Care and maintenance
For the sake of the environment
● When purchasing products for your vehicle
maintenance, select the ones which are not
harmful to the environment.
● The waste from car-care products should
not be disposed of with ordinary household
waste. Observe the disposal information on
the package. Care of the vehicle exterior
Automatic car wash tunnel The vehicle paintwork is so durable that the
vehicle can normally be washed without
problems in an automatic car wash tunnel.
However, the paintwork wear depends to a
large extent on the kind of the car wash tun-
nel, the brushes used, its water filtering and
the type of cleaning and preservative prod-
ucts.
Before going through a vehicle wash, be sure
to take the usual precautions such as closing
the windows and sunroof.
If the vehicle has special accessories such as
spoilers or a roof rack or two-way radio aerial,
etc., it is advisable to consult the car wash
tunnel operator.
After washing,
the brakes
could take some
time t
o respond as the brake discs and pads could be wet, or even frozen in winter. “Dry”
the brakes by braking several times. WARNING
Water, ice and salt on the brake system can
reduce braking effectiveness. Risk of acci-
dent. CAUTION
Before putting the vehicle through the car
wash, do not tighten the aerial if it is folded
because it can be damaged. Washing by hand
Vehicle washing
– First soften the dirt and rinse it off with wa-
ter.
– Clean your vehicle from top to bottom with
a soft sponge, a glove or a brush. Use very
light pressure.
– Rinse the sponge or glove often with clean
water.
– Special car shampoo should only be used
for very stubborn dirt.
– Leave the wheels, sill panels etc. until last,
using a different sponge or glove.
– Rinse the vehicle thoroughly with water. –
Dry the vehicle surface gently with a cha-
mois leather.
– In cold temperature
, dry the rubber seals
and their s
urfaces to prevent them from
freezing. Apply silicone spray to the rubber
seals.
After washing the vehicle – After washing, avoid sudden and sharp
braking. “Dry” the brakes by braking sever-
al times ››› page 123, Braking capacity and
distance. WARNING
● Wash your vehicle with the ignition switch-
ed off.
● Protect your hands and arms from cuts on
sharp metal edges when cleaning the under-
body, the inside of the wheel housings etc.
Risk of injury.
● Water, ice and salt on the brake system can
reduce braking effectiveness. Risk of acci-
dent. CAUTION
● Never remove dirt, mud or dust if the vehi-
cle surface is dry. Never use a dry cloth or
sponge for cleaning purposes. This could
scratch the paintwork or glass on your vehi-
cle. » 149
Technical specifications
Advice
Operation
Safety
Checking and refilling levels
Changing engine oil The engine oil must be changed at the inter-
vals given in the service schedule.
We recommend that you have the engine oil
changed by a Technical Service.
The oil change intervals are shown in the
Maintenance Programme.
WARNING
Only change the engine oil yourself if you
have the specialist knowledge required!
● Before opening the bonnet, read and ob-
serve the warnings ››› page 163, Safety in-
structions on working in the engine compart-
ment.
● Wait
for the engine to cool down. Hot oil
may cause burn injuries.
● Wear eye protection to avoid injuries, such
as acid burns, caused by splashes of oil.
● When removing the oil drain plug with your
fingers, keep your arm horizontal to help pre-
vent oil from running down your arm.
● Wash your skin thoroughly if it comes into
contact with engine oil.
● Engine oil is poisonous! Used oil must be
stored in a safe place out of the reach of chil-
dren. CAUTION
No additives should be used with engine oil.
This could result in engine damage. Any dam-
age caused by the use of such additives
would not be covered by the factory warranty. For the sake of the environment
● Because of disposal problems and the spe-
cial tools and specialist knowledge required,
we recommend that you have the engine oil
and filter changed by a Technical Service.
● Never pour oil down drains or into the
ground.
● Use a suitable container when draining the
used oil. It must be large enough to hold all
the engine oil. Cooling system
Engine coolant specifications The engine cooling system is supplied from
the factory with a specially treated mixture of
water and, at least, 40 % of the additive
G 13
(TLVW 774 J). The engine coolant additive is
recognisable by its purple colour. This mix-
ture of water and additive gives the necessa-
ry frost protection down to -25°C (-13 F) and
protects the light alloy parts of the cooling
system against corrosion. It also prevents scaling and considerably raises the boiling
point of the coolant.
To protect the engine cooling system, the
percentage of additive must
always be at
l e
ast 40 %, even in warm climates where an-
ti-freeze protection is not required.
If greater frost protection is required in very
cold climates, the proportion of additive can
be increased. However, the percentage of ad-
ditive should not exceed 60%, as this would
reduce frost protection and, in turn, decrease
cooling capacity.
When the coolant is topped up, use a mixture
of distilled water and, at least, 40 % of the G
13 or G 12 plu
s-plus (TL-VW 774 G) additive
(both are purple) to obtain an optimum anti-
corrosion protection ››› . The mixture of G
13 with G 12 plus (TL-VW 774 F), G 12 (red) or
G 11 (green-blue) engine coolants will signifi-
cantly reduce the anticorrosion protection
and should, therefore be avoided ››› .
WARNING
If there is not enough anti-freeze in the cool-
ant system, the engine may fail leading to se-
rious damage.
● Please make sure that the percentage of
additive is correct with respect to the lowest
expected ambient temperature in the zone
where the vehicle is to be used.
● When the outside temperature is very low,
the coolant could freeze and the vehicle » 169
Technical specifications
Advice
Operation
Safety
