engine coolant Seat Altea XL 2014 Owner's Guide

242Checking and refilling levels
WARNING
Only change the engine oil yourself if you have the specialist knowledge
required!
● Before opening the bonnet, read and observe the warnings
⇒ page 235, Safety instructions on working in the engine compartment.
● Wait for the engine to cool down. Hot oil may cause burn injuries.
● Wear eye protection to avoid injuries, such as acid burns, caused by
splashes of oil.
● When removing the oil drain plug with your fingers, keep your arm
horizontal to help prevent oil from running down your arm.
● Wash your skin thoroughly if it comes into contact with engine oil.
● Engine oil is poisonous! Used oil must be stored in a safe place out of
the reach of children.
CAUTION
No additives should be used with engine oil. This could result in engine
damage. Any damage caused by the use of such additives would not be
covered by the factory warranty.
For the sake of the environment
● Because of the disposal problems, the necessary special tools and spe-
cialist knowledge required, we recommend that you have the engine oil and
filter changed by a Technical Service.
● Never pour oil down drains or into the ground.
● Use a suitable container when draining the used oil. It must be large
enough to hold all the engine oil. Coolant
Engine coolant specifications
The engine cooling system is supplied from the factory with a specially trea-
ted mixture of water and, at least, 40 % of the additive G 13 (TLVW 774 J).
The engine coolant additive is recognisable by its purple colour. This mix-
ture of water and additive gives the necessary frost protection down to
-25°C (-13 F) and protects the light alloy parts of the cooling system against
corrosion. It also prevents scaling and considerably raises the boiling point
of the coolant.
To protect the engine cooling system, the percentage of additive must al-
ways be at least 40 %, even in warm climates where anti-freeze protection is
not required.
If greater frost protection is required in very cold climates, the proportion of
additive can be increased. However, the percentage of additive should not
exceed 60 %, as this would reduce the frost protection and, in turn, de-
crease the cooling capacity.
When the coolant is topped up, use a mixture of distilled water and, at
least, 40 % of the G 13 or G 12 plus-plus (TL-VW 774 G) additive (both are
purple) to obtain an optimum anticorrosion protection ⇒ 
. The mixture of
G 13 with G 12 plus (TL-VW 774 F), G 12 (red) or G 11 (green-blue) engine
coolants will significantly reduce the anticorrosion protection and should,
therefore be avoided ⇒ 
. 

243
Checking and refilling levels
WARNING
If there is not enough anti-freeze in the coolant system, the engine may
fail leading to serious damage.
● Please make sure that the percentage of additive is correct with re-
spect to the lowest expected ambient temperature in the zone in which
the vehicle is to be used.
● When the outside temperature is very low, the coolant could freeze
and the vehicle would be immobilised. In this case, the heating would
not work either and inadequately dressed passengers could die of cold.
CAUTION
The original additives should never be mixed with coolants which are not
approved by SEAT. Otherwise, you run the risk of causing severe damage to
the engine and the engine cooling system.
● If the fluid in the expansion tank is not purple but is, for example,
brown, this indicates that the G 13 additive has been mixed with an inade-
quate coolant. The coolant must be changed as soon as possible if this is
the case! This could result in serious faults and engine damage.
For the sake of the environment
Coolants and additives can contaminate the environment. If any fluids are
spilled, they should be collected and correctly disposed of, with respect to
the environment. Checking the coolant level and topping up

The correct coolant level is important for fault-free function-
ing of the engine cooling system.
Fig. 168 In the engine
compartment: Coolant
expansion tank cap
Before opening the bonnet, read and observe the warnings ⇒ 
in
Safety instructions on working in the engine compartment on
page 235.
Opening the coolant expansion tank
– Switch off the engine and allow it to cool.
– To prevent scalding, cover the cap on the coolant expansion
tank with a thick cloth and carefully unscrew the cap ⇒ 
.
Checking coolant level
– Look into the open coolant expansion tank and read off the
coolant level.
– If the level is below the “MIN” mark, top up with coolant. 
Safety FirstOperating instructionsPractical TipsTechnical Specifications

244Checking and refilling levels
Topping up coolant
–Only use new coolant liquid.
– Do not fill above the “MAX” mark.
Closing the coolant expansion tank
– Screw the cap on again tightly.
The position of the coolant expansion reservoir is shown in the correspond-
ing engine compartment illustration ⇒ page 297.
Make sure that the coolant meets the required specifications ⇒ page 242.
Do not use a different type of additive if additive G12+ is not available. In
this case use only water and bring the coolant concentration back up to the
correct level as soon as possible by putting in the specified additive
⇒  page 242.
Always top up with new coolant.
Do not fill above the “MAX” mark. Otherwise the excess coolant will be
forced out of the cooling system when the engine is hot.
The coolant additive G12+ (dyed purple) may be mixed with G12 (dyed red)
and also with G 11.
WARNING
Any work carried out in the engine compartment or on the engine must
be carried out cautiously.
● When working in the engine compartment, always observe the safety
warnings ⇒ page 235.
● When the engine is warm or hot, the cooling system is pressurised!
Do not unscrew the cap on the coolant expansion tank when the engine
is hot. This is a burn injury risk.
CAUTION
● When mixed with other additives the colour of G12 will change to brown.
If this occurs you should have the coolant changed immediately. Failure to
do so will result in engine damage!
● If a lot of coolant fluid has been lost, wait for the engine to cool down
before putting in cold coolant. This avoids damaging the engine. Large cool-
ant losses are an indication of leaks in the cooling system. See a special-
ised workshop immediately and have the cooling system checked. Other-
wise, there is a risk of engine damage. 
Washer fluid and windscreen wiper blades Topping up washer fluid 
The water for cleaning the windscreen should always be
mixed with washer fluid.
Fig. 169 In the engine
compartment: Cap of
windscreen washer fluid
reservoir 

297
Technical specifications
Technical specifications
Checking fluid levels
From time to time, the levels of the different fluids in the ve-
hicle must be checked. Never fill with incorrect fluids, other-
wise serious damage to the engine may be caused.
Fig. 219 Diagram for the
location of the various el-
ements Coolant expansion tank
Windscreen washer reservoir
Engine oil filler cap
Engine oil dipstick
Brake fluid reservoir
Vehicle battery (underneath the cover)
The checking and refilling of service fluids are carried out on the compo-
nents mentioned above. These operations are described in the ⇒ page 235.
Overview
You will find further explanations, instructions and restrictions on the tech-
nical specifications as of ⇒ page 293. 
1
23456
Safety FirstOperating instructionsPractical TipsTechnical Specifications

C
Car care Exterior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215
Catalytic converter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205
CCS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
CD changer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
Central lock button Locking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Unlocking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Central locking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96 Automatic locking system for involuntaryunlocking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Automatic speed-dependent locking and unlocking system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Emergency unlocking system . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Selective unlocking system . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Unlocking system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Centre armrest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
Cetane number . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234
Changing gear see Manual gearbox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
Changing gear in tiptronic mode . . . . . . . . . . 186
Changing the bulbs Main headlight bulbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276
Changing the main headlight bulbs Main beam lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 278
Side lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279
Turn signal bulbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276
Changing the main headlight lamps dipped lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277 Changing the tail light bulbs
Position light, fog light and tail light on therear lid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283
Changing the tail lights Luggage compartment lights . . . . . . . . . . 284
Rear fog light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281
Reverse light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281
Side lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280
Turn signal light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281
Turn signal, side and brake lights on thebody . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 282
Changing windscreen wiper blades . . . . . . . . 245
Chassis number . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 294
Checking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251
Checking battery electrolyte level . . . . . . . . . . 251
Checking engine oil level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240
Checklist Seat upholstery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221
Child safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Child seat Categorisation in groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Group 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Group 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Group 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Groups 0 and 0+ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Safety notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Securing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Child seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 ISOFIX system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
on the front passenger seat . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Top Tether system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Cigarette lighter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
Cleaning alloy wheel rims . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219 Cleaning chrome . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218
Cleaning engine compartment . . . . . . . . . . . . 220
Cleaning steel wheel rims . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219
Cleaning windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
Climatic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
Climatronic
General notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
Clock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Clothes hook . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
Cockpit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Coming/leaving home function . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
Compartment for on-board documentation . . 141
control lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Control lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Control lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Controls electric windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
Exterior mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
Sliding/tilting sunroof . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Convenience closing Sliding/tilting sunroof . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Convenience opening Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Coolant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242, 243 control lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Coolant level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243 Control lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Coolant loss . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243
Coolant temperature control lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Control lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
310 Index

EngineRunning in . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204
Engine compartment Working in the engine compartment . . . . 235
Engine coolant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242 G 12 plus-plus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242
G 13 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242
Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242
Engine fault Control lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Engine management control lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Engine oil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238 Changing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241
Checking engine oil level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240
Oil properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239
Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238
Topping up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241
Engine oil dipstick . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240
Engine oil pressure control lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66, 86
Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206 Environmental friendliness . . . . . . . . . . . . 208
Environmentally friendly driving . . . . . . . . . . . 206
Environmental tip Avoiding pollution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229
ESC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88, 172, 198 see also Electronic Stability Control . . . . . 172
Example of menu use Program a speed limit warning . . . . . . . . . . 69
To activate and deactivate the speed limitwarning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 Example of the use of the menus
Open the Configuration menu with the MFIlever . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Open the Configuration menu with the steering wheel controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Examples of menu use Open the main menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Open the winter tyres menu . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
To close the winter tyres menu . . . . . . . . . . 69
Exhaust gas purification system . . . . . . . . . . . 205
Exterior mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
F
Fastening rings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Fire extinguisher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
First-aid kit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
Flexible service interval display . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Floor mats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Fog lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Fog lights with cornering function . . . . . . . . . 120
Folding table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
Folding the seat backrests down . . . . . . . . . . 140
Front airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Safety notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Front drinks holders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
Front interior light type 1 Switching light off . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Switching light on . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123 Front interior light type 2
Switching light off . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Switching light on . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Front passenger airbag deactivation . . . . . . . . 44
Front reading lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Front seat adjustment Lumbar support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
Fuel Diesel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234
Petrol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233
fuel consumption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
Fuel consumption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 294
Fuel level Indicator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Fuel reserve . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80 Warning message . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Fuel tank see Fuel reserve . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Fuel Tank Opening the fuel tank flap . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228
Fuel: save . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
Fuses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272 Fuse box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273
Identifying blown fuses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274
Identifying by colours . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273
Preparation before replacing . . . . . . . . . . . 274
Replacement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274
G
Gear shift pattern . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
General overview of the engine compartment 297
312 Index

Remote control keyButtons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
Synchronising . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
Removing and fitting the wheel . . . . . . . . . . . 268
Repairs Airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Replacement keys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
Replacement of parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226
Rev counter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Reverse gear Manual gearbox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
Roll-back function Sliding/tilting sunroof . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Roof aerial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227
Roof rack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
Roof storage compartment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
Rubber seals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218
Run-flat tyres . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257
Running in Engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204
S Safe- security system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Safe driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Safety equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Safety instructions Coolant temperature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81 Safety notes
Airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Curtain airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Deactivating front passenger airbag . . . . . . 45
Front airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Seat belt tensioners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Side airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Using child seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Using seat belts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Seals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218
Seat adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134, 137, 139
Seat belt cleaning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225
Seat belt control lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Seat belt position Pregnant women . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Seat belts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Seat belt protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Seat belt release . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Seat belts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
control lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Incorrectly fastened . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Not worn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Safety notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Seat belt tensioner control lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Seat belt tensioners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Seat heating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
Seat upholstery Alcantara . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222
Checklist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221
cleaning Alcantara . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222 Cleaning and maintenance of natural leath-
er . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223
cleaning the trim fabric . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222
synthetic leather . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224
Selective opening . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Selector lever locking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
Selector lever positions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
servotronic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
Side airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Safety notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Side lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Sitting position driver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Sitting position, occupants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Sliding/tilting sunroof . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Snow chains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260, 296
Soot accumulation in the diesel engine particu- late filter *
Indicator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Spare parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226
Spare wheel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 262
Start-Stop Activating and deactivating . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
Function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
Starting petrol engines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174, 175
Starting the engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174, 175 After the fuel tank has been run dry . . . . . 175
Steam jets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216
Steering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171 Steering lock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
315
Index