2008 VOLKSWAGEN GOLF ABS

About this
This booklet contains important information,
t ip s. s u gges tions
ature
Literatu re in the ve hicle . This is ci all y important w hen yo u len d or sell hi cle.
D ir
ections and positions (for exampl e front. rear) arc a lwa ys re lat ive the direction o f
travel of vehicl e unless sta te d otherw ise.
models only."
find any Supplements in Literature imme di ate ly the booklet.
A n a lphabetical index is at
of th e equipment describ ed not b e availabl e until a later or is only ava ilab le for certain mark ets.
a gen e ra l guid e.
The section is continued on th e next page.
end o f section.
® R
egistered trademarks a re absence of t h is symbol docs consti tu te a waive r of the rights cerning any term.
Cross- refere nce o r o ut side of a section.
Cross- refere nce a within or
section.
Text with this symbol contains importan t formation on safety and how to reduce the risk
o f p ersonal i njury or death.
your vehicl e.
For the sake of environment
Text w it h thi s symbol contains information a bout the environment and how you can help
protect it.
Tips
Tex t wit h thi s symbol co n tain s sp ecia l tips and other info rm atio n about gettin g the most o ut of
your vehicl e and its features.

(continuod)
page2.
To hel p prevent p oisonous exhaust ga s from
b eing drawn into the ve hicle , a lways keep the
rear lid or t ailgat e closed w hil e driving.
Neve r transport o bjects la rger than those fitting comple tel y into th e luggage are a cause the rear lid or tailgate canno t b e full y
closed .
yo u absolute ly mus t drive with the rear
lid or t a ilgate ope n, o bserve the foll owing
n otes to reduce the r is k poisoning :
C lose w indows,
C lose th e power
air outl ets in the instrument p a n el,
off the air recirc ulation ,
Always make sure that the doors, the po w er
W here
Booklet 2.1 Safety first
Af te r closin g the rear lid o r tailgate, always make sur e tha t it is properl y closed an d locked.
Never leave your vehicle unattended
ri ous pe rson al injury.
Neve r let childre n play in o r around the hicl e.
Neve r let passengers ride in the luggage compartment. Vehicl e occupants must always
b e properl y res traine d in one of the ve hicle's seatin g position s.
Note
Make su re that the heating wires in the rea r
w indow cannot be scraped and damaged b y
ite ms in the ve hicle .
Air ci rc ulation he lp s to reduce wi ndow fogging. Do not cove r the ventilation slot s in front o f the rea r si de windows beca use this can prev ent sta le
a ir from escaping the
Safe driving 11

replace any airbag in your vehicle and assure system effectiveness in a crash.
Booklet 2.1 Safety first
Never permit salvaged or recycled ai rb ags
to be installed in your
low ering th e veh icle, changing the
s tiffness of th e suspe nsion , including the spring s, suspe nsion struts, shock absorber s etc.
ca n change th e forces that are meas ured by th e
air bag senso rs and sen t to the electron ic control
unit. s u sp ensio n chang es for ample, increase the force level s m eas ured by the
sensors and make the airb ag system deploy in
cras hes in wh ic h it wou ld no t dep loy if th e
c h a nges had no t bee n made. kind s of ch a nges may reduce the force leve ls mea sured by the senso rs and preve nt the airbag from ploying whe n it should.
The Advanced Airbag will not work the
way it s houl d if th e o ptional safety belt exte nder is not removed from the safety belt latch when
the seat i s occup ie d and the sa fe ty belt is not bei ng used. Leaving th e extender attach ed to the safety belt buck le when the front seat is
s ig na l the airbag control unit that the front seat is occup ied and that the sa fety belt is being used. The elec tron ic co ntro l unit for the airbag system
will then rece ive incorrect information that will cause the safe ty belt pretens ioner to deploy
has deployed can not be re pair ed.
T he entir e safety belt must be rep laced . For that
rea son, a lways re move the sa fety belt exte nde r
w hen it is not nee ded and stow it sa fely
23. In ad d ition, the safet y belt extender must never be used to secure child rest raint s to
th e front passenge r seat.
T he se ns
ors in the safety belt buckle for the driver and front passenge r seat tell th e troni c control module if the safe ty belt is latc hed or If th e sa fe ty belt is being used, the front airbag
will deploy
at a sl ightly highe r rate of hi cle dece leration than if the sa fe ty belt is not
b eing used . Therefore , in a particular collision, it
i s possible that an airbag will not deplo y at a seatin g position where the safety belt is being
u sed but infla te at the position where the safe ty belt is not bei ng use d. It is important that n othing interfere with the safety belt buck les so
that the sensors can send the correct tion abou t safety belt use to the elec tron ic
C hanging the ve hicl e's suspension including
us e of unapproved tire-rim combinations ca n change Advanced Airbag performance and crease the risk of se rious personal injury in a
c ras h.
Never install s uspension components that do not h ave the same performance ist ics as th e components originally in stalled on your ve hicl e.
Never use tire-rim combin a ti o ns th at have not been approved by Volkswage n.
Leaving the optional safety belt extender tached to th e safety belt latch on the front senger seat when the safety belt is not being
u se d will prevent the Adva nced fro m functioning properl y and ca n in crease the risk of se riou s pe rso nal injury in a
Always remove the safety belt extende r
w hen it is not needed and stow it safely whe n
it is not bei ng used with the safety belt.
Never use th e safety belt exte nder to secure
a c hild restraint at any seating position.
buckle and the cente r conso le can cause the sensors
Airbag system 45

Properly used booster seats can help protect children who weigh more than
lbs. (18 kg) who are 4 to at least 8 years old and are less than 4ft. 9 in. (57 inches
1,45 meters) tall in a collision.
Fig. 33 Child
s igne d for th e ir age and page 62, fig. 33. Experts say that the skeletal structu re, particularl y the pelvis, of these child ren is not fully developed, and
1,45meters) tall can generally use the vehicle's three point lap and shoulder belts. Never use the lap be lt portion of the vehicle's safety belt alone to res train any child, regardless of how b ig the child is. Always remember that children do not have the pronounced pelvic structure requ ired for the proper fun ction of lap belt portion of the veh icle 's three point la p and shoulder belt s. The child's safety absolutely require s that a lap belt portion of the safety belt be fas tened snugl y and as low as possible around the pelvis. Never le t the lap b e lt portion of the safety belt pass over
the ch ild's stomach or abdomen.
age 12 and under should always ride in th e rear seat.
a c ollisio n, airba gs must inflate w ith in a blink
o f an eye and w ith considerable force. ord er to
d o its job , the airbag needs room to infla te so tha t it will be there to pro tect the occupant as the occupant moves forward into the airbag.
A vehicle
occupant who is out of posit ion and too close to th e airbag gets in the way of an in­fla tin g airbag. When an occupant is too close, he
o r she will be stru ck vio lently and wiLl receive se-rious o r poss ibly even fatal injury.

About this
This contain s import an t information,
ti ps. suggesti o ns, and on usin g your Liter­ature contain further info rmation that you sa fe ty and for
the safety of your passengers.
Make sure that yo u keep the Lite rature in the This is esp e­important w he n you or th e ve­
This describes the of the equipment described a
vary from your For this reason yo u
gui de.
A t th e
beginning of this yo u a of contents showing the item s de­scribed in this
index is at the en d o f the
in the Literature
Directions and positions (fo r righ t, front. rear) are relative to the direct io n of of th e stated othe rw ise.
sections o f this do not to i s the case. a text the beginnin g
o f th e section indi cates whic h it
to, for to
e n gi ne ".
® R
egis tered trademark s arc m ark ed®. ever, the absence o f this does not
constitute a waiver of the rights concerning any term .
The section is continu e d on the next page.
the end of a section.
to within
or outsid e of a section.
to
sectio n .
contains important in­
formati on on saJety and how to reduce the risk
o f injury or death .
0Note
Te xt with this draws your attenti on to sources of damage to your
For the sake of environment
Tex t with this contain s information about the e nvironment and how yo u can
Text with thi s contains tips and other informatio n about getting the most o ut o f your and its features.

3.1
WARNING
Driving with an open rea r lid can lead to
rious personal injury.
After closing the rear lid , always pull up on
it to make sure that it is properly closed and cannot open suddenly when the ve hicl e is
moving, even though th e key been turned to the locked position .
Alway s keep the rea r lid closed whil e
driv ing to help prevent poisonou s ex haust gas
from begin drawn into the vehicle
Never transport objects larger than tho se
fitting completel y into the
cause the rear lid can not be fully closed.
you absolutel y must drive with the rear lid open, do the fo llowing notes to red uce the ri sk of carbo n monoxide poisoning:
-
all windows,
where applicable
36 Opening and
WARNING (continued)
-th e power
off the air recircu la tion,
-
th e fresh air fan to th e high est s p eed.
Never leave your veh icle unattended or le t
children play around you r ve hicle, especially
with the rear lid left open. A child could
m ent and pull the lid shut becoming trapped and unable to get out. Bein g trapp ed in hicl e can lead to serious personal injury.
ment and lug gage compartment of parked
ve hicl e result in tempera tu res in the hicl e that are much highe r than the o ut side
t emperatu res, particularly in summer. peratures can quickly reach levels that ca n
ca use unconsciou sn ess and death, larly to small

and Equipment
the following points to make sure
the ve hicl e handles well:
- D is tribute
the load as even ly as
heavy objects as far forward in the
lu ggage compartment as possibl e.
-
luggage in the lug gage compart­
men t w ith suitable s traps o n the tie-down
hooks.
WARNING
Improperly stored luggage or other item s can become airborne mi ssi les, fly ing through the
ve hicl e ca using seriou s personal inju ry in the even t of hard braking or an acc ident. To help
reduce th e risk of serio us personal injury:
Always put objec ts , for example, lu ggage or other heavy item s in the lugg age compart­ment.
Always secure objec ts in the luggag e partment usi ng the ti e-down hook s and suit ­able straps.
WARN ING
Heavy loads will influ ence the way your hicl e handles and heavy loads that arc no t properly s towed or secured serious i njury.
Always keep in mind when transp o rtin g
heav y objec ts, that change in the center of g ravity can also cause ch anges in vehicle
eve nly as possible.
- Sec
ure heavy objects prop erl y ward in the compartment sibl e.
Where applicahlc
(con tinued)
- Alwa ys secure heavy item s securely
u sing the ti e-downs provided w ith suitable
straps.
Neve r exceed the Gro ss Axle Weight Rating or th e G ross Vehi cle Weig ht Rating on the safety compliance sticker on th e
Always read and heed add itional tant information on safe booklet 2.1 chapter driving"
WARNING
To help prevent po isonous exhaus t gas from being drawn into the veh icle, always keep th e rear lid
Never transport objec ts larger than tho se
fittin g co mpletel y into th e luggag e area cause the rear lid cannot be fully closed.
Lfyo u absolu te ly must drive wi th the rear lid open, observe the following notes to reduce the risk or poi soning:
-
the pow er roof14l,
-all a ir o utle ts in th e in strument pane l,
- Switch
the air recirculation ,
-
Set the fr es h air fan to the highe st sp eed.
WARNING
A lwa ys make sure that the doors and rear lid are securel y clo sed and locke d to red uce the
risk of in jury when the vehicl e is not bein g
u sed.
locke d.
Seats and storage 69

About this
This booklet contains important inforrnation. tips, and on
ature in furth er in forma ti on that you
shoul d be s afery and for the sa fe ty o r your p asse ngers.
Make s
ure that you keep th e complete
Ow ne r's Literature in the ve hicle. This is ciall y important whe n yo u le nd o r sell the hicl e.
Directions and positi ons ( fo r example right, front, rear) arc re lative to th e d irection of travel of the ve hicle unless stated otherwise.
sections or this bookle t d o no t apply to all vehicle s. this is the case. tex t a t the beginning o f the section indicates which vehicles it applies to, for example to m od els
any Supplements in the Owner's Literature immediate ly aft e r th e booklet.
An al
phabetical index is at th e end of the
booklet.
This manual describes the vehicle equipment at the tim e of publication. of the equipment described will n o t be available until a later date, or is only available for certain markets.
IIJustrations may s lightl y vary fro m your vehicl e. For thi s reason you sh o ul d regar d illu strations as a gen era l g uid e.
The section is cominued on the nex t page.
th e end or a section .
® Registe r
ed trademarks arc marked or®. llowever. the absence or thi s symbol docs not constitute a waiver of the right s con-cerning any te rm .
Cross- reference to a
Cro ss- refe rence to a sid e o f sect io n.
T ext with this symbol contains important formatio n o n safety and how to red uce the risk or persona l injury o r death.
Note
Text with this symbol draws your attention to potenti al sources or damage to your ve hicle.
For th e sake of environment
Text with this symbol contain s information about the environment and how yo u can help to protect it.
Tips
Tex t w ith this
symbol comains special and other information about getting the most o u t o f your ve hicle and its features.