1993 VOLKSWAGEN GOLF Owners Manual

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Paint damage
Small marks in the paint su ch as scratches
or stone damage should be touched up im­
mediately with paint (Vol kswagen touch-up
stick or spray can) before the meta l starts to
rust.
H
owever, should rust be fou nd at any time it must be remo ved thoroughly and then the
area treated first with an ant i-corrosion
p rimer and then the correct pain t applied .
Y
ou can of course have this work done by a
V olkswagen dealer.
T he number of the original vehicl e paint
is given on the data sticke r (see page 147 )
Windows
Remov e sno w and ice from w indows and mirrors with a p lastic scraper only To avoid
s cratches due to dirt on the glass , the
s c raper should only be pushed in one direc­
t ion and not moved to and fro.
Traces of rubber , oil, grease or silicone can
b e remo ved with a window cleaning sol­ution or a si lic one remover.
- he
windows sho uld also be cleaned on the
n side at regular intervals.
0 0 not dry the w
indows with the leather
u sed for the paintwork because traces of paint cleaner wil l cause streaks to appear on the glass.
To avoid damaging the heating element wires in the rear window do not put
stickers over the wires on the inside.
Door, boot and window
weatherstrips
The w eatherstrips will rema in fle xible and last longer if the y are rubbed lightly with a
rubb er protec tive compound from time to
time . This will also stop the weatherstrips
from freezing on in the w inter.
Plastic parts and leatherette
Exterior plastic parts are cleaned with nor­mal w ashing and interior parts wit h a damp
cloth. If this is not suff ic ient. these parts and
leatherette may only be cleaned with special solvent-free plastic cleaners.
Upholstery cloth and textile
trim
Upho ls tery cloth and textile trim on door
panels, parcel shelv es, lu ggage compart­
ment co vers , h eadlining ete.
must be cleaned with special cleane rs or dry foam
and a soft brush .
Leather
Le athe r shou ld, depe nding on usage, be
treated from time to tim e in ac cordance with the follo wing instruc tions. It mus t be
not ed t hat on no account may solvents,
f loor w ax, shoe polish, spot re­mo vers and similar products be used for this purpose.
For the norma l clean ing of leather covered
steering wheels, seat upholstery etc . a cot­
ton or woollen cloth lightly moistened
with w ater should be used to clean dirty leath er
surfaces. Dirtie r areas can be cleaned with a mild soap solution (2 dess er t spoonfuls of
a neutral soap to 1 litre of water) . It is essen ­
t ia l to note that the leather must not be made too wet and that no water seeps
th roug h th e seams . After cleaning, wipe dry with a soft cloth .
F u rthermore we recomme nd th a
t. w ith nor­
mal usage, the leat her is treat ed at half­
y ear ly interva ls with a special leather care
age nt which can be obtained from Volks­wagen dealers. This age nt is to be app lied
very sparingly. After it has dried in, wipe w ith a soft cloth.
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Cleaning seat belts
Keep belts clean because they ma y not

retract properly if very dirty .

Dirt y be
lts can be cleaned by was hing w ith

a mild soap solutio n without taking the belts

out of the vehicle.

Note
Inert ia reel belts should be completel y dry
before they are allowed to roll up.
Attention Do not have the belts cleaned chemically because the cleaning compounds damage the webbing material. Ensure that the belts do not come into contact with cor­rosive fluids.
Steel wheels
The wheels and the whee l tr ims should be
cle aned thoroughly at regular inter vals w hen the vehicle is being washed. This w ill
prevent brake dust , dirt and road salt from
accu mulating on the wheel. Persistent
ingr ained brake dust can be removed With an industrial grim e remov er. P aint damage
should be repaired before rust can form.
Alloy wheels
In order to maintain th e smart appearan ce
of all oy wheels for a long period, regular
car e is necessary . In particular, salt and brake pad dust must be washed off th or­ ough
ly
at leas t every tw o w eeks otherwise
the surface of the alloy Will be damaged
After being w ashed, the w heels shou ld be treated with an acid-free cleaner for al loy wheels. About every three months it is necessary to give wheels a good rubbing
w ith hard wax. Paint polish or other abrasiv e
solutions must not
be used. If the protecti ve
paint coat has been damaged , eg. by stone
impact, the damaged spots should be dealt with as soon as possible.
Cleaning and anti-corrosion
treatment of engine compart­
ment
Attention Before doing any work in the en­gine compartment it is essential to read the notes on page 91!
The leaves, blossoms etc . w hich drop into
the water box (underneath the engine
bonnet
in f ront of the windscreen) should
be cleaned out occasional ly This w ill pre­
v ent the water drain holes becoming
blocked
and -on veh ic les w ithout a fresh air
filter -foreign bodies entering the vehicle
interior v
ia the heating and ventilat ion sys­
tem.
Attention For safety reasons pull out igni­tion key before reaching into the water box. Otherwise if the wind­screen wipers are switched on unintentionally the movement of the wiper linkage could cause in­jury.
The engine compartment an d th e outsi de
surface of the power unit are given anti-cor ­
rosion treatment at the factor y.
In th e winter w hen the vehicle is being
driven frequ entl y on salted roads, good anti­
corrosion treatment is very important. For
th is reason the entire engin e comp
artment and the plen um chamber should be thor­
ough ly cleaned before and after the salting
period
and then preserved so that the salt cannot have a damag ing effect
The ignition must be switched off before washing the engine.
If the engine compartment is cle aned at any
time with greas e removing solution s 1) or if
one has the engine washed, the anti-cor­
rosion compound is nearly alwa ys removed as wel l. It is the refore essential to ask for
durable preserv ation of all surfaces, seams,
joints and components in the engine com­partment to be carried out. This applies also
1) Only the corre e clean ing solutions may be use d -on no aecoun petrol or Diesel.
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w hen corrosion protected parts are re­ewed.
dih Because when washing the en­~gine petrol, grease and oil de­posits are washed off, the dirty water must be cleaned by an oil sep­arator. For this reason engine wash­ing should only be carried out in a workshop or filling station.
\folkswagen dealers have stocks of the
h igh-quality cleaning and prese rvation ma­
te rials re commended by the factory and
have the equipment ne cessary to appl y them .
Underseal
The under side of the vehicle is coated with a special compound to protect It from cor­
rosion and damage .
H ow ever,
as this protective layer becomes
a m aged when the ve hicle is in use , the
p rotecti ve coating under the body and on
t h e runn ing gear should be examined at de­
fi ned inter vals -prefer ably befo re and after the winter season -and any damage made
g ood. Volksw
agen dealers have stocks of the cor­
rect compound,
have the necessary equip­
ment and are famil iar w ith th e application
proc edure . We advise you ther efore to have
the patching up or additional coating done by a Vol ksw agen dealer.
Note for vehicles with a catalytic
converter
Due to the high temperatures which occur in the afterburning process, additional heat
shi elds are fitted over the catalytic con­
v e rter. Underbodysealant must not
be ap­plied to the se shields, the catal ytic con­
v erter or the exhaust pies. Remo val of the
heat shields is also not permissible .
Cavity preservation
All cavities on the vehicle which could be susceptible to corros ion are given perma­
nent protect ion at the factory.
This coating does not need check i
ng or any
subsequent treatment. Should a small
amount
of wa x run out of the cavities at high
ambient te mperatures it can be re moved
with a plastic scraper and some white spirit.
Note
On no account allow the tail lights to com e
Into contact with dry cleaning solvent.
If the wax which has run out is removed with clean petrol, heed the safety and environmental protection regulations.
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