2012 VOLKSWAGEN GOLF MK6 maintenance

Introduction
this sec tion
b attery . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241
Th e standard 12 vehicle battery is pa rt of the
veh ic le electr ical sys te m .
N ever do any wor k on
the ve hic le elec trica l system
unl ess you
know ho w to carry out the job ,
have the correct te chn ical infor m ation an d the
p roper an d
are familiar with t he necessary safety
Faci li ty .
Meaning
A lways w
ear eye pro tec tion !
B attery acid is highl y co rrosive.
ces hydrogen gas whic h is highly
away from
Warra nty an d Maint enance
283
238 Care, cleaning, maintenance
Working on the batteries or the tem in your vehicle can cause serious acid
burn s, fires , explosions , or electrical shocks. read and heed the and safety precaution s before working on the batteries or the
switch off the ignition and
cable from the standard 12
always
switch off the light first.
batteries in
wear eye protection . Never contact with your eyes, skin, or clothing.
battery acid is very corrosive.
ness. wear protective gloves and eye
protection . To reduce your risk of injury, er acid through the vents and burn you.
you get battery acid in your eyes or on your skin , immediately rinse w ith water for minutes and then get immediate attention.
disconnect th e negative ( -) first and then the tive
switch off consumers
before reconnect ing the 12 batt eri es. connect th e cable(+) first and then the
n egative cable(-). Never reverse the polarity of the c onnections. Thi s
explo sive mixture of ga ses is en off when the battery is being charged.
e quipm ent. Never short circuit the battery terminals . High-ener-gy spark s can cause serious personal injury.

Fig. 133 the engi ne compartment: Remove the
cover from the vehicle battery.
first read and note the tory information and heed the on page 238.
of the battery if th e vehicle has high in with a
warm a nd if the vehicle has an
Prepare the for work in the engine pa rtm ent 222
the engine hood in Introduction on
page 222
With a hard cover: Press on the 133 in direct ion of t h e arrow and remove the cove r upwa rd.
W ith a son cover: the cove r to the
side in th e direction of the arrow 1 34 .
Checking the vehicle battery acid
the lighting co nd it ions are poo r, use a so tha t you can see the ba ttery charge
indica tor and
The rou nd batt ery window on th e top of the battery ch anges
Care, cleaning, maintenance Fi
g. 134
cove ring of the vehic le battery .
Action cation
Battery
is too The vehicle battery may need to be Light yellow replaced. Have it chec ked by an or colorless thorized Volkswagen or an a uthor ized Volksw ag en
is sa tisfac-
tory.
Working on the batteries can cause serious acid burns, explosion, or
can burn unprotec te d skin and cause ne ss. and eye protection.
Never out of th e battery vents a nd burn you.
Never open a vehi cle battery .
you get battery acid in your eyes or on your skin, immediately rinse with water for several minutes and t hen ge t immediate
medical attention.
you any battery acid, get medi-

Charging,
on page 238.
Charging the vehicle battery
Vehicle batteries should be charged by an author­
ized Volkswagen dealer or an authorized Volkswa­
gen
because the factory -installed
battery requires a charger with overload protection
Replacing the vehicle battery
The battery in your vehicle is
batteries meet­
ing standards TL 825
electrical system, note the following :
off
Unlock the vehicle before disconnecting the
battery; otherwise the alarm system
Fir st disconnect the negativ e cable(-) and then the positive
Connecting the vehicle battery
Pr ior to reconnecting the battery , switch off electrical sys tems and devices and the ignition .
Connect the posit ive cable(+) first and then the
negative cable (-)
After the battery is connected and the ignition is
sw itched on, different indicator light s may come on. They should go out after you drive a short distance
ice Facility and have the checked.
th e ign ition not start after reconnecting the vehicle battery , lock the vehic le from the outside
and unlock it again. Then try to start the ignition
again.
lhe ignition cannot be switched on, con­
tact an authorized Volkswagen dealer, an author­
ized Volkswagen
o r another quali­
fied workshop for assistance.
Automatic electrical load deactivation
onboard electrical system management auto mati ­takes steps to help prevent battery drain.
The idle speed is increa sed so that the alterna­
t o r provides more power.
Th e power to devices that consume a lot of electricity is cut back or switched off completely.
When the engine is started, the power supply to the 12
Long periods when the engine is not running,
especially when the ignition is on .
Using electr ical sys tems or devices when the
engine is swi tched off. Leaving the
The selecto r lever is left for a long period of time in any position other than P when the ignition
is swi tched off =>page 175.
Failure to use th e proper battery with proper mounting and connection s may cause short circu its, fires, and serious persona l injuries.
Always use only maintenance-free or cy-
cle-free, leak-proof batteries with the sa me
s p ec ifications and dimensions as the original
equipment b attery. Specifications are listed
on the battery housing.
Wh en the vehicle battery is ch arged, it produ-
ces highly explosive hydroge n gas.
th e engine compartment

this se ction fin d i nfo rmation abo ut
Was hing the
244
Was hing with a power washer . . . . . . . . .
. . 245
Clea ning windows
and outs id e m irr ors . .
. . . . . 248
Caring for and cleani
ng chr ome and
a luminum parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . 248
Care
of rubber door and window seals . . . . . . 249
Deicing door . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249
Undercoati ng . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249
C leani
ng the engine compartment . . . . . . . . . . 249
Regu la r
and expert care helps to preserve the value of your vehicle. Such expert care may
Limite d Warra nt y if corrosion repair or re pa int ing is necessary .
from your au­
thorized Vol kswagen deale r or Authorized
More information:
ca re and clea ning
the instructions and
care products containing solvents can
damage plastics and other vehicle the materi­
Wash the vehicle a t
fro m enteri ng the
storm drain sewer system. to was h motor
When buying vehic le care products , try to choose those that are not harmful to the envi­
ro nment.
Never throw ou t ordinary household waste. Always read and
h eed the instructions and on the
package .
Vehicle care and maintenance 243

on page 243.
F ac tory
-installed wiper blades have a graphite
coating. The graphite coating lets the wiper blades
glide smoothly over the windshield.
wiper blades regularly. Wiper blades
that grab and squeak must be r ep laced if worn or
damaged and cleaned if dirty
Replace worn or damaged wiper blades immedi­
ate ly . Replacement blades may be purchased from
any authorized Volkswagen dealer or autho
rized
Volkswagen
Lifting and
Us ing a soft remove dust and
dirt from the wiper blades.
Changing the wiper on the windshield
Lift and tilt the wiper arm(s) away from the
windsh ield I rear window.
Press and hold the release button 135 and the wipe r blade off in th e direction of the arrow.
N
N
Fig . 136 Changi ng the rear window wipe r blades .
Push a new wiper blade of the same length
and type onto the wiper arm until it la tches.
Lower the arm back down on the windshield.
Changing the rear window wiper
Lift and
Pres s and hold the release button 136
While tilt in g the wiper blade in the direction of the wipe r arm 136 (arrow @),
abrasive sponges and sharp­edged objects
Vehicle care and maintenance 247

Use an acid-free detergent
page 243.
The rubber seals around the doors and windows
on page 243.
Volkswagen recommends using only ge nuine Volkswagen deicer spray with lubricating and anti­
corrosive properties to deice door lock cylinders.
Undercoating
on page 243.
The vehicle underbody
is coated to help protect it
from " corrosion and damage . The undercoating
co uld be damaged during normal use. We there­
fore recommend that you have the protective coat­
ings on the underbody and suspension inspected
regularly , and repa ired if necessary .
Cleaning the engine compartment
on page 243.
The engine compartment of a vehicle is a danger­
ous area
cleaning procedures could remove corrosion pro -
Before apply ing the treatment, use a soft to remove dust and dirt from the rubber seals.
Lock deicers that contain grease solvents can
cause the lock cylinder to rust.
Undercoating and ru stproofing products can catch fire on the hot exhaust system or any other hot engine component.
the exhaust pipes, the catalyti c convert­er, the heat shields, or any other hot vehic le component.
tection and damag e elec trica l components , among
other things. addition, water could enter directly
into the vehicle interior through the plenum cham­
ber
Facility.
Vehicle care and maintenance 249

find information about:
Ca ring for
uphols tery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252
Cleaning upholstery , fabric trim and
A lc an tara ® . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252
Care
and
f abrics such as dark denim may
not be comp lete ly colorfast. Even with normal use,
dye from these
and other fabrics can rub off on
sea t uphols tery and leave visible discolorations
of colorfastness in the fabric, not by any fault in the seat upholstery fabric. To prevent damage to the seat upholstery, ways make sure you r
it may be to them. stains , dirt and deposi ts are time , th ey may become impossible to remove .
More information:
Exterior care a nd clea ning 243
accessories , repairs and modifi cati ons
V e hi cle care products can be dangerous.
soning, or other severe injuries.
the instructions
and
nents according to m anufacturer's tions.
Stains , dirt and other deposits that contain aggressive substance s or solvents can corrode vehicle material s and cause perman ent age, even after brief contact with the surface.
To help prevent damage, have stubborn stain s remo ved by a profe ssional who has the
neces sary expertise and experience.
thorized Volkswag en deale rs and authorized
Volkswagen Service Facilities.
Vehi cle care and maintenance 251

on
when it comes to the care and preservat ion of the
fasteners can damage fabric , and trim. Before you get into the fasteners that come into contact with fabrics and trim .
objects and items on and (such as and fabric tr im . To prevent damage ,
do not such items come into direct conta ct with the uphols tery and fabric trim .
Dust and dirt in pores , and seams can have a "scouring " effect on and to
Check to prevent upholstery discoloration , to upholstery.
Disregarding the may of
recommends having any oration re moved by an authorized gen or authorized cili ty . fabric trim and
on page 251.
on heated seats and power seats or seats with airbag components
Airbag components and connector s may be in the driver seat, the front passenger
seat , and in the outer rea r sea ts. Damaging, ing and handling incorrectly , or wett ing or soaki ng
t hese seat surfaces and back rests can d am age the
v ehic le sys te m and preve nt the airba g
sys tem from working
compone nt s a nd conn ectors that or are in powe r sea ts and heated sea ts Thi s ca n in damage to other parts of the sys te m .
For thi s r easo n, read and these clea ning
maintenance
Do not use press ure washers , steam
Do not use detergent pastes or
Do not wet the surface
use cleaning products approved by wagen .
you h ave questions or concerns, consult a
p ro fessiona l clea ner.
Bef ore usi ng any cleanin g agen t, fami liar ize
yo urs elf wit h instruct ions and warnings on the
packag ing.
hol stery, a nd carpeting with a brush attachment.
A soft sponge or a may be used for general
Alcantara ® surfaces with a damp cotton
or o r a lint -fre e
microfiber