2008 VOLKSWAGEN GOLF brakes

you h ave accessories on your vehicle. ch eck
w ith the car operator befo re washin g yo ur
ve hicle. fo ld the outsid e mi rro rs to avoid damage.
Vehicl e paint is durabl e e no ugh that the ve hicl e
can normall y be washed without p rob le m s in on the pa int mainly depends on the type of car the brushes used. the filterin g oft he was h water,
and th e typ e of detergent s wax solutions used, e tc.lfthe paint is sc rat ch ed or dull go ing through the car wash, imme di ately bring thi s to the atten tion of the car ator.
t h e ve hicle has been wa sh e d, th e discs and pad s will be wet (th ey could eve n icy in the winte r) and stoppin g will be
Washing by hand
- F irst s often the dirt w ith water a nd rinse
off.
-
in a
wa rd motio n usin g ge ntl e pressure.
- Rin
se out the sponge or was h glove
specia l on ly on h ard
move dirt or gr im e.
-
a second s ponge or was h glove to
w ip e down th e wheel rim s an d under th e
door
- R inse the thoroughl y w ith
water.
- Dry the painte d surfac es
and protection
lo nger. the brakes with several care ful brak e applicatio ns befo re driv ing
WARNING
Wet brakes or brakes coated with icc or road salt react slow er and need longer stopping tances .
Carefully apply brakes for a test.
Always dry brakes and clean otT icc ings and salt coatings with a few cautious brake applications.
Alwa ys read and heed all power a nd braki ng
- When it is cold outside, m ake sure yo u
w
ipe rubbe r seals and th eir contact
faces dry so that they do not freeze. a
s
ilicone s p ray to keep rubber seals pliable.
- Afte r was
hing you r
first by gen tly
WARNING
W et or brakes co ated w ith icc or road
s a lt reac t s lower and need lo n ge r stopping tances.
apply brakes for test.
Alwa ys dry brakes and clean otT ice in gs and salt coatin gs with a few cautious brake applications.
Always read an d heed all t3, power a nd bra kin g dis-

edges under the vehicl e can cut exposed
ski n.
Alway s protect your hands and arms from cuts on sharp m etal edges when clea ning th e underbody, the inside of th e wheel housin gs
etc.
Never try to remov e mud or dust if the vehicle dry . a dry cloth or
sponge fo r cleaning could damage th e paint or
3.2 Tip s and Advice
glass on your vehicle . dirt . mud or dust with plent y of wate r before removing it.
When rinsing the vehicle. do no t let water ge t
int o th e lock cylinders or point the hose at gaps
around the doors. hood or tail gate. The water could freeze and make it difficult to open the hicle.
To he lp preve nt damage to th e pai nt, do not was h the vehicle in direct sunl ight.
F o r th e sake of environment
To protect the environme nt. wash the vehicle
only in specia l was h bays that c an handle oily
d irt that is wash ed off th e car.
- Do nor use a power washer to remove
ic e
or snow page 25.
- Neve r use concentrated jet nozzles or
so-called
- After ve hicl e has been washed, the
brake
dis cs and pads will be we t (they
could even be icy in the win te r) and
th e brakes with seve ra l care ful brake
application s before drivin g page 13.
WARNING
brakes or bra kes coa ted with ice or road salt react slower and n eed longer stoppin g tances.
Ca re full y apply brake s for a test.
1
l ap plicab le
Always dry and cl ean off ice ings and salt coatings with a few cautious brake applicati ons.
Always rea d and heed all power and braking
WARNING
Improper usc of powe r was he rs ca n cause rious , in vis ible and perm an ent tire damage leading to tire failur e an d loss of ve hicle trol.
Never wa sh tire s wi th the water out in a direc t stream even at
temperature sh o uld not be more than F
If yo u use power wash e r. be sure to keep it a
sa fe d istance from the sors' > in the front and rear bumpers . you h old
it too to the sensors, you could damage
them.
and protection 23

Improper us e of power was hers can ca use riou s, invisib le and permane nt tir e damage leading to tire failure and los s of vehicle
Neve r wash tires with a jet that sprays the water out in a direct strea m eve n from a ta n ce or fo r a v ery sh ort time.
3.2 Tips and Advice
tances.
Carefull y apply brakes for a te st.
few cautious brake applicat ions.
A lwa ys read and heed all 13,
The underbody of the ve hicl e is coated to help prot ect it from corrosion and
damage.
The undercoat ing could be da m age d during
normal use but, particularly when dri vin g
road. recommend th at the undercoa ting un
th e ve hicle and the prot ective coat ings on th e
s u sp en sion be in sp ec te d, an d re paired if n eces­
sary, bef o re and after the winter season.
R
epair wo rk and additio nal undercoating
s hou ld be carried out onl y by an a uth orized Volkswage n deale r or qualified workshop .
the engine compartment
The sys tem gets very ho t when the hicle is drive n and can cause fir e res ultin g in serious pe rso na l injury.
Neve r a ppl y additional undercoating or rust proofin g on or near the exl ta u st manifold,
exl ta ust pip es, catalytic conve rter or heat shie ld s.
Be especially carefu l w hen cleaning the engine compartment!
Anti-corrosion treotment
The engine compartment is treated at t h e page 39.
Good corro sion protection is pa rti cularl y impor­
tant in th e w inter where road salt is used. To ve nt salt damage , th e en tir e e ng in e ment should be th orou ghly cleaned befor e and after th e salt ing perio d.
Your authorized
Volk swag en dealer has th e right cleane rs and prese rva tives and th e
ommend hav ing this w ork perform ed by an thorize d Volkswage n dea ler.
Corr osio n prot ection i s re mov ed when th e engin e compart m ent is cleaned with grea se
s ol ve nts. th e engin e is cleaned , m ake s
ur e th at corrosion protec
tion is app lied to surfaces, seams, jo in ts and co mponents in the
e n g in e compartment.
Plenum
Remove leaves from th e plenum in front of the w indshie ld unde r th e e ngin e hood. Hcmovi ng
l eaves and d ebris reg ularl y he lp s preve nt th e
wate r dr ain ho les from beco min g bloc ke d, and it
h elps to preve nt debris from gettin g in sid e th e
ve hicl e throu gh th e heati ng and ventilation ducts.
The en gin e compartment of any motor ve hicl e
is a potentially dangerous area and can cause seriou s perso nal injury .

Tires and
There arc limits to th e amount of load or weig ht that any vehicl e and any tire can carry. A ve hicle that is overloaded will not handle well and is mor e to stop. Overloading can not only
lead l oss of ve hicle control. but ca n al so damage including a blowout
and s udden d eflatio n th at can cause the vehicl e
to crash .
Your safet y
and that of your passengers also de­
pends on making sure th a t l oad limit s arc not ex­ceeded. load in cludes everybody and ev­eryth in g in and on the vehicle. These load limit s are technically refe rred to as th e vehicle' s Gr oss Ratin g
includes the weight of the basic ve­all factory installed accessorie s. a full tank of coolant and other fluids plus max­imum load. The m ax imum load incl udes the number of passengers that the ve hicle is in ­tended to carry lbs. (68 kg) for each pas­senger at designation seating position and the
total wei ght of a ny lu ggage in the ve hicle. yo u the weig ht of the trailer hit ch and the tongue weight of the loaded trailer mus t be included o f the ve hicle load.
T he Gross
Axle is the m aximum load th at can be ap plied at each of the
veh icle's two
has 5 seat ing pos ition s, 2 in the front and 3 in the rear for seating ca­paciry of 5. Eac h seatin g posit ion ha s a sa fe ty bookle t2.1
and
The fact that there is an upper li mit to your ve­
hi cle's Gross Hating means that the total weight of whatever i s bein g carried in the vehicle (in cluding the weight of a trailer hit ch and the tongue weig ht o f the load ed
t railer) is limited. The more passengers in the ve­
hicl e or passengers are heav ier than the standard weig hts assumed mean that less weig ht can be carried lu ggage.
The tire pressure on your Volkswage n also lists the maximum combined weight of all of the occupants and
page fig . 15 .
WARNING
Overloading a ve hicl e can cause loss of vehicle control, a crash or other accident, serious pe r­
sonal injury, nnd even dent h.
more weight than your vehicle was d esig ne d to carry will prevent th e ve hicl e
fr om handling properl y and increase the ri sk of th e loss of ve hicl e control.
The brakes on a ve hicl e that has been over­loaded may not be abl e to sto p the ve hicle
w ithi n a safe di stance.
o n a ve hicle that has been overloaded can
Alway s make sure that the to tal load bein g transported-including the weight of a trail er hitch and the tongu e weight of a loaded trail er -does no t m ake th e ve hicle heavier t11e
ve hicl e's Gross Vehicle Rating .

(continued)
For technical reasons it is not
I f you install wheel t rim discs on the ve­
hicle wheels, make sure that the air flow to the brakes is not blocked. Reduced airflow to the brakes can them to overheat, increasing stop­ping distances and causing collision.
Note
For technical reasons. it is not ge nerally pos­
s ibl e to use th e wheel rim s from other vehicle s.
This can ho ld true for wheels of the same vehicle
ty pe.
Uniform tire
Tr ead wear
Temperature A B
Quality can be found where applicable on the tire sid e wall between tread shoulder an d maximum section pa ge 73, fig.
For example: Tread wear Tra ction M, Te m ­
perature A.
All passe nger car tire s must conform to Federa l
Sa fe ty Hequirement s in addition to these grades.
Tread
wear
T he /read comparative rat ing base d on th e wea r rate of the tire when tested under controll ed co nditi ons on a sp ecifie d go v­
ernment test course.
For exa
mple, a tir e graded would wear one and one half(ll/2) times as well on the govern ­
ment cou rse as a tir e
The relati ve performance of tires depends upon the actual conditions of th eir use , h oweve r, and m ay depart significantl y fro m the norm due to
76 Checking and
extra care. Replace the flat tire
with the tir e matchin g the others on your vehicl e
a s soon as poss ible.
Note
in stall ing new
drive without the va lve ste m cap. The valves and sensors co uld get damaged.
If the sen sors must be re pla ced, then the valve mus t also be replaced th e sa me time.
The sensors mus t be replaced in schedule d bookle t ...
For the sake of environment
Dispose of o ld tires in accordance w ith the local
requirement s.
variations in driving habits, serv ice pra ctices and diff ere n ces in road characteristics and cli­
mate.
Traction
AA, A, B, C
T he
from highes t to lowest, are M, A, Band T hose grades rep resent the tire's abil iry to stop on wet pave ment measured under controlled conditions o n specified gov­ernment tes t s urfa ces of and co ncre te. A
tir e marked may have poor tra ction perfo r­
Temperatur e A, B, C
The lemperruuregrad es arc A (th e highest), B. and C, representing the tire's resistance the
ge neration of heat and its abilit y to diss ipat e heat tested under controlled conditi ons
o n a sp ecified indoor laboratory test wheel.
Susta ined hig h t em pera t
ure cause mate­
rial of th e tir e to degenerat e and reduce tire lif e. and excessive tempera tur e

hicle yo u are tow ing. Brake earlier and
more gently than you wou ld normally
- Do not drive faster than mph
miles
-Turn on the emergency flasher.
-Move the se lecto r lever or gearshift
l eve r to
the neutral position (N).
- Make s
ure that the tow-rope is taut at all
Tow-rope or lo w-bar
bar. use a tow -rope if you do not have a
tow -bar.
A tow-ro pe s ho uld
be slightl y elastic to reduce the loading on both ve hicl es. Use a tow -rope made of synthetic fiber or similar ela stic
load ing and damaging the anchorage points.
T he ignition
of the vehicle bein g to we d must be switched on to ensure
will
hav e to apply considera bly more press ure to the brak e pedal than you would normally.
Move the selec tor leve r toN.
Do not drive fas te r than mph
Do not tow farth er than mil es km).
a tow truck is used, the vehicl e must be tow ed with all wheels the ground.
Tow starti ng
For technica l rea sons,
it is not pos sibl e to tow start you r vehicle, if the vehicl e is without trical power. The engine management systems may not operate prop erly.
Use jumper cables page
WARNING
Towing a ve hicle changes th e way your ve hicle
h an dles and brakes. To help reduce the risk of
a n accident lea ding to serio us personal i njury, note the fo ll owi ng:
T he drive r of the vehi cle t hat is being towed:
Will have to press the brake pedal
Will have to use considerably more force
to turn t h e s teering wheel, because th e
power s teerin g is no t ac tive.
The driver of the vehicle that is towing:
Must accelerate gradually and gently avoid jerking movements.
Mus t brake earlie r and more ge ntl y than you would normally.
Tips
For technical r easo ns, it is not possible to sta rt a ve hicle with an aut omati c transmission.
th ere is no fluid in the vehicle transmission because o f a defect. th e vehicle must be tow ed
w ith the dri ve whee ls t h e ground.
a veh icle with an automati c tra nsmission has to be towed more th an miles

light 5
See Anti-lock brake
should want to add an acces-sor y to my ve hicl e?
Add ress of
Add ress of Transport
Afte r c hanging a w heel 87
Alloy
wheels
fe el a slight v i­
b ration on the brake pedal? 4
Ant i-t h
eft alarm system
Linking your trailer
Anti-theft wheel bolts 84
A uto Safety Hotline
Automatic car wash 22
B
3
Batt ery
56
low often should replace m y engin e
battery? 56
Important informatio n t o know befo re
d isconnect the battery 55
Hcplac ing
56 yo u must do after reconnect the battery 55
is the correct brake nuidleve l?. 53
Brake syste m 53
light 2
B rak
es low docs mois ture or road salt affect the brakes? 13
does it mean when feel a slight vi­bra tion o n the brake pedal? 4
Br
aking distance 13
Break-in period
Engin e 12
is the right way to break-in my vehicle? 12
Br e
aking in
B r
ake pads 12
Ti r
es 12
Break ing in
tires 12
Bulb ch
ange 93
Bulb fa
ilure 93
65 39 , 55
22
ra di o 33
phone 33
phone 33
a bulb 93
a w heel 86
brake pads
fuel cap 36
engine oil leve l 44
26

sh o uld I check the engine oil
level? 43
ligh t 45
Engine oil sensor li g h t 44
Environment Avoiding pollution 23, 36
the eng in e compartment 28 Drive economically 19
light 9
also E lectron ic
light 7
Even t Data Hecorder
34
Exhaus t system
light II
Exhau st system 9
Externa l
aeria l 33
F
Fabric trim
light 35
Fuse b ox
I n the in strument p anel , left 92
In the in strum ent pan el, rig h t 92
table 92
Fuses
G
Gaskets
Gasoline 37
Blends 37 alcohol 37
rating 37
37
Hegular 37 Unleaded 37 ifl purchase poor qua lity fu el? 37
woul d happen if I put leaded gaso­
l
ine in my ca r? 37
or summer tips 37
Gasoline addi tives
Generator light 56
G lossary oft ire and loading terminology 58
H
I low co uld I damage the cata lytic
conve rter? 9
I low do I know how much oil en gi ne is
consuming'? 43
How do I unlock the en gine hood? 41
How doe s moisture or road salt affec t the brakes? 13
How ofte n should I check my tire
pressures? 69
How often should I replace my engine
battery?
56
How oft e n should I wax my 24
I low ofte n should th e brak e nuid be
c h anged?
54
I low to jump start
light
I n st
rument pane l 28
J
Jack
Jump starti n g
Access positive and negative
terminals
Jumper cables
L
Leather