2015 VOLKSWAGEN PASSAT Sport

Outside temperature display
At outside temperatures below about +39 °F (+4 °C), a “snowflake symbol” appears in the display. The
symbol flashes at first, then stays on until the outside temperature rises above +43 °F (+6 °C) ⇒ .
When the vehicle is not moving or when you are driving at very low speeds, the temperature displayed may be slightly higher than the actual outside temperature.
The measurement range is from -40 °F (-40 °C) to +122 °F (+50 °C).
Compass display (if applicable)
On vehicles equipped with compass display, the current compass direction is indicated in the instru-
ment cluster display when the ignition and navigation system are switched on ⇒ page 15, Compass.
Selector lever positions
The selector lever position is shown both on the side of the selector lever and in the instrument cluster display. The respective gear may also be shown in the instrument cluster display in Drive D and Sport Drive S, as well as in Tiptronic® mode.
WARNING
Failure to heed warning lights and instrument cluster text messages can cause the vehicle to break down in traffic and result in a collision and serious personal injury.
x Never ignore warning lights or text WARNINGS.
x Always stop the vehicle as soon as it is safe to do so.
x Park the vehicle at a safe distance from moving traffic and where no part of the hot cata-lytic converter and exhaust system can come into contact with flammable materials under the vehicle, such as dry grass, brush, spilled fuel, etc.
x A broken down vehicle presents a high accident risk for itself and others. Switch on emergency flashers and set up a warning triangle to warn oncoming traffic.
WARNING
Roads and bridges may be dangerously icy even if the outside air temperature is above freez-ing.
x If you use the outside temperature display to tell you about frost conditions, remember that roads can even ice over at temperatures above +39 °F (+4 °C). Always remember: even if the “snowflake symbol” is not displayed, there could still be black ice on the road.
x Never rely exclusively on the outside temperature display.
NOTICE
Failure to heed warning lights or text WARNINGS can result in vehicle damage.
The instrument cluster displays and their arrangement may vary depending on the vehicle model and engine. For displays without warning and information messages, malfunctions are only signaled with indicator lights.
If there are multiple warning messages, the symbols are displayed for several seconds in order of importance. The symbols are displayed until the cause has been corrected.

d Make sure that the floormat on the driver side is properly fastened and cannot interfere with the pedals.
d Assume a proper seating position before the vehicle starts to move and keep this position while
driving. Make sure that all passengers do the same ⇒  Adjusting the seating position.
d Properly fasten your safety belt before driving the vehicle and wear your safety belt properly at all
times while driving. Make sure that all passengers do the same ⇒  Safety belts.
d Only transport as many passengers as there are seats and safety belts available.
d Never drive if your driving ability has been impaired, for example, by medication, alcohol, or illegal drugs.
d Never let passengers or phone calls distract you while driving and never take your attention off the road while using vehicle software or adjusting vehicle equipment or accessories.
d Always adapt your speed and driving style to visibility, weather, road, and traffic conditions.
d Always obey traffic laws and speed limits.
d On long trips make frequent rest stops – at least once every 2 hours.
d Secure animals in the vehicle with a system that corresponds to their weight and size.
WARNING
Always observe traffic rules and posted speed limits and use common sense. Your good judgment can mean the difference between arriving safely at your destination and being seri-ously injured in a crash or other kind of accident.
Regular service and maintenance of your vehicle is important both for operational and driving safety and to help prolong your vehicle's service life. Always follow the scheduled maintenance inter-
vals in the ⇒ Booklet Warranty and Maintenance, especially for changing the brake fluid. Hard use, frequent stop-and-go driving, driving in very dusty areas, trailer towing, and other factors may make it necessary to have the vehicle serviced more frequently. Ask an authorized Volkswagen dealer or an authorized Volkswagen Service Facility for more information.
Driving in other countries

WARNING
Not wearing a safety belt or wearing an improperly positioned safety belt increases the risk of severe personal injury or death. Safety belts offer optimum protection only when they are used properly.
x Properly worn safety belts are the single most effective means of reducing the risk of serious injury and death in a collision or other accident. For this reason, always wear your safety belt properly and make sure all passengers wear their safety belts properly as well whenever the vehicle is moving.
x The driver must always make sure that every person in the vehicle is properly seated on a seat of his or her own, properly fastens the safety belts belonging to that seat before the vehicle starts to move, and keeps the belts properly fastened while riding in the vehicle. This applies even when just driving around town. Therefore, always wear your safety belts and make sure that everybody in your vehicle is properly restrained.
x Always secure children in the vehicle with a restraint system appropriate for their age, weight and height
x Always fasten safety belts correctly before driving off and make sure that all passengers are properly restrained.
x Never attach the safety belt to the buckle of another seat. Attaching the safety belt to the wrong buckle will reduce safety belt effectiveness and can cause serious personal injury.
x Never let any objects or liquids get into the safety belt latch and prevent it from working properly.
x Never remove a safety belt while the vehicle is moving. Doing so will increase your risk of being injured or killed.
x Never strap more than one person, including small children, into any single safety belt.
x Never let children or babies ride sitting on your lap, and never place a safety belt over a child sitting on your lap.
x Never wear belts over rigid or breakable objects in or on your clothing, such as eyeglass-es, pens, keys, etc., as these may cause injury.
x Several layers of heavy clothing (such as a coat worn over top of a sports jacket) may interfere with proper positioning of the safety belt and reduce the overall effectiveness of the system.
x Never use comfort clips or devices that create slack in the shoulder belt. However, special clips may be required for the correct use of some child restraint systems.
x Safety belts offer optimum protection only when the seat backrest is upright and belts are correctly positioned on the body.

WARNING
Heavy loads will influence the way your vehicle handles and increase stopping distances. Heavy loads that are not properly stowed or secured can cause loss of control and serious injury.
x Secure the load properly to keep it from shifting.
x Always remember when transporting heavy objects that a change in the center of gravity also changes the way your vehicle handles:
– Always distribute the load as evenly as possible.
– Secure heavy objects properly as far forward in the luggage compartment as possible.
– Always tie down heavy items securely with suitable straps using the tie-downs in the luggage compartment.
x Securely latch the rear seat backrest in the upright position.
x Never exceed the Gross Axle Weight Rating or the Gross Vehicle Weight Rating on the safety compliance sticker on the left door jamb. Exceeding permissible weight can cause the vehicle to skid and handle differently.
x Always adapt your speed and driving to the heavier load and the weight distribution in the vehicle. Take road, weather, traffic, and visibility conditions into account as well.
x Always accelerate gently and avoid sudden braking and driving maneuvers.
x Always brake earlier than you would if you were not driving a loaded vehicle.
Stowing luggage

x Total luggage and other cargo.
x Roof load, including the roof rack system if permitted ⇒  Roof rack.
x Factory-installed or retrofitted accessories.
x Hitch weight and tongue weight for trailer towing ⇒  Loading the trailer.
Please refer to the Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) and the Gross front and rear Axle Weight Ratings (GAWR) for your vehicle, which are printed on the vehicle's Safety Compliance Certification
Label on the driver door jamb ⇒  Important vehicle labels.
WARNING
Exceeding maximum permissible weight ratings can result in vehicle damage, accidents, and serious personal injury.
x Never let the actual weights at the front and rear axles exceed the permissible Gross Axle Weight Rating. Also, never let the total of these actual weights exceed the Gross Vehicle Weight Rating.
x Always remember that the vehicle's handling and braking will be affected by extra load and the distribution of this load. Adjust your speed accordingly.
NOTICE
x Always distribute the load evenly and as low as possible in the vehicle. The vehicle capacity weight figures apply when the load is distributed evenly in the vehicle (passengers and lug-gage).
x When transporting a heavy load in the luggage compartment, carry the load as close to the rear axle (as far forward) as possible so that the vehicle's handling and braking are affected as little as possible.

WARNING
Unsecured or incorrectly stowed items can fly through the vehicle, causing serious personal injury during hard braking or sharp steering or in an accident. Loose items can also be struck and thrown through the passenger compartment by the front airbags if they inflate. To help reduce the risk of serious personal injury:
x Always stow all objects securely in the vehicle. Always put luggage and heavy items in the luggage compartment.
x Always secure objects in the passenger compartment properly with suitable straps so that they cannot move into the deployment zone of a side or front airbag during sudden braking, in a sudden maneuver, or in a collision.
x Always keep storage compartments closed while driving.
x Never stow hard, heavy, or sharp objects in the vehicle's open storage compartments, on the shelf behind the rear seat bench, or on the top of the instrument panel.
x Always remove hard, heavy, or sharp objects from clothing and bags in the vehicle interi-or and stow them securely in the luggage compartment.
WARNING
Transporting heavy objects causes the handling characteristics of the vehicle to change and increases braking distances. Heavy loads which are not properly stowed or secured in the vehicle can lead to a loss of vehicle control and cause serious personal injury.
x Transporting heavy items causes the handling characteristics of the vehicle to change by shifting the vehicle's center of gravity.
x Always distribute luggage evenly and as low as possible within the vehicle. The vehicle capacity weight figures apply when the load is distributed evenly in the vehicle (passengers and luggage).
x Always stow luggage and heavy items in the luggage compartment as far forward of the rear axle as possible and secure them with appropriate straps to the tie-downs provided.
x Never exceed the vehicle's Gross Vehicle Weight Rating or Gross Axle Weight Ratings, which are printed on the Safety Compliance Certification Label located on the door jamb of the driver door. Exceeding the permissible weight can cause the vehicle to skid and behave differently.
x Always adapt your speed and driving style to accommodate your payload and its weight distribution within your vehicle.
x Be especially cautious and gentle when stepping on the accelerator pedal and avoid sud-den braking and other maneuvers.
x Brake earlier than you would if you were not driving a loaded vehicle.
NOTICE
The defroster heating wires or antenna in the rear window can be damaged by objects that rub against them.
The ventilation slots between the rear window and the luggage compartment cover must not be blocked so that stale air can escape from the vehicle.

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.

U.S. DOT Tire Identification Number (TIN)
A tire's serial number. It begins with the letters “DOT” (“Department of Transportation”) and indicates that the tire meets all federal standards. The next two numbers or letters indicate the plant where the tire was manufactured. The last four numbers represent the week and year of manufacture.
For example, the numbers 1709 mean that the tire was produced in the 17th week of 2009. Any other numbers are marketing codes used by the tire manufacturer. This information is used to help identify affected consumers if a tire defect requires a recall.
Vehicle capacity weight
The total rated cargo, luggage and passenger load. Passenger load is 150 lbs (68 kilograms) times the vehicle's total seating capacity (as listed on the label inside the driver door).
Vehicle maximum load on the tire
The load on an individual tire that is determined by taking each axle's share of the maximum loaded vehicle weight (GAWR) and dividing by 2.
Vehicle normal load on the tire
The load on an individual tire that is determined by taking each axle's share of the curb weight, acces-sory weight, and normal occupant weight (distributed according to the table below) and dividing by 2.
Wheel size designation
Wheel rim diameter and width.
Occupant loading and distribution for vehicle normal load for various designated seating capacities

Designated seating capacity, number of occupants Vehicle normal load, number of occupants Occupant distribution in a normally loaded vehicle
2, 3 or 4 2 2 in front
5 3 2 in front, 1 in back

Tires and vehicle load limits