Booklet 1.1 Maintenance
Service Information
Dealer Service
There are nearly 800 auth orize d Vo lkswagen
deale rs in No rth Am eri ca. T hey have Volk
swage n train ed tec hnici an s, prop er workshop
e qui pmen t a nd part s to gi ve you ex pert serv ice.
Vo lk swage n dealers
co mmitt ed to qu ality
service.
• Yo ur auth orized Vo lk sw age n dea le r offers
man y serv ices for your co nven ie n ce, s uch as ex
t e nded service hour s. early bird servi ce, bod y re
pair s, to nam e ju st a f ew. As k about th em .
• Arran ge your service w it h your dea le r w hen i t
i s co nve nient for you.
• Ask your Service A dvisor about th e serv ice
yo u need and disc uss the cos t involve d.
Do-It -Yourself Service
Your Owner's Manual co ntain s many h elpful
h ints on what you can se rvic e yo urself.
• You can ch ec k tires fo r wear or dam age and
co rrec t tir e press ure, including the spare.
• You can ch ec k th e w inds hield was her co n
t ai ner.
• You ca n ch ec k yo ur car's int erio r and ext er ior
li ghtin g syste m for correct fu ncti oning.
4 Warranty Voucher
• Leave word where yo u ca n be reac hed during
th e day and when yo u wo uld lik e to pick your car
up .
• Keep all rece ipts of maintena nce and rep air s
p erfo rmed . Your serv ice record is imp ort ant
w hen mak ing use
wa rrant y.
• Maintenance se rvices perfo rmed by yo ur au
thori zed dea ler at the interva ls s pec ified , w ill
a lso be doc ument ed in th is boo kle t.
• Auto m obil e tec hn ology c han ges co ntinu
o usly . Yo ur auth ori ze d Vo lks wage n dea le r al
ways has the m os t c urr ent Serv ice a nd Ma inte
nan ce inform ation for your Volkswage n model.
It is poss ib le th at this in formation may differ
fro m th e check point s listed in this book le t. Yo ur
Vo lk sw agen Se rv ice Adv is or can answe r any
qu estions yo u ma y ha ve
• Yo u ca n che ck th e en gin e oil leve l every
fu el fillin g.
• Yo u can pe rfor m th ese s imple c hec ks on ce a
wee k. Th ey save time, tro ubl e and expe nse late r.
Your technician will not check the above men
items in eac h case during regular service
and maint enance visits
Booklet 1.1 Maintenance
• Headlights: Adjust
• Tires/spare w hee l: C hec k co ndition and
pre ssure
• Brake sys te m: Chec k for dama ge/leaks, brake
pad thickness, brake fluid leve l
•
fluid: R eplac e every 2 ye ars rega rdless
of mil eage ( kilometers)
• Spark plugs: R epla ce (all models except 2.0L
TFSIJ
• Air clea ner: Repl ace filter element
• Coo ling sys te m: Chec k coo lant leve l; ad d if
n ecessary
• Dust and po llen fi lter (where applicab le):
pla ce
•
b elt: Check condition
• Powe r Steer ing: Chec k fluid level
• Drive s hafts: C hec k b oots
• Front axl e: Ch eck du st se als on ba ll join ts, tie
rod ends; check tie rods
• On-B oard dia gno sti c sys te m: Che ck fault
m emory ; purge if necessa ry
•
fr ame: Clean and lubricate
Nex t Service:
Dat e: ...................... ..
Miles/km: ................. ..
whi ch ever occ urs fir st •
Aut omat ic tran smi ssion: Check A TF
•
s poiler: Lubricat e (New Beetle only)
• Airbag syste m: Visual ch ec k every 12 month s
regardl ess of mile age (kilom eters)
•
t es t: Chec k kickdow n, br akin g,
s tee rin g, hea tin g a nd ventila tion, air condi
tioning , p ow er accessori es and elec trica l sys
tems
•
s ta rt er and auxilia1y batt e1y : check
( where applicable )
• Conve rtib le top : Chec k fun ctio n an d chec k
ro ll-ove r prot ection with conve rtible top open
(New Bee tle Co nve rtibl e onl y)
• Tires: C heck trea d depth , adjust tire pre ssur e
if ne cessary.
• Tire pr ess ure m onitorin g sys tem senso rs :
Che ck ba ttery c harg e, repla ce whee l e lec troni cs
and a luminum valve if necess ary (where app li
cabl e).
• Und erh ody: C hec k for dama ge
• Wiper b lad es: Check conditi on
• DSG tran smi ssion: Chan ge tran smi ssion
fluid and filter (New Beetle, new Jetta)
T oday's date and Vo lk swagen Dea ler stamp
Service at 45,000 mil es (72,000 km) -Mod els with a 1 .8T engine
ONLY
• Engi ne: Chan ge o il and oil
Next Service:
Date: ...... .......... ........
M iles/ km: .... ...... .. ... ... .
w hi ch ever occurs firs t
Today's elate and Volkswage n Dea le r sta m p
12 Wa rranty Voucher
Booklet 3.2 Tips and Advice
bers or w her e il manufactured, and fo ur numb ers re pre
s ent the week and year of manufa ctur e. For ex
ampl e, th e numb ers 180 1 m ean lhal
lir e produ ced in the wee k of 200 1. oth er
numb ers arc m ark e ting code s may or may
n ot b e use d by th e lir e m an ufa c tur er. T hi s info r
is use d lO cl co nsum ers if lir e dere quir es reca ll.
Vehicle capacity we ight
means cargo and luggage load pl us
1 50 lbs. (68 kilogra ms) lime s vehicle's I se
alin g capaci ty as
on label alt ached lo
t h e open ed ge of th e dri ver's door .
Vehicle maximum load on the tire
means that load on an ind iv idua l tire that is de
t erm in ed b y dis tribu ting e a ch ax le its shar e of ma ximum load ed ve hicle weig ht and di
v iding b y
Vehicle nor mal load on the tire
mean s load on an indi vidual lha l is de
termined by each axle i ls s hare of curb accessory and n ormal weighl in accordan ce below 54) and div id in g by
Occupant loading and distribution for vehic le normal load for various designated sealing capaciti es
Desig na ted sea ling capaci ty,
Vehicle norm al l oad, numbe r
Occupa nt distri bution in a
nu mber of occ upants
of occupants normally lo aded vehicle
2 th rough 4
2 2 in front.
5 3 in I in back scat.
Cold tire inflation pressure
pressure aff ects the overall safety of a icle .
TIRE AND LOADING INFORMATION
( SEATING CAPAOTY
amt,l D Of
TIR E SIZE COLD TIRE PRESSURE
FRONT
SPARE
F ig . 1 3 Approximate location of fire pressure labe l on open edge of driver's door and example
of a fire pressure label
T ire p ress ur e ge nera lly refe rs to in a tire th at i l needs il t o do ils job an d sa fe ly
ca rry co mbin ed loa d of enti re vehicle
and it s content s. Tir e pre ssur e is meas ured in ki
l op ascals
imernat io nal meas urin g
unit and in poun ds per squar e in ch (P SI). Tir e
p ressure is based in pan o n th e ve hicle's des ig n
and l oad Ii mil -
greates t amount of
54 Checking and Filling
th at can car ry safe ly an d th e lir e s ize.
T he proper tir e press ure is frequ entl y to
as the "recom mend ed co ld tire inflation pr es
s ur e." Air in
!ires expa nds w hen tir e heat s
up because of fric tion when it fl exes in
u se . Th e tir e press ure is highe r w hen tire warmed up than when is "co ld.·· ll i s infla
t io n p ressure in a "co ld" lire Ther e-
"Tires and ve hicl e lo ad limit s" for more imporinfor mati on.
Vehicles
ha ve full hub caps have valve ex
tenders ins tead of du st caps. To ch eck tire pr es
s ur e or acid air. you do not n eed to re move the
ex te nd er. 13e s ure to rein sta ll va lve dust caps
ch eck ing or adjust ing tir e pr ess ure.
A lways use an
tir e pr ess ure gaug e w hen
c h eck ing and adju stin g i nfl atio n pr essu res .
C hec k all of the
and b e sure not l o forg et th e
s par e tire. If p ress ure in an y is too high
w hen the tire is "co ld," let o ur of the tir e
s lowly with th e of the tir e ga uge and kee p
c h eck ing th e press ure until you re ac h th e pr es
s ure that is correc t for th e loa d (pa sse nge rs and
l u gg age)
ki nd of dri ving yo u plan t o do .
I f th e pr ess ure in any tire is too low , n ote the dif
f e re n ce between the press ure in the co ld
a nd
th e pr ess ure yo u need and add air yo u
n eed to reac h th e co rrect press ure for the vehicle
load (pa sse nge rs and lu ggage) for th e tire s on
yo ur vehicle as listed o n the on yo ur vehicle a nd
in thi s man ual
th e kind of driv ing y ou p lan
t o do .
Neve r excee d th e maxi mum infl ati on pre ssure
li sted on the tir e sid ewa ll for any reason.
R em emb er th at the ve hicle manufac turer, not
t h e tir e man ufa ctur er, de te rmin es th e co rrec t
t ir e pr ess ure for th e tir es o n yo ur vehicle
I t i s imp ortant
ch ec k th e tir e pr ess ure when
the tires are cold.
Vehicle witho ut
• the re quir ed tire pressure from the tir e
pressu re lab el on the ope n edge of th e dri ver's
door .
• Place the a ir press ure gauge on the dust cap s
- th ere is no need
re m ove them.
• The tir e press ures s ho uld onl y be checked
tire s cold. The sli ghtl y pres
s ur es ofwann tires no t b e reduced.
•
th e tire press ure to the load you are
ca rrying.
Vehicle with
• the req uir ed tir e pr ess ure from the tir e
pressure label o n th e ope n edge of the dr ive r's
do or.
Booklet 3.2 Tips and Advice
• Turn th e va lve s tem cap counter-clockw ise to
r emove it from the tire valve.
•
th e ai r press ure on the valv e.
• The tir e pressures sh o uld onl y be ch ecke d
w hen th e tir es are cold. T he slig htly rai sed pres
s ur es of
tires not be redu ced.
• Adju st th e tir e pr ess ure to the load you are
carry ing.
• Reins tall the valv e ste m cap on the valve.
When should I ch eck the tire pressure?
Th e co rrec t tir e pr ess ure is especia lly import ant
a t hi gh speeds . Th e pre ssur e s ho uld th erefo re be
c h ecked at leas t once a month and alwa ys befo re
s ta rt in g a jo urn ey. D o not forget to ch eck the tire
pr ess ure on th e spare whee l
When shou ld
I adjust the tire press ures?
Ad just th e tire press ure to the loa d you are car
ry ing. After changin g
wheel or repl acing
w hee ls yo u have tu adj ust th e tir e press ures on
a ll whee ls. In ad ditio n on ve hicles wit h TPMS,
yo u sh oul d s pecify new tire pressures
=boo klet
WARNING
In co rrec t tire press ure ca n result in sudd en
ti re failur e Jo ss of co ntrol, collision , seriou s
perso nal injur y an d eve n dea th .
•
tire s to the re co mm end ed and
co rrec t tir e pre ssure before drivin g off.
• Driving with und erinfl atcd tires bend
m or e, le ttin g th em get too hot res ulting in
tr ead separatio n, s udd en tir e fai lure ti re
fa ilur e and Jo ss of control.
• Excess ive sp ee d and /or ove rload ing ca n
ca use hea t build -u p, su dden tire failure in
cludin g a bl owo ut an d su dden deflati on and
Jo ss o f co ntrol.
• If th e tire pr essure is to o low or too high,
th e tir es will wear prema turely and the ve hicl e
wi ll not handl e we ll.
Not e
Dr iv in g w ith out valve s te m caps ca n cau se
applicab le Tire pressure monitoring system)
Checking and Filling 57
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
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.
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
Applies lo vehicles: wi th spore whee l
Removing the spare wheel
The spar e wheel is located und ern eath the floor covering in the luggag e compart
Fig. 21 Under th e floor ponel: spore wheel secured
wi th o p las tic nut.
Removing the spare wheel
-Lift floor panel and hang on
rubb er sea l aro und the luggage compart
ment openin g.
- Unscrew the black plastic nut securin g
th e s par e whee l by turning it in
direc
tion of th e arrow
21and remo ve
-Press dow n on pla stic screw 22
in the ce nter of the spare wheel and
turn it co unt erclo ckw ise in th e direction of
the arro w
22 and remove.
- Tak e out the s pare whee l. Stowing the
flat tir e.
- Lift the fl oor pan el a nd h ang i t on the
rubb er sea l around the luggage compart
m en t open ing.
- Pla ce the flat tir e in the spar e whee l we ll
in the lu ggage co mpartment.
- Take the pla stic scr ew, place it in the
c ente r of th e flat tire pre ss
dow n and
t urn
clockw ise.
70 What do I do now?
Fi g. 2 2 Under th e floor pone!: plo stic screw for se
cur ing the plostic n ut.
- Secu re the flat tire w ith bla ck pl astic
nut.
WARNING
• Do not use the spar e tir e ifit i s damaged or
if it ha s worn down to the wear indicators.
• If th e s pare lire i s more than 6 years old,
u se
it only in an em ergen cy and with extreme
cau tion and careful dri vin g.
• The spare tire mu st alwa ys be se cur ed w ith
the wheel bolt s provided b y the factory.
• After installin g the spare tire, the tire pr es
s ur e must be c hecked as soon as p ossible
56.
• On some ve hicles, the spare tire ma y be
sma ller th an th e original tire. The smaller
spar e tir e is identified with a sticker and th e
word s
"50 mph" or "80 km/h". These words
identify the max imum permissible sp ee d for
driving with this tire.
Not e
Mak e sure that the spare w heel. or
re mo ved ar e stored safe ly i n luggag e