service schedule Alfa Romeo 156 2005 Owner handbook (in English)

3
PROTECTING THE ENVIRONMENT
A system for continuously monitoring emission system components to ensure greater environmental protection is fitted in
your car.
ELECTRICAL ACCESSORIES
If, after buying the car, you decide to add electrical accessories (that will gradually drain the battery), contact Alfa Romeo Au-
thorized Services. They can calculate the overall electrical requirement and check that the car’s electric system can support the
required load.
U
CODE CARD
Keep the code card in a safe place, not in the car. You should always keep the electronic code written on the CODE card with
you in case you need to carry out an emergency start-up procedure.
SCHEDULED SERVICING
Correct maintenance of the car is essential for ensuring it stays in tip-top condition and safeguards its safety features, its en-
vironmental friendliness and low running costs for a long time to come.
THE OWNER’S MANUAL CONTAINS…
…information, tips and important warnings regarding the safe, correct driving of your car, and its maintenance. Pay partic-
ular attention to the symbols
"
(personal safety)
#
(environmental protection)
â
(car well-being).

4
Any queries concerning servicing should be forwarded to the showroom from which the vehicle was purchased, the subsidiary company or to
our branch offices or associated companies.
Warranty Booklet
The Warranty Booklet is delivered together with every new vehicle and contains the regulations tied to the services given by Alfa Romeo Ser-
vices and to the warranty conditions.
Correctly carrying out the scheduled services specified by the manufacturer is the best way to maintain the performance, safety characteristics
and low running costs of your vehicle. It is also necessary to maintain warranty cover.
“Service” guide
This contains the Alfa Romeo Authorized Services. The services can be recognized by the presence of the Alfa Romeo badge and logo.
The Alfa Romeo organization in Italy can be found in the telephone book under the letter “A” Alfa Romeo.
Not all the models described in this booklet are available in all countries. Only some of the fittings described in this booklet are fitted as stan-
dard to the vehicle. The list of available accessories should be requested from the Alfa Romeo Dealers.

GETTING TO KNOW YOUR CAR65
PROGRAMMED MAINTENANCE
– Displaying the expiry date of the next
car service check (strictly related to the
Programmed Maintenance Schedule)
DISPLAY CONTRAST ADJUSTMENT
– Infocenter display graphics brightness
setting (dimming/brightening) UNITS SELECTION
– Selection of the following units: km or
mi (miles), °C or °F, l/100 km or km/l
WARNING/FAILURE BUZZER VOLUME
SETTING
– Volume setting of warning/failure
buzzer
“WINTER” TYRES SPEED LIMIT
– Switching on/off the relevant function
(ON/OFF)
– Setting the limit speed value among the
available ones (160 km/h, 190 km/h
or 210 km/h)DEFAULT VALUE RESET
– Switching on/off the relevant function
(ON/OFF)
EXIT MENU
– Exiting the menu
WARNINGThe use of polarized glasses
may reduce Infocenter display readability.

GETTING TO KNOW YOUR CAR69
The Programmed Maintenance Schedule includes car maintenance every 20,000 km
(or 12,000 miles) or one year; this is shown automatically, with the ignition key at
MAR
,
starting from 2,000 km (or 1,240 miles) or 30 day from this deadline and it is shown again
every 200 km (or 124 miles) or 3 days. When a programmed maintenance interval
(“coupon”) is near to come, turning the ignition key to
MAR
, will display the message
SCHEDULED SERVICE WITHIN followed by the number of kilometers, days or miles to go before
vehicle maintenance. The PROGRAMMED MAINTENANCE message is displayed in km,
mi or days, according to the approaching service interval. At the very moment the value
of 0 km, 0 miles or 0 days is reached, the display will show, every time the ignition key
is turned to
MAR
, the message SCHEDULED SERVICE EXPIRED, followed by the number
of kilometers, miles or days. In this case, to reset this visual information contact
Authorised Alfa Romeo Services.
continued from previous page

GETTING TO KNOW YOUR CAR83
The Programmed Maintenance Schedule includes vehicle maintenance
every 20,000 km (or 12,000 miles) or one year; this is shown
automatically, with the ignition key at
MAR
, starting from 2,000
km (or 1,240 miles) or 30 day from this deadline and it is shown
again every 200 km (or 124 miles) or 3 days. When a programmed maintenance interval
(“coupon”) is near to come, turning the ignition key to
MAR
, will display the message
SCHEDULED SERVICE WITHIN followed by the number of kilometers, days or miles to go
before vehicle maintenance. The PROGRAMMED MAINTENANCE message is displayed in km,
mi or days, according to the approaching service interval. At the very moment the value of 0
km, 0 miles or 0 days is reached, the display will show, every time the ignition key is turned
to
MAR
, the message SCHEDULED SERVICE EXPIRED, followed by the number of
kilometers, miles or days. In this case, to reset this visual information contact Authorized Alfa
Romeo Services.
WARNINGProducts shown in the SERVICE screen and to be used for scheduled maintenance could be subject to modifications. Refer to
paragraph “Fluids and lubricants” in section “Technical specifications”.

CORRECT USE OF THE CAR
198
PROTECTING EMISSION
REDUCING DEVICESCorrect operation of the antipollution de-
vices not only guarantees respect for the en-
vironment but also influences car perfor-
mance. Keeping these devices in good con-
dition is therefore the first rule for both en-
vironment-friendly and economy driving.
The first precaution is to closely follow the
“Scheduled Maintenance Programme ”. For
petrol engines only use unleaded petrol (95
RON) (specification EN228), for diesel en-
gines only use fuel oil for motor vehicles
(specification EN590).
If difficulty with starting is experienced do
not insist with extended attempts. Especially
avoid bump, tow or coast starts: these may
all damage the catalyst. Only use an auxil-
iary battery to start the car in an emergency.If the engine is “not running smoothly”
when the vehicle is travelling, reduce the re-
quest for performance to a minimum and
contact Alfa Romeo Authorized Services as
soon as possible.
When the fuel reserve warning light comes
on fill up as soon as possible. A low fuel level
may cause an irregular supply to the engine
with inevitable increase of the exhaust gas
temperature; this would result in serious
damage to the catalyst.
Never run the engine, even as a test, with
one or more spark plugs disconnected. Do
not warm the engine at idle speed before
moving off, unless the outside temperature
is very low and, in this case too, for no more
than 30 seconds.
Do not install other heat
guards and do not remove
the existing ones on the catalyst
and exhaust pipe.
WARNING
Do not spray anything on
the catalyst, lambda sen-
sor and exhaust pipe.
WARNING
The failure to follow these
rules may cause a fire
hazard.
WARNING
During normal service the
catalyst reaches high tem-
peratures. Do not therefore park
the car over inflammable materials
(grass, dry leaves, pine needles,
etc.): fire hazard.
WARNING

CAR MAINTENANCE
248
It is however wise to remember that Pro-
grammed Maintenance does not complete-
ly cover all the car’s requirements: also in
the initial period before 20,000 km service
coupon and later, between one coupon and
another, ordinary care is still necessary such
as for example routinely checking and top-
ping up the level of fluids, checking the tyre
pressure, etc...
WARNINGThe Programmed Mainte-
nance coupons are specified by the Manu-
facturer. The failure to have them carried out
may invalidate the warranty.
The Programmed Maintenance service is
carried out by all Alfa Romeo Authorized Ser-
vices, at pre-established times.If during each operation, in addition to the
ones programmed, the need arises for fur-
ther replacements or repairs, these may be
carried out only with the explicit agreement
of the customer.
WARNINGYou are advised to contact
Alfa Romeo Authorized Services in the event
of any minor operating faults, without wait-
ing for the next service coupon.
PROGRAMMED
MAINTENANCECorrect maintenance is essential for en-
suring long car life under the best conditions.
This is why Alfa Romeo has programmed
a series of checks and maintenance opera-
tions every 20,000 km.
WARNINGAt 2000 km from the main-
tenance deadline, the Infocenter display will
show “SCHEDULED SERVICE WITHIN” which
is shown again turning the ignition key to
MAR, every 200 km. For further details,
see “Service” in the “Display Infocenter”
paragraph in “Getting to know your car”
chapter.
C C
A A
R R

M M
A A
I I
N N
T T
E E
N N
A A
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C C
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CAR MAINTENANCE
252
WARNING
Engine oil
Should prevailing use of the car be under
one of the following specially heavy condi-
tions:
– trailer or caravan towing
– dusty roads
– short distances (less than 7-8 km) re-
peated and with external temperatures be-
low zero.
– frequently idling engines or long distance
low speed driving (e.g. taxis or door-to-door
deliveries) or in case of a long term inac-
tivity.
Replace engine oil more frequently than
required on
SERVICE SCHEDULE
.WARNING
Fuel oil filter
The variety of the degree of purity of the
fuel oil in commerce may make it necessary
to change the fuel oil filter more frequently
than stated in the Scheduled Maintenance
Programme. If the engine is “sobbing” it
is a sign that the filter needs changing.WARNING
Air cleaner
Using the car on dusty roads, change the
air cleaner more frequently than stated in
the Scheduled Maintenance Programme.
For any doubts about the intervals be-
tween engine oil and air cleaner changes
in relation to how the car is used, contact
Alfa Romeo Authorized Services.

CAR MAINTENANCE
253
Car maintenance should be
entrusted to Alfa Romeo
Authorized Services. For
routine and minor maintenance op-
erations you wish to carry out
yourself, always make sure you
have the proper equipment, genuine
Alfa Romeo spare parts and the
necessary fluids; do not however
carry out these operations if you
have no experience.
WARNING
Pollen filter
If the car is used frequently in dusty or
heavily polluted environments it is advisable
to replace the filtering element more fre-
quently; in particular it should be replaced if
a reduction of the amount of air admitted to
the passenger compartment is noted. WARNING
Battery
You are recommended to have the battery
charge conditions checked, preferably at the
onset of winter, to avoid the possibility of
freezing the electrolyte.
This check should be carried out more fre-
quently if the car is used prevailingly for
short journeys, or if it is fitted with services
that absorb high amounts of current per-
manently with the ignition key off, especially
if installed in the after market.
In the case of use of the car in hot climates
or particularly harsh conditions, it is wise
to check the level of the battery fluid (elec-
trolyte) at more frequent intervals than stat-
ed in the Scheduled Maintenance Pro-
gramme.

CAR MAINTENANCE
265
DIESEL FILTERDRAINING CONDENSATION
WATER
Water in the supply circuit
can seriously damage the
whole injection system and
cause malfunctions to engine oper-
ation. Should the warning lamp
c
turn on, available for the provid-
ed versions/markets, contact as
soon as possible the Alfa Romeo
Authorised Service for drainage op-
erations.
When the car is habitual-
ly driven in dusty areas,
the cleaner should be
changed at shorter intervals than
those given in the Programmed
Maintenance Schedule.Any attempt to clean the
air cleaner may cause se-
rious engine damage.
AIR FILTERThe air cleaner is connected to the tem-
perature and air flow sensors which send the
electrical signals needed for correct opera-
tion of the injection and ignition system to
the control unit.
It must therefore always be in perfect con-
ditions to ensure correct operation of the en-
gine, low consumption and exhaust emis-
sion levels.
If they are not carried out
correctly and with the due
precautions, the operations
involving cleaner replacement de-
scribed herein may compromise the
safety of the car.
This operation should be carried
out by Alfa Romeo Authorized Ser-
vices.