3.2 Tips and Advice
This warning light is part of the On-Board-Diagno stic System
The MIL is a required indicator
assure you that th e MIL is workin g properly.
If the Malfun ctio n (MIL )
does n o t go out after th e eng in e is s tarted, or if it comes on w hil e yo u are driv ing, th ere is a mal
function in the engine sys te m.
If
the lamp starts blinkin g. th e catal ytic converter could be damaged . T he re m ay be sag e in the in strument clu ste r informing yo u or
advis in g you of the necessa ry action to take.
(DLC) for On-Board-Diag
nostic
The O n-Board-Diagnost ics in mon
itor s the vario us components of your e mission
control system. Each controlled component in y
our ve
hicl e has been coded. In case of functio n the respective component in questio n
will be identi fied and the fault stored in the form of a code in the control module's memory.
The stored data can only be d isplaye d wit h spe
cial testing equipment (generic scan tool for di agnosis.
To c
onnect the speci al tes ting equipmen t, push the p lug into th e Da ta Link locate d to the rig ht of the release for engine
h oo d.
Your
authorize d Volkswagen dealer or quali fied
wo rkshop can interpret the code and m ake the ne cessar y correction.
you do not pay attention to the warning
lights whi c h have come on, including th e warning messages appearing in the display , this could lead to pers o n al injury or damage to your ve hicl e.
Smart
miles
can b e gradually in creased to
th e maximum vehicl e s
peed or maximum
permissibl e engin e speed (rpm ).
Breaking in tires and brake pads
Durin g the fir st few h o u rs of dri ving, the g ine 's inte rnal fric tion is hi gher than it will be
l a te r w he n a ll th e m ovin g part s have been bro ke n in.
For the sake of environment
th e eng in e is bro ke n in gentl y, the lif e of the engine will be in creased and it s oil co nsumption
New tires should be broken in carefull y for the fir st miles (560 km). New brake
pads b e broken in carefu lly for the first miles (240 km).
Durin g th e fir st miles km l. you can
c ompe nsate for the reduced brak ing effect by apply in g m ore press ure th e brake pedal.l fyo u
need to make a n em ergency slOp, the brak ing
di sta nce will b e longe r w ith new brake pads than
wit h brake pads wh ic h have been b roke n in.
WARNING
New tires and brake pads do not provide imum gri p, control o r braking
(cont;n ued)
To reduce the ri sk of losing a
miles
New brake pads do not have th e best pin g power for the fir st km) and must be broken in. can compe nsate for the s lightly reduced braking effect b y applying more pressure on the brake pedal.
N eve r follow other vehicles to clos ely or put yours elf into other situati on s that might require sudden, h a rd braking especially when the brake pads have not been broke n in.
12 Driving and protecting the environment
Booklet 3 .2 Tips and Advic e
recommend that you have the
thi ckne ss of your brake pads checked by an au
t horized Vol kswagen dealer mo re fre quent ly
t h an recommende d in the serv ice sched ule.
you drive with wet brakes, for example afte r a
dri ving through water, after heavy rainfall or after washing the ve hicle, braking power be
reduced and s to ppin g distances will be longer
because the brake discs will be we t or in winter mayb e eve n frozen-the brakes must be dried
with several ca re ful brak e applicatio ns.
Brak e fluid absor bs water
and must be changed
every two years. Heavy use of the brakes can cause vapor lock if the brake fluid is too old.
Vapor lock redu ces braking power, increases
stopping distances and ca n even cause total
brake failure.
New tires and new bra ke pads do no t pro
v id e m aximum gri p, control o r b raking abil ity.
To red uce the risk of l osi ng control, a s io n an d se rio us perso nal injuries, drive with
specia l ca re for the first 350 miles (560 km).
New brake pads do not have th e best sto p
ping power for the fir st ISO mile s (240 km ) and
m ust be b roken in. can compensate for the slightly reduced braki ng abil ity by dri ving care and applyin g more pressure on th e
brake pedal.
Never follow oth e r veh icles to close ly or
p u t you rse lf in to other s ituations th at might
requ ire su d den , hard bra king especially when the brake pads have not been broken in.
apply brakes for a test.
Always dry brakes and clea n off icc coat
i ngs an d salt coatings with a few cautious brake applications.
A lways read and heed in in tire s and brake on page 12.
Always avoid overheati ng the brakes!
When driving downhill, t11 e brakes have to
work har d and h eat up quickly.
Before driving down a lo ng, steep hill, al
ways reduce speed and downshift to a lower
gear. This will let the vehicle usc engine
Always ch ange th e brake fluid at l east
every two years. Hard braki ng wi th o ld flui d may cause a va po r lock . Vapor loc k duces powe r, inc reases stoppin g di stan ces and can even cause tota l b rak e failure.
A damaged front spoiler or n ew non standard spoiler can reduce t h e airflow to th e
brakes and cause them to ove rh eat.
Always see an authorized Volkswag en
dealer or qualified workshop
Be sure to re ad and heed all and th e page
Driving and protecting the environm ent 13
WARNING (c o ntinu ed )
Alwa ys read and heed all W ARN IN GS an d additional information regarding sa fet y booklet 2 . I
yo u plan to tow a
tr ailer, p lease re m ember th a t yo ur car will be performing a serv ice for which it was not
ra b ility, ha ndl ing, econ o m y and performa nce.
Tra
ile r towin g not o nl y places more stress on the ve hicl e, it als o calls fo r more concentratio n fr o m the driver.
For these re a so ns, always follow th e o pe ra ting
and d rivi ng instructio ns given and use common sense.
Trail er hit ch
trail er hit ch on your ve hicle.
D o not use a bumper hitch.
The hitch must be installed so, it does not
interfe re the impact-absorbin g bumper system. Do not make any ch an ges to th e ve hicl e
ex haust and b rake system s. Fro m time to tim e, check that all hi tch-mounting bo lt s remain curely fas te ned .
When you are no t towin g
Engine cooling system
Tow ing a tra iler makes the engine wo rk ha rder. is important that th e engine cooling system is u p
t o the job. Ma ke s ure that th e coo ling system has enough fluid .
Traile r bra kes
Never connect the tr a iler light syste m direc tly to the light syste m of your ve hicle . Be su re to check wit h your authorized Volkswage n dealer for rec t w iring, switches
you alwa ys have clear v is ion to th e rear.
Maxim um power consumption for the traile r
Do not exceed the ratings given in the c hart
E lectric al load
Max . power
T ailligh ts total watts
T urn sig na ls p
er sid e 54 watts
B rak e lig hts total 84
Backup light total 54 walls
Driving and protecting the environ ment 15
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
is what you mus t do if you going to tow
Inse rt the trailer connector completely into the vehicle trailer socket.
Lock th e ve hicle with the remote key.
The trail er is now integ rat ed int o th e theft alarm system
For more information about the anti-theft alarm bookl et3. 1 chapter "Anti -theft Alarm
Disco nnecting your trailer from the anti-th eft
alarm system
Unlock th e vehicle with the remote key.
The anti-theft alarm sys tem is now ofT.
Note
Mod ify ing the electrical system improperly can cause expe nsive damage to the veh icle's trical sys tem. recommend yo u have your thorized Vol kswagen dealer o r qualified
driving sty le,
Co nditions of use (wea ther, road s urface) .
Technical conditions.
Think ahead when driving
A ve hicl e uses most fuel when accel erating. If
yo u think ahead when driving. you need to brake less and accelerate less. pos-
Regular servicing
B y having your vehicle serviced regularly by a authorized dealer you can es tabl is h the basis for a good fuel economy even you start drivin g. v iced e ngine give s yo u th e be nefit of better fuel
efficie ncy as well as maximum re liabilit y and greater resale value. B
y
adopting an economica l driv ing style and ticipat ing the traffic ahead, you can easily duce fuel consumption by Thi s section sug ges ts som e w ays to reduce th e impact on th e
e nvironment while reduci ng operatin g costs at
the same
s ibl e, let the vehicle roll slo wly to a stop. for
light is
A n engine that is no t properly maintained can usc up to 10% more f uel than necessary.
the oil level every time you get gas consumption dep ends la rgely on the e ngin e load and engine
Driving and protecting the environment 19
3.2 Tips and Advice
A cold engine use more fuel until its operating temperature at whic h fuel
Warranty coverages
Volkswage n is covered by the warranties:
Limi ted Warranty Again st Corrosion tion
Emiss ion Control Warranty
consumption will improve. Also impo rtan t is the outsid e temperature. The colder the outside temperature, th e g reater the fuel consumption.
Em iss ions Warranty
Califo rnia Emissio ns Control Warranty
Emissions
20 Driving and protecting the environment