2015 VOLKSWAGEN PASSAT Start stop

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

Remote start feature
Press the button (3) to activate the remote start feature ⇒  Starting and stopping the engine.
Replacement vehicle keys
The vehicle identification number is required to get a replacement key or an additional remote control vehicle key.
Up to 8 vehicle keys, each of which must be properly cut, coded, programmed, and synchronized, can be used with your vehicle.
Each new vehicle key contains a microchip and must be coded with the data from the vehicle's elec-tronic immobilizer. A vehicle key will not work if it does not contain a microchip or contains a chip that is not coded, even if the key bit was cut correctly.
You can obtain additional or duplicate remote control vehicle keys from authorized Volkswagen deal-ers, authorized Volkswagen Service Facilities, and from certain independent repair facilities and lock-smiths which are qualified to make remote control vehicle keys.
Each vehicle key must be programmed by an authorized Volkswagen dealer, an authorized Volkswagen Service Facility in order for it to work with your vehicle.
To find the nearest qualified independent repair facility, locksmith, or Volkswagen dealer which can cut and code replacement vehicle keys, call the VW Customer Care Hotline at 1-800-822-8987 or visit http://www.vw.com and search for “replacement keys.”
Canadian customers can contact an authorized Volkswagen dealer or Volkswagen Service Facility or call the Volkswagen Canada Customer CARE Center at (1-800-822-8987).
NOTICE
The remote control vehicle keys contain electrical components. Protect them from damage, moisture and rough handling.
Do not press the buttons on the remote control vehicle key unless you actually want to use the function in question. Since terrain and conditions vary, pressing a button on the remote control vehicle key when it is not necessary may unlock the vehicle or set off the panic alarm, even if you think you are out of range.
Remote control vehicle key functions can be temporarily disrupted by interference from transmit-ters near the vehicle that use the same frequency range (such as radio equipment or mobile phones).
Things between the remote control vehicle key and vehicle, bad weather, as well as a weak battery can reduce the operating range.
If the remote control vehicle key buttons ⇒  Vehicle key set or the power locking buttons ⇒  Un-locking and locking the vehicle from the inside are pushed repeatedly in quick succession, the power locking system is switched off for a brief period to help keep it from being overloaded. The vehicle is then unlocked for about 30 seconds. Unless a door or the luggage compartment lid is opened in this span of time, the vehicle is automatically locked afterwards.

The anti-theft alarm system is automatically activated when the vehicle is locked by pressing the lock button on the remote control vehicle key.
When is the alarm triggered?
The anti-theft alarm system sounds for about 30 seconds and the turn signals flash for up to 5 minutes if the following occurs with respect to the locked vehicle:
x Opening a door that has been mechanically unlocked without switching on the ignition within about 15 seconds.
x Forcibly opening a door.
x Forcibly opening the engine hood.
x Forcibly opening the luggage compartment lid.
x Switching on the ignition with an invalid key.
x Disconnecting the vehicle battery.
Deactivating the alarm
Unlock the vehicle with the unlock button on the remote control vehicle key and switch on the ignition with a valid vehicle key.
For vehicles with Keyless Access, the alarm can be deactivated by grasping one of the door handles when a valid remote control vehicle key is in range or by holding the remote control vehicle key to the
right of the steering column trim and pressing the starter button ⇒  Unlocking and locking vehicles with Keyless Access.
After the alarm has stopped and the vehicle is opened again in the same or a different area that is protected by the alarm, the alarm is triggered again. For example, the alarm will sound again if the luggage compartment lid is opened after one of the doors has been opened.
The anti-theft alarm system is not activated when the vehicle is locked with the power lock switch 1 on the inside of the driver or front passenger doors.
If the driver door is mechanically unlocked using the vehicle key bit, only the driver door is un-locked, but not the entire vehicle. Switching on the ignition deactivates the anti-theft alarm system and activates the central locking button. To unlock the doors, use the central locking button or remote control vehicle key.
If the vehicle battery is dead or weak, the anti-theft alarm system will not work properly.

If the vehicle battery is too weak, the electrical seat adjustment controls may not work.
Starting the engine stops seat adjustment.
When entering and exiting the vehicle, be careful not to come into contact with any switches that could change the seat adjustment.
Adjusting front and rear head restraints

Fig. 63 Adjusting the front head restraints.

Fig. 64 Adjusting the rear head restraints.

WARNING
Improper use of the trailer hitch can cause accidents and injuries. An improperly installed, incorrect, or damaged trailer hitch can cause the trailer to separate from the towing vehicle and cause serious personal injuries.
x Only use an undamaged, properly mounted trailer hitch.
x Never repair or modify the trailer hitch.
x To reduce the risk of injury in rear-end collisions, and the risk to pedestrians and cyclists when the vehicle is parked, always remove the ball mount when you are not towing a trailer.
x Never install a “weight distributing” or “load equalizing” trailer hitch on your vehicle. The vehicle was not designed for these kinds of trailer hitches. The trailer hitch attachment can fail, causing the trailer to tear loose from the vehicle.
WARNING
Improper trailer towing can cause loss of vehicle control and serious personal injury.
x Driving with a trailer and carrying heavy or large things can change the way the vehicle handles, increase the distance it needs to stop safely, and cause accidents.
x Always secure the load properly with suitable and undamaged straps so that the load will not shift.
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 Reduce your speed even more than you otherwise would when going downhill and under unfavorable load, weather, or wind conditions.
x Trailers with a high center of gravity tip more easily than trailers with a low center of gravi-ty.
x Always avoid sudden maneuvers and hard braking.
x Be especially careful when passing other vehicles.
x Reduce speed immediately if the trailer shows the slightest sign of swaying.
x Never try to stop the swaying by accelerating.
x Always obey speed limits. In some areas, the speed limits for vehicles towing trailers are lower than for vehicles without trailers. Never drive faster than 50 mph (80 km/h; under ex-ceptional circumstances 60 mph - 100 km/h) when towing a trailer. This applies even if the local speed limit is higher.
If you are driving a new vehicle or a vehicle with a new or rebuilt engine, do not tow a trailer
during the break-in period, about 600 miles (1000 km) ⇒  Parts, accessories, repairs and modifica-tions.
If you tow a trailer, your vehicle may need maintenance more often because of the extra load it has to move.
When you are not towing, remove the trailer hitch ball. This helps keep the trailer hitch from causing damage to your vehicle and to others if your vehicle is hit from behind.
Some models need a trailer hitch to tow or tow-start other vehicles. You may want to always carry the ball mount in the vehicle after it has been removed. Be sure to stow it securely.

x Do not release the parking brake lever until the engine starts to move the vehicle forward. If your vehicle has an automatic transmission, you can also depress and hold the brake pedal for added braking and then let up on the brake pedal when you feel that the vehicle “wants” to move forward.
x Drive ahead slowly.
WARNING
Improper trailer towing can cause loss of vehicle control and serious personal injury.
x Driving with a trailer and carrying heavy or bulky items changes the way the vehicle han-dles and increases the distance it needs to stop safely.
x Always watch what is happening up ahead and around you. Brake earlier than you would if you were not towing a trailer.
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 Reduce your speed even more than you otherwise would when going downhill and under unfavorable load, weather, or wind conditions.
x Drive especially carefully and accelerate gently. Always avoid sudden maneuvers and hard braking.
x Be especially careful when passing other vehicles.
x Reduce speed immediately if the trailer shows even the slightest sign of swaying.
x Never try to stop the swaying by accelerating.
x Always obey speed limits. In some areas speed limits for vehicles towing trailers are lower than for vehicles without trailers.
Ball mount

Fig. 120 Dimensions of the ball mount support.

Starting and stopping the engine

WARNING
Improper use of vehicle keys can result in serious personal injury.
x Always take the key with you when you leave the vehicle. The engine can be started and vehicle systems such as the power windows can be operated, leading to serious personal injury.
x Never leave children, disabled persons, or anyone who cannot help themselves in the vehicle. The doors can be locked with the remote control vehicle key. This could result in people being trapped in the vehicle in an emergency. For example, depending on the time of year, people trapped in the vehicle can be exposed to very high or very low temperatures.
x Heat build-up in the passenger and luggage compartment of a parked vehicle can result in temperatures in the vehicle that are much higher than the outside temperatures, particularly in summer. Temperatures can quickly reach levels that can cause unconsciousness and death, particularly to small children.
x Never remove the key from the ignition switch while the vehicle is moving or rolling to a stop. The steering wheel will lock and you will not be able to steer or control the vehicle.
Leaving the key in the ignition for a long time when the engine is not running will drain the vehi-cle battery.
Leaving the selector lever for a long period of time in any position other than Park (P) when the ignition is switched off can drain the vehicle battery.
On automatic transmission vehicles, the vehicle key can be removed from the ignition switch only when the transmission is in Park (P). You may have to press the release button on the transmis-sion selector lever to put the lever into Park (P).
Starter button

Fig. 151 In the center console: Starter button of the Keyless Access with push button start.