Maximum (permissible) inflation pressure means the maximum cold inflation pressure to
which a tire may be inflated. Also called "max imum inflation pressure."
Normal occupant weight
means
150 lbs. (68 kilograms) times the number
of occupants seated in the vehicle up to the total seating capacity of your vehicle.
Outer diameter
means the overall diameter of an inflated new
tire.
Overall width means the linear distance between the exteriors
of the sidewalls of an inflated tire, including ele
vations due to labeling, decorations, or protec tive bands or ribs.
Ply
means a layer of rubber-coated parallel cords.
Radial ply tire
means a pneumatic tire in which the ply cords
that extend to the beads are laid at substantially
90 degrees to the centerline of the tread.
Recommended inflation pressure
see
52, "Cold tire inflation pressure".
Rim
means a metal support for a tire or a tire and
tube assembly upon which the tire beads are
seated.
Rim diameter
means nominal diameter of the bead seat . If you
change your wheel size, you will have to pur
chase new tires to match the new rim diameter.
Rim size designation
means rim diameter and width.
Rim width
means nominal distance between rim flanges.
Sidewall
means that portion of a tire between the tread
and bead.
Booklet 3.2 Tips and Advice
Speed rating (letter code) means the speed at which a tire is designed to be
driven for extended periods of time. The ratings range from 93 mph (150 km/h) to 186 mph
(298 km/h). These ratings are listed in the table
below 62. You may not find this informa
tion on all tires because it is not required by law.
The speed rating letter code, where applicable, is molded on the tire sidewall and indicates the
maximum permissible road speeds.
Tire pressure monitoring system
1 )
means a system that detects when one or more
of a vehicle's tires are underinflated and illumi nates a low tire pressure warning telltale.
Tread means that portion of a tire that comes into con
tact with the road.
Tread separation means pulling away of the tread from the tire
carcass.
Tread wear indicators (TWI) means the projections within the principal
grooves designed to give a visual indication of
the degrees of wear of the tread. See
59, "Tread Wear Indicator (TWI)" for more informa
tion on measuring tire wear.
Uniform Tire Quality Grading
is a tire information system developed by the United States National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration (NHTSA) that is designed to help buyers make relative comparisons among tires.
The UTQG is not a safety rating and not a guar antee that a tire
will last for a prescribed number
of miles or perform in a certain way. It simply
gives tire buyers additional information to com bine with other considerations, such as price,
brand loyalty and dealer recommendations .
Under UTQG, tires are graded by the tire manu
facturers in three areas: tread wear, traction and temperature resistance. The UTQG information
on the tires, molded into the sidewalls.
U.S. DOT Tire Identification Number (TIN)
This is the tire's "serial number."
It begins with
the letters "DOT" and indicates that the tire
meets all federal standards. The next two num-
Tire pressure monitoring system)
Checking and Filling 53
Booklet 3.2 Tips and Advice
bers or w her e il manufactured, and fo ur numb ers re pre
s ent the week and year of manufa ctur e. For ex
ampl e, th e numb ers 180 1 m ean lhal
lir e produ ced in the wee k of 200 1. oth er
numb ers arc m ark e ting code s may or may
n ot b e use d by th e lir e m an ufa c tur er. T hi s info r
is use d lO cl co nsum ers if lir e dere quir es reca ll.
Vehicle capacity we ight
means cargo and luggage load pl us
1 50 lbs. (68 kilogra ms) lime s vehicle's I se
alin g capaci ty as
on label alt ached lo
t h e open ed ge of th e dri ver's door .
Vehicle maximum load on the tire
means that load on an ind iv idua l tire that is de
t erm in ed b y dis tribu ting e a ch ax le its shar e of ma ximum load ed ve hicle weig ht and di
v iding b y
Vehicle nor mal load on the tire
mean s load on an indi vidual lha l is de
termined by each axle i ls s hare of curb accessory and n ormal weighl in accordan ce below 54) and div id in g by
Occupant loading and distribution for vehic le normal load for various designated sealing capaciti es
Desig na ted sea ling capaci ty,
Vehicle norm al l oad, numbe r
Occupa nt distri bution in a
nu mber of occ upants
of occupants normally lo aded vehicle
2 th rough 4
2 2 in front.
5 3 in I in back scat.
Cold tire inflation pressure
pressure aff ects the overall safety of a icle .
TIRE AND LOADING INFORMATION
( SEATING CAPAOTY
amt,l D Of
TIR E SIZE COLD TIRE PRESSURE
FRONT
SPARE
F ig . 1 3 Approximate location of fire pressure labe l on open edge of driver's door and example
of a fire pressure label
T ire p ress ur e ge nera lly refe rs to in a tire th at i l needs il t o do ils job an d sa fe ly
ca rry co mbin ed loa d of enti re vehicle
and it s content s. Tir e pre ssur e is meas ured in ki
l op ascals
imernat io nal meas urin g
unit and in poun ds per squar e in ch (P SI). Tir e
p ressure is based in pan o n th e ve hicle's des ig n
and l oad Ii mil -
greates t amount of
54 Checking and Filling
th at can car ry safe ly an d th e lir e s ize.
T he proper tir e press ure is frequ entl y to
as the "recom mend ed co ld tire inflation pr es
s ur e." Air in
!ires expa nds w hen tir e heat s
up because of fric tion when it fl exes in
u se . Th e tir e press ure is highe r w hen tire warmed up than when is "co ld.·· ll i s infla
t io n p ressure in a "co ld" lire Ther e-
fore, you shou ld ne ver let air o ut of a warm ti re m atc h "cold tire inflation pressure" reco m
m endati ons. The tir es wo uld then be und erin
fla ted and could fail suddenl y.
Maint aining proper tire press ure is on e of the
mo st important things you ca n do
help avoi d
s udd en tir e failu re. Unde rinflated tire s are a
major cause of sudden tir e failure. Keeping t ires
a t th e righ t p ress ure is also important for saf e
and resp o nsiv e ve hicl e handl ing, tra ctio n,
and load carryi ng. Tire pre ssure s arc
part icu lar ly i mport ant when the ve hicle is
being driven at higher speeds, and then espe
cially when heavi ly lo ad ed eve n wit hin th e per
mi ssible load-carry ing capaci ties approved for
yo ur vehicle.
The reco mm end ed tir e pre ssure s fo r yo ur Volk
sw age n dep end on th e kind or tires on your ve-
Ca rlin e E ngin e Tire
Jet ta 1.91
/ 74 195/65
15 91 H
kWT DI
1.91/ 74 205
/55 R 16 91
kW TD I
1. 9 1 / 74 225/45
17 91 H
kW TDI
J etta 2.0
l / 147 205/55 R 16 911-1
2. 0l / 147 225/45
R 17 91 H
kWTF SI
2.0 1 / 147 255 /40
18 92 Y
kWTFSI
J e tt a 2.51/ 110 195/65
1 5 91 H
kW
2 .5 1 /
IIO 205/55 R 16 91 H
k W
2 .5 1 /
IIO 225/45 R 1791 H
kW
xi= reinfor ced
Be caus e
ch anges may be mad e to ve
hicl e equipm ent during the model year, always
c ompar e th e tire size designation on the tire
pr ess ure label on yo ur vehi cle
the tire s on
y ou r ve hicle. Make sur e that th e tir e s ize in fo r-
Booklet 3.2 Tips and Advice
hide an d th e number of passe ngers and /or
amo unt of luggage you will b e
The tire pr ess ure la b el on the op en edge of the
dri ver's doo r on your Volk swagen li sts th e rec
o mmended cold tire infla tion press ures fo r the
veh icle at its max imum capaci ty weight and tire s
th at were on your vehicle at the time it was man
ufa ctur ed.
See the illu stration
54, fig. for the loca
ti on of the label on the open edge of the drive r's
door (color of th e actual label and exact location
o n the vehicl e will vary slightl y).
table below li sts the recom mend ed co ld tire
inflation pressures for the Volk swa gen m odel s
cove red by your O wner's Lit era ture at the ve
hi cle's maximum capacit y weig ht and the tir e
s izes insta lled on th e res pec tive mode ls as ori g
in al e quipment , o r as a fa ctory opt ion .
Tire pressur e Tire pressure rear
front
PSI kPa
PS I kPa
34 234 34 234
34 234 34 234
34 234 34 234
3 5 240 35 240
35 240
35 240
35 240
240
34 234
34 234
34 2
34 3 4
234
34 234
34 234
mation o n the vehicl e lab el i s the same as th e
s ize of t he tir es on the ve hicl e is es pecially im
portan t if th e ve hicl e belo ngs to someo ne e lse or
y ou bou ght the vehicle with different rims/tires
Checking and Filling 55
Booklet 3.2 Tips and Advice
or you bought the vehicle as prev iously owned
vehicle.
R emember, yo ur safety and that of your passen
ge rs also depends on making sure that load
limit s ar c not exceeded. Ve hicle load includ es
every body and every thing in and on the vehicl e.
These lo ad limit s are t echni cally r efer re d to as
th e ve hicle's Gross Vehicle Weight H ating
The Gross Axle We ight Hating is th e maximum load that can be ap
plied each of the vehicle' s two axl es. The Gross
V ehicl e Rating and the Gross Axle Weight
Ratin g ar c listed on the safety compliance stick er
lab el o n the driver's door
pillar. The tire
pre ssure lab el on your Volkswagen lists the max
imum combined w eight of a ll of the occupants
and lug gage or other cargo that the vehicle can
carry . For the location of the tir e pr ess ure lab el
54, 13 .
WARNING
Over loa din g a vehicl e can cause loss of vehicle
control, a cras h or other accident, serious per
so nal injury, and even death.
• Carrying more weight tha n yo ur vehicle
was des ig ned to carry
will pr event the vehicle
Checking tire pressure
WARNING (continued)
from handling properly and increase the risk
o f th e lo ss of vehicl e con trol.
• Th e brakes on a vehicle th at has been over
l oaded may not be able to stop the vehicl e
w ithin a sa fe dis tance.
• Tire s on a ve hicle that has been overloaded
can fail suddenl y caus ing loss of control and a
crash.
• Always make sure that the total load being
tran sport ed - includin g the weig ht of a tra iler
hit ch and the tongue weig ht of a loaded trailer
docs not m ake the vehicle h eavier than the
ve hicle' s Gross Veh icle We ig ht Rating.
WARNING
• Inco rrect tire and/or underinfla
t io n can lead to a se rious or fata l accident.
• Inco rrec t tire pr essures and/or underin fla
t ion cause increased tire wea r an d ca n affect
th e handling of the ve hicle.
• Incorrect tir e pre ssur es an d/o r underi nfla
t ion can also lead to s udden tire failure, in
cluding a blowo ut and sudd en deflation,
ca usi ng loss of ve hicl e
correct pressur e for tires originally i 11stalled on your icle is listed on
the tire pressure label on the open edge of
doo1:
Th e recomme nded tire pr essures on the tire
pr ess ure labe l ar e in the table "Co ld
tire inflation pres sure''. Thi s m ea ns that the
pre ssure mu st b e checked and adjusted when
th e tire
n o t bee n driv en for more than a
co uple of mil es (k ilometer s) at low spee ds
during the pr evious three hours. /\ir in the tire s
e xpands when the tire heat s up a s
res ult of in
ternal fr ic tion as it flexes in use. The tir e pressure
i s hig h er whe n the tire ha s wanned up than
wh en it i s ··co ld."
It is the inflation pre ssure in
tir e that
co unt s. Therefo re , yo u shou ld never le t air out of
tir e to match tir e inflati on pres
s ure·· recomme ndations 54. T he tires
would then be underinfl ated and could fa il sud
d enl y.
56 Checking and Filling
The tir e pressure label on your Volkswag en lists
th e reco mmended cold tire inflation pressure s
fo r th e new, original equipm ent tir es that were
on your vehicl e at the tim e it was manufa ctur ed.
the loca tion of the lab el 54, 13 .
Most tires lose a ir naturall y over time. Th ey can
also lose some air if yo u dri ve over a pothole
hit a curb wh ile parkin g. It i s usually not possib le
to sec whether the radial tires used today ar e un
clcrinflated just hy looking
th em.
T herefo re, be sur e to chec k tire press ures at l eas t
o nce a month and always before going on
long
trip. Make sur e to tak e th e numb er of people and
th e amount of luggage into account when ad
ju stin g tir e pr ess ure for a trip-even o ne that you
not cons ider to be Sec
Determining correct load limit
Use the examp le below to calcula te the
total weigh t of the pa sse ngers and luggage
o r ot her thing s that you plan to transport
so that you can make s ure that your vehicl e
w ill not be overload ed .
Steps for Determining Correct Load
Limit
I. Locate the sta te m en t "TH E COMBIN ED
WE IG HT OF OCC UPA NTS AND CARGO
S HOULD NEVER EXCEED
XXX KG OR XXX
LB S" from the st ic ker
54, fi g. 13 .
2. Determine the combined weig ht of the
d ri ve r and passen gers chac w ill be riding in
your ve hicle.
3 . S ubtract the combined weight of the
driver and passengers "XXX" kilograms or
"XXX" po unds
4. Th e re sultin g figu re equa ls the ava ilab le
amount of cargo and luggage load ca
paci ty.
ex ample , if th e "XXX " am ou nt
equa ls
1400 lbs . and there w ill b e five 150
lb s. passengers in your vehicle , th e
amount of avai lab le ca rgo and luggage
lo ad capac ity is
650 lb s. (14 00- 750 ( 5 x 15 0 )
650 lb s.)
5. Determine the combined we ight of lu g
gag e and ca rgo bein g load ed on the ve
hicl e. Th at we ight may no t sa fely excee d
the ava ilable cargo and luggag e load ca
pa cit y ca lc ulat ed in Step
4.
6. your ve hicle will be towing a trailer,
load from your trailer will be transferred to
yo ur vehicle. Consult thi s manual to d eter
mine ho w this re d uces the ava ilable carg o
a n d luggage load capacit y of your vehicle.
- C heck the ti re sid ew all
fig. 16 ) to de te rmin e the de signated load
ratin g for a spec ific tire.
se rvice lif e of tires depend s on a lot of diffe rent inc/11di11g proper instal
balanc ing, correc t tir e pressu re and driv ing style .
Fig. 14 Tire tread: tr ead wear ind icators (TW I)
Tread Wear Indicator {TWI)
Th e ori gina l ti re s on yo ur veh icle have I /16 in ch
Fi g. 15 Rotating t ires for more even we ar
(1. 6 mm ) hi gh indi cator s" 14 runn in g
a cro ss the Depending on th e m ak e, th ere
Checking and Filling 59
Booklet 3.2 Tips and Advice
will be s ix 10 eight of them evenly pla ced aroun d tire. Marks on the tire s idewa ll (fo r ex amp le o r oth er symbols) indicate the p ositions
of the tread w ear in dica tor s. Wo rn tires mu st be
rep laced . Different figu res may apply in oth er
Tir e pressure
In co rrec t lir e pr ess ure cause s pr ematur e wear
and can cause s udden tire blow -out. F or thi s
r easo n, tir e pressure must be c hec ke d at leas t
o nce a m ont h
56.
Driving style
Drivin g fast around cu rves, heavy acce lera tio n
and hard braking increase t ir e w ear.
Rotating tir es for more even wear
I f th e front tires are worn consid era bly m ore
than t he re ar ones, rotate th em as sh own
59, fig. 15 . All the tir es will then last for
about sa me of tim e.
A ll
tir es s hou ld have th e sam e am ount of
wear. All four w heels must have the sa me ro lling
ci rc umf ere nce.
Wheel balancing
Th e wh eels on ne w ve hicl es are balan ced. H ow
eve r. various situations during every d ay driv ing
can cause them
b ecom e unbalan ced, r e
s ultin g in vib rat io ns y ou can usuall y fe el throug h
th e steering wheel.
Unbalan ced w hee ls mu st be reb alan ced to avoid
e x cessive wear on stee ring, suspen sion and
60 Checking and Filling
tire s. A wheel also be rebalan ced w hen a
new lire i s in stalled .
In correct whee l alignment
Incorr ect whee l alignment can cause exc ess ive
ti re wea r, impa ir in g
safe ty of the ve hicle. If
t ir es s how excess ive wear, have wheel align
m en t ch ecke d by an authori zed Vol ksw age n
d ea le r or qualifi ed work sh op.
WARNING
Sud den tir e fa ilur e ca n le ad to lo ss of con trol ,
a cra sh and serious persona l injury!
• Neve r drive a vehicle wh en th e trea d on
any tire is wo rn dow n to the wea r indicator s.
• Worn tires a rc a sa fety hazar d, the y do not
gr ip we ll on wet roads and increase y our risk
of "h yd ropl anin g" and lo ss of contro l.
• Always kee p ch emi cals that can ca use tir e
d amage, s uch as g rease, oil , gaso line and
brak e fluid away from tire s.
• Tire s age even if th ey a rc not b ein g use d
and can fail sudd enl y, es pecially al high
s pe eds . Tir es that a re more than 6 year s old
can onl y be use d in an emergen cy and th en
w ith sp ecia l care a nd at lowe r sp eeds.
• Neve r mount u sed tire s on your vehicl e if
you a rc not sur e of their "pr ev iou s hi stor y."
Old use d tir es ma y ha ve been d amaged eve n
th ough the d am age ca nnot b e seen that can
lead t o sudd en tir e failure and loss of vehicle
Maximum Perm issib le Inflatio n Press ure
T his nu mb er is th e g re at est a mount of
pres
s ur e tha t sh oul d ever be put in the tire und er
norma l driv ing cond itio n s.
R ep lac in g tires or rims on vehicles equipp ed
wit h
The air va lve o n all four tires (no t on the spare
ti re) is equip ped with a senso r, w hic h co nsta ntly
m on itors
a ir pr ess ure in side the tire, a nd
the n this Lu If
yo u ar e going to re pl ace the wheel rim s o n yo ur
ve hicl e, make sure the rim s also have these
se nso rs. The se nsor s mu st be co mp atib le w ith
TPM S sys tem o n yo ur vehicle .
I f yo u install rim s. w hich do not have th e se n
sors, o r ha ve sensors w hich are not comp ati ble,
th e TP MS will not wor k pro perl y. In case, theTPM S would n ot b e ab le to m oni tor pr ess ure or wa rn you if is necessa ry.
• Wheneve r you c hange se nso rs, yo u ha ve to
i n sta ll
valves.
•
dri ve the valve ste m cap s se
c ur ely m ou nted. We reco mmen d usi ng fac to ry
i n sta lle d va lve stem caps. As k your auth ori zed
Volkswage n dea le r if yo u los t va lve
caps.
T he in sta llat io n of re pla ceme111 tires
c ord hody plies in the tire si dewa ll m ay ca use
ma lfu nction tir e pre ssure monitorin g
sys te m (TPM S), and i s not recommended (cord
mat eri al informatio n is m olded on
ti re s ide
wa ll).
ch ec k yo ur TPM S indi cator af te r r eone or more tires o n yo ur vehicl e. If t he
TP MS indi cator is on. your TPMS is m alfu nc
ti o nin g. Your
tire m ig ht be incom
patibl e yourTP MS system, or some co mp o
n en t of the TP MS may be dam aged .
WARNING
• Usin g in cor rect or unmatched tires and
I or wheels or improper tire and whee l co mbi
nation s can le ad to loss of con tro l, co llisio n
and serio us perso nal injury.
• Always use tires, rims and whee l bo lts th at
me et th e specification s of ori ginal fa ctory- in
s talled tire s or other combination s th at h av e
b een sp eci fica lly app roved by the vehicle
manufa ctur er.
Booklet 3.2 Tips and Advice
WARN ING (continued)
• Tire s age even if they arc not being use d
and can fail su ddenl y, es peci ally at high
s peeds. Tire s th at are more than 6 yea rs old
can only be use d in an em ergenc y and then
w ith specia l care and at lower speeds.
• Never mount use d tir es on your vehicle if
yo u are not sur e o f th eir "previou s hi story."
Old used tir es ma y ha ve bee n damag ed even
th ou gh th e dam age ca nnot be seen that ca n
l ead to sudd en tir e fa ilur e and lo ss of vehicl e
control.
• All four whe els must be fitted with radi al
tir es of the s am e type, size (ro lling cir cumf er
ence) and th e sa me tread p attern. Dri ving
w ith diff erent tire s reduces ve hicle han dling
a nd can l ead to a loss of control.
• If the spare tire is not th e same a s th e tir es
that are mount ed on the vehicle - for examp le
with winter tir es - only u se the sp are tir e for a
s h ort period of tim e and drive w ith extra care.
Refi t th e no rma l road w hee l as soo n as safe ly
possib le.
• Neve r dri ve
than th e spe ed for wh ic h th e tires on you r ve hicle are
rat ed because tires that arc driven fas te r than
their rated sp eed ca n
sudd enly .
• Overloadin g tir es cause h eat build -up ,
s ud den tire failur e, includin g a blowout and
sudden defl ation and loss of co ntrol.
• Temperat ure grades apply lo tir es that are
properl y inflat ed and not over o r underin
flated .
• For tec hni cal reaso ns it i s not always pos
s ibl e to use whee ls from oth er ve hicles-in
s om e cases not eve n whee ls from the sa me ve
hicle model.
• If you insta ll w hee l trim d iscs on th e ve
hicle whee ls, make sur e that th e air flow to the
brakes is not blo ck ed. R edu ced airflo w to the
brakes can th em to ove rheat , in cre asin g sto p
ping distances and causin g a colli sion .
Checking and Filling 63
Booklet 3.2 Tips and Advice
• If the spar e tire is differe nt from the tires that
yo u have mounted on your ve hicl e ( for example
tir es or wide profil e tir es), then use the
spare tire for a sh ort period of on ly and
driv e w ith extra care . R ep lace the flat tir e wi th
th e tir e ma tc hin g th e o ther s on yo ur vehicle as
soo n as pos sibl e.
Uniform tire quality grading
Qualit y can b e found w here appli cable on
th e tire side be twee n tread sh ou ld e r and
m axi mum sec tion w idth 61. fig . 16 .
For exampl e: T rea d wear 20 0, T ra ctio n /Ill, Te mII.
1111 pa sse nger car ti res must conform to Federa l
Safe ty Hcquirem ents in additi on t o grade s.
Tr ead wea r
The
specifi ed gov
ernme nt test course .
F or examp le ,
tir e g raded 150 wou ld wea r on e
and one half (11 /2) tim es well on govern
me nt course as a tire graded IOO.
T he re lat ive perfor mance of tires depend s up on
th e act ual co nditions of the ir use, however. and
m ay depa rt sig nifi cantl y from th e no rm du e to
va riat io ns in dri vin g ha bits, se rvice practic es
a nd diff ere n ces in road chara cte ri sti cs and cli
grade s, from hig hes t to lowes t. are
AA . and C. Those grade s re pr ese nt the tir e's
a bilit y to stop on pav ement as m easure d
under controlled condit io ns on spec ified gov
e rnment
surfa ces of asp halt and concret e. A
ti re m ark ed C ma y ha ve poor tracti o n perfo r
64 Checking and Filling
• in sta llin g new tires, be c are ful no t t o
dam age the va lves o r sensor s.
• Never drive witho ut the va lve ste m cap. Th e
va lves a nd senso rs
get dama ged.
• I f
sensors must be rep la ce d, th e
va lve must likew ise be re pla ced sa m e
tim e.
c£> Fo r the sak e of environment
Di sp ose o f o ld tires in accordan ce wit h th e loca l
r e qu ire m ent s.
The 1e111pem111re grades are A (the hi ghes t), B. an d C. represen ting th e tir e's to the
gene ration of heat and its abi lity 10 di ss ipat e tes te d und er contro lled co ndi tions
on a spcci f'ied indoo r lab oratory te st w heel.
Sus tained hig h tempera ture ca n cause
mate
r ial of the lir e to deg enerat e and re du ce lire life,
and excess ive te mperature can lea d to sudd en
tir e
The C co rresponds to a leve l of perfor
m an ce whi ch all pa sseng er car tires mu st m eet
un der the
Motor V ehi cle Sa fe ty Standard
No. G rad es and A re pres ent higher lev els
of pe rfo rm ance on the laboratory w heel
th an minimu m re quir ed by law.
WA RNING
The trac t ion gra de ass igned to thi s tire is base d
on stra ig ht-ah ead brak ing tra ctio n t ests, and
d ocs not i nclude acceleration, corn erin g, hy
d ropla ning or peak tracti on cha racter is ti cs.
WARNING
Th e te m pera ture gra de fo r thi s tire is es ta b
li sh ed for tir e th at is proper ly in fl ated and
not overloaded. Excess ive spee d, und crinfl a
tion , or excess ive load ing, eith er separate ly or
in com binati on, ca n ca use hea t bu ildup and
po ssible tir e fa ilur e.