2008 VOLKSWAGEN JETTA tires

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 Tip s and Advice
ply
Max . load rating composition
and mater
ials
used
Fi g. 16 Tir e spec ifica tion codes on the sid ewa ll of tire
The rires rims es sen tial parts of the ve­desig n . Th e tire s and rim s approved by
V ol kswage n ar e s pecially matched the cha rac ­
teri sti cs o f veh icle ca n make a major
co ntribution to g oo d ro ad holding and saf e han ­
d ling when in good co ndition an d prop erly in­
We reco mmen d on tir es and w heel s
be perfor med b y an aut hori zed Volk swage n
dea le r. Th ey are
wi th re com men d ed
p roced ure s and have the necessary specia l tool s
a nd spare parts as we ll as the proper facilities for
di spo sing of th e old tire s.
Vo lk sw agen deale rs ha ve the nec es ­
s ar y in for mati on abo ut technical requ ire m ents
for in sta llin g or
a nd rims.
Rep lacing tires and whee ls
s h ou ld be re placed leas t in pairs and not
individuall y (for exa mple both fron t tir es or both
rea r tir es toge th er ).
On v ehicle with
re ad and heed th e infor­
m atio n tire s or ri ms on ve ­
hi cles equipp ed
buy re pla cement ra dial tire s that ha ve
th e same sp ecificat io ns as th e tir es appro ved for
your vehicl e by VOLK SW AGE N. R epla cement
t ire s m11 s1 alwa ys have the sam e load rating
s p ecificat ion a s the ori gin al equipm en t or ap ­
p rove d optio nal tire s listed in th e tab le
5 4.
VOLK SWAGE N-approved t ires are speci all y
matched 10 your veh icle and its load limit s, and
ca n co ntr ibute 10 1 he impo rtan t roadholding ,
driving chara cte ri sti cs , and sa fety of the vehicle.
T he
54) lists s peci ficat ions of t he
Wher e app lic a b le (T l'M S Tire pre ssure moni toring
Checkin g and Fillin g 61

Booklet 3.2 Tips and Advice
tires approved for the Volkswage n models ered by your Owner's Literature.
The tire pressure label on the open edge of the
dri ver's door (
54, fig. 13 ) lists th e s pec ifi­
cations of the original equipm ent tir es insta lled
on your vehicle at the time it was
Federal law re quire s tire manufacturers to plac e
standardized informat io n on the sid ew all of all
t ir es
fig. This information id enti­
fi es d esc ribes the fundamental charac te ris­
ti cs, the quality grad e of the tire and also pro­
vides
tir e id entifi cation number for safe ty stan ­
dard certificat ion an d in case of reca ll.
Tire specifications
Kn ow le d ge of tire sp ec ifica tions mak es it easier
to choose the tires. Hadial tires ha ve the
t ir e sp ec ifica tion s mark ed on th e sidewall, for
examp le :
P255 I 55 R 18 109 H x i
This contain s the following information:
Indi cates the tir e is for pass enger
No minal tire width in mm of the tire from
s ide wall edg e to sidewa ll edge. 1 n general.
th e lar ger the numb er, the wider th e tir e
55 I !e ight /width
in per cent (aspect ratio )
Tire constru ctio n: Hrad ial
1 8 Him diamete r
(in inch es)
109
co de
Speed le tter code
x i
tha t th e tire is "R einf orced"
( h eavy-d uty tir es)
M +S (o r "M /S") Indicates that t he tire h as some
m ud and snow capabili ty
The tire s could al so have the information of di ­
rection of rotation
51, "Unidi rectiona l
tires".
T ir e manufactur ing date
The manufa cturin g dat e is also indicate d on the
tir e sid ewa ll (poss ibly o nly on the i1111 erside of
th e wheel):
... 45 03 ... "means. fo r exam ple, that th e
tir e produ ced in the 45th week of
Speed Rating Letter Code
The sp ee d rating le tt er code on the wheel s indi­
cates the maximum p ermi ssibl e roa d speeds
in "Wint er tires" on page
up 93 mph (150 km/h )
Q 99 mph km/h)
up to 106 mph (170 k m/h)
s up to llO mph (180 km /h )
T up
118 mph (190 km/h )
u up t o 124 mph (200 km/h )
up to 130 mph (210 km /h )
V up to 149 mph (240
up to 150 mph (240
\V up t o 168 mph (270 y
up to mph (298
U. S. DOT Tire Identification Number (TIN )
Thi s is the tir e's "se rial number." It begins with
th e le tt ers "DOT" and indicates
the tire
m ee ts all federal standards . The n ext two
ber s or lett ers indicate th e plant where it was
manufacture d. and the la st four numb ers repre­
se nt the week and year of manuf acture. For ex­
a mpl e. th e numb ers 180 1 m ean that the tire
produ ced in the 18th week of 2001. The oth er
numb ers are mark etin g co des ma y or ma y
n o t be used b y th e tire manufa cturer. T his infor­
mati on is u sed to contact consum ers ifa tire de­
f ec t req uires a reca ll.
Tir e ply compos ition and materials used
T he numb er of plies indicat es the numb er of
la ye rs of rubb er-co ated fabri c in the tir e. In gen­
e ral, th e g rea te r the numb er of p lies , th e mor e
a tire can supp ort. Tire manuf actur ers
a lso mu st indicate the materials in the tire ,
wh ich include steel. nylon, poly este r, and
o th ers .
Maximu m Load Ra ting
Thi s numb er indi cat es the maximum load in ki ­
lo gram s and pounds that can h e
by the
tir e. Tread wear, traction and te mpe ralll re
g rades
64, tir e quality
·II For tir es max imum speed capabilit y over mph (240 km /h ). tire so metimes use
th e lette rs
62 Checking and Filling

Maximum Perm issib le Inflatio n Press ure
T his nu mb er is th e g re at est a mount of
pres­
s ur e tha t sh oul d ever be put in the tire und er
norma l driv ing cond itio n s.
R ep lac in g tires or rims on vehicles equipp ed
wit h
The air va lve o n all four tires (no t on the spare
ti re) is equip ped with a senso r, w hic h co nsta ntly
m on itors
a ir pr ess ure in side the tire, a nd
the n this Lu If
yo u ar e going to re pl ace the wheel rim s o n yo ur
ve hicl e, make sure the rim s also have these
se nso rs. The se nsor s mu st be co mp atib le w ith
TPM S sys tem o n yo ur vehicle .
I f yo u install rim s. w hich do not have th e se n­
sors, o r ha ve sensors w hich are not comp ati ble,
th e TP MS will not wor k pro perl y. In case, theTPM S would n ot b e ab le to m oni tor pr ess ure or wa rn you if is necessa ry.
• Wheneve r you c hange se nso rs, yo u ha ve to
i n sta ll
valves.
•
dri ve the valve ste m cap s se­
c ur ely m ou nted. We reco mmen d usi ng fac to ry
i n sta lle d va lve stem caps. As k your auth ori zed
Volkswage n dea le r if yo u los t va lve
caps.
T he in sta llat io n of re pla ceme111 tires
c ord hody plies in the tire si dewa ll m ay ca use
ma lfu nction tir e pre ssure monitorin g
sys te m (TPM S), and i s not recommended (cord
mat eri al informatio n is m olded on
ti re s ide­
wa ll).
ch ec k yo ur TPM S indi cator af te r r e­one or more tires o n yo ur vehicl e. If t he
TP MS indi cator is on. your TPMS is m alfu nc­
ti o nin g. Your
tire m ig ht be incom ­
patibl e yourTP MS system, or some co mp o­
n en t of the TP MS may be dam aged .
WARNING
• Usin g in cor rect or unmatched tires and
I or wheels or improper tire and whee l co mbi ­
nation s can le ad to loss of con tro l, co llisio n
and serio us perso nal injury.
• Always use tires, rims and whee l bo lts th at
me et th e specification s of ori ginal fa ctory- in­
s talled tire s or other combination s th at h av e
b een sp eci fica lly app roved by the vehicle
manufa ctur er.
Booklet 3.2 Tips and Advice
WARN ING (continued)
• Tire s age even if they arc not being use d
and can fail su ddenl y, es peci ally at high
s peeds. Tire s th at are more than 6 yea rs old
can only be use d in an em ergenc y and then
w ith specia l care and at lower speeds.
• Never mount use d tir es on your vehicle if
yo u are not sur e o f th eir "previou s hi story."
Old used tir es ma y ha ve bee n damag ed even
th ou gh th e dam age ca nnot be seen that ca n
l ead to sudd en tir e fa ilur e and lo ss of vehicl e
control.
• All four whe els must be fitted with radi al
tir es of the s am e type, size (ro lling cir cumf er­
ence) and th e sa me tread p attern. Dri ving
w ith diff erent tire s reduces ve hicle han dling
a nd can l ead to a loss of control.
• If the spare tire is not th e same a s th e tir es
that are mount ed on the vehicle - for examp le
with winter tir es - only u se the sp are tir e for a
s h ort period of tim e and drive w ith extra care.
Refi t th e no rma l road w hee l as soo n as safe ly
possib le.
• Neve r dri ve
than th e spe ed for wh ic h th e tires on you r ve hicle are
rat ed because tires that arc driven fas te r than
their rated sp eed ca n
sudd enly .
• Overloadin g tir es cause h eat build -up ,
s ud den tire failur e, includin g a blowout and
sudden defl ation and loss of co ntrol.
• Temperat ure grades apply lo tir es that are
properl y inflat ed and not over o r underin­
flated .
• For tec hni cal reaso ns it i s not always pos­
s ibl e to use whee ls from oth er ve hicles-in
s om e cases not eve n whee ls from the sa me ve­
hicle model.
• If you insta ll w hee l trim d iscs on th e ve­
hicle whee ls, make sur e that th e air flow to the
brakes is not blo ck ed. R edu ced airflo w to the
brakes can th em to ove rheat , in cre asin g sto p­
ping distances and causin g a colli sion .
Checking and Filling 63

Booklet 3.2 Tips and Advice
• If the spar e tire is differe nt from the tires that
yo u have mounted on your ve hicl e ( for example
tir es or wide profil e tir es), then use the
spare tire for a sh ort period of on ly and
driv e w ith extra care . R ep lace the flat tir e wi th
th e tir e ma tc hin g th e o ther s on yo ur vehicle as
soo n as pos sibl e.
Uniform tire quality grading
Qualit y can b e found w here appli cable on
th e tire side be twee n tread sh ou ld e r and
m axi mum sec tion w idth 61. fig . 16 .
For exampl e: T rea d wear 20 0, T ra ctio n /Ill, Te m­II.
1111 pa sse nger car ti res must conform to Federa l
Safe ty Hcquirem ents in additi on t o grade s.
Tr ead wea r
The
specifi ed gov­
ernme nt test course .
F or examp le ,
tir e g raded 150 wou ld wea r on e
and one half (11 /2) tim es well on govern­
me nt course as a tire graded IOO.
T he re lat ive perfor mance of tires depend s up on
th e act ual co nditions of the ir use, however. and
m ay depa rt sig nifi cantl y from th e no rm du e to
va riat io ns in dri vin g ha bits, se rvice practic es
a nd diff ere n ces in road chara cte ri sti cs and cli­
grade s, from hig hes t to lowes t. are
AA . and C. Those grade s re pr ese nt the tir e's
a bilit y to stop on pav ement as m easure d
under controlled condit io ns on spec ified gov ­
e rnment
surfa ces of asp halt and concret e. A
ti re m ark ed C ma y ha ve poor tracti o n perfo r­
64 Checking and Filling
• in sta llin g new tires, be c are ful no t t o
dam age the va lves o r sensor s.
• Never drive witho ut the va lve ste m cap. Th e
va lves a nd senso rs
get dama ged.
• I f
sensors must be rep la ce d, th e
va lve must likew ise be re pla ced sa m e
tim e.
c£> Fo r the sak e of environment
Di sp ose o f o ld tires in accordan ce wit h th e loca l
r e qu ire m ent s. Tempe rat ure
The 1e111pem111re grades are A (the hi ghes t), B. an d C. represen ting th e tir e's to the
gene ration of heat and its abi lity 10 di ss ipat e tes te d und er contro lled co ndi tions
on a spcci f'ied indoo r lab oratory te st w heel.
Sus tained hig h tempera ture ca n cause
mate­
r ial of the lir e to deg enerat e and re du ce lire life,
and excess ive te mperature can lea d to sudd en
tir e
The C co rresponds to a leve l of perfor­
m an ce whi ch all pa sseng er car tires mu st m eet
un der the
Motor V ehi cle Sa fe ty Standard
No. G rad es and A re pres ent higher lev els
of pe rfo rm ance on the laboratory w heel
th an minimu m re quir ed by law.
WA RNING
The trac t ion gra de ass igned to thi s tire is base d
on stra ig ht-ah ead brak ing tra ctio n t ests, and
d ocs not i nclude acceleration, corn erin g, hy­
d ropla ning or peak tracti on cha racter is ti cs.
WARNING
Th e te m pera ture gra de fo r thi s tire is es ta b ­
li sh ed for tir e th at is proper ly in fl ated and
not overloaded. Excess ive spee d, und crinfl a­
tion , or excess ive load ing, eith er separate ly or
in com binati on, ca n ca use hea t bu ildup and
po ssible tir e fa ilur e.

Booklet 3.2 Tips and Advice @
Winter tires
Winter rires can improve vehicle handling on snow and ice. At temperatures
below 45 ° F (7 ° C)
recommend changing to winter tires.
In som e hea vy s now areas, loca l go vernment s
m ay re quir e tru e or "snow" tires, those
wit h very deepl y cut trea d. The se ti res sh ould
on ly be use d in pair s and be in sta lled on all four
w hee ls. Make sur e yo u purcha se snow tire s that
ar e th e s am e size and const ruction ry p e as the
othe r tir es on your vehicl e.
S umm er tire s prov ide less grip on ice and sno w.
Winter tires (s now tires) must be
on a ll
four whe els .
If you wa nt to us e th e tir e pre ssure monitoring
sys tem
compat ibl e se nso rs mu st b e
in sta lle d on all four wint er tire s 63.
Ask your authori zed Volkswage n deal er or qual ­
ified work shop for permitt ed winter tire sizes.
U se on ly rad ia l w int er tir es.
Wi nter tires lose their effectiveness w hen the
tr ead is worn dow n
to a depth of 4 111111 (0.1 57
inch ).
Onl y driv e wit h wint er ti res und er w int er co ndi­
tion s. S umm er tir es hand le bett er w hen there is
no snow or ic e on the ro ads a nd th e temp erature
is above 45 ° F (7 ° C).
If yo u ha ve a flat tir e, see notes on spar e w heel
"New tires and replaci ng tire s an d
wh eels".
Pl eas e always re m emb er that winter tir es ma y
ha ve a lower spe ed
than th e tire s origi­
nall y insta lled on your vehicl e at the time it was
manufactur ed. Pl ease see
53, "Spee d
rating (letter cod e)" for a listing of the spe ed
rating l ett er co de s and
maximum speed ar
w hi ch the tires c an b e driv en.
The sp eed rating letter code
53) is on the
s id e w all of th e tire fi g . 16 .
WARNING
Winter tires have maximum speed lim its that
may be lowe r than your vehicl e's maximum
speed. Always know the maximum speed b e­
fore driving
Neve r drive fa ster than the
speed permitted your speci fic wi nter tires.
This cause damage to the tire s leading to
an accident and serious personal injury to you
and your passengers.
WARNING
Driving faster than the maximum speed for
which the winter tires on your vehicle are
veloped can cause sudden tire failure, loss o f
contro l and seriot• .s personal injury.
• Winter tire s have maximum sp ee d rating
that may be lower than your ve hicle's max ­
imum speed.
• Neve r drive fa ster than the sp eed for which
the wint er or other tires installed on you r
hicle are rated.
WARNING
Always a djust your driving to the road and
traffic condition s. Never let the good accelera­
tion of the winter tir es and all -wheel drive
tempt you into taking extra risks. Alway s
member:
• When braking, an all-w hee l drive ve hicle
h andles in the same way as a front drive
hicle.
• Drive carefu lly a nd reduce yo ur speed on
ic y and slippery roads, eve n winter tire s
cannot help un der black ice conditio ns.
Fo r the sake of environment
U se s umm er tire s wh en weat her condition s
permit. The y are qui ete r, do not wear as qui ckl y
and redu ce fuel consumpti on
Where applicabl e (TP MS = Tir e pre ssure mo nitoring system)
Checking and Filling 65

WARNING {continu ed)
• Never let anyone place any part of their
body underneath the vehicle when support ed
by the jack.
• Never support your vehicl e on cinder
blocks, bricks or other obje cts . These may not
Changing a wheel
F ig . 27 Chang ing a wheel : removing the wheel
baits
Removing the wheel
-Usin g the h ex socket in th e sc rew dri ver
27, un screw t he w heel bo lts pre vi­
o usly loo sen ed about on e turn and put it
o n a cl ean su rface .
- Then re mo ve the oth er whee l bolt s as
d esc ribed abo ve.
- Tak e off th e w he el.
- Place the flat ti re in the lu gg ag e co m-
p artmen t.
Mounting the spare wheel
-Mount the sp a re wh eel.
- Insta ll th e w hee l bolt s and tight en th em
lig htly u sin g th e hex so cke t in th e sc rew
dri ver.
- L ower th e ve hicle on the jack .
Booklet 3.2 Tips and Advice
WARNING {cont inu ed )
be able to support the load and collap se sud ­
denl y.
• Nev er start the engine when you have
raised the vehicl e on the jack. The engine vi­
bration s and v ehicle movements could knock
the v ehicl e off the
- T ig ht en the wheel bolts firml y using the
lu g w re n ch. Ti gh te n th e whee l b olts in di­
a gonal s equ ence , for e xampl e, tig h te n th e
top bolt and then th e oppo sit e bolt clo se st
to th e ground and continu e tight enin g the
bolt s until all have bee n firml y and se­
c ur ely tight en ed. Do not tight en th e bolts
in clock wise or c ounter-cl oc kw ise se­
quen ce.
Unidirectional tires
Unidir ectional tir es mu st be co rrec tly m ount ed
a ll arou nd.
A un idir ection al tir e ca n b e id en tified b y arrows
o n th e s idewa ll, w hi ch p oin t in the di rec tion of
t h e ro tation . Yo u mu st fo llow the speci fied dir ec­
ti on of ro ta ti on. Thi s is necessary in orde r for
the se tires to deve lop t heir optim al cha racte ris­
ti cs regar ding grip, road noise, wea r and hydro­
p la ni ng .
I f y ou have
to moun t a tire opp osite to i ts pro per
dir ection of rot atio n. p lease drive caref ull y sin ce
th e tir e no lo nge r poss esses its o ptimal chara c­
t e ri stic s in thi s s itu atio n. Thi s is parti cul arl y im ­
po rta nt in we t con ditions. In orde r to f ully ex­
pl oi t th e benefi ts of unidir ectio nal tire s ag ain ,
yo u sh ou ld imm edi ate ly re place or change the
tir e in or der to resto re th e co rrect d irec tion of ro­
t a ti on .
WARNING
Improp erl y tight en ed or maintain ed wheel
b olt s can b ecome loose cau sin g lo ss of control ,
a colli sio n and seriou s per son al inju ry:
• Alw ay s keep th e wheel bolt s and th e
thread s in the wh eel hub s clean so the whee l
bolt s can turn easily and be p roperl y tight-
en ed .
What do I do now? 73

Booklet 3.2 Tip s and Ad vic e
F
Fab ric trim
C lea ning 23
box 79
F u ses 77
G
Gaske ts 20
Gaso line 32
B le nd s 32
Co ntaining alcohol 32
Oc tan e rating 32
P etro l 32
Pr emium 32
R eg ular 32
U nl eaded 32
W ha t if I purc hase poor qua lity fu el? 32
W hat wou ld happ en if I put l ead ed gaso-
line in my car? 32
W in te r or summ er tip s 32
Gaso lin e addit ives 33
G lossa ry of tire and l oad ing t ermin ology 52
H
H ow could I damag e th e ca taly tic
co nverter? 10
H ow do I kno w how much oil m y eng in e is
co nslllnin g? 38
H ow do I unlo ck th e engine hood? 36
H ow doe s moi sture or road sal t affe ct the
bra kes? 8
H ow oft en sh o uld I c h ec k my tire
pr ess ures? 57
H ow of te n sh ou ld I rep lace my eng in e
battery? 50
H ow ofte n sh ould I wa x m y c ar? 19
H ow often sh ou ld th e brake fluid be
c h anged? 48
Hu bca ps 69
H ydro pla nin g 60
I mp ort ant inform ation fo r ve hicle s wi th Die ­
se l eng ine when addin g or changin g en ­
g in e oil 41
94 Alphabetical index
Impo rtan t inf ormati on to kn ow before dis ­
c on nec t the battery 49
I ns trum en t panel
C le aning 23
J
Jack 72
Jum p star lin g 84
Jump er cables 84
L
Lea ther
C lea nin g 23
Lifting pla tfo rm 89
Lifti ng th e ve hicle 89
Li gh t cha nge 81
L ock cy linders
21
Lo cks 21
M
Mod ificat io n s 28
N
New tires an d wheels 6 1
N HT SA 90
No tice about data r ecorded by vehicle con­
trol modu les 6
0
Oil 37
O il ch an ge 42
Oil dips tick 39
Ope ratin g you r vehicl e ou ts id e th e U. S.A . o r
Ca nada 91
Outs id e mirr ors
C lea ning 19
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Pa int
P o lishin g 19
Wax ing 19
Park ing Ass is ta nce
C le aning sensors