Booklet 3.2 Tips and Advice
Parking Restarting
Afte r park ing, a lw ays block w hee ls o f ve hicl e and trail er. D o 1101 park a trail er on
a s lo pe. If ca n no 1 b e avo ided, do so onl y doi ng follo win g:
• App ly foo 1 brak e.
• Have so meo ne pl ace c hoc ks und er bo 1h ve
hi cle and ,railer w hee ls .
•
c h oc ks in p lace, s low ly re le ase
br akes until whee l bl ocks ab so rb lo ad .
• Turn w hee ls 10 c urb (v e hicl e fa ci ng d ow nh ill)
o r to 1h e s tr ee t (w hen facin g uphi ll) .
• App ly par kin g bra ke firm ly .
• Place a u1om a1ic
in P.
If you move
se lecto r leve r of tran smi ssion to P befo re app ly in g park ing
b rak e and befor e blo ckin g 1h e w hee ls . yo u ma y
ne ed mor e for ce to m ove
leve r of th e P
p os ition. W
hen resta rt in g a fter p ark ing on a slo pe, reve rse
pro cedur e:
• Start
e n gin e.
•
t ran smi ssio n int o gea r.
• Release
p arkin g bra ke a nd slo wly m ove from th e w hee l bl ock s.
•
h ave so meon e re 1r ieve 1he wh eel
b loc ks.
Note
• Never tow a traile r during the br ea k-in p erio d
o f yo ur vehicl e.
• If yo u to w a tr a ile r, your V olk swage n may re
qui re mor e frequ ent mainte nance due 10
lo ad . .
• Always c heck loca l re gula tion s reg ard in g
t rail er
dep end s on y our pers onal driving sty le .
Fu el eco no m y. imp act a nd on th e engin e, brak es and tir es dep end la rge ly
o n th ree thing s:
• Perso nal dri vin g s 1y le
• Condilions of use (wea th er. roa d su rface)
• Tec hni cal co ndi 1io n s
Think ahead when driving
A ve hicl e uses fu el w hen acce le ra1in g. If
y o u think ah ea d when dri vin g, yo u will n ee d to
brak e less and acce le ra 1e less. Whereve r po s- 13
y a do ptin g an e conom ic a l d riv in g sty le and an
tici patin g th e traffi c ahead, you can eas ily re
du ce fuel con sump tio n by 10 -15 % . T hi s sec tion
s u ggests some wa ys to re duc e th e imp act o n th e
e n viro nm ent whil e re ducin g opera tin g cos ts a l
th e sa me sibl e, vehicl e roll slowl y to a s top , for in
s tan ce when yo u ca n se e the next light is
14 Driving and protecting the environment
® Booklet 3.2 Tips and Advice
Cleaning and protection
General notes
Regular washing and care help maintain value of your vehicle.
Regular care
Reg ular and expert ca re help s a ve hicl e to kee p
it s va lu e. Th is ma y als o be o ne of th e re qu ire
m ent s of
New Ve hicle Warrant y in the eve nt
of corro sio n r ep air s or if re painting should be
n ec essary.
Th e bes t way to pr otec t the ve hicl e aga inst en vi
ronm ental contamin ant s is
to w as h and wax it freq11 e111/ y. The long er thin gs lik e in sec ts. bird
droppin gs, tree sap , road dirt , indu stri al d e
p os its, ta r, s oo t or ro ad salt and oth er a ggress ive
m ate rial s stay on the ve hicle, the mor e dama ge
the y do to th e pa int. Hi gh t emp eratur es (in
clud ing s tron g sunlight ) in cre a se corro sive ef
fec ts .
A ft er roa ds have bee n salt ed it i s imp ortant
to w ash th e und erbody of th e ve hicle th orou ghl y.
Vehicle care products
Veh icle care product s are ava ilable from your
authori zed Volk swagen d eale r. K eep the produ ct
in struc tion s until you hav e use d up th e produ ct.
WARNING
Ve hicle care products can be dangerou s. Im
proper use can result in seriou s personal in
ju ry and /or poisoning.
• Always store vehicle care produ cts in a sa fe
place in original-containers that are securely
closed .
• To reduce the risk of poisoning, never use
empty food or beverage container s that might
mi slead so meone into drinking from them.
• Alwa ys keep vehicl e care products out of
the r eac h of c hildren .
16 Cleaning and protection
WARNING ( continu ed)
• Always read and heed all the instru ction s
a nd a ll WARN IN GS on the package before
u sing veh icle ca re products.
• When using product s w hi ch g ive off
ha rmfu l fume s, always work outdoor s or in a
we ll ventilated area.
• Neve r use fuel , turpentine, en gine oil,
poli sh remover or other vo latile nuid s for ve
hicl e care. They arc poisonou s and highly
flammable. They could cause
and exp lo
s ion s!
WARNING
Unintended vehicle mo vement can cause se
rious per so n al inju ry.
• Alway s turn ofTthe eng ine, apply th e
parking brake
and remov e th e ke y from
the ignition b efore wa shin g your veh icle, or
pe rform ing any maint enance or repair s.
Note
Neve r try
10 re mo ve dirt, mud or du st if th e ve
hicl e surface is dr y. Usin g dry cl oth or spon ge
fo r cl ea ning cou ld dama ge th e paint or glas s o n
yo ur vehicl e. So ak d irt, mud or du st w ith plent y
wat er befor e re m ovin g it.
For th e sake of environment
• Wh en bu yin g v eh icle car e produ cts , try to se
l ec t tho se that are not harmfu l to the environ
m ent.
• Never di spo se vehicl e ca re pro duct s with or
d ina ry house hold was te . A lw ays follo w the man
ufa ctu re r's instru ctio n s and hee d all
Booklet 3 .2 T ips and Advice
Waxing the vehicle
Waxing your ve hicle regu larly protects the paint.
Appl y wax to your ve hicle if wat er doe s 1101 fo rm
s ma ll drop s an d run when the pain t is cle a11.
Good qualit y is ava ilab le from yo ur tho rize d Vo lk swagen dealer.
A goo d coa t of wax help s to protect the pai nt
fr om e nviro nm ent al pollu tio n and more agg res
s ive dirt
16, "Ge nera l notes" . also hel ps
t o pro tec t agains t m inor scratc h es .
Polishing the paint
Polishing h elps r esto re paint gloss.
Polishing is necessa ry if th e pai nt h as lost it s
s hin e, and you cannot get th e g loss back with
wax. Your autho rized Vo lk swage n dea le r has
p olish th at i s right for you r ve hicle.
T he ve hicle must be waxed
po lish ing if the
poli sh u sed d oes 110 1 co ntain wax comp ound s to
sea l th e paint 19, "W axing t he veh icle".
Ca ring for plastic parts
Solvents will da mag e plastic parts.
you can not clean pl astic part s by nor mal
w ash in g. clea n th em with speci al so lve nt-fr ee
pl as tic clea ning produ cts . E
ve n if a wax so lution i s used reg ular ly at th e ca r
was h, it i s adv isa ble to prote ct th e paint with a
coa t o f hard wax at leas t twice a year.
Tip s
T o pr eve nt dama ge: Do no t wax or polish
light s and rear light s.
Note
To damage to th e pa in t:
• Do not wax or po lish matt e fini sh es a nd
plastic parts.
• Do not wax or po lish you r ve hicle if it is dusty
or dir ty or in a sa ndy or dusty en vironm ent.
Note
C lea nin g product s th at contain so lve nts w ill
dam age plas tic part s.
Cleaning windows and outside mirrors
Cleaning windows
-Damp en the window s w ith comm er
cia lly avai lab le , a lco hol-ba sed glass
cleaner .
- Dry the windows with a clea n chamoi s
or a lint-fr ee clo th.
Removing snow
- Use a sma ll bru sh to re mov e sno w from
th e w indo ws and mirror s.
Removing ice
- Use a de-ic er spray.
Use a clean cloth t o dry the win dows. The
c ham ois leather, which was use d to wipe pa int
s urfa ces, co ntains oily resid ue from pro tec tiv e
age nts and wou ld sm ear the
If possib le use a de ic in g spray to re mo ve If
you have use an ice scrape r, pus h it onl y in
o ne direction - away from you
Cleaning and protection 19
Booklet 3.2 Tips and Advice
Engine oil consumption
I n ord er to provide effective lubri cation and
cooling of int ern al eng ine compo nents, all in
t e rnal combu stion engines use a ce rtain amount
of oil. Oil co nsumpti on varies from en gi ne
to en
gine and may change significantly over the life of
th e e ngine. T ypicall y engin es whi ch have a
break -in period, us e mor e oi l during the break
in pe riod than they do after the break-in period,
wh en oil consumption has stabilized.
Vo lksw age n recommend s that you use the ty p e
of oil that m eets th e s pec ifica tion s described
=:p age 37 ,
oil sp eci fica tion s".
Und er norm al cond ition s, the rate of oil con
s umpti on d ep ends on the qua lity of the o il as
w ell as it s viscos ity, the
(revolu tions per
minut e) at w hich the en gin e is operated, the
outside te mperature. the ro ad conditions as we ll
as the amount of oil di lution by co nden sa tio n
wa ter or fuel residu e and
th e ox idati on level
of the o il. As engines o il co nsumption incr ease ove r time until r epla cement of wo rn
eng ine parts may become ne cessary.
of a ll of th ese vn riabl es, it is not p ossible to sp ecify standnrd or rate o f oil con
s umpti on. For that re ason, urge you to ch eck
the oil level in yo ur en g in e a t regu la r int erval s,
pr efe rabl y every time yo u re fu el, a nd alwa ys be
fore going on
long trip.
The oi l pre ssure light i s not an indicator of low
e n g ine oil level. If the warnin g light doe s not go
out or flashes while drivin g (above 1500 e ngin e
a buzzer will so und. It indicates that the
o il pr essure is too low . Stop the engine imm edi-
38 Checking and Filling
ate ly, check th e engine oil leve l and add oil if
n ecessa ry. If th e eng ine oil l eve l is no rmal, but
th e light continu es to flash, do not continu e to
operate the ve hicl e. Engine dama ge ma y occ ur.
If yo u believe your engine u ses excess ive
amount s of oil, we reco mme nd that you co nsult
yo ur
Volkswagen d ea le r so that th e
ca use of conce rn can b e prop erl y diag
n ose d. Keep in mind t hat th e acc urate m easure
m ent of nil consumpti on require s great car e and
ma y ta ke so me tim e. Yo ur Vo lkswagen deale r h as
in stru cti ons ho w
meas ure o il co nsumpti on
nccurately.
WARNING
S top ! Before working in the engi ne co mpart
ment, a lways read and heed all WARN INGS
34. T he engine compar tment of a ny
m oto r ve hicl e is a potentially dangerous area
an d ca n ca use s eriou s personal injury.
Note
• The engin e in your vehicl e dep en ds on o il to
lub ricate and cool all of its mo vin g parts . Th ere
fo re th e e ngin e oi l mu st be ch ec ked reg ularly
and k ept at th e req uir ed l evel.
• Make it a habit to have the e ngin e n il leve l
c h ec ke d eve ry tim e you refuel.
• Lack of eng in e o il ma y caus e seve re engine
d amag e.
• The
pressure warni ng ligh t is not oil
l eve l indi cato r. ._
Booklet 3.2 Tips and Advice
Checking the coolant level and topping off
The correct coolant level is important for correct functioning of the engine cooling
system .
Fig. 7 In the engine compartment: coolant expan
s ion tank
To get a true reading, the vehicle must be
on level grou nd. Before opening the en
gine hood, always read and heed all
WARN INGS
34, is job No. l
when working in the eng ine compart
If th e coo lant level drops too low,
th e wa rning text
STOP Ch eck coolant
O w ner's manual!
is disp layed in the instru
ment cluster and t he engine coo lant
level/temperatu re wa rning lig h t lights up.
Opening the coolant e xpansion tank
- Switc h off the eng ine and allow it to
coo l.
- To prevent scald in g, cove r the cap
8011 the expansion tank with a thick
cloth and ca refu lly un screw the
Checking coolant level
- Look into the open coo lant expansion
tan k and read off the coo lant leve l.
- If th e leve l is belo w the
mark , top
off w ith coolant.
Topping off coolant
- Only use new coolant.
44 Checking and Filling
Fi g. 8 In the engine compar tment: cap of coola nt
expansion tank
-Do not fill above the upper mark.
Closing the coolant expansion tank
-Reinsta ll the cap
pos itio n of t he coo lant expa nsion tank i s
show n in the corre spo ndin g en gin e co mpart
overview 3.3 'Technical data."
Make sure that the coola nt meets the required
s p eci fications
43. Do not use a different
typ e of add itive if coolant addit ive G 12 i s not
avai lable. In this case use only water and bring
coola nt co ncentrati on back up to th e corr ect
l eve l as soo n as po ssible by to pping off with the
s p ec ified addi tive
43 .
A lways top off wi th
Do not fill above the upper mark. Otherwi se the
excess ive coo la nt be pressed out of the
coo ling sys tem w hen th e engine is hot.
T he
additive G 12 (purp le) may be mixed
w ith G 12 (pink) and a lso with G 1 1.
WARNING
Stop! Before working in the e ngine compart
ment, a lways read and heed all WARNINGS
34. The engine compar tment of an y
motor vehicle i s a poten tially dangerous area
and can cause serious personal injury.
Note
• When mixed with ot heradditives t he colo r of
G 12 w ill chan ge to brown . If thi s ha ppens. im
mediat ely change the coo lant. Otherw ise it wi ll
res ult in engi ne damage!
• If a lot o f coo la n t ha s been lost. wa it for the
engine to
coo l before topping cold
coolant to h elp prevent damage to th e e ngine.
Large coolan t losses are a s ign of leaks in the
Book let 3.2 Tip s and Advic e ®
cooling syste m. Ha ve the cool ing syste m
che cke d imm ediatel y by an authori zed Volk
swage n dea le r or qua lifi ed worksho p to red uce
the risk of engine damage.
• Do not add an y type of radia to r leak sealant
to you r veh icle's e ngi ne coola nt.Adding ra di ator
repair fluid m ay adve rse ly aff ect th e f un ction
and performanc e of yo ur coo ling sys te m and
co uld result in damage not covere d by your New
Ve hicle Lim ited
The water for cleaning windsh ield should always be mixed windshield
washer
Fig . 9 In the engine comportment: cop of wind
shie ld wa sher flu id container
Th e wi ndsh iel d washer co ntain er loca ted
in t he eng ine c ompartme nt suppli es was her
fluid to b oth th e wind shield wash er an d hea d
li g ht washi ng sys te m . If the was her flu id l eve l
drop s to o low. the informat io n tex t Top up
was h fluid! i s di sp layed in the ins trument cluster a nd
t h e w indshield washer warn ing light ligh ts up . Stop!
o
p eni ng t he engine hood, always
r ea d and hee d all WA RN INGS 34, is job No. l w hen working in the engi ne com
partm ent ".
Th e location of the container is shown in
corresponding engine co mpartm elll overview
=>bookle t 3.3 ''Techn ical Data."
S inc e regular water is usually not adequate for
cleaning t he wi ndshi eld, a dd
clea ning so lution
to the water. Please follow the diluti on in stru c
t io ns on the package.
WARNING
Stop! Before working in the eng in e co mpa rt
m ent , a lways read a nd heed all WA RN INGS
34 . Th e engine co mpartm ent an y
motor ve hicl e is a potent ially dan gerous area
a nd ca n ca use se riou s personal inju ry.
D o not use engine coo lan t, anti-freeze a ny
o th er so lu tions that ca n damage t he ve hicl e
Ch ecki ng and Fillin g 45
fluid reservoir has a black cap.
Fig. 12 I n the engine compartm ent : c ap of the
brake fluid reservoi r
To get a read in g, the ve hicl e be
on leve l g round . Before opening th e
g in e hood, always rea d and hee d all
WA RN INGS
34, "Sa fety is job No. 1
w hen wo rkin g in the eng ine com par t·
m ent' '.
H ead off fluid leve l a t the tran s
par ent brak e fluid reservo ir. IL sho uld
ways be be twee n th e "M IN" and "MAX"
m arks .
Bookl et 3.2 Tips and Advic e @
• Never move the w indshi eld wiper o r sh ield wiper arm manu ally· this co uld cause
damage!
• To prevent damage to the wiping sys te m,
ways loose n blades froze n to th e g lass befor e ting th e wi pers
Th e loca tion of the brak e flu id reservo ir is show n
in the correspo nding engin e co mpartm ent over·
v iew
3 .3 "Tec hnical Data. " T he brake
fluid reservoir has a black cap 12 .
Th e fluid leve l drops slightly w hen th e hide is bein g use d and as the pads are to mat ically a dju ste d as they wea r dow n.
Howe ver, if the leve l goes
no ticeab ly i n a time, o r drops below th e "MIN " mark,
ther e ma y be a lea k in the brake syste m. If th e
brak e fluid leve l drops too low, the wa rnin g tex t
STOP . Brake fluid stop vehicle! i s disp layed i n the
instrumem cluste r an d the brake system
warning lig ht light s up . If this hap pens, imm edi ·
ate ly take the ve hicle to an auth orized Vo lk
s wa gen d ealer ship, or qua lified workshop a nd
have the brak e sys te m insp ecte d.
WARNING
Stop! Before wo rk in g in the en gin e compart
ment , a lways read and h eed all WARN IN GS
34 . Th e engine compar tme nt of any
motor vehicle is a pot entia lly dan gerou s area
and can ca use ser io us perso nal injur y
Checking and Filling 47
Booklet 3.2 Tips and Advice
Vehicl e batt ery
Location of battery
The battery is mai nte nance-free is c h ecked during the inspection serv ice.
Warning note s on handling batterie s
Battery acid is very co rrosive a nd
ca usti c. Always we ar protective
g loves and eye prot ection !
Fires, s park s, open ligh ts and
s moking arc pro hibit ed!
Always kee p childr en away acid and batt eries!
WARNING
Wo rki ng on the batt eri es or the electr ical
syste m in yo ur vehicl e can result in ser ious
acid burns,
th e
batt eri es . Whe n a light bulb is c han ged, always
sw itch o!Tt he light.
• Turn o!Tt he an ti- th ert alarm by unl ockin g
the vehicl e befor e yo u disco nnect th e bat
terie s to pre vent th e ala rm rrom goin g on.
• Always kee p childr en a way
acid an d
batterie s.
• Alw ays wear eye prot ectio n. Nev er let bat
t ery acid or lead particl es contact your eyes,
and clothin g.
•
batter y acid is ve ry co rrosive and
can cause damag e to unprote cted ski n and
blindn ess. A lways wear protectiv e gloves a nd
eye protec tion. To re du ce yo ur risk o r injur y,
n eve r tilt the batt eri es, as thi s co uld spill acid
throu gh th e ve nts and burn you.
WARN ING
• Wh en disconn ecting the batt eri es from the
ve hicl e elec tr ic al sys tem , a lways disco nnect
the negative cable(- ) fir st a nd th en th e po si
ti ve ca ble(+ ).
• Alwa ys avo id fires, spark s, op en li ght s a nd
s moking. Alw ays avoid generatin g sparks a nd
e lectro static charges whe n handlin g cables
a nd elect rica l equipment. Never short-cir cuit
the battery pole s. Hi gh -energy sparks can
c au se se rious per sonal injury.
• Always swi tc h off all electrica l con sumer s
before recon nectin g the batteries. Heconncct
th e plu s ca ble( +) first and then the negative
cab le(-). Neve rrever se the polarity or the con
ne ctions. This could cause fire.
• A hi ghl y exp losive mixtur e or gases is give n
off when th e batter y is bein g ch arged.
• Never cha rge a frozen batt ery, or one that
ha s th awe d. Thi s could res ult in explos io ns
and chemical burns! A lways re pla ce
batte ry
t h at h as frozen. A discharged battery can
rr eeze a t temperatures around 32° F (0 ° CJ.
• Alwa ys make sure that t he ven t hose is co n
n ec ted to the batt eries.
• Never use dama ged batter ie s- they can ex
p lode ! Im med iately repl ace dam aged bat
terie s.
•
yo u ge t b att ery acid in yo ur eyes or on
y our imm edi ate ly rin se with co ld water
fo r sev eral minut es and see k m edi ca l att en
tion imm ed ia te ly.
yo u in ges t a ny batt ery
aci d, seek medi cal aue ntion imm ediatel y.
WARNING
California Propositi on 65 Warnin g:
• Battery posts, te rm in al s and re la te d acces
so ries contain l ead and lead compon ent s,
c hemicals kno wn to the
of Ca lifornia lo
ca use cance r and reproducti ve harm . Wash
h ands
h and ling.
Ch ecking and Filling 49