Skoda Octavia Owner's Manual page 200

Do not place the battery in direct daylight in order to protect the vehicle bat-
■
tery housing from the effects of ultra-violet light.
If the vehicle is frequently used for making short trips, the vehicle battery
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will not have time to charge up sufficiently and may discharge.
For the sake of the environment
A vehicle battery that has been removed is a special type of hazardous waste.
These must be disposed of in accordance with national legal regulations.
Note
We recommend having all work on the vehicle battery carried out by a spe-
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cialist garage.
You should replace batteries older than 5 years.
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Opening the cover

Read and observe and
The battery is located in the engine compartment - in some models, under-
neath a polyester cover » Fig. 183.
›
Fold out the cover on the battery in the direction of the arrow.
The battery cover is installed in reverse order.
198
General Maintenance
Fig. 183
Engine compartment: Polyester
cover of vehicle battery
on page 197 first.
Checking the battery electrolyte level

Read and observe and
On vehicles with a vehicle battery fitted with a colour indicator
electrolyte level can be determined by looking at the change in colour of this
display.
Air bubbles can influence the colour of the indicator. For this reason carefully
knock on the indicator before carrying out the check.
›
Black colour – electrolyte level is correct.
›
Colourless or light yellow colour – electrolyte level too low, the battery must
be replaced.
Vehicles with a START-STOP system are fitted with a battery control unit for
checking the energy level for the recurring engine start.
We recommend that you have the acid level checked regularly by a specialist
garage, especially in the following cases.
›
High external temperatures.
›
Longer day trips.
›
After each charge.
Winter time
The vehicle battery only has a proportion of the starting power in lower tem-
peratures. A discharged vehicle battery may already freeze at temperatures
just below 0 °C.
We therefore recommend that you have the battery checked and, if necessary,
recharged by a specialist garage before the start of the winter.
Fig. 184
Vehicle battery: Electrolyte level
indicator
on page 197 first.
» Fig. 184, the
