2008 VOLKSWAGEN GOLF trailer

Anti-theft alarm system 3.1: 34
Linking your trailer 3.2: 18
Switching off 3.1: 34
Anti-theft wheel bolts 3.2: 84
Antifreeze 3.2:47
Arm rest
front
3.1:60
Automatic belt retractor 2.1: 19
Automatic car wash 3.2: 22
Automatic locking 3.1: 32
Automati c
mode
Climatronic 3.1: 79
Automatic transmi ssion
Selec tor lever lock 3.1: 89 Tiptronic 3.1: 88
Automatic transmiss io n with
Tiptron ic 3.1: 91
Automatic wipe/wash function for the rear
w idn ow 3.1: 51
Auto Hotline 2. 1: 12,3.2: 106
Average fuel consumption 3.1: 21
Average sp ee d 3.1:21
8
2.1: 27
Booster seats 2.1: 62
Brake assis t sys tem 3.2: 3
Brake boo
ster 3.2: 2
4 Key words
Brake
Changing 3.2: 54
level?
. 3.2:53
W hat kind of brak e
65 Warning 3.2: 39, 55
Capacities 3.3: 5
Ca rgo area 2.1:
Car wash 3.2: 22
Catalytic converter 3.2: 9
CB radio 3.2: 33
CD changer 3.1: 65

For dri ving safely. always follow the specified
maintenance int erva ls in your mainte na nce booklet 1.1 ciall y for changin g the brake fluid. Hard u se, maril y stop and go driv ing, o p eratio n in very dusty area s. trailer towing as well as other tions may make it necessary to short en nance in te rvals-see your a u th orize d swage n dealer.
Your
l ow ing po int s befo re yo u drive off:
lights and turn signal s.
Make sur e that all ligh ts and all windows are
clea n.
Adjust the mirro rs.
Make sure th at the a ir intake slots between the e ngin e hoo d and the w in d shi eld are free of leaves . s n ow and ice.
wa rnin g and indicato r light s whe n
s ta rti ng the e ng in e.
Your personal driving styl e and attitude have a
lot
to do with safety.
Th eref ore, for yo
ur ow n safety:
Wear your safety belts and wear the m
book let 2.1 chapter
Make sure that all passenge rs their safe ty be lls properly. eve n those sitting in the book le t2.1 chapter Passengers not wear ing safety bells
Make sure that chil dren always sit on the rea r seat properly restrain ed by
Neve r transport chil d in a r ear-faci ng c hild or infant seat on the fron t passe nger seat booklet2.1
Adjust you r seat that yo u can easily reach
all control s while yo u are as far away from the airbag as pos sibl e but not close r than
bookle t2.1 and bookle t3. 1
The seatin g position is ve ry important for th e
a ir bag book let2.1 chapter" Air bag
Always adjust the head rest ra int s to the rect heig ht. For maximum pro tection. adjust the
head restrai nt so the upper e d ge is as eve n
w ith the top of your head a s pos sibl e, but no lower than eye level and so that it is as close th e back of your head booklet 2.1
Always make s ure that th e movem ent of the
p ed als is not re stricted in any booklet 3.1 Equipment",
Sto re lu ggage and light it em s properly in the
lu ggage compartment and on th e roof bookle t3. 1 and Luggag e compartment " and book let3.1 and Equipment", chapte r " Roof
If you drink, do not drive!
The use of alco hol. drugs and certai n tions will seriou sly impa ir percepti on , reac tio ns and dri ving ability, substantially in creasin g the risk of an acc ident, cras h and persona l injury.
Do not driv e if you are tired.
Make frequ ent rest sto ps, least afte r every two hours of dri ving.
Always
adapt vehicle speed to traffic, rood and
weather conditions.
R e
member, that especially on sm oot h. slipp ery
roa ds, ve hicl e ha ndl ing and brak ing depend a
g reat deal o n tire adhes ion. wet roads, the
f ront w heels can h ydropla ne, especi ally at
hi ghe r speeds. th is happen s, yo u will then no
lon ger be abl e to steer or brake properly.
Alwa ys observe the p osted speed limits and common sense. good judg m ent can mean the diff ere nce b e tween arriving safely at your d estination and being seriou sly injured in a cras h or othe r kind of accident.
14 Driving and protecting the environment

An improperly installed or incorrec t hitch from the towi ng vehicle leading to serious personal in­juries.
Neve r in stall a on your vehicle . The vehicl e was not designed for these kin ds
o f trailer hitches. The hitch attachment to tear loose from the
ve hicl e.
When you n o longer need t o tow trailer, re ­
move the trailer hitc h . Alway s seal all bolt holes to prevent water and deadly exhaust fumes entering the ve hicle.
Operating instructions
Maximum trailer weight
You can only tow typical class I or class 2 trailers
with your vehicle.
T he m ax
imum gross trailer we ight and the tongue load must n ever exceed the specifica­
tion s listed bookle t3 .3 "Tec hnical
Neve r exceed the gross ve hicl e we ight, w hi ch i s the we ight o f th e vehicle, includin g driver, pas­senge rs, luggage, trailer hit ch and tongu e we ight of the loaded trailer.
At alt itudes above ft. m), redu ction of of combined towin g weight (ve hicl e plu s trailer) for the beginning of every m ) should be observed.
Trailer l
oad distribution
Be sure the load in the traile r is held securel y in place to guard agains t be it forw ard.
b ackwar d or sideways. A load that shift s can make it hard or even impossibl e to control your vehicl e, parti cularly in an e m erge ncy situ ation.
W ith the tow vehicle empty and the trailer
l oade d , we ight distribution is es pecially bad. If
yo u absolut ely mus t driv e w ith this combina­
tion, d rive with extra
Do not use a trailer whic h has LED (light emitting diodes) taillig ht s. This type of t a illi ght can damage the electrical co ntrol unit of your veh icle.
If the traile r socke t is in co rrectly connected .
damage co uld result to the ve hicles electrical
system.
I f th e maximum power consumption for the
trail er is pag e 15, damage could re­sult to the e lectrica l sys te m of th e ve hicle.
Never connect the e lectr ical sys te m for th e
t raile r directly to the electrica l c o nne ctions for the rear lights or to other unsu itable power sources. Use onl y a su itab le trailer soc ket to pro ­
vide power to the trailer .
Tongue load
For bes t ve hicle ha ndli ng when towing a trail er, adjus t the trailer load so tha t th e tongue load is at the maximum allowable or slightly lower. You can ge t an approx imation of the to ngu e load
with a ba throom scal e or yo u can measure the load at a tru cking company or we ighing station.
The tongu e load incre ases the weigh t of the rear axle and correspondingly reduces the other load that your ve hicle ca n
The max im um tong ue load on ly a ppl ies if both of the ho les o n the o uter upright wall of th e rear side rail are used to secure the trailer hitch.
Tire pressu re
tow ing a trailer, inflate t h e tires of your ve ­
hicle to the col d tire press ure lis ted under on the sticker o n the open ed ge of the
dri ver's door. Inflate trailer tires to trai ler and tire manufactur ers' specificat ions.
lights
A lw ays check
the headlight settin gs wit h the tr ai le r hooked up before driving off. Adju st as n ecess ary so th a t yo u can see th e road ahead but not blind on coming
C he ck and make sur e th a t all veh icle and trailer lights are workin g properly -especially the brake light s.
16 Driving and protecting the environment

Safety chains
Be sure trailer safe ty cha ins are prop erly necte d fro m the trailer to th e hitch on th e hicle. Leave enoug h slack in th e c hain s to turn
corners. When you install safety ch a in s, mak e sure they will not dragon th e road whi le you are
driv ing.
Th e chains shou ld c ross
under th e trai le r to ng ue
to prevent it from dropping to the ground in case of separa tion from the hit ch .
Electronic Stabilization
Always leave th e mak es it easie r to stabilize the
t railer sho uld it start to swerve or sway.
Always adjust your speed and driving style to
road, traffic and weather conditions. Never le t the extra safety that and
A rig is eas ier to o pe rate and trol. Thi s means that th e tow vehicle should be loaded to the exte nt possibl e and permi ssibl e
w hil e keepin g th e t raile r as lig ht as possibl e under the ci rcumstances . Whenever possible, tran sfe r so me cargo to the luggage compartm ent
o f th e tow vehicle whil e observ ing tongue load requireme nts and ve hicl e loading ation s.
The hig her th e spee d, the more diffi cult it comes for the driver to control the rig. Do not drive at the maximum permissible
Always appl y brake s early . W hen dri ving
downhill , down shift into lower gear (selector leve r positi on
The cooli ng effect of th e fa n cannot
b e in cre ase d by dow nshif tin g because fan speed
i s independent of engine speed. Therefore,
Riding in a trailer is dangerous and may be
A person who is not properly restrained in
a moving vehicle risks serious personal injury and even death in a crash.
Never let anyone ride in your vehicle
without being properly restrained .
Never allow a passenger to rid e in a trailer.
Exceed ing the maximum permissible weight ratings and maximum permissibl e trailer
weights can result in accident s leading to rious personal injury.
Never le t the actual Gross Axle W eight Rating at the front and rear axles exceed the
permissible weights. Also never let their bination exceed the Gross Weight
Rating.
Always remember that the vehicle's
w he n dri vin g uphill, you can alwa ys drive in the
hi ghes t possibl e gear wit h low engin e speed. the coo lant tempe rature warni ng light in th e strument clu ster start s flas hin g in red, pull off
th e ro ad, s top and let th e engine idle for ab o ut 2 minutes to preve nt a heat buildup and eng in e
damage.
R educe your speed even more under vorab le load , weather or wind conditions ­
particularly when going downhill.
Be especial ly careful when passing other vehicles. Reduce vehicle speed immediately if the trail er shows the slightest sign of sway ing.
N ev e r try to stop the sway ing by ating.
Always heed speed limits.ln some a reas speed limits for vehicle s towing
Driving and protecting the environment 17

Booklet 3.2 Tip s and Advice
vehicl e handles diff ere ntl y wh en towin g a
tr ai ler because of the additional weigh t and weight distribution. Safe ty, pe rform ance and econo m y will greatl y depend on how carefull y
yo u load your trailer and op erat e your rig.
Before you actually to w your trail er, p ractic e
turning. stopping and b ack ing up in an area away from traffic until learn the feel of your vehicle and trail er unit.
Backing
up i s diffi cult and requi res practi ce.
Stee rin g whil e backing up is gen erall y opposite of that when backin g your vehicl e with out a
trailer.
Keep
more distance between your vehicl e and the one in front of yo u. will need more room to stop.
To compensate for the trail er. you will need a
larger than normal turning radius.
When passing, remember that you cannot erate as fast as you normally would because of the added load. Make sure yo u have enough
room to pass. After passing. allow plenty of room for you r trailer before c hanging lanes again.
Avoid je rk y s tart s, sharp turn s or rapid lan e changes.
Parking
After parking. always block th e wheels of both ve hicl e and trail er. Do not park with a traile r on a slope. If it cannot be a voided, do so only after doing th e follo wing:
Apply fo ot brake .
Have someone place chocks under both hicl e and trail er whee ls .
With the c hock s in place, s lo w ly re lease brak es until wheel blo cks absorb the load.
Turn w heels to curb (ve hicl e facing downhill)
o r to the stre et (when facing uphill).
Appl y parkin g brak e firmly.
automatic transmi ssion in
If you move the selecto r leve r of the automatic tran smission to
position.
Restarting
When restarting after parkin g on a slop e, reverse
the proc edure:
S tart the engine.
S hift transmission into gear.
le a se the parking brake and slowly move away from the wheel block s.
Stop and hav e someone re trie ve the wheel
b lock s.
Note
Neve r to w trailer during the break-in period of your vehicl e.
If yo u tow a trailer , yo ur Volksw age n m ay quire more frequent maimenance due to the
ext ra load.
Always check local reg ulations regardi ng
trailer to w in g.
Applies to vehicles: with anti-theft a larm system and a traile r towing set
Linking your trailer to the vehicle's anti-theft alarm system
The anti-theft alarm syste m will be triggere d as soon as the ele ctrical connec tion
between the trailer
and
or qualified
wo rkshop, if you want to inte grat e your trai le r to th e ve hicle's anti-theft a larm
Connecting your trailer to the anti-theft alarm syste m
If yo u ve hicle was built to include both the th eft al arm system and a trailer towin g th en t he trail er towing package (if available) is
in tegrated into the anti-theft alarm sys te m . Thi s
18 Driving and protecting the environment

is what you mus t do if you going to tow
Inse rt the trailer connector completely into the vehicle trailer socket.
Lock th e ve hicle with the remote key.
The trail er is now integ rat ed int o th e theft alarm system
For more information about the anti-theft alarm bookl et3. 1 chapter "Anti -theft Alarm
Disco nnecting your trailer from the anti-th eft
alarm system
Unlock th e vehicle with the remote key.
The anti-theft alarm sys tem is now ofT.
Note
Mod ify ing the electrical system improperly can cause expe nsive damage to the veh icle's trical sys tem. recommend yo u have your thorized Vol kswagen dealer o r qualified
driving sty le,
Co nditions of use (wea ther, road s urface) .
Technical conditions.
Think ahead when driving
A ve hicl e uses most fuel when accel erating. If
yo u think ahead when driving. you need to brake less and accelerate less. pos-
Regular servicing
B y having your vehicle serviced regularly by a authorized dealer you can es tabl is h the basis for a good fuel economy even you start drivin g. v iced e ngine give s yo u th e be nefit of better fuel
efficie ncy as well as maximum re liabilit y and greater resale value. B
y
adopting an economica l driv ing style and ticipat ing the traffic ahead, you can easily duce fuel consumption by Thi s section sug ges ts som e w ays to reduce th e impact on th e
e nvironment while reduci ng operatin g costs at
the same
s ibl e, let the vehicle roll slo wly to a stop. for
light is
A n engine that is no t properly maintained can usc up to 10% more f uel than necessary.
the oil level every time you get gas consumption dep ends la rgely on the e ngin e load and engine
Driving and protecting the environment 19

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

3.2 Tips and Advice
Because technical changes may be made to ve­hicle equipment during the model year, always compare the tire size desig nation on the tir e pressure label on your vehicle with the tire s on your vehicle. Make sure
a previ­ousl y owned ve hicle.
Remember, your safe ty and t h at of your passen­gers also depends on making sure that load
limit s are not exceeded. Vehicle load includes everybody and everything in and on the vehicle.
T hese load limit s arc techni call y referred to the ve hicle's Gross Vehicl e Rating Hatin g is th e maximum load that
Hating are listed on th e s afet y compliance sticker
label on t h e driver's door
fig. l5 .
WARNING
Overloading a vehicl e can cause loss of vehicle control,
more we ight than your vehicle was des ign ed to carry w ill prevent the vehicle from handling properly and increase the risk of the loss of vehicle control.
The on a vehicle that has been over­
loaded may not be abl e to stop the vehicle within a safe distance.
Tires on a vehicle that has been overloaded can fail suddenly cau sin g loss of control and a crash.
Always make sure that the total load being transp o rted-including the weight of a trailer hitch and the to ng u e weight of a loaded trailer -docs not make the vehicle heavie r than the vehicle's Gross Vehicle
WARNING
Inco rrect tire pressures and/or underinfla­tion can lead t o serious or fata l accident.
Incorrect tire pressures and/or underinfla­tion cause increased tire wear and can affect the ha nd lin g of the ve hicle.
Applies to
The tire pressur e monitoring syste m driver ofsignificantloss of pres­
sure.
Each tire, including the spare ( if provided),
should be c heck ed
your vehicle has tire s of a diff erent s ize than the s ize indi ­cated on the vehicle placard or tire inflation pressure lab el, you should consult the appro­priate sec tion of this
and
luminatcd. one or m ore of your tires is signifi ­
cantly under-inflated. should stop and check your tires as soon as possible , and inflate them to the pro p er p ressure. Driving on a sig nif­
icantly under- inflated tire causes the tire to overheat and can lead to tire failure. Under- in-
flation al so reduces fuel effic iency and tire tread life , and may affe ct th e vehic le's handling stopping ability.
ve hicle has also been equipped with a malfunction te llt ale to indi cate when