
WARN ING (continu ed)
• Exceed ing permi ssibl e weig ht ratings can
r es ult in ve hicl e da m age, accide nts, and per
sona l
Driving tips
For th e best handlin g of ve hicle and trailer,
p lease note th e fo llowing:
• A "bala nce d" rig is easie r
operate and con
trol. This m ean s th a t th e tow vehicl e should b e
loaded to th e extent p ossible and p ermi ssible
whil e keep ing th e trailer as light as po ssibl e
und er th e circum stanc es. Wh eneve r po ssib le,
tran sfe r som e cargo to the
co mpar tment
of the tow vehicl e w hile obs ervin g tongu e loa d
req uirem ents and vehicle loa ding consid er
a tion s.
• The high er th e s pee d, the more
it be
come s fo r the drive r to control th e rig. Do not
dr ive at the maximum permis sibl e
• Always appl y br akes earl y. When driving
d ow nhill, d ownshi ft into a lower gear to u se the
e ng in e brak in g eff ec t to slo w down the ve hicle.
U se of the brake s alo ne ca n ca use them to ove r
h ea t an d fail.
• The coo ling effect of the rad iator fan cann ot
b e in crease d by dow nsh ifti ng beca use fan sp ee d
i s ind epend ent of engine sp ee d. The re for e,
Trailer towing tips
Your vehicle handles diff ere nt ly wh en t ow in g a
t ra iler b ecause of the a ddit io na l weight and
weig ht d is tribut ion. S af ety. perform ance and
e conomy will gr ea tly depend on how car efull y
yo u load your tra iler
yo ur rig.
B efor e y ou actua lly
your tra iler, practice
t urn ing. stoppin g and backing up in an ar ea
away from
until yo u l earn the feel of your
ve hicle and trailer unit.
Backing up is
r e quir es prac tice .
S teer ing w hile backing up is generall y opposite
of th at wh en backing your vehicl e w ith out a
tra iler.
Booklet 3.2 Tip s and Advice
wh en dr iving uphill , yo u can alwa ys dri ve in the
hi gh est po ssible gea r wit h low e ngin e sp ee d. If
th e coo lant te mp erature warning light in the in
s trument cluste r start s fla shin g in red , p ull off
the road , stop and le t th e e ngin e id le for abou t
minute s to pre vent hea t bu ildup and engin e
damag e.
WARNING
• Reduce you r speed even more under unfa
vora ble load, wea ther or w ind condi tions
p artic ular ly w hen goi ng dow nhill.
• Be especia lly carefu l w hen passing o ther
veh icles. Redu ce ve hicle sp eed immediate ly if
the tra iler sh ow s the sli ghtest sig n of sway ing.
• Neve r try to stop the sway ing by acceler
ating.
• Always heed speed lim its. In some a reas
speed lim its for vehicl es tow ing tra ilers are
l ower than for reg ular
Keep more di stan ce between your vehicl e and
th e one in front of you. will nee d m ore roo m
to stop.
To compens ate fo r th e traile r, yo u w ill n eed a
l a rger than normal tu rning
When passing , reme mber that you can not acce l
erate as fast as you normall y wou ld because of
t h e added load. Make sur e yo u ha ve enough
room to pas s. After passing, allow plen ty of room
fo r yo ur tr aile r befor e changing la nes aga in.
Avoid jerk y s tart s, sharp turns or rapid lan e
c h ange s.
Driving and protecting the env ironment 13

Booklet 3 .2 T ips and Advice
Waxing the vehicle
Waxing your ve hicle regu larly protects the paint.
Appl y wax to your ve hicle if wat er doe s 1101 fo rm
s ma ll drop s an d run when the pain t is cle a11.
Good qualit y is ava ilab le from yo ur tho rize d Vo lk swagen dealer.
A goo d coa t of wax help s to protect the pai nt
fr om e nviro nm ent al pollu tio n and more agg res
s ive dirt
16, "Ge nera l notes" . also hel ps
t o pro tec t agains t m inor scratc h es .
Polishing the paint
Polishing h elps r esto re paint gloss.
Polishing is necessa ry if th e pai nt h as lost it s
s hin e, and you cannot get th e g loss back with
wax. Your autho rized Vo lk swage n dea le r has
p olish th at i s right for you r ve hicle.
T he ve hicle must be waxed
po lish ing if the
poli sh u sed d oes 110 1 co ntain wax comp ound s to
sea l th e paint 19, "W axing t he veh icle".
Ca ring for plastic parts
Solvents will da mag e plastic parts.
you can not clean pl astic part s by nor mal
w ash in g. clea n th em with speci al so lve nt-fr ee
pl as tic clea ning produ cts . E
ve n if a wax so lution i s used reg ular ly at th e ca r
was h, it i s adv isa ble to prote ct th e paint with a
coa t o f hard wax at leas t twice a year.
Tip s
T o pr eve nt dama ge: Do no t wax or polish
light s and rear light s.
Note
To damage to th e pa in t:
• Do not wax or po lish matt e fini sh es a nd
plastic parts.
• Do not wax or po lish you r ve hicle if it is dusty
or dir ty or in a sa ndy or dusty en vironm ent.
Note
C lea nin g product s th at contain so lve nts w ill
dam age plas tic part s.
Cleaning windows and outside mirrors
Cleaning windows
-Damp en the window s w ith comm er
cia lly avai lab le , a lco hol-ba sed glass
cleaner .
- Dry the windows with a clea n chamoi s
or a lint-fr ee clo th.
Removing snow
- Use a sma ll bru sh to re mov e sno w from
th e w indo ws and mirror s.
Removing ice
- Use a de-ic er spray.
Use a clean cloth t o dry the win dows. The
c ham ois leather, which was use d to wipe pa int
s urfa ces, co ntains oily resid ue from pro tec tiv e
age nts and wou ld sm ear the
If possib le use a de ic in g spray to re mo ve If
you have use an ice scrape r, pus h it onl y in
o ne direction - away from you
Cleaning and protection 19

Locks
Lock cylinders can freeze in winter.
To d e-ic e th e lo ck cylin ders use a sp ecial lo ck
cy lind er de- ice r spra y wit h lubri cating anti ·
corrosive
Cleaning chrome parts
- Cle an chrom e part s wi th a damp cloth.
- Po lish chrome part s with a so ft, dry
cloth .
You can als o u se s pecial chrome cleaner.
C hrome cleaners will help re mov e surfa ce grime
a nd stain s from chrom e surf aces.
Cleaning alloy wheels
Every two weeks
- Was h sa lt and brake du st off alloy
w heel s.
- Use an ac id free dete rgen t to clean the
w hee ls .
Every three months
- Appl y a har d wax compound to the
w hee ls .
Li ght alloy whee ls req uire reg ular car e re mo ve
road sa il a nd brak e by reg ularl y wa shi ng w hee ls, other wise fini sh will du ll and they
wi ll be hard lo clean.
Alwa ys use a n ac id-fr ee dete rge nt for alloy
w heel s.
Do not u se vehicle polis h or oth er abra sive
u cts . I f prot ective coat ing is damag ed , fo r amp le by s tone impact, th e dama ged area
s h ould be re pair ed imm edi ate ly.
Booklet 3.2 Tips and Advice
Note
To pre vent scra tc hin g chrom e surfaces:
• Do not use an abra sive care pro duct on
c hr om e.
• Do
clean or polish chr ome are or dusty or clean or p olish in sand y
o r dusty
WARNING
I mp roper use of power washers ca n ca use rious, invis ible and permanent tire damage
l ead ing to tire failure and lo ss of ve hicle
trol.
• Neve r was h tires with a jet that sprays the
water out in a direct stream eve n from a
tance or for a very short time.
WARNING
Wet brak es or brake s coated wi th ice or road
sa lt react slower and need longer sto pping
tan ces.
• Carefu lly appl y brak es for a
• Always dry brake s and clea n off ice ings and salt coating s with a few cauti ous
brake applications.
• Alw ays read and h eed all WAR NIN GS
8, " Brakin g pow er and braking
Cleaning and protection 21

Booklet 3.2 Tips and Advice
Chassis
The unde rbody of the v eh icle is coated to help p rotect it from corrosion and
damage.
The und ercoat in g co uld be damag ed d uring
n ormal use. We recommend 1h a1 1h e und er
coali ng on th e ve hicl e and 1h e prot ec1ive c oat
in gs o n 1he s usp ension be inspec 1e d . a nd re
pa ired if necessary, befo re and afte r 1h c wint er
seaso n.
R ep a ir wor k and ad

Booklet 3.2 Tips and Advice
Cleaning safety belts
A dirty safety belt can prevent a safety belt from working properly.
Keep safety belt s clean and check all safety
b elt s for damag e reg ularly.
Cleaning safety belts
-Carefu lly pull the dirty safety belt out of
the retrac tor and leave it spooled out.
- C le an the dirty safety belts with a
gentle
soa p so lut ion.
- Let the sa fety belt fabr ic dry.
- Do not roll up the safety belt until it is
comple te ly dry.
Th e automa tic bel t w ill n ot be ab le to roll back
prop erl y if ther e is dirt on th e belt .
WARNING
Damaged safety belts reduce the overall effec
tivene ss of the safe ty belts and increase the
risk of serious persona l injury and death
wheneve r a vehicle i s being used.
• Damaged safety belts must b e replaced,
the y canno t be repaired.
• Never use chemical cleaning agents, so l
ve nts or any substa nce that ma y damage or
wea ken the safety belt webbing or any other
26 Cleaning and prot ection
WARNING (continu ed)
part s that make up the seat belt. Never le t the
belt s come into contact with corros ive fluid s.
• Imm ediately replace damaged safety belts
wi th the correct replacement belts provided
by an authorized Volkswage n dealer or quali
fied works hop. Replacement after a crash may
be ne cessary even if a safety belt does not have
v is ibl e damage.
• Check the condi tion of all safety belts at
regular interval s. If you notice that the belt
webbing, hardware , retrac tor or buckle of any
of the safe ty belts is d amaged, the belt must
imm ediately be replaced by an authorized
Vo lk swagen dealer or qualified workshop .
• Never attempt to repair a damaged safety
belt yourse lf. Never remove or modify the
safety belts in any way.
• Be sure to read and h eed the information
and a ll WARNINGS
2.1 "Safety
fir st", chapter "Safety belts."
Note
Aft er cl eanin g the saf ety belts , a lwa ys allow
th em to d ry complet ely befor e le tting th em roll
up into th e re tra cto r to pre vent th e re tractor
fr om b eing damaged.
-4

Booklet 3.2 Tips and Advice
Accessories, new parts, repairs and modifications
Accessories and parts
Always con sult an authori zed Volk swagen dealer before purchasing accessorie s
and parts for your vehicle.
Your vehicl e is des ign ed to offe r a hi gh stand ard
o f a cti ve an d pass ive sa fe ty.
Pl ease co nsult an author ize d Vo lkswagen deale r
for advice befo re insta llin g accessor ies, re pla ce
m en t part s or other e quipm en t.
Au thori zed Volk swage n dea le rs ha ve the la tes t
information fr om th e manuf actur er and can rec
ommend a ccessori es a nd part s
are suit abl e
fo r yo ur vehicle and perso nal r equir em ent s.
They can also help answer questions you mi ght
h ave reg arding official reg ulati ons.
We r ecommend you onl y use appro ved Volk
swage n accessories and genuine Volkswagen
part s® . Th ese part s and accessor ies have bee n
eva luate d b y Vo lkswage n for suit abilit y, reli
a bility and safet y. Th e Vo lksw age n d eal ers hip s
h ave the necess ary ex peri ence and faciliti es
ensure th at th e part s are prop erly .
Vo lkswage n ca nnot ass um e re spon sibili ty fo r
any after-ma rket n on -Vo lk swage n part s use d,
e ven if th ese parts have bee n app rove d by an of
fi ci al t es tin g age ncy or a rc cove re d by a n offici al
ce rtificat e or sea l of ap prov al.
WARNING
Improp er ve hicle equipm ent or mod ifica tions
ca n ca use damag e to th e vehicle and serious
personal injury.
fr, WARNING (continued)
• In th e intere st of safety, we urge you to u se
only authorized Volkswagen accessories and
genuine Volkswagen parts® that h ave been
designed to be used on your vehicle.
WARNING
I mp rop er ca re, servicing and repair proce
dure s can increase the risk of personal injury
and death by preventing an airbag from de
ploying when needed or deploying an airbag
unexpectedl y.
• Neve r place or attach accessories or other
objects (such as cup holders, telephone
brackets, no te pad s, large , h eavy or bul ky ob
je cts ) on the doors, on the windshield , o ve r or
near the area marked "AIRBAG" on the
s tee rin g w heel, in strum ent pane l, seat back
re sts or between those area s and your self.
• Object s on or near the surface s
air
ba gs are located can come loose and cause se
r iou s per sonal injury in a crash, especially
w hen the airbags inflate.
• Be sur e to r ead and h eed the inform ation
a nd all WA RN INGS
2.1 "Safety
fir st", chapt er "Airba g sys te m. ",..
Accessories, new parts, repairs and modifications 27

Booklet 3.2 Tips and Advice
Repairs and technical modifications
Repairs and modifications must always be carried out according to the manufac
turer's specifications
Unauthorized modifications to th e e lectronic
component s or software in the vehicle may
cause
E lectro nic comp o
nents are linked toget her in networks and other
sys tems may be nega tive ly affected by improper
m odificat ions or improperly installed accesso
ries. Thi s can se riously impair safety and lead to
excessive wear o f components.
Changing the vehicle's sus pens io n system can
change the way that the Advanced
Sys tem performs in a crash. For example, usin g
t ir e-rim combinations not approved by Volk
swagen, lower ing the vehicle, changi ng the stiff
ness of the suspension, including the spring s,
suspension struts, shock absorbers can chan ge
the forces that are measured by the airbag sen
so rs and sent to the con trol unit. Some su spen
s ion changes can, for exa mpl e, incr ease the force
levels measured by the sensors and make the
airbag system dep loy in crashes in which it
wou ld not deploy if the changes had not been
made. Other kinds of changes may reduce the
force levels measured by the sensors and pre
vent the airbag from deploying when it sho uld.
We recommend that all necessary work be per
formed by an authorized Volkswagen deale r
using genuine Volkswagen parts ®.
WARNING
Imp roperly performed modifications or other
work that is not properly performed on your
ve hicle can cause malfunctions leading to ac
cidents and serious pe rsonal injury.
• Never install suspension components that
d o not have the same performance character
i stics as the components originally installed
on your vehicle. Never use tire-r im comb ina
tions th at have not been approved by Volk
swage n.
WARNING
Improper care, servicing and repa ir proce
dures can increase the risk of personal injury
a nd death by preventing an a irbag from de
p lo ying w hen needed or deploying an airbag
unexpected ly.
• Chang ing th e vehicle's su spens ion in
cluding use of unapproved t ire- rim combina
tions can change Advanced Ai rbag perfor
mance and increase the risk of serious per
sona l inju ry in a crash.
• Be sure to read and heed the info rmatio n
a n d all WARN INGS
2. 1 "Safety
fir st", c hapte r "Airbag
28 Acc essories, new part s, repairs and modification s

Booklet 3.2 Tips and Advice
Cellular phones and CB radios
will need an antenna for cellular phones and CB radio s
Volk swa gen h as a pproved your vehicle fo r use
w ith cellul ar phon es and CB r adio s prov iding
th e fo llowi ng co ndition s:
• correc t in sta ll ation of outside antenn a,
• transm itting pow er is no more than a m ax
imum of
JO wa tts.
A n outs ide ante nna is nee ded
g ive the eq uip
m ent it s opt imal range and pr eve lll in terfer
ence with elec troni cs in th e vehicle.
I f y ou want to use a ce llul ar phone or a CB ra dio
w ith a tran smillin g powe r g re at er than 10 watts,
fir st ch eck wit h a auth orize d Vo lksw agen dea le r.
Ce llul ar phone s and CB radios s houl d be in
s ta lled only by a qualified worksh op or by your
a uthori zed Vo lkswage n deale r.
Carefu lly fo llow the o perat ing in stru ction s for
yo ur cellula r te lep hon e or CB radi o.
WARNING
• Always concentrate on your driving, and the road. Driver di str act ion causes acci
dents!
• Alwa ys set v olume le vels so that you can
clearl y hear horn s, sire n s a nd oth er warning
sounds outside the vehicle.
WARNING (continued )
• Using a cellul ar te lephone or CB radio in
side the vehicle without having a separate out
s ide antenna can be dangerous to your health
and that of your passengers because th e elec
tromagnetic radiation energy that the se de
vice s emit may be above esta blish ed limit s.
• Never attach anything, including acce sso
ries (for example cup holders or teleph one
brackets) to the airbag covers or within the
airbag d eployment zone.
• Objects on or near the surface s where air
bags are located can come loo se and cause se
riou s personal injury
if the airbag deploy s 2.1 "Safety first", chapter "Airbag
system."
Note
Improper in stallation of cellular te le phon es, CB
ra dios or other electro nic compon ent s can
ca use oth er ve hicl e systems to malfunction. Th e
m os t co mmon causes of fault s ar e:
• no ex te rnal
• incorrec tly insta lled ex te rnal antenna,
• tran smitting power in excess of 10 wa tts.
Accessories, new parts, repairs and modifications 29