2008 VOLKSWAGEN JETTA checking oil

Booklet 3.2 Tip s and Advice
Changing the engine oil
The engine oil be changed at the intervals listed in the Maintenance Booklet.
The engin e oil mu st b e c han ged a ccordin g to th e
int erva ls s pecified in your Ma intenan ce book le t
I. I.
Thi s is ve ry important becau se the lubri catin g
prop erti es of oil decrea se gradually during
n o rm al v ehicl e use. If yo u ar e no t sur e w hen you
yu ur yuur Vol k­
sw age n Se rv ice Ad viso r.
Und er so me c ircum sta nces the e ngin e o il
s h o uld b e changed more freq u entl y. C hange oil
mor e often
you driv e mo stl y s hor t d is tan ce s.
opera te the veh icl e in dusty areas or mostl y
und er stop-and-g o traffi c conditi ons. o r wh en
yo u u se yo ur vehicl e where te mperatur es stay
b elow freez in g po int for l ong p eri o ds.
D eterge nt additive s in th e oil will m ake fres h oil
lo ok d ark aft er t he e ngin e ha s bee n runnin g fo r a
s hort t ime. T hi s is normal
is not a r easo n to ch an ge the oil mor e often than r ecomm end ed .
WARN ING
Sto p! Before w orkin g in the en gine compan ­
ment , alwa ys read and h eed all WARN INGS
34 . The engine co mpartment of motor vehicl e is a potentia lly dangerou s area
and can cause se rious perso nal inju ry.
WARNING
If yo u mu st cha nge the engine oil in yo ur ve ­
hicle:
• A lways wear eye pro tec tion.
• To reduce the risk of burns from hot e ngine
oil le t the engin e coo l down to th e to u ch.
42 Checking and Filling
WARNING (continued )
• When removi ng the oil drai n plug with
y our fing ers, s tay as far away as poss ible. A l­
ways keep your forear m
to the ground
to h elp pr even t hot oil from ru nning down
your
• Drain the oil into a con ta in er des igne d for
th is on e large en ough to hold at least
th e to tal amo unt of oil in yo ur eng ine.
• To reduce t he risk of poisoning, neve r use
em pty food or beverage containers that might
mi slea d someo ne into drinkin g from them.
• Eng ine oil is poisonous. Keep it we ll out of
the rea ch of c hildren.
• Conti nuo us co nta ct with used e ngine oil is
h armfu l to yo ur skin. Alway s pro tec t yo ur skin
by wash ing th oroug hly wi th soa p and water.
For t he sake of environm ent
• Before ch angin g t he oil, fi rs t m ake sur e yo u
k now w here yo u can prop erl y di sp ose of the old
o il.
• Always disp ose o f u se d engin e oil prop erly .
N ev er dump it on garden soil. in wood ed ar ea s,
int o stream s or cl ow n se wa ge drain s.
• Recy cle use d engin e oil
takin g it t o a u sed
e n gin e o il co llect io n fa cilit y in your area , o r co n­
ta ct a se rv ice sta tion.
• Beca use of th e probl em of prop er d is po sa l,
a long with the special too ls and nec ess ary exp er­
ti se req uir ed,
stro ngly reco mm end that you
h ave yo ur oil ch ang ed b y an auth oriz ed Volk­
swage n deale r o r a qualifi ed wo rks hop .

Booklet 3.2 Tips and Advice
Coolant
Coolant specifications
Coolant is a of water at least 40% coolant additive.
The cooling s yst em must b e filled with a mixtur e
of a nd at le ast 40 % of Vol kswag en additi ve G 12 or an additi ve with the sp ec ifica­
ti o n F (purpl e in colo r).
T hi s mi xtur e gives the necess ary fro st p rotec tion
do wn to -1 3° F (-2 5° C) and p rot ec ts th e all oy
part s of the cooling sy stem again st co rros ion.
It also pr ev ent s from scalding and raises the
boilin g po int of th e cool ant.
Th e co nce ntrati on of coo la nt mu st
b e at
l e a st 40 % eve n if fr os t p rotec tion i s not r e­
quir ed .
If gre at er frost protection is nee ded in very co ld
climat es. th e proportion of th e antifree ze
tive G 12 c an b e in cre ase d. H ow ev er, th e per­
ce ntag e o f coo la nt addit ives must n ot exceed
GO% , as this
re du ce the f rost p rotec tio n. It also re du ce the coo lin g e ffec t. mi xture
w ith coo lant additi ve will give frost ti on 10 about C) .
WARNING
Coola nt is poi sonous!
• Always keep the coo la nt in its origin al con­
t a in er stored in a safe place.
• To reduce the risk of poi sonin g, neve r use
em pty food or bev erage co ntainers that might
mislead someone into d rinkin g from th em.
WARNING (continued)
• Always keep drain ed coo lant out th e
r eac h of ch ildren.
• The coolant additive
G 12 must be added in
s uffici ent quantiti es to give enough anti­
fr eeze protection at the co ldest temperatur es
that can be expecte d where the vehicle will be
u sed.
• At ex treme ly cold temperat ures, the
coolant could fr eeze, caus ing the vehicl e to
br eak dow n. The heater wou ld also not work
and vehicl e occupants could be without pro­
tection at sub-free zin g temperatures!
Note
• Oth er additi ves ma y give co nsid erabl y inf e­
ri or co rros io n prot ection. The res ulting corro­
s io n in th e coo ling syste m can lead to a lo ss of
c o ol ant , cau sing seri ous
to the en gine.
• The coo lant additiv e G 12 ( purpl e) can be
mi xed w it h th e ad diti ve G 12 (p ink ) o r w ith the
ad ditive
11. G 12 c an be recog nize d in the pans io n t ank b ecau se it is purpl e. T he coo lant
G L2 h as bee n with di ffe re nt coolant to
th e o nes nam ed ab ove if th e fluid in th e
sion ta nk brown! The coolant must b e
chang ed as soo n as pos sib le if th is is the ca se ! Se­
ri ous fun cti onal pr oble m s
en gin e co uld be caused
Checking and Filling 43

Booklet 3.2 Tips and Advice
WARNING (continued)
with special care for the fir st 35 0 mile s
( 560km ).
• Driving with worn or dam aged tires can
l ead to los s of co ntrol, sud den tire failure, in­
clud ing a blowout and sudden deflation,
cras hes and se riou s perso nal injurie s. H ave
worn or damaged tires rep laced immediat ely.
• Tires age even if th ey arc not bein g used
a n d can fail sudd enl y, es pecia lly
at high
s p ee ds. Tire s th at ar c mor e than 6 yea rs old
WARNIN G (contin ued)
ca n onl y be use d in an em erge ncy and then
w ith specia l ca re and at lo w er sp eeds.
• Neve r m ount u sed t ires on yo ur vehicl e if
you arc not s ure of th eir "pre vio us hi story."
Old use d tir es ma y have been dama ged eve n
t h ough th e damage cann ot b e see n that can
l ea d to sudd en tir e fa ilur e and loss of vehicle
contro l.
• If yo u notice unu sual vibrat ion or if th e ve ­
hicle pull s to one sid e wh en drivin g, a lways
stop as soo n as it is safe to do so and check the
wheels and tires for dam age.
Glossary of tire and loading terminology
Accessor y weight
m ea ns th e comb ined weigh t (in excess of those
s tand ard item s wh ic h may b e re p laced ) of auto­
matic tran sm iss ion, powe r stee ring . power
brake s, pow er wind ows, powe r se ats. radio, a nd
heat er, to th e ex tent that th ese item s are ava il­
ab le as factory- in st all ed eq ui pment (w heth er in ­
s talled or not).
Aspect ratio m ea ns th e ra tio of th e heig h t
th e wid th of th e
ti re in perce nt. Numbers of70 or lowe r ind icat e
a sh ort sid ewa ll for imp roved steering r espons e
a nd be tter ove rall hand ling d ry pa vement.
B ead
m ea ns th e pan oft he tire that is m ade of stee l
w ires, wrapp ed or reinfor ced by ply cords and
t h at is s hape d to
th e rim .
B ead separation
mean s a breakdow n of th e bo nd b etwee n com­
p on ent s in the bea d.
Cord mea ns th e s trands for ming the plies in t he tire .
Cold lir e inflation pressure
m ea ns th e tire press ure reco mmend ed by the
ve hicl e m anu factur er f or a tire of a des ig nate d
s ize th a t ha s not b ee n d rive n for th an a co up le of
m iles ( kilomete rs) at low sp eeds in th e thr ee
h our peri od befo re th e tire press ure is m eas ured
or ad juste d.
52 Checking and Filling
Curb weig ht
mea ns th e weig ht of
a moto r ve hicle sta n­
dard equipm ent in cluding th e maxi mum ca­
paci ty o f fuel. oil. a nd coolant, air co ndition ing
and additional weight of o ptional equipme nt.
Gr oss Axle Weight Roting
m ea ns th e load -ca rryi ng ca pacity of a sin gle axle
sys tem, measured at th e tire-gro und in te rface s.
Gro ss Vehicl e W eight Roling
means th e max imum t otal load ed weig ht of the
ve hicl e.
Groo ve
m ea ns th e spa ce betw een
ad jacent tread
r ib s.
L o ad rotin g (cod e)
m eans the maximum load that
tir e is ra ted to
carry for a given inflation press ure. You may not
this o n all tir es bec ause it is not
required by law.
Ma ximum load roting
m ean s th e load rating for
tire at th e perm iss ible inflatio n pressu re for that t ir e .
Ma ximum load ed ve hicle weig ht
mean s th e
of:
(a) C urb weig ht,
( b ) Accesso ry weight,
( c ) Vehicle capa city weigh t, a nd
(cl ) Pro duction o ptions we ig h t.

Booklet 3.2 Tips and Advi ce
des with tire press ure m onito rin g sys te m To preven t thi s, always make that
fac to ry i nsta ll ed va lve s te m caps on a ll whee ls
are securely mount ed on th e valve .
Tires and vehicle load limits
There ar e limits to th e amo unt of load or we ig ht
t hat any vehicl e and any tire ca n carry. A ve hicle
t h at is over loaded will not handle well an d is
mor e difficult t o sto p. Overloadi ng ca n not only
l ead to loss of veh icle contro l, but can also
damage important parts of the vehicle and can
l ead to sudden tire failure, including a blowout
an d sudd en deflat ion that can ca use th e ve hicle
to crash.
Your safety and that of yo ur passengers also de ­
pe nds on making sure tha t load limit s are not ex­
cee ded . Veh icle load includ es everybody and ev­
e ry thing in and on the ve hicle. T hese load limits
are technica lly referred to as the vehicle"s Gro ss
Ve hicl e We ig ht Hating
The in cl udes the of the basic ve­
h icle , a ll in sta lled accessor ies, full tank
of fuel, oil, coolan t and o ther flui ds p lu s max­
imum load . Th e m aximum load includ es the
number of passe ngers that the ve hicle is in ­
te nded to carry ("seatin g capacity") with an as­
su med weight of 150 lbs (68 Kg) fo r each pas­
se nge r at a des ig n ati on sea ting pos ition and the
to ta l weight of any lu ggage in the ve hicle. If you
tow a traile r, th e weig ht of th e tra iler hitch and
th e tong ue weig ht of the lo ad ed tra iler mu st b e
included as part of the ve hicle lo ad .
T he Gross Axle We ig ht Hatin g
is th e
maximum load that ca n be appl ied a t eac h of t h e
ve hicl e's two ax les.
The Gross Ve hicl e We ight
and th e Gross
Ax le We ig h t are liste d on the sa fe ty com­
pliance sticke r la b el o n th e driv er's door latch
pi llar Your Je tt a ha s 5 seat ing posit io ns, 2 in the
front and 3 in the rea r fo r to tal seating capacity of
5. Ea ch sea ting posi tio n ha s a safe ty belt
= book le t 2. 1 "Safety firs t."
58 Checking and Filling
For th e sake of env ironm ent
Yo ur car w ill ha ve a highe r consumpt io n
a nd unn ecessa ry ex hau st em iss ions with und er­
inflated tires .
that there is an upper limit to your ve­
hicl e' Gross Vehicle We ig ht Hati ng mean s that
th e
weight of whatever is be ing ca rri ed in
th e veh icle (including the we ight o f trailer
hit ch and the tongu e we igh t of the loaded
t railer) is limit ed. The more pa ssenge rs in the
ve­hicl e or passe ngers arc heav ier th an the
s tandard weigh ts assumed mean th at less
we igh t
be carr ied as luggage.
tir e pressure label on your Vo lkswagen also
lists the maximum combin ed weight of all of the
occupants and luggage or other cargo that th e
ve hicle can carry. For the locatio n of the label
54. fig. 13 .
WA RNING
Over loadin g a vehicle can cau se loss o f ve hicl e
co ntr ol, cras h or ot her accide nt, se rious per­
s o nal injur y, and eve n death.
• Car rying more weig ht th an yo ur vehicle
des ig ned to ca rry will prevent the ve hicle
from handlin g proper ly and in crease the risk
o f th e loss of ve hicl e co ntrol.
• Th e brake s o n a ve hicl e th at has bee n over­
l oa ded may not be ab le to stop th e vehicle
wit hin a
dista nce.
• Tir es on a veh icle that ha s be en over loaded
ca n
su dd enl y, includin g a blowout a nd
s udd en deflation, causin g los s of co ntrol and a
c ra sh .
• Alway s make sur e th at the total l oad bein g
tran sp ort ed - inclu din g th e we ig h t of a tra ile r
hi tch and the to ngue we ig ht of a lo aded trail er
- docs not make the vehicl e heav ie r than the
v eh icle 's Gros s Ve hicl e We ig ht H atin g

Booklet 3.2 Tips and Advice
will be s ix 10 eight of them evenly pla ced aroun d tire. Marks on the tire s idewa ll (fo r ex amp le o r oth er symbols) indicate the p ositions
of the tread w ear in dica tor s. Wo rn tires mu st be
rep laced . Different figu res may apply in oth er
Tir e pressure
In co rrec t lir e pr ess ure cause s pr ematur e wear
and can cause s udden tire blow -out. F or thi s
r easo n, tir e pressure must be c hec ke d at leas t
o nce a m ont h
56.
Driving style
Drivin g fast around cu rves, heavy acce lera tio n
and hard braking increase t ir e w ear.
Rotating tir es for more even wear
I f th e front tires are worn consid era bly m ore
than t he re ar ones, rotate th em as sh own
59, fig. 15 . All the tir es will then last for
about sa me of tim e.
A ll
tir es s hou ld have th e sam e am ount of
wear. All four w heels must have the sa me ro lling
ci rc umf ere nce.
Wheel balancing
Th e wh eels on ne w ve hicl es are balan ced. H ow­
eve r. various situations during every d ay driv ing
can cause them
b ecom e unbalan ced, r e­
s ultin g in vib rat io ns y ou can usuall y fe el throug h
th e steering wheel.
Unbalan ced w hee ls mu st be reb alan ced to avoid
e x cessive wear on stee ring, suspen sion and
60 Checking and Filling
tire s. A wheel also be rebalan ced w hen a
new lire i s in stalled .
In correct whee l alignment
Incorr ect whee l alignment can cause exc ess ive
ti re wea r, impa ir in g
safe ty of the ve hicle. If
t ir es s how excess ive wear, have wheel align­
m en t ch ecke d by an authori zed Vol ksw age n
d ea le r or qualifi ed work sh op.
WARNING
Sud den tir e fa ilur e ca n le ad to lo ss of con trol ,
a cra sh and serious persona l injury!
• Neve r drive a vehicle wh en th e trea d on
any tire is wo rn dow n to the wea r indicator s.
• Worn tires a rc a sa fety hazar d, the y do not
gr ip we ll on wet roads and increase y our risk
of "h yd ropl anin g" and lo ss of contro l.
• Always kee p ch emi cals that can ca use tir e
d amage, s uch as g rease, oil , gaso line and
brak e fluid away from tire s.
• Tire s age even if th ey a rc not b ein g use d
and can fail sudd enl y, es pecially al high
s pe eds . Tir es that a re more than 6 year s old
can onl y be use d in an emergen cy and th en
w ith sp ecia l care a nd at lowe r sp eeds.
• Neve r mount u sed tire s on your vehicl e if
you a rc not sur e of their "pr ev iou s hi stor y."
Old use d tir es ma y ha ve been d amaged eve n
th ough the d am age ca nnot b e seen that can
lead t o sudd en tir e failure and loss of vehicle

Booklet 3.2 Tips and Advice
Snow chains - individualize for each vehicle
Yo u ca n use s now cha ins only to th e front
whee ls , and only t o certain tire sizes . Ask your
author ized Vo lk swage n deale r on which tir e
s ize s snow c hain s ca n be use d.
T he sn ow chain s must have low -profil e link s
and must n ot b e thi ck e r than 1 5 mm, including
th e loc k.
R emove whe el ce nter cove rs a nd trim discs be­
fo re pulli ng s now c hain s on yo ur
For safe ty re a so ns cove r caps must then be ove r th e w hee l b olts. Th ese are a vailable from
a uth ori ze d Vo lkswage n deal ers .
WARNING
U sin g the wrong snow chains for your vehicle
or in stalling them incorrectl y can increase the
Wheel bolts
WARNING (continued )
risk of l oss of contro l leadin g to seriou s per­
s onal injury.
• Sn ow c hain s are available in differen t
s izes. Always make sure to follow the in stru c­
tion s provided by th e snow chain manufac­
turer.
wi th the whee l rim , ca n scratc h or da ma ge it.
T herefo re, make s ure that the s now chain s are
s uit ably
Wheel bolt s must always be tightened to the correct to rque.
The des ig n of w hee l bolt s is m atc h ed to th e fac­to ry in sta lled rim s. If diff erem rim s are fitted, the
co rrec t whee l b o lts wi th th e right le n gt h and cor­
rec tly s hap ed bolt heads must be u sed. This en­
s ure s that whee ls a re fitt ed sec urely and that the
b rake syste m f unctio ns co rrec tly.
l n certain cir cum sta nces, yo u may no t u se w hee l
bo lts from a diff ere nt vehi cle -eve n if it is th e
sa me mode l
27.
WARNING
Improp erly tightened or maint ained wheel
bolt s can become loose ca using lo ss of con trol,
a colli sion and se ri ous perso nal inju ry.
• Alwa ys keep th e wheel bolt s and the
th rea ds in the whee l hubs clean so th e wh eel
bolt s can turn easily a nd be properly tight­
ened.
• Neve r gr ea se or oil the w hee l bolt s and the
threads in the wheel hubs. They can be come
66 Checking and Filling
WARNING (continu ed)
loose w hile dri ving if greased or oiled, eve n if
ti ght en ed to the specified torque.
• Onl y use whee l bolt s th at belong to th e
w hee l.
• Neve r use diff erent whee ls bolt s on your
ve hicle.
• Alway s maintain the co rrect ti ghtenin g
torque for the wheel bolts to re duce the risk of
a wheel los s. If the tight ening torqu e of the
w hee l bolts is too lo w, they ca n loosen and
co me out when the ve hicle is mo vin g. If the
ti ght enin g torqu e is too hi gh , th e w hee l bolt s
a nd thread s can be damaged and the w hee l
ca n be come loo se.
The sp ecified to rq ue for the w heel bolts is
88 ft/lbs (120 N m). Afte r chan gin g a w hee l. th e
t o rq ue mu st b e checked as soo n as poss ib le w ith
torq ue wre nch - p refera bly by an auth ori zed
Vo lkswage n dea le r or qualifi ed