VOLKSWAGEN GOLF MK6 2012 Owners Manual

Care,
this sect ion
know how to carry out the
have the correc t technical information and the
proper too ls and supplies, and
are fami liar with the necessary safety precau­
t ions
you are uncertain in any
Fa cility. from improperly per­
formed work.
More
Exterior views
Windshie ld wipe r and was he r 129
S tart ing and stoppi ng t he engi ne
Brake fluid 179
Vehicle battery
E ngine oil 227
Engin e coolant 233
Parts, accesso ries, repairs and modifications 283
Unintend ed vehicle movement during mainte­nanc e work can ca use serious personal inju­ries.
Care , cleaning, maintenance
Never work under the vehicle unless you have safely secured the vehicle from moving. you mus t work under the vehicle with the
wheels on the g round , alway s make sure that the vehicle is on level ground, that
Th e engine compartment of any motor vehi­cle is a potent ially dangerous area and can cause serious personal injury.
Always use extreme caution when doing any work
Never p erform any work in the engine compartment unless you know exactly how to carry out the job and have the correct tec h­nical information and the correct tools .
you are uncertain about what to do, have the work performed by an authorized
Volk swagen dealer, an authorized Volksw a­
ge n Service Facility, or another qualified workshop. Serio us persona l injury may result from improperly performed work.

Never open or close the engine hood if To reduce th e risk of electrica l shock and steam or coolant is escaping. Hot steam or personal injury
-Never touch ignition cables. Never ant escaping from the engine. touch other components of the high
Always the eng ine down com-age electronic ignition syste m .
opening the hood.
-Never touch the wiring of the Discharge (Xenon) headlights.
system burn skin on contact.
you are read y to open the hood: Moving parts in th e engine compartment can
- Firm ly apply the parking brake a nd shift cause serious personal injury on contact. the transmission into Park (P) (automatic)
vehicles with Keyless Access, make member that the radiator fan is temperature-
s
ure that the remote contro l vehicle key is controlled and can come on sudden ly even
out of range of th e vehicle and that the ve- when the engine
has been switched off for a
hicl e cannot be started by depres sing the 44. ignition.
-
Always keep children and others away you have to perform a check or repair from the engine compartment and never when the engine is runn ing, there are more leave them unsupervised. risks from the rotating parts, such as the
hair do not get caught in
ries. rotating engine
parts. B efore starting an y
- Turn
the cap
fluids onto hot parts of the engine o r exhaust system can
cause a fire. -
Always use
extreme caution if the ac-
ce lerato r pedal has to be depressed to perform a check. The vehicle will start to move even if the parking brake i s on.
Never leave any objects in the engine compartment, for examp le cleaning rags and tools. Objects left b ehind can cause malfunc-lions, engine damage, and even fires.
High voltage sy stems in the engine com part-ment can ca use electrica l shocks or even
electrocution, severe burns, other serious in-juries, and eve n deathl
Neve r short-circuit the electrica l syste m .
B e especially ca reful when using jumper ca-
Operating fluids and some materials in the engi ne compartment can catch fire easily, causing burns an d other serious personal in-juries
Do not smoke .
b les. The
vehicle 's battery could exp lode! Never work next to open flames or sparks .
223

Never pour or operating or on the engine. These
work on the system or the
disconnect the 12 battery. Make sure the is when you disconnect the battery , or the
have a functional, approved fire extinguisher nearby .
Warning
When changing or topping off fluids, make sure that you pour the voirs. Adding the wrong type of operating
and are
you find spot s
o f
first read and note the introductory in formation and heed the on
icon
appea rs Engine hood not prope rly closed.
in the dis-
th e engine hood is open or not closed properly ,
t he warning comes on in the i nstrument
D epending on your vehicle 's equ ipmen t and tio n s, a symbo l showing that the hood is not closed may appea r in the instrument cluste r
disp la y instead of th e warning light. The symbol be displayed even after the ignition is
swi tched off. Th e display goes out abo ut 15
onds afte r t he vehicle has been locked with the doors closed .
224 Care, cleaning , maintenance Proper
response
and instrument cluster text messa ges can cause the to break down in traffic and sion and serious

Getting ready to work in the engine compartment
information and heed the on page 222.
steps in the order in whic h they are
Park the vehic le in a safe place on a firm , su rface .
the brake pedal down
the par king brake to help preve nt the vehicle fr om moving 179 .
S hift th e t ra nsmiss ion
P ark (P) (automatic) or Neu tr al (manual page 171 .
Stop th e e ng in e a nd re m ove th e key f
rom th e ig nit ion sw itch 165 .
Le t the engin e down suffi cie ntly .
K eep children and others away from
the .
Make sure the ve hicle can not move unexpecte dly .
Disregarding the safety-rela ted checklist may re sult serious accept ed safety practices and use __ m_o_ n_s_e_n_s_e_. ____________________
Opening and closing the engine compartment
Fig . 1 26 engi ne hood release lever.
on page 222. Fig
. 1
27 Above the rad iator Outside engine
hood release .

Before you open the make sure that the
windshield wiper arms are resting on the
the inside hood release lever in the direction of the arrow
Push the outside hood release lever 127 (arrow) and lift the hood
the hood down to overcome the resistance of the gas-pressure strut
Lower the engine hood by hand until it is about
1 ft.
wards!
When the hood is properly closed, you can see
that it fits flush with the other body parts. T he
224 .
not closed properly ,
with the surrounding auto body parts.
Never le t anyone get in the way of the hood when closing it.
226
Always put the windshield wiper arms down against the windshield before driving the cle.
Before opening or closing the engine hood,
make sure there is enough room to do so, for exampl e when the vehicle is in a garage . <l

Engine oil
find information about:
Wa rning a
nd indicator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227
Engin e oil specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228
Engin e oil capac ity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229
Checking th e engine oil level and adding oil . 229
Eng ine oil consumpt ion . . . . . . 23 0
Changing engine oil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
231
More information:
P reparations for work ing in the engine compart­
m en t 222
Parts, accessories, repairs and modi fications 283
handling of engine oil can cause vere burns and other serious injuries.
Store engine oil only in the closed original container. This also applies to used oil until disposal.
tainers that might mislead someone into drinking from them.
other operating fluids, engine oil can leaking and
sp illed operating fluids and dispose of them erly in accordance with
Please first read and note the introductory information and heed the on page 227.
Lights Possible cause Proper response up
Engine oil
leve l too low. the engine. Check the engine oil level
-
off the engine. Check the engin e lev-
el. -the warn ing light flashes although the oil lev-Engin e oil p ressure to o low . el is norm al, do not co ntinue driving or let the
engi ne idle. the engine could be damaged.
Contact an auth orize d Volkswagen dealer or an
authorized Volkswagen Facility.
Have the engine oil sensor checked by an au-
Engine oil leve l se nsor malfun ction. thorized Volksw agen dealer or an authorized --Volkswage n Faci lity.
the engine compartment 227

When the ignition is switched seve ra l warn ing
and indica tor lights come on for a function
check . They go out after a few seconds.
to break down in traffic and result in a sion and serious personal injury.
Engine
on page 227.
The engine oil used must conform to exact specifi­
cations .
Using the proper engine oil is important for the
functionality and service life
of the engine.
engine was factory-filled with a high-qua lity ,
" synthe tic "
you need to add oil between oil changes, use on­
l y a high quality oil that expressly complies with the Volksw age n oil quality sta ndard specified for your
vehic le 's engine:
Engine s Engine
oil specifi-cation
vw Ga
soline engines vw vw
At the time this Manual was printed, the engine oils
avai lab le in the U.S. that meet these Volkswagen
standards are "syn thetic" oils. Th is does not mean,
howe ver, that any "synthetic " engine oil wi ll meet
Volkswagen standards. A lways use an app roved
228 cl eaning , m aint en ance
or text WARN ­
"synthetic" oil that meets the applicable Volkswa­
gen oil quality standard with viscosi ty grade
or is not availab le in your area,
be sure to use a viscosity grade suitabl e for the cli­
mate, season , and operating conditions th at exist
where the vehicle is used . Make sure the oil meets
the qual i
ty standard listed in on page 228.
Engine oils are cons tantly being improved. Author­
ized Volkswagen dealers and
authorized Volkswa­
gen Service Facilities are a lways up-to-da le re­
garding new developments and changes. Volkswa­
gen therefore recommends
tha t you have the en­
gine oil changed by an authorized Volkswagen
deale r
or an authorized Volkswagen
that meets the Volk swage n oil standard your engine requires, you may add a total of no more than 1/2 quart liter) of a high-quality
or
not be covered by any Volks­wagen Limited Warranty.
Do not mix any lubricants or other additives into the engine oil. Doing so can cause engine
damage! Damage caused by the se kinds of ad­ditives are not covered by any Volk swagen
<l
Limited Warranty . <l

Engine
on page 227.
Engin es Engine
Checking the engine
Fig. 128 marks . Fig
. 129 the engine compartment: Engine
first rea d and note the introductory information and heed the on page 227.
Perf orm the steps in the order
1. With the engine at operating temperature, park the ve hic le on a surface to prevent an
incorrect r eadi ng.
2. off the engine and wait a few minutes for the engine to flow back int o the pan .
3. the engi ne hood in Introduc tion on page 222.
4. Find the opening and the dipstic k. can identify these by the on the engi ne cap =>fig . 129 and the co lo red hand le on the dipstick . dealer or aut horized Fa­
the way in. dipstick, make sure it lin es up with the notch in the guide tube, and that the dipstick goes the way in.
7 . Remove the dipstick again and
read the on the dipstick 128 as described below:
Do not add any Continue with step 15.
@ : may be added (about 1 pint liter). Continue with step 8 or step 15.
©: You must add Continue with step 8.
8 . After reading the oil level , reinsert the dipstick back into the guide tube
and push it the way in.
9. Remove the cap on the engine oil opening =>fig. 129 .
the engine compartment 229

(continued)
qu ant ities ( n o mo re than 1 pint I liter).
11 . To av oid you mu st wait about 1 minute each tim e you add so that th e oil ca n n ow into the oil p an up to th e marking on the dips tick .
1 2 . Rea d the oil leve l o n th e dip s
tick aga in bef ore adding another amount , if necessary. N eve r
ad d to o muc h oi l
13 . After addin g the leve l mu st a t l ea st b e in the cent er of the 128@ ar ea, but neve r above
14 . Afte r addi ng se cu rely the cap on the eng in e oil ope ning . O th erwise , oil cou ld lea k out
w hil e the engine is run nin g .
1 5 .
the guide tube and p ush it
in Introd uct ion on page 222.
Engine oil
oil
R an ge @ You
may add oil (a bo u t 1 pint/ The oil leve l may go i nto the ran ge , b ut
no t ab ove the range .
R an ge @ You
mu
st ad d oil (abo ut 1 qu art Aft er add in g oil, make sur e th at th e oil le v-
e l is ab out in the middle of the @ ran ge.
Engin e can ignite when it touc h es hot en-
g in e parts. Thi s can caus e fires, burns, and
o th er se vere injuries.
spille d on a cold engine ca n also cau se a fire whe n th e engine warm s up.
op eni ng b ack o n tightly after adding oil and that th e dipstick
h as bee n pu sh ed
on p ag e 2 27.
Do not start the eng in e if the en gi ne oil leve l
i s abov e rang e@ . Contact an authorized
Volkswag en dealer or an authoriz ed V olkswa-gen F acility. the ca tal ytic converter and engi ne can be damage d
oil leve l sh ould neve r be abo ve
r a nge A . O th erwise oil can be draw n in by
the crankcase venti
lation sys tem and ent er t he at-
m osphe re v ia th e exha ust syste m .
Un der nor mal co
ndit ions , th e ra te o f oil consump ­
t io n d epe nds on o il qu alit y as as viscos ity, e n­
gi ne speed (rpm) , o ut side tem pe ra tur e, road cond i­
t io n s, th e amou nt of
oil d il u tio n ca used by co n­
d ensed water or fuel res idu e, and ox idat ion of t he oil. co nsump tion may incre ase with engine
wea r over time , unt il replacement of wo rn en gin e
p arts m ay beco me nec essary .
<l
To prov ide effective lubricatio n an d coo ling fo r in ­
terna l eng ine part s, in tern al co mbustion engines
u se so me o il. cons umpt ion var ies from engine
t o e ngine and m ay cha ng e ov er the li fe o f the en­
g ine . En gin es ten d to use more o il d uring the
b re ak -in perio d than they do aft erwa rd, when oil
c on sumption has stabilized .
Volkswage n reco mm en ds that you t o ch ec k the en ­
gin e oil lev el a t r egul ar int erv als , p re fe rably e very tim e yo u the ta nk, and always be fo re a long
Care, c leaning, maintenance

vehicle may consume engine
may consume more ove r the first k m) .
The
continues to fl ash , do not keep driving or let the engine idle , as damage may occur.
you yo ur engine uses too much we
r ecom mend that you your author ized
Volkswagen o r author ize d Volkswagen
Changing engine oil
on page 227.
Th e engine
at re g ular int ervals is very importa nt
because the lu br ica ting properties of dec rease d ur ing normal u se . ch anged , ask your a u­
t horized Volk swage n de ale r or aut ho rized Volk swa­
gen Service Faci lity .
Some times , engine
sho uld be changed more of­
t e n tha n specified for no rm al use. Cha ng e more frequently if yo u often drive sh ort distances , in dus ­
t y a reas or in stop -and-go tr affic . o r if yo u use your
vehicle whe re te mpera tures stay bel
ow freezi ng for
and ch anged by an authorized Volkswagen
dea ler or an au tho rized Volkswage n Servic e F acili­
t y T hey have th e re qui red expertise and s pe­
cia l tools and dispose of the prope rly .
D ete rge nt addi tives in the
make fres h
mo re often. Service
Facilit y so th at th e
cause o f your concern
ca n be pro perly diag nosed . P lease keep in m ind
t h at accu rate meas uremen t of consumptio n re­
qui res grea t care and may take some time.
Depending o n the way th e an d t he operat ing conditions, consu mption can be up to 1 quart per
km). <l
WARNING
know where you can proper ly d ispose of t he