2008 VOLKSWAGEN GOLF traction control

when dri ving in deep snow or on loose faces.
w he n r ocking the ve hicl e out.
Switch
ba ck on w he n yo u no longer need wheel s pin. The
remains switch ed oiT.
Ho w
works
The electroni c stab ilization progra m
helps to reduce the ris k of skiddin g braking th e w heels individually. works o nl y
w he n th e e ngine is ru nning.
The sys te m uses th e steering whee l an gle and road speed to calculate th e changes of tio n desired by the driver, and constantl y pares thi s informat ion with the actual behavior of the vehicl e. accurately ( for example if the hicle is beginni ng to skid ) tomatically by applyin g th e at the priate wheel.
The forces acti ng on the braked wheel help to
b rin g the vehicle back on course. th e ve hicl e is tending away at the rear, the brake
wide r dius in a curve. th e brake is mainly applied to the
in sid e wheel.
How the Anti-slip regulation
reduces engine powe r to he lp preven t the driven wheels of front-wheel d rive vehicles
losing traction during acceleration. The sys te m works in the entire speed ra nge in conjunctio n
with fails , the will a lso be out of action. h elp s the ve hicl e to moving. accele rat e and climb a grad ient in slipp ery d itions wh ere thi s may o therwise be diffi cult or even imposs ibl e.
When do the indicator light and the button come on or flash?
T he indicator light comes on for about
2 seconds as o perati o nal check when the
3.2 Tips and Advice
The indicator ligh t flashes while yo u are driv ing when the is wo rking.
They come on if there is a malfun ction in the
They come on when the
Th ey also come o n in the event of an malfunction because the system works in conjunction with the ABS.
the indicator light comes on immedia tel y
a fter the engine is started , th ere m ay be a
sys tem-controlled deactivation. You can vate the tion off and on agai n. th e in dicator ligh t
goes out , the sys te m is full y ope rational again.
the battery has been disconnected, th e
A lways adjust your speed and driving style to road, traffi c and weather conditions. Never le t the extra safety that can provide tempt you into taking extra risk s.
Alway s drive sa fe ly .
and
cannot reduc e the ris k of cident, for example if you drive too for conditions or if you do not keep your distance from the vehicle in front of yo u.
Although
Always remember that vehicle alterations or modificatio ns can affec t the functio n of the EDL and
different wheel/ tire combination and brake or chassis modifications=> page 32, and technical modifi cations".
Changing
EDL and sys te m s work and reduce their effecti veness.
Smart

(continued)
T he effecti ve ness of is also d etermine d
b y the tires page 57, and
is very effec tive, always m ember that your veh icle's handling bility is limit ed b y tir e traction.
Note
I n
order to en sure th at an d ASR functio ns
correc tly, all four wheels must b e fitted with the same tire s. Any differences in the rolling radiu s of the tire s can cause the system to reduce gin e power-eve n when this is not th e best th in g
to do under t h e circumstances.
veh icles wit h powe r stee ring, th e amoun t of power ass istance is regula ted
chanical us ing an electr ic motor. The ad tages of thi s s teering system include the fact that n o hydra ulic components su ch as hoses . oil ta iners, filt ers or h ydraul ic flu id s are requir ed. Furt he rmo re, this is a conside rable decr ease in
e n ergy required . The elect romechan ical steering
system, in contrast to the hydraulic system (which requires a constant flow of fluid). only
co nsumes en ergy when the ve hicle is ac tually
b e in g s teered.
The f u e l consumption is reduced as a res ult.
If the
electromechanical power steering sys tem fails, the power ass is ted steer ing sys tem will still work. If th e engine is sw itched off, the power steering does not functio n and the steering
wheel is very hard to turn.
Indicator light
or comes on
The indi cator light comes o n for a few seconds when th e ignition is sw itched on.
If the indica tor light ( or does not go out or comes on while you are driving, th ere is a
prob le m in the ele ctro -mechanical steering. steering assis t may be reduced (light J or be lo st completely (li ght
swage n dealer. If th e yellow warning light stays
off after restart in g an d drivin g a short distanc e,
8 Smart
With th e en g in e not running (e.g. when the car is bei ng towed). there is a lso no power assist able.
Turning the s teerin g wheel i s ve ry difficult when th e power steering sys te m i s not wo rkin g and it is harde r t o control the ve hicl e.
Neve r let the vehicle coast w ith the en gi ne swit ch ed off.
If yo u d o no t pay att entio n to the warning lights w hich have com e o n, includin g th e
warnin g messages appearing in the d is play, this could lead t o personal injury or damage to
your vehicle .
Note
Do not keep the steering wheel turned the way to the le ft or righ t for more than 15 seco nd s
when th e e ngine is running. Doing so could damage th e powe r steering system.
If th e

Maximum Load Ratin g
This number indi cates the maximum load in and pounds that can be carried b y th e
tire. Tire
and temperature resistance.
Tire quality grading for tr ead wear, traction,
and temperature resistance
Tread trac tion tempe rature grades
Maximum Permissibl e
su re that sh o ul d ever be put in t he tir e under normal driv in g con d itio ns.
Replacin g tire s
or rims on
stantly monitors the air pressure in sid e the tire , and then transmit s thi s information to th e
you arc goin g to replace the wheel
rims on your ve hicl e, have these se n sors. The sensors must be compatibl e with the sys te m on yo ur hicle .
you rims. which do not sors, or have sensors w hi ch are not compatibl e,
then the TPM S will no t wo rk properly. wo uld not be able to monit or the tir e pressure o r you if it i s necessaty.
senso rs mus t b e rep laced at sp ecific va ls.
yo u ch an ge sen sors, yo u have to new valv es.
driv e wi th the stem caps curely m ounted . valve stem caps. your authorized Volk swage n dealer to re p lace lost va lve stem caps.
T he in stallat i
on of replacement ti res w ith steel cord p lie s in th e tire sidewal l may cause m alfuncti on of the tire pressure monitoring sys te m and is no t recomme nded (cord material inform ation in molded o n the tir e
if your ve hicle was equipped with r un-flat tires. rep la cin g them
wi th tire s that are not identical to th ose fill ed may cause mal function of the
3.2 Tips and Advice
and i s not recommended. Run-flat ti res should not be used to replace regular tires.
indicator after p la cing o ne or more tire s on you r ve hicle. the m alfu nctio n indi cator is is
not working p ro perly. Your r eplacement tire
m ight be incompatible with system,
o r some component of the be age d.
Usin g incorrect or unmatch ed tires and I or wheels or imprope r tire and wheel
use tires , rims and wheel b o lts that meet the sp ecificatio ns o f o ri ginal
Tires age even if they are n o l b eing used and can fail suddenly, especially a t hi gh
s peeds. Tires that arc m ore tha n 6 years old can only be used in an em erge ncy and then
w ith special care and lower speed s.
Never moun t used tires o n your ve hicl e if you are not sure o f their
four whee ls mus t be fitt ed with radial tires o f the same ence) and the same tread pattern. Dri ving with different tires reduces vehicle and can lead t o loss of contro l.
If the s pare wheel is no t the sam e as the tires that are m ounted on the vehicle-fo r ample with winter tires-on ly usc th e spare w heel fo r a short perio d of t im e and drive with extra care. Refit the normal road w heel as s oo n
a s safe ly possibl e.
Neve r drive fa ster th a n the maximum
speed f or which the tires on your ve hicl e are
r a te d because ti res that are driven faste r than their ra te d speed can suddenly.
Ov erloading tires cause heat build -up,
sudde n tire failure, including a blowout and sudden d eflati on and loss of control.

(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