
For dri ving safely. always follow the specified
maintenance int erva ls in your mainte na nce booklet 1.1 ciall y for changin g the brake fluid. Hard u se, maril y stop and go driv ing, o p eratio n in very dusty area s. trailer towing as well as other tions may make it necessary to short en nance in te rvals-see your a u th orize d swage n dealer.
Your
l ow ing po int s befo re yo u drive off:
lights and turn signal s.
Make sur e that all ligh ts and all windows are
clea n.
Adjust the mirro rs.
Make sure th at the a ir intake slots between the e ngin e hoo d and the w in d shi eld are free of leaves . s n ow and ice.
wa rnin g and indicato r light s whe n
s ta rti ng the e ng in e.
Your personal driving styl e and attitude have a
lot
to do with safety.
Th eref ore, for yo
ur ow n safety:
Wear your safety belts and wear the m
book let 2.1 chapter
Make sure that all passenge rs their safe ty be lls properly. eve n those sitting in the book le t2.1 chapter Passengers not wear ing safety bells
Make sure that chil dren always sit on the rea r seat properly restrain ed by
Neve r transport chil d in a r ear-faci ng c hild or infant seat on the fron t passe nger seat booklet2.1
Adjust you r seat that yo u can easily reach
all control s while yo u are as far away from the airbag as pos sibl e but not close r than
bookle t2.1 and bookle t3. 1
The seatin g position is ve ry important for th e
a ir bag book let2.1 chapter" Air bag
Always adjust the head rest ra int s to the rect heig ht. For maximum pro tection. adjust the
head restrai nt so the upper e d ge is as eve n
w ith the top of your head a s pos sibl e, but no lower than eye level and so that it is as close th e back of your head booklet 2.1
Always make s ure that th e movem ent of the
p ed als is not re stricted in any booklet 3.1 Equipment",
Sto re lu ggage and light it em s properly in the
lu ggage compartment and on th e roof bookle t3. 1 and Luggag e compartment " and book let3.1 and Equipment", chapte r " Roof
If you drink, do not drive!
The use of alco hol. drugs and certai n tions will seriou sly impa ir percepti on , reac tio ns and dri ving ability, substantially in creasin g the risk of an acc ident, cras h and persona l injury.
Do not driv e if you are tired.
Make frequ ent rest sto ps, least afte r every two hours of dri ving.
Always
adapt vehicle speed to traffic, rood and
weather conditions.
R e
member, that especially on sm oot h. slipp ery
roa ds, ve hicl e ha ndl ing and brak ing depend a
g reat deal o n tire adhes ion. wet roads, the
f ront w heels can h ydropla ne, especi ally at
hi ghe r speeds. th is happen s, yo u will then no
lon ger be abl e to steer or brake properly.
Alwa ys observe the p osted speed limits and common sense. good judg m ent can mean the diff ere nce b e tween arriving safely at your d estination and being seriou sly injured in a cras h or othe r kind of accident.
14 Driving and protecting the environment

Safety chains
Be sure trailer safe ty cha ins are prop erly necte d fro m the trailer to th e hitch on th e hicle. Leave enoug h slack in th e c hain s to turn
corners. When you install safety ch a in s, mak e sure they will not dragon th e road whi le you are
driv ing.
Th e chains shou ld c ross
under th e trai le r to ng ue
to prevent it from dropping to the ground in case of separa tion from the hit ch .
Electronic Stabilization
Always leave th e mak es it easie r to stabilize the
t railer sho uld it start to swerve or sway.
Always adjust your speed and driving style to
road, traffic and weather conditions. Never le t the extra safety that and
A rig is eas ier to o pe rate and trol. Thi s means that th e tow vehicle should be loaded to the exte nt possibl e and permi ssibl e
w hil e keepin g th e t raile r as lig ht as possibl e under the ci rcumstances . Whenever possible, tran sfe r so me cargo to the luggage compartm ent
o f th e tow vehicle whil e observ ing tongue load requireme nts and ve hicl e loading ation s.
The hig her th e spee d, the more diffi cult it comes for the driver to control the rig. Do not drive at the maximum permissible
Always appl y brake s early . W hen dri ving
downhill , down shift into lower gear (selector leve r positi on
The cooli ng effect of th e fa n cannot
b e in cre ase d by dow nshif tin g because fan speed
i s independent of engine speed. Therefore,
Riding in a trailer is dangerous and may be
A person who is not properly restrained in
a moving vehicle risks serious personal injury and even death in a crash.
Never let anyone ride in your vehicle
without being properly restrained .
Never allow a passenger to rid e in a trailer.
Exceed ing the maximum permissible weight ratings and maximum permissibl e trailer
weights can result in accident s leading to rious personal injury.
Never le t the actual Gross Axle W eight Rating at the front and rear axles exceed the
permissible weights. Also never let their bination exceed the Gross Weight
Rating.
Always remember that the vehicle's
w he n dri vin g uphill, you can alwa ys drive in the
hi ghes t possibl e gear wit h low engin e speed. the coo lant tempe rature warni ng light in th e strument clu ster start s flas hin g in red, pull off
th e ro ad, s top and let th e engine idle for ab o ut 2 minutes to preve nt a heat buildup and eng in e
damage.
R educe your speed even more under vorab le load , weather or wind conditions
particularly when going downhill.
Be especial ly careful when passing other vehicles. Reduce vehicle speed immediately if the trail er shows the slightest sign of sway ing.
N ev e r try to stop the sway ing by ating.
Always heed speed limits.ln some a reas speed limits for vehicle s towing
Driving and protecting the environment 17

3.2 Tip s and Advice
correct in stallation of ou ts ide anre nna,
tran smitting pow er is no more than a imum of watts.
An out side amenna is needed to give the
ence with electron ics in th e vehicl e.
l fyou
wantto use a cellular phone or a CB ra dio
w ith a tran smittin g powe r greater than
stalle d only by a qualifi ed workshop or by your authori ze d Volkswag en dealer.
Carefully follow the o pera tin g in str u ctions for
your ce llular te lephon e or C B radio.
Driver distraction causes accident s, co llision s and serious perso nal injury!
Neve r let yourself b e di stract ed by selling,
adjusting or using th e ce llular phone or C B
radio.
A lways set volume leve ls so tha t you can clearly hear horns, sirens and other wa rning
sounds outsid e th e vehicl e.
{continu ed)
In areas with no or inadequate ce llular phone network serv ice and occas ionally in tunnels, gar ages and underpasses as w ell, a
t elephone call cannot be put through- no emergency calls e ith er!
side th e veh icle without having a separate side antenna can be dangerous to your health and that of your passenge rs because th e tromagnetic radiation energy that th ese
rie s (for examp le cup h o lders or telephone
bracket s) to the airbag covers or w ithin the
airbag deploym ent booklet 2.1 chapter
Objects on or near the surfaces where bag s are located can co me loose and cause
Note
Impro pe r installation of ce llular telephones, CB
radi os or other electro nic component s can ca use other ve hicl e systems to malfun ction . The
mo st common ca use s of fau lts are:
no exte rnal am cnna,
incorrectly in stalled exte rnal amenna.
transmitting power in excess of
Accessories , new parts, repairs and modifications 33

Tips
Remember to refuel w hen the tank is 1/4 full to reduce the risk of running out of fuel, es pecially in remote areas.
Applies to vehicles: with a gas oline engine
The correct gasoline grades are listed on a sticker inside the fuel filler flap.
rating
Oc tane caused by pre-i g
n it ion . Th ere fore, buying th e correct grade of gasoline is very important to help prevent possibl e engine damage and a loss of engine performance.
The recommended gasoline octane ra ting for
your e n g in e can be found on a label lo cated on the in sid e o f the fuel flap. This ratin g m ay be specified as (CLC) or
Grade: 91-96 AKI
Regular Grade: 87-90
Canada, a nd in most European countries.
We recommend that you do not take your ve
hicl e to areas or countries where unleaded gasoline may not be available.
Gasoline containing alcohol or MTBE
You may us e unleaded gasoline blended withalcohol or MTBE (methyl tertiary butyl ether; commonly re fe rr ed to as oxygenates) if the
b lende d mi xture meets th e following criteria:
B
lend of gasoline methanol (wood alcoho l or methyl a lcohol):
A nti -knoc k ind ex must be 87 or higher,
methanol.
An ti-k nock index must b e 87 or higher,
Blend must not contain mor e t ha n ethanol.
Blend of gasoline and MTBE:
Anti-knock ind ex must be 87 or high er,
Blend must conta in not more than 15%
MTBE .
Seasonally adjusted gasoline
Many gasolines are blended t o perform especially well for winter or summe r driv in g. During
seasonal change -over, we sugges t th at you fill up
at busy gas stations where th e seasonal adjustment is more like ly to be made in time.
Note
Do not use a ny fu el with octane lower than 87 or 91
Do not use leaded gasoline! U sin g leaded gasoline will seve re ly damage your vehicle's catalyt ic conver te r and its ab ility to reduce exhaust emissions.
Methanol fuels that do not meet these re quirements may cause corrosion and damage to plast ic and rubbe r component s in the fuel
sys tem.
Do not use fuels that fail to meet the c rit eria specified above .
and 37

to the USA models
The tire pressure monitoring system helps the driver to keep track of tire pressures.
Fig. 16 Section of the center console: button for tire
p ressure monitoring disploy
T he tir e pressure monitoring system keep s
track
of air pressure at the four wheels
w hil e yo u
are driving using sen so rs on th e
tir
es and alerts the dri ver if th ere is a lo ss of
pressure with a visual or audibl e warning.
Status inquiry
-
play the status (partial or full load) for
m
onito ring tir e press ures in the
ment clu ster display.
Adjusting
the fig. 16 for more than
two seconds to inform th e system of
hicle load condition.
Switching on
-the fig. 16 for about two
seconds to switch the tire press ure
tori ng syste m on. The system is in
after it is switched o n. The
system
switches on autom atic ally as soon
as a sig nal is receive d from a sensor.
Switching off
-page 65, fig. 16 for
lo nger than te n seconds to switch th e ti re
pressure monito ring system off. The
system switches off automatically if no
sensor sig na l i s received aft e r th e vehicle
has been statio nary for about twenty
th e a id of se nso rs at t h e w heels . The tir e pressure monitoring syste m
rece ives a wireless transmissio n of these sage from the senso rs. In the event of a rapid or severe loss of pressu re wh ile yo u are driving, you are immediately given a visual and/or acoust ic
warning .
65

3.2 Tips and Advice
Displays in the instrument
Display Meaning Act io n -and warni ng T hi s warning shows a rapid loss immediately! In spect the wheels of p ressure in least for external damage and for eign bodies
o ne tir e. and check th e tire pressure for th e wheels. If it is not necessary to change a wheel on the spot, you pro ceed at
reduced s p e ed to the nea re st
and warnin g TIRE The warning ind ic a tes that at Check th e tire pressure at four wheels
sure at least
Warn ing After the ignition is switched on. Check th e tire pressure at four wheels a slow loss of pressure is in di-ca tcd in at le a st one tire.
T here is a malfunction in the your authorized Volkswagen
sys tem. dealer o r
comes o n
disrupted by superposi-
tion from transmi tters in the
the same frequency range (e.g.
rad io equipment. phone).
Load condition
Followi ng
each change in th e load conditio n of
th e yo u have check or adjust tir e sure s. can
page
mus t communicate th e load condition to the sys te m for the tire pressure monitoring system to operat e correctly. the bullon 16 for lo nger th an two seconds to
If you press the bullon briefly. th e monitoring status is shown in the display.
66
wheel
If the vehicle is equipped the fac tory with a
spare wheel in th e same tire /wheel s ize
you re place the w heels o n the at the factory. make sure that the new
w heels are equipped with se nsors whic h are compatible with the factory-installe d tire sure monitoring sys te m. The val ve in each tire is equipped with
mus t be dri ven for a while above mph (25 km/h ) after it has s tood fo r about

3.2 Tips and Advice
pressures. The recommended values are on the
s ticker on th e open edge of the driver's door 61, fig. 1 5 .
yo u are driving on tire s other than those in
s tall ed at the factory, have the inflation pres
sures entered in the pressure monito rin g sys te m by a Volk sw agen Serv ice® fac ilit y if they are dif
ferent . O nl y one va lue can be save d in the syste m for partial or full load.
The tire pressure monitoring sys te m shuts itself off if a se t of tire s w ithout wheel sensors is mounted on the vehicle and it cannot receive sensor s ignal s. As soon as th e sys te m recei ve s at
tir e press ures at regular interva ls. even though yo u have the monitoring sys te m. Inspect the tire s for damage (punctures. cuts. tears and blister s). Remove foreign bodies from the tire
tread .
sensors have to be repla ced. have the valve s changed at the same time.
Discre pancies may occur betwee n th e pres
sures read on the pressure gauge when inflating the tires and the pressure s read b y the tire pres
sure sensors. The e lectroni c tire pressu re moni
torin g sys te m is more accurate.
The corr ect tire pressure for the tires originally installed on your vehicle is Liste d on
th e tire pr
essure label on the open edge of the driver's door.
The recommended tire pressure s arc on the tire
pres sure lab el and in the page 6 1, T hi s means that the pressure must be c hecke d and adjusted w hen tire has not been driven for more t han a couple of miles (k ilometers ) at low speeds during the previo us three hours. Air in the tires
expands when the tire heat s up as a result of in
ternal friction as it flexes in use. The tire pressure is high er w he n the tir e has war med up than when it is
tir e that counts. There for e, you should nev er le t a ir out of
a warm tir e to matc h p a ge 61. The tire s
would the n be underinflatcd and could fail sud
denly.
The tir e pressure la b e l o n your Volkswagen lists the recommended co ld tire inflation pressures for the new, orig in al equipment tires we re on yo ur ve hicl e at the tim e it was m anufa ctured.
For the location of the page 61, fig . 15 .
Most tir
es lose air naturally over time. They can
also lose some air if you drive ove r a pothole or h it a c urb whil e pa rking. is usually not possible
t o see w hether the radia l tires u se d today are un
derinflated jus t b y looki ng at them.
Therefore, be sure to check tire pressur es at least once a month and always be for e goin g on a lo ng
68 Checking and
trip. Mak e sure to ta ke the numbe r of p eople and the amount of lu ggage into ac count whe n ad justing tire pressure for a trip -eve n one that you wou ld not consider to b e page and ve hicle load for more important information.
Vehicles that h ave full hub caps have va lve ex
t ende rs in stead of dust caps. To ch ec k tire pressure or add ai r. yo u do not need to remove the
extender. Be sure to re in stall v a lve dus t cap s
aft er checkin g or adjustin g tir e pressure.
A lways use an
accurate tire pressure gauge whe n manually c hecking and adju sting inflatio n pres -sures.
let air our of the tire slowly with the edge of the tir e and keep checkin g the pressure until you rea ch the pressure that is correct for the load (passenge rs
and lu gga ge) and kind of dri vin g yo u pla n to do.
th e pressure in an y tire is to o low, no te the dif
fere nce be tween the pressure in the co ld tir e and the pressure you need and add the air that yo u
need to r e ac h the correc t p res sure for the ve hicle
lo ad (passengers and luggage) for the tires on
your ve hicle as listed on the on your ve hicl e and in thi s manual and th e kind of dri vin g yo u plan

Never excee d the maximum inflation pressure listed o n the tire sidewall for
that the ve hicle manufacturer. no t the tir e m anufacturer. determines the co rrect
tir e
pressure for the tire s on your vehic le
the required tire pressure from the tire pressure label on the open ed ge of the driver's
door.
Place the air pressure gauge on the dust caps -the re is no need
The tire pressures should only be ch ecked when the tires are co ld. T he s lightl y raised pres
sures of warm t ires mus t not be red uced.
Adjust the tire pressure to the load you are
carrying.
Vehicle with
Head the required tir e pres sure from the tire
pressure on the ope n edge of the driver's
d oor.
Turn the va lve stem cap counter-cloc kwise to
remove i t from the ti re va lve.
Place the air pressure gauge on the valve.
The tire pressures should onl y be c hecked and adjusted when the tire s are cold. The slightl y
raised pressures of warm tires must not b e re
duced.
Adju st the tir e pressure to the load you are
carryin g.
the valve stem cap on the valve.
When should check the tire pressure?
The correct tire pressure is especi ally important
at high speeds. The pressure sh oul d there fore be ch ecked at least once a month and always before
s tarting a journey. Do not forge t check the tire pressure on th e spare whee l7l
When should odjust the tire pressures?
Adju st
the tire pressure to the load you are car
ry ing. Af ter changing a
addition on vehicles with TPMS,
yo u should sp ecify new tire
sudden tire failure loss of control, collision, serious personal injury even death.
Always fill tires to the recommende d and correct tire pressure before dri ving ofT.
Driving with underinflated tires bend m ore, letting them get too hot resulting in
tread separation, sudden tire failure tire
failure and loss of control.
Excessive speed and/or overloading can heat build-up, sudden tire failu re including a blowout and sudden deflation and
loss o f co ntrol.
If the tir e pressure is too low or too high, the tires w ill wear prematurely and the ve hicle
will not handle we ll.
with tire pressure monitoring system To prevent this, make sure that factory
For the sake of environment
Tip s
For vehicles
may find differences between the pres
s ur e read ings fro m a hand-held pressure gauge
a nd the pressure readings disp laye d in the in
s trument The tire pres sure monitoring syste m is more acc urat e.
the is too
applicable =Tire press ure monitoring
applicable
69