2018 Abarth 500 warning

STARTING THE
ENGINE
The car is fitted with an electronic
engine lock device: if the engine fails to
start, see the paragraph "Fiat CODE
system" in the "Knowing your car"
chapter.
PROCEDURE
Proceed as follows:
engage the handbrake and place
the gearbox lever in neutral;
fully depress the clutch pedal
without touching the accelerator;
turn the ignition key to AVV and
release it as soon as the engine starts.
If the engine does not start at the
first attempt, return the ignition key to
STOP before repeating the starting
procedure.
If, with key at MAR, the
symbol on
the display stays on together with
the
warning light on the instrument
panel, it is advisable to turn the key to
STOP and then back to MAR. If the
warning light remains on, try with the
other keys provided with the car.
Contact an Abarth Dealership if you still
cannot start the engine.
15) 16)
108) 109)
WARMING UP THE
ENGINE JUST AFTER IT
HAS STARTED
Proceed as follows:
drive off slowly, letting the engine
turn at medium revs. Do not accelerate
abruptly;
do not demand full performance at
first. It is advisable to wait until the
engine coolant temperature indicator
starts moving.
17)
SWITCHING OFF THE
ENGINE
Turn the ignition key to STOP while the
engine is idling.
IMPORTANT After a taxing drive, you
should allow the engine to "catch
its breath" before turning it off by letting
it idle to allow the temperature in the
engine compartment to fall.
18)
WARNING
15)It is advisable not to demand maximum
performance from your car (e.g. excessive
acceleration, long distances at maximum
rpm, excessively intense braking, etc.)
when it is first used.
16)When the engine is switched off never
leave the key turned to MAR-ON to prevent
useless current absorption from draining
the battery.
17)Never, under any circumstances, jump
start the engine by pushing, towing or
coasting downhill. This could cause fuel to
flow into the catalytic converter and
damage it beyond repair.
18)A quick burst on the accelerator before
stopping the engine serves no practical
purpose; it wastes fuel and is especially
damaging to turbocharged engines.
WARNING
108)It is dangerous to run the engine in
enclosed areas. The engine takes in
oxygen and releases carbon dioxide,
carbon monoxide and other toxic gases.
109)Remember that the brake servo
and power steering are not operational until
the engine has been started, therefore
much effort than usual is required on the
brake pedal and steering wheel.
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STARTING AND DRIVING

PARKING THE
VEHICLE
When parking and leaving the car,
proceed as follows:
engage a gear (1st gear if facing
uphill or reverse if facing downhill) and
leave the wheels turned;
stop the engine and engage the
handbrake;
always remove the ignition key.
Block the wheels with a wedge or a
stone if the car is parked on a steep
slope.
On versions equipped with sequential
robotised transmission, wait for letter P
to be displayed before releasing the
brake pedal.
IMPORTANT NEVER leave the car with
the gearbox in neutral (or, on versions
equipped with sequential robotised
transmission, before placing the gear
lever at P).
110)
HANDBRAKE
The handbrake lever 1 fig. 73 is located
between the front seats.
To use the handbrake pull the lever
upwards until the car cannot be moved.
111)
When the handbrake is on and the
ignition key is at MAR position, the
warning light
will appear on the
instrument panel.
Proceed as follows to release the
handbrake:
slightly lift the lever and press the
release button on the lever 1 fig. 73;
keep the button pressed and lower
the lever. The
warning light in the
instrument panel will go out.
Press the brake pedal when carrying
out this operation to prevent the car
from moving accidentally.
WARNING
110)Never leave children in the
unattended car. Always remove the ignition
key when leaving the car and take it out
with you.
111)The car should be braked after a few
clicks of the lever. If it is not, contact an
Abarth Dealership to have it adjusted.1
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83

USING THE MANUAL
GEARBOX
To engage the gears, fully depress the
clutch pedal and put the gear lever
into the required position (the diagram
is shown on the knob fig. 74).
112)
19)
To engage reverse R from neutral,
move the lever to the right and then
backwards.
IMPORTANT Reverse can only be
engaged when the vehicle is completely
stationary. With the engine running,
wait for at least 2 seconds with the
clutch pedal fully pressed before
engaging reverse to prevent damage to
the gears and grating.
WARNING
112)Press the clutch pedal fully to change
gears correctly. It is therefore essential
that there is nothing under the pedals:
make sure the mats are lying flat and do
not get in the way of the pedals.
WARNING
19)Do not drive with your hand resting on
the gear lever as the force exerted, even
if slight, could lead over time to premature
wear of the gearbox internal components.
USING THE
ROBOTISED
SEQUENTIAL
TRANSMISSION
(where provided)
The car can be equipped with an
electronically controlled manual
transmission that allows two operating
modes: “MANUAL” and “AUTO”.
With the car stationary and the key at
MAR (ignition-operated electrical
services on), the screen displays the
engaged gear and the active operating
mode (automatic = AUTO or manual
= no display).
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STARTING AND DRIVING

release the brake pedal and press
the accelerator pedal (quickly pressing
the pedal fully down and turning off
the ASR, if provided, results in a “lively”
departure).
Engaging reverse gear (R)
To engage reverse gear, press the R
button on the gearbox panel instead of
the 1 button.
Engaging neutral (N)
Press the (N) button to engage neutral.
Neutral (N) can only be engaged with
accelerator pedal released, regardless
of the brake pedal’s status (pressed
or not). In any case, pressing the brake
pedal is recommended.
ACOUSTIC SIGNAL
For safety reasons, there is a buzzer
warning when parking the car with the
gearbox in neutral (N) (the warning is
heard when the ignition key is turned to
the STOP position).
With the car stationary, the engine
running and (1
st), (2nd) or (R) engaged,
the system activates the buzzer and
automatically puts the transmission in
neutral (N) when:
the accelerator and/or brake pedal
are not operated for at least 3 minutes;
the brake pedal is pressed for longer
than 10 minutes;
the driver's door is opened and the
accelerator pedal or the brake pedal
are not operated for at least 1.5
seconds;
a fault has been detected in the
transmission.
PARKING THE CAR
To park safely, you must engage 1
stor
reverse (R) gear, with your foot on
the brake pedal and, if there is a
gradient, operate the handbrake. Wait
until the indication of the gear engaged
disappears on the display before
releasing the brake pedal.
IMPORTANT NEVER leave the car with
the transmission in neutral (N).
IMPORTANT NOTES
With car stationary and gear
engaged, always keep the brake pedal
pressed until you decide to set off,
then release the brake and accelerate
gradually.
During prolonged stops with the
engine running, it is advisable to keep
the transmission in neutral (N).
In order to safeguard the efficiency
of the clutch, do not use the
accelerator to keep the car stationary
(e.g. when stopped on an incline); if the
clutch overheats it could be damaged.
Use the brake pedal or the handbrake
instead and use the accelerator pedal
only when you decide to set off.
Only use 2ndgear when you need
greater control for setting off on
surfaces with poor grip.
If you have to engage 1stgear with
reverse gear (R) engaged, or vice versa,
only do so when the car is completely
stationary and with the brake pedal
pressed.
Although it is strongly inadvisable, if
you are driving downhill and, for
unexpected reasons, you let the car
move forward with the transmission in
neutral (N), when there is a request
to engage a gear, depending on the
actual speed of the car, the system will
automatically engage the best gear
for the correct transmission of drive
torque to the wheels.
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STARTING AND DRIVING

When necessary, you can engage
1stgear, reverse (R) or neutral (N) with
the engine off, the key at AVV and
the brake pressed. In this case, it is
advisable to change allowing at least 5
seconds to elapse between one gear
change and the next to safeguard
the operation of the hydraulic system
and the pump in particular.
Fully and quickly depressing the
accelerator pedal activates a function
that allows a "lively" departure.
For starting uphill, accelerating
gradually but fully immediately after
having released the handbrake or the
brake pedal allows the engine to greatly
increase the rpm and tackle the
steepest gradients with more torque to
the wheels.
WARNING
20)Using the levers incorrectly (levers
pushed towards the dashboard) could
break them.
SPORT FUNCTION
When the SPORT button 1 fig. 77 is
pressed, the sports driving setting
is turned on giving greater
responsiveness during acceleration, an
increase in drive torque and more
precise steering with greater effort
required on the steering wheel.
When this function is on, the word
SPORT 1 fig. 78 is lit up in the display
and the instrument panel shows a
dedicated screen.
Press the button again to turn the
function off and restore the normal
driving setting.
IMPORTANT When the SPORT button
is pressed, the function is activated
about 5 seconds later.IMPORTANT During acceleration, when
the SPORT function is used, the
steering may shudder, which is typical
of a sports setting.
NOTE For vehicles equipped with an
Akrapovic exhaust system, a
considerable increase in engine sound
can be heard when the SPORT mode is
activated. This is caused by opening
the valve located in the Akrapovic
exhaust, which improves performance.
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1
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87

PARKING SENSORS
(where provided)
Parking sensors are located in the rear
bumper to detect and inform the driver,
through an acoustic and visual warning,
of the presence of obstacles at the
rear part of the car. The sound may be
intermittent or continuous depending
on the distance from the obstacle.
ACTIVATION
The sensors are automatically activated
when reverse gear is engaged. As the
obstacle behind the vehicle gets closer
to the car, the acoustic signal becomes
more frequent.
ACOUSTIC SIGNAL
When reverse gear is engaged and
there is an obstacle behind the car, an
acoustic warning is activated. The
frequency of the acoustic warning
increases as the distance between the
obstacle and the bumper decreases,
becoming continuous when the
distance is less than 30 cm.
Detection distances
If several obstacles are detected by the
sensors, only the nearest one is
considered.When parking, take the utmost care
over obstacles that may be above
or under the sensor.
Objects close to the car are not
detected under certain circumstances
and could therefore cause damage
to the car or be damaged.
113)
21) 22)
INDICATIONS ON
DISPLAY
When the sensors are activated, the
screen shown in fig. 79 appears on the
display.In addition to the acoustic warning,
information about the presence and
distance from the obstacle is given
visually on the instrument panel display.
The coloured arcs at the rear of the
car indicate that an obstacle has been
detected. The system indicates a
detected obstacle by displaying an arc
according to the distance of the
obstacle and its position in relation to
the car. If an objects is detected to the
rear of the car (to the side or at the
centre), the display shows an flashing
arc in the corresponding zone and
an intermittent sound is emitted. As the
car approaches the object, the display
shows one or more flashing arcs that
approach the car, and the sound
becomes more frequent until it
becomes continuous. The colour on the
display depends on the distance from
and position of the obstacle. As the
distance between the car and obstacle
decreases, the arcs change from yellow
to flashing red (to the right, at the
centre or to the left).
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STARTING AND DRIVING

WARNING
21)For correct operation of the system,
sensors must always be clean from mud,
dirt, snow or ice. Be careful not to scratch
or damage the sensors while cleaning
them. Avoid using dry, rough or hard
cloths. The sensors must be washed using
clean water, with the addition of vehicle
shampoo if necessary. When using special
washing equipment such as high pressure
jets or steam cleaning, clean the sensors
very quickly keeping the jet more than
10 cm away.
22)Have interventions on the bumper in
the area of the sensors carried out only by
an Abarth Dealership. Interventions on
the bumper that are not carried out
properly may compromise the operation of
the parking sensors.
WARNING
113)Parking and other dangerous
manoeuvres are, however, always the
driver’s responsibility. While carrying out
these manoeuvres, always make sure that
no people (especially children) or animals
are in the area concerned. The parking
sensors are an aid for the driver, but the
driver must never allow their attention
to lapse during potentially dangerous
manoeuvres, even those executed at low
speeds.
REFUELLING THE
VEHICLE
Stop the engine before refuelling.
IMPORTANT Never introduce leaded
petrol to the tank, even in small
amounts in an emergency, as this
would damage the catalytic converter
beyond repair.
REFUELLING CAPACITY
To ensure that you fill the tank
completely, top up twice after the first
click of the fuel supply gun. Further
top-ups could cause faults in the fuel
supply system.
FUEL TANK CAP
Plug 2 fig. 80 is fitted with a cable that
secures it to flap 1 so that it cannot
be lost.Unscrew cap 2 using the ignition key.
The sealing may cause a slight pressure
increase in the tank. A little breathing
off, while slackening the cap is
absolutely normal. When refuelling,
fasten the plug to the device inside the
flap as shown in fig. 80.
114)
Fuels - identification of
vehicle compatibility.
Graphic symbol for
consumer information in
accordance with
EN16942
The symbols shown below facilitated
recognising the correct fuel type to
be used on your car.
Before proceeding with refuelling,
check the symbols inside the fuel filler
flap (where provided) and compare
them with the symbols shown on the
fuel pump (where provided).
Symbols for petrol powered cars
1
2
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89

E5:Unleaded petrol containing up to
2.7% (m/m) oxygen and with maximum
5.0% (V/V) ethanol compliant with
EN228.
E10:Unleaded petrol containing up to
3.7% (m/m) oxygen and with maximum
10.0% (V/V) ethanol compliant with
EN228.
WARNING
114)Do not approach naked flames or lit
cigarettes to the fuel tank filler: fire risk.
Keep your face away from the fuel filler to
prevent breathing in harmful vapours.
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STARTING AND DRIVING