towing Lancia Thesis 2007 Owner handbook (in English)

188
If the failure is signalled when the
engine is started, it means that the
electronic control unit had stored it
previously, before stopping the
engine. Even in this case, go to a
Lancia Dealershipto have the
automatic gearbox checked.
When driving with auto-
matic gearbox faulty,
drive carefully consider-
ing the limited car efficiency in
terms of acceleration and speed.
In addition, when driving with
automatic gearbox faulty, the
reverse block might not be oper-
ating: for this reason it is
absolutely necessary to move the
lever to position R while the car
is moving.SOUND SIGNAL
A buzzer will sound in the follow-
ing conditions:
– for about 15 seconds when the
driver’s door is opened while the
engine is running or not and the gear
lever has a position different from P
– for about 15 seconds when the
engine is turned off and the gear
lever has a position different from P
– for about 4 seconds when the
gear lever is shifted to R(reverse)
– with the manual sequential oper-
ation on, when the selected gear is
not accepted by the electronic con-
trol unit (e.g. since it might generate
a runaway speed rate). BUMP STARTING
Never bump starting the engine (by
pushing, towing, etc.). In an emer-
gency, when the battery is flat, start
the engine with the appropriate
emergency battery according to the
instructions contained in chapter “In
an emergency”.

189
If these rules are not
respected, the automatic
gearbox might be severely
damaged.
The car can be towed only for
short distances and at a low
speed: if it is necessary to tow it
for a longer distance, raise the
driving wheels so that the gear-
box is not dragged during towing. TOWING THE CAR
IMPORTANTTo tow the car
observe local current laws and fol-
low the instructions contained in
chapter “In an emergency”.
If the car must be towed, observe
the following precautions:
– if possible, transfer the car on a
towtruck
– otherwise, tow the car by raising
the front driving wheels
– even if the latter solution is not
possible, the car can be towed for
less than 50 Km at a speed of 50
km/h.
Towing shall be performed with
gear lever to N.Before starting towing,
disengage the parking
brake as described in the
relevant paragraph and leave the
Keyless System CID (if any) in the
passenger’s compartment to pre-
vent automatic steering lock. Do
not tow the car with the engine
running.
ESP AND ASR
SYSTEMS
ESP SYSTEM (ELECTRONIC
STABILITY PROGRAM):
GENERAL
ESP is an electronic system con-
trolling the car stability which
affects the driving torque and brakes
the wheels in a different way in case
of grip loss, thus making the car
recover the right driving direction.
During driving the car is subject to
side and longitudinal forces which
can be controlled by the driver until
tire grip is acceptable. When the lat-
ter is lower than the minimum level,
the car starts skidding.
If the road bed is uneven (bumpy
road, presence of ice, mould, etc.)
tyre grip is considerably reduced. In
these conditions, when extreme
manoeuvres are made, the car might
start skidding.

211
Obstacles placed in side areas are
detected at a distance of less than
0.6 m.
Rear sensors are automatically
switched on by removing the trailer
cable plug.FAULT INDICATIONS
The system control unit checks all
the system components every time
the ignition key is turned to MAR.
Then, the sensors and their respec-
tive electrical connections are con-
stantly monitored during system
operation.
Parking assist system faults are sig-
nalled by the lighting of symbol t
on the multifunction display, togeth-
er with message “PARKING SEN-
SOR FAULT”.
In case of fault signals, stop the
car, shut the engine off, then try to
clean the sensors, making sure that
you are not close to ultrasound-
emitting sources (e.g. truck air
brakes or pneumatic hammers). If
the cause of the operation anomaly
has been remedied, the system fully
resumes its functions and the fault
symbol on the multifunction display
goes out, together with its respective
warning message. Rear sensors are auto-
matically switched off
when the trailer’s electric
cable plug is inserted into the car
tow hitch socket.TOWING A TRAILER

263
Ignoring the above rules
may lead to fire. When functioning nor-
mally, the catalytic con-
verter reaches high tem-
peratures. For this reason, do not
park the car over inflammable
material (grass, dry leaves, pine
needles, etc.): fire hazard.
Do not allow anything to
be sprayed onto the cat-
alytic converter, lambda
sensor and exhaust pipe. Do not install other heat
shields and do not remove
those already fitted to the
catalytic converter and exhaust
pipe. Never run the engine with the
spark plugs disconnected even for
testing purposes. Do not warm up
the engine by letting it idle for a
while before moving off unless the
outside temperature is very low and,
even in this case, only do so for less
than 30 seconds.
If you have trouble starting, do not
keep turning the ignition key for
long periods. Be especially careful to
avoid bump starting the car by
pushing, towing or rolling downhill:
these are all manoeuvres that can
damage the catalytic exhaust sys-
tem. Use an auxiliary battery for
start-ups only.
If the engine begins to “lose its
smoothness” when travelling, con-
tinue your journey but reduce the
demands you are making on the
engine and have the car seen at a
Lancia Dealershipas soon as you
can.
When the instrument panel fuel
reserve warning light comes on, fill
up as soon as possible. A low level of
fuel can cause an uneven supply of
fuel to the engine with the inevitable
increase in the temperature of the
exhaust gas and serious damages to
the catalytic converter.

264
TOWING A
TRAILER
GENERAL NOTES
The car must be fitted with a
homologated tow hitch and suitable
electrical system for towing a cara-
van or a trailer. Have the tow hitch
fitted by an expert who will issue
specific documentation for use on
roads.
Fit special and/or additional
rearview mirrors in accordance with
the highway code.
Remember that towing a trailer
makes it harder for the car to climb
the maximum gradients specified,
increases braking and overtaking
distance, proportionally to the over-
all weight of the trailer.Engage a low gear when driving
downhill rather than constantly
braking.
The weight the trailer exerts on the
car’s tow hitch coupling reduces the
car’s loading capacity by the same
amount. In order to be sure you are
not exceeding the maximum towing
weight (as specified in the registra-
tion book), you have to take into
account the trailer’s fully laden
weight, including accessories and
personal luggage.
Do not exceed the speed limits for
towing a trailer in the country you
are driving in. In any case, do not
exceed the top speed of 100 km/h.
Trailer electrical connection shall
only be performed with ignition key
at STOPor removed.
When trailer electrical connection
is on and you switch on the rear fog
lights, only the trailer rear fog lights
will come on.The ABS system will not
control the trailing brak-
ing system. Great care
should therefore be taken when
driving on slippery road surfaces.
Under no circumstances
modify the car’s braking
system for trailer braking
control. The trailer’s braking sys-
tem must be completely indepen-
dent of the car’s hydraulic sys-
tem.
The rear parking sensors
are automatically deacti-
vated when the plug of the
trailer’s electrical cable is insert-
ed in the car’s tow hitch socket.
The rear sensors activate auto-
matically when the trailer’s plug is
disconnected.

273
7) Start the engine.
8) When the engine has started,
remove the leads in the reverse order
to before: D, C, Band finally A.
IMPORTANT If the engine fails to
start after a few attempts, do not keep
turning the key but have the car seen
to at a Lancia Dealership.
9) Put the cover back on the bat-
tery positive terminal by fitting the
lock flanges in.
10) Put the cover back and retight-
en the knob.
11) Close the boot tailgate.IMPORTANTWhen the tailgate is
closed, the boot latch is not locked.
To lock it, turn the metal insert of
the key anticlockwise in the latch.
Do not carry out this
procedure if you lack
experience: if it is not
done correctly it can cause very
intense electrical discharges and
the battery might even explode.
Do not to put naked flames or
lighted cigarettes near the battery
and do not cause sparks: risk of
explosion and fire.
Never use a battery
charger to jump start the
engine: you could damage
the electronic system, with spe-
cial reference to ignition and
injection control unit.
BUMP STARTING
Do not bump start by pushing,
towing or coasting downhill. This
way of starting could cause a rush of
fuel into the catalytic converter and
damage it beyond repair.
Remember that ifthe engine is not
running, the brake booster and the
power steering will not work. You
therefore have to use considerably
more effort on both the brake pedal
and the steering wheel.
Never connect the nega-
tive terminals of the two
batteries directly: sparks
could ignite the flammable gas
from the battery. If the auxiliary
battery is installed on another
car, prevent accidental contact
between the metal parts of the
two vehicles.

305
Under no circumstances
should a battery charger
be used to start the
engine: it could damage the elec-
tronic systems and in particular
the ignition and injection control
units.Carefully clean the
threading before fastening
the tow ring. Before start-
ing to tow the car, make sure the
ring has been fully fastened. Never try to charge a
frozen battery: first let it
thaw out, otherwise it
may bust. If the battery has
frozen, check that the internal
elements are not broken (risk of
short circuit) and that the casing
is not cracked causing the acid to
leak out. This acid is poisonous
and corrosive.
TOWING THE CAR
The tow ring provided with the car
is to be found in the tool box under
the boot carpet.
To fit the tow ring proceed as fol-
lows:
– Remove the clipped in Acover
from the front (fig. 82) or rear
bumper (fig. 83), by using a screw-
driver as a lever in the point shown
in the figure.IMPORTANT To carry out this
operation, if you use the provided
flat-head screwdriver, cover its head
with a piece of cloth to prevent paint
damaging.
– Screw the tow ring Bin its hous-
ing.
fig. 82
L0A0090b
fig. 83
L0A0091b

306
Before towing the car,
disengage the parking
brake by following the
instructions described in the rel-
evant paragraph, and leave the
Keyless System CID device (if
provided) inside the passenger
compartment, to avoid automatic
steering column lock. Do not tow
the car with the engine running. Before starting to tow,
turn the ignition key to
MAR and then to STOP.
Do not remove the key. If the key
is removed, the steering lock
engages automatically which pre-
vents the wheels being turned.
Disengage the handbrake. While
the car is being towed with the
engine off, remember that the
brake pedal and steering will
require more effort as you no
longer have the benefit of the
brake booster and power steer-
ing. Do not use flexible cables to
tow. Avoid jerking. Whilst tow-
ing, ensure that the coupling to
the car does not damage the sur-
rounding components. When
towing, you must comply with the
specific traffic regulations
regarding the tow ring and how to
tow on the road.IMPORTANTFor versions with
automatic gearbox, check that the
selector is in neutral (selector to N),
that the car is moving because
pushed and act as for towing a car
with the manual gearbox, following
the above mentioned procedure.
If you cannot set the gear lever to
neutral, do not tow the car but con-
tact a Lancia Dealership.IMPORTANTOn versions fitted
with an identification system (Keyless
System), user is not authorised to
move the car unless the start-up knob
is turned to the position MAR. Should
it be necessary to tow the car, it is ad-
vised to turn the knob to position
MAR before moving the car.

315
Do not smoke while
working in the engine
compartment: the pres-
ence of flammable gas and
vapour could cause a fire.
Be careful not to mix up
the various types of fluids
when you are topping up:
they are all mutually incompati-
ble and could damage the car.
Maintenance of your car
should be entrusted to a
Lancia Dealership. For
ordinary routine maintenance
operations which you are able to
carry out yourself, ensure that
you have the necessary tools and
original Lancia spare parts and
fluids available. Do not carry out
servicing operations if you have
no experience.IMPORTANT - Engine oil
If the car is normally driven in one
of the following particularly severe
conditions:
– towing a trailer
– on dirty roads
– for short, repeated trips (less
than 7-8 km) with outside tempera-
ture below zero
– with engine frequently idling or
for long distances at low speed (e.g.
taxi, door-to-door deliveries) or pro-
longed storage
change the engine oil more frequent-
ly than shown in the Service
Schedule.
IMPORTANT - Air cleaner
Replace the air cleaner more fre-
quently than shown in the Service
Schedule if the car is used on dusty
roads.
If you are in doubt about how often
the engine oil or the air cleaner
should be changed in relation to how
you use the car, contact a Lancia
Dealership.

373
- what triggers the alarm
off ..................................... 42
Electronic automatic gearbox
(COMFORTRONIC) ............. 180
- automatic operation ........... 182
- bump starting .................... 188
- failure indication ............... 187
- gearbox display.................. 110
- manual sequential
operation ........................... 186
- moving off ......................... 180
- selecting the automatic/
manual sequential
operation ........................... 182
- sound signal ..................... 188
- starting the engine ............ 180
- stopping ............................. 181
- technical specifications ..... 348
- towing the car ................... 189
Electronic brakeforce
distributor (EBD) .................... 245
Electronic control units
(important) ......................... 330Engine
- identification code ............ 341
- marking ............................ 341
- technical specifications ..... 344
Engine compartment
(cleaning) ............................ 339
Engine coolant ........................ 321
Engine coolant temperature
gauge .................................. 108
Engine oil
- checking level ................... 320
- specifications ..................... 364
Engine oil consumption .......... 321
Engine oil level ....................... 320
Engine warming up ................ 252
Environment
(safety and protection) ......... 4-5
EOBD system ......................... 244
EPB (electric parking brake) .. 175
- emergency disengagement.. 178
ESP system ............................ 189
- ASR function .................... 191- ESP system action ............. 192
- failure indication .............. 192
- initialising the control units
of the door locks, air
conditioner and ESP
system................................ 303
- MSR system ....................... 192
- operation .......................... 190
Exhaust gas
(recirculation system) .......... 7
External lights (controls) ........ 97
Flash consumption
gauge .................................. 109
Flashing the headlights
(main beam) ....................... 100
Fluids and lubricants .............. 364
Follow me home
(delayed light switching off) 99
Front ceiling light ................... 212
- bulb replacement .............. 287