2004 VOLKSWAGEN GOLF PLUS brake

Brake booster
Th e brak e boo ste r w ork s o
nly wh en the engi ne is
running . It increa se s th e forc e on the brake s above and beyond the pre ssure put on th e brake pedal by
the driver.
If the brake booster is not working, or if th e ve hicl e
ha s to be towed, you have to push th e brak e
p ed a l hard er to make up for the lack of booster
New brake pads do not provide maximum braking performance.
New brake pads do not have the best ping power for the first km) and must be You can compensate for the slightl y reduced braking force by putting more pressure on the brake pedal.
Drive with
Never follow otl1er vehicles too closely or put yourself into other sit uation s that might require sudden, hard braking ,especially when the brake pads have not been broken
Overheated brakes
When driving downhill , the brakes have to
work es pecially hard and heat up quickly.
Before driving downhill, es peciall y on th at are long or steep, alwa ys reduce s peed and shift into lower gear (manual or automatic
transmission) so that the engine he lp s to brake
the vehicl e. Othenvise, the brake system cou ld
ov erheat and pos sibly u se the brakes
w hen yo u need them to slow the v ehicl e down
m ore or to stop.
A damaged front spoiler or a non- standard spoiler can reduce airflow to the brakes and
Starting, shifting, parking
Wet brakes or brakes witl1 icc or road salt
react slow er and n eed lo n ger stoppin g tances.
Ca refully apply the brakes to test th em.
Always dry brak es and clean off ice and salt
coat ings with a few cautious
tions permit.
Driving when the booster is no t working
in creases stopping distances and can cause dent s and seriou s personal injuries.
Never le t the vehicl e coast when the en gine is
switc hed off.
If the brake booster is not working (such as
w he n the vehicle is bein g towed), a lot more pedal force is needed to slow down and stop.
Note
Neve r the by keeping your foot on the to brak e.
Constant pressure on the brake pedal can make th e brakes overheat. This sub stantially reduce
braking performance, increase stopping di stan ce, and can cause co mpl ete failure of th e brake
s y stem.
Before driving downhill, especially on that are long or steep, always reduce speed and shift into lower gear (manua l or automati c
When th e front brake s are serviced , you should have the rea r brake pads inspected
rized Volksw agen deal er or au th orize d Volkswa gen
Service Facility vis uall y insp ec t th e pads through
th e o pe nin gs in the wh eel rim s or from nea th tl1e ve hicle. If n ecess ary, the wheels ca n be
t ake n off for a mor e thorou gh
192 193

Braking assistance system s
fir st read and n o te the introductory information and heed the
on page
T he and EDL braking tance system s work onl y w he n th e engine is ning. These sys te m s can sig nificantl y improve
vehicle namics to help reduce the probability of skidding and loss o f vehicl e control. works only w hen the engine is running. driving situations, including w hen the veh icle is beginning to spin (yaw) out of control.
gin e power and by providing steering assistance to help hold the ve hicle on the driver's intended
course.
has limitation s.
will not always be able to help out under all tions you m ay come up against. For example, may no t a lways be able to hel p you mas te r tions w he re there is sudde n change in the
cannot perform the sa me
way it would on a dry surface. the vehicl e
cornering. ularly on winding road s, cannot always deal as
e ffectiv ely wi th diffi cult drivin g situations it can
a t lower speed s. When towin g a is not able to help you regain control as it would if yo u were not towing a trailer.
Alway s
adjust your speed bility, road, cannot overcome the laws of phys ics, increa se the available
stead, improves the possibil ity o f keeping th e
vehi cle under control and o n th e road during treme maneuvers b y using th e driver's s teerin g puts to help keep the vehicle going in the int ended direction .lf you a re tra velin g at a speed that causes yo u to run off th e road before can provide any
EDL , and XDL syste m s (sec be lo w). is switc hed on all the tim e. certain situati ons
w he n you need less traction or additional tract ion cannot be achieved, you can swit ch off by pressing page 196, fig. l28. B e
s
ure to switch ASR on again when you no longer
need less traction.
Anti-lock
brake system (ABS)
ABS helps to keep the wheels from l ocking up and helps to maintain t h e driver's ability to steer and control the vehicle . Thi s means the vehicle is less lik ely to skid, even during hard
th e brake pedal down hard
Do not the brake pedal or letup on it!
S teer the vehicl e while pushing down hard on the brake pedal.
ABS sto ps working if you re lease or let up on th e brake.
When is doing i t s job, you will notice
noise. T he stopping di stance may even be lo nger, for instance, when dri ving on
pin g distances.lfyou press the pedal very quickly, BAS detects an e m ergency situ ation.
pedal! BAS
s w itches off automaticall y as soon
reduces en gine power d irected to spinning wheels and adjus ts power to the road conditions.
Eve n under poor ro ad conditions,

can be swi tched on or off
196.
Electr onic differential lock (EDL ond XDL)
EDL is applied during regular straight-li ne at ion. brake s a drive wheel that has lost
trac tio n (sp inn ing) and r edi rects the drive force to
o th er drive whee ls. In ext re m e cases, EDL from h eating. As soon
loss of contro l a nd result in serious sonal inju ry for yo u and yo ur passe ngers.
A lw ays adjust your s peed and driv in g s ty le to
road, traffic,
r is ks.
B rakin g ass istance syste m s cannot come th e laws of p h ys ics an d always prevent loss
o f vehi cle control. Slipp ery and wet roads are
s till da ngero us eve n with
te ms!
D rivin g to o fast on wet roads cause th e
w heels to lose contact w ith the road and A vehicl e that h as los t road contact
canno t b e brake d, steered , or controlled .
Start ing, sh ifti ng, parkin g
These syste ms cannot red uce th e risk of
Althoug h th ese syste m s a re very eff ec tive
a nd can h elp yo u control tile ve hicle in man y
diffi cult situatio ns, always remember th at your vehicle
W hen acce le ra tin g o n a slippery surface, fo r
exam ple o n icc and sn ow, depress the
''
can b e sig nificantl y duced if other components and sys tems that
ti onin g.
A lways re m ember th at ve hicl e
syste m s.
Cha nging the vehi cle su sp ens io n or using an unapproved tire w heel combinati on ca n
c h a ngethewayth eABS, EDL, and syste ms work and reduce their effecti ve ness.
T he effective ness of page 276 .
All fo ur w hee ls must b e equip ped with tic a l tir es in order for to wo rk
properly. Differences in th e
g ine powe r w he n it is not expected.
I f is not working, and EDL will also not work.
active.

Switching
the center console: Button to with
Please fir st read and no te the introductory informatio n and heed the on page
The Electronic Stabili zation Program
cludes
can b e switched off by fig. (ASR fig. 129 whil e th e engi ne is running.
B rake
ervoir cop.
Please fir st r ead and note the introductory information and heed the on page 188.
Brake fluid
absorbs wate r from the air over time. Too much water in the brake fluid will damage the brake system. Wa te r a lso lowers th e boiling point o f the brake fluid. Too much wate r in the brake
fluid can cause vapor lock during heavy brake use
Whi le driving
Fig. 12 9 the center console: Button to switc h function on and without
off only in situations w here there is not enough traction, s u ch as the fo llo wing:
When driving in deep snow o r o n loose faces.
W hen
on again by fig. 128 or (ASR fig. 129 .
or hard braking. Vapo r lock reduces braking
safety and the safe ty of others d e pends o n brakes that are working properly at all
Brake
swagen. Volkswagen recommends that yo u use brake fluid that conforms to quality standard 14 for optimum p erformance of the brake system. If this s pecial brake fluid is not
Motor Vehicle 116 4 or 4
Please note that brake fluid that conforms to standard 14 a lso complies w ith 116 4 and DIN 4 quirements. However, brake fluid that generally complies with 116 4 or 4925 CLASS 4 requirements w ill not essarily comply with the s pecial requirements of

the info rm ation on the co ntainer for the brake fluid you want to use to
mak e sure it meets th e requirem ent s for your hicl e.
A ppro priat e brak e fluid can
be purchased from your authorized deal er or authori zed Facility.
Brake fluid level
The fluid
level in the transparent brake fluid voir must always be betw een th e MIN and MAX
some vehicle s, eng ine components blo ck th e
v iew of th e brake fluid reservoir and make it po ssibl e to see the brake fluid level. I f you cannot clearl y see the brake fluid leve l in the brake fluid reservoir, please see an authoriz ed deale r or authorized Facility.
The brake fluid level drop s slightl y when the hicle is being use d becaus e the brake pad s wea r
down and the brak es automatically adjust to thi s.
Changing brake fluid
Brak e fluid
must be changed a ccor ding to the
thori zed
Brake failure and reduced brake performance can be caused by not having enough brake fluid
in the reservoir or by old or incorrect brake fluid.
change brake fluid according to the service schedule in your Warranty and
lock reduces braking
standard 4925 another brake fluid can
standard 50114, 116 4 or 4925 4, do not use it.
The brake fluid must be new.
Always make sure that only the correct brake fluid is used. the container does not say that the brake fluid complies with standard 4925 4, do not use it.
Brake fluid is poi sonous.
To reduce the risk of poisoning, never use food, beverage or other non-original containers
to store brake fluid. might be misled
by the label on th e non-original container, or by the shape of the container, and drink the brake
fluid. This could occur even if you re-label the container as
dren.
Note
Brake fluid
Brake fluid can pollut e the en vironment.
196 197

Driver assistance systems
Starting assistance systems
Introduction
In thi s section find informatio n on th e lowing :
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
More informat ion:
Volkswagen Info rmation page 21
Brak ing, s topping and
Vehicl e page 257
Tires and
accesso ries, repairs and modifica tions page 303
p age 353
The intelligent technolo gy of the dynamic starting assis ta nce features cannot overcome t11e laws of physics. Never let th e increa se d
Uni ntended veh icle move ment ca n cause rious personal inju ry.
driving
The dynamic s tarting assistance f eatures are no s ub stitute for carefu l and att ent ive driving. Alwa ys adapt your sp ee d and driving s tyle to
v isi bilit y, weather, ro ad, and condition s. The dynamic start ing assistance features can not keep the vehicl e fro m moving in all hillstart situations (fo r exa mple, if the ground is
s lippe ry or icy). Unint ended vehicle movement ca n cause seriou s personal injury. Neve r activate the throttle m anually from the e ngine compartment whe n the e ngin e is running and th e automatic tra nsmission is in gea r. T he vehicle will start to m ove as soo n as the en gine speed in creases , eve n if th e brake is o n.

first r ead and n ote th e introducto ry in forma ti o n o n page
Hill Hold help s keep th e vehicl e from rollin g back­
w ard s w hen sta rtin g out on a hill , for example aft er
s topping at a lig h l. don 't h ave to appl y
and r e le ase the parkin g brak e whi le dep re ss in g the For Hill Hold to work . th e e ng in e m ust
b e runni ng and the veh icle mus t b e in First Gea r or R eve rse (m anual tran smissio n) o r in Driv e (DJ. Dri ve (S), o r Reve rse (R) (a utomatic trans­
mi ssion) and yo u must usc the foo t b ra ke to ho ld
th e ve hi cle befo re
force yo u u sed to pre ve nt the ve hicl e
from moving. This g ives you tim e to take your foo t
off the brake, le t t h e clu tc h out on a m anual t ran s­
m ission ve hicle . and gently depress the acc ele r- a
to r to
p edal and ge t the ve hicl e moving
a ga in w ithin this time, the brake s will and the ve hicle will roll downhill. Furtherm ore , if re qu ire m en t f or e nga gin g Hill Hold is no lo nge r
m et while the vehicle is s toppe d, Hill Hold di sen­gages, the in dicator light in the butto n goes out,
a nd the brakes are automatically re leased and will no lo nge r h old the ve hicl e.
The intelligent technolo gy of
The llillllold feature cannot h old the ve hicl e
in all start situ ations ( for example, if the
surface is icy or s lip pery ).
Ho ld can only help keep the ve hicl e from mov ing fo r l ess than two seconds. Af te r tha t, the
b rakes be re lease d and the ve hicl e can roll
d ow n the hill .
Hill Hold is activated outomoli colly when the following conditions ore all met at the some tim e
I to 3 mus t b e m et a t the sa m e time:
M
anua l tran smissio n Automatic transmission
H old the stoppe d ve hicle on a n in cline w ith th e foot brake o r park in g brak e.
2.
3.
The e ngine must be run ning
if uphill o r in Revers e if headed
d o w nhill; you must hold th e clutch down and the foo t brak e must b e d ep ressed to keep th e
ve hicle from mo ving.
R elease the brake as yo u let the clutch out an d
g e ntl y de press the accelerator.
Hill Hold is imm ediat ely deactivated :
As soon an y re qu ire m en t liste d unde r page is a cti ua te d auto matically follo win g con d itio ns ar e time is no longe r m el.
If the engin e is not runnin g smoothl y or there
a rc e ng in e malfun ctions.
D river assista nce systems
A n autom atic transmissio n ve hicle must b e in
H e vc rse (R). Dr iv e (D ), or S po rt Drive ( S) and th e foot brak e m ust be d epresse d to keep the
ve hicle from movin g.
R el
ease the brake as yo u gentl y depress t11e celc rnt or.
If th e e ng in e s tall s or is swi t c he d off.
Vehicles ruitl1 automatic If you m ove the selector lever i nt o N eutral (N).
Vehicl es autom ati c tran smission: If a tir e docs no t h ave eno ug h ro ad contac t (s uch as w hen the ve hicle is tippe d or at an

consid erations
Do not usc Rear Assist in the situations:
-When
cannot be see n
is heavily loade d.
the driver is no t fam il ia r with the sys te m .
- If
the positio n or an g le of the camera has c hanged, su ch as Facili ty.
2.) illusions by the camera (examples)
The Assis t pro vides only two-d imensio nal im ages. necesscs and pro trud ing objects on th e
ground o r prot ruding part s on other a re diffi cult or impossib le to id entify due to th e of
d e pth o f field .
or anothe r v ehicl e may seem or furth er are.
- W hen driv ing from a leve l s
urface onto an upwa rd or slope.
-Wh en driving up or d own slope onto level
the rear of the ve hicle is loaded.
- W he n approaching pro truding objects. These objects c an disappear from the field o f v is ion of th e cam era w hen driving in reverse.
Cleaning
the camera l e ns
Keep
camera le ns free of snow and ice.
th e pa rking brake.
o n th e ig nit ion.
Wet the cam le n s w ith a commerci ally able g lass cleaner an d d ry
m ove sn ow with a brush.
nemovc icc with de- icer
Note
Neve r usc agents to clean the cam era le ns.
Whil e driving
Neve r remove snow or ice on t h e camera lens with warm o r h ot water. This can damage the camera le n s.
It is not possibl e to open th e when the emblem is folded out.
Volk swage n recommends practicin g park ing with weather di tion s in order to familiarize yourself w ith the
sys te m, the orientatio n lines and th e way they work .
rea r hatc h is