Page 270 of 516

Shifting 
Introduction 
this section find  information  about: 
Warning 
and i ndicator ... .. . . 
Pedals 
............. ........... . 
Manual  transmission:  Gearshift lever 
172 
173 
174 
Automat ic  transm ission : 
lever.... 175 
Sh ifting  with nptro nic ®  . . . .  . . .  . .  . . .  . . . . .  . 176 
Driving  with automatic  transmiss ion  177 
Automat ic  transmission  malfunction . . . . . . . .  178 
Explanatory 
notes in this sec tion  regarding 
Direct 
The backup  lights  come  on. 
Climatronic  switches to  air culation  mode. 
The rear window  wiper switches  on when  the 
windshield  wipers are switched  on. 
More information: 
Braking , stoppi ng  and  parking 179 
Climate  control 
Engine control and emission  control  system 
Emergency 
Rapid  acceleration  can cause skidding and loss of traction , especially on slippery roads, 
re sulting in  a loss of vehicle  control, sions, and  seriou s personal  injury. 
use the kick-down  feature or fast cele ration if visibility,  weather, road, and 
Constant braking causes the  brakes to and se rious  personal  injury. 
the brakes or apply the  brake 
pedal too often or too long. 
substantially reduce braking performance,  increase stopping 
the brakes by keeping your foot on the brake pedal when you do not want to brake . Thi s make  the brakes  wear faster. 
gine braking and reduce the load on the brakes.  Otherwise , the brake system could overheat and even  
     
        
        Page 277 of 516

Remove your left foot  from  the brake => The accelera te  from  a stop  at the  maximum 
rate . 
you  have  accelerated , swi tch 
weather,  road, and traffic conditions permit and other drivers not be gered  by your driving and the vehicle's 
tory on page 171. 
Emergency shift program 
selec to r ment 
of the  forward  gears. 
some cases,  vehicles  with a Direct 
is then  impossible  to  drive 
the  vehicle  backwards . 
any event , have  the automatic  transmission 
checked  by an  authorized 
Overheating of Direct automatic transmission 
The automa tic  transmission  may overheat , 
for  example , due to frequent  starts , extended o r  stop-and-go  traffic. Overheating  is and, if by a text  message in the in strument ditional  warning  chime may sound. and  let the 
tr ansmission  coo l down =>
178 
is switched off, when the road is slippery. 
you  have  accelerated, switch back on again. 
with the 
wards.  This can cause  the automatic sion to overheat  and be damaged. 
in Neutral  (N), not be lubricat-ed and be  damaged . 
The vehicle does not move forward or in reverse even though a drive position is selected with the selector 
the vehicle  does not move  in  the  desired tion , the system  may  not  have  engaged  the drive 
position Press  the brake  pedal and select the drive  position  again. 
does  not move  in the  desired rection , there  is a system  malfunctio n. 
ther park the vehicle in a  safe  place or drive faster  than 12 mph km/h) . 
the tex t message  and acoustic  warning seconds or so, you must park the vehicle  in  a safe  place  as soon as you can safely do so and stop the engine . 
L et  the  transmission cool  down. 
To help prevent  damage to the sion, do not drive  the vehicl e agai n until the 
acoustic  warning has s topped. As long as  the 
e ngine  is overheated,  avoid stop and  start  driv-ing and  avoid low speed s pace") . 
     
        
        Page 283 of 516

Brake system malfunction 
you brake  and find that  vehicle  doesn't  brake 
nearly  as 
come on 
and  a m essage  may appear in the instrument ter display. you  believe  the vehic le  is  safe  to 
d rive,  immediately  take it to the  nearest  authorized 
Volkswagen  dealer or  authorized  Volkswagen 
Service 
f or  repair.  Drive  slowly  and very 
carefully , for the longer  stopping  distance , 
and  be ready to push  longer  and harder  on the 
brake  pedal  to slow  the vehicle  down. 
Brake booster 
The brake  booster  works  only  when the  engine  is 
running . in creases  the  force  on  the  brakes  above 
and  beyond  the  pressure  put on the brake  pedal by 
the  driver . 
New brake pad s do not provide maximum braking performance. 
miles You can 
compensate for the reduc ed braking force by putting more pressure on the brake 
pedal. 
other vehicles too closel y or put yourself into other situations  that might require sudden,  hard braking , especially 
when the brake pads have not b ee n broken 
in. 
Overh eated  brakes reduce  the vehicle's stopping power  and increa se stopping distances considerably. 
that are long or s teep,  always reduce speed 
and  shift into lower gear (manual  or  automat-
184 While  driving 
ic transmission). This let the vehicle  use 
engine braking and reduce  the  load on the brakes. Otherwise,  the brake  system could overheat and possibly fail. 
A  damaged front spoiler or a non-standard spoiler can  redu ce airflow to th e  brakes  and make them  overheat. 
Wet  brakes or brakes  coated with ice or road 
salt react  slower and need longer stopping distances. 
apply the  brakes to tes t them . 
Driving when the  brake booster  is not working increases stopping distances  and  can 
cause accidents and serious  per sonal  inju
rie s. 
Nev er  let the vehicle coas t when the 
the  bra ke booster is not working (suc h 
a s  wh en  th e vehic le  is being towed) , a lot more  pedal force  is  needed to slow down and stop. 
Neve r the brake s by  keeping your foot on  the  brak e pedal when you do not want to brak e. Constant pres sure on the brake  ped al 
ca n make  the brak es  overheat.  Riding the bra kes substantially  r educe brakin g  performance,  increase  stopping distance,  and  can 
cause complete  brake system failure . 
that are  long or s teep,  always  reduce  speed and shift into lower  gear  (manua l or automatic tran smission). This gine  brakin g and reduce the  load on t he brakes.  Otherwise, the brake system cou ld 
o ve rheat  and possibly fail. use the brakes when you  n eed them to slow the vehicle down more or to stop.