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
WARNING (continued)
and use co mmon se nse. Never r is k p ersonal
injur y.
• Never perform an y work in th e engi ne
c ompartm ent unl ess you know exactl y
to
ca rry o ut th e jo b ancl have the c orr ect tec h
ni cal informati on and th e corre ct tool s! lf yo u
a re un certain about what to do, have th e w ork
performed b y an authori zed Volk swagen
d ealer or a qu alifi ed d ealers hip. Seriou s per
s on al injur y m ay res ult fr om impr op erl y per
form ed wo rk.
• Neve r open th e eng in e ho od if you see
s team or coo la nt esca ping from the e ngi ne
com partm ent. I-l ot ste am or cool ant can cause
se riou s burn s. Always wa it until you no lo nge r
see o r h ear s te am or coolan t esca pin g fro m th e
e ng in e.
• Alw ays let t he en g in e coo l d ow n com
pl ete ly before c aref ully openin g th e e ngin e
hood . I-l ot co mp on ent s w ill burn skin on co n
ta ct.
• When th e engin e has coo le d d own and you
ar c r ead y to open th e engin e ho od:
- Rem ove the key from th e ig nition.
- Appl y th e parkin g brake firml y and put
th e se lec tor in P (P ar k).
- Kee p childr en and oth ers away from the
ve hicl e.
• Never reac h in to th e a re a aro und or to uch
th e ra diato r fa n. Co ntact w ith th e blad es can
r es ult in serio us pe rs on al inju ry. A lw ays re
memb er that th e ra diato r fa n i s te mp erature
con tro lled a nd can turn on su d d enl y
eve n
w hen th e e ng in e ha s bee n sw itch ed off for a
l o nger pe riod of tim e and the k ey has bee n r e
mo ved fro m th e ig niti on .
• Never unscre w th e coo lant expan sio n tank
c ap when the en gin e is hot.
h o t e ngin e will
h eat th e coolant and put it unde r pr ess ure. Re
mo ving
cap th at is under pressur e ca n res ult
in seriou s perso nal in jur y and /o r burn s.
• Alw ays prot ect fa ce, hand s a nd arm s from
h ot esca ping coo la nt or stea m b y cove ring th e
ca p with a la rge, thick rag.
• Turn the ca p slow ly and very ca refull y in a
co unt er-cl oc kw is e dir ec tion whil e ap ply in g
li g ht d ownwa rd press ure on the to p of the cap.
Booklet 3.2 Tips and Advice
,1i WARN ING (continued)
• Neve r spill flui ds on hot engine parts or ho t
ex haust sys te m . S pill ed fluid s can cau se a fire!
• Neve r sh ort -ci rc uit th e e lec trical sys te m ,
es pec iall y wher e the jump er ca bles a rc at
ta ch ed
Th e ba tter ies co uld explo de!
• Never leave a ny o bjec ts in th e eng in e co m
p artm ent, fo r exa mpl e cle anin g rag s and to ols .
O bjec ts le ft b ehind can cau se m alfu nction s
and e ven
res .
• Neve r wo rk und er th e ve hicle unl ess y ou
h ave safe ly sec ured th e vehicle from m oving.
If yo u mu st wo rk und er the vehicl e with th e
w hee ls on th e gro und, always make sure the
ve hicl e is on leve l gro und , th e w hee ls arc
b locke d from m oving and th e key is not in the
i g niti on.
• Al ways supp ort yo ur ve hicl e w ith safet y
st and s if you have to w ork und erne ath it. T he
j ac k suppli ed
th e is no t stron g
e nough fo r thi s purpo se and can collap se
ca usin g se riou s pers on al injury.
• lfyo u have to perform a ch eck or re pair
w hen th e e ngin e is runnin g, ther e are mor e
ri sk s from th e rot ating pa rts , su ch a s the driv e
be lts, ge nera tor , ra diato r f an , et c., and from
th e hi gh -v olta ge ig niti on sys te m. Al ways use
ex trem e c are:
- Never to uch th e elec trical wirin g of th e
i g nition syste m.
- Always make s ure th at j ew elry, lo ose
clothi ng and lon g
do no t ge t ca ught in
r o ta tin g e ngin e part s. B efor e sta rtin g any
wo rk re move je w elry, tic back a nd cove r
h air , a nd do n ot wea r cl othin g th at can
han g dow n and get ca ught in mo vin g en
g in e part s.
- Alwa ys use ex trem e caution if th e acce l
e ra tor pedal ha s to be d epr esse d to perform
ch ec k. Th e vehicl e could mo ve sudd enl y,
eve n if th e parkin g br ake is a ppli ed.
• If wor k on the fuel sys te m or th e elec trical
sys te m
ne cess ary:
- Alw ays disco nnect the b att eri es . Ma ke
s ur e th e ve hicle is unlo ck ed when disco n
nec ting th e batter ies, o r th e a larm will go
off.
- Neve r sm oke.
Ch ecking and Filling 35
Booklet 3.2 Tips and Advice
WARNING (continued)
- Neve r wo rk near heate rs, wate r heaters
o f o th er open flames.
Always have an approved fire extin
g ui sh er nearb y.
• To avoid e lect rica l sho ck and per sonal in
ju ry
the engi ne is running or being
s tarted:
n ever touch ignition cab les,
- neve r touch oth er com ponen ts of the
hi gh vo ltage e lectronic ig nition sys tem ,
never 1oucl1 the gas discharged (Xenon)
headli ght s w ir in g.
Opening the engine hood
in se riou s malfunctions and engine
damage!
<£> For th e sake of environment
Service fluid leaks are harmful to th e environ
me nt. Regularly ch ec k th e ground underneath
yo ur vehicl e. If yo u find spot s of oil or othe r
fluids. have your veh icle c hec ke d b y you r autho
ri zed Vo lkswage n dealer or a qualified
wo rksh op.
The engine hood is released from inside the
Fig . 3 Deta il of the footwe ll: the re lease lever far
t h e engine hood is loca ted in the loa twell an ihe
dr iver side
Before you open the engine hood, make
s u re that the windshield wiper arm s are
folded-up against the w indshie ld so that
the hood will not be damag ed when the
hood is opened .
Pull the release lev er underneath the in
s trum ent panel in the directio n of the
arrow
3 . The engine hood is rele ased
from its latch by a spring
36 Checking and Filling
Fig. 4 Detail of the radia to r grill : release leve r fa r
opening the engine hood
Lift the engin e hood up at the release
l ever
4 (arrow ) and open the hood
until it is he ld up by the gas-filled strut.
WARN ING
Stop! Before working in the engine compart
ment, a lways read and heed a ll WARN INGS
34. The engine compartm ent of any
motor vehicle is a potentially dangerous area
ca n cause serious p erso nal injury.
Booklet 3.2 Tips and Advice
Coolant
Coolant specifications
Coolant is a of water at least 40% coolant additive.
The cooling s yst em must b e filled with a mixtur e
of a nd at le ast 40 % of Vol kswag en additi ve G 12 or an additi ve with the sp ec ifica
ti o n F (purpl e in colo r).
T hi s mi xtur e gives the necess ary fro st p rotec tion
do wn to -1 3° F (-2 5° C) and p rot ec ts th e all oy
part s of the cooling sy stem again st co rros ion.
It also pr ev ent s from scalding and raises the
boilin g po int of th e cool ant.
Th e co nce ntrati on of coo la nt mu st
b e at
l e a st 40 % eve n if fr os t p rotec tion i s not r e
quir ed .
If gre at er frost protection is nee ded in very co ld
climat es. th e proportion of th e antifree ze
tive G 12 c an b e in cre ase d. H ow ev er, th e per
ce ntag e o f coo la nt addit ives must n ot exceed
GO% , as this
re du ce the f rost p rotec tio n. It also re du ce the coo lin g e ffec t. mi xture
w ith coo lant additi ve will give frost ti on 10 about C) .
WARNING
Coola nt is poi sonous!
• Always keep the coo la nt in its origin al con
t a in er stored in a safe place.
• To reduce the risk of poi sonin g, neve r use
em pty food or bev erage co ntainers that might
mislead someone into d rinkin g from th em.
WARNING (continued)
• Always keep drain ed coo lant out th e
r eac h of ch ildren.
• The coolant additive
G 12 must be added in
s uffici ent quantiti es to give enough anti
fr eeze protection at the co ldest temperatur es
that can be expecte d where the vehicle will be
u sed.
• At ex treme ly cold temperat ures, the
coolant could fr eeze, caus ing the vehicl e to
br eak dow n. The heater wou ld also not work
and vehicl e occupants could be without pro
tection at sub-free zin g temperatures!
Note
• Oth er additi ves ma y give co nsid erabl y inf e
ri or co rros io n prot ection. The res ulting corro
s io n in th e coo ling syste m can lead to a lo ss of
c o ol ant , cau sing seri ous
to the en gine.
• The coo lant additiv e G 12 ( purpl e) can be
mi xed w it h th e ad diti ve G 12 (p ink ) o r w ith the
ad ditive
11. G 12 c an be recog nize d in the pans io n t ank b ecau se it is purpl e. T he coo lant
G L2 h as bee n with di ffe re nt coolant to
th e o nes nam ed ab ove if th e fluid in th e
sion ta nk brown! The coolant must b e
chang ed as soo n as pos sib le if th is is the ca se ! Se
ri ous fun cti onal pr oble m s
en gin e co uld be caused
Checking and Filling 43
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
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.
c£> For the sa ke of e nvironment
Batte ries
1ox ic s ubstan ces includin g sul
furi c acid and le ad . Th ey mus! be dis posed ap
p ro pria lc ly an d 110 1
ord inary garbage.
Tires and wheels
Genera l notes
Booklet 3.2 Tips and Advice
Tips
Wh en !h e ba ttery is reconne c1e d .
warning
li gh l for 1he S1abi lization Program
(ES P). (AS RJ ma y lig ht up
a nd sla y on. go out if yo u dri ve briefly in a line al a sp eed of 15 20 km /h .
Tires may le n st appr eciated and most abus ed parts of motor vehicle.
Tire s ma y be 1h e appr eciale d and mo st
ab use d pans of rn o!O r ve hicl e. Tire s are,
ever . o ne mo s! pans ofa ve
h icl e. p arli cula rly co nsid erin g comp arasmall o f rubb er on eac h tir e th al as
s ure s all-imponanl b etwee n yo u,
your vehicl e
road.
Mainl ainin g 1h e c orr cc1 lire pressure , ma kin g
s ur e
vehicl e an d i1s 1ir es do 1101 have to
ca rry mor e !hey can safe ly hand le ,
a vo iding dam age from haz ards and regu
larl y in spec lin g !ir es fo r d am age including
slas hes ir reg ular wear and co ndi tion are
th e mos! impor lan 11hin gs you ca n do lo
h elp avoid sudd en lire f ailur e includ ing tread
se para lion and hlo wo u1s.
Avoiding damage If yo u ha ve
dri ve ove r a cu rb or sim ilar ob
s tacl e, dri ve ve ry s lowly a nd as cl ose as po ssib le
a l a rig h1 angl e 10
curb.
ke e p ch emi ca ls including g rease. o il. gas
o lin e an d brak e fluid off 1 he 1ires .
ln spe cl
1ir es regul arly fo r damag e (c ut s.
c ra cks or c1c.J. any foreign
bo dies em bed de d in ! r e ad s.
Storing tires
Mark lires when yo u r em ove th em
to indi cale dire cti on T hi s ens ures y ou 10 be hie 10 m ou nl when yo u rein sta ll
!h em .
W hen
1h e whee ls or 1ires s hou ld be
s tor ed in a cool, dry and preferab ly dark place. S
!o re tir es in
a ven ica l po sil ion if th ey are 1101
m ount ed on rim s, in a horizo ntal pos i1 ion if1h ey
are mou n1ed on rim s.
New tires
!ir es have to be broke n
The !r ea d ofn ew lir es may vary, accor ding
10 1h e 1y pe and mak e of li re an d 1h e tre ad pat
l e rn.
Hidd en damag e
!ir es rim s is 11 01 r ead ily vis
ibl e. you n olice unu sual vibral ion or !he vepull s 10 one side, !his may indi cale th al o n e or 1h e 1ires be en dama ged. The tir es mu st b e
c h ec ke d imm ediale ly by an auth ori zed Vo lk
s wag en dea ler or qua lifi ed wo rk sh op.
U nidirectiona l tires
A unidir ec1ional lir e can b e id e111 ifi ed by arro ws
o n 1h e sid ew all , 1h a1
in 1he dir ection 1h e
l ire is designe d 10 ro la!C. Yo u must fo llow 1h e
s p ecifie d direc1 io n of ro 1a 1ion. This is necessa ry
so
1h es e 1ires de velo p !heir rega rding grip , road noi se, we ar
an d hydro plan ing For m ore info rm a
lion " Unidi re c tional 1ir es".
WARNING
tir es or !ires th al arc o ld, worn or dam
aged cannol provide max imum control and
brak ing abilil y.
• New tir es len d to be s lippery a nd mu st be
broken in.
re duce !he r is k of losin g conlrol ,
a co llisio n and serious pe rso nal injur ies, dri ve
Checking and Filling 51