Booklet 3.2 Tips and Advice
will be s ix 10 eight of them evenly pla ced aroun d tire. Marks on the tire s idewa ll (fo r ex amp le o r oth er symbols) indicate the p ositions
of the tread w ear in dica tor s. Wo rn tires mu st be
rep laced . Different figu res may apply in oth er
Tir e pressure
In co rrec t lir e pr ess ure cause s pr ematur e wear
and can cause s udden tire blow -out. F or thi s
r easo n, tir e pressure must be c hec ke d at leas t
o nce a m ont h
56.
Driving style
Drivin g fast around cu rves, heavy acce lera tio n
and hard braking increase t ir e w ear.
Rotating tir es for more even wear
I f th e front tires are worn consid era bly m ore
than t he re ar ones, rotate th em as sh own
59, fig. 15 . All the tir es will then last for
about sa me of tim e.
A ll
tir es s hou ld have th e sam e am ount of
wear. All four w heels must have the sa me ro lling
ci rc umf ere nce.
Wheel balancing
Th e wh eels on ne w ve hicl es are balan ced. H ow
eve r. various situations during every d ay driv ing
can cause them
b ecom e unbalan ced, r e
s ultin g in vib rat io ns y ou can usuall y fe el throug h
th e steering wheel.
Unbalan ced w hee ls mu st be reb alan ced to avoid
e x cessive wear on stee ring, suspen sion and
60 Checking and Filling
tire s. A wheel also be rebalan ced w hen a
new lire i s in stalled .
In correct whee l alignment
Incorr ect whee l alignment can cause exc ess ive
ti re wea r, impa ir in g
safe ty of the ve hicle. If
t ir es s how excess ive wear, have wheel align
m en t ch ecke d by an authori zed Vol ksw age n
d ea le r or qualifi ed work sh op.
WARNING
Sud den tir e fa ilur e ca n le ad to lo ss of con trol ,
a cra sh and serious persona l injury!
• Neve r drive a vehicle wh en th e trea d on
any tire is wo rn dow n to the wea r indicator s.
• Worn tires a rc a sa fety hazar d, the y do not
gr ip we ll on wet roads and increase y our risk
of "h yd ropl anin g" and lo ss of contro l.
• Always kee p ch emi cals that can ca use tir e
d amage, s uch as g rease, oil , gaso line and
brak e fluid away from tire s.
• Tire s age even if th ey a rc not b ein g use d
and can fail sudd enl y, es pecially al high
s pe eds . Tir es that a re more than 6 year s old
can onl y be use d in an emergen cy and th en
w ith sp ecia l care a nd at lowe r sp eeds.
• Neve r mount u sed tire s on your vehicl e if
you a rc not sur e of their "pr ev iou s hi stor y."
Old use d tir es ma y ha ve been d amaged eve n
th ough the d am age ca nnot b e seen that can
lead t o sudd en tir e failure and loss of vehicle
Maximum Perm issib le Inflatio n Press ure
T his nu mb er is th e g re at est a mount of
pres
s ur e tha t sh oul d ever be put in the tire und er
norma l driv ing cond itio n s.
R ep lac in g tires or rims on vehicles equipp ed
wit h
The air va lve o n all four tires (no t on the spare
ti re) is equip ped with a senso r, w hic h co nsta ntly
m on itors
a ir pr ess ure in side the tire, a nd
the n this Lu If
yo u ar e going to re pl ace the wheel rim s o n yo ur
ve hicl e, make sure the rim s also have these
se nso rs. The se nsor s mu st be co mp atib le w ith
TPM S sys tem o n yo ur vehicle .
I f yo u install rim s. w hich do not have th e se n
sors, o r ha ve sensors w hich are not comp ati ble,
th e TP MS will not wor k pro perl y. In case, theTPM S would n ot b e ab le to m oni tor pr ess ure or wa rn you if is necessa ry.
• Wheneve r you c hange se nso rs, yo u ha ve to
i n sta ll
valves.
•
dri ve the valve ste m cap s se
c ur ely m ou nted. We reco mmen d usi ng fac to ry
i n sta lle d va lve stem caps. As k your auth ori zed
Volkswage n dea le r if yo u los t va lve
caps.
T he in sta llat io n of re pla ceme111 tires
c ord hody plies in the tire si dewa ll m ay ca use
ma lfu nction tir e pre ssure monitorin g
sys te m (TPM S), and i s not recommended (cord
mat eri al informatio n is m olded on
ti re s ide
wa ll).
ch ec k yo ur TPM S indi cator af te r r eone or more tires o n yo ur vehicl e. If t he
TP MS indi cator is on. your TPMS is m alfu nc
ti o nin g. Your
tire m ig ht be incom
patibl e yourTP MS system, or some co mp o
n en t of the TP MS may be dam aged .
WARNING
• Usin g in cor rect or unmatched tires and
I or wheels or improper tire and whee l co mbi
nation s can le ad to loss of con tro l, co llisio n
and serio us perso nal injury.
• Always use tires, rims and whee l bo lts th at
me et th e specification s of ori ginal fa ctory- in
s talled tire s or other combination s th at h av e
b een sp eci fica lly app roved by the vehicle
manufa ctur er.
Booklet 3.2 Tips and Advice
WARN ING (continued)
• Tire s age even if they arc not being use d
and can fail su ddenl y, es peci ally at high
s peeds. Tire s th at are more than 6 yea rs old
can only be use d in an em ergenc y and then
w ith specia l care and at lower speeds.
• Never mount use d tir es on your vehicle if
yo u are not sur e o f th eir "previou s hi story."
Old used tir es ma y ha ve bee n damag ed even
th ou gh th e dam age ca nnot be seen that ca n
l ead to sudd en tir e fa ilur e and lo ss of vehicl e
control.
• All four whe els must be fitted with radi al
tir es of the s am e type, size (ro lling cir cumf er
ence) and th e sa me tread p attern. Dri ving
w ith diff erent tire s reduces ve hicle han dling
a nd can l ead to a loss of control.
• If the spare tire is not th e same a s th e tir es
that are mount ed on the vehicle - for examp le
with winter tir es - only u se the sp are tir e for a
s h ort period of tim e and drive w ith extra care.
Refi t th e no rma l road w hee l as soo n as safe ly
possib le.
• Neve r dri ve
than th e spe ed for wh ic h th e tires on you r ve hicle are
rat ed because tires that arc driven fas te r than
their rated sp eed ca n
sudd enly .
• Overloadin g tir es cause h eat build -up ,
s ud den tire failur e, includin g a blowout and
sudden defl ation and loss of co ntrol.
• Temperat ure grades apply lo tir es that are
properl y inflat ed and not over o r underin
flated .
• For tec hni cal reaso ns it i s not always pos
s ibl e to use whee ls from oth er ve hicles-in
s om e cases not eve n whee ls from the sa me ve
hicle model.
• If you insta ll w hee l trim d iscs on th e ve
hicle whee ls, make sur e that th e air flow to the
brakes is not blo ck ed. R edu ced airflo w to the
brakes can th em to ove rheat , in cre asin g sto p
ping distances and causin g a colli sion .
Checking and Filling 63
Booklet 3.2 Tips and Advice @
Winter tires
Winter rires can improve vehicle handling on snow and ice. At temperatures
below 45 ° F (7 ° C)
recommend changing to winter tires.
In som e hea vy s now areas, loca l go vernment s
m ay re quir e tru e or "snow" tires, those
wit h very deepl y cut trea d. The se ti res sh ould
on ly be use d in pair s and be in sta lled on all four
w hee ls. Make sur e yo u purcha se snow tire s that
ar e th e s am e size and const ruction ry p e as the
othe r tir es on your vehicl e.
S umm er tire s prov ide less grip on ice and sno w.
Winter tires (s now tires) must be
on a ll
four whe els .
If you wa nt to us e th e tir e pre ssure monitoring
sys tem
compat ibl e se nso rs mu st b e
in sta lle d on all four wint er tire s 63.
Ask your authori zed Volkswage n deal er or qual
ified work shop for permitt ed winter tire sizes.
U se on ly rad ia l w int er tir es.
Wi nter tires lose their effectiveness w hen the
tr ead is worn dow n
to a depth of 4 111111 (0.1 57
inch ).
Onl y driv e wit h wint er ti res und er w int er co ndi
tion s. S umm er tir es hand le bett er w hen there is
no snow or ic e on the ro ads a nd th e temp erature
is above 45 ° F (7 ° C).
If yo u ha ve a flat tir e, see notes on spar e w heel
"New tires and replaci ng tire s an d
wh eels".
Pl eas e always re m emb er that winter tir es ma y
ha ve a lower spe ed
than th e tire s origi
nall y insta lled on your vehicl e at the time it was
manufactur ed. Pl ease see
53, "Spee d
rating (letter cod e)" for a listing of the spe ed
rating l ett er co de s and
maximum speed ar
w hi ch the tires c an b e driv en.
The sp eed rating letter code
53) is on the
s id e w all of th e tire fi g . 16 .
WARNING
Winter tires have maximum speed lim its that
may be lowe r than your vehicl e's maximum
speed. Always know the maximum speed b e
fore driving
Neve r drive fa ster than the
speed permitted your speci fic wi nter tires.
This cause damage to the tire s leading to
an accident and serious personal injury to you
and your passengers.
WARNING
Driving faster than the maximum speed for
which the winter tires on your vehicle are
veloped can cause sudden tire failure, loss o f
contro l and seriot• .s personal injury.
• Winter tire s have maximum sp ee d rating
that may be lower than your ve hicle's max
imum speed.
• Neve r drive fa ster than the sp eed for which
the wint er or other tires installed on you r
hicle are rated.
WARNING
Always a djust your driving to the road and
traffic condition s. Never let the good accelera
tion of the winter tir es and all -wheel drive
tempt you into taking extra risks. Alway s
member:
• When braking, an all-w hee l drive ve hicle
h andles in the same way as a front drive
hicle.
• Drive carefu lly a nd reduce yo ur speed on
ic y and slippery roads, eve n winter tire s
cannot help un der black ice conditio ns.
Fo r the sake of environment
U se s umm er tire s wh en weat her condition s
permit. The y are qui ete r, do not wear as qui ckl y
and redu ce fuel consumpti on
Where applicabl e (TP MS = Tir e pre ssure mo nitoring system)
Checking and Filling 65