
Booklet 3.2 Tips and Advice
Vehicl e batt ery
Location of battery
The battery is mai nte nance-free is c h ecked during the inspection serv ice.
Warning note s on handling batterie s
Battery acid is very co rrosive a nd
ca usti c. Always we ar protective
g loves and eye prot ection !
Fires, s park s, open ligh ts and
s moking arc pro hibit ed!
Always kee p childr en away acid and batt eries!
WARNING
Wo rki ng on the batt eri es or the electr ical
syste m in yo ur vehicl e can result in ser ious
acid burns,
th e
batt eri es . Whe n a light bulb is c han ged, always
sw itch o!Tt he light.
• Turn o!Tt he an ti- th ert alarm by unl ockin g
the vehicl e befor e yo u disco nnect th e bat
terie s to pre vent th e ala rm rrom goin g on.
• Always kee p childr en a way
acid an d
batterie s.
• Alw ays wear eye prot ectio n. Nev er let bat
t ery acid or lead particl es contact your eyes,
and clothin g.
•
batter y acid is ve ry co rrosive and
can cause damag e to unprote cted ski n and
blindn ess. A lways wear protectiv e gloves a nd
eye protec tion. To re du ce yo ur risk o r injur y,
n eve r tilt the batt eri es, as thi s co uld spill acid
throu gh th e ve nts and burn you.
WARN ING
• Wh en disconn ecting the batt eri es from the
ve hicl e elec tr ic al sys tem , a lways disco nnect
the negative cable(- ) fir st a nd th en th e po si
ti ve ca ble(+ ).
• Alwa ys avo id fires, spark s, op en li ght s a nd
s moking. Alw ays avoid generatin g sparks a nd
e lectro static charges whe n handlin g cables
a nd elect rica l equipment. Never short-cir cuit
the battery pole s. Hi gh -energy sparks can
c au se se rious per sonal injury.
• Always swi tc h off all electrica l con sumer s
before recon nectin g the batteries. Heconncct
th e plu s ca ble( +) first and then the negative
cab le(-). Neve rrever se the polarity or the con
ne ctions. This could cause fire.
• A hi ghl y exp losive mixtur e or gases is give n
off when th e batter y is bein g ch arged.
• Never cha rge a frozen batt ery, or one that
ha s th awe d. Thi s could res ult in explos io ns
and chemical burns! A lways re pla ce
batte ry
t h at h as frozen. A discharged battery can
rr eeze a t temperatures around 32° F (0 ° CJ.
• Alwa ys make sure that t he ven t hose is co n
n ec ted to the batt eries.
• Never use dama ged batter ie s- they can ex
p lode ! Im med iately repl ace dam aged bat
terie s.
•
yo u ge t b att ery acid in yo ur eyes or on
y our imm edi ate ly rin se with co ld water
fo r sev eral minut es and see k m edi ca l att en
tion imm ed ia te ly.
yo u in ges t a ny batt ery
aci d, seek medi cal aue ntion imm ediatel y.
WARNING
California Propositi on 65 Warnin g:
• Battery posts, te rm in al s and re la te d acces
so ries contain l ead and lead compon ent s,
c hemicals kno wn to the
of Ca lifornia lo
ca use cance r and reproducti ve harm . Wash
h ands
h and ling.
Ch ecking and Filling 49

Booklet 3.2 Tips and Advice
The electrolyte level be checked reg ularly in high-mileage vehicles, in hot
cou ntri es and in older batteries.
- Open the engine hood and open the
batt ery cover at the front.
- C heck th e co lor display in the round
w ind ow at the top of the battery.
- If there are air bubb les in the window,
tap the w indow gent ly un til they disp erse .
Th e positio n of th e battery is sh ow n in th e corre
spo ndin g engine compart ment diagram
3.3. Th
e ro und window ("magic eye '') on th e to p of
t h e batt ery chang es color, d epending on the
c harg e le vel and ele ctrolyt e le vel of the ba ttery.
I f th e c olor in the w indow i s co lor less or bri gh t
ye llow . the elec trol yte le vel of the battery is to o
I la ve the ba tte1y ch ec ked by a q ualifi ed
d eal ers hip ..
The col ors g ree n and b la ck ar c use d b y the work
s h op t o diagno se the battery.
Charging and replacing vehicle batteries
All work with the vehicle battery req uir es specia l know ledge.
Have th e batteries checked by auth orized
Vo lkswagen deale r o r qua lified workshop be
t ween regular ma inten an ce i nt erva ls if you of te n
driv e short distance s or i f th e vehicle is not
driven for lo ng peri ods.
I f the bat te ry has discharged and you have prob
l ems starting th e ve hicle, the battery might be
damaged . If thi s happens, we re comme nd you
h ave the ve hicle batte ry c hecked by an autho
ri ze d Vol kswag en dealer
it w ill he erly recha rged o r re pla ced.
C har ging vehicle batteries
T he c har ging of the vehicl e batt eri es s hould be
l ef t to an aut horized Vo lkswage n deale r o r qual
ifi ed workshop, b ecau se your ve hicle is
equipp ed w ith specia l batteri es th at mu st b e
charg ed in a contro lled e nvironm ent.
50 Checking and Filling
Rep lacing a battery
T he batt eries have been specia lly deve lo ped for
th eir lo cat io ns and they have specia l sa fe ty fea
Genui ne Volkswage n batte ries me et th e m aint e
nan ce, and safety sp ecificat io ns
fo r you r ve hicl e.
WARNING
• u se on ly maint en an ce -fr ee or
cycle -free, leak-proof batteries with the same
s pecification s and dimen sions as the ori ginal
e quipm ent batt ery. S pecifi cation s are liste d
on the batt ery hous ing.
• Before sta rtin g
work on th e batteries,
a lways rea d and heed a ll in
"Loca tion of battery" on page 49.

Booklet 3.2 Tips and Advice
tool and th e vehicl e
jack
con tains th e follow ing items 18 :
Th e sc rew driv er is in th e lu g w re nch and its
b lad e is re ve rs ib le .
A dap ter for ant i-th eft wh eel bo lts
Tow ing eye, re movab le
W ire hook for pulling off the ce nte r co ve r
a nd th e w he el b olt cap s
Jack f or changing a wheel. B efor e yo u put
th e jack back in to i ts loca tion make sur e it is
co mp le te ly re tr a cted.
wr en ch for wheel bolts
Ad opter for anti-th eft w hee l baits
We reco mmend yo u carry t he wh eel bolt adap te r
in th e ve hicle tool kit at all times. The a nti-theft
w hee l bo lt code numbe r is sta mp ed on th e front
of th e ada pter. Yo u will need this numb er to re
p lace t he ada pter if it is lo st. No te th e c ode
numb er o f th e adapt er fo r th e an ti- th ef t whee l
b olt and kee p it in a safe pla ce
but not in your
veh icle.
Fig . 18 Vehicle too l kit. Some of th e it e m s sh own
come o nly w it h certa in models .
WARNING
Improper ly t ighte ned whee l bo lts can become
l oose, ca usi ng loss of contro l, a co llisio n an d
ser ious perso nal i nju ry.
• Neve r tig h te n th e w hee l bo lts wit h a hex
socke t in th e sc rew driver h and le because yo u
w ill n ot be ab le to tig hte n th e bo lts to t he re
qu ired torque.
• Always use t he lug wrench and tig ht en th e
wh eel bolts secure ly.
WARNING
Imp roper use of your ve hicle jack can ca use
ser io u s pe rso nal in jury .
• Never use the fac tory sup plied jac k for t his
mod el to lift othe r ve hicles o r any other heavy
ob jec ts.
• Your vehicle jac k i s des igned for ch ang in g
w hee ls on your vehicle on ly, not fo r working
un dernea th
it. If you have to wo rk un derneat h
t h e ve hicle , a lways use safe ty s ta nds to s up-
p or t th e veh icle.
What do I do now ? 67

Booklet 3.2 Tips and Advice
WARNING (continued)
• Always make sure that the battery pro
v idin g ass istance has the same vo ltage as the
discharged battery (12V) and approximately
the same ca pacity (see battery label).
• Neve r jump start a ve hicle with
rrozen
batt ery. 1r a battery is or has been frozen, re
pla ce it.
• Batteries giv e
explosive hydrogen gas.
A lways keep sparks, open flame and
smoking materials away from batteri es.
• Never short out the battery pole s by con
necting the positive
and nega tive po les
with eac h other .
• Always follow the jumper cab les ' manufac
turer's instruct ions.
• Never co nn ect the negati ve cab le from the
other vehicle directly to the negat ive terminal
or the discharged battery. The hydrogen gas
rrom the battery is exp losive.
Towing
WARN ING (continued)
• Never attac h the negative cable from the
ve hicl e providing starting assistance to parts
of the fuel syst em or to the brake hoses o r
brake lines.
• Never a llow the non -in sula ted parts of th e
batt ery clamps to touch. Never allow the
jumpe r cab le a ttached to the positive battery
t ermina l to contac t metal parts of the vehicle.
• Alw ays route the jumper cables so that
th ey can not ge t tangled up with moving parts
in th e engi ne c ompartment.
the vehicl e's e lec
tri cal sys te m.
• Do not l et
veh icles touch eac h oth er. Oth
e rw ise curr ent could fl ow betwee n the ve hicles
a s soo n as the plu s(+) te rminal s are
co nn ect ed.
67.
86 What do I do now?
Fig. 43 The front right secti on of the vehicle: fitti ng
t he towing eye
- Rem ove the scre w 42 usin g the
sc rew dri ver.

-Press the cove r together u sing both
hand s in the direc tion or th e arrows
42 and pull the cover
Booklet 3.2 Tips and Advice
-Screw th e tow ing eye into the t hread ed
ho le , turnin g
co1111t er-cl ockwi se as far as it
will go
43.
- Use the wre n ch for leverage to tighten
the towing eye.
Towing eye at the rear of the vehicle
Fig. 44 Rear lawing eye
General notes
Installing the towing eye
-Take the towing eye , the wrench a nd
th e sc rew driver out of the vehicl e tool kit
=;:iage 67.
- Pull the cover down and lea ve it
hanging on the vehicl e
- R em ove the cove r on the threaded hole.
- Screw t he towin g eye into th e thr ea ded
hol e, turning
co 1111r er-clockw ise as fa r as it
w ill go
44.
- Use the wrench for leve rage to tight en
the tow ing eye.
po ssi ble tow with the fron t wheels off ground
A lways observe the following use a
t ow-rope :
Notes for the driver of the towing ve
hicle
- Turn on the emerge ncy flas her.
- Driv e slowly at fir st until th e tow-ro pe is
taut. Then acce lerate graduall y.
- Press the acce le rator slow ly .
- Remembe r that the brak e boo ster and
po we r stee rin g ar e not working in the ve
hi cle you are tow ing. Brake earlier and
mor e gently than you wo uld n orm ally
Do not drive than 30 mph (50
k m /h ) and furth er tha n 30 miles (5 0 km ).
Notes for the driver of the towed ve
hicl e
-Turn on the emergency flash er.
- Move the selecto r leve r or gears hi ft
l ever to the neutral posi tion (NJ
- Make sure tha t rh e tow -rope is taut at a ll
Tow-ro pe or tow -bar
It is easier and sa fer to tow a vehicle with a tow
bar . O nl y use a tow- rope if yo u d o no t h ave a
tow -bar.
A tow -rope s hould be sli ghtl y e las tic to re duce
th e lo adin g on both vehicl es. U se
tow-rope
mad e of sy nthetic fib er or sim ilar ela sti c m ate -
r ia l.
What do I do now? 87

Booklet 3.2 Tips and Ad vic e
Attach the tow-rope or the tow-bar only to th e
tow ing eyes provid ed .
D riv in g s ty le
T ow ing require s some exper ie nc e, es pecia lly
when using a tow -rope. Both driv ers should be
familiar w it h th e tec hn iqu es required for tow ing.
In ex perienced drivers should not try to tow an
o th er ve hicle.
Do not pu ll to o hard w ith th e towing vehicle and
a vo id j erking the tow- rope . When tow in g on an
unpa ved road, there i s alway s
risk of over
l oad ing and damaging the an ch orage points .
T he ignition oft he ve hicle be in g towed must be
s witched on to prevent the stee ring whee l fro111
lo ck ing. Also ensur e that the turn signals, horn,
windshield wipers and wash ers work properl y.
Keep in mind that the brake b ooste r d oes not
work when th e e ngine is not running. You will
hav e to apply considerably more pressure to th e
brak e pedal than you wou ld nor111a lly.
A lso the pow er stee rin g do es not work when the
e n g in e is not running. You will n eed m ore for ce
to stee r than you would norma lly.
Tow in g ve hicl es w it h an aut om atic tran smi ssio n
• Move the se lec tor leve r to N. •
Do not drive fa ster than 30 mph (50 km/h)
wh en towing a ve hicl e.
• Do not tow further t han
3 0 111iles (50 km ).
• lfa tow tru ck i s use d, th e ve hicle must be
tow ed with a ll w heels off the ground .
WARNING
Towing a vehicle c hange s th e way yo ur vehi cle
h an dles a nd br akes. To help re du ce t he risk of
an acci den t lead ing to se rious persona l injury,
no te th e fo llow ing:
• T he dr ive r of t he ve hicle t hat is be ing
towe d:
- Will h ave to p ress th e bra ke peda l con
s id era bly harder than no rm al beca use th e
b ra ke boos te r i s not a cti ve. Always be alert
no t to rear-end the tow ing ve hicle .
- Will h ave to use cons idera bly more fo rce
t o t urn th e steerin g w hee l, b eca use th e
power steer ing is not active.
• The driver o f the ve hicle that is tow ing:
- Must accelera te grad ually a nd ge ntle,
avo id je rkin g m oveme nts.
- Must b ra ke ear lier a nd more gentle t han
yo u wo uld norm ally
When can your vehicle not be towed?
Yo ur ve hicle m ay no t be towe d un der the fo l
l ow ing con ditions:
• If th e tran sm iss ion mal fun cti o ns and there is
no tran smis sion flui d.
• I f th e veh icle e lectr ical sys tem is not func
ti o nin g beca use the s tee ring will lock up.
• If yo u ha ve to driv e fu rth er th an 30 mile s (5 0
• If the front or rea r axl e is off th e ground
because you dama ge th e gea r.
In the se cases the vehicl e mu st be transport ed
o n a car c arrie r or trailer.
WARNING
If you still tow your ve hicle un der these co ndi
tio ns, you could ca use an acci dent or ca use
d am age to th e ve hicle. Thi s w ill n ot b e covere d
by your Limit ed New Ve hicle Warra nty .
88 Wha t do I do no w?
Do no t tow your ve hicl e beh ind a re cre a tional
vehicle . The Automatic transmi ssio n can be se
ve re ly damaged. This can happ en even if these
l ec to r lever is in th e N (Ne utral) pos ition.
• If th ere is no oil in th e tra nsmi ssio n because
o f dama ge to yo ur vehicle , th e veh icl e s hould b e
mo ved with a ca r carrier .
• If th e front or rear axle is lift ed off th e grou nd,
thi s will serio us dama ge the dr ive gea r.
• If th e veh icl e ha s to be towe d more than 30
mi les (5 0
all whee ls must be rai sed to tow
t he vehicle. The vehicle should be m oved with a
car carrier .
• If vehicle has no e lec trica l po we r, th e
s te erin g will be locked. The ve hicle must

Parts 27
Plastic parts 19
Clean ing 23
Power steering 6
Power wa sh er 18
Prem ium Gaso line 32
R
Rai sing th e veh icle wit h th e jac k 72
Hear lid
Escape handle 76
wind ow heat ing
Heatin g element wires 20
Refue ling 30
H eg ular Gaso line 32
Repair s 28
Hep lacin g
Whee l rim s 63
Rep lacing tires and wheels 6 1
He por ting safety de fects
Ca nada 90
Unit ed States 90
Rims Replacing 63
gas kets 20
s
Safery belt s
Cleaning 26
S now chains 66
Spa res 27
Speed Hating Letter Code 62
Sta rtin g w ith jum per ca bles 84
Ste ps fo r dete rmining correc t load lim it 59
T
Tank
Fillin g
tank 30
Openi ng the fu el filler
30
Tec hnical m od ifica tions 28
T ire pressu re 56
T ir e pressure monitoring system
Se nso rs 63
Tir es and whee ls 63
Va lves 63
Booklet 3.2 Tips and Advice @
Tire service life 59
T ir es
Rep la cing 63
Se rv ice life 59
Speed Hating Leller Code 62
Ti re manufa cturing dale 62
Ti re specificat ions 62
Tread depth 59
Uni form tire qua lity gradi ng 64
Win te r tires 65
Tir es and vehicle load limit s 58
Tir es and whe els 5 1
C hec king tir e press ure 56
Co ld tire innation pre ssure 54
D imens ions 6 1
General notes 51
Glo ssary of
and loadin g
t e rm inology 52
New tires and whee ls 61
Rep lacing 6 1
Snow cha ins 66
T ire pressu re mon ito rin g sys tem 63
Tir es and vehicle load limit s 58
Whee l bolts 66
W int er tire s 65
Tools 67
Towing 86
Four-wheel dr ive 86
General notes 87
When can yo ur vehicl e not be towed? 88
Towing eye 86
Tra iler tow ing
Brak es ll
Dr iv in g tips 13
Operating instru ction s 12
Safety chain s 11, 12
Tec hnical requir ements IO
Tire press ure 12
T ow ing tips 13
Trailer lights 11
Tra iler weigh t 12
Tra nspo rt Ca nada 90
Tread Wea r Ind ica to r (TWI) 59
u
Underbody sea lant 22
Unidir ectiona l tires 51, 73
Uniform lir e qu alit y g rading 64
Alphabetical index 95