2015 VOLKSWAGEN PASSAT service

WARNING
x An improperly installed or incorrect trailer hitch can cause a trailer to separate from the tow vehicle and cause serious personal injuries.
x If you don't have to tow a trailer any more, remove the entire trailer hitch. Always seal all bolt holes to prevent water and deadly exhaust fumes from getting into the vehicle.
NOTICE
x If the trailer lights are not connected properly, the vehicle's electronics may be damaged.
x If the trailer uses too much electricity, the vehicle's electronics may be damaged.
x Never connect the electrical system for the trailer directly to the electrical connections for the rear lights or to any other unsuitable power sources. Use only a suitable connector to provide power to the trailer.
If you tow a trailer frequently, Volkswagen recommends having the vehicle serviced between the regular maintenance and inspection intervals because of the extra load it has to pull.
Hitching up and connecting a trailer

x Wheel covers
x Changing a wheel
WARNING
New tires or tires that are old, worn or damaged cannot provide maximum control and brak-ing performance.
x Improper care and handling of tires and wheels can reduce driving safety and cause acci-dents and severe injuries.
x Install only radial tires of the same make, the same dimensions (tread circumference), and similar tread profile on all 4 wheels.
x New tires tend to be slippery and must be broken in. Always drive with special care for the first 350 miles (560 km) to help reduce the risk of losing control, a collision, and serious per-sonal injuries.
x Check tire inflation pressure regularly when the tires are cold and always maintain the prescribed tire pressure. Low tire pressure can cause tires to get too hot, resulting in tread separation, sudden loss of pressure, and blowouts. Tires with excessively low pressure flex (bend) more, which can cause the tire to overheat and fail suddenly without warning.
x Check tires regularly for wear and damage.
x Never drive with worn or damaged tires (for example, tires with punctures, cuts, cracks, blisters, or bumps). Driving with worn or damaged tires can lead to loss of vehicle control, sudden tire failure including blowouts and sudden deflation, crashes, and serious personal injuries.
x Have worn or damaged tires replaced immediately.
x Never exceed the maximum speed rating or the maximum load rating of the tires on your vehicle.
x The effectiveness of the driver assistance systems and the braking support systems de-pends on the tire traction.
x If you notice unusual vibration or if the vehicle pulls to one side when driving, always stop as soon as it is safe to do so and check the wheels and tires for damage.
x To reduce the risk of losing control, crashes, and serious personal injuries, never loosen the bolts on wheels with bolted rim rings.
x Never mount used tires on your vehicle if you are not sure of their past use. Old, used tires and wheels may have damage that cannot be seen that can lead to sudden tire failure and loss of vehicle control.
x Tires age even if they are not being used and can fail suddenly, especially at high speeds, causing loss of vehicle control, accidents, and severe personal injuries. Tires that are more than 6 years old can be used only in an emergency and even then only with special care and at low speed.
For technical reasons it is usually not possible to use wheel rims from other vehicles. Even wheel rims from the same model may not fit properly. Check with an authorized Volkswagen dealer or authorized Volkswagen Service Facility if necessary.

must replace or remount the tire as soon as possible in order to restore the correct direction of rota-tion.
Rotating tires
To help ensure even wear on all tires, regular tire rotation according to the diagram ⇒ fig. 122 is rec-ommended. In this way all tires can have about the same service life.
Volkswagen recommends that you have your tires rotated by an authorized Volkswagen dealer or authorized Volkswagen Service Facility.
Tires more than 6 years old
Tires age even if they are not being used. Physical and chemical processes reduce tire strength and performance and cause them to harden and become brittle. Old tires can fail suddenly and without warning.
Volkswagen recommends replacing tires that are 6 years and older. This also applies to tires that look new (including the tire on the compact spare wheel) or that seem to still be usable with tread depth
that has not yet reached the legal minimum depth ⇒ .
The age of each tire can be determined with the manufacturing date that is part of the U.S DOT tire
identification number (TIN) ⇒  Tire labeling.
Tire storage
Mark tires before removing them to help make sure that the previous location (left, right, front, rear) and rolling direction can be maintained when remounting them. Store tires in a cool, dry and preferably dark place. Do not store tires mounted on wheels standing up.
Tires not mounted on wheels should be covered to help protect them from dirt and stored vertically (sitting on the tread).
WARNING
Aggressive fluids and materials can cause visible and invisible tire damage that can cause tire blowouts.
x Always keep chemicals, oils, grease, fuels, braking fluids and other aggressive substanc-es away from tires.
WARNING
Tires age even if they are not being used and can fail suddenly, especially at high speeds, causing loss of vehicle control, accidents, and severe personal injuries.
x Tires that are more than 6 years old can be used only in an emergency and even then only with special care and at low speed.
Always dispose of old tires in accordance with legal requirements.
Wheel rims

In most cases, you cannot use wheel bolts from a different vehicle. Even wheel rims from the same model may not fit properly.
Tires and wheel rims approved by Volkswagen have been matched precisely to your vehicle model and contribute considerably to good handling and safe vehicle performance.
Tightening Torque
Wheel bolts must always be installed with the correct tightening torque ⇒  Changing a wheel. The required tightening torque for your vehicle's wheel bolts is 103 ft-lbs (140 Nm). After changing a wheel, the bolt torque must be checked as soon as possible with an accurate torque wrench. See an authorized Volkswagen dealer or authorized Volkswagen Service Facility.
Wheel rims with bolted rim rings
Wheel rims with bolted rim rings have several parts. The parts are bolted together with special screws in a special process. This helps to ensure that they will work properly, prevent leaks, run true and safely. Damaged wheel rims must be replaced, and you must never take them apart or try to repair them yourself. Have an authorized Volkswagen dealer or an authorized Volkswagen Service Facility
repair them for you ⇒ .
Wheel rims with bolted decorative covers
Light-alloy wheels may have interchangeable decorative covers attached to the rim with self-locking screws. If you want to replace damaged wheel covers, contact your authorized Volkswagen dealer or authorized Volkswagen Service Facility.
WARNING
Using improper or damaged wheel rims can affect driving safety, cause accidents and severe personal injury.
x Use only wheel rims approved for the vehicle.
x Regularly check wheel rims for damage and replace them if necessary.
WARNING
Improper loosening and tightening of the bolts on wheel rims with bolted rim rings can cause accidents and severe personal injury.
x Never loosen bolted connections on wheel rims with bolted rim rings.
x Have all work on wheel rims with bolted rim rings performed by an authorized Volkswagen dealer or authorized Volkswagen Service Facility.
New and replacement tires

Tire wear
Tire wear depends on several factors, including:
x Driving style.
x Unbalanced wheels.
x Wheel alignment.
Driving style – Fast cornering, hard acceleration and braking increase tire wear. If you experience increased tire wear under normal driving conditions, have the vehicle suspension checked by an authorized Volkswagen dealer or authorized Volkswagen Service Facility.
Unbalanced wheels – The wheels on a new vehicle are balanced. When driving, however, various conditions can cause a wheel to become unbalanced. Unbalanced wheels can cause wear to the steering and suspension systems. Have all wheels rebalanced. A wheel must always be rebalanced if a new tire has been mounted.
Wheel alignment – Incorrect wheel alignment causes excessive and uneven tire wear, impairing vehicle safety. If you notice excessive or uneven tire wear, have the wheel alignment checked by an authorized Volkswagen dealer or authorized Volkswagen Service Facility.
WARNING
Unusual vibrations or pulling to one side can indicate tire damage.
x Reduce speed immediately and stop when it is safe to do so.
x Check tires and wheel rims for damage.
x Never drive with a damaged tire or rim. Get expert assistance instead.
x If no external damage is visible, slowly and carefully drive to the nearest authorized Volkswagen dealer, authorized Volkswagen Service Facility, or other qualified workshop and have the vehicle checked.
Compact spare wheel

Fig. 128 In the luggage compartment: Compact spare wheel.

Tire labeling (example) Meaning
XL Indicates “reinforced” tire (heavy-duty)
M+S or M/S Indicates Mud and Snow capability (also M/S)
RADIAL TUBELESS Tubeless radial tire.
E4 ... Labeling according to international regulations (E) including number of the approving country. The multi-digit approval number is listed next.
DOT BT RA TY5 1709 Tire identification number (TIN4 - In some cases the manufactur-ing date is only on one side of the tire:
DOT The tire complies with the requirements of the United States Department of Transportation, responsible for issuing safety standards.
BT Identification letter of the manufacturing site.
RA Manufacturer information regarding tire dimensions.
TY5 Tire characteristics provided by the manufacturer.
1709 Manufacturing date: 17th week in 2009.
TWI Marks the position of the treadwear indicator
Made in Germany Country of manufacture.
MAX LOAD 615 KG (1356 LBS) United States maximum load rating per wheel.
MAX INFLATION 350 KPA (51 PSI) United States maximum permissible inflation pressure.
ROTATION Rotation direction (unidirectional tires)
SIDEWALL 1 PLY RAYON Tire ply composition and materials used: 1 layer of rayon.
TREAD 4 PLIES 1 RAYON + 2 STEEL + 1 NYLON
Tire tread composition and materials used: In this example there are 4 layers under the tread: 1 layer of rayon, 2 layers of steel belt and 1 layer of nylon.
Consumer information regarding comparison to specified base tires (standardized test pro-cedure)
TREADWEAR 220 Relative service life expectancy of the tire referenced to a US-specific standard test.
4 TIN represents the serial number of the tire.

In some vehicle models it is possible to set a speed warning in the MFI menu in the instrument cluster
display (Multi-Function Indicator - MFI) ⇒  Volkswagen Information System.
Top speed rating and tire inflation pressure for V winter tires depend on the engine installed in your vehicle. Be sure to ask you authorized Volkswagen dealer or authorized Volkswagen Service Facility about the maximum permissible speed and the required tire inflation pressure for the winter tires that you plan to use.
WARNING
Driving faster than the maximum speed for which the winter tires on your vehicle were de-signed can cause sudden tire failure including a blowout and sudden deflation, loss of con-trol, crashes and serious personal injuries.
x Winter tires have a maximum speed rating that may be lower than your vehicle's maximum speed.
x Never drive faster than the maximum speed for which the winter tires installed on your vehicle are rated because tires that are driven faster than their rated speed can fail suddenly.
x Never exceed the maximum load rating for the winter tires installed on your vehicle.
Install summer tires promptly in the spring. Summer tires offer better handling characteristics for temperatures above +45 °F (+7 °C). They are quieter, do not wear as quickly, and reduce fuel con-sumption.
The Tire Pressure Monitoring System must be recalibrated using the SET button whenever you remove and remount or change any wheel or tire on the vehicle, even if the reinstalled or replacement wheels and tires are identical to those that were removed and even if the tire pressure does not
change ⇒  Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS).
If necessary, ask your authorized Volkswagen dealer or authorized Volkswagen Service Facility about permissible winter tire dimensions.
Snow chains

Remove center hubcaps and decorative rim rings before installing snow chains ⇒ . However, for safety reasons, caps must be installed on the wheel bolts. These are available from authorized Volkswagen dealers and authorized Volkswagen Service Facilities.
Compact spare
For technical reasons, snow chains cannot be used on the compact spare ⇒  Compact spare wheel, Compact spare wheel.
If you must use snow chains and have a compact spare wheel mounted, move the compact spare wheel to the rear axle if a front tire has to be replaced. The tire taken off the rear axle can then be used to replace the flat front tire. Be sure to install the unidirectional tires so that they will run in the proper direction. Volkswagen recommends installing the snow chains before mounting the wheel to the vehicle.
WARNING
Using the wrong snow chains or installing snow chains improperly can cause accidents and severe personal injuries.
x Always use the proper snow chains.
x Follow the installation instructions provided by the snow chain manufacturer.
x Never exceed the permissible speed limit when driving with snow chains.
NOTICE
x Remove snow chains when roads are free of snow. Otherwise, the chains can damage the tires, impair vehicle handling and can be quickly worn down.
x Snow chains can scratch or damage wheel rims if they have direct contact with the rims. Volkswagen recommends using coated snow chains.
Glossary of tire and loading terminology