
Booklet 3.1 Controls and Equipment
Applies lo vehicles: with on oulomolic transmission
Selector lever lock
Releasing the selector lever lock
-Depress and hold th e brake pedal and
pres s the release button in the selector
le ver handle at the same time.
The selecto r lever is lo cked whe n:
•
se lec to r lever is in P.
Applies to vehicles: with 6 -speed oulomolic transmission
• The selector lever is in N for more than about l second and you are driving slowe r than 3 mph (5 km/h}.
The selec tor lever lock will not enga ge if yo u
qu ickly move the selecto r leve r through p osition
N whe n shift ing between
and D. This makes it
p ossibl e, to "rock" the vehicl e backward and for
ward if it is stuck in snow or
Driving with an automatic transmission
The transmission upshifts and down.shifts automatically.
Fig. 80 Section of center console : selector lever
with lock button
Starting the engine
-Start the engine with the selector leve r
in po siti on P or N . Fo r m ore in formation
,iage95 .
Driving
-Dep ress and hold the brake pedal.
- Relea se the parkin g brake.
- Press and hold the release
in the
se lec to r leve r handl e.
- Move the selecto r leve r to
R (R everse), D
(D riv e) or S (Spo rt}. -
Relea se the lo ck button and wait for the
tr ansmission to en gage the gear (a s light
movement can be felt).
- Release the brake and depress the ac
Stopping briefly
-Always use the foot brak e to pr eve nt th e
ve hicl e fro m cre ep ing forward, for ex
amp le at a
lig ht. You do not need to
mo ve the selec tor leve r to
P (Park) or N
(Ne utral).
- Do not dep ress the acce le rator.
Parking
- Depress and hold the brake ped al until
th e ve hicle co mes to a full
- Apply the parking brake
104.
-Move the se lec tor lever to P with the re
l ease button press ed.
Driving down hills
- Se lect the "T iptroni c position.
- Pull th e leve r to th e"-" minus pos ition
to clo wnsh if t. ._
Driving 99

Booklet 3.1 Controls and Equipment
has bee n se lec te d in ad dition to po siti on D 83 .
If po sit io n N h as been selec te d and you wi sh to
se le ct D , yo u mu st pre ss the foot brake if th e ve
hi cle is stat io nary, or travellin g at under 5 km/h
( approx. 3 mph )
S - standard dri ving posit ion {sport program)
If y ou s ele ct t he sport pro gra m yo u will be
dri ving in a sport y mode . A ll forward gear s
shift and down shift automat ically at high er en
g in e s pee ds dep ending on en gin e load , you r in
di vid ual d rivin g sty le and th e ve hicle sp ee d.
W hile dr iv ing downh ill in S, the engin e docs not
the veh icle. Th e displa y al so sh ow s wh ic h
ge ar ha s be en se lec te d in addit io n t o po siti on S .
WARNING
Neve r switch off the engine before the ve hicle
ha s come lo a complete stop. You can lose co n
trol of the vehicl e, crash and be ser iously in
jured.
• The airb ags a nd safe ty bell pretensioners
w ill n ot work when the igniti on i s swi tched off.
• The br ake boo ster do es no t work when the
eng ine i s turn ed off. A lot mor e brak e pedal
pressure will be necessary to stop th e vehicle.
• The power steer ing system does not work
w hen the engine is turn ed off and you will
n eed more force to steer th e ve hicl e.
Applies to vehicles: with on a utoma tic trans missio n
Kick-down function
WARNI NG (continued)
• When the key is removed, th e steer ing
w hee l co lumn will lo ck up and you will not be
able to stee r th e ve hicle.
• Never coast down a slop e w ith th e trans
mi ssio n in Ne utral.
Tips
• If th e selec to r lev er i s un inte nti onal ly mo ved
int o N wh ile dri ving , take your fo ot off t he acc el
era to r p eda l a n d wa it until th e engi ne spee d has
dropp ed to idl e sp ee d before sele c tin g a dri vin g
po sition .
• If th ere is
fa ult in th e sys te m and th e auto
mati c tra nsmi ssion I dir ect shift gearbox is run
n in g in an emergen cy program if all the displays
of the s elector leve r position s for the au tomat ic
tr ansmi ss ion
I di rec t s hi ft g ea rb ox have light
ba ckg ro un d. The a utoma tic tran smi ssio n I di
r ec t shift gearbo x shou ld be c hec ked b y an au
thori zed Vo lkswage n dea ler as soon as
po ssibl e._.
Th e kick -down permits maximum a ccele ration the se lector lev er
is
D, So r
down, th e tran smi ssion p ermi ts a c
c e le ratio n. The tran smi ssio n aut om atica lly
down shift s, de pending on the road spe ed as we ll
a s th e eng ine sp ee d.
Th e tra nsmi ssion
not up sh ift until the en
g in e reac hes the engin e s pee d for th e
g ear sele ct ed .
WARNING
Accelerating on slippe ry road s can cause lo ss
of ve hicle control and serious per sonal injury.
• Be very careful when u sin g th e kick -do wn
especi all y o n sli ppery sur faces. Rapid
accelera tion may ca use w hee l spin and sk id
d in g.
• Use the kick-down fea tur e o nly w hen
and weather conditions permit
Driving 103

@ Booklet 3.1 Controls and Equipment
Parking brake
Applying the parking brake
pa rking brake can b e use d to prevent the uehicle from moving
ally .
Fig . 84 Parking brake between front seats
Always app ly th e par kin g brak e fu lly w hen
you le ave your ve hicle w hen yo u pa rk
yo ur ve hicle.
Applying the parking brake
- Pull the parking brak e up firm ly
84 .
Rele a sing th e parking bra ke
-Pull the leve r up slig htly and pre ss the
lo cki ng kn ob in the dir ec tion of the arrow
a nd guide th e park ing brak e leve r down
T he park ing bra ke sh ou ld always be /111/ yen
gage d so that you won' t u ni nt enti ona lly dr ive off
wit h th e pa rk in g brake sti ll
W hen th e ignition is on t h e parking brake is
e n gaged, th e wa rnin g ligh t or in th e
104 Driving
instrum ent clust er w ill co me o n. In addit ion. the
daytime running light swi tch es olT a utomati
ca lly.
When the park ing brake is re leased, th e wa rning
li g h t
or goes o ut and the da ytim e run
ning ligh t sw itch es on again automatica lly.
If yo u shou ld dr ive faste r than 4 mph (6 k m/h )
w ith th e parkin g brak e still engaged, th e wa rning
lig ht will co me on
you w ill also hea r a
wa rnin g chim e.
WARNING
Imprope r use of the parki ng brak e ca n se ri
ou sly in jur e yo u and yo ur passe ngers.
• Never use th e parki ng brake to slow down
t h e veh icle when it is mov ing. T he braking dis
tanc e is mu ch l on ge r because on ly th e rea r
whee ls arc brak ed . A lways use the foo t brak e.
• Neve r drive with th e parki ng bra ke ap
pl ied. This cou ld cause t he rear brakes to o ver
h eat and l ose their b raking e fficie ncy . A lways
m ake sure to ch eck th at the parki ng bra ke is
f ull y re lea sed befo re dri ving olT.
• Alwa ys app ly th e par king brake f ully w hen
p arki ng o n a s lope and coc k the fron t w hee ls
to prevent t he ve hicle fro m movin g unin ten
ti onall y.
N ote
• Wheneve r yo u lea ve you r ve hicle, be sur e to
e ngage th e park in g b rake full y. Th en m ove the
lever int o P (Park ) ..
• Drivi ng wi th the parking brak e engaged will
damage the rear

Booklet 3.1 Controls and Equipment
Alphabetical index
A
ABS Wa rnin g light 27
See also Ant i-lock brake syste m
A co ustic wa rning 93
Add itional storage co mpartment 73
Adj ustin g the compass variance zone 19
Ai r co ndit io nin g
Co ndensation 89
Impo rtant notes
88
Malfunct io ns 88
Unp leasa nt od or 89
A ir conditioni ng sys tem 81
C lim atro nic
84
Air r ecircul ation mode
2C -Cl imatroni c 83, 88
Alarm syste m 36
Sw itch ing off 36
A lt ern ator
See Genera to r
A nti -lo ck brake system
ligh t 27
An ti-Slip Re gula tion 92
A nti -th eft alar m sys tem 36
Sw itchin g off 36
Arm res t
F ro nt ce nte r arm res t 66
S tora ge compartmen t 70
AS R 92
A ut omat ic mod e
C lim atroni c 85
A ut om atic sw itch-off of elec tri cal
co mp onen ts 93
A utom atic tra nsm iss io n
Dir ect shift gearbox 98
Sa fe ty int erlo ck for ign ition key 94
Se lec tor leve r loc k 99
Tiptroni c 98
A utomati c tra nsm iss ion with Tiptronic LO I
A ve rage fu el con sumpti on 9
Average sp ee d 9
B
Ba ckground lightin g 51 Brake
fluid
Wa rnin g ligh t 11
Brak e pad
W arn ing m essage II
Brak e pad wea r indi ca to r
Warn ing ligh t 26
Bra ke sys te m
Wa rnin g lig ht 28
Bulb defe cti ve
Warn ing lig ht 24
Bumpe r cov er
Ca ution when pa rki ng nea r a parkin g ba r
ri er or cu rb LO S
Bu zze r 50 , 93
C
Ca librat ing th e co mpass 18
Ce ntral loc king
I ndi vid ual unl ocking 34
Ce ntral locki ng butt on 34
Ce ntr al locki ng sys tem 34
C han ging unit s 16
C hild safe ty lo cks 35
C lea nin g
E lec troni c park ing a ssis ta nc e se nsors 106
C lim ati c 81
Ma lfun cti ons 88
C lim atroni c
I mpor tant not es 88
Ma lfu ncti ons 8 8
C loc k 5
C lo sin g
R ea r li d 38
C lot hes hook 7 1
Co rning home fu n ctio n 47
Co mp ass 18
Adjusting 19
Ca librat ing 18
Compa ss fun ctio n 12
Co ndensa tion 89
Contro ls
P owe r w ind ows 39
Conven ience closing 41, 43
Co nve nien ce men u 17
Alphabetical index 109

Table of contents
Smart technology ........... ... .. .. .
Brakes .............. .. .. ..... .. .. .• .....
Po we r stee ring ....... .. ..... ... .. ...... .
Notice about data recorded b y vehicle
contro l modu les ....... ........ .... ..... .
Driving and protecting the
environment ..... ... .... ..... ...... ..
Break-in Pe riod ... ... ........ ......... . ..
Catalytic converter ....... .. .. .. ....... ..
T ra ile r t owi ng . . . . . . . . ... ............ .. .
D riv ing economically o nd respecti ng the
environmen t ... .... ..... ............. ... .
Cleaning and protection ........ . .
General notes .... .... ... ....... .. ...... .
Car e of veh icle exte rior ....... ..• ...... ..
C ore of the vehicle interior ... ..... ..•. ..
Accessories, new parts, repairs
and modifications .......... ...... ..
Accesso ries and pa rts .......... .... .... .
R epa irs and technica l modifications ..... .
Cellu lar phones a nd CB radi os ........ . .
2
2
6
6
7
7
10
10
14
16
16
17
23
27
27
28
29
Booklet 3 .2 Tip s and Advice
Checking and Filling 30
Fill ing the tank . . . . . . . . . .. .. . . .. . . .. . • . . . . 30
Fu el supp ly . .. . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Working in the eng ine compa rtment . . . . . 34
Engine oil . . . . . . . . . . .. . . .. .. . . . .. .. . . .. . . 37
Coo lant ....... .... .... ...... ... ......... 43
Wos he r fluid and wind shie ld wiper blade s 45
Brok e fluid . . . . . . .. . .. . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 47
Vehicle battery . . . . . . . . . .. . .. .. .. . .. . . .. . 49
T ir es and wheels . . . . . . . . . . . . • . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
What do I do now? . .. .. . . .. . . . . .. . 67
Vehicle tools and spore whee l . . . . . . • . . . . . 67
Changing a whe el . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. .. • . . . . . 68
Em erg ency closing or opening . . . • . . . . . . . 7 5
F use s . . . . . . . .. .. . .. .. . . . .. . . . . . . .. . . .. . . . 77
Cha nging a light bulb . .. .. . . . .. .. . • .. . . . 81
Jump start ing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • . . . . . . . . . . . 84
To wing .... ... . . .. . .. .... ....... ... . . .•. . 86
Lifting th e ve hicle .. . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . 89
C onsumer Info rmat ion . . . . . • . . . . . . 90
Alphabetical index . . . . . . . . . 92
Table of contents

Booklet 3.2 Tips and Advice
Braking power and braking distance
Braking power and braking distance are influenced by driving situations and
road
Worn brake pads will not provide good braking.
The amount of wear and tear on the brake pads
depends to a great extent on the cond itions
und er which the vehicle is opera ted and the way
the vehicle is dr iven. If you do a lot of city
driv ing, drive short distances or have a sporty
driving style, we reco mm end th at you have the
thickness of your brake pad s checked by an au
thor ized Volkswagen dea ler more frequently
than r ecommend ed in the service schedule.
I f you dr ive witJ1 wet brakes , for example after a
dri ving through water,
heavy rainfall or
after washing the vehicle, brakin g power will be
reduced and sto pping distances w ill be longer
because the brake d iscs will be wet or in winter
ma ybe even frozen
the brakes must be dried
with severa l ca reful brake applications.
Brake fluid absorbs water and must be c hanged
every two years. Heavy use of the brakes can
cause vapor lock if the brake fl uid is too old.
Va por lock reduces braking power, increases
stopp ing distances and can even cause total
brake failure.
WARNING
• New tires and new brake pads do not pro
v id e maximum grip, control or braking abilit y.
• To reduce the risk of losing control, a colli
s ion and se rious persona l injuries, drive with
special ca re for the first
350 mil es (560 km).
• New brake pads do not have the best stop
ping power for the first
150 mil es (240 km) and
must be broken in. You can com pensate for
the slightly reduced braking ability by drivin g
w ith care and applying more pressure on the
brak e pedal.
• Never fo llow other vehicle s too close ly or
put yourse lf into other situ ations that might
r equ ire s udden , hard brakin g especially when
th e brake pads have not been broken in.
WARNING
Wet brake s or brak es coa ted ice or road
sa lt react slower and need longer stopping dis
tanc es.
• Carefully apply brakes for a lest.
• Alwa ys dry brake s and clean olT ice coa t
ings and salt coa tings with a few cautiou s
brake app lica tions.
• Always read and hee d all
in "Break ing in tir es and brake pads" on
page 7.
WARNING
Overheated brakes will reduce the vehicle's
s topping power and increase stoppin g di s
tances.
• Always avoid over hea tin g the brakes!
• When driving downhill, the brakes have to
work hard and hea t up quickly .
• Before driving clown a long, steep hill, al
ways red uce spee d and downshift to a lower
gea r. This will let th e ve hicle use engine
braking and reduce the load on the brakes.
• Always c han ge the brake fluid at least
every two years. Hard braking with old brake
fluid may cause a va por lock. Vapor lock re
duces brakin g power, increases s topping dis
tan ces and can even ca use to tal brake failure.
• A damaged front spoiler or new non stan
dard spoile r ca n reduce the airflo w to the
brake s and cause them to overheat.
• Always sec an au thorized Vo lkswage n
dealer or qualil1ed workshop if yo u think th at
you may have damaged the front spoiler.
• Be sure to read and heed all WARNINGS
and the information =-page 27, "Accessories
and part s" before buying accessorie s.
8 Driving and protecting the environment

Operate your vehicle safely
For drivin g safely, alwa ys follow t he speci fied
maint enance interva ls in your maint enan ce
bo okle t =boo klet
I.I "M aint en an ce" -es peci ally
fo r chan ging brake fluid. H ard use , pri marily
s top and go dr iv in g, o perat io n in very dusty
areas, t ra ile r towi ng as we ll as other con dition s
m ay make
neces sary maint enance
im erva ls -see your authorize d Vo lksw agen
d ea ler.
Your vehicle 's condition is dir ect ly relot ed to
driving safety
Th erefo re, always be sur e
ob serve fol
l ow ing points before yo u dr ive off:
• Check l ig ht s an d turn sig nals.
• Check f uel l eve l.
• Make sure
a ll ligh ts a nd all wi ndows are
clea n.
• Adjust
mirr ors .
• Make s ure
air intak e slo ts betwee n en gin e hood a nd wind shi eld are free of
l eaves, sn ow a nd ice.
• Check warning a nd indicato r light s when
s tarli ng the en g in e.
Your personal d riving style and attitude have a
lot to do with safety ..
T here fore , for you r ow n sa fe ty:
• Wear your safety bells a nd wear
pro p
er ly , ev en if you ar e just driv in g in city o r lo
th e co rner =book le t 2 .1 "Sa fe ty first",
c h apt er "Safet y
• Make sur e th at all passe ngers wear their
sa fe ty belt s proper ly. even those in rea r 2.1 "Sa fe ty chapter "Safety
belt s." Pa sse ngers wea ring en
danger not onl y th em selves in cra sh, but al so dri ver and oth er passengers .
• Make su re th at children a lwa ys
on rear
sea t prop erl y res tra in ed by a res traint system a p
propri ate for th eir size and age.
• Never tra nsp ort a child in a rear
c hild
or infant seat on the front passe nger seat
= bo oklet 2.1 "Safety
• Adju st yo ur sea t so that yo u ca n eas ily reac h
a ll co ntrol s whil e yo u are as from
Booklet 3.2 Tips and Advice
airb ag as pos sible but close r th an 10 inches
(25 cm ) = book let 2. 1 an d 3.1.
• The sea ting positi on is ve ry important for the
a irb ag perfo rm ance
2.l "S afety first",
cha pter "Air bag syste m.''
• Always a djust th e hea d res traints to
cor
r ec t h eig ht . For maximum pro tec tion , ad just the
h ead res trai nt so that the upp er edge is as eve n
w ith the top of yo ur hea d as possi ble,
no
l owe r than eye le v el a nd so that is as close to
th e ba ck of your head as possib le = bo okle t 2. 1
"Safe ty
• Alw ays make s ure that the mov ement of peda ls is no t res tri cte d in an y way 3. 1,
c h ap te r " Peda ls ."
• Store luggage an d light it em s prop erl y in
luggage compartme nt and on roo f
=book let 3. 1, c hap ter" Luggage compa rtment "
an d
3.1, cha pter rack."
If you drink, do not drive !
T he use of a lco hol, dru gs a nd certain medi ca
ti ons w ill seriously impa ir percept io n , reac tions
a nd dri vin g a bility ,
increa sin g th e
ri sk of an acci dent, cras h an d pe rso nal injury.
Do not drive if you are tired.
Make frequ ent rest stops , at le ast aft er every two
hours of dri ving.
Al ways adapt vehicle speed to traffic, road and
weather conditions.
H em ember , th at
o n sm ooth, slipp ery
roa ds, ve hicle han dling and br aking dep end a
d ea l on tire ad hes ion. On wet roa ds, the
front whee ls c an h ydrop lane, especi ally at
h ig her sp ee ds. If thi s hap pe ns, yo u will then no
l o nge r b e ab le to ste er or brak e prop erl y.
WARNING
• Alw ays observe the po sted spe ed Ii mils and
common sense. Your good judgment can
mean
diff ere n ce between arr iving safely at
your destination and being ser iously injur ed
in
crash or other kind of accide nt.
• Alway s rea d and hee d all WARNI NGS and
a dditi on al inform ation rega rding safety
= bookl et 2.1 "Safe ty
Driving and protecting the environment 9

manufactur er to make sur e th at yo u are using
t h e co rrec t hit ch
Do not use a bumper hitch.
Th e hit ch mu st be install ed so . that it does no t
int erf ere w ith th e impac t-a bso rbin g bu mpe r
sys tem . Do no t mak e any c han ges to th e ve hicl e
ex hau st and brak e sys te m s. Fro m t im e to tim e,
c h ec k tha t all hit ch -mo unting
rema in se
c ur ely fas tened .
W hen yo u are not t ow in g a tra iler, re m ove the
t ra ile r hi tch ball m oun t. T his pr eve nts th e h itch
fr om causing dam age sh ou ld yo ur vehicl e be
s tru ck fr om b eh ind .
Engin e coo ling syste m
Tow ing a trai ler makes the e ngin e wo rk It is im portant th at th e engin e coo ling syste m is up to th e job . Make su re that th e coo ling sys te m has
e n ough flu id.
Trailer brokes
If yo ur t railer h as its own brakes, ch eck to be th at it confo rms to a ll regula tion s. The tra iler
b ra ke sys te m must n ever be directly co nn ecte d
to th e ve hicle's brake sys tem.
Sa fety chains
Alw ays use safety chain s betwee n yo ur ve hicle
a n d trail er.
Trai ler lights
Tra ile r lig ht s m ust m eet a ll reg ulati ons
Neve r co nnect th e trail er light sys te m di rectly to
t h e lig ht sy ste m of y our vehicl e. 13 e to c hec k
w ith your auth orize d Vol ksw age n d eale r fo r
rec t w irin g, sw itch es a nd relays .
Mirror s
If yo u canno t see the behind you using th e
r eg ula r outside mirror s, th en you mu st i ns tall
exte nded m irror s. It 's
th at yo u alw ays have
cl ea r vis io n to th e re a r.
Maximum power consumption for the trailer
Do not excee d the ra tin gs g iven in t he c hart
Booklet 3.2 Tips and Advice ®
Electrical load power
Tail lights to ta l
60 Watt s
T urn sig nals per sid e 54 Wa tts
Br ake light s to ta l 84 Wa tts
Back up ligh t to tal 54 W atts
WARNING
An improperl y in sta lled or in corre ct trailer
hit ch can cau se a tra iler to separate from the
t o win g ve hicle leadin g to ser iou s per son al in
j uri es.
• Never install a "weight distributing" or
" lo ad equa lizin g" trailer hitch on your v ehicle.
T he v ehicle wa s not de signed for these kinds
of trailer hit ch es . Th e hitch attachment ca n
fail ca using the trailer to tear loos e from th e
veh icle.
WARNING
Wh en you no lon ger need to tow a tra iler , re
move the ent ire tra ile r hitc h. Alwa ys s eal a ll
bolt h ole s to pre vent water and dead ly exhaust
fum es from ent ering th e vehicle.
Note
• Do no t use a trailer w hi ch h as LED (lig ht
em ittin g dio des) t ail light s. T hi s ty pe of ta il lig ht
ca n da ma ge t he elec trica l co ntrol un it of yo ur
ve hicl e.
• I f th e tra iler soc ke t i s in co rrec tly co nnecte d ,
d am age could r esult
10 t h e ve hicles elec trica l
sys te m.
• I f th e m ax imum p ower co nsum pti on fo r
trail er is exceede d, dam age c ould r esult to th e
e lec tr ica l sys te m of ve hicl e.
• Neve r co nn ect th e elec trical sys te m fur th e
dir ectly to elec trical co nn ectio ns fo r
th e rea r or to o ther u nsu itab le powe r
so urces . Use only s uit abl e socke t to pro
v id e powe r to th e
Driving an d protecting the environment 11