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Volkswagen Service Vehicles  with Xenon 
gas-discharge self-adjust  to vehicle  load 
and  do not  need  manual  adjustment. 
Special towing considerations 
th e t railer  has an overrun  brake, apply the 
br akes 
Due  to the  combined  towing weight  including 
the  higher  gross vehicle  weight, the  stopping 
tance  is longer. 
Be fo re  drivi ng especially  on 
The  vehicle's  center  of grav ity  and , in  turn,  the 
Weight  distribution  is especially  bad if the is emp ty and the  trailer  is loaded. 
Depending  on  how  steep  the is an d  the 
backwards  when you first start  moving. 
When  starting  off with  a tra iler  on  a 
Depress and  hold  the brake pedal  and depress 
and  hold  the clutch (manu al transmission). 
171, Shifting . 
Unlock  the parking  brake a nd gently  release  it 
whi le  holding  the unlock  button. At  the  same  time, 
release  the brake  pedal and 
depress  the 
accelerator  and, for  manual  transmissions , let  out 
the  clutch 
you can feel  the car moving ward . applicable,  follow  the instruct ions  for the Hold  feat ure 
Do  not  release  the parking  brake lever until the 
engine  starts to move  the vehicle  forward. your 
vehicle  has an automatic  tr ansmission , you  can 
so depress  and hold  the brake peda l for  added 
b raking  and then Jet up on the  brake  pedal  when 
you  feel  that  the to move  forward . 
Drive  ahead  slowly. 
hicle contro l and serious per sonal injury. 
dles and increases  the distance it needs to stop safely . 
Always adapt your sp ee d and driving to th e heavier loa d and  the weight distribution in the vehicle. Tak e road , weather , traffic, and visibility conditions into account as well . 
Always avoid sudde n maneuv ers and ha rd braking. 
atin g. 
som e areas 
s p ee d for vehicles towing trailers are 
lower than for vehicles without trailers. 
T ra n spo rting  
     
        
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Manual transmission: Gearshift lever 
Fig. Gea rshift  pattern of a  6-speed  manual 
t r ansmission . 
Please first read and note  the introductory information  and heed the o n  page  171. 
The  positions  of the 
individua l gea rs  are  shown  on 
t he  gearshift  leve r 
Depress  the clutch  pedal the way  and hold. 
Move  the gearshift  lever into the desired 
Release  the clutc h  pedal to engage  the gear. 
T he  c
lutch pedal  must be 
shift to the reverse  gear when  the vehic le 
is  not  moving. 
Depr ess the and  hold 
Move  the gearshift  lever to neutral  and press 
down . 
Move  the shift  lever to the left  and then  push 
f orward  into the reverse  gear position @. 
Release  the clut ch  pedal to engage  the gear . 
Downshifting 
You should  always  downshift  gear by gear  when 
driving , meaning  always in to the next  lowes t gear. Do not downshift  when the engine rpm (revo lutions 
At fast  speeds  or high 
engine  rpms, skipping  over one or more  gears 
when  downshifting  can cause  damage  to the  clutch 
and  transmission,  even 
if a gear  is not  engaged 
... -
Down shifting to a lowe r gear  incorrectly can result in loss of vehicle  control and can 
cause accidents and  serious  personal inju-ries. 
When  the engine is running  and a gear is en-
gaged,  the vehic le will start to  move  as soon 
as  the c lutch pedal  is released,  even when 
th e parking  brake is applied. This a lso ap-plies  when  the parking  brake is engaged. 
Never shift into reverse when the vehicle 
is  moving. 
Shifting 
down to a  gear  that is too low when driving at fa st  spee ds or high  engine  rpms can 
cause  extensive  damage to the clutch and 
transmission.  That  is true even  if the clutch pedal  is  pressed so that the clutch is not 
To  help  prevent  damage  and  premature  wear: 
Do not rest  your hand  on the  gearshift leve r 
while driving. time,  the pressure ca use  premature  wear in the  transmission. 
Make  sure that the vehicle has come  to a 
comple te stop before shifti ng into reve rse. 
Do not hold the vehicle  on a hill  using  
     
        
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Flashes Possible ca use Proper response 
Electronic  steering  column  lock malfunction . The  ignition  cannot be switched  on. The  vehicle 
system  stiff. 
column  not locked I unlocked . 
When  the 
ignition  is switched severa l warni ng 
a n d  indicator  lights  come  on  briefly for a  function 
check . T hey  go out  after a  few  seconds. 
Failure to heed warning lights and instrument cluster text messages can ca use the vehicle to break down sion and serious  personal injury. 
tory Information and heed the on page 192. 
To 
tomatic  transmiss ion  vehicle. 
press  the starter  button  briefly  twice in a row 
without  depressing  the brake  or clutch  pedal. 
D o 
not drive  any farther if the  steering  column 
remains  locked after you switch on the  ignition. 
Get  professional  assistance. 
Always stop the vehicle as soon as it is safe to do so. 
F a
ilure to heed  warning lights or text can  resu lt vehicle  damage . 
Engaging the steering 
co lumn lock 
Park ing the vehicle 
ing column lock 
Turn  the steering  wheel 
slightly to take  pressure 
off  the  steering  column 
l ock . 
to the  ignition  switch. 
Hold  the steer ing wheel 
i n  this  position  and turn 
the  ignition  switch. 
Power  steering  automatically  adjusts  to  driving 
speed , steering  torque, and  the  steering  angle 
of the wheels . Power  steering  works only when  the 
engine  is running . 
it 
Sta rting,  sh ift ing , park ing  
     
        
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conditions are 
3. A  manual  transm iss ion vehic le  must  be in  1st 
gear  (1 ) i f headed  up a or in Reverse  (R ) if backing  up a you  must  hold the clut ch  down 
and  the foot  brake  must be  depressed  to keep 
the  vehic
le from  moving. 
' Rel
ease 
the brake as you let the clutch out and gently depress the accelerator. 
any requi rement  lis ted in the tab le  above  is 
no  longer met (see 196 , ed automatically  when the following  conditions  are all met at the same  time.). 
gine  malfunctions . 
Automatic transmission vehicles: the mission i s in Neutral (N). 
Automatic  transmission  vehicles: 
and 
the  foot  brake must  be depressed to keep  the 
vehic le  from  moving . 
Relea
se the brake as you gently depress the accelerator. 
cle in start situations  (for example, if the surface icy or slippery). 
down the