2012 VOLKSWAGEN GOLF fuel

Introduction
this sect ion
The correc t fu el grade fo r you r engine is sh own on
a sticker located on the inside of the fuel 125 .
More information:
book le t Warranty and Maintenance
Refueling
295
Improper refueling or handling of fuel can cause fire, explosion, and severe burns.
on page 219.
unleaded Premium grade gasoline is specified
for your vehicle, then Volkswagen recommends us­
ing
Detergent Gasoline with a minimum
octane rating of 91 (95 For more infor­
mation on Detergent Gasoline, please
go to the official Web sit e - h ttp :// www.toptiergas.com.
out and from evaporating.
into the vehicle's neck could cause fuel over­flow and fuel spray. Fuel spray and overflow­ing fuel are dangerous because they can cause fire or serious injury.
in exceptional circumstances you must get back in your vehicle
electricity can cause sparks that can ignite fuel vapors released during refueling.
T he gaso line grades most commonly sold in the
United
be found on the er pump:
Premium grade: 91 to 96
Regular grade: 87 to
Unleaded gasoline is available throughout th e
may use unleaded gasoline blended with alco­
hol or MTBE (methyl tertiary butyl ether) , common­ly referred to as oxygenated fuels, if the blended
mixture meets the foll owing criteria :
Blends of and methanol (wood alcohol or methyl alcohol):
At the gas station 219

Anti-Knock must be 87 or high er.
Blend must contain no more than 3% methanol.
Blend must contain more than 2% co-solvents.
Blends of gasoline and ethanol (grain alcohol or ethyl alcohol):
Anti-Knock
Blend must contai n no more than
Anti-Knock must be 87 or higher.
Blen d mus t contain no more than 15% MTBE.
Many fuels are blended especially for winter or
s ummer condi tions. Whe n seasons change, wagen suggests that you buy fuel at busy statio ns
where the seasonal adjustment is more likely to be
made earlier.
away vehicle condition.
above may cause corrosion and may damage plastic and rubber parts
on page 219 .
Addit ives are used to impro ve th e quali ty of the
gaso lin e.
Fuel quality impacts th e operating performance, ficiency and service li fe of the engine. Therefore,
use quality gaso line with blended additives by the
fuel supplier. The additives provide corrosion
tect ion, clean the fuel system , and preven t its on the engi ne.
whether a particular fuel blend meets the criteria above, ask your ice station or its fuel supplier.
assist sponsibility of and are not covered under the Emis sion warranties or any other
Even a single tank of leaded fuel can do major damage to the cata lytic conve rter and
degrade its effectiveness in reducing pollutin g
emissions .
bilit y a nd perfo rmance problems using one of these fuel blends , we recommend that you switch
to unble nded fuel. Neve r use fuel line antifree ze of-
fer ed for gasoline engines. Volksw agen recommends Dete rgent
Gasol ine. Fo r more information on
quired additives while refueling.
Not
gaso line additives are eff ective.
sive damage to the engine and the cata lytic verter . N eve r use additives that contain metal.
Please note that meta l can be included in some af-
termarket gasoline addi
tives that are available to

be added to
tane rating.
Volkswagen rec om m ends using onl y additives proved by Volkswa gen. App ropriate additives as as instructio ns on how to use them are
thorized Volkswagen Service Fac ilit y . Do no t a d d
any other
of the rpm
range and with engine Avoid high rpm and heavy engine Otherwise, the
that is at the pump as containing Lead replacement fuel contains high concentrations of
ed or that contains other tives can affect the performance of the catalytic converter and cause extensive damage to it. At the gas station 221

(continued)
qu ant ities ( n o mo re than 1 pint I liter).
11 . To av oid you mu st wait about 1 minute each tim e you add so that th e oil ca n n ow into the oil p an up to th e marking on the dips tick .
1 2 . Rea d the oil leve l o n th e dip s
tick aga in bef ore adding another amount , if necessary. N eve r
ad d to o muc h oi l
13 . After addin g the leve l mu st a t l ea st b e in the cent er of the 128@ ar ea, but neve r above
14 . Afte r addi ng se cu rely the cap on the eng in e oil ope ning . O th erwise , oil cou ld lea k out
w hil e the engine is run nin g .
1 5 .
the guide tube and p ush it
in Introd uct ion on page 222.
Engine oil
oil
R an ge @ You
may add oil (a bo u t 1 pint/ The oil leve l may go i nto the ran ge , b ut
no t ab ove the range .
R an ge @ You
mu
st ad d oil (abo ut 1 qu art Aft er add in g oil, make sur e th at th e oil le v-
e l is ab out in the middle of the @ ran ge.
Engin e can ignite when it touc h es hot en-
g in e parts. Thi s can caus e fires, burns, and
o th er se vere injuries.
spille d on a cold engine ca n also cau se a fire whe n th e engine warm s up.
op eni ng b ack o n tightly after adding oil and that th e dipstick
h as bee n pu sh ed
on p ag e 2 27.
Do not start the eng in e if the en gi ne oil leve l
i s abov e rang e@ . Contact an authorized
Volkswag en dealer or an authoriz ed V olkswa-gen F acility. the ca tal ytic converter and engi ne can be damage d
oil leve l sh ould neve r be abo ve
r a nge A . O th erwise oil can be draw n in by
the crankcase venti
lation sys tem and ent er t he at-
m osphe re v ia th e exha ust syste m .
Un der nor mal co
ndit ions , th e ra te o f oil consump ­
t io n d epe nds on o il qu alit y as as viscos ity, e n­
gi ne speed (rpm) , o ut side tem pe ra tur e, road cond i­
t io n s, th e amou nt of
oil d il u tio n ca used by co n­
d ensed water or fuel res idu e, and ox idat ion of t he oil. co nsump tion may incre ase with engine
wea r over time , unt il replacement of wo rn en gin e
p arts m ay beco me nec essary .
To prov ide effective lubricatio n an d coo ling fo r in ­
terna l eng ine part s, in tern al co mbustion engines
u se so me o il. cons umpt ion var ies from engine
t o e ngine and m ay cha ng e ov er the li fe o f the en­
g ine . En gin es ten d to use more o il d uring the
b re ak -in perio d than they do aft erwa rd, when oil
c on sumption has stabilized .
Volkswage n reco mm en ds that you t o ch ec k the en ­
gin e oil lev el a t r egul ar int erv als , p re fe rably e very tim e yo u the ta nk, and always be fo re a long
Care, c leaning, maintenance

Check tire inflation pressure
and on cold tires. Check all the
tires, including the compact spare,
if
any. colder climates tire pressure
shou ld be checked more often, but
on ly when the tires are co
ld. Always
use
an accurate tire pressure gauge.
After adjusting the tire inflation
pressures , make sure to screw the
valve caps back on; replace missing
valve caps immediately. Read an d
heed information on resetting the Tire
Pr essure Monitoring System
Remember that the vehicle
facture r, n ot the tir e manufacturer,
sure specified for the compact spare
on the
tire pressure labe l or on a
serious
personal injury, and even death.
pressure, and blowouts. Tires
with excessively low pressure
flex (bend) more, which can
cause
the tire to overheat and fail
suddenly without warning.
sure.
at the factory. The caps
must be screwed on tightly. Do not
use metal valve caps or
Underinflation increases fuel con-
s umpti on.
care and maintenance

Top speed rating and tire inflation pressure for V winter tires depend on the engi ne in your
veh icle . Be sur e t o ask you authorized Volkswagen
de ale r or authorize d Volkswagen Faci lity
abo ut the maxim um permissible speed and the quired tire inflation pressure for the winte r tire s tha t
you plan to use.
Driving faster than the maximum speed for which the winter tires on your vehicle were designed can cause sudden tire failure cluding a blowout and sudden
mum speed.
tory information and heed the on page 258.
local regulati ons as as the
ch ains improve forward motion , tractio n and
b rak ing characteristics under wintry conditions .
chai ns may be use d only on the front wheels . chains may be used only in the lowing tire and wheel combinations:
Tire dimensions Rim
205 /55 R 16 6
J x 16 ET
R 17a) 6 J x 17 ET 48 .5
Use only chains with low links that are not thicke r
than
about
app ropr iate wheel , tire and snow ch ai n
possi ble, u se only chains with low links that are not thicker than 37/ 64 in (15 mm ) including the tensioner.
Remove center hubcap s
and decorative rim rings
be fore s n ow chains Howeve r, fo r
safe ty reasons, caps must be on the
summer tires in the spr ing. tires off er better ha ndling is tics for temperatures above +45 (+ 7 They
are qu ieter, do not wear as quickly , and reduce fuel
consumption.
veh icles with a Tire Pressu re Mo nit or ing the syste m mus t be reca libr ated
necessary , ask your authorized Volkswagen dealer or author ized Volkswagen F a-
ci lity about permissible winte r tir e dimensions. whee l Th ese are available from autho rized
Volkswa gen dealers an d authorized Volks wage n
Compact spare
For tec hnical reas on s, snow chains canno t be
used on the compact spare 269.
you mu st use sn ow ch a ins and have a compact
spare wheel mounted, move the compact spare
wheel to the rea r a xle if a front tire has to be
snow chains improperly can cause accidents and severe personal injuries.
ed by the snow chain manufacturer.
Vehicle care and maintenance 275

Consumer information
this section find information about:
. . . . . . . 292
Volkswagen service informatio n 293
More information:
Exterior views 6
assis tan ce systems 195
Parts , accessories, repairs and modificat io n s
Warranty and Maintenance
.
legal requirement s.
Stickers and labels
on page 291.
Factory
-installed safety certificates, stickers and
s ign s co ntaining importa nt information regarding
vehicle operation can be found in th e engine partment and on certain vehicle componen ts, such as insid e the fuel flap , on the passenger sun
visor, in the driver door jamb or on the luggage
compartmen t floor .
Do not remove, alter or render unusable or legible any safe ty certificates , stickers and labels .
cates, stickers, or
forming certificates , stickers, or to the same
part of the new compone nts.
requirement s.
tions in the and nance.
Manual and heed
necessary safety standards and req uirements of t h e traffic safety agency of the respective country were met. The month and year of production as as the vehicle ide ntifi catio n number may be
listed as well .
Radiator fan and high voltage warning sticker
A warning sticker about the radiat or fan and the
high
<1
Vehicl e care and maintenance 291

Operating your vehic le outside of the United
tory information and heed the on page 291.
Government regulations in the Unit
ed and Canada require that automobiles meet speci fic
emission regulations an d safely standards . for the and Canada differ
f rom vehicles sold in other coun tr ies.
to take your vehicle outside the or Canada , there is the possibility that:
Unl eaded for vehicles with catalytic
Fuel may have a co nsiderably lower octane ing and may cause engine damage.
may be inadequate due to
tory information and heed the on page 291.
the ra dio and navigation systems were installed
at the fac tory, the radio a ntenn a may be insta lled in differe nt locations in the vehic le:
the inside of th e rea r window w ith the rear
wi nd ow defroste r,
the inside of the rear side win dows,
the inside of the windshie ld ,
the vehic le roof.
An te nna s on the insides of windows are thin wires .
UTQG classification
on page 291.
Unif orm Tir e Quality Grading (UTQG) : Quality
grades can be found where applicab le on the tire
sidewa ll between the tread shou lder and maxim um
sec tion width . E xample :
Replaceme nt parts may not be read ily
DVD navigation systems for
tries outside of N orth Ame rica.
Volksw agen
is not responsible for mechanical
damage that may result from substandard fuel or service or the of Genuine
Volkswagen parts.
Volkswagen is not responsible if the does not meet the respective
icals. Do not place any stickers on the
agents or other ch emica ls.
to the integrated windshield antenn a, interference
w it h AM radio receptio n may occur . Treadwea r (numb er)
Traction: AA, B or
Tempera ture : A , B or
Fo r example: Treadwear Tr ac tion AA, pera tur e A.
passenger car ti res must conform to Federal R equ iremen ts in add ition to these grades .