2012 VOLKSWAGEN GOLF PLUS warning light

Failure to heed warnin g light s and instrument cluster text message s can cause the ve hicl e to break down in traffic and result in a and seriou s personal injury .
Never ignore warning light s or text I NGS.
Engine coolant specifications
introdu ctory information and heed th e on pag e 252.
The engi ne c ooling sys tem is fille d
p erce nt of Volk s wa gen engi ne coo lant additi ve G 12 plu s-plu s (TL-VW 774 G) o r G 12 plus (TL -VW F). Both of these engin e coola nt ti ve s are purple.
This mixtur e pro vides antif r eeze pro te ction down
to -13 a ls o he lps to pro tec t th e light
allo y pan s in th e eng in e coolin g sys te m against
corro sio n. In addit ion, the mi xture help s preve nt
c alcium dep os its and in creases the bo ilin g point of the e ng in e coola nt.
T o
protec t th e e ng in e, the mi xture must a lway s co nt ain nt le a st
mate conditions , th e perc entage of coola nt ti ve can be in cre ased. Howe ver, the coo la nt ti ve pe rc e n ta ge mu st never be m ore than oth erw ise , ant ifreeze prot ection is reduce d a nd
th e ability of the mi xture to coo l th e e ngine is als o
r educed.
Whe n addin g e ngine coolant, use a mixture of till ed water and at l ea st c o o la nt addit ive G 12 plu s- plu s for optimum co rro sion protection
Core, maintenanc e
Always stop the vehicl e as soon as it is saf e to do so.
Note
Failure to heed warning lights o r text can re s ult in veh icle damage.
Too little antifreeze protection in the en gin e coolin g syste m can cause eng in e failure and vere injuri es.
be used.
At extremely cold temperatures, the coolant could freeze, cau sin g the v ehicl e to brea k down. The heater would als o no t work, and ve hicl e cupants could be without protection at free zing temperatures.
Note
N eve r mix original Volkswagen engine coo lant additives with other additi ve s no t approved by
Volkswagen. Mixing Volkswage n coo la nt
facturers can serio usly damage th e engine and th e engi ne coolin g sys te m .
Eng in e coolant additive G 12 plus-plus can b e
m ixed with G 12 plus and G
If the fluid in th e e ngine coo lant res ervoir is any color but purple (s u ch
this is th e case, the gin e coolant mus t b e r epla ced immedi ate ly . envi se serious m alfun ction s or engine damage can occ ur!
E ng in e coolan t a nd engine c oo lant additi ves can pollute th e environm ent. le akin g opera ting a nd disp ose of th em in
acco rdance with appli cable e nvir o nm ent al la ws
a nd

th is sect io n yo u'll find inform ation on th e low ing:
Warning light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258
Check ing . . . . . . . . . . 2 59
Charg ing, replacing, disconnect ing
and c o nn ecti ng the ve hicle boHery . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
you are uncerta in in anyway , have the work do ne an aut ho rized Volk swage n dealer or au th orized
Volkswage n Service Serious personal
tery
Symbol Meaning
Always wear eye protectio n!
B a tt ery
acid is hi ghl y co rro sive. ways wear protective gloves and eye protec tion !
Fire, sparks, op en light and sm okin g
a re pro hibit ed !
W hen a batt ery is c ha rge d, it
Bookle t Warranty and Main tena nce book let
fo r worki ng in th e eng ine page 242
Par ts, acce ssories , repai rs and m odifica tio ns
or the electrical sys te m
in your vehicl e can cause seriou s acid burns,
fir es, explo sion s, o r electri ca l s hock s. Alway s
re ad and heed the followin g and safety preca ution s befor e working on
Before working on the ele ctri cal s ystem, way s switch off the ignition and all ele ctrical
consumers and di sconnect the negative
Alwa ys ke ep children awa y from
Always wear eye prot ection . Never let ballery
ac id or lead particles come int o contact with
your eyes, skin , and clothing .
Sulfuric battery ac id is ve ry corros ive . In
contac t with your skin , it can cause acid burns.
If it to uches your e y es, it can cau se blindn ess.
your hands, your arms, and your face and eye s from spillin g or squirtin g acid. To reduce your risk of injury , n eve r tilt the batteri es ,
as thi s could acid throu gh th e vents and burn you.
batterie s from the
v e hicle electri cal sys tem, always disconnect the negative cable H fir st and then the positive cable(+ ).
Always swit ch ofT electri cal con sumers for e reconnec tin g th e batt eri es. Reconnect the plu s cabl e(+) first and then th e nega tive cable(­).Neve r rev erse the pol arity of the connection s.
Thi s could cause a fire.
A highly explos iv e mixture of ga ses is give n
ofT wh en th e battery is be in g c harged.
D o no t s moke and avoid fires, sparks , and open names when wo rkin g. Never create sparks or ele ctros tati c charges when handlin g ca ble s and elec trica l equipm ent. Nev er short cir cuit the b att ery te rminal s. Hig h -energy s parks can
ca use seriou s pers on al injury.
256 257

Never use or attempt to ch arge a damaged or frozen battery, or a battery was frozen but has thawed. a frozen or thawed battery could cause explosion s and ch emi cal burns! place damaged or froze n ba tt eri es m ediat ely. A disc harge d battery can freeze at
temperatures around +32 Alway s
the battery has a ve nt lin e or tube, make sure thi s is connec te d.
Always make sure that the vent line is curely attached to a cated in the
If you battery acid in your eyes or on your
eral minutes. The n medical attention
ical attention immedia te ly.
Warning
Battery posts, termin als and related rie s contain lead and lea d compon ent s, cals known to the of to cau se
cancer or other h arm . Wash your hand s after
handlin g.
Note
Never di scon nect a ba tt ery or connec t
two b atte ries to each other when th e
Do not expose the battery to dire ct light for an extend ed p eriod of tim e as ultraviolet rays may damage th e battery housing.
is lef t s tanding in the cold for a
lon g tim e, prote ct th e battery from
fr ee zin g. A battery will be permanentl y damaged by fr eez ing.
infunnatiun on pa ge 257 .
Light s cause up
Alternator malfunctio ning.
W he n th e ig niti on i s s witched on. several warning
a nd in dica tor lights come on briefly for a funct ion ch eck. T hey go out aft er a few seco nds.
Failure to hee d warning lights and instrument
Never ignore warning light s or tex t
cleaning, maintenance
to an authorized dea le r or authorized Volksw agen Fa-cilit y. Have e lectrical syste m ch ec ke d . off unnecessary elec trica l load s. Th e ve-battery will not be c ha rged by the alt er-nato r whil e th e is in moti on.
Always stop tl1e
Note
Failure to heed warning lights or te xt

Never usc extender to sec ure
a chil d restraint.
Neve r usc a safety ex tender on your
motive part s store.
Neve r usc the safety exte nder you
obtained for your vehicl e for an y other ve hicl e,
r egardless of make, model, or model year.
It em s
store d between the safety
trol unit and prevent
Alwa ys mak e sure t hat nothing can interfere with the safety
needed or deploying an unexpect­edly:
Never repair, adjust, or change any parts of the ai rbag sys tem.
All work on the steering whee l, instrume nt panel, fr ont scats or elec trical sys te m (in cl uding the installa tion of audio equip m ent, cellular te lephones and radio s, e tc .) should b e formed b y authorized Volkswagen dealers or thorized Volkswagen Service Faci lities. They have tl1c necessary manuals, tra inin g, and
All work on the ai rbag sys te m should also b e done by an Vo lk swag en d ealer o r
The alrbag system can b e ac tivated only
once. After an airbag has innatcd, it mus t b e placed.
o nl y o rigin al equipment airbags proved by Vol kswage n. Ha ve them installed by a
t ra ined technicia n who has the neces sa ry tool s
and d iagnosti c equi pm ent to properly rep lace
a n y a irba g in your vehicl e and ass ure sys tem fectiveness in a cras h.
Never permit sa lvaged or r ecycled airbags to
b e in stalle d in vehicle.
Care, cleaning, maintenance
Note-----
Leaving the extender attached to the sa fe ty belt
buck le whe n th e front seat is occu pied and the
ty belt is not being used will signa l to the airbag trol unit that the front passenger scat is occ upied
and that the safety belt is being use d. The e lectro ni c control unit fo r th e airbag system will then rece ive inco rre ct inf ormation that will -cau se the sa fety
ter in co llis ions in which the fro nt airb ag would
othe rwise be triggered earlier to help protect an
unr estrained front scat passenge r.
A pr etcnsio ncr th at h as depl oyed cannot be p air ed . Th e entir e safe ty belt mu st b e rep lace d.
Note
If th e safe ty belt extender is left attached to
th e safe ty belt buckle , the safety belt warning
sys tem will sense that the safe ty be lt for that seat is being used. T he warning light will no t com e
o n and th e warning will not sound even though th e scat is occupied and th e safe ty be lt i s
not being use d.
air bag module s and sio ne rs arc cla ssifie d as Pe rchlora te Mate ria l -special hand ling ma y apply. all le ga l quir em ent s regardi ng handlin g and dis po sal of th ese compone nts-see wlvw.dtsc.ca.gov/ha.zardouswas te/pcrchlom tc. all applicable legal requirements w hen
scmppi ng the vehicle or parts of its res tra int
sys te m , including airbag modules and safet y belts
w ith prctcnsio ne rs. A uthori zed Volk swage n
d ea lers and authori zed Volkswagen Service facili­
t ies arc familiar with the requirements, and we yo u have them perform thi s se rvice for

Lights up Possi ble cause
Cata ly tic converte r malfunction.
Diese l particulate
gin e).
Misfir e, whi ch can th e ca talytic
co nve ner.
W he n th e ignit io n is swit ched o n , seve ral warning and indicator lights come o n b riefly for functio n
check. They go out after a few seconds.
a ll applicable legal requirements when cleaning the d iese l p articulate filter .
diesel particula te filt er mended only when v isib ility, we ather, road, and traffic conditions permit.
converter
firs t rea d and not e the introductory inform ati o n and heed the on page315.
The cata lytic con ve rter prov ides exha ust gas treatment to help red uce pollutan ts in the exhaus t
g a s. To help ensure lo ng serv ice life of the exhaus t
sys te m and gaso lin e engine catalytic conv en er:
Neve r comple te ly empty th e fu el tank.
Do not exceed the correct page 247.
mainte nan ce
Prop er response
Ease off the accelerator.
minutes in 4th gear (m anual
transmission) or in D Dri ve (automat ic trans-
m ission) a speed of about45 mph km /h ).
speed
an authorized Volk swage n dealer or au-thorized
deale r or authorized F ac ility.
Ease off the acce lerator. dri ve to the
n earest authorized d ea le r or thori zed Facili ty. Have en-gin e c hecked.
D o not put others at risk.
Note
Failure to heed warning lights or text can result in ve hicl e damage.
As long as the in dicator ligh ts are on , ex pect engin e malfunctio ns, cre ased fuel co nsumption a nd loss of en g in e
efficie ncy.
Do not tow-start the vehicle; jump-start stead page 353.
yo u ex perie nce mi sfires, loss of p ower or th e gin e is not running smoothl y w hile driving. reduce
speed immediately and have the ve hicl e checked by an authorized

Note
After replacing a headlight bulb or other light bulb, always make sure that the rubber covers or plastic ca ps have been properly and securely rein­
s talled to help prevent water from gettin g into the
e lec trica l connection s and headlight hou sin g and damaging th e e lectrical system_
Please first read and note the introductory information and heed the o n page 344.
Lights up Possible cau se
Light bulb of th e exterio r ve hicle lighting . not working .
W
hen the ignit ion is swi tc h ed on, severa l wa rnin g
and indi cator lights come on briefl y for a fun ction
check. They go out after a few seconds.
Failure to heed warning lights and instrument cluste r text messages can cause the ve hicle to break down in traffic and result in a co llision and serious personal injury.
Never ignore warning lights or tex t WARN­INGS.
tips
Proper response
R
epl ace the ligh t bu lb.
WARNING
A lways sto p th e ve hicl e as soon as it is safe to
do so .
Note
Failure to heed warning lights or tex t WARNINGS can result in vehicl e damage.
344 345

Improper usc of jumper cables when starling a ve hicl e wit h a dead battery can cause the battery to exp lode, leading to serious sonal injury. To help red uce the risk of battery
explo sion:
All work on the batteri es or the elec trical
sys tem in your veh icle can cause serious acid burns, fire s, or e lec trica l shocks. Always read and heed the followin g WARNINGS and safety
precaution s before working on the batteries or the electrical page 257,
Always wear proper eye protection. Never
lean over the vehicle batteries.
Attach the jumper cables in the correct order:
first the positive cable, then the negative cable.
Never connect the negative cable from the ve hicl e providing starting assistance to parts of th e fuel system or to the brake hoses or brak e
line s.
Never allow no n-i nsu lated parts of the battery clamp s to touch. Never allow the jumper cable attache d to the positive battery terminal to
contact metal parts of the ve hicle.
Do it yourself
hicl e battery. If you cannot sec the color ofthe window clearly, never usc a cigare tte
light er, or other open Use
Avoid electrosta tic dischar ge in the vicinity of the ve hicl e battery . Sparks may cause the
Neve r jump start
A lways follow the instru ction s of the jumper cable manufacturer.
Always make sure that the battery providing
star ting assistance has th e same vo lta ge as the dead battery (12 V) and about the same capacity
(sec battery lab el).
Batterie s give off explos ive hydrogen gas. ways keep fire, sparks , open and smoking
materials away from batteri es.
Never connect the negat ive cab le from the other vehicle directly to the negative terminal of the dead battery. The hydrogen gas from the battery is exp losive.
Neve r short out the battery te rminals by co nn ecting the positi ve(+) and negati ve(-)
terminal s with each other.

. . . . . . . . . . . . .
A
Abroad
Extended stays with th e vehicle . . . . . . . 312
Sale of the vehicle ................... 312
see Braking assistance systems . . . . . . . 194
Accessories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Acoustic warnings Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Adaptive Front Lighting System
Dynamic. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
124
Adjusting
Electrically adjustable front seat . . . . . . .
Aftermarket installation Ca r phone ......................... .
232
Airbag system. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
airbags. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Side Curtain Protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
of child restraints ................. 95
Vehicle
care ..................... .... 274
Alarm button in vehicle key. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Alarm system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Alcantara. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271
Ambient lighting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Anodized trim . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267
Antenna. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 312
Antif reeze agent. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254
Anti-lock
brake system (ABS)............ 194
Ant i-Slip Regulation (ASRJ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196
Anti-slip regulation (ASR). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194
Anti-theft alarm system .................. 42 Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Anti-theft wheel bolts ...........
Armrest ................................ 64
Ash tray ............................... 168
Ashtray
Front ............................... 168
brakin g assis tance systems ....... 196
see Braking assistance systems ....... 194
Swit ch in g on and off ................. 196
Assistance systems
Ant i- lock brake syste m (ABS) ......... 194 Anti-Slip Regulation (ASR) ............ 196 Anti-slip regulation (ASR) ............ 194
Brake Assist ......................... 194
Brake Assist
(BAS) . .. ................ 194
ccs ................................ 2 14
Cruise control syst
em ........ ........ 214
............................... 218 Dynamic Chass is Contro l ............ 218 Electronic differentia l lock (EDL) ...... 195
E l
ectronic stabilization program 194
Hill Hold ............................
362 363