wiper blades FIAT DUCATO 244 2005 3.G Owners Manual

122GETTING THE BEST OUT OF YOUR VEHICLE
as soon as you see vehicles coming in
the other direction and pass them with
the headlights dipped;
– keep all lights clean;
– be careful of animals crossing the
road when driving in the country. Slow
down to avoid the risk of running
them over.
DRIVING IN THE RAIN
Rain and wet road surfaces spell dan-
ger. All manoeuvres are more difficult
on a wet road because the grip of the
wheels on the tarmac is greatly re-
duced. This is why braking distances
are much longer and road-holding is
lower.
Here is some advice for driving in the
rain:
– reduce speed and maintain a
greater safety distance from the vehi-
cles in front;
– If it is raining particularly heavily,
visibility is also reduced. In these cas-
es, switch on the dipped headlights
even if it is still daylight so you can be
seen more easily;– Do not drive through puddles at
speed and hold on tightly to the wheel
if you do: a puddle taken at high speed
might cause you to lose control of the
vehicle (aquaplaning);
– Position the ventilation controls for
demisting (see section “Getting to
know your vehicle”), to prevent visi-
bility from worsening;
– Routinely check the conditions of
the windscreen wiper blades.
DRIVING IN FOG
– If the fog is thick, do not start out
on a journey unless you absolutely
have to.
If driving in mist, blanket fog or when
there is the danger of fog patches:
– keep your speed down;
– turn on the dipped headlights, rear
fog lights and front fog lights, if fitted,
even during the day. Do not drive with
your headlights at main beam.IMPORTANT On stretches of
road with good visibility, switch off
your rear foglights; the brightness of
these lights could annoy the people
travelling in the vehicles behind.
– Remember that fog also means the
taramac is wet and therefore ma-
noeuvres of all kinds are more difficult
and stopping distances are longer;
– keep a good distance from the ve-
hicles in front of you;
– as far as possible, avoid spurts of
speed or sudden deceleration;
– do not overtake other vehicles if
possible;

134GETTING THE BEST OUT OF YOUR VEHICLE
VEHICLE STORAGE
The following precautions should be
taken if the vehicle will not be used for
several months:
– park the vehicle in covered, dry and
if possible well-ventilated premises;
– engage a gear;
– remove the cables from the battery
(first remove the cable to the negative
terminal) and check the battery
charge. If the vehicle is to be stored
for long periods the charge of the bat-
tery should be checked every month
and recharged if it falls below 12.5 V;– make sure the handbrake is not en-
gaged;
– clean and protect the painted parts
using protective wax;
– clean and protect the shiny metal
parts using special compounds readi-
ly available;
– sprinkle talcum powder on the rub-
ber windscreen and rear window
wiper blades and lift them off the glass;
– slightly open the windows;
– cover the vehicle with a cloth or
perforated plastic sheet. Do not use
sheets of non-perforated plastic as
they do not allow moisture on the ve-
hicle body to evaporate;– inflate the tyres to 0.5 bar above
the normal specified pressure and
check it at intervals;
– do not drain the engine cooling sys-
tem.
IMPORTANTWhere relevant,
switch off the electronic vehicle alarm
with the remote control and deacti-
vate the system by turning the emer-
gency key to OFF (see “Electronic
alarm” in section “Getting to know
your vehicle”).

165VEHICLE MAINTENANCE
ANNUAL
INSPECTION
SCHEDULE
The following annual inspection
schedule is required for vehicles trav-
elling 15,000 Kmapprox. a year. The
schedule includes the following oper-
ations:
– check tyre condition and wear and
adjust pressure, if required (including
spare wheel);
– check operation of lights (head-
lights, direction indicators, hazard
lights, boot light, passenger compart-
ment light, instrument panel lights,
etc.);
– check windscreen wiper/washer
and adjust nozzles;
– check position and wear of wind-
screen/rear window wiper blades;
– check front pad conditions and
wear;
– check for bonnet and boot lock
cleanness, lever cleanness and lubri-
cation;– inspect conditions of: engine, gear-
box, transmission, piping (exhaust, fu-
el feed, brakes), rubber parts (boots,
sleeves, bushings, etc.), brake and fu-
el line hoses;
– check battery charge status;
– check conditions of various control
belts;
– check and top up fluid levels (en-
gine coolant, brakes, windscreen
washer, battery, etc.);
– check and top up engine oil;
– replace pollen filter.
ADDITIONAL
CHECKS
Every 1,000 km or before long
trips, check and top up as necessary:
– engine coolant level
– brake fluid level
– power steering fluid level
– battery electrolyte level
– windscreen washer fluid
– tyre pressure and conditions.
Every 3,000 km or before long
trips, check and top up as necessary:
engine oil
Every 10,000 kmor at cwarning
light coming on (diesel engines only):
bleed water from fuel filter.
You are recommended to use FL
Seleniaproducts designed and pro-
duced for Fiat vehicles (see the “Ca-
pacities” table in the “Technical Spec-
ifications” section).

180VEHICLE MAINTENANCE
WINDSCREEN
WIPER
BLADES
Periodically clean the rubber part
with suitable products. We recom-
mend TUTELA PROFESSIONAL
SC35.
Change the blades if the rubber edge
is warped or worn out. You should in
any case change them approximately
once a year.Changing the windscreen
wiper blade
1)Lift windscreen wiper arm A-
fig. 18off the glass and position the
blade so as to form a right angle with
the arm.
2) Press tab Bon the retainer and
remove the blade to be replaced from
arm A .
3)Fit the new blade by inserting the
tab into the special slot in the arm.
Make sure it is properly locked into
place.
fig. 18
F0D0123m
Some simple steps can reduce po-
tential damage to the blades:
– if the temperature falls to below
zero, make sure the rubber blade is
not frozen to the windscreen. If nec-
essary, free it with a de-icing com-
pound;
– remove any snow that has settled
on the glass: besides saving the blades
you will avoid straining the electric
windscreen wiper motor and causing
it to overheat;
– do not operate the windscreen or
rear window wipers on dry glass.
Travelling with worn wiper
blades is dangerous be-
cause it reduces visibility in bad
weather.
WARNING

251INDEX
Understanding rim markings ... 219
Understanding tyre markings ... 219
Using the automatic gearbox ... 110
Using the manual gearbox ........ 109
Vehicle maintenance........... 162
Vehicle storage ............................. 134
Ventilation...................................... 56
Warming up the engine
after it has just started ............. 107
Warning lights ............................. 35
Washing the vehicle ................... 182
Weights ......................................... 227
Wheel geometry ......................... 218
Wheels and tyres ........................ 178
- changing a wheel .................... 137
- inflation pressure ................... 220
- snow chains ............................ 133
- snow tyres .............................. 132
- spare wheel ............................. 218- understanding tyre
markings ................................... 219
- wheel geometry ..................... 218
Windows ...................................... 183
Windscreen washer ............ 66-181
Windscreen washer
fluid level .................................... 171
Windscreen
wiper (blades) ..................... 66-180
Writing/reading desk ................. 74