2012 VOLKSWAGEN GOLF ignition

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

Counter-steering assistance
Counter-steering assistance is part of Electronic
Stability Control (ESC). This feature makes it ier for the driver to control the vehic le in difficult
uation and helps the driver counter-steer with
The counter-steering assistance in can do no more than help the driver steer in
self with feature!
194 driving
the ignition is off, the steer ing column lock engage and the vehicle cannot be steered. For this reaso n, you must leave the ignition on
when going through an automatic car wash, for example, so that the wheels will still steer.

to heed warning and instrument text messages can cause the to break down traffic and sion and serious
or text
stop the as soon as it is
safe to do so.
or text can damage .
the ignition is switched on, an acous tic warning sounds when tir e pressure is tected. a system malfunc tion is detected , no
aco ust ic warn ing sounds .
Driving fo r a lon ge r period of tim e o n roug h roa ds or w ith a dynamic and sporty s tyle can
m ake th e system te mpora rily unavai lable .
Th e in dicato r light
fu nc tio n, b ut
Tire Pressure Monitoring
the
on
page
Your Tire Pressure Monitor­
ing
4 tires
Brake
tires . The
tread circumference
of a tire can
change :
one side of the
than the other .
than the other (such as when towing a
has been
mounted .
a
a tire was changed.
the tire pressure was changed , or
were rotated or
was not reset.
warnings be­
cause snow chains increase tire cir-
cumference.
Dri ver assistance syste m s

Resetting and
12 0. The but­
ton rese ts the benchmark tire pres­
sure used by the
switch on the ignition and
then press and
the
you hear a confirmation chime.
The chime
sounds after a cou­
of seconds. The
2 seconds but
no more than
after at minutes of nor­
you use the
prev ent the
warnings or may not give any
warning even
if the tire pressure is too
For this reason, it is
tire tires are tires that have
not been driven more than a
speed within
the
3 hours .
Use the
tire in­
rim that were
taken off are
(for instance,
after repair) .
is
changed and
to its correct
tire
have had

the fuel and take the fuel cap back
on the
Afte r switc hing on the ignition , the light
may stay on or the text message may
however, the malfunction indi cato r light also
comes on, drive to your nearest authorized Volks­
wagen deale r or a uthorized
Vol kswage n Facility and have the fuel system and the engine
checked .
Driving with a fu el tank that is almost empty can lead to and serious personal injuries.
Refueling
Fig . 125 Fuel cap placed on the open fuel
tory information and hee d the WARN­on page 214.
Before refue ling , always switch off the engine, the
i gniti on , and phones , and leave them
switc hed off unt il refu eling is complete .
when driving over bumps, across slopes, and up and down
and relat ed systems no t work if the engine or due to lack o f f uel.
to reduce the risk of running out of fuel and stalling in traffic.
ca n re sult vehicle damage .
fuel supply can cause the
engi ne to misfire . This
The arrow next to the gas pump symbo l in the fuel gauge 124 shows the of the vehicle with the fuel filler Opening the fuel cap
Unlo ck the vehicle from the outside with the ve­
h ic le key or pres s the central loc king button in driv­
er
to unlock the vehicle from the inside 41.
The fuel
Pre ss on the back part of the fuel and
fold open .
Unscrew the fuel cap counterclockwise
and remove . Plac e the cap on the top of the fue l 125 .
The correc t fuel grade for you r vehicle is listed on
a sticker on the insid e of the fuel 125.
The fuel tank is full when the automatic filler nozzle pump switch es off the first time
Do not try to add fuel after the pump stops!
T opping off the tank in this way may the expan­
sion space that the tank needs and cause fuel to
for exam ple, if it gets warmer out side .

Never open or close the engine hood if To reduce th e risk of electrica l shock and steam or coolant is escaping. Hot steam or personal injury
-Never touch ignition cables. Never ant escaping from the engine. touch other components of the high
Always the eng ine down com-age electronic ignition syste m .
opening the hood.
-Never touch the wiring of the Discharge (Xenon) headlights.
system burn skin on contact.
you are read y to open the hood: Moving parts in th e engine compartment can
- Firm ly apply the parking brake a nd shift cause serious personal injury on contact. the transmission into Park (P) (automatic)
vehicles with Keyless Access, make member that the radiator fan is temperature-
s
ure that the remote contro l vehicle key is controlled and can come on sudden ly even
out of range of th e vehicle and that the ve- when the engine
has been switched off for a
hicl e cannot be started by depres sing the 44. ignition.
-
Always keep children and others away you have to perform a check or repair from the engine compartment and never when the engine is runn ing, there are more leave them unsupervised. risks from the rotating parts, such as the
hair do not get caught in
ries. rotating engine
parts. B efore starting an y
- Turn
the cap
fluids onto hot parts of the engine o r exhaust system can
cause a fire. -
Always use
extreme caution if the ac-
ce lerato r pedal has to be depressed to perform a check. The vehicle will start to move even if the parking brake i s on.
Never leave any objects in the engine compartment, for examp le cleaning rags and tools. Objects left b ehind can cause malfunc-lions, engine damage, and even fires.
High voltage sy stems in the engine com part-ment can ca use electrica l shocks or even
electrocution, severe burns, other serious in-juries, and eve n deathl
Neve r short-circuit the electrica l syste m .
B e especially ca reful when using jumper ca-
Operating fluids and some materials in the engi ne compartment can catch fire easily, causing burns an d other serious personal in-juries
Do not smoke .
b les. The
vehicle 's battery could exp lode! Never work next to open flames or sparks .
223

Never pour or operating or on the engine. These
work on the system or the
disconnect the 12 battery. Make sure the is when you disconnect the battery , or the
have a functional, approved fire extinguisher nearby .
Warning
When changing or topping off fluids, make sure that you pour the voirs. Adding the wrong type of operating
and are
you find spot s
o f
first read and note the introductory in formation and heed the on
icon
appea rs Engine hood not prope rly closed.
in the dis-
th e engine hood is open or not closed properly ,
t he warning comes on in the i nstrument
D epending on your vehicle 's equ ipmen t and tio n s, a symbo l showing that the hood is not closed may appea r in the instrument cluste r
disp la y instead of th e warning light. The symbol be displayed even after the ignition is
swi tched off. Th e display goes out abo ut 15
onds afte r t he vehicle has been locked with the doors closed .
224 Care, cleaning , maintenance Proper
response
and instrument cluster text messa ges can cause the to break down in traffic and sion and serious

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 .