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
Regular servicing
By hav ing ve hicl e serviced reg ularly by an
aut horiz ed Volksw age n dea le r yo u ca n es tab lish
th e bas is for a good fuel eco nomy even
before yo u start driving. A we ll maint ain ed an d se rv ic ed
e n gi ne g ives you t he be nefit of bett er fu el effi
cie ncy as well as maximum re liabi liry and a
g rea ter res ale val ue.
Short distances
T he engi ne and catal ytic conve rter mu st reach
the ir o ptim al o p eratin g te m pe ratur e befo re y ou
se e a sig n ifi ca nt reduc tio n in exhaus t emi ssions.
A cold engin e will use m ore fuel until it rea ch es
it 's ope ra ting t emp eratur e at whic h po int th e
Warranty coverages
Yo ur Volkswagen is covered by th e follow in g
warra nties:
• Li mited New Ve hicle Warranty
• L imited Powertrain Warra nty
• Li mited Warra nty Aga in st Co rrosion Perfora
t io n
• Emi ssio ns Cont rol Sys tem Warranry
Booklet 3.2 Tip s and Advice @
An eng in e th at is no t p rop erl y ma intained can
use up to 10 % more fuel than ne cessary.
Check the oil l eve l eve ry tim e you ge t gas
39. Oil co nsumpti on d ep end s la rge ly on
t h e engine load a nd eng in e
fuel consump tion will impro ve. A lso imp ortant
i s the out sid e tempera ture. Th e co ld er the out
s id e te m peratur e, the g rea te r th e fu el
• Emi ssio ns Perfor mance Wa rranty
• Califo rnia Emi ssions Co ntrol Warranty (U SA
ve hicl es only)
• California E missio ns Perfo rmanc e Warranty
( U SA veh icles only)
Det ail ed informa tion regarding your wa rranties
ca n b e found in your Wa rra nty
Driving and prot ecti ng the envi ronm ent 15
Booklet 3.2 Tips and Advice
WARNING
Sharp edg es und er th e ve hicle can cut exposed
s kin.
• Always protect your hands and ar ms from
cuts on sh arp metal edges when cleaning the
und erb ody, the in sid e of the whe el h ousin gs
etc.
Note
• Neve r 10 re mo ve mud or du st if the
ve hicle s urf ace is dr y. U sin g a dry cloth or
s pong e for cleanin g co uld dam age the paint or g
la ss on yo ur vehicle. Soa k
mud or du st
w ith pl en ty of wa ter before re m ov ing it.
• When rin sing th e vehicle, do not le t w at er get
i nt o t he loc k cy lind ers or point the hose
at ga ps
aro und th e doors, hoo d or r ea r li d. The water
cou ld fre eze and make it
to op en th e ve
hicl e.
• To help pr evenl dama ge to th e painl, do not
was h the vehicle in dir ect sunli ght.
To prote ct t he e nvironm enl , was h th e ve hicl e
o nl y in sp ecia l was h ba ys th at ca n handl e oily
din that is was hed off th e ca r.
Washing the vehicle with a power washer
B e very careful when using a power washer!
- Alwa ys follow the in stru cti ons for t he
p ower washer, parti cularl y tho se about th e
pr ess ure and the spray ing distanc e.
- Increa se the spr ayi ng di sta nc e fo r soft
m ater ia ls and p aint ed bump ers
- Do not use a powe r was her to remo ve
i ce or sn ow from win dows
19.
- Never use concen trat ed je t no zzles or
so-ca lled "d irt b lasters" es peciall y on ti res
- Afte r the veh icle ha s be en wash ed , th e
b rake discs and pad s w ill b e wet (t hey
co uld even be icy in the w inte r) and stop
pin g di sta n ce s w ill be lo nger. Be s ure to
the brak es with seve ral care ful brake
app lica ti ons before dri vin g off
8.
WARNING
W et br ake s or br ake s coa te d with ice or road
sal t reac t slower an d need lo nge r stoppin g di s
t a n ce s.
• Care full y appl y brake s for a tes t.
• Alwa ys dry brakes and clean
ice coat -
in gs and salt coatin gs with a few cauti ous
brake application s.
18 Cleaning and protection
WAR NING (continued )
• Alw ays rea d and heed a ll 8, " Braking power and braking di stance".
WARNING
Improp er u se o f power wash ers can ca use se
riou s, invi sible and perman ent tire dama ge
l ea din g to tir e failur e and lo ss of v ehicl e co n
tr ol.
• Never was h tires w ith a jct that sprays the
wa te r out in a dir ect str ea m eve n at a di stan ce
ev en for a very short am ount of tim e.
Note
• Water sh o uld no t be more th an 14 0' F (60 ' CJ .
• If yo u use powe r wa sh er, b e sur e to ke ep it a
safe fr om the Park As sis t se nsors in th e
f ront and rear bump ers. If yo u ho ld it too clo se to
th e se nsors, you could dama ge th em.
• To pr event pos sibl e dam age
10 yo ur ve hicle,
h old t he po we r w ash er fro m soft mate
rial s, su ch as ru bb er hoses , plas tic e tc .
T his a lso app lies 10 b ump ers . Th e closer
yo u h old th e power wash er to th ese mat erials ,
th e greater is th e force again st them.
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
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.
Booklet 3.2 Tips and Advice
WARNING (continued)
with special care for the fir st 35 0 mile s
( 560km ).
• Driving with worn or dam aged tires can
l ead to los s of co ntrol, sud den tire failure, in
clud ing a blowout and sudden deflation,
cras hes and se riou s perso nal injurie s. H ave
worn or damaged tires rep laced immediat ely.
• Tires age even if th ey arc not bein g used
a n d can fail sudd enl y, es pecia lly
at high
s p ee ds. Tire s th at ar c mor e than 6 yea rs old
WARNIN G (contin ued)
ca n onl y be use d in an em erge ncy and then
w ith specia l ca re and at lo w er sp eeds.
• Neve r m ount u sed t ires on yo ur vehicl e if
you arc not s ure of th eir "pre vio us hi story."
Old use d tir es ma y have been dama ged eve n
t h ough th e damage cann ot b e see n that can
l ea d to sudd en tir e fa ilur e and loss of vehicle
contro l.
• If yo u notice unu sual vibrat ion or if th e ve
hicle pull s to one sid e wh en drivin g, a lways
stop as soo n as it is safe to do so and check the
wheels and tires for dam age.
Glossary of tire and loading terminology
Accessor y weight
m ea ns th e comb ined weigh t (in excess of those
s tand ard item s wh ic h may b e re p laced ) of auto
matic tran sm iss ion, powe r stee ring . power
brake s, pow er wind ows, powe r se ats. radio, a nd
heat er, to th e ex tent that th ese item s are ava il
ab le as factory- in st all ed eq ui pment (w heth er in
s talled or not).
Aspect ratio m ea ns th e ra tio of th e heig h t
th e wid th of th e
ti re in perce nt. Numbers of70 or lowe r ind icat e
a sh ort sid ewa ll for imp roved steering r espons e
a nd be tter ove rall hand ling d ry pa vement.
B ead
m ea ns th e pan oft he tire that is m ade of stee l
w ires, wrapp ed or reinfor ced by ply cords and
t h at is s hape d to
th e rim .
B ead separation
mean s a breakdow n of th e bo nd b etwee n com
p on ent s in the bea d.
Cord mea ns th e s trands for ming the plies in t he tire .
Cold lir e inflation pressure
m ea ns th e tire press ure reco mmend ed by the
ve hicl e m anu factur er f or a tire of a des ig nate d
s ize th a t ha s not b ee n d rive n for th an a co up le of
m iles ( kilomete rs) at low sp eeds in th e thr ee
h our peri od befo re th e tire press ure is m eas ured
or ad juste d.
52 Checking and Filling
Curb weig ht
mea ns th e weig ht of
a moto r ve hicle sta n
dard equipm ent in cluding th e maxi mum ca
paci ty o f fuel. oil. a nd coolant, air co ndition ing
and additional weight of o ptional equipme nt.
Gr oss Axle Weight Roting
m ea ns th e load -ca rryi ng ca pacity of a sin gle axle
sys tem, measured at th e tire-gro und in te rface s.
Gro ss Vehicl e W eight Roling
means th e max imum t otal load ed weig ht of the
ve hicl e.
Groo ve
m ea ns th e spa ce betw een
ad jacent tread
r ib s.
L o ad rotin g (cod e)
m eans the maximum load that
tir e is ra ted to
carry for a given inflation press ure. You may not
this o n all tir es bec ause it is not
required by law.
Ma ximum load roting
m ean s th e load rating for
tire at th e perm iss ible inflatio n pressu re for that t ir e .
Ma ximum load ed ve hicle weig ht
mean s th e
of:
(a) C urb weig ht,
( b ) Accesso ry weight,
( c ) Vehicle capa city weigh t, a nd
(cl ) Pro duction o ptions we ig h t.
Booklet 3.2 Tips and Ad vic e
Attach the tow-rope or the tow-bar only to th e
tow ing eyes provid ed .
D riv in g s ty le
T ow ing require s some exper ie nc e, es pecia lly
when using a tow -rope. Both driv ers should be
familiar w it h th e tec hn iqu es required for tow ing.
In ex perienced drivers should not try to tow an
o th er ve hicle.
Do not pu ll to o hard w ith th e towing vehicle and
a vo id j erking the tow- rope . When tow in g on an
unpa ved road, there i s alway s
risk of over
l oad ing and damaging the an ch orage points .
T he ignition oft he ve hicle be in g towed must be
s witched on to prevent the stee ring whee l fro111
lo ck ing. Also ensur e that the turn signals, horn,
windshield wipers and wash ers work properl y.
Keep in mind that the brake b ooste r d oes not
work when th e e ngine is not running. You will
hav e to apply considerably more pressure to th e
brak e pedal than you wou ld nor111a lly.
A lso the pow er stee rin g do es not work when the
e n g in e is not running. You will n eed m ore for ce
to stee r than you would norma lly.
Tow in g ve hicl es w it h an aut om atic tran smi ssio n
• Move the se lec tor leve r to N. •
Do not drive fa ster than 30 mph (50 km/h)
wh en towing a ve hicl e.
• Do not tow further t han
3 0 111iles (50 km ).
• lfa tow tru ck i s use d, th e ve hicle must be
tow ed with a ll w heels off the ground .
WARNING
Towing a vehicle c hange s th e way yo ur vehi cle
h an dles a nd br akes. To help re du ce t he risk of
an acci den t lead ing to se rious persona l injury,
no te th e fo llow ing:
• T he dr ive r of t he ve hicle t hat is be ing
towe d:
- Will h ave to p ress th e bra ke peda l con
s id era bly harder than no rm al beca use th e
b ra ke boos te r i s not a cti ve. Always be alert
no t to rear-end the tow ing ve hicle .
- Will h ave to use cons idera bly more fo rce
t o t urn th e steerin g w hee l, b eca use th e
power steer ing is not active.
• The driver o f the ve hicle that is tow ing:
- Must accelera te grad ually a nd ge ntle,
avo id je rkin g m oveme nts.
- Must b ra ke ear lier a nd more gentle t han
yo u wo uld norm ally
When can your vehicle not be towed?
Yo ur ve hicle m ay no t be towe d un der the fo l
l ow ing con ditions:
• If th e tran sm iss ion mal fun cti o ns and there is
no tran smis sion flui d.
• I f th e veh icle e lectr ical sys tem is not func
ti o nin g beca use the s tee ring will lock up.
• If yo u ha ve to driv e fu rth er th an 30 mile s (5 0
• If the front or rea r axl e is off th e ground
because you dama ge th e gea r.
In the se cases the vehicl e mu st be transport ed
o n a car c arrie r or trailer.
WARNING
If you still tow your ve hicle un der these co ndi
tio ns, you could ca use an acci dent or ca use
d am age to th e ve hicle. Thi s w ill n ot b e covere d
by your Limit ed New Ve hicle Warra nty .
88 Wha t do I do no w?
Do no t tow your ve hicl e beh ind a re cre a tional
vehicle . The Automatic transmi ssio n can be se
ve re ly damaged. This can happ en even if these
l ec to r lever is in th e N (Ne utral) pos ition.
• If th ere is no oil in th e tra nsmi ssio n because
o f dama ge to yo ur vehicle , th e veh icl e s hould b e
mo ved with a ca r carrier .
• If th e front or rear axle is lift ed off th e grou nd,
thi s will serio us dama ge the dr ive gea r.
• If th e veh icl e ha s to be towe d more than 30
mi les (5 0
all whee ls must be rai sed to tow
t he vehicle. The vehicle should be m oved with a
car carrier .
• If vehicle has no e lec trica l po we r, th e
s te erin g will be locked. The ve hicle must
Booklet 3.4 P remi um Sound System
.0, WARNING (conti nued )
• Us e the Sound System only if road , traffic
an d weath er cond itions permit and you will
not be distracted from your driving.
Important information
Operating the Sound System while driving
D rivi ng on today 's road s demands th e full atten
ti o n of the driver.
The w ide range of sophisti cate d eq uipm ent de
tail s of modern car radio s offer not onl y a vas t
so urce of entertainmen t, but also import ant in
form ation reg arding t raffic updates, road condi
t ions, wea ther repo rts. etc.
Bu t re mem ber, you should onl y operate the
ra di o system wit h its num erous fe atures when
th e traffic situ atio n rea lly
in "Con
tro ls" on page 2.
For examp le, c hangin g CDs o r re ading song t i
tl es on a CD case or in th e rad io display when
drivi ng is o ften the ca use of aut o acc idents .
You s hould also set th e vo lume of your radio
sys tem so that yo u ca n h ear s ig n als from other
dr iv ers at a ny tim e.
Convenience radio coding For tec hn ical reason s. the conve nience radio
c oding is not ava ila bl e for all vehicle models.
In the past, it used to be tha t yo u had to manu
a lly recode t he radio wheneve r th e uni t was re
m oved from the ve hicle (for example, if th e unit
was removed to be repaired). or whenever the
veh icle battery was disco nnected (for examp le,
if yo u brou ght yo ur v ehicl e in to t he deale rship
for service a nd it was necessary to dis con nect
t he bauery). In eith er case , the power sup ply to
th e unit was cut off.
T hat has all ch anged w ith the new conven ie n ce
radio cod ing f un cti on: Once t he co de number
ha s bee n ent ered. it
will th en sy nchro nize itse lf
w ith "its" vehicl e!
.0, WARNING (co ntinu ed)
• Always set volume leve ls so that you can
clearly hear horns , si rens and oth er warning
sounds outside the vehicle .
If the power supp ly has been interrupted , the
radio will automa tically c hec k to see if it i s s till in
vehicle after the ignition has been switched
on . If this hap pen, th e radio will be ready for use
af ter just a few seconds.
It is th erefo re no longer necessary to d isengage
th e e lect ronic lock manuall y!
If t11e rad io ha s been in s ra ile d in anot her ve hicl e,
how ever, the electronic lock ha ve to be dis
engaged manually.
If
SAFE ap pea rs i n the disp lay a fter switchin g the
rad io on , it can then only be operated aga in afte r
entering tJ1e co rrect code
=> pa ge 34.
External CD changer1l
You also have the option of installin g a Ge nuine
Vo lkswagen CD Changer. Ask your authoriz ed
Vo lkswagen dealer about thi s optio n.
The CD change r is in stalle d in the front armres t
co mp artment. It is "re mote controlled" by th e
radio unit.
It allow s you ro load up to 6 CDs. See => page 32 for furt her information.
Vo lkswage n dea ler s have a ll the informa tion
conce rning in stallin g th e CD c hange r.
Tip s
• Please note tha t it em s marked with an as
t e ri sk(*) may be standard on ce rtain m odels , op
tional on otJ1 ers or no t ava ilabl e on yo ur model.
Always ch eck with your authorized Volkswage n
deale r to see if the feat ure or item ap plies to your
mod el.
• The radio code numb er and the radio seria l
numb er ca n be found on th e "Radio Card" at the
beg inning of the
Lit erature . ._
I) Availa ble as a fa cto ry install ed opt ion, or your author ized Volkswagen dealer can install the oplional C D
c h anger for you. A lways chec k with yo ur a utho rize d Vol kswage n deale r if th is op tio n i s ava ilab le fo r yo ur
model.
Quick overview 5