Booklet 3.2 Tips and Advice
Cleaning safety belts
A dirty safety belt can prevent a safety belt from working properly.
Keep safety belt s clean and check all safety
b elt s for damag e reg ularly.
Cleaning safety belts
-Carefu lly pull the dirty safety belt out of
the retrac tor and leave it spooled out.
- C le an the dirty safety belts with a
gentle
soa p so lut ion.
- Let the sa fety belt fabr ic dry.
- Do not roll up the safety belt until it is
comple te ly dry.
Th e automa tic bel t w ill n ot be ab le to roll back
prop erl y if ther e is dirt on th e belt .
WARNING
Damaged safety belts reduce the overall effec
tivene ss of the safe ty belts and increase the
risk of serious persona l injury and death
wheneve r a vehicle i s being used.
• Damaged safety belts must b e replaced,
the y canno t be repaired.
• Never use chemical cleaning agents, so l
ve nts or any substa nce that ma y damage or
wea ken the safety belt webbing or any other
26 Cleaning and prot ection
WARNING (continu ed)
part s that make up the seat belt. Never le t the
belt s come into contact with corros ive fluid s.
• Imm ediately replace damaged safety belts
wi th the correct replacement belts provided
by an authorized Volkswage n dealer or quali
fied works hop. Replacement after a crash may
be ne cessary even if a safety belt does not have
v is ibl e damage.
• Check the condi tion of all safety belts at
regular interval s. If you notice that the belt
webbing, hardware , retrac tor or buckle of any
of the safe ty belts is d amaged, the belt must
imm ediately be replaced by an authorized
Vo lk swagen dealer or qualified workshop .
• Never attempt to repair a damaged safety
belt yourse lf. Never remove or modify the
safety belts in any way.
• Be sure to read and h eed the information
and a ll WARNINGS
2.1 "Safety
fir st", chapter "Safety belts."
Note
Aft er cl eanin g the saf ety belts , a lwa ys allow
th em to d ry complet ely befor e le tting th em roll
up into th e re tra cto r to pre vent th e re tractor
fr om b eing damaged.
-4
Booklet 3.2 Tips and Advice
Accessories, new parts, repairs and modifications
Accessories and parts
Always con sult an authori zed Volk swagen dealer before purchasing accessorie s
and parts for your vehicle.
Your vehicl e is des ign ed to offe r a hi gh stand ard
o f a cti ve an d pass ive sa fe ty.
Pl ease co nsult an author ize d Vo lkswagen deale r
for advice befo re insta llin g accessor ies, re pla ce
m en t part s or other e quipm en t.
Au thori zed Volk swage n dea le rs ha ve the la tes t
information fr om th e manuf actur er and can rec
ommend a ccessori es a nd part s
are suit abl e
fo r yo ur vehicle and perso nal r equir em ent s.
They can also help answer questions you mi ght
h ave reg arding official reg ulati ons.
We r ecommend you onl y use appro ved Volk
swage n accessories and genuine Volkswagen
part s® . Th ese part s and accessor ies have bee n
eva luate d b y Vo lkswage n for suit abilit y, reli
a bility and safet y. Th e Vo lksw age n d eal ers hip s
h ave the necess ary ex peri ence and faciliti es
ensure th at th e part s are prop erly .
Vo lkswage n ca nnot ass um e re spon sibili ty fo r
any after-ma rket n on -Vo lk swage n part s use d,
e ven if th ese parts have bee n app rove d by an of
fi ci al t es tin g age ncy or a rc cove re d by a n offici al
ce rtificat e or sea l of ap prov al.
WARNING
Improp er ve hicle equipm ent or mod ifica tions
ca n ca use damag e to th e vehicle and serious
personal injury.
fr, WARNING (continued)
• In th e intere st of safety, we urge you to u se
only authorized Volkswagen accessories and
genuine Volkswagen parts® that h ave been
designed to be used on your vehicle.
WARNING
I mp rop er ca re, servicing and repair proce
dure s can increase the risk of personal injury
and death by preventing an airbag from de
ploying when needed or deploying an airbag
unexpectedl y.
• Neve r place or attach accessories or other
objects (such as cup holders, telephone
brackets, no te pad s, large , h eavy or bul ky ob
je cts ) on the doors, on the windshield , o ve r or
near the area marked "AIRBAG" on the
s tee rin g w heel, in strum ent pane l, seat back
re sts or between those area s and your self.
• Object s on or near the surface s
air
ba gs are located can come loose and cause se
r iou s per sonal injury in a crash, especially
w hen the airbags inflate.
• Be sur e to r ead and h eed the inform ation
a nd all WA RN INGS
2.1 "Safety
fir st", chapt er "Airba g sys te m. ",..
Accessories, new parts, repairs and modifications 27
Booklet 3.2 Tips and Advice
Repairs and technical modifications
Repairs and modifications must always be carried out according to the manufac
turer's specifications
Unauthorized modifications to th e e lectronic
component s or software in the vehicle may
cause
E lectro nic comp o
nents are linked toget her in networks and other
sys tems may be nega tive ly affected by improper
m odificat ions or improperly installed accesso
ries. Thi s can se riously impair safety and lead to
excessive wear o f components.
Changing the vehicle's sus pens io n system can
change the way that the Advanced
Sys tem performs in a crash. For example, usin g
t ir e-rim combinations not approved by Volk
swagen, lower ing the vehicle, changi ng the stiff
ness of the suspension, including the spring s,
suspension struts, shock absorbers can chan ge
the forces that are measured by the airbag sen
so rs and sent to the con trol unit. Some su spen
s ion changes can, for exa mpl e, incr ease the force
levels measured by the sensors and make the
airbag system dep loy in crashes in which it
wou ld not deploy if the changes had not been
made. Other kinds of changes may reduce the
force levels measured by the sensors and pre
vent the airbag from deploying when it sho uld.
We recommend that all necessary work be per
formed by an authorized Volkswagen deale r
using genuine Volkswagen parts ®.
WARNING
Imp roperly performed modifications or other
work that is not properly performed on your
ve hicle can cause malfunctions leading to ac
cidents and serious pe rsonal injury.
• Never install suspension components that
d o not have the same performance character
i stics as the components originally installed
on your vehicle. Never use tire-r im comb ina
tions th at have not been approved by Volk
swage n.
WARNING
Improper care, servicing and repa ir proce
dures can increase the risk of personal injury
a nd death by preventing an a irbag from de
p lo ying w hen needed or deploying an airbag
unexpected ly.
• Chang ing th e vehicle's su spens ion in
cluding use of unapproved t ire- rim combina
tions can change Advanced Ai rbag perfor
mance and increase the risk of serious per
sona l inju ry in a crash.
• Be sure to read and heed the info rmatio n
a n d all WARN INGS
2. 1 "Safety
fir st", c hapte r "Airbag
28 Acc essories, new part s, repairs and modification s
Booklet 3.2 Tips and Advice
Cellular phones and CB radios
will need an antenna for cellular phones and CB radio s
Volk swa gen h as a pproved your vehicle fo r use
w ith cellul ar phon es and CB r adio s prov iding
th e fo llowi ng co ndition s:
• correc t in sta ll ation of outside antenn a,
• transm itting pow er is no more than a m ax
imum of
JO wa tts.
A n outs ide ante nna is nee ded
g ive the eq uip
m ent it s opt imal range and pr eve lll in terfer
ence with elec troni cs in th e vehicle.
I f y ou want to use a ce llul ar phone or a CB ra dio
w ith a tran smillin g powe r g re at er than 10 watts,
fir st ch eck wit h a auth orize d Vo lksw agen dea le r.
Ce llul ar phone s and CB radios s houl d be in
s ta lled only by a qualified worksh op or by your
a uthori zed Vo lkswage n deale r.
Carefu lly fo llow the o perat ing in stru ction s for
yo ur cellula r te lep hon e or CB radi o.
WARNING
• Always concentrate on your driving, and the road. Driver di str act ion causes acci
dents!
• Alwa ys set v olume le vels so that you can
clearl y hear horn s, sire n s a nd oth er warning
sounds outside the vehicle.
WARNING (continued )
• Using a cellul ar te lephone or CB radio in
side the vehicle without having a separate out
s ide antenna can be dangerous to your health
and that of your passengers because th e elec
tromagnetic radiation energy that the se de
vice s emit may be above esta blish ed limit s.
• Never attach anything, including acce sso
ries (for example cup holders or teleph one
brackets) to the airbag covers or within the
airbag d eployment zone.
• Objects on or near the surface s where air
bags are located can come loo se and cause se
riou s personal injury
if the airbag deploy s 2.1 "Safety first", chapter "Airbag
system."
Note
Improper in stallation of cellular te le phon es, CB
ra dios or other electro nic compon ent s can
ca use oth er ve hicl e systems to malfunction. Th e
m os t co mmon causes of fault s ar e:
• no ex te rnal
• incorrec tly insta lled ex te rnal antenna,
• tran smitting power in excess of 10 wa tts.
Accessories, new parts, repairs and modifications 29
the vehicl e ca n be re fue led. On fi ller no zzle s
w ith spri ng, kee p yo ur h and on th e nozz le
w hen r efue ling to make s ure the nozzle d oes not
co me out of t he ve hicle's fue l fi ller
Hi gh capacity fuel nozzles a re co mm on to sta
t io ns serv icing large comme rcial ve hicles. T hey
will not fit into yo ur d iesel's s tandard size d fue l
no zzle and sh oul d not be used .
WARNING
Impro per r efuelin g o r handling of fu el c an
c a use fire, ex plo sio n and severe burn s.
• Fue l is hi ghl y flammabl e and ca n ca use se
ve re burn s an d ot her inj uri es.
• Neve r use a ce llul ar telephon e while re fu
e lin g. Th e elec tro mag neti c ra di ati on ca n
ca use spa rks that ca n ignit e fuel vapor s and
cau se a fire.
• Neve r ge t b ack int o your v ehicl e whil e refu
e lin g. If in exception al cir cum sta nces yo u
mu st ge t back in your vehicl e while re fuelin g,
mak e cer ta in that you clos e the d oor and
to uch m etal to discharg e s ta tic e lec tricity be
fo re to uch in g th e filler nozzle aga in. S ta ti c
e lec tr ici ty ca n cause sp arks that ca n ignit e fue l
va po rs re lease d durin g re fu elin g.
• Neve r sm oke o r have a n open flam e a ny
w here in or n ear yo ur vehicl e when r efu elin g
o r fillin g a por ta bl e fuel cont ain er.
• F or yo ur safety, we stron gly r ecomm end
th at yo u d o not trav el with a port abl e fu el co n
t aine r in your vehicl e. Th e co ntain er,
o r
e mpt y may lea k and could cau se a fire, espe
cia lly in a cra sh .
• I f, und er exce ptional ci rcum stance s, you
mu st transpo rt a porta ble fue l co nta iner,
pl ease observe t he fo llowin g:
- Neve r fill a portabl e fu el co ntain er w hil e
it is a nyw here in or on th e ve hicle (fo r ex
a mpl e, in the lu ggage c ompartm ent , o r on
th e tru nk). Sta ti c e lectricity ca n build up
w hil e fillin g an d ca n ig nit e fuel vap ors
ca usin g a fire .
- A lways place a port abl e f uel co ntain er
o n th e gro und befo re fillin g.
Booklet 3.2 Tips and Advice
WARNIN G (cont inue d)
- Always keep the fill er nozz le co mpl etely
in sid e th e port abl e co ntainer befo re a nd
durin g filling.
- If fill ing a port able cont ain er ma de of
m etal, th e filler n ozzle m ust a lw ays be in
co ntac t w ith th e contain er. Thi s w ill h elp
pr even t sta ti c e lec tricit y from dis ch arg in g
a nd cause a fir e.
- Neve r spill fu el in side the ve hicle or lu g
gage c ompartment . Fuel va pors a re hi ghl y
fl ammab le.
- Always observe loca l an d sta te
I pro vin
ci al laws rega rdin g th e use, storage and
t ra nsport ation of fu el co ntain ers.
- M ake ce rtain th e fuel co ntain er m eets
ind ustry s tan dard s (A NS I
I AST M F8 52 -
86 ).
Note
• Rem ove f uel sp ills from the pa int imm ed i
ately to p reve nt pa int dama ge.
• Never run th e ta nk com ple te ly dry. An irr eg
ul ar gas su pp ly co uld cause misfi rin g. As a resu lt,
unburn ed g as co uld get in to th e c ata lyt ic co n
ve rter and cause dama ge.
• Whe n trave ling across country, yo u may
c o m e across d iese l fu el no zzles tha t are even
w id er than th e fue l fi ller openi ng on yo ur ve
hi cle. T hese fue l nozz les were des igned fo r large
t ru cks and generally als o ha ve much h igher fl ow
rat es th an noz zles desig ned for pa ssenger ve hi
cl es . They will n ot fit into your d iese l's s tanda rd
s ize d fu el noz zle an d mu st n ot be use d.
Fo r th e s ake of environm ent
D o no t try to pu t in mo re fu el a fter t he automat ic
fi ller noz zle has sw itched off; th is m ay cause fue l
to over flow and pollut e th e e nviro nm en t part ic
ul arl y w hen it gets hot out side.
Tips
R em ember to re fue l wh en th e ta nk i s 1/4 full to
re duce th e risk of run nin g ou t o f fu el, es peciall y
in re m ote
Ch ecking and Filling 31
Booklet 3.2 Tips and Advice
Do no t let your Diese l e n gin e idl e u1111 ecessa rily
afte r a co ld start. Drivin g off s low ly wi ll sho rten
th e wa rm -up peri od.
WARNING
• Neve r use "s tarting a ssist fluid s". The y
may be pot entiall y explosive or cause a "run
away" engine condition. This could result in
ser ious engine damage and personal injury.
• Do not use fuel line antifreeze offered for
gasoline engines.
Note
• Your Diese l engi ne ha s bee n sp eci fica lly de
s ig ned
10 ope rate o n Die sel fu el o nl y. T here fore.
n eve r use home hea tin g oil o r reg ular gaso line.
Th e pro p erti es of th ese fuels
ca use se rious
damage fuel injection sys tem and th e
e n gin e. This could l ead to additional expense
and will al so affe ct your warrant y.
• If Die sel fuel should get o n any rubb er h ose,
it
b e w ip ed off imm ediat ely . T he n wash th e
con ta minat ed hose port io n w ith so ap and warm
wa te r. Do not allow D iesel f uel
remain on co n
n ec ting hoses . Th ey may de velop leaks and
ca use se rious damage.
be taken when worki ng on engine or on components the
engine compartment.
an y work on the engine or
in th e engi ne compartment:
I. Move the se lecto r l eve r P (Park ).
2 . App ly the parking brake firm ly .
3. Sw itch off the engi ne a nd re mo ve the
key from th e igni tion.
4. Wai t for the engine lo coo l d ow n.
5. Keep children and oth ers awa y fro m the
vehicle.
6 . Open the eng ine hood
36 .
All se rv ice fluid s, spark plugs. bau er ies etc. a rc
co nstantl y being deve lo ped and improved. Au
th ori zed Volkswage n dea le rs a re kept up- to-da te
by the m anufa ctur er. For this reaso n
recom
m end that you h ave these re placed b y an autho
ri zed Volkswagen dea le r. P lease re ad th e notes
bel ow. The engin e co mpartment of an y m otor
vehicle is a hazardous
WARNING
Propo sition 65 Warning:
34 Checking and Filling
Lt::, WARNING
• Eng ine ex hau st, some of its cons tituent s,
and certain vehicle components contain or
em it chemica ls known to the Stale of Ca li
forn ia
cause ca ncer and birth defe cts and
r e produ cti ve harm. In addition , cer tain fluid s
co ntained in vehicle s and certain product s of
c omponent wear contain or emit chemical s
known lo the Stale of California to cau se
cancer and birth defects or other reproductive
h ar m.
• Batter y posts, terminals and related acces
so rie s co ntain le ad and lead compon ent s,
c h emi cal s known to th e S tate of Ca lifornia
cau se cancer and reprodu cti ve harm . Was h
hand s hand ling.
WARNING
The en g ine compa rtment of an y motor vehicle
i s a pot entiall y dangerou s area and ca n ca use
s er io us per sonal injury.
• Always use extrem e ca ution when doin g
an y wo rk in th e engine compart ment. Alwa ys
follow common ly acce pted safety practi ces
Booklet 3.2 Tips and Advice
Checking the engine oil level
engine dipst ick indi cates the level o f th e oil.
Fig . 5 Engin e oil dip st ic k with engine oil level ma rks
To get a true reading, th e vehicle must be
o n le vel ground. Before opening the en
g in e hood, a lway s read a nd heed all
WA RN INGS ,iage 34, "Safety is job No. I
wh en worki ng in the eng ine
men t" .
-
the engine and wait a few minute s
for the oil to return to t he oil pan.
- Raise the en gi ne hood ,iage 36.
- Pull ou t th e dip sti ck an d w ip e it clea n
w it h a rag.
- Rein sert dip sti ck; push it all the way in. -
Pull th e dip stick out again and check
th e oil le vel.
- After check ing t he o il lev el, plea se mak e
sure that th e dip sti ck is p ush ed back i n all
t h e way.
T he pos ition of th e dip sti ck is s how n in th e cor
responding en gin e co mpartm ent diagram
3.3 " Technical Data."
You must no t add oil.
You ca n oil. The oil leve l ma y go into th e
A ran ge, but not abov e th e A ran ge.
You must add oil. Afte r addi ng o il, m ake th at th e oi l leve l is somewhe re wit hin th e range.
WARNING
Sto p! workin g in the e ngin e c ompar t
m ent, a lways re ad and h eed all
34. The eng ine co mpartm ent of a ny
mot or ve hicle is a poten tiall y dan gero us a re a
and ca n cau se ser io us pe rso nal injur y.
Not e
If the engin e oil leve l is above l evel 5 do
no t start th e engine -th is could damage the cat
a ly tic co nverter and the eng ine! Contac t an au
th orized Volksw agen dea le r o r
qu alifi ed
workshop.
Checking and Filling 39
Booklet 3.2 Tips and Advice
Changing the brake fluid
The brake must b e chang ed e very ye ars
We r ecomm end th at yo u have the br ake fl uid
c h a nged by a n au th ori zed Volksw age n dea le r.
S to p! B efo re openin g th e eng in e hoo d, a lways
rea d and hee d all WA RN INGS
34. is jo b No . I w hen work ing in e n gine com
p a rtm ent ".
B rak e fluid absorbs mois tu re. Ove r tim e. it w ill
a bsor b wat er fr om th e air . If
co n1en 1 in
th e brak e fluid is too high, brake co uld co rro de. Too much wa te r in brake fl uid
co nsid erabl y re du ces th e boilin g of brak e fluid. Very heavy use of 1h e bra kes old
b ra ke fluid may ca use va por loc k. Va po r l oc k re
du ces brakin g powe r. in creases s!Opp in g di s
tan ces and can ev en cau se to tal br ake failur e.
Fo r thi s re a so n th e brak e fluid m ust be r epla ced
ev ery
y e ars.
Only use brak e fluid
th e US
standard FM VSS 116 D OT 4. Th e fluid mu st
b e new.
WARNING
Stop! Before working in the engine co mpart
m en t, a lways re ad and heed all
34. Th e eng in e co mpartm en t of motor vehicle is a po tent ially dangerou s area
and can ca use s eriou s per sona l injury.
WARNING
Brake failur e ca n r esult from old o r incorr ec t
brake fluid.
48 Ch ecking and Filling
,0. W ARN ING (c on tinue d)
• U se onl y brake fluid that meets SAE speci
fi ca tion J 1703 and conforms to Federa l Mo tor
Veh icle Safety Sta ndard 116.
• Alwa ys check wit h your a uthor ized Vo lk
s wagen dea le r to make su re that yo u arc usin g
the correc t
fluid.
• The correc t brake fluid is al so listed on the
l abe l o n the brake fluid reservo ir .
WARNING
Brake fluid is poison ous.
• Alway s store brake fluid in the closed or ig
inal contain ers in a safe place.
• To reduce the risk of po iso nin g, ne ver u se
em pty food or beverage co ntain ers that might
mislead someo ne into drinkin g from th em.
• Always keep brak e fluid out of the reac h of
c hildr en.
• Always c hange the brake fluids as required
in the m aint enan ce boo klet. Heavy braking
w ith old brak e fluid m ay cause a va por lock
th at reduces braking power , in crea ses stop
pi ng di sta nce s an d can eve n ca use tota l brake
Note
Llrake fluid ca n d am age t he pa int. Wipe
a n y
b ra ke fluid from th e pa int imm edi ately.
flu id mu st be dr ained and di sp ose d of in
t h e prope r ma nne r observ in g environme ntal
reg ulatio ns.