All-Wheel Drive - Seat ALTEA Owner's Manual

172 Intelligent technology
At speeds of up to approximately 80 km/h (50 mph), it is able to balance
out differences in the speed of the driven wheels of approximately 100
rpm/min caused by a partially slippery road surface on one side of the vehi-
cle. It does this by braking the wheel which has lost traction and distribut-
ing more driving force to the other driven wheel via the differential.
To prevent the disc brake of the braking wheel from overheating, the EDL
cuts out automatically if subjected to excessive loads. The vehicle will con-
tinue to function normally without EDL. For this reason, the driver is not in-
formed that the EDL has been switched off.
The EDL will switch on again automatically when the brake has cooled
down.
WARNING
● When accelerating on a slippery surface, for example on ice and
snow, press the accelerator carefully. Despite EDL, the driven wheels may
start to spin. This could impair the vehicle's stability.
● Always adapt your driving style to suit road conditions and the traffic
situation. Do not let the extra safety afforded by EDL tempt you into tak-
ing any risks when driving, this can cause accidents.
CAUTION
Modifications to the vehicle (e.g. to the engine, the brake system, running
gear or any components affecting the wheels and tyres) could affect the effi-
ciency of the EDL ⇒ p age 195.
Drive wheel traction control system (ASR)
The traction control system prevents the driven wheels from spinning when
the vehicle is accelerating ⇒ p age 169.

All-wheel drive*

On all-wheel drive models, the engine power is distributed to all four
wheels
General notes
The all-wheel drive system operates completely automatically. The propul-
sion force is distributed among the four wheels and adapted to the driving
style and the road conditions.
The all-wheel drive is specially designed to complement the superior engine
power. This combination gives the vehicle exceptional handling and per-
formance capabilities, both on normal roads and in more difficult condi-
tions, such as snow and ice.
Winter tyres
Thanks to its all-wheel drive, your vehicle will have plenty of traction in win-
ter conditions, even with the standard tyres. Nevertheless, we still recom-
mend that winter tyres or all-season tyres should be fitted on all four wheels
when winter road conditions are expected, mainly because this will give a
better braking response.
Snow chains
On roads where snow chains are mandatory, this also applies to cars with
all-wheel drive.
Changing tyres

On vehicles with all-wheel drive, all four tyres must have the same rolling
circumference ⇒ p age 226.

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