2006 VOLKSWAGEN GOLF weight

An improperly installed or incorrec t hitch from the towi ng vehicle leading to serious personal in­juries.
Neve r in stall a on your vehicle . The vehicl e was not designed for these kin ds
o f trailer hitches. The hitch attachment to tear loose from the
ve hicl e.
When you n o longer need t o tow trailer, re ­
move the trailer hitc h . Alway s seal all bolt holes to prevent water and deadly exhaust fumes entering the ve hicle.
Operating instructions
Maximum trailer weight
You can only tow typical class I or class 2 trailers
with your vehicle.
T he m ax
imum gross trailer we ight and the tongue load must n ever exceed the specifica­
tion s listed bookle t3 .3 "Tec hnical
Neve r exceed the gross ve hicl e we ight, w hi ch i s the we ight o f th e vehicle, includin g driver, pas­senge rs, luggage, trailer hit ch and tongu e we ight of the loaded trailer.
At alt itudes above ft. m), redu ction of of combined towin g weight (ve hicl e plu s trailer) for the beginning of every m ) should be observed.
Trailer l
oad distribution
Be sure the load in the traile r is held securel y in place to guard agains t be it forw ard.
b ackwar d or sideways. A load that shift s can make it hard or even impossibl e to control your vehicl e, parti cularly in an e m erge ncy situ ation.
W ith the tow vehicle empty and the trailer
l oade d , we ight distribution is es pecially bad. If
yo u absolut ely mus t driv e w ith this combina­
tion, d rive with extra
Do not use a trailer whic h has LED (light emitting diodes) taillig ht s. This type of t a illi ght can damage the electrical co ntrol unit of your veh icle.
If the traile r socke t is in co rrectly connected .
damage co uld result to the ve hicles electrical
system.
I f th e maximum power consumption for the
trail er is pag e 15, damage could re­sult to the e lectrica l sys te m of th e ve hicle.
Never connect the e lectr ical sys te m for th e
t raile r directly to the electrica l c o nne ctions for the rear lights or to other unsu itable power sources. Use onl y a su itab le trailer soc ket to pro ­
vide power to the trailer .
Tongue load
For bes t ve hicle ha ndli ng when towing a trail er, adjus t the trailer load so tha t th e tongue load is at the maximum allowable or slightly lower. You can ge t an approx imation of the to ngu e load
with a ba throom scal e or yo u can measure the load at a tru cking company or we ighing station.
The tongu e load incre ases the weigh t of the rear axle and correspondingly reduces the other load that your ve hicle ca n
The max im um tong ue load on ly a ppl ies if both of the ho les o n the o uter upright wall of th e rear side rail are used to secure the trailer hitch.
Tire pressu re
tow ing a trailer, inflate t h e tires of your ve ­
hicle to the col d tire press ure lis ted under on the sticker o n the open ed ge of the
dri ver's door. Inflate trailer tires to trai ler and tire manufactur ers' specificat ions.
lights
A lw ays check
the headlight settin gs wit h the tr ai le r hooked up before driving off. Adju st as n ecess ary so th a t yo u can see th e road ahead but not blind on coming
C he ck and make sur e th a t all veh icle and trailer lights are workin g properly -especially the brake light s.
16 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

Booklet 3.2 Tip s and Advice
vehicl e handles diff ere ntl y wh en towin g a
tr ai ler because of the additional weigh t and weight distribution. Safe ty, pe rform ance and econo m y will greatl y depend on how carefull y
yo u load your trailer and op erat e your rig.
Before you actually to w your trail er, p ractic e
turning. stopping and b ack ing up in an area away from traffic until learn the feel of your vehicle and trail er unit.
Backing
up i s diffi cult and requi res practi ce.
Stee rin g whil e backing up is gen erall y opposite of that when backin g your vehicl e with out a
trailer.
Keep
more distance between your vehicl e and the one in front of yo u. will need more room to stop.
To compensate for the trail er. you will need a
larger than normal turning radius.
When passing, remember that you cannot erate as fast as you normally would because of the added load. Make sure yo u have enough
room to pass. After passing. allow plenty of room for you r trailer before c hanging lanes again.
Avoid je rk y s tart s, sharp turn s or rapid lan e changes.
Parking
After parking. always block th e wheels of both ve hicl e and trail er. Do not park with a traile r on a slope. If it cannot be a voided, do so only after doing th e follo wing:
Apply fo ot brake .
Have someone place chocks under both hicl e and trail er whee ls .
With the c hock s in place, s lo w ly re lease brak es until wheel blo cks absorb the load.
Turn w heels to curb (ve hicl e facing downhill)
o r to the stre et (when facing uphill).
Appl y parkin g brak e firmly.
automatic transmi ssion in
If you move the selecto r leve r of the automatic tran smission to
position.
Restarting
When restarting after parkin g on a slop e, reverse
the proc edure:
S tart the engine.
S hift transmission into gear.
le a se the parking brake and slowly move away from the wheel block s.
Stop and hav e someone re trie ve the wheel
b lock s.
Note
Neve r to w trailer during the break-in period of your vehicl e.
If yo u tow a trailer , yo ur Volksw age n m ay quire more frequent maimenance due to the
ext ra load.
Always check local reg ulations regardi ng
trailer to w in g.
Applies to vehicles: with anti-theft a larm system and a traile r towing set
Linking your trailer to the vehicle's anti-theft alarm system
The anti-theft alarm syste m will be triggere d as soon as the ele ctrical connec tion
between the trailer
and
or qualified
wo rkshop, if you want to inte grat e your trai le r to th e ve hicle's anti-theft a larm
Connecting your trailer to the anti-theft alarm syste m
If yo u ve hicle was built to include both the th eft al arm system and a trailer towin g th en t he trail er towing package (if available) is
in tegrated into the anti-theft alarm sys te m . Thi s
18 Driving and protecting the environment

changea ble deco rat ive cove rs a re att ached to th e rim with s elf- locking sc rews . lfyou would ro re pla ce damaged wheel covers, contact your authorized Volkswa gen d eale r or
WARNING
New ti res or tires tha t are old, worn or aged cannot provide maximum control and braking ability.
New tires tend to be s lipp ery and must be broken in . To reduce the risk of losing co ntrol,
a co llisio n and serio us personal injuri es, drive with sp ecia l care for the first km).
(cont inued )
Driving with worn or damaged tire s can lead to lo ss of control, sudden tire failur e, cluding a blowou t and sudden deflation ,
c ras hes and seriou s personal injuries. Have wo rn or damaged tires rep laced imme di ate ly.
To redu ce the riskoflosingcontrol, crashes and s erio us personal injuries, never loose n
th e bolts on w heels with bolted rim rings.
more than 6 years old can onl y be used in an em erg en cy and then
w ith specia l care and at low speed.
Neve r m ount u se d tires on your ve hicle if
yo u are not sure of their used tires may have been damaged ev e n
t h oug h the damage cannot be seen th at can
lead to sudden tir e failure and loss of ve hicl e control.
hicl e pull s to one sid e when dri ving, always
s top as soo n as it is safe to do so and ch eck the
whee ls and tires for damage.
Accessory weight
Means the combined we ight ( in excess of those
sta ndard ite m s w hi ch may be repl aced) of mati c tran smission. power steering. po wer
bra kes, power windo ws. p owe r seats , radio, and heater, to th e ex te nt th at th ese item s are
or lowe r indica te
a short s id ewall for improved steering respo nse and better ove rall handling on dry pave ment.
Bead
Mean s the pa rt of the tire t hat is m ad e of stee l
wires , w rap ped or re inforce d by pl y cords and that is shap ed to fit t he rim.
Bead separation
Mean s a breakdow n of th e bond between
Means the strand s forming the in th e tire.
weight
Me ans th e weig ht of motor vehicl e w ith dard equ ipment including the m aximum pacity of fu el, oil. and coolant . a ir conditio nin g
a nd additional weight of opt io n al equipm ent.
E xtra load lire
M ea ns tire desi gn to operate at higher loads and at hi gher inflat ion pressure s th an th e corre -
s ponding sta ndard tire.

Gross Axle W eight Ra ting
Mea ns the load-carryin g capacity of a sing le ax le
Mean s th e maximumlOtalloaded weight of the
ve hicle.
Groove
Means the space between adjacent tread
r ib s.
L
oad ratin g (cod e)
Means the load th at a tire is rated to
carry for a give n inflation pressure. You may no t find thi s information o n all tires because it is not require d b y
Maximum load ratin g
Means the load rating for a tire the m aximum permiss ib le inflation p ressure for that tire.
Maximum loaded vehicle weig ht
Means th e sum of:
( a)
weig ht.
( b ) Accessory
weight,
(c) Vehicl e capacity weig ht. and
(d ) Production o pti ons
b e inflat ed. A lso called imum inflatio n pressure."
Normal oc cupant weight
Means lb s. kilog ra ms} times the n u m ber of occupants sea te d i n the ve hicl e up to the seating capacity of your vehicle.
O c
cupant distr ib ution
Means dist ributio n of occupants in veh icle.
Outer d iameter
Means the overall diameter of an inflated new tir e.
inflated including vations due to or tive bands or rib s.
P ly
M
ean s layer uf parallel cord s.
Productio n optio ns weight
Means the com bined weight of those installed
regular produc tion options weighing over Sibs. (2.3 kg) in excess of those standard items whic h they replace, not previously considered in curb weight or accessory
pne u matic tire in which the pl y cords th at ex tend to the beads a rc laid at substa n tially degrees to the center lin e of the tread.
Re commended inflat io n p ressure
page tire inflation p ressure".
Reinforc
ed tir e
Means a tire designed to operate at higher loads and at higher inflation pressures than the sponding tire.
Rim
Means a m etal support for a tire or a tire and tube assembly upon whic h the tire beads are seate d .
Rim d iameter
Means nominal diameter oft he bead seal. you change your w heel size. you will have to
Means that portion of tire between the tread
and bead.
which
km/h) mph ( 298 k.m/ h ). These rat ings are lis ted in the table 74. You may not find this information on all tire s because it is not required by law.
The speed r ating lett er cod e, where is molded on the tir e s idewall and indicates the maxjmurn permissible road in on page 77 74.
Checking and

3.2 Tip s and Advice
Tir e pressure monitoring
tires are underinflated a nd nates a low tire pressure warning tellt ale.
Tread
Means that porti on of tire that comes into tact the road.
Tread separation
Means pulling away of the tread from the tire carcass.
Tread wea r indicators
visual indication of the degrees o f w ear of th e tread. page 72,
Wea r for more tio n on measurin g tire wear.
Un iform
Tire Quality Grading
that is designed to help buyers make re la ti ve comparisons among ti res. The UTQG is not s afety rating and not a
antee that a tire la st for a prescrib ed number of miles o r perform in simply
g ives tire buyers additional information to bin e w ith other consideratio ns. such as price. brand loya lty and dealer recommendations. Under UTQG, tires arc graded b y th e tire fac turers in three areas: tre ad wear, traction and temperature resistance. The UTQ G information o n the tires, molded into the s idewall s.
This is the tire's "ser ia l begin s w ith the letters
sent week and year of manufacture. For ample . the rnran that the tire
pro duced in the 18th The other numbers arc m arketin g codes that no t be used by th e tire manufacturer. T his mation is used to if a tir e fect requires a recall .
Vehicle
capacity weight
Means the cargo and load plu s lb s. (68 kilograms) times the total
s
eatin g capacity as lis ted on the label attached to the ope n edge o f the driver's door.
Vehicle
maximum load on the tire
Mean s that load o n an indi vidual tire that is t ermined b y di stri buting to each axle its share of the maxim um loaded weight and viding by
normollood on th e tir e
Means that load o n an indiv idual tire that i s termined by di stribut ing to axle its sh a re of the curb weigh t. accesso ry weight. and normal occupant weight (di stributed in accordance with table page and di viding by
Occupant loading and distribution for vehicle normal load
normal load, number Occupant distributio n in number of occupants of occupants normally loaded
2 through 4
2 2 in fro nt.
5
3 2 in front. I in
=Tire pres sure
Checking and

3.2 Tips and Advice
Because technical changes may be made to ve­hicle equipment during the model year, always compare the tire size desig nation on the tir e pressure label on your vehicle with the tire s on your vehicle. Make sure
a previ­ousl y owned ve hicle.
Remember, your safe ty and t h at of your passen­gers also depends on making sure that load
limit s are not exceeded. Vehicle load includes everybody and everything in and on the vehicle.
T hese load limit s arc techni call y referred to the ve hicle's Gross Vehicl e Rating Hatin g is th e maximum load that
Hating are listed on th e s afet y compliance sticker
label on t h e driver's door
fig. l5 .
WARNING
Overloading a vehicl e can cause loss of vehicle control,
more we ight than your vehicle was des ign ed to carry w ill prevent the vehicle from handling properly and increase the risk of the loss of vehicle control.
The on a vehicle that has been over­
loaded may not be abl e to stop the vehicle within a safe distance.
Tires on a vehicle that has been overloaded can fail suddenly cau sin g loss of control and a crash.
Always make sure that the total load being transp o rted-including the weight of a trailer hitch and the to ng u e weight of a loaded trailer -docs not make the vehicle heavie r than the vehicle's Gross Vehicle
WARNING
Inco rrect tire pressures and/or underinfla­tion can lead t o serious or fata l accident.
Incorrect tire pressures and/or underinfla­tion cause increased tire wear and can affect the ha nd lin g of the ve hicle.
Applies to
The tire pressur e monitoring syste m driver ofsignificantloss of pres­
sure.
Each tire, including the spare ( if provided),
should be c heck ed
your vehicle has tire s of a diff erent s ize than the s ize indi ­cated on the vehicle placard or tire inflation pressure lab el, you should consult the appro­priate sec tion of this
and
luminatcd. one or m ore of your tires is signifi ­
cantly under-inflated. should stop and check your tires as soon as possible , and inflate them to the pro p er p ressure. Driving on a sig nif­
icantly under- inflated tire causes the tire to overheat and can lead to tire failure. Under- in-
flation al so reduces fuel effic iency and tire tread life , and may affe ct th e vehic le's handling stopping ability.
ve hicle has also been equipped with a malfunction te llt ale to indi cate when

Tires and
There arc limits to th e amount of load or weig ht that any vehicl e and any tire can carry. A ve hicle that is overloaded will not handle well and is mor e to stop. Overloading can not only
lead l oss of ve hicle control. but ca n al so damage including a blowout
and s udden d eflatio n th at can cause the vehicl e
to crash .
Your safet y
and that of your passengers also de­
pends on making sure th a t l oad limit s arc not ex­ceeded. load in cludes everybody and ev­eryth in g in and on the vehicle. These load limit s are technically refe rred to as th e vehicle' s Gr oss Ratin g
includes the weight of the basic ve­all factory installed accessorie s. a full tank of coolant and other fluids plus max­imum load. The m ax imum load incl udes the number of passengers that the ve hicle is in ­tended to carry lbs. (68 kg) for each pas­senger at designation seating position and the
total wei ght of a ny lu ggage in the ve hicle. yo u the weig ht of the trailer hit ch and the tongue weight of the loaded trailer mus t be included o f the ve hicle load.
T he Gross
Axle is the m aximum load th at can be ap plied at each of the
veh icle's two
has 5 seat ing pos ition s, 2 in the front and 3 in the rear for seating ca­paciry of 5. Eac h seatin g posit ion ha s a sa fe ty bookle t2.1
and
The fact that there is an upper li mit to your ve­
hi cle's Gross Hating means that the total weight of whatever i s bein g carried in the vehicle (in cluding the weight of a trailer hit ch and the tongue weig ht o f the load ed
t railer) is limited. The more passengers in the ve­
hicl e or passengers are heav ier than the standard weig hts assumed mean that less weig ht can be carried lu ggage.
The tire pressure on your Volkswage n also lists the maximum combined weight of all of the occupants and
page fig . 15 .
WARNING
Overloading a ve hicl e can cause loss of vehicle control, a crash or other accident, serious pe r­
sonal injury, nnd even dent h.
more weight than your vehicle was d esig ne d to carry will prevent th e ve hicl e
fr om handling properl y and increase the ri sk of th e loss of ve hicl e control.
The brakes on a ve hicl e that has been over­loaded may not be abl e to sto p the ve hicle
w ithi n a safe di stance.
o n a ve hicle that has been overloaded can
Alway s make sure that the to tal load bein g transported-including the weight of a trail er hitch and the tongu e weight of a loaded trail er -does no t m ake th e ve hicle heavier t11e
ve hicl e's Gross Vehicle Rating .