
Booklet 3.1 Controls and Equipment
WARNING (continued)
reachedopera tingtcmpera ture. Wait until you
have good visibility before driving off.
• Thorough ly famil iarize yourse lf with the
operation of the heating and ve ntilation
system, including the defog /defro st fea tures
you will need for good vis ibilit y.
WARNING
Note that with Climat ronic switched off com
ple tely, no outs ide air enters the interior. So
with C limatron ic switched off, op en a window
or the power
to provid e adequate fresh
air in the vehicle.
the ai r co nditi onin g
sys te m ha s been d amaged or is not working
proper ly, sw itch ove r to ECON mode to pr eve nt
more damage a nd hav e th e sys tem ch ec ked by
yo ur authorized Volkswagen dea ler or a qua li
fjed work shop .
• Repair s to th e ai r condi tioni ng sys te m re
qui re sp ecia l knowledge and sp ecia l too ls .
Ther efore, we reco mm end
yo u go lo an au-
Opti onal e q uipm ent thori
zed Volk swage n deale r o r oth er qualifi ed
works hop sh oul d prob lems occur.
• Do not sm oke w hile air r ecirculation mode is
on . as s moke
into the clima te-co ntrol
sys te m can leave a res idu e on the evaporator,
producing a p ermanent unp leasa nt odor.
Tips
• If th e humid ity and t emperatur e outside the
ve hicl e are h igh. cond ensation can drip off the
eva pora tor in th e climat e-contro l syste m and
form a poo l und ern eath th e ve hicle. Thi s is
normal and is not a lea k.
• Kee p th e air intake slot s in front of the wind
s h ie ld free of sno w, ice and le a ves to en su re
impai re d heatin g and coo ling a nd lo prevent th e
w indow s from fogging ove r.
• The a ir from the outl ets flows through the
passeng er com part men t and out the slo ts below
th e rear w indow. Do no t co ver the se slots w ith
clothing or ot her objects.
• The air condition ing sys tem work s b es t w hen
the wind ows and the powe r
are closed.
How ever, if th e ve hicle has heat ed up in the sun ,
the insid e air can be coo le d fas te r by ope ning th e
win dows to let the hot air
Air conditioning system 89

@ Booklet 3.1 Controls and Equipment
WARNING
• Always re memb er th at ve hicl e alterat ion s
or modifi cation s can affe ct the fun cti on of the
ABS, BAS, EDL and ESP syste m s. Examp les o f
the se alterations or modification s include a
different whe el/ tir e co mbination and bra ke or
c h ass is m odifi cation s
3.2 "T ips and
Advi ce", c hapter "Repa irs an d techni cal mod
ifi ca tions."
• Changin g the vehicle su sp ens ion or using
unappro ved tire
I rim combin ation can
c h ange th e wa y th e ABS, BAS, EDL and ESP
sys tem s work and r educe th eir effe cti ve ne ss.
App lies lo vehi cles: with An ti-Slip Regula tion
Anti-Slip Regulation
WARN ING (continued)
• The effec tive ne ss ofESP is also determined
b y th e tir es fitted
3.2 "Ti ps and vice", c hapt er "W hee ls ."
g ine power -even when this is not the bes t thin g
t o do und er th e circu mstan ces .
• After reco nnect ing the v ehicle ba ttery the
ESP warning light in the ins trum ent cluste r w ill
co me on and s ta y o n.
will go o ff afte r you have
d ri ve n abou t 10 feet (3 m eter s) at 10 mph (15 km /h ).
ASR helps make driving safer in certain situation s.
On vehicl es w ith front -whee l dri ve, ASH help s
pr eve nt th e fron t w hee ls from spinnin g when
th e ve hicle is ac ce lerat ed by redu cin g th e e ngine
power dir ecte d to these whe els. T he AS H work s
to ge ther wit h the Anti-L ock B rake Sys tem (ABS).
B o th warn ing ligh ts w ill com e on if th e
or
A BS sys te m s malfun ction.
T he ASH is sta rt ed aut om ati call y wh en th e en
g in e is s tart ed.
T he ASH s hou ld genera lly be lef t sw itch ed on at
all tim es. In specifi c ci rc um sta nces w here yo u
requ ire les s trac tion you ca n sw it c h off th e AS H
b y pr ess ing b utton
91, fig . 75.
For exam ple:
• when dri ving with sno w ch ain s,
• whe n dr iv in g in dee p s now or o n loo se s ur
faces,
• when roc king the ve hicl e ba ckw ar d and for
war d to free it from mud, for examp le.
Yo u sh ould pre ss the butt on
to sw itch th e back on when you no lo nger nee d w hee l s pin .
Th e EDL is al so sw itch ed off if th e ASH is
swi tche d off . Thi s m ea ns that this tec hn ology is
n ot ava ilable for as lo ng as the ASR remains
sw itched off .
92 Driving
When doe s the word OFF light up in the button ASR?
• It will lig ht up if there is a in the
• It will lig h t up if th e AS R is sw itch ed
WARNING
• Alwa ys adju st yo ur dri vin g to the road, and weather conditions. Do not l et the
ex tra safe ty th at ca n provide te mpt you
into t aking extra risk s.
• Alw ays dri ve safel y.
• ASH ca nnot defy th e la ws of ph ysics. S lip
p ery an d we t roads arc dangerou s eve n wi th
• cann ot r edu ce the risk of accident , for
exa mpl e if yo u dri ve too fast for conditions or
if yo u do not k eep your dista n ce from the
hicl e in fr ont of you.
WARNING
• re m em be r that vehicl e alterations
or mod ifica tions can affec t th e fun ction of the
ABS , BAS , EDL and ASR systems. Examp les of
th ese a .Itera tion s or modifi cations include a

Booklet 3.1 Controls and Equipment
i0, WARNING (continued)
different wheel/lire combination and brake or
c ha ssis modifications 3.2 "Tips and
Advic e", chapt er "lle pair s and technical mod
ifications."
• Changing the vehicle suspens ion or using
unappro ved tire
I rim combination can
c h ange the way the ABS, BAS, EDL and ASH
sys tems work and redu ce their elTective ne ss.
• Th e effectivene ss of
is also determined
b y th e tir es 3.2 and Ad
v ic e", chapter "Wheels."
Ignition lock
Position of the ignition key
F ig . 76 lgnilion key posit io ns
Ignition switched off, steering column
In thi s po siti on the ig niti on is sw itched
off, and th e steering co lumn i s locked.
T o engage the stee ring wheel lock, re m ove the
key from the steering lo ck and turn the stee ring
w hee l un til it locks into place. You should always
l oc k the steer ing whee l w hen yo u le ave your ve
hicl e. This make s vehi cle th eft m ore difficult
Switching on the ignition or glow plug system
Turn the ig niti on key to this pos ition and re lease
th e key. If the key can not b e tu rned or is difficult
turn from pos ition ® to posi tion m ove the
go off afte r you have
d riven about IO fee t (3 meter s) at 10 mph (15 km/ h).
s tee ring wheel (to take the load off the stee ring
l ock mec han ism) until it turn s free ly.
Starting the engine
Start the en gin e when the key is in this posit io n.
Co mp onent s th at u se a lot of electricity are
sw itch ed olT te mp orar ily. Each time you want to
s tart your engine, you must turn the ke y back to
position
0, and then perform the starting proce
dure once aga in.
Switching off the ignition
Turn the ignition ke y this position and re lease.
Automatic switch-off of ele ctrical components
Comp on en ts that use a lo t of e lectricity (for ex
a mpl e se at heat ers, or rear win dow defogge r)
wi ll aut om aticall y be switc hed off wh en th e ign i
ti on is o n and th e eng ine off. This prevents
draining your b all ery.
Com po nent s th at us e littl e elec lricit y are not
sw itch ed off automatica lly. H oweve r, th ey ca n
drain the batt ery.
WARNING
Improp er u se of vehicl e ke ys can resu lt in se
rious personal injur y.
• Always take the key wit h yo u when you
le ave the vehicl e. The engine can be star ted
and vehicle systems s uch as the power win-
»,,
Driving 93

Booklet 3.1 Controls and Equipment
Switching off the engine
- Let the vehicle come to a complete stop.
- Turn the ignition key to position
93, 76
WARNING
Never switch off the engine before the vehicle
ha s come to a com plete stop. You can lose co n
of the vehicle, crash and be ser iously in
jured.
Manual transmission
Applies to vehicles: with monuol
WARNING (continued]
• The airbags and safety belt pretensioners will not wo rk when the ignition is switch ed off.
• The brake booster docs not work when the
engine is turned off. A lot more
pedal
pressure will be necessary to stop the vehicle.
• The power steer ing system docs not work
w hen the engine is turned off and you will
ne ed mor e force to stee r the vehicle.
• When the key is removed, lhc steering
whee l co lumn will lock up and you will not be
ab le to steer the veh icle.
engin e could ov erh eat w hen it is
s wi tc h ed off . To r edu ce the ri sk of en gine
dama ge, be sur e
to le t th e engine id le for ab out 2
minut es before yo u sw it c h it off._.
5-speed and 6-speed manual transmissions
Fig. 77 Section of center console : 5- speed manual
transm ission
Selecting Reverse gear
- The ve hicl e shou ld be stat ionary w ith
Fig. 78 Section of center console : 6 -speed manual
t ransm issio n
the eng in e idli ng. Depr ess the clutch p edal
fully. ._
Driving 97

Booklet 3.1 Controls and Equipment
Stopping on an incline
- You should always hold the veh icle in
posit ion with th e footbrake to sto p it from
"ro lling backward".
- Do not try to stop th e veh ic le from
"ro lling backward" by increasing the revs
w hen a gear is
Moving away on an incline
- With a gear en gaged, rake your foot
from th e brake and depress t he accele r
a tor.
The steepe r the gradient, the lowe r the ge ar you
will need . This increases the brakin g effect of the
e n gin e. For exampl e, yo u should drive clown a
very steep s lo p e in 3rd gear. If the engin e brak e
effect is not suffi cient , th e ve hicle wi ll gain
speed. Th e auto matic transmi ssion
I direct shi ft
ge arbox automaticall y upshift s to prev ent the
e n gine from overr eving. U se the foot b rake to re
duce speed a nd chang e into 3rd gear using "T ip
tronic
Your veh icle has an A utomat ic Shift Lock (ASL )
t h at lo cks the sel ector lever in P or N when th e
ignition is o n. You mu st depr ess th e brake pedal
t o mov e the selec tor le ve r out of P or N. Thi s pre
ven ts the selector le ve r from b ein g unintention
a lly mov ed in to
driv ing pos ition resulting in
unwanted vehicl e movement.
A lway s hold the ve hicle
the foot if you
s top while driv ing up hill to preve nt from
rolling backward.
T he ignition ke y cannot be re m ov ed unl ess the
se lector le ver is in P.
WARNING
Unintended ca n ca use rious persona l inju ry .
• Neve r get out of the driver's seat when the
eng ine is runnin g, espe cially w hen it is in ge ar.
If yo u mu st lea ve yo ur vehicle w ith th e engine
runnin g, alwa ys se t the parki ng brake firml y
and m ove the se lec tor lever to P (Par k).
• When the en gine is runnin g wit h th ese
l ec tor lever in a driving po sition (D (Dr ive), S
(S port ) or R (Revers e) always de press and ho ld
100 Driving
WARN ING (continued)
the brake pedal lo keep the vehicl e from
mo vin g. Power is transmitted to th e wh eels
when a driving position is se lec ted a nd th e ve
hicl e m ay "creep" even a t idle spe ed.
• Neve r depr ess the acce lerato r w hen
mo vin g th e se lec tor leve r.
• Neve r move the selecto r leve r to R (Re
verse) or P (Park) when th e ve hicle i s moving.
WARNING
Neve r sw itch off the e ngi ne be fore the vehicle
ha s co me to a co mplete sto p. Y ou ca n lose co n
trol of the vehicle, crash and be se riou sly in
jured .
• Th e airbags and safe ty belt pr ete n sio ners
w ill not work when the ig niti on is sw itched
• Th e brak e booster does no t wor k w hen th e
e n gin e is turn ed oil A lot m ore brak e peda l
press ure w ill b e necessary to stop th e ve hicl e.
• The power steering system does not work
when t he eng ine is turn ed
and you w ill
ne ed more force to steer the vehicle.
• When th e key is removed, the s teer ing
w hee l co lumn will lock up and you w ill not be
able to stee r th e ve hicl e.
• Never co as t do wn a slo pe with the t rans
mi ssion in Neu tral.
Not e
• If you stop the ve hicl e on gradi ent, d o not
attempt to stop it rollin g by depres sin g th e
a cce le rat or wh en a gear has be en sel ec te d. Th e
a u tomatic tra nsmi ssio n
I direc t sh ift gearb ox
co uld ove rheat an d be damag ed . Pu ll th e
parking brake on fully or depr ess the brak e pedal
t o pr eve nt th e v ehicl e from
• :-lever let th e vehicle roll down a hill with the
s electo r lev er i n N and the engine swi tched off .
Thi s w ill dam age th e a utomati c tran smi ssion
I d ir ec t shift gearb ox.
Tip s
• If th e sele ctor l ev er is un intentiona lly mo ved
int o N whil e dr ivi ng, tak e your foot off the acce l
erato r peda l and wait unt il the eng ine s peed has
dropp ed to id le s peed b efo re se lectin g a drivi ng
po sition.

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
The parking brake can be us ed to pr eve nt the vehicle from moving uninten tion
ally.
A lways apply th e parking brake fully when
yo u leave y our vehicl e a nd when you p ark
yo ur vehicl e.
- Use the foo t brake to stop the veh icle.
- Appl y th e parking brake full y.
- On a ma nual tran smi ssion engage
gea r. On a n aut omatic tra nsmi ssion move
the selector lever to P.
- Switch off the engine and r emo ve the
key from the ignition lock. Turn th e
s tee rin g w he el s li ghtl y to en gage the
stee ring loc k.
- Always take you ve hicle keys w ith you
whe n yo u leave the
When parking on slopes
Before turnin g off the engin e, turn the steer ing
w hee l so if th e vehicle sta rt s to ro ll, it will roll
i nt o th e c urb:
• If th e ve hicle is faci ng
turn the whee ls so that they poilll toward the cur b.
• If th e vehicle is faci ng
turn the front
w heels so t hat they poi nt away from the curb .
• As a lways, appl y th e pa rking
full y and
m ove the se lector lever to P.
WARNING
Improp er parking procedures can lead to se
ri ous perso nal injury for you or your passen
gers.
• Never remove the key from steering lock
whil e th e ve hicle is movin g or rollin g to a stop .
The steer ing wheel
will lock up and you will not be able to stee r or control the vehicle.
WARNING
• Never park where the hot exha ust sys te m
co uld ignit e flammabl e material s, such as
bru sh, l eave s, dry grass, sp illed fuel etc.
• Alw ays apply the parking brak e fuJly wh en
parking your vehicle.
• Never leave anyone in your vehicl e to pre
ven t the ve hicle from moving if the parking
br ake is r elease d or selector lever is moved.
• Alwa ys tak e the key w ith you when you
l e ave the vehicle. The engine can be started
and vehicl e sy stems su ch as the power win
d ows can be operated leading to seriou s per
s onal injury .
• Never leave children , disabl ed p erson s or
anyone who cannot help th emselves in the ve
hicl e. The doors can b e lock ed u sing th e re
mot e co ntrol trappin g passenger s in the ve
hicle in an emergenc y. Depending on the time
of year, people tr app ed in
vehicle can be
expose d to v ery high or very low temperatures.
Note
• Please exercise care when yo u pa rk your ve
hicl e in parkin g are as w ith p arkin g barri ers or
cu rb s. Parking barriers and curb s vary in heig ht
an d co uld damage yo ur bump er and re la te d
compo nents as th e fron t of yo ur vehicl e moves
over
b arri er or curb that is too high . as you park
or as you back out of parking spot. In order to
be sur e th at no su ch d ama ge ca n occ ur, yo u m ay
wish to s top sh or t o f h av ing th e front tires o f yo ur
ca r touc h parking barri er o r curb.
• Please a lso exe rcise exce ptiona l ca re when
yo u drive up or d own steep ramp s or drive over
cu rbs or oth er obsta cles, fo r w hi ch lhe ve hicle is
not d esign ed , b ec au se compone nts of th e ve
hicl e close lo th e groun d su ch as bump er cove rs,
s poil ers , suspensio n and exhaust syste m com
ponent s, m ay beco me
Driving 105

Booklet 3.1 Controls and Equipment
Conve nien ce open ing 41
Conven ie n ce operatio n (elec tric
w ind ows) 18
Coo lant
li ght 11
Coo lant leve l
Warn ing 24
Coo lant te mperature
Gauge 6
Warn ing 24
Coo ling the glo ve
69
C ru ise co111rol 107
Wa rnin g light 29
Cup ho ld ers
I n the rear armrest 72
C up holder s in the center co nso le 72
C urrent f uel cons umption 9
D
Day time runnin g lights
Warning lig ht 30
Daytime dri vin g ligh ts 46
Di gita l c loc k 5
Di sp lay 7, 12
D is plays
One-co lo r display 12
Distance trave lled 9
Door re lease hand le 3
Door s
Wa rnin g lig ht 26
Drain the bauery 52
Driving time 9
Driving
an automatic transmi ssion 99
Dust
88
E
See Electron ic D iffe rentia l Lock
EDS
Wa rnin g light 27
E lec tric seal a djustment
See Seat adj ustme nt
Ele ctrical accessories 73
Elec tro-mechanica l power steering syste m
Warning light 29
110 Alphabetical index
Electron ic Diffe re nti al Lock
Wa rnin g lig ht 27
Electronic immobilize r 94
Wa rnin g light 23
Electro nic parking assistance 106
E lectro nic Power Control (EPC)
light 23
E lec tron ic Stabi liza tion Program 28, 91
Wa rnin g lig ht 28
Emergency
48
E m erge ncy wa rning lights
light 24
Engi ne fault
Warning light 23
E ngin e hood
Warning light 26
E ngin e malfun ction
Warn in g light 23
E ngine mana gement
Warn ing lig ht 23
E ngine oil pr essure
Wa rnin g light 11 , 25
Environmental inform ation
Fuel economy 6
Environmental tip
Fue l economy 77
ESP 91
See E lectronic Stabil ization Program
Exhau st warning light
Warning lig ht 22
F
Firs t- aid kit 74
Fog lig ht s 46
Foo t brak e
Wa rning lig ht 30
cen te r a rmr est 70
Fron t passenger
backre st
Folding forward 6 1
F ront seats 60
E le ctri ca l adj ustab le 62
Manua l ad justab le 60
Fuel filler cap Wa rnin g light 29
Fue l g auge
Di splay 7
Fuel level 7