2012 VOLKSWAGEN GOLF start

Failure to heed warning lights or t ex t WARN-can result in vehicle damage . Parking brake
Fig. 113 Between the front seats :
on page 179.
the parking brake lever up firmly.
When the ignition is on , the indicator or appears in the instrume nt c luster display to show th at the park ing brake is engaged
the leve r up 113 (arrow) .
While hold ing the release button down, move
t h e lever t he way down.
Parking
Ple ase firs t r ea d and note the introduc­tory info rm ation and heed the WARN­on pa ge 179.
note legal regulations when stopping and
parking your vehicle.
Parking the vehicle
p erform these steps only in the order listed.
the vehicle on a suitab le surface
the rear wheels are braked . Always
use the foot bra ke.
engag ed. This c an cause the brak e to over­
heat and neg ati vely affec t the b rak e sys te m .
start to move even if the parking brake is e ngag ed .
Even
though the tra nsmission is in P ark (P),
t h e vehi cle may move a couple of inche s (a fe w
c entimeters) forwards or backwards if you take
your f oot off the brake pedal after stopping the
ve hicl e without fir s t firmly setting the parking
b rake .
A warning signal sounds if you drive faster
Apply t he parking brake to 182.
For automatic transmissions : (P).
Remove the vehicle key from the igni tion.
necessary , turn the steer ing whee l to
e ngage the steer ing column lock.

transmission into 1st gear (on
and the out.
keys with you when
Before stopping the en gine, turn the steer ing so th at, if the starts to into the curb :
turn the fro nt
Facing
The
on page 179.
New
brake pads do not provide to km)
and must first be To some extent,
you can make up for th e somewhat reduced
formance by more pressu re to t h e brake But, during the break-in period, the
be the brakes are ken in. Avoid hard braking a nd situatio ns that might
requ ire hard brakin g (such as
on operati ng
condit ions and the way the
you
serv ice
damage your bumper and related parts if the front of your vehicle hits a barrier or curb that is too high you are
getting into or out of a parking spot. To
to the ground may be damaged (such as bumper covers, spoilers, and parts of the en-
gine , suspension, and exhaust systems). Wet brake s (for or after heavy be whe n brake discs are wet or, in winter, even
icy. Wet or icy brakes must be dried as soon as by high speed.
Make sur e nobody is behind you and that you do
not enda nge r
or othe rs
t her e is on th e roads and you are not braking brake move any
Brake disc corrosion (rust) and dirt to occur if the is not driven much or is driven fo r short
distances with the brakes have not
been used and th ere is some rust on the discs, the brake discs and pads once in a by
shifting, parking

Do not reduce pressure on the brake
up on the brake.
Lock (EDL and XDL)
EDL is applied during regular straight -line
traction (spinning) and redirec ts the drive force to other drive wheels. extreme cases , EDL swi tches off to keep the brake from
switches on again .
XDL is an extension of the Electronic Differential
Lo ck sys tem . X DL does not react to drive wheel
s lippage when driving straight ahead .
XDL
detects slippage of the inside front wheel during
fast corne ring . X DL app lies enough brake pressure
to
this wheel in order to stop the slippage. This
Driving fast on icy, or wet roads can to a of control and result in serious persona l injury for you and your passengers.
Always adjust your speed and driving
style to roa d , traffic, weather, and visibility conditions. Never the additiona l sa fety that and EDL can
come the of physics and always prevent and wet
roads are dangero us eve n with and the o ther syste ms!
to A vehicle that has
1861 While driving
tance from the vehicle in front of you.
cele rator Even with these syste m s,
th e wheels may start to spin, le ading to a
The effectiveness of ca n be significantly reduced if other components and sys te m s that a ffect vehicle dynamic s, including but not limite d to bra kes , tires, and other te m s mention ed above , are not properly
maintained or fun ctioning.
Always remembe r that vehicle alterations or modifications can affect the functioning of the EDL, and systems.
Changing the vehicle su spension or using an unappro ved tire I wheel combination can
c han ge the way the EDL ,
and system s work and re duce their fectiveness .
The effectiveness of is als o
tires in orde r for and to work erly . Diff eren ces in the tread circumference of the
tir es can cause the system to r educ e the engine
p ower when it is not expected .
is not working, and EDL not work .
may hear noises when these systems are

this section find info rmat ion about:
Effi cient driving sty le
....... . 189
Fue l-efficient driv in g . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Fuel consumpti on, envi ronme ntal impact, and wear
a nd tear on eng ine, brakes and tires depend main­
l y on the
pe rsona l d riving style.
External conditions (weather , road condi tions).
Technical requir emen ts.
Efficient driving
on page 189.
Shifting faster
As a rule , th e app lies: The h igh er gear is
a lways the most e ffi cient gear . The rule of thumb
for mos t veh icles is to drive in 3rd gear at
mph
gears when upshifting also saves
Do not run the gea rs up to their lim it. Use 1st gear o nly to s tart movin g and then sm oot hly s hift into
2 n d gear. Avoid kick-do wns in vehicl es with auto ­
matic tra nsm issions.
Coasting
you take your foot off the accel erator, fuel de liv­ery to the engine is interrupted , which lowers fuel consum ptio n.
Therefo re , whe n nearing a red stop for in­
stance , the veh icle to coas t without usin g the
accelerator . Pre ss the peda l a nd release it
o nly if the vehicle mov ing too slowly or the coast­
ing distance is too long. The engine
situa tions where the
swi tch off the eng in e.
conditions. Defensive driving and with traffic
Freq uent braki ng and accelerat ion increase s fuel
cons umption significantly . Just by driving defen­
s ive ly and keep ing a sufficiently large
distance
away fro m the
caused by taking your foot off the accelerator . Active braking and acceler ­
at ing is then not nece ssarily re qu ired .
Calm and smooth driving
Consistency is more important than speed. The
m ore smo oth ly you drive , the less fuel the vehic le
consumes.
Whe n driving
on the highw ay or free way, a co n­
stant , m ode rate speed is more efficien t and eco­
n omi ca l than constantly accelerating and brak ing.
you can reach your dest ination just as
quick ly by driv ing at a mod erate, but steady sp eed.
Th e crui se control syst
em can assist in mainta ining
a un iform dri vin g style.
Moderate use of extra electrical loads
Comfort in sid e the ve hicle is nic e and important ,
but it is importa nt to use the m in an envi ronm enta l­
l y conscious manner.
Some devices can increase fuel consumptio n
whe n activated (exa mples):
Starting, shiftin g, parki ng 189

Climate control system (air cond itioner): th e
trast ing temperatures , it requires a large amount of energy, which is genera ted by the engine. The
tempe ratu re in the shou ld therefore not be
ext remely different from that of the outside ature . may be to venti la te the veh icle fore driving and then to drive a short distance with
the windows open. After that, sw itch on the air
Keep the
windows increase fuel consumption.
off the rear window defroste r as soon as
t he windows are free of fog and ice.
14
miles
Fi g.
116 F uel consumption in mpg at 2 different
outside air temperatures .
on page 189.
D riving defensive
ly and economica lly can easily duce fuel cons umptio n by to 15%.
The veh icle consumes the most fuel when ating. Defensive driving requires less braking and
ther efore less acceleration. possibl e, coast the
vehicle to a stop , for example, when you can see that the next traffic light is red or about to turn red.
Avoid traveling short distances
A co ld engine consumes sign ificantly more fuel media tely after starting .
consumption (examples):
Malfunction ing eng ine control.
Drivi ng in the mountain s.
T owing a tra iler.
-1
Fig. 117 Fuel consumption in ent outside air temperatures .
To reduce fuel consumption and the emission of
ature. Criti cal in thi s con te xt is also the outside air temperature.
T herefo re , avoid driving short distances sarily and consolidate routes.
Un der the same conditions , the veh icle consumes
more fuel in winte r tha n in summer.
in some places, but also not neces -
sary and wastes fuel.

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 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

Driver assistance systems
Starting assistance systems
Volksw age n Informatio n pag e 24
pa ge 179
Vehicle batt ery
p age 2 58
Jump-s ta rting page 327
The
on p age 195 .
fo r examp le afte r
s topping at a traffic light. don't have to app ly
an d r elease th e park ing brake whil e depress ing the
accele ra tor . For
The dynam ic sta rting assistance feature s
cannot keep the vehicle from moving in all hill-start situations (for example, if the ground is slippery or icy).
Driving with too little fuel in the fuel tank in-
c rea se s th e risk of especially when driving up and down hills.
H old keeps th e bra ke a ppl ied for not quit e
2 seconds with the same force you u sed t o p reve nt the veh ic le f rom mov ing. This gives you time to
t ake your foot off the brake , let the clu tch out on a manual transm issio n veh ic le, a n d gently depress
the accele ra tor to get the veh icle m ovi ng agai n.
F urther more, if any requi remen t for engagi ng
Ho ld disengages and the brakes are automati ­no longer ho ld th e vehic le.
Driver ass is tance systems 195