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
