Weekly Levels: Oil, Coolant, Brake, Washer, PAS

Bay Map

Petrol 2.5 shown, diesel 2.0 is the same layout: A oil dipstick, B oil filler, C coolant tank, D brake and clutch reservoir, E PAS reservoir, F washer, G battery on the left.

Engine Oil

Level ground, before a drive, or at least five minutes after shutdown. Wipe the stick, seat it fully, read between MIN and MAX. The spread on petrol is about 0.75 to 1.0 litre. Add slowly through the filler, re-check, stop at MAX. Frequent topping means a leak or the engine is burning it.

Coolant

Never open a hot tank. Cold, the level sits between MIN and MAX on the front of the bottle. Hot, it can sit a little above MAX. Mix water with the specified orange antifreeze; water alone thins the protection. A sealed system should not want regular topping. If it does, find the weep.

Brake And Clutch

One reservoir, left of the bay, feeds both the brakes and the hydraulic clutch. The level falls a little as pads wear, never below MIN. Repeated filling is a leak: do not drive it. Wipe the cap, hold the sender plug, look at the fluid. Dirty fluid wants a full change. Super DOT 4, paraffin-free, from a fresh sealed bottle.

Washer

Filler neck on the right. The same bottle feeds the tailgate and, where fitted, the headlamp washers. You cannot see the level easily: cap off, look down the neck. Screenwash additive, never coolant, never plain water in winter.

Power Steering

Reservoir on the right. Engine cold and off, wheel dead ahead, do not move it after shutdown. Cap off, dipstick between the marks. Specified fluid only, Dexron III, no dirt, no overfill. Frequent topping is a leak at the rack pipes.