2018 OPEL ASTRA J drive

138Climate controlAir conditioning regularoperation
In order to ensure continuously
efficient performance, cooling must
be operated for a few minutes once a
month, irrespective of the weather
and time of year. Operation with
cooling is not possible when the
outside temperature is too low.
Service For optimal cooling performance, it is recommended to annually check the
climate control system, starting
three years after initial vehicle
registration, including:
● functionality and pressure test
● heating functionality
● leakage check
● check of drive belts
● cleaning of condenser and evaporator drainage
● performance check
Note
Refrigerant R-134a contains
fluorinated greenhouse gases.

Driving and operating139Driving and
operatingDriving hints ............................... 140
Control of the vehicle ...............140
Steering ................................... 140
Starting and operating ...............140
New vehicle running-in ............140
Ignition switch positions ...........141
Retained power off ..................141
Starting the engine ..................141
Overrun cut-off ........................ 142
Stop-start system ....................142
Parking .................................... 144
Engine exhaust .......................... 145
Diesel particle filter ..................146
Catalytic converter ...................147
Automatic transmission ..............147
Transmission display ...............147
Selector lever .......................... 148
Manual mode ........................... 149
Electronic driving programmes 149
Fault ........................................ 150
Interruption of power supply ....150
Manual transmission ..................151Brakes........................................ 152
Antilock brake system .............152
Parking brake .......................... 153
Brake assist ............................. 154
Hill start assist ......................... 154
Ride control systems .................155
Traction Control system ..........155
Electronic Stability Control ......155
Interactive driving system ........157
Driver assistance systems .........159
Cruise control .......................... 159
Speed limiter ........................... 161
Adaptive cruise control ............162
Forward collision alert .............169
Following distance indication ...172
Active Emergency Braking ......173
Parking assist .......................... 175
Side blind spot alert .................182
Traffic sign assistant ................183
Lane departure warning ..........187
Fuel ............................................ 188
Fuel for petrol engines .............188
Fuel for diesel engines ............189
Fuel for liquid gas operation ....190
Refuelling ................................ 190
Fuel consumption - CO 2-
Emissions ............................... 193
Trailer hitch ................................ 194
General information .................194Driving characteristics and
towing tips .............................. 194
Trailer towing ........................... 195
Towing equipment ...................195
Trailer stability assist ...............198

140Driving and operatingDriving hints
Control of the vehicle
Never coast with engine not
running (except during Autostop)
Many systems will not function in this
situation (e.g. brake servo unit, power steering). Driving in this manner is a
danger to yourself and others. All
systems function during an Autostop,
but there will be a controlled reduction
in power steering assist and vehicle
speed is reduced.
Stop-start system 3 142.
Idle boost
If charging of the vehicle battery is
required due to battery condition, the
power output of the generator must
be increased. This will be achieved by an idle boost which may be audible.
A message is displayed in the Driver
Information Centre.Pedals
To ensure the pedal travel is
uninhibited, there must be no mats in
the area of the pedals.
Use only floor mats which fit properly and are fixed by the retainers on the
driver's side.
Steering
If power steering assist is lost
because the engine stops or due to a system malfunction, the vehicle can
be steered but may require increased
effort.
Control indicator c 3 89.Caution
Vehicles equipped with hydraulic
power steering:
If the steering wheel is turned until it reaches the end of its travel, and
is held in that position for more
than 15 seconds, damage may
occur to the power steering
system and there may be loss of
power steering assist.
Starting and operating
New vehicle running-in
Do not brake unnecessarily hard for
the first few journeys.
During the first drive, smoke may
occur because of wax and oil
evaporating off the exhaust system.
Park the vehicle in the open for a
while after the first drive and avoid
inhaling the fumes.
During the running-in period fuel and engine oil consumption may be
higher and the cleaning process of the diesel particle filter may take
place more often. Autostop may be
inhibited to allow for charging the
battery.
Diesel particle filter 3 146.

Driving and operating141Ignition switch positions0:ignition off1:steering wheel lock released,
ignition off2:ignition on, for diesel engine:
preheating3:starting
Retained power off
The following electronic systems can
work until the driver's door is opened
or at the latest for ten minutes after the ignition is switched off:
● power windows
● sunroof
● power outlets
Power to the Infotainment system will continue to operate for 30 minutes or
until the key is removed from the ignition switch, regardless of whether
any door will be opened.
Starting the engine
Manual transmission: operate clutch.
Automatic transmission: operate
brake and move the selector lever to
P or N.
Do not operate the accelerator pedal.
Diesel engine: turn the key to position 2 for preheating until control
indicator ! extinguishes.
Turn the key briefly to position 3 and
release: an automatic procedure
operates the starter with a short delay
as long as the engine is running, see
Automatic Starter Control.
Before restarting or to switch off the
engine, turn the key back to position
0 .
During an Autostop, the engine can
be started by depressing the clutch
pedal.
Starting the vehicle at low
temperatures
Starting the engine without additional
heaters is possible down to -25 °С for diesel engines and -30 °C for petrol
engines. Required is an engine oil
with the correct viscosity, the correct
fuel, performed services and a
sufficiently charged vehicle battery.
With temperatures below -30 °C the
automatic transmission needs a
warming phase of approx. five
minutes. The selector lever must be
in position P.

142Driving and operatingAutomatic Starter Control
This function controls the engine
starting procedure. The driver does
not need to hold the key in position 3.
Once applied, the system will go on
starting automatically until the engine
is running. Because of the checking
procedure, the engine starts running
after a short delay.
Possible reasons for a non-starting
engine:
● Clutch pedal not operated (manual transmission).
● Brake pedal not operated or selector lever not in P or N
(automatic transmission).
● Timeout occurred.
Turbo engine warm-up
Upon start-up, engine available
torque may be limited for a short time, especially when the engine
temperature is cold. The limitation is
to allow the lubrication system to fully
protect the engine.Overrun cut-off
The fuel supply is automatically cut off
during overrun, i.e. when the vehicle
is driven with a gear engaged but
accelerator pedal is released.
Depending on driving conditions, the
overrun cut-off may be deactivated.
Stop-start system The stop-start system helps to save
fuel and to reduce the exhaust
emissions. When conditions allow, it
switches off the engine as soon as the
vehicle is at a low speed or at a
standstill, e.g. at a traffic light or in a
traffic jam. It starts the engine
automatically as soon as the clutch is depressed. A battery sensor ensures
that an Autostop is only performed if
the vehicle battery is sufficiently
charged for a restart.
Activation
The stop-start system is available as
soon as the engine is started, the
vehicle starts-off and the conditions
as stated below in this section are
fulfilled.Deactivation
Deactivate the stop-start system
manually by pressing eco. The
deactivation is indicated when the
LED in the button extinguishes.
Autostop If the vehicle is at a low speed or at a
standstill, activate an Autostop as
follows:
● Depress the clutch pedal.
● Move the selector lever to neutral.
● Release the clutch pedal.

Driving and operating143The engine will be switched off whilethe ignition stays on.
An Autostop is indicated by the
needle at the AUTOSTOP position in
the tachometer.
During an Autostop, the heating and
brake performance will be
maintained.
Caution
The power steering assist may be
reduced during an Autostop.
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 3 132.
Immediately after motorway driving,
an Autostop may be inhibited.
New vehicle running-in 3 140.
Vehicle battery discharge protection
To ensure reliable engine restarts,
several battery discharge protection
features are implemented as part of
the stop-start system.
Power saving measures
During an Autostop, several electric
features, e.g. auxiliary electric heater
or heated rear window are disabled or switched into a power saving mode.
The fan speed of the climate control
system is reduced to save power.
Restart of the engine by the driver
Depress the clutch pedal to restart the
engine.

144Driving and operatingThe engine start is indicated by the
needle at the idle speed position in
the tachometer.
If the selector lever is shifted out of
neutral before depressing the clutch
first, control indicator - illuminates
or is shown as a symbol in the Driver Information Centre.
Control indicator - 3 88.
Restart of the engine by the stop- start system
The selector lever must be in neutral
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 vehiclebattery 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 electric accessory, e.g. a
portable CD player, is connected to
the power outlet, a brief power drop during restart might be noticeable.
Parking9 Warning
● Do not park the vehicle on an
easily ignitable surface. The
high temperature of the
exhaust system could ignite the
surface.
● Always apply the parking brake. Activate the manual
parking brake without pressing the release button. Apply as
firmly as possible on a downhill slope or uphill slope. Depress
brake pedal at the same time to
reduce operating force.
For vehicles with electric
parking brake, pull switch m for
approx. one second.
The electric parking brake is
applied when control indicator
m illuminates 3 88.
● Switch off the engine.
● If the vehicle is on a level surface or uphill slope, engage
first gear or set the selector
lever to position P before
removing the ignition key. On
an uphill slope, turn the front
wheels away from the kerb.
If the vehicle is on a downhill
slope, engage reverse gear or
set the selector lever to position
P before removing the ignition

146Driving 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 cleaning
Under certain conditions, e.g. driving
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 be
indicated by illumination of % and a
warning message in the Driver
Information Centre.
% illuminates along with a warning
message when diesel particle filter is
full. Start cleaning process as soon as
possible.
% flashes along with a warning
message when diesel particle filter
has reached the maximum filling
level. Start cleaning process
immediately to avoid damage to the
engine.
Activate self-cleaning process
To activate cleaning process,
continue driving, keep engine speed
above 2000 rpm. Shift down if
necessary. Diesel particle filter
cleaning is then started.
Cleaning process is completed more
quickly at high engine speeds and
loads.
Control indicator % extinguishes as
soon as the self-cleaning operation is complete. Keep on driving until self-
cleaning operation is complete.Caution
If possible, do not interrupt
cleaning process. Drive until
cleaning is completed to avoid the need for service or repair by a
workshop.