelerate immediately
after engaging a gear as long as D or
R flashes.
If neither the accelerator nor the
brake pedal are depressed, no gear
is engaged and D or R flashes for a
brief time in the display.
Stopping the vehicle In D, first gear is engaged and the
clutch is released when the vehicle is
stopped. In R, reverse gear remains
engaged.
Engine braking
Automatic mode
When driving downhill, the manual
transmission automated does not shift into higher gears until a fairly
high engine speed has been reached. It shifts down in good time when
braking.

Driving and operating173Manual mode
To utilise the engine braking effect, select a lower gear in good time when
driving downhill. Changing into
manual mode is only possible while the engine is running or during an
Autostop.
Rocking the vehicle Rocking the vehicle is only
permissible if the vehicle is stuck in
sand, mud or snow. Move the selector
lever between R and D in a repeat
pattern. Do not race the engine and
avoid sudden acceleration.
Parking
The most recently engaged gear (see
transmission display) remains
engaged when switching off ignition.
With N, no gear is engaged.
Therefore always apply the parking
brake when switching off ignition. If
parking brake is not applied, P flashes
in the transmission display and the
key cannot be removed from the
ignition switch. P stops flashing in the
transmission display as soon as the
parking brake is slightly applied.When the ignition is switched off, the
transmission no longer responds to
movement of the selector lever.
Emergency operation to avoid
freezing of the parking brake 3 164.
Manual mode If a higher gear is selected when the
engine speed is too low, or a lower
gear when the speed is too high, the
shift is not executed. This prevents
the engine from running at too low or
too high an engine speed. A warning
message is displayed in the Driver
Information Centre. Vehicle
messages 3 122.
If engine speed is too low, the transmission automatically shifts to a
lower gear.
When + or - is selected in automatic
mode, the transmission switches to
manual mode and shifts accordingly.
Gear shift indication
The symbol R or S with a number
beside is indicated when gearshifting
is recommended for fuel saving
reasons.Shift indication appears only in
manual mode.
Electronic driving programmes
● Following a cold start, the operating temperature
programme increases engine
speed to quickly bring the
catalytic converter to the required
temperature.
● The adaptive programme tailors gearshifting to the driving
conditions, e.g. greater load or
gradients.
Kickdown If the accelerator pedal is pressed
down completely in automatic mode, the transmission shifts to a lower gear
depending on engine speed.
Fault
To prevent damage to the manual transmission automated, the clutch is
engaged automatically at high clutch
temperatures.

Driving and operating177Brake assistIf brake pedal is depressed quickly
and forcefully, maximum brake force
is automatically applied.
Operation of brake assist might
become apparent by a pulse in the
brake pedal and a greater resistance when depressing the brake pedal.
Maintain steady pressure on the
brake pedal as long as full braking is
required. Maximum brake force is
automatically reduced when brake
pedal is released.
Hill start assist The system helps prevent unintended
movement when driving away on
inclines.
When releasing the brake pedal after
stopping on an incline, brakes remain on for further two seconds. The
brakes release automatically as soon
as the vehicle begins to accelerate.Ride control systems
Traction Control system
The Traction Control system (TC) is a component of the Electronic Stability
Control (ESC).
TC improves driving stability when
necessary, regardless of the type of
road surface or tyre grip, by
preventing the drive wheels from
spinning.
As soon as the drive wheels starts to spin, engine output is reduced and
the wheel spinning the most is braked
individually. This considerably
improves the driving stability of the
vehicle on slippery road surfaces.
TC is operational after each engine
start as soon as the control indicator
b extinguishes.
When TC operates b flashes.
9 Warning
Do not let this special safety
feature tempt you into taking risks
when driving.
Adapt speed to the road
conditions.
Control indicator b 3 111.
Deactivation
TC can be switched off when spinning of drive wheels is required: press b
briefly.