ESP VOLKSWAGEN GOLF 2008 Owner's Guide

An improperly installed or incorrec t hitch from the towi ng vehicle leading to serious personal in­juries.
Neve r in stall a on your vehicle . The vehicl e was not designed for these kin ds
o f trailer hitches. The hitch attachment to tear loose from the
ve hicl e.
When you n o longer need t o tow trailer, re ­
move the trailer hitc h . Alway s seal all bolt holes to prevent water and deadly exhaust fumes entering the ve hicle.
Operating instructions
Maximum trailer weight
You can only tow typical class I or class 2 trailers
with your vehicle.
T he m ax
imum gross trailer we ight and the tongue load must n ever exceed the specifica­
tion s listed bookle t3 .3 "Tec hnical
Neve r exceed the gross ve hicl e we ight, w hi ch i s the we ight o f th e vehicle, includin g driver, pas­senge rs, luggage, trailer hit ch and tongu e we ight of the loaded trailer.
At alt itudes above ft. m), redu ction of of combined towin g weight (ve hicl e plu s trailer) for the beginning of every m ) should be observed.
Trailer l
oad distribution
Be sure the load in the traile r is held securel y in place to guard agains t be it forw ard.
b ackwar d or sideways. A load that shift s can make it hard or even impossibl e to control your vehicl e, parti cularly in an e m erge ncy situ ation.
W ith the tow vehicle empty and the trailer
l oade d , we ight distribution is es pecially bad. If
yo u absolut ely mus t driv e w ith this combina­
tion, d rive with extra
Do not use a trailer whic h has LED (light emitting diodes) taillig ht s. This type of t a illi ght can damage the electrical co ntrol unit of your veh icle.
If the traile r socke t is in co rrectly connected .
damage co uld result to the ve hicles electrical
system.
I f th e maximum power consumption for the
trail er is pag e 15, damage could re­sult to the e lectrica l sys te m of th e ve hicle.
Never connect the e lectr ical sys te m for th e
t raile r directly to the electrica l c o nne ctions for the rear lights or to other unsu itable power sources. Use onl y a su itab le trailer soc ket to pro ­
vide power to the trailer .
Tongue load
For bes t ve hicle ha ndli ng when towing a trail er, adjus t the trailer load so tha t th e tongue load is at the maximum allowable or slightly lower. You can ge t an approx imation of the to ngu e load
with a ba throom scal e or yo u can measure the load at a tru cking company or we ighing station.
The tongu e load incre ases the weigh t of the rear axle and correspondingly reduces the other load that your ve hicle ca n
The max im um tong ue load on ly a ppl ies if both of the ho les o n the o uter upright wall of th e rear side rail are used to secure the trailer hitch.
Tire pressu re
tow ing a trailer, inflate t h e tires of your ve ­
hicle to the col d tire press ure lis ted under on the sticker o n the open ed ge of the
dri ver's door. Inflate trailer tires to trai ler and tire manufactur ers' specificat ions.
lights
A lw ays check
the headlight settin gs wit h the tr ai le r hooked up before driving off. Adju st as n ecess ary so th a t yo u can see th e road ahead but not blind on coming
C he ck and make sur e th a t all veh icle and trailer lights are workin g properly -especially the brake light s.
16 Driving and protecting the environment

Safety chains
Be sure trailer safe ty cha ins are prop erly necte d fro m the trailer to th e hitch on th e hicle. Leave enoug h slack in th e c hain s to turn
corners. When you install safety ch a in s, mak e sure they will not dragon th e road whi le you are
driv ing.
Th e chains shou ld c ross
under th e trai le r to ng ue
to prevent it from dropping to the ground in case of separa tion from the hit ch .
Electronic Stabilization
Always leave th e mak es it easie r to stabilize the
t railer sho uld it start to swerve or sway.
Always adjust your speed and driving style to
road, traffic and weather conditions. Never le t the extra safety that and
A rig is eas ier to o pe rate and trol. Thi s means that th e tow vehicle should be loaded to the exte nt possibl e and permi ssibl e
w hil e keepin g th e t raile r as lig ht as possibl e under the ci rcumstances . Whenever possible, tran sfe r so me cargo to the luggage compartm ent
o f th e tow vehicle whil e observ ing tongue load requireme nts and ve hicl e loading ation s.
The hig her th e spee d, the more diffi cult it comes for the driver to control the rig. Do not drive at the maximum permissible
Always appl y brake s early . W hen dri ving
downhill , down shift into lower gear (selector leve r positi on
The cooli ng effect of th e fa n cannot
b e in cre ase d by dow nshif tin g because fan speed
i s independent of engine speed. Therefore,
Riding in a trailer is dangerous and may be
A person who is not properly restrained in
a moving vehicle risks serious personal injury and even death in a crash.
Never let anyone ride in your vehicle
without being properly restrained .
Never allow a passenger to rid e in a trailer.
Exceed ing the maximum permissible weight ratings and maximum permissibl e trailer
weights can result in accident s leading to rious personal injury.
Never le t the actual Gross Axle W eight Rating at the front and rear axles exceed the
permissible weights. Also never let their bination exceed the Gross Weight
Rating.
Always remember that the vehicle's
w he n dri vin g uphill, you can alwa ys drive in the
hi ghes t possibl e gear wit h low engin e speed. the coo lant tempe rature warni ng light in th e strument clu ster start s flas hin g in red, pull off
th e ro ad, s top and let th e engine idle for ab o ut 2 minutes to preve nt a heat buildup and eng in e
damage.
R educe your speed even more under vorab le load , weather or wind conditions ­
particularly when going downhill.
Be especial ly careful when passing other vehicles. Reduce vehicle speed immediately if the trail er shows the slightest sign of sway ing.
N ev e r try to stop the sway ing by ating.
Always heed speed limits.ln some a reas speed limits for vehicle s towing
Driving and protecting the environment 17

Improper us e of power was hers can ca use riou s, invisib le and permane nt tir e damage leading to tire failure and los s of vehicle
Neve r wash tires with a jet that sprays the water out in a direct strea m eve n from a ta n ce or fo r a v ery sh ort time.
3.2 Tips and Advice
tances.
Carefull y apply brakes for a te st.
few cautious brake applicat ions.
A lwa ys read and heed all 13,
The underbody of the ve hicl e is coated to help prot ect it from corrosion and
damage.
The undercoat ing could be da m age d during
normal use but, particularly when dri vin g
road. recommend th at the undercoa ting un
th e ve hicle and the prot ective coat ings on th e
s u sp en sion be in sp ec te d, an d re paired if n eces­
sary, bef o re and after the winter season.
R
epair wo rk and additio nal undercoating
s hou ld be carried out onl y by an a uth orized Volkswage n deale r or qualified workshop .
the engine compartment
The sys tem gets very ho t when the hicle is drive n and can cause fir e res ultin g in serious pe rso na l injury.
Neve r a ppl y additional undercoating or rust proofin g on or near the exl ta u st manifold,
exl ta ust pip es, catalytic conve rter or heat shie ld s.
Be especially carefu l w hen cleaning the engine compartment!
Anti-corrosion treotment
The engine compartment is treated at t h e page 39.
Good corro sion protection is pa rti cularl y impor­
tant in th e w inter where road salt is used. To ve nt salt damage , th e en tir e e ng in e ment should be th orou ghly cleaned befor e and after th e salt ing perio d.
Your authorized
Volk swag en dealer has th e right cleane rs and prese rva tives and th e
ommend hav ing this w ork perform ed by an thorize d Volkswage n dea ler.
Corr osio n prot ection i s re mov ed when th e engin e compart m ent is cleaned with grea se
s ol ve nts. th e engin e is cleaned , m ake s
ur e th at corrosion protec
tion is app lied to surfaces, seams, jo in ts and co mponents in the
e n g in e compartment.
Plenum
Remove leaves from th e plenum in front of the w indshie ld unde r th e e ngin e hood. Hcmovi ng
l eaves and d ebris reg ularl y he lp s preve nt th e
wate r dr ain ho les from beco min g bloc ke d, and it
h elps to preve nt debris from gettin g in sid e th e
ve hicl e throu gh th e heati ng and ventilation ducts.
The en gin e compartment of any motor ve hicl e
is a potentially dangerous area and can cause seriou s perso nal injury .

is des igned to offer a high sta nda rd
of active and passive safety.
an authoriz ed Volkswa gen dea ler for advice before accessories, replace­
m ent part s or other equipment.
A uthori zed
deal ers have the lat est
i n for mation from the manufacturer and can rec­ommend accessorie s and parts that are suitable
for your vehicle and persona l requir em ent s.
They can also help answer question s you might
have regarding official regulation s.
recomm end you onl y use approve d swagen accessories and genuine
ability and safety. The d ea le rs h ip s have the neces sary experience and faciliti es to
e nsure that the part s are install ed properly.
Volkswagen cann
ot ass ume responsibilit y for
any after-mark et non-V o lk swagen parts us ed,
ev en if these part s have be en appro ved by testing agency or are covered by an certifi cate or seal of appro val.
In the in teres t of safety, we urge you to use
only authorized accessor ies and genuin e parts® that have been
d es igned to be used on your veh icle.
Neve r place or attach accessories or other objects (such as cup holders, telepho ne
b rackets, note pads, larg e,
on the stee ring wheel, instrument panel , seat back ­
res ts, roof areas above the doo rs or betwee n
th ose areas an d yourself.
Objects on or near the surfaces where
Be sure to read and heed the in formation a nd booklet2.1 chapter
Acce ssories, new parts, repairs and modifications 31

Tips
Remember to refuel w hen the tank is 1/4 full to reduce the risk of running out of fuel, es pecially in remote areas.
Applies to vehicles: with a gas oline engine
The correct gasoline grades are listed on a sticker inside the fuel filler flap.
rating
Oc tane caused by pre-i g­
n it ion . Th ere fore, buying th e correct grade of gasoline is very important to help prevent pos­sibl e engine damage and a loss of engine perfor­mance.
The recommended gasoline octane ra ting for
your e n g in e can be found on a label lo cated on the in sid e o f the fuel flap. This ratin g m ay be specified as (CLC) or
Grade: 91-96 AKI
Regular Grade: 87-90
Canada, a nd in most European countries.
We recommend that you do not take your ve­
hicl e to areas or countries where unleaded gaso­line may not be available.
Gasoline containing alcohol or MTBE
You may us e unleaded gasoline blended withal­cohol or MTBE (methyl tertiary butyl ether; commonly re fe rr ed to as oxygenates) if the
b lende d mi xture meets th e following criteria:
B
lend of gasoline methanol (wood alcoho l or methyl a lcohol):
A nti -knoc k ind ex must be 87 or higher,
meth­anol.
An ti-k nock index must b e 87 or higher,
Blend must not contain mor e t ha n eth­anol.
Blend of gasoline and MTBE:
Anti-knock ind ex must be 87 or high er,
Blend must conta in not more than 15%
MTBE .
Seasonally adjusted gasoline
Many gasolines are blended t o perform espe­cially well for winter or summe r driv in g. During
seasonal change -over, we sugges t th at you fill up
at busy gas stations where th e seasonal adjust­ment is more like ly to be made in time.
Note
Do not use a ny fu el with octane lower than 87 or 91
Do not use leaded gasoline! U sin g leaded gasoline will seve re ly damage your vehicle's cat­alyt ic conver te r and its ab ility to reduce exhaust emissions.
Methanol fuels that do not meet these re ­quirements may cause corrosion and damage to plast ic and rubbe r component s in the fuel
sys tem.
Do not use fuels that fail to meet the c rit eria specified above .
and 37

booklet 3.3 ''Te chnical
page 47. Do not use a diffe rent
t y p e of additive if p lu s is not available. t his case use only wate r a nd bring the coolant concen trat ion back up correct level as soon a s poss ible by topping off wit h s pecified page 47 .
Alway s
mark. the
excessi ve coola nt will b e presse d out of cooling syste m when
Stop! Before working in the engine compart­ment, always read and heed all
W hen mixed w ith other incorrect additives co lo rofG 12 plus w ill ch a nge brown.
w ill res ult in engine damage!
has been engine coo l engine.
L arge coolan t lo sses are sig n of leaks in the cooling sys tem. Have th e cooling sys tem check ed
Do not add any type of leak sealant
t o your ve hicle's engine coolant. Adding radiator re pair fluid may adversely
The water for cleaning th e windshield shou ld alway s be mixed with windshield
washer fluid.
Fig. the engine comportment: b lue cop of w indshie ld washer container
The in dicator ligh t in cluster come on w he n the was her fluid leve l in th e
r eservoir is
cluster informing you or a d ­
v is in g yo u of the next opportunity top up the reservo ir.
The wind shield washe r flu id locat ed
i n engin e compartment suppli es was he r fluid t o both windshield washer and hea d ­
li ght washing system.
Before opening the engine page 39.
T he loca
tion of th e conta iner is shown in th e
corresponding engine bookle t3.3 "Tec hnica l

changea ble deco rat ive cove rs a re att ached to th e rim with s elf- locking sc rews . lfyou would ro re pla ce damaged wheel covers, contact your authorized Volkswa gen d eale r or
WARNING
New ti res or tires tha t are old, worn or aged cannot provide maximum control and braking ability.
New tires tend to be s lipp ery and must be broken in . To reduce the risk of losing co ntrol,
a co llisio n and serio us personal injuri es, drive with sp ecia l care for the first km).
(cont inued )
Driving with worn or damaged tire s can lead to lo ss of control, sudden tire failur e, cluding a blowou t and sudden deflation ,
c ras hes and seriou s personal injuries. Have wo rn or damaged tires rep laced imme di ate ly.
To redu ce the riskoflosingcontrol, crashes and s erio us personal injuries, never loose n
th e bolts on w heels with bolted rim rings.
more than 6 years old can onl y be used in an em erg en cy and then
w ith specia l care and at low speed.
Neve r m ount u se d tires on your ve hicle if
yo u are not sure of their used tires may have been damaged ev e n
t h oug h the damage cannot be seen th at can
lead to sudden tir e failure and loss of ve hicl e control.
hicl e pull s to one sid e when dri ving, always
s top as soo n as it is safe to do so and ch eck the
whee ls and tires for damage.
Accessory weight
Means the combined we ight ( in excess of those
sta ndard ite m s w hi ch may be repl aced) of mati c tran smission. power steering. po wer
bra kes, power windo ws. p owe r seats , radio, and heater, to th e ex te nt th at th ese item s are
or lowe r indica te
a short s id ewall for improved steering respo nse and better ove rall handling on dry pave ment.
Bead
Mean s the pa rt of the tire t hat is m ad e of stee l
wires , w rap ped or re inforce d by pl y cords and that is shap ed to fit t he rim.
Bead separation
Mean s a breakdow n of th e bond between
Means the strand s forming the in th e tire.
weight
Me ans th e weig ht of motor vehicl e w ith dard equ ipment including the m aximum pacity of fu el, oil. and coolant . a ir conditio nin g
a nd additional weight of opt io n al equipm ent.
E xtra load lire
M ea ns tire desi gn to operate at higher loads and at hi gher inflat ion pressure s th an th e corre -
s ponding sta ndard tire.

3.2 Tips and Advice
refers to the amount of air in a tire that it needs it to do its job and safe ly carry the combined load of the entire
on the d esign and load limit-the greatest amount of we ight that the can carry safel y and the tire size.
Th e proper lire pressure is frequently re ferred to a s the "recommended co ld tire inflation
It is the tion pre ssure in a tire that counts .
respo nsiv e
is being driven at higher speed s, and th e n cially w hen heavily loaded even within the missible load-carrying capacit ies approved for your vehicl e. T
he r
ecommended tire pressures for your d epend on the kind or tires on your h icl e and the number of passengers and/or amount ofluggage you will be t ransporting.
Th e tire
pressure label on the open ed ge of th e
driver's door on your Volk swagen lists the ommended co ld tir e infl ation pressures for the
at th e tim e it was ufactured.
page fig. 15 for the tion of the label on the open edge of the driver's door (colo r of the actual label and exact locat ion on the
flap.
The table below lists the recommended cold tire
i nflatio n pressures for the models covered by your maximum capacit y we igh t and th e tire
sizes on t h e res pective models as inal equipment, or as a factory opti on.
T ir e Tire
pres-Tire pres-
s ur e front sure rear
kPa
17 91 35 245 35 245
6
1

the instrument cluster, stop and insp ec t th e
tir es.
can also lead t o sudden tire failur e, in­
cluding a blowout and sudden deflati on, causing loss of ve hicle control.
The driv er i s responsible for the correct tire pressures fo r all tire s on the vehicl e. Th e appli ­
cable pressure valu es are locat ed on a sticker on the driver' s sid e page 61, fig . 15 .
w hen all on the ve hicl e are filled
to the correct pressure, th e can work
corre ctly.
A lways inflat e tire s to the recomme nd ed
and correct tire pres sure before driving off.
in tread separa tion, sudden
Excess ive speed and/overloadin g can
ca use heat build-up , sudden tir e failur e and lo ss of control.
If th e tire is no t flat and you do not have to change a w hee l immediate ly , drive at reduce d
s peed to tJ1e neares t se rvic e statio n to ch ec k the tir e press ure and add air as req uired.
Whe n r epl acing tir es or wheel rim s on ve­
hicles equipped with always read and heed the information and all re­page 57, and
Note
M iss in g va lve stem caps can result in damage
to the valve and senso rs in the tire pressure
monitor ing sys tem. To preve nt thi s. a lways drive
wit h valve stem caps that are th e equiva le nt of
64
tho se installed
When switc hin g to diff erent tires, make cer­
tain that the valves and the se nsors are not dam­
ag ed .
For the sake of environment
Unde r-inflated tires will a lso in crease the fu el
consumption.
Tips
The tir e press ure mon itoring system ch ecks
th e tir es for the fac to ry recommend ed in flat ion pressures. The recommended val ues are on th e sticker on the o pen edge of th e driver's door
61, fig.
you are driving on tires other than those in­
s talled at th e factory, have the inflati on pres­
s ure s entered in the press ure monitor ing sys tem
by an authorized Vol kswage n dea ler or qua lified
works hop if they are different.
Th e tire pressure monitor ing system sh uts it­self off if a set of tir es without whee l sensors is
mounted on th e veh icle and it cannot receive senso r sig nals. As soon as the syste m rece ives at
lea st one se nsor signa l, it switches itself on
again.
tir e pressures at regu lar int ervals, even
though you have the monitoring system. In spec t
th e
tires for damage (punctu res , cuts, t ea rs a nd
blis ter s). He move foreig n bodi es from the tir e
tread.
senso rs have to be rep laced, have the valves ch anged at th e sa me tim e.
Disc repancies may occur between the pres­
sures read on the press ure ga uge when inflating the tires and th e pressures read by the tire pres­su re sensors. The electro nic tire pressure moni­toring system is m ore accurate.
When deter min es tha t the air pres ­
s u re in o ne or more tires is too low, ch eck the tire
pressure thoroughly using a pressu re Low pressure in a tire often cannot be determi ned by
looking at the tire. This applies especially for low
profile tires.
When there is a rap id or excessi ve loss of pressure while driving. you are immediately
g iven vis u a l and aud ible warn ing .

you are using tires w ith inflatio n
p ressures than those recommended by the tory, the tir e press ure val ues must be re pro­grammed. swagen dealer or q ualified workshop.
you mount wheels whic h d o not have sen sors or have incompatible sensors . th e sys tem cannot recognize the wheel s. The tir e pressure monitoring sys te m is not abl e to measure infla ­
tion press ure. A malfun ction is di sp la ye d.
S t
oring tires
T he se nsors se nd signa ls to t h e tir e press ure
monitori ng sys te m only whi le you arc driv ing .
D eclaration of complianc e
Siemens declares that the product is in full c onfo rmit y w ith the essen­tial requi rements and the other re levant prov i­
sio ns of directi ve 19 99/5/EG.
WARNING
In correc t tire pressures and/or unde r- infla­ti o n can lead t o
an d can
Incorrect t ire p ressures and/o r under-i n­
flatio n ca n also lead to sudden tir e failure, bl owout and sudden d eflati on, causing loss of ve hicl e control.
Always make sure that a ll tires are properl y
inflat ed t o tire press ures fo r th e tires o n
t h e vehicl e and the kind of driv in g yo u plan to
do.
WARNING
The d rive r is responsib le for the correct tire
press ures for all tires on th e ve hicle. The cable pressure values arc loc ate d on sticke r
o n the dri ver's sid e page 61.
correctly.
The use of in correct tire pressure values can lead to acci den ts or other damage. There­
f o re it i s esse ntial that the d river observe the
s p ecified tire p ressure va lues fo r the tires an d
Booklet 3.2 Tips and Advice
WARNI NG (continued)
the correc t pressures fo r the functi on of the
W hen the
the ti re is not flat and you do no t have to
c h an ge a w heel immed ia tely, drive
required fig. 15.
WARNING
Incorrect tire pressure can result in sudde n
t ire failur e loss of control, co llisio n, seri ous
personal i njury an d even death.
A lways in flat e tires to the recommended and correct tire pressure before dri ving
D rivi ng with unde rinfl atc d ti res b end m ore, le ttin g them get too h o t res ulting in tread sep aration, sudden tire failure and loss
o f co ntrol .
Exces sive speed and/ overloading can cause heat build-up , sudden tire fa ilure a nd
l oss of control.
not handl e we ll.
Missin g valve ste m caps can resu lt in damage to th e va lve and sensor s in the tire pressure mon itorin g sys te m. To pre vent t his, alwa ys dri ve
with valve stem caps that are the equi valent of th ose insta lled va lve
s te m caps.
Whe n switc hin g to t a in that the va lve s and the sensors not aged.
For the sake of environment
Low tire pressures also increase fuel consump­
tion.
The tire pressu re monitoring syste m checks
th e tires for the fac tory recommend ed inflation