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1
 INSTRUMENT PANEL 
Illustration instruments and controls 
Warning and indicator light symbols 
CONTROLS AND EQUIPMENT 
Keys,
 central locking system .... 7, 8 
Doors 9 
Rear lid 11 
Windows, mirrors 12, 13  Safety belts, head restraints . . . .14,19 
Seats 20 Luggage compartment, pedals . 28,29 
Brakes, Transmission 29, 32  Differential lock 33 
Automatic-transmission 35  Steering lock/ignition/starter switch . 38 
Starting procedures 39 Instrument cluster 40 
Warning/indicator lights 43  Switches 46 Emergency flasher 46 
Light switch, turn signals .... 46,48 
Cruise control 49 
Windshield wipers 50  Ventilation/Heating 51 
Air conditioning 54 
Heater 57 
Sliding roof 62 
Roof-rack 68  VEHICLE OPERATION 
Break-in period - and afterwards . . 69 
Operate your vehicle safety 70 
Operate your vehicle economically 
and minimize pollution 72 
Trailer towing 73  Driving with the all-wheel drive ... 75 
VEHICLE CARE 
Fuel tank, fuel supply 85,86 
Vehicle care (exterior/interior) . . 90, 93  Maintenance, inspection intervals . . 95 Engine compartment lid, 
engine compartment 97  Lubricants, engine oil 98,99 
Engine oil filter 101 
Transmission oil 102 
Power steering 103 
Cooling system 104  Brake fluid 108 
Battery 109 
Windshield washers/wipers . . . 112,113 
Tires/wheels 114  Difficult operating conditions .... 120 
Winter driving 121 
Accessories 122 
DO-IT-YOURSELF SERVICE 
Jack and tools 123  Spare wheel 124 
Changing a wheel 125  Fuses, bulbs 128, 130  Adjusting headlights 
134 
Installing,
 replacing the radio . .  . . 135 
Emergency starting  136 
Emergency towing  138 
Lifting vehicle  . . 140 
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION 
Engine, transmission 142 
Steering,
 suspension, brakes, 
body, chassis 143 Emission-control-system 144 
TECHNICAL DATA 
Engine, spark plugs . 
V-belts capacities . .  Dimensions 
Weights 
Vehicle identification  146 
147 
148 
150  151 
CONSUMER INFORMATION 
Service manuals 152 
GAS STATION INFORMATION 
Location of servicing points 156 
ALPHABETICAL INDEX 158 
 
 
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INSTRUMENT PANEL AND CONTROLS 
page 
1 - Air vents 51 
2 - Light switch and thumb wheel  for instrument illumination 46 
3 - Safety belt and brake warning lights 43, 47 
4 - Speedometer with trip odometer 40  5 — Warning/indicator lights 6, 43 
6 - Clock or tachometer with fuel gauge and  coolant temperature gauge 40,41 
7 - Rear window defogger switch 47 
8 - Emergency flasher switch 46  9 - For additional switch 
10 - Air vents, left and right 51 
11 - Ashtray 64 
12 - Loudspeaker grille 
13 - Fuses 128  14 - Turn signal/headlight dimmer switch lever 48 
15 - Horn  page 
16 - Digital clock 40 
17 - Steering lock/ignition/starter switch 38 
18 - Temperature switch for auxiliary heater 57 
19 - Windshield wiper/washer lever 50 
20 - Secondary heat exchanger switch 53 
21 - Emission Control System (ECS) 45 
22 - Climate controls 51 
23 - Air vents 51 
24 - Radio1) 
25 - Cigarette lighter 63  26 - Glove compartment 64 
1) A separate brochure is provided for your factory-installed 
radio.
 If you replace your radio, please be sure to read the notes 
in the chapter "Do-it-yourself Service", page 135. 
Note 
Some features mentioned are standard equipment on some 
models only or are options on others. 
 
 
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CONTROLS
 AND
 EQUIPMENT 
STARTING
 PROCEDURES 
WARNING 
•
 Fasten safety belts before driving. 
•
 Never
 start or let the engine run in a 
confined or enclosed, unventilated 
area.
 Exhaust fumes from the engine 
contain carbon monoxide, which is a 
colorless
 and odorless gas. Carbon  monoxide can be
 fatal
 if inhaled. 
•
 Never
 leave engine idling unatten
ded.
 An unattended vehicle with a run
 ning
 engine is potentially hazardous. 
•
 Do not park or operate the vehicle in 
areas
 where the hot exhaust system  may come in contact with dry grass, 
brush,
 fuel
 spill
 or other
 material, 
which can cause a fire. 
•
 Do not leave engine unattended at 
idle.
 When starting engine, be ready to 
drive off immediately. Maintain moder
 ate
 speed until the engine is
 com
pletely warm. Remember that
 your
 en
gine performs best at operating
 tem
 perature. 
 Automatic
 Transmission 
Engine will only start with selector lever in 
Neutral or Park. 
Manual
 Transmission 
Start with gearshift lever in Neutral, clutch 
pedal
 depressed, so that the starter only 
has
 to crank the engine. 
Starting
 engine 
 •
 Do not depress accelerator pedal 
when starting. At extrem low temperatures 
the engine will probably start better, if you  depress accelerator pedal slighly. 
•
 As soon as the engine starts, release 
the ignition key. 
•
 If the engine does not start the first time 
or
 stalls,
 turn
 the ignition off and restart.  Depress the accelerator pedal slowly 
during the second starting attempt. 
•
 Operate the starter for no more than 
10
 seconds. 
•
 Allow about 30 seconds between each 
starting
 attempt. 
 STOPPING
 ENGINE 
Do not stop engine immediately after 
hard or extended driving. Keep engine 
running for about two minutes to pre
vent
 excessive heat build-up. 
WARNING 
•
 Before you check anything in the 
engine compartment, stop the engine  and let it cool down. Hot components 
can
 burn skin on contact. 
•
 The radiator fan switches on auto
matically
 when the coolant reaches a cer
tain
 temperature and will continue to run 
 (even
 with ignition off) until the coolant 
temperature drops. 
39 
 
 
 
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CONTROLS
 AND
 EQUIPMENT 
INSTRUMENTCLUSTER 
page 
1 -
 Speedometer/Odometer
 .... 40 
2
 -
 Digital clock*
 40 
3
 -
 Tachometer* or normal clock
 . . 41 
4
 -
 Coolant temperature gauge
 . . 41 
 5
 -
 Fuel gauge
 42 
6
 -
 Warning/indicator lights 
 |B25-624J 
1 -
 Speedometer/Odometer 
The
 speedometer
 indicates road
 speed. 
The
 odometer
 indicates
 the
 distance 
driven. 
 USA
 models: Miles 
Canada
 models: Kilometers 
To record
 a
 distance, reset
 the
 trip 
odometer to
 zero by pressing the button. 
The last
 digit
 in red indicates
 1
 /10 of a mile 
or kilometer.  2
 -
 Digital
 clock* 
To
 set the
 digital clock, use
 a
 ball
 point 
pen. 
•
 Push
 left
 button
 below display window 
briefly
 to
 advance one hour
 at a
 time
 and 
right
 button
 to
 advance
 one
 minute
 at a 
time. 
•
 Hold buttons depressed
 to
 advance 
hours or minutes rapidly. 
•
 For second accuracy, synchronize
 with 
the
 aid of a
 digital
 wrist
 watch
 or a
 time 
 signal
 from
 your radio. Set the clock one minute slow, then briefly push
 right
 button 
the moment the seconds of the
 wrist
 watch  have completed a
 full
 minute or the signal 
in the radio sounds. 
40 *where applicable 
 
 
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CONTROLS AND EQUIPMENT 
I - Tachometer* 
"he red shaded area at the end of the  scale indicates the maximum permissible 
engine rpm (revolutions per minute) for all  gears after the break-in period. Before 
'eaching this area, the next higher gear 
snould be selected or the foot eased off 
the accelerator pedal. Earlier shifting  saves fuel and reduces noise. 
Sniff to the next lower gear when the en-
; ne rpm drops below 1500 rpm. 
~ne green shaded area on the scale  snows the speed at which the engine is de-
 •
 eloping its most favourable torque. 
3 - Normal clock* 
~J
 set the clock, depress the knob in the  : al center and
 turn. 
 4 - Coolant temperature 
gauge  X 
tare applicable  The needle in the coolant temperature 
gauge will indicate the temperature of the 
coolant shortly after the ignition is 
switched on. 
When ignition is switched on the warning  light (c) will flash for a few seconds as a 
functional check. 
a - Engine cold 
Avoid high engine speeds and heavy throt tle when the needle is still in this area of 
the
 dial. 
b - Normal temperature During normal running the needle will re
main somewhere in the middle of the
 dial. 
 If the engine is working hard at hign a--
bient temperatures, the needle may as: 
go further to the right, but this is no cause 
for concern so long as the coolant
 tem
 perature warning light does not start 
flashing. 
c - Warning light  If the light flashes when driving first check 
the coolant temperature gauge. If the nee
dle is in the normal range, add coolant at the  next opportunity. If the needle is in the warn
ing range, either the coolant level is too low 
or the coolant temperature is too high.  Move the vehicle a safe distance off the 
road,
 stop the engine and depress the 
emergency flasher switch. 
The fan should be operating when the  warning light is on (listen for fan, located in 
front of car behind grille). 
WARNING • To reduce the risk of being burned, 
never open the hood if you see or hear 
steam or coolant escaping from the 
engine compartment. Wait until no 
steam or coolant can be seen or heard 
before carefully opening the hood. 
 
 
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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 CONTROLSAND EQUIPMENT 
WARNING If the brake warning
 light
 does not go 
out
 with
 the engine running and the  parking brake released or lights up 
while driving, the fluid level
 in
 the brake 
fluid reservoir may
 be
 too low. 
This might be
 due
 to
 a
 leak in one of the  two independently functioning brake circuits. 
If the brake pedal travel has increased, 
one of the brake circuits may have 
failed.
 Avoid driving the vehicle and  have it towed to the nearest Volkswa
gen dealer or qualified workshop for re pair. 
If brake pedal travel has not increased 
and
 braking performance remains un
 impaired,
 proceed carefully to
 your 
nearest Volkswagen dealer or qualified 
workshop to have the braking system  inspected and corrected. 
For detailed information see
 "Brakes" on 
page 29.  2-
 Safety belt
 |
 A
 FASTEN
 BELTS 
Refer
 to
 "Safety belts"
 on
 page
 14 for 
details. 
3
 -
 Turn
 signals E^ 
Refer
 to
 "Turn
 signal/headlight dimmer 
switch lever" on page 49 for details. 
4
 - Alternator 
This
 light comes
 on
 when
 the
 ignition
 is 
 turned on and goes out after the engine
 is 
started.
 If the
 light does
 not go out
 after 
starting
 and
 revving-up
 the
 engine 
momentarily
 or
 lights
 up
 while driving, 
there may be a malfunction
 in
 the electrical  system
 or
 the V-belt
 to
 the alternator may be loose
 or
 broken. 
In
 this
 case,
 turn
 the engine off and 
contact
 your
 Volkswagen dealer. 
5
 - For additional
 light 
6
 - For additional
 light 
 7
 - Engine Oil pressure 
When
 the
 ignition
 is
 turned
 on, the oil 
 pressure warning light comes on for a bulb 
check.
 It
 should
 go out
 after
 the
 engine 
has
 started. 
If the
 warning light does
 not go out or 
flashes
 while driving
 (above
 2000
 engine  rpm a buzzer
 will
 sound simultaneously),
 it 
indicates,
 that the oil pressure is too low. 
Stop the engine immediately, check the 
engine
 oil
 level
 and add
 oil, if necessary. 
If engine oil level is normal, but the
 light 
continues to flash, do not continue to 
operate the vehicle. This could damage 
the engine. 
Turn
 the engine off and contact the nearest  Volkswagen dealer for assistance. 
The oil pressure warning
 light
 is not an  indicator for low engine oil level. To 
check
 the oil level, always use dipstick 
(see page 99). 
Make
 it a habit to have the engine oil 
level checked
 with
 every
 fuel filling. 
 
 
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CONTROLS AND EQUIPMENT 
SWITCHES 
3 4 5 
page
 1 - Lights 
1
 -
 Lights
 46 
2
 -
 Instrument illumination
 46 
3
 -
 Emergency flasher
 46 
4
 -
 Rear window defogger
 47 
 5
 - For
 additional switch  Depress
 the
 rocker switch
 to the
 first stop 
to turn
 on the
 parking, side marker, license 
 plate,
 tail
 and
 instrument panel lights. Depress
 the
 switch
 to the
 second stop
 to 
turn
 on the
 headlights (ignition
 on). 
To conserve battery power,
 the
 headlights  will
 go out
 automatically when
 the
 ignition is turned
 off or
 when
 the
 engine
 is
 started. 
Headlight dimmer and 
headlight flasher see
 page
 48.  2 - InstrumeriL illumination 
Turn
 the
 thumb wheel below rocker switch 
to adjust
 the
 brightness
 of
 instrument 
lights. 
3 - Emergency 
flasher 
The emergency flasher works indepen dently
 of the
 ignition switch position. 
If your vehicle
 is
 disabled
 or
 parked under 
emergency conditions, depress the switch 
to make
 all
 four turn signals flash simul
taneously.
 The
 warning light
 in the
 rocker 
switch flashes,
 too. 
WARNING 
Move the vehicle a safe distance off the 
road when stalled or stopped for 
repairs. Do not park or operate the 
vehicle in areas where the hot exhaust  system may come in contact with dry 
grass, brush, fuel spill or other material 
which can cause a fire. 
46 
 
 
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