1990 VOLKSWAGEN TRANSPORTER Syncro

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CONTROLS AND
EQUIPMENT

Key A is used for the ignition/steering lock, • Do not
leave
your
vehicle
unattended

the doors, the lockable tank cap and the
with
the key in the
ignition
lock.
Always
rear luggage compartment lid.
take
the key and lock the doors.

KEYS

B25-460

Your
Volkswagen comes
with
four keys: • two keys A
• two keys B

Key
A can be inserted
into
locks either
way. Key B is provided for vehicles equipped

with
a lockable glove compartment.
Tag C gives the key number.
For
your
protection
against
theft:
• Record the key number and keep it in a

safe
place, such as your wallet. Do not keep it in the vehicle.
• If you should lose a key, provide your
Vol­

kswagen dealer
with
the key number to
obtain a duplicate key.
In addition to the plastic tag, there may also
be a metal tag snowing part of the vehicle
identification number. This tag is no longer
required after the vehicle has been deliv­

ered.

Note

The syncro model has a separate key for the lockable tank cap.
A
chime
will sound when you open the
driver's door
with
the key
left
in the ignition lock. This is your reminder to remove the
key and lock the doors.

WARNING
• Do not
leave
children
unattended
in
the
vehicle
especially
with
access to
vehicle
keys. Unsupervised use of the
keys
can
result
in
starting
of the
engine

and use of
vehicle
systems such as
power
windows
etc. Unsupervised use
of
these
systems can
result
in serious
personal
injury.

• Do not
remove
key
from
steering

lock
while
you are
driving
or as the

vehicle
is
rolling
to a stop. The
steering

column
will
lock
when
you
remove
the key, and you
will
not be
able
to
steer
the

vehicle.


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CONTROLS AND EQUIPMENT
MANUAL TRANSMISSION
B25-352
Gearshift lever
Start engine with gearshift lever in Neu­

tral,
clutch pedal depressed.
Always depress the clutch pedal fully
when changing gears. Do not hold the vehicle on a steep hill with the clutch pedal partially depressed. This may
cause premature clutch wear or dam­

age.

Resting your hand on the shift lever
knob while driving will cause premature
wear in the transmission. The forward gears and the reverse gear
are arranged as illustrated.
Reverse
Shift into Reverse only when the vehicle is not moving.
To engage Reverse, move lever to left, press down, move further to left and them
push forward. Especially after some

driving,
depress the clutch pedal fully and rest the shift lever in Neutral for a few
seconds before shifting into Reverse.
Back-up lights go on when you engage Reverse gear with ignition on. JB25-519
Low-speed traction gear (L)
(Syncro models only)
The vehicle is equipped with a four speed manual transmission which has a
addi­

tional low-speed traction gear (L).
Engaging the Low Gear
Move the gearshift lever as far as possible
to the left in neutral, press down and move lever still further to the left and then pull
back.


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CONTROLS AND
EQUIPMENT

THE
DIFFERENTIAL
LOCK*
(SYNCRO)

When driving around a curve, the outside
.vheels
turn
more than the inside wheels.

A
gear set, part of the transmission, called :he differential, compensates for the differ­
ence.
If, however, one wheel gets on a slip­ pery surface and starts to spin, the
differential will not transmit power to the
ether wheel. The car will be stuck. The
dif­

ferential lock will allow power to be trans­
mitted
to both wheels to help get the vehi-
:!e
moving again. Because the differential
5
then unable to compensate for corner-
~.g, vehicle handling and maneuverability

.'.ill
be reduced. Therefore the differential zck may only be used under limited condi-

:ons.

WARNING
Locked
differential
cannot
compensate

for
cornering
and
therefore
increases

tire
wear,
reduces
vehicle
maneuvera­
bility,
driveability
and can
impair
vehi­
cle
handling
performance.
See
detailed
instructions
on
next
page.
Using the
differential
lock

Engage
or disengage the differential
with

the knob shown in the center of the instru­ ment panel.

WARNING

To
reduce
the
potential
for loss of
vehicle
control,
only
use the
rear

differential
lock
under
the specific and
limited
circumstances described on
the
next
page.
When
the
knob
is
pulled
or pushed.
engagement or disengagement is ony initiated. The actual locking of the differ­
ential can be delayed if the wheels are rotating at substantially different speeds.
When driving around a corner it could also happen
that
the lock will not engage or

disengage.

Under
such conditions slow down and
drive in a straight-ahead direction so
that

the lock may engage or disengage.
The
warning
light
above the knob indi­
cates
the operational condition of the lock:
• The
light
comes on only when the lock

has
engaged properly.
• The
light
goes out again once the knob

has
been pushed in and the lock has actu­
ally disengaged. If the warning
light
does not
light
up, after selecting the differential
lock, and after an extended drive, the elec­
trical system and the lock should be

checked
by your VW dealer.
e applicable


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CONTROLS
AND
EQUIPMENT

WARNING continned •
The
engine compartment
of any

motor vehicle
is a
potentially hazard­
ous
area.
Before you check anything in the engine compartment, stop
the

engine and
let it
cool down. Always
exercise extreme caution when work­
ing
one the
engine. Heed
all of the

WARNINGS on page
97.

Reduce the risk
of
scalding from
hot

coolant by following these steps.
• If the coolant reservoir cap must be
removed, wait until
the
engine
has

cooled down.
• Protect face, hands
and
arms
by

covering
the cap
with
a
large, thick
rag
to
protect against escaping fluid
and
steam.

• Carefully and slowly
turn
cap
one

turn
to
allow excess pressure
to es­
cape before completely removing

cap.

•
To
help avoid being burned,
do not

spill
antifreeze
or
coolant
on the ex­

haust system
or hot
engine parts.
Under
some conditions, the ethylene
glycol
in
engine coolant
is
combusti­
ble.
If a
visual check shows that coolant level
and V-belt
are
normal,
but the
warning light continues to
flash,
contact
your
near­
est dealer
to
have
the
cause located
and

corrected.
For more details see "Cooling system"
on

page 104.

If the
coolant gauge needle nears
the

upper end
of
the scale and the engine ap­
pears
to be
overheating,
turn
off the air

conditioner.
Do
not
install accessories
(fog
lights
or
in­
sect screens,
for
example)
on top of the

front
bumper.
They
may
restrict engine
cooling.
5
-
Fuel gauge
The needle
in
the fuel gauge will indicate the fuel level
in the
tank shortly after
the
ignition is switched on.
The fuel tank capacity is
16
gal/60
(syncro
18.5/70)
liters.
When
the
needle reaches the
red
area
at
the bottom there
is a
reserve
of
about 2.6 U.S. gal.
or
10 liters
of
fuel left in the tank.
Time to refuel.


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I
CONTROLS AND EQUIPMENT
AUXILIARY HEATER* (Syncro models only)
The auxiliary heater* heats the coolant in the heating circuit and supplies the heat exchanger in the normal heating system
and the additional heat exchanger* for the
passenger compartment heating with heated coolant.
The system is switched off and on or the
switch-
on time preselected by means of a
switch and indicator unit located on the left under the instrument panel.
Air distribution and regulation is done with the controls of the normal heating and
ven­

tilation system (see "Ventilation/Heating"
on page 51).
The auxiliary heater can be used with vehicle stationary or when it is moving.
When vehicle is stationary, the heater only runs for a maximum of 30 minutes in order
to avoid draining the battery. It also switches off automatically when a coolant
temperature of 80° C (175° F) is reached.
When the coolant temperature drops below 70° C (158° F) the heater is auto­matically switched on again. The heater runs on fuel from the vehicle
tank and uses up to half a litre (one quart) per hour. Controls
A - Buttons for setting time and
preselected time
B - Indicator lamp for preselected time
C - Preselected time D - Display
E - Actual time
F - Heater on/off
G - Warning lamp (Heater on)
60 "where applicable


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VEHICLE
OPERATION

IVING
YOUR
SYNCRO

me Vanagon/Transporter Syncro is
quipped
with
a new type of four-wheel :'>/e system, very much
different
from

rcnventional systems
that
have to be man- -=i!y engaged when needed. The
Vol­

kswagen all wheel drive system is always

e-gaged.
Only the amount of power being
-ansmitted to the
front
and rear wheels
:~anges
according to requirements.

Cue
to this extraordinary drive concept,

:~e
Syncro is a very efficient road vehicle I
nich
has a wide variety of
uses
and appli-
:ations. It has proved its virtues in poor Bather and road conditions and
posses­

ses
limited off-road capabilities.
This
chapter is provided to help you to
sen­

sibly and safely use the superior driving
characteristics of the Vanagon Syncro to
their best advantage. It also contains tech­
nical
information and operating instruc­
tions to the extent
that
these vary
from

those applicable to the conventional
Vana­

gon or Transporter.

Be
sure to carefully read this chapter be­
fore starting to drive your Syncro so
that

you
will
become thoroughly familiar
with
its features and be able to operate it cor­
rectly and safely. Always heed the warn­
ings and other instructions contained in
this chapter and in your Owner's
Manual.
Because
the Vanagon/Transporter Syncro

is
not an off-road or all terrain vehicle, this
chapter does not contain all of the informa­

tion
required to operate such a vehicle under all types of off-road or weather
con­

ditions.

Above
all use common
sense.
Do not let the excellent traction of your Vanagon/
Transporter Syncro lead you to under­ estimate the difficulties and risks involved in driving on wet, slippery and rough road

surfaces.
Always drive defensively and
adapt vehicle operation and driving speed
to road,
traffic
and weather conditions.


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VEHICLE
OPERATION

The
function
of the
all-wheel
drive
and how it
works

In contrast to conventional four wheel
drive systems
that
require transmissions
to be manually engaged when needed,
the Vanagon/Transporter Syncro all-wheel
drive system is always engaged. Only the
amount of power being transmitted to the

front
and rear wheels changes automati­
cally
as the road surface demands.
The automatic distribution of power is
accomplished
through a
fluid
shear
cou­

pling (viscous coupling)
that
is
part
of the

front
axle. The design of the viscous
cou­
pling keeps driving force losses to a mini­
mum while distributing the forward
thrust

to all four wheels when needed. When the going gets rough, especially
when wet, slippery or snow covered roads

cause
the rear or
front
wheels to slip, the

viscous
coupling automatically transfers driving force to the other wheels to help
you keep moving.
The distribution of drive forces allows the
Syncro
to adapt to changing road surfaces
and provide increased traction automati­

cally.
The Syncro driver is therefore able to

fully
concentrate on the road and
traffic

conditions.
This
extraordinary drivetrain concep:

makes
the Vanagon/Transporter Syncrc
an extremely efficient road vehicle suit­
able for a wide variety of uses and applica­
tions. While it has proved is ability to han­
dle poor weather and road conditions anc
has
limited off-road capabilities, re­
member your Vanagon/Transporter
Syn­

cro is not an off-road or all-terrain vehicle.
76


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VEHICLE OPERATION

Advantages off the all-wheel drive

The Vanagon/Transporter Syncro
all-
wheel drive system
has the
following
ad­

vantages over
a
two-wheel drive vehicle:
Driving Power
Driving Power
is
greatly increased
by the

continual all-wheel drive especially
on
snow
and
slippery surfaces, when starting
off from
a
standstill,
and
when driving
on
rough roads.
Within reason, your Vanagon/Transporter Syncro
can go
places where other
vehi­

cles
may
likely
get
stuck.
It is
easier
to
stop
on slippery hills
and get
going again.
Moving Force
As
the
driving force applied
to the
road goes
to
four wheels instead
of two, the

amount
of
slip
is
considerably reduced.
This improves
the
traction between tire and road surface
and
thereby,
the
drive-
ability
on
slippery road surfaces. On vehicles with two-wheel drive,
the
driv­
ing wheels
can
spin
on
slippery surfaces
if

too much acceleration
is
applied. This
greatly reduces tire grip
and can
result
in
loss
of
vehicle control.
By distributing
the
driving forces
to
four
in­

stead
of two
wheels,
the
wheels
of the
Va­ nagon/Transporter Syncro
are
less likely
to spin under
the
same conditions.
Snow tires
With
the
all-wheel drive system
the
Vana­ gon/Transporter Syncro
is
good
for
winter
driving even with standard tires. However,
we recommend
the use of all
season tires
or radial snow tires (M
+
S) with
or
without

studs*,
on all
wheels,
for
better driving,
cornering
and
braking,
in
winter weather.
Details under "Snow tires"
on
page
118

also apply.
Snow chains
Snow chains can improve both road traction
and braking when driving
in
severe winter
weather. Therefore,
use
snow chains
on

your all-wheel drive vehicle when required. For additional information,
see
page
119.
Operation
In contrast
to
conventional all-wheel drive
systems that require transmissions
to be

manually engaged when needed,
the Va­
nagon/Transporter Syncro all-wheel drive
system
is
always engaged. Only
the

amount
of
power being transmitted
to the

front
and
rear wheels changes automati­ cally
as the
road surface demands.
The

Syncro driver
is
therefore able
to
fully
con­

centrate
on the
road and traffic conditions.
The differential lock*
for the
rear axle must only
be
used when
the
vehicle
is
stuck
or
in immediate danger
of
becoming stuck. For further information
on the
differential
lock,
see
page
33.

78 "Check with your local Motor Vehicle Bureau
for

possible restrictions.
'where applicable


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