2008 VOLKSWAGEN JETTA check engine

Table of contents
Smart technology ........... ... .. .. .
Brakes .............. .. .. ..... .. .. .• .....
Po we r stee ring ....... .. ..... ... .. ...... .
Notice about data recorded b y vehicle
contro l modu les ....... ........ .... ..... .
Driving and protecting the
environment ..... ... .... ..... ...... ..
Break-in Pe riod ... ... ........ ......... . ..
Catalytic converter ....... .. .. .. ....... ..
T ra ile r t owi ng . . . . . . . . ... ............ .. .
D riv ing economically o nd respecti ng the
environmen t ... .... ..... ............. ... .
Cleaning and protection ........ . .
General notes .... .... ... ....... .. ...... .
Car e of veh icle exte rior ....... ..• ...... ..
C ore of the vehicle interior ... ..... ..•. ..
Accessories, new parts, repairs
and modifications .......... ...... ..
Accesso ries and pa rts .......... .... .... .
R epa irs and technica l modifications ..... .
Cellu lar phones a nd CB radi os ........ . .
2
2
6
6
7
7
10
10
14
16
16
17
23
27
27
28
29
Booklet 3 .2 Tip s and Advice
Checking and Filling 30
Fill ing the tank . . . . . . . . . .. .. . . .. . . .. . • . . . . 30
Fu el supp ly . .. . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Working in the eng ine compa rtment . . . . . 34
Engine oil . . . . . . . . . . .. . . .. .. . . . .. .. . . .. . . 37
Coo lant ....... .... .... ...... ... ......... 43
Wos he r fluid and wind shie ld wiper blade s 45
Brok e fluid . . . . . . .. . .. . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 47
Vehicle battery . . . . . . . . . .. . .. .. .. . .. . . .. . 49
T ir es and wheels . . . . . . . . . . . . • . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
What do I do now? . .. .. . . .. . . . . .. . 67
Vehicle tools and spore whee l . . . . . . • . . . . . 67
Changing a whe el . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. .. • . . . . . 68
Em erg ency closing or opening . . . • . . . . . . . 7 5
F use s . . . . . . . .. .. . .. .. . . . .. . . . . . . .. . . .. . . . 77
Cha nging a light bulb . .. .. . . . .. .. . • .. . . . 81
Jump start ing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • . . . . . . . . . . . 84
To wing .... ... . . .. . .. .... ....... ... . . .•. . 86
Lifting th e ve hicle .. . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . 89
C onsumer Info rmat ion . . . . . • . . . . . . 90
Alphabetical index . . . . . . . . . 92
Table of contents

Booklet 3.2 Tips and Advice
Braking power and braking distance
Braking power and braking distance are influenced by driving situations and
road
Worn brake pads will not provide good braking.
The amount of wear and tear on the brake pads
depends to a great extent on the cond itions
und er which the vehicle is opera ted and the way
the vehicle is dr iven. If you do a lot of city
driv ing, drive short distances or have a sporty
driving style, we reco mm end th at you have the
thickness of your brake pad s checked by an au­
thor ized Volkswagen dea ler more frequently
than r ecommend ed in the service schedule.
I f you dr ive witJ1 wet brakes , for example after a
dri ving through water,
heavy rainfall or
after washing the vehicle, brakin g power will be
reduced and sto pping distances w ill be longer
because the brake d iscs will be wet or in winter
ma ybe even frozen
the brakes must be dried
with severa l ca reful brake applications.
Brake fluid absorbs water and must be c hanged
every two years. Heavy use of the brakes can
cause vapor lock if the brake fl uid is too old.
Va por lock reduces braking power, increases
stopp ing distances and can even cause total
brake failure.
WARNING
• New tires and new brake pads do not pro­
v id e maximum grip, control or braking abilit y.
• To reduce the risk of losing control, a colli­
s ion and se rious persona l injuries, drive with
special ca re for the first
350 mil es (560 km).
• New brake pads do not have the best stop ­
ping power for the first
150 mil es (240 km) and
must be broken in. You can com pensate for
the slightly reduced braking ability by drivin g
w ith care and applying more pressure on the
brak e pedal.
• Never fo llow other vehicle s too close ly or
put yourse lf into other situ ations that might
r equ ire s udden , hard brakin g especially when
th e brake pads have not been broken in.
WARNING
Wet brake s or brak es coa ted ice or road
sa lt react slower and need longer stopping dis­
tanc es.
• Carefully apply brakes for a lest.
• Alwa ys dry brake s and clean olT ice coa t­
ings and salt coa tings with a few cautiou s
brake app lica tions.
• Always read and hee d all
in "Break ing in tir es and brake pads" on
page 7.
WARNING
Overheated brakes will reduce the vehicle's
s topping power and increase stoppin g di s­
tances.
• Always avoid over hea tin g the brakes!
• When driving downhill, the brakes have to
work hard and hea t up quickly .
• Before driving clown a long, steep hill, al­
ways red uce spee d and downshift to a lower
gea r. This will let th e ve hicle use engine
braking and reduce the load on the brakes.
• Always c han ge the brake fluid at least
every two years. Hard braking with old brake
fluid may cause a va por lock. Vapor lock re­
duces brakin g power, increases s topping dis­
tan ces and can even ca use to tal brake failure.
• A damaged front spoiler or new non stan­
dard spoile r ca n reduce the airflo w to the
brake s and cause them to overheat.
• Always sec an au thorized Vo lkswage n
dealer or qualil1ed workshop if yo u think th at
you may have damaged the front spoiler.
• Be sure to read and heed all WARNINGS
and the information =-page 27, "Accessories
and part s" before buying accessorie s.
8 Driving and protecting the environment

Regular servicing
By hav ing ve hicl e serviced reg ularly by an
aut horiz ed Volksw age n dea le r yo u ca n es tab lish
th e bas is for a good fuel eco nomy even
before yo u start driving. A we ll maint ain ed an d se rv ic ed
e n gi ne g ives you t he be nefit of bett er fu el effi ­
cie ncy as well as maximum re liabi liry and a
g rea ter res ale val ue.
Short distances
T he engi ne and catal ytic conve rter mu st reach
the ir o ptim al o p eratin g te m pe ratur e befo re y ou
se e a sig n ifi ca nt reduc tio n in exhaus t emi ssions.
A cold engin e will use m ore fuel until it rea ch es
it 's ope ra ting t emp eratur e at whic h po int th e
Warranty coverages
Yo ur Volkswagen is covered by th e follow in g
warra nties:
• Li mited New Ve hicle Warranty
• L imited Powertrain Warra nty
• Li mited Warra nty Aga in st Co rrosion Perfora­
t io n
• Emi ssio ns Cont rol Sys tem Warranry
Booklet 3.2 Tip s and Advice @
An eng in e th at is no t p rop erl y ma intained can
use up to 10 % more fuel than ne cessary.
Check the oil l eve l eve ry tim e you ge t gas
39. Oil co nsumpti on d ep end s la rge ly on
t h e engine load a nd eng in e
fuel consump tion will impro ve. A lso imp ortant
i s the out sid e tempera ture. Th e co ld er the out­
s id e te m peratur e, the g rea te r th e fu el
• Emi ssio ns Perfor mance Wa rranty
• Califo rnia Emi ssions Co ntrol Warranty (U SA
ve hicl es only)
• California E missio ns Perfo rmanc e Warranty
( U SA veh icles only)
Det ail ed informa tion regarding your wa rranties
ca n b e found in your Wa rra nty
Driving and prot ecti ng the envi ronm ent 15

Booklet 3 .2 Tips and Advice
Checking and Filling
Filling the tank
fuel filler flap opens from inside the vehicle. The fuel tank holds 14 .5 gallons
(55 Liters).
Fig . 1 Detail of the driver door: the fuel fil ler flop re ­
lease button
Opening the fuel filler flap
- Pull the switc h 00) in th e drive r doo r
back
I. T he fu el fill er flap i s re leased .
- Open the fuel filler flap and turn th e
tank cap counte r-cloc kw ise.
- Hook t he fill er cap to the top of the filler
flap
2 .
Clo sing the fuel filler flap
- Screw o n the fuel fi lle r ne ck clockwise
until you hea r it cl ick into position.
- Alway s m ake s ure the fi ller cap i s
screwe d on a ll way.
- Close the fuel fi ller flap. Make sure you
h ear it cli ck into place.
The fue l filler flap is at the re ar of the vehicle on
th e right re ar qua rter pan el.
Whe n the tex t Pleas e refuel! appears in the in ­
s trum ent clu ste r, th ere a re still abo ut
gallons
30 Checking and Filling
Fig. 2 Open fuel filler flap with f iller cap attached
to the flop
(7 liter s) of gas in the tank. A warning chi me w ill
a lso so und.
An indi cator lig ht (if availab le) in the in st rum ent
cluster w ill come on if the fu el fi ller cap is not
properly clos ed
3.1 "C ontrol s and
Eq uipment."
T he automat ic filler nozzle s hould switc h itself
when the tank is " full ". Do not try to put in
mor e gas after the pump stops. To ppin g off the
ta nk in this
will fill the expa nsion chamb er
i n th e gas tank and causes th e fuel to ove rflow
w hen the temperature ri ses.
The correct grade of fuel for your vehicle is
s h own o n
sti cker on the insid e of the fuel filler
flap. For mor e informatio n on fu el 3.3
" T ec hnical da ta ."
Specia l indications far diesel engines
Your diesel vehi cle ha s a filler neck for a sta ndard
s ized fuel noz zle. Onl y fuel the v ehicl e usin g a
s tan dard sized fuel nozz le. Some s tandard filler
no zzles have a sprin g that preve nts the nozzle
from reaching complete ly ins ide t he ve hicl e's
fille r neck. However, it is poss ible to t h e nozzl e up to wh ere the spring beg ins, an d

For the sake of e nvi ro nm ent
Just one tank or leaded gas will seriously re ­
duc e the of the catalyti c converter.
Applies lo vehicles : with o gasoline engine
Gasoline additives
Booklet 3.2 Tip s and Advice
Tip s
you notic e a lo ss o r economy or driv e­
ability and p erformanc e problem s using one or
these fuel blends,
reco mmend that you
sw itch to unbl endecl
Gasoline additives improve quality of the gasoline.
Gasoline quality influen ces en gine behavior, fi cie ncy . p erformanc e and serv ice F o r thi s
reason you sh ou ld always use good quality gaso­
lin e contai ning additives. These addi tives will
h elp
to p re vent corrosion, keep system
clea n and pr event depo sits from bui ldin g up in
the engin e.
good qualit y gasol ine with additives is not
a vai lable, or eng in e probl em s ari se, additives
ma y be added to the gasoline.
Applies to veh icles : wi th o Diesel e ngine
Diesel fuel
Always Diesel fuel No. 2 on Ly.
Serv ice s tation s offer ing Die sel are generally
l ocated on truck routes or maj or hi ghw ays . Di­
re cto ri es or Diese l
stat ions are usually avail­
ab le at Di esel station s.
Some state s in t he USA requir e perm its
to pur­
chas e Diese l Check w ith yo ur Stat e Motor
Ve hicle Department.
Die sel
may not be ava ilable outs id e th e US A
and Canada. Be sur e to check before trav elin g to
othe r co untrie s.
Winter opera tion
At te mp erat ur es below 20° F No. 2 loses its fluidity d ue to wax separation,
which may clog the filt er or tank and
kee p th e engin e running.
To help in p reve nting su ch co nditions, the
in your vehicle is au tomatica lly preheated. You
can also buy gasoline additives separat ely
and add them to the gaso line yourself
yo u h ave
probl ems star ting or the e ngine does not sm oot hly.
Not all gasoline addit ives are effec tive. W e rec ­
omme nd you use only genu ine Vo lkswagen gas
additives for gasoline e ngin es . T hese add itive s
a re ava ilabl e from your authorized Vo lk swage n
deal er. Yo u will also receive information on how
to use th em.
Do not mi x other gas additives with th e gas
Preheating th e makes operation or
yo ur vehicl e po ssib le wit h Di ese l fuel N o. 2
down to - 10° F (-24 ' CJ.
you expect tem perat ur es below 5° F (-15 ° C) ask
you r dealer w hethe r their Diesel f uel No. 2 is
sufficie ntly winterized the pr evailing te m ­
pe ratures.
not wint erized or insu fficient ly win te rized
D iese l has a lready thick ened to the extent
that t he engin e will not start, it can be re ctifi ed
by lea vin g th e ve hicle standing
some time in
a heated s helter.
It is normal that th e engine noise leve l (die­
se ling ) is lou der du ring th e warm-up period in
w int er. It i s also norma l that whi tish-b lue smok e
be emitted from t he tailpipe after startin g
and d uring warm -up. The amoun t or smoke de-
pend s on th e outs id e te mp erature.
Checking and Filling 33

Booklet 3.2 Tips and Advice
Do no t let your Diese l e n gin e idl e u1111 ecessa rily
afte r a co ld start. Drivin g off s low ly wi ll sho rten
th e wa rm -up peri od.
WARNING
• Neve r use "s tarting a ssist fluid s". The y
may be pot entiall y explosive or cause a "run ­
away" engine condition. This could result in
ser ious engine damage and personal injury.
• Do not use fuel line antifreeze offered for
gasoline engines.
Note
• Your Diese l engi ne ha s bee n sp eci fica lly de­
s ig ned
10 ope rate o n Die sel fu el o nl y. T here fore.
n eve r use home hea tin g oil o r reg ular gaso line.
Th e pro p erti es of th ese fuels
ca use se rious
damage fuel injection sys tem and th e
e n gin e. This could l ead to additional expense
and will al so affe ct your warrant y.
• If Die sel fuel should get o n any rubb er h ose,
it
b e w ip ed off imm ediat ely . T he n wash th e
con ta minat ed hose port io n w ith so ap and warm
wa te r. Do not allow D iesel f uel
remain on co n­
n ec ting hoses . Th ey may de velop leaks and
ca use se rious damage.
be taken when worki ng on engine or on components the
engine compartment.
an y work on the engine or
in th e engi ne compartment:
I. Move the se lecto r l eve r P (Park ).
2 . App ly the parking brake firm ly .
3. Sw itch off the engi ne a nd re mo ve the
key from th e igni tion.
4. Wai t for the engine lo coo l d ow n.
5. Keep children and oth ers awa y fro m the
vehicle.
6 . Open the eng ine hood
36 .
All se rv ice fluid s, spark plugs. bau er ies etc. a rc
co nstantl y being deve lo ped and improved. Au­
th ori zed Volkswage n dea le rs a re kept up- to-da te
by the m anufa ctur er. For this reaso n
recom ­
m end that you h ave these re placed b y an autho ­
ri zed Volkswagen dea le r. P lease re ad th e notes
bel ow. The engin e co mpartment of an y m otor
vehicle is a hazardous
WARNING
Propo sition 65 Warning:
34 Checking and Filling
Lt::, WARNING
• Eng ine ex hau st, some of its cons tituent s,
and certain vehicle components contain or
em it chemica ls known to the Stale of Ca li­
forn ia
cause ca ncer and birth defe cts and
r e produ cti ve harm. In addition , cer tain fluid s
co ntained in vehicle s and certain product s of
c omponent wear contain or emit chemical s
known lo the Stale of California to cau se
cancer and birth defects or other reproductive
h ar m.
• Batter y posts, terminals and related acces ­
so rie s co ntain le ad and lead compon ent s,
c h emi cal s known to th e S tate of Ca lifornia
cau se cancer and reprodu cti ve harm . Was h
hand s hand ling.
WARNING
The en g ine compa rtment of an y motor vehicle
i s a pot entiall y dangerou s area and ca n ca use
s er io us per sonal injury.
• Always use extrem e ca ution when doin g
an y wo rk in th e engine compart ment. Alwa ys
follow common ly acce pted safety practi ces

Booklet 3.2 Tips and Advice
WARNING (continued)
- Neve r wo rk near heate rs, wate r heaters
o f o th er open flames.
Always have an approved fire extin­
g ui sh er nearb y.
• To avoid e lect rica l sho ck and per sonal in ­
ju ry
the engi ne is running or being
s tarted:
n ever touch ignition cab les,
- neve r touch oth er com ponen ts of the
hi gh vo ltage e lectronic ig nition sys tem ,
never 1oucl1 the gas discharged (Xenon)
headli ght s w ir in g.
Opening the engine hood
in se riou s malfunctions and engine
damage!
<£> For th e sake of environment
Service fluid leaks are harmful to th e environ­
me nt. Regularly ch ec k th e ground underneath
yo ur vehicl e. If yo u find spot s of oil or othe r
fluids. have your veh icle c hec ke d b y you r autho­
ri zed Vo lkswage n dealer or a qualified
wo rksh op.
The engine hood is released from inside the
Fig . 3 Deta il of the footwe ll: the re lease lever far
t h e engine hood is loca ted in the loa twell an ihe
dr iver side
Before you open the engine hood, make
s u re that the windshield wiper arm s are
folded-up against the w indshie ld so that
the hood will not be damag ed when the
hood is opened .
Pull the release lev er underneath the in­
s trum ent panel in the directio n of the
arrow
3 . The engine hood is rele ased
from its latch by a spring
36 Checking and Filling
Fig. 4 Detail of the radia to r grill : release leve r fa r
opening the engine hood
Lift the engin e hood up at the release
l ever
4 (arrow ) and open the hood
until it is he ld up by the gas-filled strut.
WARN ING
Stop! Before working in the engine compart ­
ment, a lways read and heed a ll WARN INGS
34. The engine compartm ent of any
motor vehicle is a potentially dangerous area
ca n cause serious p erso nal injury.

Closing the engine hood
-Pull th e en gin e hood dow n un til th e
p re ss ure from t he str ut is re d uced.
- Then le t t he eng ine hoo d fall an d la tc h
in p lac e
do 1101 µress
If th e en gin e hood does no t clo se prop erly , o pen
i t a gain an d clo se i t pro perl y. W hen th e e ngin e
h oo d is properl y cl ose d, yo u ca n se e tha t it fits
flu sh w ith th e o ther body part s.
Engin e oil
Engine oil specifications
Booklet 3.2 Tips and Advice
WARNING
If the e ngin e hoo d is not cl ose d pro perl y, it
co uld fl y up and blo ck yo ur view w hile dri ving
ca usin g a cr ash and seriou s pers on al in ju rie s.
• After clo sin g t he en gin e hood , a lway s
c he ck th at the safet y lat ch has pro perly en ­
g ag ed. The en gine hood must b e flu sh with the
s urroundin g body parts .
• If you eve r noti ce that the en gin e hood
l a tc h i s no t p roperl y sec ured when th e vehicle
i s m ov ing, stop a t on ce a nd cl ose it.
• Neve r let anyo ne g et in th e way of the en­
g in e hood when clo sing it.
Th e engine oil must conform to exact specifi cat ions .
Yo ur engi ne w as fa ctory filled w ith an all-se aso n
hi gh qu ali ty engin e o il with viscos ity g ra d e o f
SAE Yo u can u se this o il ov er all t emp er­
a tur e ra nges for n orm al dri vin g.
I f y ou nee d to add oil b etwee n oil ch an ges , u se
h ig h quality synth etic- ba sed oil w ith cor rec t
s p eci ficat ion s. If eng in e o il visc osit y g ra d e
5W-4 0 is not a va ilabl e, yo u ca n als o u se SA E 5W-
30 .
T o ass ure th at th e o il yo u u se is of th e hig h es t
qu ali ty re q uir ed by yo ur vehicl e, the fo llow ing
t e rm s m ust app ear on th e o il co nt ain er sing ly o r
i n co mbination wit h oth er de sig n atio ns:
Ga soline engin e
• VW 500 00 . VW 505 OJ o r VW 502 00
•
Di esel engin e
• VW 505 0 1 41, " Im portan t in forma tion
fo r vehicl es with Diesel e n gin e wh en ad din g or
c h angin g engine oil"
G ene ral recomm endations
If SAE 5W-40 o r visc osit y g rad e oil is not
a va ilab le in yo ur be sur e to alw ays use a vis ­
c osity g rad e s uita b le for th e clim ate and sea­
so nal co ndi tions th at exis t wh ere
v e hi cle is
ope rat ed . A lwa ys mak e sure th at o il m eets
t h e qua lity s tandard s liste d abo ve.
Checking and Filling 37