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
WARNING (continued)
and use co mmon se nse. Never r is k p ersonal
injur y.
• Never perform an y work in th e engi ne
c ompartm ent unl ess you know exactl y
to
ca rry o ut th e jo b ancl have the c orr ect tec h
ni cal informati on and th e corre ct tool s! lf yo u
a re un certain about what to do, have th e w ork
performed b y an authori zed Volk swagen
d ealer or a qu alifi ed d ealers hip. Seriou s per
s on al injur y m ay res ult fr om impr op erl y per
form ed wo rk.
• Neve r open th e eng in e ho od if you see
s team or coo la nt esca ping from the e ngi ne
com partm ent. I-l ot ste am or cool ant can cause
se riou s burn s. Always wa it until you no lo nge r
see o r h ear s te am or coolan t esca pin g fro m th e
e ng in e.
• Alw ays let t he en g in e coo l d ow n com
pl ete ly before c aref ully openin g th e e ngin e
hood . I-l ot co mp on ent s w ill burn skin on co n
ta ct.
• When th e engin e has coo le d d own and you
ar c r ead y to open th e engin e ho od:
- Rem ove the key from th e ig nition.
- Appl y th e parkin g brake firml y and put
th e se lec tor in P (P ar k).
- Kee p childr en and oth ers away from the
ve hicl e.
• Never reac h in to th e a re a aro und or to uch
th e ra diato r fa n. Co ntact w ith th e blad es can
r es ult in serio us pe rs on al inju ry. A lw ays re
memb er that th e ra diato r fa n i s te mp erature
con tro lled a nd can turn on su d d enl y
eve n
w hen th e e ng in e ha s bee n sw itch ed off for a
l o nger pe riod of tim e and the k ey has bee n r e
mo ved fro m th e ig niti on .
• Never unscre w th e coo lant expan sio n tank
c ap when the en gin e is hot.
h o t e ngin e will
h eat th e coolant and put it unde r pr ess ure. Re
mo ving
cap th at is under pressur e ca n res ult
in seriou s perso nal in jur y and /o r burn s.
• Alw ays prot ect fa ce, hand s a nd arm s from
h ot esca ping coo la nt or stea m b y cove ring th e
ca p with a la rge, thick rag.
• Turn the ca p slow ly and very ca refull y in a
co unt er-cl oc kw is e dir ec tion whil e ap ply in g
li g ht d ownwa rd press ure on the to p of the cap.
Booklet 3.2 Tips and Advice
,1i WARN ING (continued)
• Neve r spill flui ds on hot engine parts or ho t
ex haust sys te m . S pill ed fluid s can cau se a fire!
• Neve r sh ort -ci rc uit th e e lec trical sys te m ,
es pec iall y wher e the jump er ca bles a rc at
ta ch ed
Th e ba tter ies co uld explo de!
• Never leave a ny o bjec ts in th e eng in e co m
p artm ent, fo r exa mpl e cle anin g rag s and to ols .
O bjec ts le ft b ehind can cau se m alfu nction s
and e ven
res .
• Neve r wo rk und er th e ve hicle unl ess y ou
h ave safe ly sec ured th e vehicle from m oving.
If yo u mu st wo rk und er the vehicl e with th e
w hee ls on th e gro und, always make sure the
ve hicl e is on leve l gro und , th e w hee ls arc
b locke d from m oving and th e key is not in the
i g niti on.
• Al ways supp ort yo ur ve hicl e w ith safet y
st and s if you have to w ork und erne ath it. T he
j ac k suppli ed
th e is no t stron g
e nough fo r thi s purpo se and can collap se
ca usin g se riou s pers on al injury.
• lfyo u have to perform a ch eck or re pair
w hen th e e ngin e is runnin g, ther e are mor e
ri sk s from th e rot ating pa rts , su ch a s the driv e
be lts, ge nera tor , ra diato r f an , et c., and from
th e hi gh -v olta ge ig niti on sys te m. Al ways use
ex trem e c are:
- Never to uch th e elec trical wirin g of th e
i g nition syste m.
- Always make s ure th at j ew elry, lo ose
clothi ng and lon g
do no t ge t ca ught in
r o ta tin g e ngin e part s. B efor e sta rtin g any
wo rk re move je w elry, tic back a nd cove r
h air , a nd do n ot wea r cl othin g th at can
han g dow n and get ca ught in mo vin g en
g in e part s.
- Alwa ys use ex trem e caution if th e acce l
e ra tor pedal ha s to be d epr esse d to perform
ch ec k. Th e vehicl e could mo ve sudd enl y,
eve n if th e parkin g br ake is a ppli ed.
• If wor k on the fuel sys te m or th e elec trical
sys te m
ne cess ary:
- Alw ays disco nnect the b att eri es . Ma ke
s ur e th e ve hicle is unlo ck ed when disco n
nec ting th e batter ies, o r th e a larm will go
off.
- Neve r sm oke.
Ch ecking and Filling 35
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
or you bought the vehicle as prev iously owned
vehicle.
R emember, yo ur safety and that of your passen
ge rs also depends on making sure that load
limit s ar c not exceeded. Ve hicle load includ es
every body and every thing in and on the vehicl e.
These lo ad limit s are t echni cally r efer re d to as
th e ve hicle's Gross Vehicle Weight H ating
The Gross Axle We ight Hating is th e maximum load that can be ap
plied each of the vehicle' s two axl es. The Gross
V ehicl e Rating and the Gross Axle Weight
Ratin g ar c listed on the safety compliance stick er
lab el o n the driver's door
pillar. The tire
pre ssure lab el on your Volkswagen lists the max
imum combined w eight of a ll of the occupants
and lug gage or other cargo that the vehicle can
carry . For the location of the tir e pr ess ure lab el
54, 13 .
WARNING
Over loa din g a vehicl e can cause loss of vehicle
control, a cras h or other accident, serious per
so nal injury, and even death.
• Carrying more weight tha n yo ur vehicle
was des ig ned to carry
will pr event the vehicle
Checking tire pressure
WARNING (continued)
from handling properly and increase the risk
o f th e lo ss of vehicl e con trol.
• Th e brakes on a vehicle th at has been over
l oaded may not be able to stop the vehicl e
w ithin a sa fe dis tance.
• Tire s on a ve hicle that has been overloaded
can fail suddenl y caus ing loss of control and a
crash.
• Always make sure that the total load being
tran sport ed - includin g the weig ht of a tra iler
hit ch and the tongue weig ht of a loaded trailer
docs not m ake the vehicle h eavier than the
ve hicle' s Gross Veh icle We ig ht Rating.
WARNING
• Inco rrect tire and/or underinfla
t io n can lead to a se rious or fata l accident.
• Inco rrec t tire pr essures and/or underin fla
t ion cause increased tire wea r an d ca n affect
th e handling of the ve hicle.
• Incorrect tir e pre ssur es an d/o r underi nfla
t ion can also lead to s udden tire failure, in
cluding a blowo ut and sudd en deflation,
ca usi ng loss of ve hicl e
correct pressur e for tires originally i 11stalled on your icle is listed on
the tire pressure label on the open edge of
doo1:
Th e recomme nded tire pr essures on the tire
pr ess ure labe l ar e in the table "Co ld
tire inflation pres sure''. Thi s m ea ns that the
pre ssure mu st b e checked and adjusted when
th e tire
n o t bee n driv en for more than a
co uple of mil es (k ilometer s) at low spee ds
during the pr evious three hours. /\ir in the tire s
e xpands when the tire heat s up a s
res ult of in
ternal fr ic tion as it flexes in use. The tir e pressure
i s hig h er whe n the tire ha s wanned up than
wh en it i s ··co ld."
It is the inflation pre ssure in
tir e that
co unt s. Therefo re , yo u shou ld never le t air out of
tir e to match tir e inflati on pres
s ure·· recomme ndations 54. T he tires
would then be underinfl ated and could fa il sud
d enl y.
56 Checking and Filling
The tir e pressure label on your Volkswag en lists
th e reco mmended cold tire inflation pressure s
fo r th e new, original equipm ent tir es that were
on your vehicl e at the tim e it was manufa ctur ed.
the loca tion of the lab el 54, 13 .
Most tires lose a ir naturall y over time. Th ey can
also lose some air if yo u dri ve over a pothole
hit a curb wh ile parkin g. It i s usually not possib le
to sec whether the radial tires used today ar e un
clcrinflated just hy looking
th em.
T herefo re, be sur e to chec k tire press ures at l eas t
o nce a month and always before going on
long
trip. Make sur e to tak e th e numb er of people and
th e amount of luggage into account when ad
ju stin g tir e pr ess ure for a trip-even o ne that you
not cons ider to be Sec
Booklet 3.2 Tips and Advice
WA RNING (continued)
• Always pro perl y s ecur e th e ve hicle ja ck
a nd t ool kit in th e lu ggage co mpartm ent.
L o ose item s in th e vehicle ca n fly a round th e
in sid e o f th e ve hicle during hard brakin g or in
a c rash cau sing seriou s pers onal injur y.
Changing a wheel
Applies lo vehicles: with spare wheel
Getting started
WARNING (contin ued)
• Before y ou rai se yo ur ve hicl e the jac k,
al ways re ad and h eed all
Pa rk vehicle in a safe place befo re changing a whee l.
-If yo u have a flat tir e or pun ctur e, park
t h e ve hicle as fa r away from th e flow of
t ra ffi c as poss ible o n a firm , eve n surf ace.
- Turn o ff the engine. Turn o n the emer
ge ncy flas her.
- Apply the park ing brake firm ly and en
gage a gear or
pu 1 1h e se lecto r in P.
- A ll passe nge rs mus t leave the ve hicle.
Th ey sh o uld wait in a safe place (for ex
a mpl e behin d a g ua rd rail or other safe ty
ba rrier) .
- Block the w hee l o pp osite t he w hee l
b ein g cha nged wit h a su itabl e objec t. .
- If yo u are tow ing a tra iler, u nh itch it
fr om your ve hicle .
- Remove the spare w hee l and the ve hicle
t oo ls from t he lu ggage com part ment.
WARNING
C han gin g a w hee l, es pecia lly on the s ide the
ro ad , can b e da ngero us. To hel p re du ce th e
ri sk of seriou s perso nal inju ry:
• Alw ays sto p th e vehicl e as soon as
is safe
t o do so and mo ve the ve hicle a safe distan ce
68 What do I do now?
WA RNING (cont inu ed)
off th e ro ad wher e it i s safe lo c hang e th e
wh eel.
• Turn on th e emerge ncy flas her a nd set up
an other warnin g dev ice a bo ut 27 ya rds (25
m eters) behin d th e ve hicl e to wa rn ap
pro achin g traffi c.
• Always make sure th at th e gro und i s leve l
a nd
if n ecessary use a s turdy boar d
und er th e jac k.
• When one w heel is lif ted
th e g round
puttin g th e se lector leve r in P will not pre vent
s udd en ve hicl e mo vement .
• Always appl y th e parkin g brak e
and
e ngage the se lec tor lever in P to help prev ent
the vehicl e from m oving s udd enl y a nd s lip
p in g o ff th e ja ck.
• Always block the whee l oppos ite th e w hee l
be in g cha nged with b oth fo ld in g ch ocks or
s imil ar obj ec ts .
• If you arc towin g a tra iler, a lways unhit ch it
fr om yo ur vehicl e before star tin g to c hange
th e w hee l.
• Alwa ys use a ja ck th at ha s bee n approve d
b y th e m anufa ctur er for your vehicle .
• Neve r u se oth er j ac ks, ev en if th ey have
b ee n ap pro ve d for u se on oth er Vo lkswag en
WARNING (continued )
hide. The doors can be lock ed using the re
mote control key or the powe r lock button.
Th is co uld res ult in peop le bein g trapped in
th e ve hicl e.
•
build -up in th e passenger com part
ment an d lu ggage compartmen t o f a parked
Fuses
Changing a fu se
Fig. 32 Dosh panel, le fl: cover of fuse box A
Fuse bo x A locat ed in th e side of the
da sh pan el on th e driver' s side
In se rt a suit abl e obj ect (e .g. a sc rew
dr iver) into th e
32 and car efull y
pry the cove r oil
Fu se box B in the engine compartment
Open the en gin e hood .
Press the release tabs 33 (arrow s)
to re lease the fuse box cove r.
R e mo ve the cover .
To re mount the cover, place it ove r th e
fu se box
press the sid e tab s in the op
po sit e direct ion until they latch sec ure ly.
Bookl et 3.2 Tip s and Advice
WARNING (continu ed)
vehicle can re sult in tem peratur es in the ve
hicle that arc much higher than the out sid e
tem peratu res, p arti cularl y in su mmer. Tem
p era tures ca n quickl y reac h levels that can
cause unco nscio usne ss and death, particu
l ar ly to sma ll childre n. _.
Fig . 33 In the engine compa rtment: caver of fuse
box B
The indiv idu al el ec trica l ci rcu its are prot ecte d
b y fu se s. We reco mm end y ou sev eral spar e
fu ses at all tim es. T hese are availab le from a u
th ori ze d Vo lk sw agen dea le rs.
A ut omob ile te chnol ogy chan ges co ntinuously.
Your a uthori ze d Volkswage n deal er h as the mo st
curr ent t echn ica l in format io n for your Vo lk
sw agen.
I f yo u ar e
sur e w hich fu se to use or to ch an ge ,
co ntact your authori zed Vol kswage n Se rv ice
viso r.
Co lar cod ing o f fu ses
C olor
rating
li ght
5
brow n t 7.5
reel I 10
What do I do now? 77
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.
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
p
Pa int
P o lishin g 19
Wax ing 19
Park ing Ass is ta nce
C le aning sensors