2012 VOLKSWAGEN GOLF ESP

-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

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

Engine oil
find information about:
Wa rning a
nd indicator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227
Engin e oil specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228
Engin e oil capac ity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229
Checking th e engine oil level and adding oil . 229
Eng ine oil consumpt ion . . . . . . 23 0
Changing engine oil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
231
More information:
P reparations for work ing in the engine compart­
m en t 222
Parts, accessories, repairs and modi fications 283
handling of engine oil can cause vere burns and other serious injuries.
Store engine oil only in the closed original container. This also applies to used oil until disposal.
tainers that might mislead someone into drinking from them.
other operating fluids, engine oil can leaking and
sp illed operating fluids and dispose of them erly in accordance with
Please first read and note the introductory information and heed the on page 227.
Lights Possible cause Proper response up
Engine oil
leve l too low. the engine. Check the engine oil level
-
off the engine. Check the engin e lev-
el. -the warn ing light flashes although the oil lev-Engin e oil p ressure to o low . el is norm al, do not co ntinue driving or let the
engi ne idle. the engine could be damaged.
Contact an auth orize d Volkswagen dealer or an
authorized Volkswagen Facility.
Have the engine oil sensor checked by an au-
Engine oil leve l se nsor malfun ction. thorized Volksw agen dealer or an authorized --Volkswage n Faci lity.
the engine compartment 227

Engine
this section you'll find information about
Warning light and en gine coolant tempe rature
gaug e ................................. 233
En gine coolant spec ifica tions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
Checking engine coolan t level and toppi ng
o ff 236
Ne ver do any work
on the coolant system unle ss
you
know exactly how to carry out the job,
have the correct technical inform ation and the
proper tools, supplie s, and operating fluids, and
are fa miliar with the necessary safety
you are uncertain in any way, have the work
done by an authori zed Volkswage n dea le r or an
a uth orized Volkswagen
in jury may
to wing =>page 149
Preparat ions for work ing in the engi ne page 222
Parts, accesso ries, repai rs and modifications =>page 283
Engine coolant is poisonous!
To reduce the risk of poisoning, never
store engine coolant in empty food or age containers or in any other containers that might mislead someone into drinking from them.
Always make sure there is enough of the correct coolant additive to provide proper tifreeze protection at the coldest tures that can be expe cted where the vehicle will be used .
At extremely cold temperatures, the ant could freeze, causing the vehicle to break down. The heater would also not work, and
vehi cle occupants could be without
Coolant and coolant additives can po llute the en vironme nt. leaking ope rati ng fluids
a nd dis pose of them properly in acco rdance with
applicab le environment al
Warning light and engine coolant temperature gauge
Fig.
perature range;© Warning zone.
first read and note the
on page 233.
the in dicator in the engine coolant tempera ture
gauge is located in the cold range @, the engine
h as not reached operating temperature . H igh
gi ne s peeds and heavy engine loads should be
avo ided .
Under normal driving con
ditions , the needle should
be in the middle of the gauge . The tempe ratu re
may go higher when the engine is working hard, espec ially i n h ot weather.
When
the ign ition is switched on, seve ra l warn ing and indicato r
the engine compartment 233

Charging,
on page 238.
Charging the vehicle battery
Vehicle batteries should be charged by an author­
ized Volkswagen dealer or an authorized Volkswa­
gen
because the factory -installed
battery requires a charger with overload protection
Replacing the vehicle battery
The battery in your vehicle is
batteries meet­
ing standards TL 825
electrical system, note the following :
off
Unlock the vehicle before disconnecting the
battery; otherwise the alarm system
Fir st disconnect the negativ e cable(-) and then the positive
Connecting the vehicle battery
Pr ior to reconnecting the battery , switch off electrical sys tems and devices and the ignition .
Connect the posit ive cable(+) first and then the
negative cable (-)
After the battery is connected and the ignition is
sw itched on, different indicator light s may come on. They should go out after you drive a short distance
ice Facility and have the checked.
th e ign ition not start after reconnecting the vehicle battery , lock the vehic le from the outside
and unlock it again. Then try to start the ignition
again.
lhe ignition cannot be switched on, con­
tact an authorized Volkswagen dealer, an author­
ized Volkswagen
o r another quali­
fied workshop for assistance.
Automatic electrical load deactivation
onboard electrical system management auto mati ­takes steps to help prevent battery drain.
The idle speed is increa sed so that the alterna­
t o r provides more power.
Th e power to devices that consume a lot of electricity is cut back or switched off completely.
When the engine is started, the power supply to the 12
Long periods when the engine is not running,
especially when the ignition is on .
Using electr ical sys tems or devices when the
engine is swi tched off. Leaving the
The selecto r lever is left for a long period of time in any position other than P when the ignition
is swi tched off =>page 175.
Failure to use th e proper battery with proper mounting and connection s may cause short circu its, fires, and serious persona l injuries.
Always use only maintenance-free or cy-
cle-free, leak-proof batteries with the sa me
s p ec ifications and dimensions as the original
equipment b attery. Specifications are listed
on the battery housing.
Wh en the vehicle battery is ch arged, it produ-
ces highly explosive hydroge n gas.
th e engine compartment

Upholstery and fabric trim with ligh t gene ra lized
soil ing can be cleaned with a co mme rcially b le dry-foam cleaner.
t he upho lstery fabric and fabric trim pieces are
heavi ly soiled , see your authorized
dealer or authorized
necessary, have the cleaning
do ne by a professional.
Cleaning upholstery on non-heated seats, manual seats, or seats w ithout airbag
components
Before using any cleaning agent, familiarize
yourse lf with instruct ions and warni ngs on the
packaging .
upholstery, fabric trim, Alca ntara ® holstery , and carpeting regula rly with a sui table
b rush attachment.
A soft sponge or a commercially available free microfiber cloth may be used for general
clea nin g
Clean Alcantara ® surfaces with a damp cotton
or woo l cloth or a commercially available lint-free
microfiber cloth
Upholstery and fabric trim with light gene ra lized can be c leaned wit h a comme rcia lly
the uphols tery fabric and fabric trim pie ces are
heavi ly soiled , see your authorized
dealer or authorized Facility
before you begin cleani ng to learn about suitable
c leaning options .
necessary , h ave the cleaning
done by a profess ional.
Removing stains
When treating stains, it may be necessary to clean
t h e ent ir e su rface and not jus t the stain itse lf. This
is especially true if the entire su rface has become
d irty from normal use. Otherw ise , the a rea that is
t reated may become lighter than the untreated
a rea . you have qu es tions or concerns , co nsu lt a
p ro fessiona l c leaner .
Typ e
of sta in Recommended cleaning for fabri c and upholstery
Water-based stains, such as -Moisten a sponge with water and rub the stain gently with a circular coffee or fruit juice . tion. -Wipe dry with an absorbent clot h.
Persisten t stains , such as
c h ocolate or make-up. -
Use only Volkswagen -approved clea ning produc ts. -necessary, have the fabric or uphols tery profess io na lly cleaned.
Grease-based stains , such as oil , lipst ick , etc. -
Use only Volksw agen-approved clea nin g prod ucts. -
Hav e the airbag syste m inspecte d
w age n deale r or auth oriz e d V olkswag en
Do not u se steam cleaners becau se the
s te am could ca use the dirt to pen etrate deeper into the fa bri c a nd make i t impossible
Pressure wa shers a nd cooling spray s ca n
d am ag e the uphols tery.