2008 VOLKSWAGEN GOLF hood open

The engine oil dipstick indicates the leve l of the oil.
Fig. 6 E ngine level marks
To get a true reading, the ve hicl e must be
on leve l ground. Before opening the en­
gine hood, always read and heed all
page 39.
If the yellow indicator light in th e in-
s
trument cluster comes on, check the e n­
gine o
il leve l as soon as possible and add
the correct engin e oil.
the eng in e and wait a few minutes
for
the oil to return to the o il pan.
p a ge 41.
out the dipstic k and w ip e it clean
w ith a rag.
Rein se rt dips tick; push it all the way in.
If
ther e is a projection on the en gin e oi l
dipstick, make sure it lines up with the pro­
jection on the guide tube.
the dipsti ck out aga in and ch eck
the o il l evel.
You must not add fig. 6 .
You can add
You m ust add oil. adding oil, make sure the level is somewhere within t h e B range.
Warning light : Engin e oi l level too low
If the yellow warn in g ligh t in the instrument cluster comes on, switc h ofT the engine and check the engine level as soon as possible and add the correct page 45. There may be a message in the instrumem cluste r informing you or advis ing you of the necessary action to
take.
If the yello w
warning ligh t flashes, contact your authorized Volkswa gen dealer or qualified workshop and have the oil leve l sensor checked. There be
WARN IN G
Before workin g in th e e ng in e compart­m ent, always read and heed 39. T he engin e compartment of any motor vehicl e is potentiall y dangerous are a and can cause serio us personal injury.
WARN ING
If you do not pay attentio n to the warning light s which ha ve com e o n, incl ud in g the warning messages appearing in the d isplay, this could lead t o personal in juryordamage to
your ve hicle.
Note
If the engine oil is above level not
start the engine-this could damage the catal ytic converter and the engi ne!

Booklet 3.2 Tips and Advice
functional problem s or engine damage could be caused
Warning temperature
The warning symbol lights up if the coolant temperatur e is too high or if the
coolant level is too
Low.
Ther e is a fault if:
The wa rnin g symbol does not go out aga in afte r a few seconds.
The wa rnin g symbol light s up or flas hes whil e the vehicle is moving. Three warning s
This means th at eith er th e coolant leve l is too low or the coo lant temperature is too high.
Th ere may be a m essage in the i
nstrument
clu ste r inf orming you or advi sing you of th e
Coolant temperature too high
Fir st look at the coolan t tempe rature gau ge. The coolant temperature is too hi gh if th e need le is
o ver to th e fa r right on the dial. the vehicle,
switc h the engine wait for it to cool down. the coo lant level.
I f th e coo lant level is co rrect, th e over heating may be caused by a radia tor fan fault. the ra diator fan fuse and have it replaced if page
If th e wa rnin g light lights up again after driving
o n for short distan ce, stop the vehicle switch otT th e e ngine. an authorized Volkswagen dea le r or a qu alified worksh op.
when towing a trailer
If you have to c limb a lo ng g rad e w ith high temperatures in low gea r at high gin e ture booklet 3. 1 and If th e
w arning light in th e in st rument cluster flas hes, stop and a llo w the e ngine to coo l down
48 Checking and Filling
for minutes at idl e. For more inform ation 15.
alw ays read and heed all
Hot steam or coolant ca n cause seriou s burns.
Neve r open the engine hood if you see steam or coolant escaping from the engine compartment. Always wait until you no longe r see or hear steam or coolant escaping from the
e n gine.
Always let the engine to cool down pl ete ly before carefully opening the engin e hood. Hot components will burn tact.
When the engine has coo led down and you are ready to open the engine hood:
-
move the key f rom the ignitio n.
- Appl y
the parking brake firmly and put the selector in ( Park, automatic mission) or Neutral (manual
Never reach into the area around or tou ch
th e rad iator fan. with the blades ca n
re sult in serio us personal injury.
remembe r th at the radiator fan is temperature-controlled and can turn on
fo r a longer p eriod of tim e and the
key has been r emoved fro m the ig nition.
Never unscrew the coola nt expansion tank cap when the e ngin e is hot. A hot engine will

Always protect face, hands and arms from hot escaping coolant or steam by covering the cap with a large, thick rag.
(contin ued)
Turn th e cap slow ly and very carefully in a
counter-clockwise direction while applying
light
down ward pressure on the top of th e cap.
Never spill antifreeze or coolant on the haust system or hot eng ine parts. Under some conditions, the ethyle n e glyco l in en gin e
coolant can catch fire.
Checking the
The correct coolant level is important for correct functioning of the engine cooling
system.
Fig. 8 t h e engin e compartment: coolant
sian tank
To get a true reading, the ve hicle must be
on l eve l ground. Before opening the
gine hood, always read and heed all
page 39.1f the coolant level
drops too low, a warning text is displayed
in the in strument cluster and the engine
coolant leve l/temperature warning ligh t
lights up.
Opening the expansion tank
- Switch
9on the expansio n tank with a thick
cloth
and carefully unsc rew the
Fig. 9 the engine compartment: cap of coolant expansion tank
- Look at the side or the coolant
sion tank w ith the marks and read off the
coolant level.
-
If the level is below the mark, top
off wi
th fig. 8.
Topping off
-
the
and

drive if you have clear vis io n through all the windows.
A defect ive or d irt y w iper blade can scratch
t h e rear glass.
Never clean gla ss panel with fuel. nail polish remove r, p aint thinn er o r similar flu ids.
Thi s ca n damage th e w iper bla d es.
Never move the w iper or the wiper arm your hand can dam age it.
The brak e fluid reservoir has a ye llow cap.
Fig. 14 the engine compartment: cap for the brake fluid reservoir
To get a true reading, the m ust b e
on leve l ground. Before opening th e en­
g
ine hood, a lways read and heed all
page 39.
- Read
the fluid leve l in the tra nsparent
bra ke fluid re servoir. It should always be
between the and mark.
Th e lo cation of th e brake fluid reservoi r is shown
in
bookl et 3.3 The brake
fluid reservoir has a yello w fig. 14 .
The brake fluid lev el drops s lightl y when th e ve­
hicl e is bein g used and a s th e brake pad s are au­tom atically adju sted a s they wear down.
Ho wev
er, if th e le ve l goes down noticeably in a
s ho rt time, or drops below th e mark ,
th ere may be a leak in the brake system. If the b rake fluid leve l d rops too low, the wa rnin g text BRAKE FLUID. is displayed
in the instrument clu ste r and th e b rake system warni ng ligh ts up. If t his happens, im­mediately rake th e ve hicle to an au thorize d swage n deale r or q ualifi ed wo rkshop a nd have
th e brake system inspected.
Stop! Before wo rkin g in th e engin e compart­ment, a lways read and heed all WARNINGS
53

3.2 Tips and Advice
The brake fluid be changed every two years.
We recommend that you have the brak e changed b y an authorize d Volkswagen dealer.
S top! Be
fore openin g th e e ngin e hood, always
read and heed all page 39.
Brake fluid
absorbs m oisture. time, it will absorb wate r from the air. the wa ter content in the brak e fluid is too high, the brake sys te m
c
ould corrode. Too much wa te r in the brak e fluid
a lso consid erably reduces the boilin g point of the brake fluid. Very heavy use of th e brak es with
old brake fluid may cause vapor lock . Vapo r lock
reduces braking power, in cre ases stopping tances and can eve n cause total brake failu re.
For this r
eason the brake fluid must be repla ced
every two years.
use brak e fluid the s pecification U S standard 116 4. The brake fluid must be new.
Stop ! Befor e working in the engine compart­ment, always read and h eed all WARNINGS 39. The engine compartment of any motor vehicl e is a potentiall y dangerous area and can cause seriou s persona l injury .
Brake failure can result from old or incorrect brake fluid.
fica tio n
(continued)
A lwa ys check with your authorized swage n deale r to make sure that you arc u sing the correct brake fluid.
The correct brake fluid is also listed on the
labe l on the brak e fluid reservoir.
Always store brake fluid in the closed
To reduce th e risk of poisoning, neve r us e empty food or beverage containers that mi ght mislead someone into drinking from them.
A lwa ys keep bra ke flu id out of the reach of childr en.
Alway s change th e b rake fluid as required in the maintenance bookl et. Heavy braking w ith old brake fluid may cause a vapor lock that reduces braking power, increases ping distances and can even cause tota l brake failure.
Note
Brake fluid can damage the pai nt. Wip e off any
brake fluid from rh c paint immedia tely.
For the sake of environment
B rake fluid
must be drained and disposed of in
th e proper manner obse rv ing env ironmental

left side of the instrument panel and behind fu se box covers in
the engine
compa rtment.
Fig. 32
- Turn off the igni tion and the con­
cerning component.
-
Insert the flat blade of a screwdri ver
into
the openin g of th e fuse box cove r
32.
-
the respeclive fuse.
-
the fuse tables to find out the loca-
tion of the blown page 92.
- If
the fuse is blown (the m etal strip is
melted) , replace it w ith a new fuse of the
same amp ra tin g (sa m e co lo r and sam e
marking).
Fuse bo x Bin the engine compartment
-Turn off the ign ition an d the con ­
cerning component.
-th e eng in e hood.
fig . 33 .
- Remove
the cover.
-To remount the cover, place it ove r the
fuse box and press th e lock buttons back­
ward aga inst the directio n of the arrow
until
they latch securely .
Th e indi vidual electric a l c ir cuit s are pro tected by fuses. recommend you carry severa l spare
f uses at
clear 2 5

page
fig. 37 from the headligh t.
-
the bulb.
-
headlight. Make sure the holder i s properly
inserted.
-
WARNING
There are parts with
the e ngine hood.
-
the rubbe r 38
WARNING (continu ed)
are uncertain about what to the work performed by qualified workshop. riou s personal injury may result from improp-
erly performed work.
Note
Do no t to uch glass bulb with bare hands. gerprint s can cloud the o uter surface of the bulb
whe n thus affectin g th e refl ectio n . and thus reducing th e pow er o f illuminatio n .
A bulb can only be replaced by a bulb of th e
sa me ty p e. The mod el identifica tion is either on
the bulb base or on the bulb
Fig. 39 Re moving the bulb holder
- Insert the bulb h old er and turn it as fa r
a s it w ill go in th e
opposite direct io n to th e
arrow.
-
the rubbe r cover back into
WARNING
The re wit h sharp edges on th e opening
If yo u the work performed by