front towing VOLKSWAGEN GOLF 2008 Owners Manual

Coolant 3.2: 47
Level 3.2:
49
Loss 3.2:49
Coolant leve l
Warning light 3.2: 48
Coolant temperature
Gauge 3.1:9 Safe ty instru ctions 3.2:48
Trail er towing 3.2: 48
Warning light 3.2 : 4 8
C
ras h recorders 3.2: 34
C rui
se control system
Indicator light 3.1:96
without display 3.1: 96
C up ho ld ers 3.
1: 67
in the front center consol e 3 .1: 67
the rear center console 3.1:67
Curbs 3.3:4
Curb weight 3.3 : 6
C
urrent f u el con sumptio n 3.1:21
C
urtain airbags 2.1:
Custome r Center 2.1: 28
D
Danger of fittin g a child seat on the front pas­
senger seat 2.1:
Daytime dri ving lights 3.1:4 3
Daytime Hunning Light s 3.1: 43
D
eactiv ating the switchabl e lockin g
2.1: 67
Depress brake ped al 3.1: 6
Determining correct load l im it 3.2: 71
Diff
erential lock 6
Digit al cl
ock 3.1:8
Dimensio n s 3.3: 4, 7
Disp la y 3.1: 1 3
D is t
ance b etween driver and steerin g
w h
eel 2.1:4
D is ta n
ce travele d 3.1: 21
Door re lease h andle 3.1: 3
Doors 3.1:33
close 3.1: 33 closing 3.1: Warning li gh t 3.1: 33
Drive economically 3.2: 19
6 Key words
Drive economic all y and he lp protect the
environment 3.2: 19
Driv er See Seating position
Drivin g outside of the
Driving safety 2.1: 3
Driving lime 3
.1:
E
EDL 3.2:6
See also Electronic Differ ential Lock
Warning light 3.2:5
Electrical socket 3.1: 68
E
lectronic diff ere nti al lock 3.2: 6
Electroni c Differential Lock
Warning light 3.2: 5
Ele c
tronic immobilizer 3.1:85
E l
ectronic Co ntrol 3.2: 9
E l
ectronic Stabilization
How it works 3.2: 6
Eme rge ncy
L
ockin g driver's door 3.2: 88
Opening l eve r for the rear lid 3.2: 89
Unl ocki ng
driver's door 3.2: 88
Em ergency closing 3.2: 88
E m er
gency nasher 3.1: 45
E m
ergency locki ng all doors 3.2: 88
Emergency ope nin g 3.2: 88 Doors 3.1: 34
Emer gency
unlocking of rear lid 3.2: 89
E ng
ine Break-in 3.2: 12
Eng in e compartment
Cleaning 3.2 :27 you should take when work­
i
ng in sid e the e ngin e
compartment 3.2:39 Work ing in the engine
compartment 3.2: 39
E n g in e
compartment la yout 3.3 : 5
E n
gine compartment overview 3.3: 5

driving ........................ .
occupant seating positions ...... .
a reo ..............................
Stowing ....................... .
Reporting safety defects
............... . .
......................... .
notes ....................... ... .
Why safety ...................... .
Saf ety .................
Safety pretensioners ................ .
Airbag system
28
Front airbog system the basics ..... 32
Boo klet 2.1 first
Monitoring the Advanced Airbog System
46 Side
safety 53
Seats ...... ........... .. 53 restraint with o safety . 63
Inform ation 0................. 68
Lower anchorages .......... .... 7 1 system 72
Where con get additional inform ation
a bout
res traints and their use? . . . . . . 73
Alphabetical index ....

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

Booklet 3.2 Tip s and Advice
vehicl e handles diff ere ntl y wh en towin g a
tr ai ler because of the additional weigh t and weight distribution. Safe ty, pe rform ance and econo m y will greatl y depend on how carefull y
yo u load your trailer and op erat e your rig.
Before you actually to w your trail er, p ractic e
turning. stopping and b ack ing up in an area away from traffic until learn the feel of your vehicle and trail er unit.
Backing
up i s diffi cult and requi res practi ce.
Stee rin g whil e backing up is gen erall y opposite of that when backin g your vehicl e with out a
trailer.
Keep
more distance between your vehicl e and the one in front of yo u. will need more room to stop.
To compensate for the trail er. you will need a
larger than normal turning radius.
When passing, remember that you cannot erate as fast as you normally would because of the added load. Make sure yo u have enough
room to pass. After passing. allow plenty of room for you r trailer before c hanging lanes again.
Avoid je rk y s tart s, sharp turn s or rapid lan e changes.
Parking
After parking. always block th e wheels of both ve hicl e and trail er. Do not park with a traile r on a slope. If it cannot be a voided, do so only after doing th e follo wing:
Apply fo ot brake .
Have someone place chocks under both hicl e and trail er whee ls .
With the c hock s in place, s lo w ly re lease brak es until wheel blo cks absorb the load.
Turn w heels to curb (ve hicl e facing downhill)
o r to the stre et (when facing uphill).
Appl y parkin g brak e firmly.
automatic transmi ssion in
If you move the selecto r leve r of the automatic tran smission to
position.
Restarting
When restarting after parkin g on a slop e, reverse
the proc edure:
S tart the engine.
S hift transmission into gear.
le a se the parking brake and slowly move away from the wheel block s.
Stop and hav e someone re trie ve the wheel
b lock s.
Note
Neve r to w trailer during the break-in period of your vehicl e.
If yo u tow a trailer , yo ur Volksw age n m ay quire more frequent maimenance due to the
ext ra load.
Always check local reg ulations regardi ng
trailer to w in g.
Applies to vehicles: with anti-theft a larm system and a traile r towing set
Linking your trailer to the vehicle's anti-theft alarm system
The anti-theft alarm syste m will be triggere d as soon as the ele ctrical connec tion
between the trailer
and
or qualified
wo rkshop, if you want to inte grat e your trai le r to th e ve hicle's anti-theft a larm
Connecting your trailer to the anti-theft alarm syste m
If yo u ve hicle was built to include both the th eft al arm system and a trailer towin g th en t he trail er towing package (if available) is
in tegrated into the anti-theft alarm sys te m . Thi s
18 Driving and protecting the environment

the right front bumper: removing the cover
Take the towing the lug wrench and
the screwdriver out of the vehicl e tool kit in
the luggage page
the towing eye
- Remove the Ph ilips head screw
- Reach into the opening -small arrows­
with your finger and pull th e cover forward
to remove i l.
the towing eye in direction of the
arrow as far as it will go into the threaded
46. the lu g wrench to
tighte n the towing eye.
-
the cover and the sc rew in a safe
p l
ace in the ve hicl e.
-
When towin g operations a re complete,
unsc rew the towing eye clockw ise and in­
s ta
ll the cover.
-
He turn the to wi ng the lu g w re n ch
a
nd the screwdrive r t o the to ol kit.
Follow directions for

Rear towing eye
Fig. 47
without
hitch
-Inse rt the flat blade of the screw driver
i n to
the slo t between th e cover and the
fig . 47 .
-
th e cove r off carefully to the re ar. It
m
ay be necessar y to use addi t ional force.
Lea
ve the cove r hanging on the veh icle.
- Scr
ew the tow ing eye in di rectio n of th e
arrow as fa r as it will go into the threa ded
hole. Use the lu g wrench tigh te n the
to wing fig . 48 .
3.2 T ip s and Advice
Fig. 48 the right rear bumper: screwing in the eye
-towing operations are comple te,
unsc rew the towing eye clockwise and in­
s ta
ll t h e cover.
-
He turn t h e tow ing eye , the lug wre nch
and th e screwdriver to the too l kit.
page
trailer hi tch
On veh icles whic h are fac tory-equipped wit h a
t rai ler hitch . there is no threaded hole for th e
to w in g behind th e cover. The trailer hitc h
must be use d for towing.
Note
Vehicle s equi pped with a trailer towing cannot use a tow bar to usc a
possib le tow the front w hee ls off g round
Always observe the followi ng if yo u use a
tow-rope :
Notes for the driver of the towing ve­
-Turn on the emergency
- Drive slowly at fir s t until the tow-rope is
t a u
t. Th en accelerate gradually.
-the acce lerator s lowly.
What do

75
Tire pressure monitoring syste m models) 62
Tire service life 7 2
Tir
es
H epl ac ing 75
Service life 72
ratin g letter code 74
Tire Identification Number 74
Tire manufacturing date 74
T ire specification s 74
Tread depth 72
Uniform tire quality grading 76
Winter tires 77
Tires and vehicl e load limits
Tires and w heels 57
Checking tir e pressure 68
Co ld tir e infl ation
pressure 6 1
Dimensio n s 73
Ge n
eral notes 57
Glossary
of tire and loading terminolo gy 58
New tir
es and wheels 73 Heplacing 73
Towing
front
r ear
T ire pressure monitoring sys te m
models)
Warni ng light
62
112 index
Traile r towing 15
A
nti-theft a larm system Bra kes
chains 17
Technical requirement s
Ti re pressure 16
Towing tips Traile r lights
Transport Canada
Tread W ear Indicator 72
Trunk lid
Hear lid
u
Underbody seala nt 27
Unidire ct
ional tires 57, 86
U niforrn tire
quality grading 76
v
Vehicl e
Lifting
Location
w
Warnin g light
5