Skoda OCTAVIA - 05-2010 Owner's Manual page 120

WARNING (continued)
stationary. The vehicle would otherwise immediately start off - also when the
handbrake is firmly applied - risk of an accident!

You must move the selector lever into position P and firmly apply the hand-
brake first before you or any other person opens the bonnet and starts working
on the engine when it is running - risk of accident! It is also essential to observe
all warnings  page 197, "Working in the engine compartment".
Selector lever lock
Automatic selector lever lock
With the ignition on, the selector lever is locked when it is in the positions P and N. You
must first of all depress the brake pedal in order to move the selector lever out of this
position. The warning light 
reminder for the driver when the selector lever is in the positions P and N.
A time delay element ensures that the selector lever is not blocked when rapidly
switching over the position N (e.g. from R to D). This does, for example, allow one to
seesaw out a stuck vehicle. The selector lever lock will click into place if the lever is in
the N position for more than 2 seconds without the brake pedal being pressed.
The selector lever lock is only active if the vehicle is stationary or moving at speed of
less than 5 km/hour. The lock is switched off automatically into position N when the
car is travelling at a higher speed.
Shiftlock button
The Shiftlock button in the handle of selector lever prevents certain selector lever posi-
tions being engaged inadvertently. The selector lever lock is cancelled when you press
the Shiftlock button.
Keylock - Ignition key withdrawal lock
You can only withdraw the ignition key after switching off the ignition if the selector
lever is in position P. If the ignition key is withdrawn, the selector lever is blocked in
position P.
Using the system Safety

 page 33 lights up in the instrument cluster as a
Driving Tips
Kickdown function
The kickdown function provides you with maximum acceleration
power.
Fully depressing the accelerator pedal allows the kickdown function to be activated in
the desired driving program. This function has precedence over the driving
programme and serves for maximum acceleration of the vehicle when exploiting the
maximum power potential of the engine without taking into account the current
selector lever position (D, S or Tiptronic). The gearbox shifts down to one or several
gears in line with the driving state and the vehicle accelerates. The gearbox does not
shift up into the highest gear until the engine has reached its maximum revolutions for
this gear range.
WARNING
Please note that using the kickdown function can result in the driven wheels
spinning on a smooth or slippery road surface - risk of skidding!
Dynamic shift programme
The automatic gearbox of your vehicle is controlled electronically. Shifting up and
down through the gears is performed automatically on the basis of pre-defined driving
programmes.
Adopting a moderate style of driving will cause the gearbox to select the most
economical driving programme. Shifting up into a higher gear as soon as possible and
shifting down as late as possible will have a favourable effect on your fuel consump-
tion.
Adopting a sporty style of driving with rapid movements of the accelerator pedal
combined with sharp acceleration and frequent changes in speed, exploiting the top
speed of the car or depressing the accelerator pedal (kickdown function), will cause
the gearbox to switch over to this style of driving and shift down earlier with frequent
changes in gears in comparison to the moderate style of driving.
Selecting the most appropriate driving programme for the particular style of driving is
a continuous process. Irrespective of this it is, however, possible to switch or shift down
into a dynamic shift programme by depressing the accelerator rapidly. The gearbox
shifts down into a lower gear matching the speed of the car and this allows you to
General Maintenance Breakdown assistance
Automatic gearbox 119
Technical Data