page220.
Remember that the vehi cle
manufacturer, not the tire manu
facturer, determines the correct
tire
pressu re for the tires on your
ve hicl
e. Never exceed the max
imum inflation pressure listed on
the tire s idewa ll for any reaso n.
Inflat e a
spare wheel to the pres
sure specif i
ed for the vehicle's
road whee ls
on the tire pressure
label; inflate a
compact spare
wheel to the pressure specified for
the compact spare on the tire pres
sure label
or on a separate label for
the compact spare, if there is one.
Incorrect tire pressure can cause
a
sudden tire failure or blowout,
loss
of control, collision, serious
personal injury, and even death.
Always inflate tires to the rec
ommended and correct cold tire
pressure before driving off.
Excessive speed and/or over
loading
can cause heat build-up ,
sudden tire failure including a
blowout
and tread separation
and loss of control.
maintenance
If the tire pressure is too low or
too high, the tires will wear pre
maturely and the vehicle will not
handle well.
Regularly check tire inflation
pressure, at least once a month,
and also especially before a long
trip.
Note
increases fuel
There may be differences be-
tween the pressure readings
from a tire pressure gauge
and the
pressures registered by the Tir e
Monitoring System. The
e lec tronic Tire
Moni-
toring System
is more accurate .
When the Tire
first read and note the introductory information and heed
the on page 276.
Model Engine Tire dimensions Tire pressure
R 16 91 H 34 238
(125 kW)
225145 R
17 91 H 34 238
Golf
l -
The Tire is confi gured at the factory with
the correct tir e inflation pressure applicabl e for the ve hicl e model, en-
g in e
and factory-install ed tire s. This t ire inflation pressure is also listed
on the sticke r insid e the driver page 283 . The tire inflation pres -
s
ure a re listed for all tires and the compact spare wheel. If diff ere n t
tires are
installed, the Tire Monitoring cannot properly
monitor tir e inflation pressures unl ess the is reset to the new tire
page
Informatio n n ot availa b le at t ime o f printing.
Vehicle core and maintenance 284 285
Tread depth and tread wear indicators
Fig . 162 Tread pattern : Wear indica tor .
first read and note the introducto ry information and heed the on page 276.
Tread d e pth
Most driving situations re quire much tread d ep th tread depth for the
tire s on the front and rear wheels. Thi s is tru e when driv ing in w in ter low
perature s
In m ost countries th e permis s ib le imum t read depth is in in; measure d in tread groove s next to the be sure to obey country-s pecific legal
require m ent s.
Win t
er tires arc no longer sui tabl e for win ter
mm)
Tire wear and damage
first read and note the
introductory
information
and hee d the on
page 276.
Wheel rim and ti re damage is often
di fficu lt
to see. vibrations
or pulling to one-side can be an in
dication
of tire
maint enanc e
The tread depth of new tire s ca n difTerbetw ee n tire
mode ls and m anufacturers because of the fere nt desig n features a n d tread patterns.
Tread wear indicator (TWI) in the lir e
The in mm) hi gh wea r indi ca to rs are
molded into th e bottom of the tread grooves o f the orig inal tires running acros s th e fig. 162.
S evera l w ear indicato rs
ample or sy mbols ) show the positio n of the wear indica tors.
Wear indicato rs s
how when the tire s arc worn down. The tir es mu st b e replace d no la te r th an
w hen th e tread patt ern is wo rn down to th e wea r
ind icators.
Worn tir
es are dangero us can ca use loss of vehicle control including serious personal ries.
Neve r drive tire is worn down to the wear indi cator s, re place them soo ner.
Worn tire s do not increasing your risk of loss of control.
Worn tires reduce the ability of your veh icle
t o handle in normal difficult driving uations and increase braking di sta nces th e
ri sk of
C heck tires and whee l rims for
d amage.
drivin g if a tire is dama ged
and get expert ass istance.
If no exte rnal damage is vis ible,
slo wly and carefully driv e to the
neares t authorized Volkswage n
deal
er o r authori zed Volksw agen
Serv ice Facility
or other qualified
works
hop and h ave the vehicl e
c h ecked.
Objects embedded in the tire
If embedded objects have pene
trated to the inside tire, do not re
move them!
Get help immediat ely .
Tire wear
T ir e wear depends on severa l fac
tors, includin
g:
Driving style.
Unbalanced wheels.
Wheel alignment.
Driving style-Fast cornering, hard
acceleration and braking increase
tire wear. If yo u expe rience in
creased tire
wear under normal
driving conditions, have the ve
hicle suspensio n checked by
an
authori zed Volkswagen dealer or
authorized Volkswagen Service Fa
cility.
Unbalanced wheels-The wheels
on a new vehicl e are balanc ed.
When driving, however, various
conditions
can cause a w hee l to
b
ecome unbalance d. Unbalan ced
whee ls ca n cause wear to th e
steeri ng
and suspension systems.
Have a
ll wheels rebalanced. A
Check tires and wheel rims for
damage.
286 287
tire
Please first read and
on
page 276.
Knowing
about tire specifications
make s it easier
to choose the cor -
maintenance
rec t replac ement tires. Radial tires
hav e specifications marked
on the
sid ew all.
Tire labeling (ex
ample)
Meaning
A Temperature stabili ty of the tir e a t in creased
tes t bench sp ee ds (A, B or
Additional numbers found on the tire could either be tire manufac
turer internal labels or country-specific labels (e.g. for Brazil and
TIN repr esents serial number tire.
Unidirectional tires
Unidirectional tire s are designed
to rot ate
only in one d irection .
Unidirectional tires have arrows
on the sidewall s that show the di
r
ection of rotation. Unidirectional
tires must a lways be mounted ac
cordin g to the s pecified direction
of rotation in order to deli ve r their
best g rip, braking p erformance,
low
road noise, and good wear as
well as good hydro planing re sis
tance.
Load rating
code
The load index indicates the max
imum p ermissibl e load per indi
vidual tir e in pounds ( kg).
91 1,356 lbs (615 kg)
93 1,433 lb s
kg)
97 1,609 lbs kg)
99 lbs (775 kg)
Speed rating code
The speed ra tin g co de lette r indi
cates the maximum permissibl e
ro
ad speed of the tir es.
up to 93 mph
km/h)
core and main tenance
R up to mph
mph km/h)
V up to 149 mph km/h)
over 149 mph km/h)
W
up to 168 mph km/ h )
Y
up to 186 mph
km/h) with the letter combination
292 29 3
All four wheels must be fitted
with radial tires of the same type,
size (rolling circumference)
and
the same tread pattern. Driving
with different tires reduces the
vehicle handling and can lead to
a los s
of control.
Winter tires
informati o n and heed th e on page 276.
W int er tires im
prove the handli ng c ha ra cte ristics of your ve hicle sig nifi cantly whe n driv in g under wintry of their desig n
(w idth, rubber compositi on, tread desig n). swage n stro ng ly recommend s that yo u always
have w int er tires or all-seaso n tires in stalle d on all
four wheels on yo ur ve hicle, especially when
winter road cond itions are ex pected. W inter tires also improve the ve hicle's braking performance an d help reduce stoppin g d is ta nces d uring winter wea ther. Volkswage n recommends in stalli n g
w inter tires o nce temperatures a re below
Wint er tires are no lo nge r suitabl e fo r w inter
dri vin g o nce the tread pattern is worn down to a
d epth o f 1 /16 in (4 mm). In add ition, w inter tir e
p erformance decreases w ith age- ind ependently
o f the tread
sta te country-specific lega l ments.
Core, maint enance
Never drive faster than the
maximum speed for which the
winter or other tires installed on
your vehicle are rated because
tires that are driven faster than
their rated speed can fail sud
denly.
Over-loading tires can cause
heat build-up, sudden tire
failure, including a
blowout and
sudden deflation and loss of con
trol.
Temperature grades apply to
tires
that are properly inflated
and not over-or under-inflated.
w int er tires on all fo ur wheels .
Use w int er tires only under w in try road
Usc only w inter tires w it h dim en sio n s p roved fo r the veh icle.
Usc only win ter tires of the same t ire belt
speed restri ctio ns acco rding to the
winte r tire's speed ra tin g code
restrictions
W in t
er tires cert ifie d up to a top speed fied by speed p age293.
so me vehicle m odels it is possible to se t a s pee d wa rnin g with the multi-function disploy in the page 21.
Top s peed ratin g and tire infl ation press ure fo r
or a uthorized Volk swagen Service about the m aximum permissib le speed a n d quired tir e infl ation press ure for th e winter tires yo u to use.
Drivin g faster than the speed fo r
w hich the winter tires on your vehicl e were
serious person al injuries.
Winter tire s have speed be lower your vehicle's maximum speed.
Never drive faster than the s peed fo r w hich the winter or other tires in stalled on your ve hicle are because tires that arc drive n faster than their speed can fail denl y.
Snow chains
first r ead an d n ote the introductory information and heed th e on pagc276.
local re g ul ations as w ell the applicable sp ee d lim its w hen driv in g with snow ch a in s.
wheel tions:
Tire
dimensions Rim
1 9
5/6 5 x 15 ET47
1 9
5/6 5 6 t/2 l x 15 ET5 0
6 x 15 ET 4 7
205/55
x 16 ET50
6 x 17 ET 48.5a l
are not
thic ke r
contact yo ur authorized V olk swage n deal er or authorize d Vo lk swagen s now chain sio ns.
possib le, use o nl y c hain s w ith lo w profile link s that are not thi cke r than37 /64 in mm) cluding th e te n sio ner.
core and maintenance
Never exceed the maximum load for
t h e winter tires install ed on vehicle .
tires offe r be tt er ha ndling teris tics for tcmpe ralll res abo ve T hey are quieter, do not wear as quickly , reduce fuel
cons umption.
In ve hicles with indirect T ir e Monitoring th e sys te m must be each tire page 222.
I f necessa ry , a sk your authorized Volkswagen dealer or authorized Volk swagen
Remove hubcap s and deco rative rim rings before
in sta llin g sno w Ho wever, for safet y
r e a sons, must be in stall ed on th e wheel b o lts. These are ava ilabl e from authorize d Volk swage n
deal ers and authorized Volk swage n ties.
Compact spare w heel
F o r t
echnical r easons, snow ch ain s canno t b e use d
o n the compact spare page 288 .
I f y
ou mus t u se snow chains
front tir e has to be placed. In stall tha t rear w heel in pla ce of the ag ed fron t wheel. Be sure to install the un id ire c
tional tires s o that they will run in the proper tion. Volkswagen recommends in sta lli ng the snow chains be fo re mounting th e wheel to the ve hicl e.
the wrong snow chains or in sta lling snow chains improperly can cause accidents and rious personal injuries.
A lways usc th e proper snow chain s.
the insta llation in structi o ns pro vided by the s now chain manufacturer.
Neve r exceed th e permis si bl e speed lim it when driving with snow ch ains.
Neve r usc snow ch ai ns on tires.
294
295