
Care of vehicle exterior
Automatic car washes
If yo u h ave accesso ries on vehicle, check
w ith th e c ar wash operator before washing your
ve hicle. We reco mm end though, t hat you fold
th e o uts id e mirror s to avoi d damage.
Veh icle paint is durab le e nough that the vehicle
ca n norma lly be wa sh ed with out pr obl ems in an
a ut omat ic ca r wash. However, the effec t o n th e
pa int mainly depen ds o n the type of ca r was h,
the brush es use d. the filteri ng of t he was h water,
and the type of detergen ts and wax solut ions
u se d, etc. If the pa int is sc ra tc hed or ap pears dull
af te r go ing th rough th e ca r was h, imm ediat ely
brin g thi s to the attention of the car was h op er
ato r.
Af te r th e ve hicle has bee n was hed, the brak e
dis cs and pad s w ill be
(th ey co uld even be
i cy in the w int er) and stoppin g di sta nces w ill be
Wa shing by hand
- Fi rs t so ften th e dirt with water and rinse
off.
- U sin g a so ft sponge , a was h glo ve or a
was h bru sh, wip e th e ve hicl e in a do wn
ward motion usin g ge ntl e pre ssur e.
- Rin se out th e s pong e or wash glo ve reg
ul arl y.
- Use s pecia l cl ean ers onl y o n h ard to re
mo ve dirt or grim e.
- Use a seco nd spon ge or wash glove
to
w ip e down the whee l rim s and und er th e
doo r sill s.
- Rin se the ve hicle thoro ugh ly w ith
wate r.
- Dry caref ully th e paint ed sur faces w it h
a c ham ois.
Booklet 3.2 Tips and Advice @
long er. B e su re to "dry" the brakes with sever al
ca ref ul brak e applica tions befo re dri ving off
8.
WARNING
W et brak es or bra kes coated with ice or road
sa lt rea ct slower a nd need longer stopping dis
tance s.
• Caref ully app ly brak es for a test.
• Always dry brake s and clean off ice coat
in gs and salt coatings with a few c autious
appli cations .
• Alw ays re ad and heed all WARNINGS
8, powe r and braking
- Wh en it is cold outside, make sur e you
w ip e all rubb er sea ls and their contact sur
fa ces dry so that they do not freeze. Use a
s ili co ne spray to kee p rubb er sea ls pliabl e.
- After washing your vehicl e, avo id
s udd en stops or maneuvers. T he brakes
ha ve to be " dri ed out " firs t by gen tly ap
p ly ing the br akes a few tim es
WARNING
Wet brakes or brak es coated wit h ice or road
sa lt reac t slower and need lon ger stopping dis
tan ces.
• Care fully apply brake s fo r a test.
• Always dry brakes and clean off ice coa t
in gs a nd salt coa ting s with a few cauti ous
brake application s.
• Alw ays read and heed all WARNINGS
8, pow er and braking dis-
t a n ce".
Cleaning and protection 17

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
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

Booklet 3.2 Tips and Advice
Fuel supply
Applies lo ve hicl es: wi th a gasoline engi ne
Gasoline
The co rrect gaso line grades are lisred on a sti cke r inside the Juel fill er flap.
Octane roting
Octane rating indicates gaso line's a bility to re
s ist en gin e da ma ging "k noc k" ca used by pre- ig
n iti on. Therefo re, buyin g the correc t grade of
gaso line is very
to help p reven t pos
s ibl e e ngin e damage and a loss of e ngin e perfor
man ce.
T he recommende d gaso line oc ta ne rating for
yo ur eng ine ca n b e fo und on a la b el loca ted on
th e in sid e of the fu el fill er flap. This rat ing m ay
b e s pecifie d as AKI (CLC) o r HO N (ROZ).
Gaso lines mo st co mm onl y use d in the Unite d
States and
hav e th e fo llow ing octan e
ra tin gs that can usually be found on th e fill er
pump :
• Premi um Graci e: 91
96 AKI
• Reg ular
87 90 AK I
Unlead ed gasoline
Unleaded gasoline is ava ilab le throu ghout t he
U SA, C anada, and in most European countri es.
We recom men d th at yo u do not take your ve
h icle
oxyge nates) if the
bl end ed mixture mee ts th e fo llowing criteria :
Blend of gaso lin e methanol (wood alcohol or
meth yl alco hol):
• Anti -kn ock ind ex mu st be 87 or hi gh er,
• Ble nd mu st co ntain no mor e th an 3% meth
a n o l,
• 131encl must co ntai n m ore tha n 2% co-so l
ve nts.
Bl end of gasoline a nd ethan ol ( gra in alco hol or
e th yl alco hol) :
• Anti-knock index mu st b e 87 AK I or higher,
32 Checking and Filling
• Ble nd mu st n ot co ntain mor e than HJ% eth
ano l.
Bl end of gaso line a nd MTBE:
• Anti -knock index must b e 87 AK I or high er,
•
m ust contain not more t han 15% MTB E.
Seasonally adjusted gasoline
Many gasolines are blen ded perfor m espe
cia lly well for win te r or summer driv in g. D urin g
seaso nal ch ange-over, we su gges t that you fill up
busy sta tio ns where the seaso nal adju st
ment is more like ly be mad e in tim e.
Note
• Do not use any fuel w ith octan e ra tings lowe r
than 07 /\K l or 9 1 otherw ise expensive en
g in e damage w ill occur.
• Do not use lea ded gaso lin e! Usin g le aded
gaso line
w ill seve re ly da mage vehicle 's cat
a lyt ic co nverte r and its abilit y to re du ce ex hau st
e mi ssio ns.
• Met hanol fue ls th at do not meet th ese re
q uir eme nts ma y ca use c orro sio n and dam age to
p las tic a nd rubber component s in th e fu el
sys te m .
• Do not u se fuels that fa il to meet the criteria
s p ecified above.
• If yo u are unable to dete rmine wheth er or
n ot
parti cul ar f uel bl en d m eets the sp eci fica
t io ns above, ask your service s ta tion o r its fu el
s u pplie r.
• Do not use f uel for whic h th e con te nt s
ca nn ot be identifie d.
• Fuel system damage and performan ce pro b
l e ms r esultin g from the use of f uels diffe re nt
from those s peci fied above are
11 0 1 th e respo nsi
bilit y of Vo lkswage n and are 1101 covered under
th e New Ve hicle or th e Emission Co ntrol
War ra n ties.

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