2012 VOLKSWAGEN GOLF service

you cannot
clearly see th e brake fluid level in the brake fluid
r eservoir , p lea se see an authorized Volkswagen
dealer or authorized Volkswagen Service Facility.
Th e brake
Br ake fluid must be changed according to the serv­
ice schedule in your =>booklet Warranty and Main­
tenance . Have the brake fluid ch ecked by an au­
t h orized Volkswagen dealer or an aut horized
Volk swage n Service tha t m ee ts the standa rds
Brake failure and reduced brake pe rformance
can be caused by not having enough brake
f luid in the reservoir or by old or incorrect brake fluid.
Always change the brake fluid according to the service sch edule in book-let Warranty and Mainten ance.
Hard braking with old brake fluid may cause vapor lock. Vapor lock reduces braking performance , increases stopping distances
and can even cau se total brak e failure.
Always make sure that only the correct brake fluid is used. standard 14 or standa rd 116
standard s tand ard 116 4, do not use it.
The brake fluid must be new .
Brake fluid is poisonous.
To reduce the risk of poisoning, never use food, beverage or other non-original contain-ers to store brake fluid.
store brake fluid in its clo sed , origi-nat container and keep it out of the reach of children.
Brake fluid will damage vehicle paint. Wipe any brake fluid off vehicle paint immediately.
Brake the envir onment. Brake fluid tha t has leaked out must be col­
lec ted and disposed of properly , cable e nvir onmen tal reg ulatio ns.

Steering
Introduction
this section
is an system. The advantage of this
steering system is that no hoses,
quired. The system is more
pressure in the system; an
steering.
The electro-mechanica l power steering syst
em tomatically adjusts to driving speed, steering of the
turning the
Starting and stopping the engine
battery page 238
Towing
Warning and indicator lights
Turning the stee ring
the
when the
the coast with the engine switched off.
the to a stop. Th e steering and you b e to the first read and note the introductory information and heed the on page 192.
Li g
hts up ca use Proper response
Power steering malfuncti on. Have
the powe r stee ring system checked imme-by an authorized Volkswagen or an authorized Volkswagen Service
Stop, restart the engi ne. and drive a short dis-
lance . the does not come
on again, you do not need to have the steering
P ower steering assist is reduced . system checked .
Otherwise , have the steering checked immedi-by an authorized Volkswagen
12 mph
been reconnected . (1 5 -

Flashes Possible cause or meaning
Flashes for abou t
Incorrect tire pressures and/or underinflation
can cause sudden tire failure, loss of control, serious personal injury, or even
death.
appears in
the instrument cluster, stop the vehicle as soon as it is safe to do so and tires .
job.
4 tires when the tires are cold. Never reduce air pressure in warm tires to match cold tire inflation pressure.
258, Tires and wheels .
While driving
Proper response
C he ck and , if n ecessary, adjust the
tire tio n p ress ure i n 4 tires . th e tire pr essure
i s correc t, swi tc h the ign ition off and back on. the indicato r
4 tir es and
pressing the butt on , ta ke the veh ic le to
an auth ori ze d Volkswa gen deal er or an
Have th e
sys te m checke d.
wear prematurely and the cle
and you do not have to change the tire or wheel immediately , drive at reduced speed to the nearest service
always read and
heed the information and all in the section
Improper use of the to give false warnings or to give no warning despite dangerously low tire pres-
sure

-Make certain that the
from the prevent damage to the paint , tires ,
and housings.
system damage that is not covered by any
th e instrum ent gauge .
you put any amount of incorrect
contact the nearest
gen Service contain substances that damage
the
fl ap . Contact an author ized
f or ass ista nce .
first read and note the tory informat ion and heed the on page 214.
Lights up Gauge position cause or meaning Proper response
Red r ange (ar ro w) tank empty . nme to
] Running on reserve 217 .
-filler cap no t and th e ca p
When the ignit ion is sw itched on, warning
and indicator
the comes on or you see a text messa ge in the inst rument ing that the sto p the
At the gas station 215

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

Care,
this sect ion
know how to carry out the
have the correc t technical information and the
proper too ls and supplies, and
are fami liar with the necessary safety precau­
t ions
you are uncertain in any
Fa cility. from improperly per­
formed work.
More
Exterior views
Windshie ld wipe r and was he r 129
S tart ing and stoppi ng t he engi ne
Brake fluid 179
Vehicle battery
E ngine oil 227
Engin e coolant 233
Parts, accesso ries, repairs and modifications 283
Unintend ed vehicle movement during mainte­nanc e work can ca use serious personal inju­ries.
Care , cleaning, maintenance
Never work under the vehicle unless you have safely secured the vehicle from moving. you mus t work under the vehicle with the
wheels on the g round , alway s make sure that the vehicle is on level ground, that
Th e engine compartment of any motor vehi­cle is a potent ially dangerous area and can cause serious personal injury.
Always use extreme caution when doing any work
Never p erform any work in the engine compartment unless you know exactly how to carry out the job and have the correct tec h­nical information and the correct tools .
you are uncertain about what to do, have the work performed by an authorized
Volk swagen dealer, an authorized Volksw a­
ge n Service Facility, or another qualified workshop. Serio us persona l injury may result from improperly performed work.

When the ignition is switched seve ra l warn ing
and indica tor lights come on for a function
check . They go out after a few seconds.
to break down in traffic and result in a sion and serious personal injury.
Engine
on page 227.
The engine oil used must conform to exact specifi­
cations .
Using the proper engine oil is important for the
functionality and service life
of the engine.
engine was factory-filled with a high-qua lity ,
" synthe tic "
you need to add oil between oil changes, use on­
l y a high quality oil that expressly complies with the Volksw age n oil quality sta ndard specified for your
vehic le 's engine:
Engine s Engine
oil specifi-cation
vw Ga
soline engines vw vw
At the time this Manual was printed, the engine oils
avai lab le in the U.S. that meet these Volkswagen
standards are "syn thetic" oils. Th is does not mean,
howe ver, that any "synthetic " engine oil wi ll meet
Volkswagen standards. A lways use an app roved
228 cl eaning , m aint en ance
or text WARN ­
"synthetic" oil that meets the applicable Volkswa­
gen oil quality standard with viscosi ty grade
or is not availab le in your area,
be sure to use a viscosity grade suitabl e for the cli­
mate, season , and operating conditions th at exist
where the vehicle is used . Make sure the oil meets
the qual i
ty standard listed in on page 228.
Engine oils are cons tantly being improved. Author­
ized Volkswagen dealers and
authorized Volkswa­
gen Service Facilities are a lways up-to-da le re­
garding new developments and changes. Volkswa­
gen therefore recommends
tha t you have the en­
gine oil changed by an authorized Volkswagen
deale r
or an authorized Volkswagen
that meets the Volk swage n oil standard your engine requires, you may add a total of no more than 1/2 quart liter) of a high-quality
or
not be covered by any Volks­wagen Limited Warranty.
Do not mix any lubricants or other additives into the engine oil. Doing so can cause engine
damage! Damage caused by the se kinds of ad­ditives are not covered by any Volk swagen
Limited Warranty .