2004 VOLKSWAGEN GOLF PLUS ESP

Octane rating
the correct grade of gasoline is very tant to help prevem eng in e damage and loss of gin e performance.
The recommended gaso line octane rating for your en gine is lis ted o n a label in side of the fuel filler
flap. This rating may be specified accordin g to (CLC) or standards.
gra de gaso line is specified
for your vehic le, then Volkswage n recommends using Detergent Gasoline with a imum octane ratin g (95 Dete rgent Gasoline,
plea se go to the
tane r a tin gs, whi ch can usuall y be found on the fille r pump:
gra d e: 91 to 96
Regular grade: 87 to
gasoline
an d Ca nada. Volkswagen recommends that you do not take your vehicle leaded gaso line may no t be availabl e.
Gasoline con taining alcohol or MTBE
You may use unleaded ga so lin e b lended
oxygenated fue ls, if the
b lended mixtur e meets th e followin g crite ria:
Blends
of gasoli ne and m ethanol (wood alcoho l or methyl alcohol):
Ami-Knoc k must be 87 or hi gh er.
Blend must contain no more than 3%
Blend must contain more tha n 2% co-solvents.
Blends of gaso line and ethanol (grain alcohol or ethyl a lcohol):
A nti-Knock Ind ex (AKI) m ust be 87 or high er.
Blend mu st in no more than ethanol.
At the gas station
Blends of gasoline and MTBE:
Anti- Knock In dex
Blend must contain no more than 15% MTBE.
Seasonally adjusted gasoline
Many fuels are bl ended especially fo r w in te r or summer condit ions. Whe n seasons change,
Neve r use fuel with an octane rating lower than 87 AKI/91 lower octane fu el may cause expensive e n gine damage.
Neve r use leaded gasoline! Leaded gasoline will severely damage your vehicle's cat a lytic verter.
MetJ1anol-blended fuel s that do not meet the criteria listed above may cause corrosion, and damage to pla sti c and rubber parts in the fu el system.
Never use fuels tJ1at contain lead or oth e r metals (chec k listin g on the fu el pump). Even lead replacement petrol fu els) contain metalli c additives in high concentrations. They can damage the engin e.
Do not use fuel s that fail to meet the criteria
above, or with contents that cannot be identi.fied.
If you cannot tell w hether a particular fuel
b lend meets the criteria above, ask your serv ice station or its fuel supplier.
fuels that arc different fr om those ified above can damage your ve hicle's engine a nd
fu el system and cause performance problems.
damage and p erformance problems are not the responsibility of Volk swagen and are n o t
covered under the Em ission warranties or any other Volkswagen Limited Warranty.
238 239

Never open or close the engine hood if steam or coolant is escaping. Hot steam or coolant can cause serious burns. Always wait until you no longer sec or hear steam or coolant escaping
from the engine.
Hot parts of the engine and the exhaust
system will burn skin on contact.
When the engine has cooled down and you are ready to open the hood:
- Firmly
apply the parking brake and shift the transmission into Park
The engine coolant system is under pressure when the engine is hot. Never unscrew the coolant expansion tank cap when the engine is
hot. Hot coolant can spray out and cause severe burns and other serious injuries.
- Turn
the cap slow ly and very carefully in a
counter-clockwise direction while applying
light downward pressure on the top of the cap.
- A
lways protect your face, hands, and arms from hot escaping coolant or steam by
Never spill fluids on the engine or exhaust
system when Spilling fluids onto hot parts of the engine or exhaust system can cause a fire.
High voltage systems in the
engine com ment can cause electrical shocks or even
Never short-circuit the electrical system. Be especially careful when using jumper cables. The vehicle's battery could explode!
To reduce the risk of electrical shock and sonal injury while the engine is running or being started:
the engine compartment
- Never touch ignition cables. Never touch other components of the high voltage tronic ignition system.
- Never touch
the wiring of the gas
Never reach into t11e area around or touch the
radia tor fan. Contact with the blades can cause serious personal injury. Always remember that the radiator fan is temperature-controlled and can come on suddenly even when the engine has been switched for a while and the key has been removed from the ignition.
lfyou have to perform a check or repair when the engi ne is running, there are more risks from tl1e rotating parts, such as the drive belts, nator, radiator fan, etc ., and from voltage ignition system. Always use extreme care.
- Always make
sure that jewelry, loose clothing and long hair do not get caught in rotating engine parts. Before starting any work remove your je welry, take
parking brake is on.
Never leave any objects in the engine
left behind can cause malfunctions,
Do not smoke.
Never work next to open flames or sparks.
Never pour or spill operating fluids or other flammable liquids on the engine. These fluids can ignite on hot en g in e parts and cause ries .
242 243

Always disconnect the batt ery (or teries, where appli cable). Make sure the hicle is unlocked when you disconnect the battery, or th e alarm w ill go off. Never touch the electrica l w irin g of the ign ition sys te m .
Neve r smoke.
Never work near heaters, water heaters, or other open flames.
Always have a functional, approved fire tinguisher nearby.
Warning
Note
W hen c
hangin g or topping off fluid s, make sure that you pour the fluids into the correct voirs. Addin g incorrect fluids will cause serious
malfunc tions and engine damage!
Fluid leaks are harmfu l to the environm ent.
thori zed Volkswagen dealer or authori zed swagen Serv ice Faci lity. Dispose of le aked at ing fluid s
first read and note the in tr o du ctory informat io n and heed th e on p age 242.
Lights ca use up
Engine hood not proper ly closed.
When the ignition is sw
itched on, several warning
a nd in dicator light s co me on bri efly fo r a functio n
c h eck. They go out after a few seconds.
If th e engi ne hood is open or not clos
ed properly,
the following warning light comes on in the ment cluster:
tions , a sy mbol showing th at the hood is not erly clo sed may appea r in th e in stru ment clu ste r
di splay instead of the warnin g light . Th e light or sy mbo l will als o com e o n whe n th e ig nition is swit ched off. T he di splay goe s out about
Core,
response
Close the eng ine hood.
I S seconds
after the vehicle has been locked with
the doors closed.
Failure to heed warning lights and instrument cluster text messages can cause the vehicle to
break down in traffic and res ult in a co llision and se riou s personal injury.
Never ignore warning lights or text
Always stop the vehicle as soo n as it is safe to do

Engine oil
Introduction
In thi s sect io n you'll find inform ation on the fol­
lowing:
Warning and indicator lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247
Engine
=>Boo klet Warranty
fo r wor king in the engine com­partment=> page 242
accessories, repairs and modifications page303
Im
proper h andling of engin e oil can cause se­vere burns and other seriou s injurie s.
Always wear eye protection.
Warning and indicator light s
Engine oil is poisonous and must be stor ed out of the rea ch of children.
To reduce
Engine oil becomes ex tremely hot when the engine is running and can ca use severe burns. Alway s le t the engine cool down to the tou ch.
all othe r operat in g flui ds, engine oil can pollut e the envir o nment. leak ing op­
erat ing fluid s and dispose of them properly in ac­
co rdance with appl icable environmental laws and regu latio ns.
on page 247.
Light s response up
Engine oil level too low. th e engine. th e eng ine oil leve l --=>page 249.
Flashes cause respon se
Switc h off the eng ine.
Engine oil press ure too low.
-If the warning light flashes although the oil level is normal , do continue driving or let the en gine idle. as damage may result. Get ex -pert assis ta n ce.
Take the veh icle to an auth orized Volkswagen Engine oil leve l sensor malfunction. dealer or authorized Volkswagen Service Fa-cility. Have the engine oil sensor checked .

Checking the engine
u
J
Fig. 15 1
information and heed the o n pag e 247.
For a tru e reading of e ng ine oil level, the engine must be at operating temperature. Switch off the engin e and wa it a few minutes for the engine oil to
flow back into the oil pan.
the eng in e hood 242.
The engin e oil filler cap is marked w it h fig . 15 2 . The oil dipstick has a colored handle.
Engin e oil level ranges
Fig. 152 In the engine comportmen t: Engine oil filler cop.
R e insert the dip stick and push it all the way in.
If there is an alignment tab o n the engine oil
th e oil dipstic k out again a nd check the tab le o n page 249.
Afte r read ing th e oil leve l, reinsert the dipstick
in the gu ide tube and push it all the way back in.
fig.l51 Required action according to the respective engin e
Do not refill
T he oil leve l may go into the range,
but not above the range.
lit er). After addin g oil, make sure that the oil
l eve l is
about in the middle of rang e.
Adding engine oil (after checking level)
T o p off gradually w it h sm all amounts of oiL
Unscre w th e cap oft he engine oil filler opening from the cy lind er head cover. If yo u are
not sure where it is , contac t yo ur authorized swage n dea le r or authorized Volkswagen Serv ice Facility .
In the engine comportment
Add oil in sm all amounts-not more than I pint
page 248.
To avo id adding too much oil, wa it a w hile afte r
addin g eac h small qu antity of oil (so that the added oil can reach the oil pa n and the dipstick).
248 249

Engine coo la nt
Introduction
In thi s section you'll find informat ion on the fol­lowing:
Warning
engine coolant and topping off . . . 255
Never do a ny wor k on the coo lant system unless
you
-know exactly ho w to carry out the job,
-have the correct tec hnical informa tion and
th e proper to ols, supplie s, and operating
fluid s, a nd
-are familiar with the necessary safet y
pr eca utions
Traile r page 152
fo r work ing in the e ngine com­partment page 242
Part s, acce ssories , re pair s and modification s
Engin e coo lant is poisonous!
Always keep the coolant in its origi nal con­
t ainer stored in a safe place .
To reduce the risk of poisoning, never store engine coolant in empty food or beverag e con­tainers or in any other containers that might mislead someone into drinking from them.
Always keep engine coolant out of reach of c hildr en.
Alway s make sure there is enough of tJ1e cor­
re ct coo lant additive to provid e proper anti­
fr eeze protection at the cold es t temperatures that can be expected where the vehicle will be used .
At extremely cold temperatures, the coolant could freeze, causing the vehicle to break down.
The heater would also not work, and vehicle oc­
cupants could be without protection at sub­freezing temperatures.
leaking operat ing
fluids and dispose of t h e m properly in acco rdance
w ith applicable environmental laws and regulat ion s .
Warning light and engine coolant temperature gauge
Fig . 153 E ngine coolant temperature gauge in the in­str umen t Engi ne cold;® Normal tempera­ture range;© Warn ing zone.
Core, maintenance
first read and note th e introduct ory information and heed th e on page 252.
normal driving conditi ons, th e needle
s h o uld be in the middl e of th e ga uge. The temper­
ature may go high er w hen th e e ngine is w orking
h ard, espec iall y in hut
When the igni tion is sw itch ed on , seve ra l warnin g and indicator light s co me o n bri efly fo r a function
c h ec k. The y go our after a few seconds.
Th e fo
llow ing table explains w ha t t o do if th e en ­
gine coolant warn ing does no t go out a few secon ds after the engine is s tart ed or light s up or
s tart s fla sh ing while driving.

Temperature
Lights up gauge needle response page252,
fig . 153
off the road and s top as soon as you can do so safely.
the engin e
coolant l eve l and add e ngine coolant if page 255. th e e ngin e coo lant E ng in e coolant tempera-
leve l is correc t o r the p roble m continues Warning zone l
u re too high. afte r addin g coo la nt and driv ing a sh ort tance, do not drive an y farther.
sary 341.
th e engin e coo la nt level after the en-
gine has coole d d own and add en gine
coolant i f page 255. the engine coo la nt leve l is correc t or tl1e problem continues after adding coolant, do
En gin e coolant leve l too not drive a ny farther.
Facility.
These in struction s apply only when the coolant temperature stays in the normal
rang e. immediately if the needle goes
in to
the red warning zone
Eng ine coo lant system the nearest authorized Volk swagen .. malfunction. dealer or authorized Volkswage n
Do not drive at hi gh en g in e s peeds or with heavy en g in e loads until the engine warm s
cause
Engi ne coo lant syste m malfun ction .
the engine compartment 252 253

Charging, replacing, disconnecting and connecting the
first rea d and no te the introductory
o n p age 257.
the vehicle batte ry
Vehicl e batteries should be c harged by your rized Volk swagen deale r or an authorize d
Replacing the ve hicle battery
Th e batt ery in
your vehicl e is s pecially deve loped
f o r it s locati o n, w ith sp eci al dim ensio ns and safe ty
featu res. Befo re buy in g a new battery, ask an th ori ze d Volkswage n deale r o r authorize d swagen Facility w ha t batt eries are suit abl e
w ith r egard to e lectro-m agnetic compatibility, mension s, requir ed m aintenan ce, perfor man ce,
and safety sp ec ifications. H ave th e battery place d by an auth ori ze d Volkswage n deale r o r an authori zed Volk swage n Facility.
use m aint ena nce-free vehicl e ba tt eries m ee tin g standards T L 825
hicle's elec tri cal sys te m , note the following:
off all electrical syste ms and dev ices
and th e ign ition.
Fir st di sconnec t the negative cabl e and th en the positive
the vehicl e battery
to reconnecting the ba tt ery , switch off all elec trical sys te m s and dev ices and the ig niti on .
Con nec t th e positive cable fir st a n d then th e
n ega tive
ta n ce at mph (15-20 km /h).lf the in dica to r ligh ts do not go out, contact an auth orized swage n dealer or a n au th orize d Volkswagen v ice Facility and have the vehicle c hec ked.
If th e battery was discon necte d f or a long tim e, the
n ext scheduled se rvice may no t be correct ly la te d and page 16 The maximum per-
an d nance booklet.
Vehicles with
h icle battery, lock an d unloc k th e ve hicl e from th e outs id e. Th en try to sta rt the ig niti on again. If th e
ig niti on canno t b e switch ed on , ge t expe rt ta n ce.
Automatic electrical
load deactivation
I f t
he ve hicle battery drain is hig h, t he intelligent
o n board electrical sys te m m anage ment cally takes steps to help p reve nt b attery d rain.
The id le speed i s in creased so that the n ato r provides more powe r.
The power to dev ices that co nsume lot of e lec tricity is cut bac k or switched off com ple te ly.
W hen the en gine is s ta rt ed , p owe r supply oft h e
1 2-vo lt socke ts and t he c igare tte lighter is ra ril y int errupted.
T he on
board elec trica l sys tem man age men t
canno t always keep th e battery fro m being drained. For example, th e battery will drain if th e
e n g in e is not running, but th e ig ni tio n i s switc he d
o n for a lo ng tim e or th e parkin g lights a re left o n for a lo ng time.
What drain s th e battery?
Long period s w hen th e engine is no t running, especially w hen th e ig niti on is on.
Fa ilur e to use the proper batte ry with prop er mounting and connecti ons may ca use short seriou s personal injurie s.
Always use only mainten ance- free or leak-pro of batteries with the same
ment battery. Specification s are liste d on the
b attery ho using.
Wh en th e battery is charged, it produces hi ghly explosive hydroge n gas.
Charge ve hicl e batte ries only in w ell-ve nti-
l a te d areas.