VOLKSWAGEN GOLF MK6 2012 Owners Manual

Never disconnect the vehicle battery when
th e ignition switched on or the engine is run­ning, as the electrical system or electronic components can be damaged .
socket in order to charge the vehicle
batt ery . This can damage the vehicle's electri­
cal
syst e m .
Dispose of the battery according to regulations . batteries contain poison­
ous substa nces such as sulfuric acid and lead .
Battery acid can pollute the environment. Catch leaking operating fluids and dispose of
them properly.

this se ction fin d i nfo rmation abo ut
Was hing the
244
Was hing with a power washer . . . . . . . . .
. . 245
Clea ning windows
and outs id e m irr ors . .
. . . . . 248
Caring for and cleani
ng chr ome and
a luminum parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . 248
Care
of rubber door and window seals . . . . . . 249
Deicing door . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249
Undercoati ng . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249
C leani
ng the engine compartment . . . . . . . . . . 249
Regu la r
and expert care helps to preserve the value of your vehicle. Such expert care may
Limite d Warra nt y if corrosion repair or re pa int ing is necessary .
from your au­
thorized Vol kswagen deale r or Authorized
More information:
ca re and clea ning
the instructions and
care products containing solvents can
damage plastics and other vehicle the materi­
Wash the vehicle a t
fro m enteri ng the
storm drain sewer system. to was h motor
When buying vehic le care products , try to choose those that are not harmful to the envi­
ro nment.
Never throw ou t ordinary household waste. Always read and
h eed the instructions and on the
package .
Vehicle care and maintenance 243

Washing the vehicle
tory information and heed the on page 243 .
T he longer insect splatter , bird droppings, tree sap,
r oad dirt , indust rial deposits , tar , soot , road
and othe r aggressive materials stay on your cle, the more damage they do to the paint finish.
H igh temperatures (includi ng strong sunlight)
oughly.
Car wash
Pay close attention to the information provided
by the car wash operator . B efo re goi ng throu gh a
ca r was h, b e s ure to take th e usual precautio ns t o
avoid damag e , such as closi ng the windows ,
The paint finish is toug h enough th at the vehicle can
the wheels and under the door
After the vehi cle ha s been washed , the wet brakes or, in winter, brake discs or pads ed with ice, react slower and need longer stopping distances .
WARNING
Always dry the brakes and clean off any ice coatings with a few careful applications of the brake . Make sure not to endanger other motorists or cyclists or disobey legal require-
ments .
edges under the vehicl e can cut ex-
posed skin.
Always protect your hands and arms from cuts on sharp metal edges when cleaning the under-body , the inside of the wheel housings,
etc.
The water temperature must not be more
than
Ne ver clean headlights with a dry cloth or sponge . Always use a w et cloth o r s ponge . For best result s use soapy water.
When washing or rinsing the vehicle in cold weather , do not
cult to open the vehicle!
To help prevent vehicle damage
in a car wash:
in the car wash to help prevent damage to wheel rims and tires!
Make sure there is enough clearance for the
height and width of the vehic le .
To help prevent paint damage to the engine
hood, place wiper blades against the shield after they have dried. Do not let them
snap back into place .
Lock the rear hatch to prevent unintentional
opening in the car wa sh . <J

Washing with a power washer
tory information and heed the on page 243.
A lways
M ake sure th ere is e nough dista nc e to soft .
N ever u
se concentrated jet nozzles or dirt
use of power washers can cause serious invisible permanent damage leading to tire and loss of vehicle control. This can cause accidents and serious personal in-jury.
blasters" to clean tires .
Even spraying from a relatively long distance for a very short time can do visible or invisi-
After the vehicle has been washed, the wet brakes or, in winter, brake discs or pads coat-ed with react slower and need longer stopping distances.
Always dry the brake s and clean off any coatings with a few careful application s of the brake. Make sure not to endanger other motorists or cyclists or disobey require-ments.
P le a se first read and note the
on page 243 .
C lea
ning windows and outside mirrors
Water temperature should not be more than
To help prevent damage to the paint, do not wash the vehicle in direct sunlight.
When using a power washer or steam er, only spray the sensors directly for a short period of time and always keep the nozzle at least 4 inches em) from the sensor.
Do not clean icy or snow-covered windows with a power washer.
hav e
a bsorbe d an oily resid ue t ha t sme ar th e glass
s u rfaces .
U
se w indow cleaner or a s ilicone remover to mov e r ubbe r, oil, grease and silico ne dep osits
care and maint enanc e 245

Removing wax residue
Automatic car washes and vehicle care products
can leave a wax residue on glass surfaces.
T hese wax residues can only be removed with
special cleane rs or clean ing clo ths. Wax residue
left on the wind shie ld can cause the windshield
wipe rs to grab and squeak instead
of
cloth.
Windshie ld wiper squeak and grab can be
reduced
by the winds hield washer fluid tank with a
wiper
fr om yo ur auth orized Volkswagen dealer and au­
thorized Volkswagen For the re­
moval of wax residue, Volkswagen recom mends
the cleaners:
For the warmer months, Windscreen Clear 184 A 1 or equivalent . Mixing ra tio (1 part concentra te to
(-18 about 1:2 (1 part conce ntrat e to 2 parts water) , oth­
erwise mixing ra tio 1 :4 in windshie ld washer reser­
voir .
Window cleaning cloths I ch amois
G 522 A 1 or equ iva le nt for windows an d
outside mirrors.
Removing snow
Rem ove snow from windows and outside mir­
rors with an appropria te br ush .
Removing ice
Th e best way to remov e ice is wi
th a deice r sp ray. When using an ice scraper always scrap e in on e
direct ion , never bac k and forth . D irt can scratch
the glass when moving t he sc ra per backward .
WARNING
Dirty or fogged up windows re duce visibility and incre ase the risk of accidents and seve re
injuries .
Don't drive until you have clear visibility th rough all windows.
Never mix recommend ed cleaning agents
with other cleaning agents in the windshield
washer
Never use warm or hot water to remove snow and ice from windows and mirrors. This could cause the gla ss to crackl
The heating elements for the rear defroster are on the inside of the rear window. Do not put stickers over the heating elements on the in­side of the rear window and never clean the in­side of the windows with corrosive or acidic cleaning agents or other chemic als that could damage the heating element s.
Antenna s installed on the insides of win­dows can be damaged by abra sive objects or by corrosive or acidic cleaning agents or other chemicals . Do not place any stickers on the windshield-integrated antenna and never clean
the antenna with corrosive or acidic cleaning
agents or other ch emicals.

on page 243.
F ac tory
-installed wiper blades have a graphite
coating. The graphite coating lets the wiper blades
glide smoothly over the windshield.
wiper blades regularly. Wiper blades
that grab and squeak must be r ep laced if worn or
damaged and cleaned if dirty
Replace worn or damaged wiper blades immedi­
ate ly . Replacement blades may be purchased from
any authorized Volkswagen dealer or autho
rized
Volkswagen
Lifting and
Us ing a soft remove dust and
dirt from the wiper blades.
Changing the wiper on the windshield
Lift and tilt the wiper arm(s) away from the
windsh ield I rear window.
Press and hold the release button 135 and the wipe r blade off in th e direction of the arrow.
N
N
Fig . 136 Changi ng the rear window wipe r blades .
Push a new wiper blade of the same length
and type onto the wiper arm until it la tches.
Lower the arm back down on the windshield.
Changing the rear window wiper
Lift and
Pres s and hold the release button 136
While tilt in g the wiper blade in the direction of the wipe r arm 136 (arrow @),
abrasive sponges and sharp­edged objects
Vehicle care and maintenance 247

Waxing and
on page 243.
Waxing
A good coat of wax helps to protect the vehicle
p aint. Wh en water no lo nger for m s drops and
runs off w hen th e pain t is clean , apply a new coat
o f good hard wax to protec t the vehicle agai n.
E ven
if a wax solution is used regula rly at the car
was h, Volkswagen recommends applying a coat of hard wax at least twice a year to protect the paint.
Polishing
Polis h yo ur veh ic le if t h e pain t has lost its shin e
and th e gloss canno t be brought bac k with wax . T
he
vehicle must be waxed after polishing if the
po lish use d does not contain wax compounds to
sea l
the pai nt.
on matte-finished parts, plastic
parts,
your vehicle if it is dirty, or in a sandy or dusty plac e. <J
Caring for and
tory information and heed the WARN ­on page 243 .
Clean the surface using a clean , soft , lint -fr ee
th e s urface is
To help prevent damage to chrome and alumi­
num parts :
on page 243.
Cleaning steel wheels
Stubborn brake dust can be re m ov ed wi th an in ­
d u strial cleane r.
in direct
d irty surfaces .
products. <l

Use an acid-free detergent
page 243.
The rubber seals around the doors and windows
on page 243.
Volkswagen recommends using only ge nuine Volkswagen deicer spray with lubricating and anti­
corrosive properties to deice door lock cylinders.
Undercoating
on page 243.
The vehicle underbody
is coated to help protect it
from " corrosion and damage . The undercoating
co uld be damaged during normal use. We there­
fore recommend that you have the protective coat­
ings on the underbody and suspension inspected
regularly , and repa ired if necessary .
Cleaning the engine compartment
on page 243.
The engine compartment of a vehicle is a danger­
ous area
cleaning procedures could remove corrosion pro -
Before apply ing the treatment, use a soft to remove dust and dirt from the rubber seals.
Lock deicers that contain grease solvents can
cause the lock cylinder to rust.
Undercoating and ru stproofing products can catch fire on the hot exhaust system or any other hot engine component.
the exhaust pipes, the catalyti c convert­er, the heat shields, or any other hot vehic le component.
tection and damag e elec trica l components , among
other things. addition, water could enter directly
into the vehicle interior through the plenum cham­
ber
Facility.
Vehicle care and maintenance 249

Plenum chamber
The plenum chamber is located in the engine com­
partment between windshi eld and engine , under a
perfo r
ated cover. Outside air is taken into the vehi­
c le interio r fro m t he plenum ch amber via the cli ­
m ate control system.
R eg u
larly remove leaves and oth er loo se objec ts
f r o m t he plenum ch am ber cover by hand or wit h a
vacu um cleane r .
scalding, accident and fire haza rds
can occur while working on the engine or in
the engine compartment!
Volkswagen recommends having the work performed by an authorized Volkswagen deal­er or authorized Volkswagen Service Facility.
Spraying
or pouring water (e.g . with power
washer) into the plenum chambe r can cause
severe damage to the vehicle .
Wash the engin e com partment on ly in spec ial wash bays so that the oily d irt and fue l res i­
due tha t are washed off the vehicle

find information about:
Ca ring for
uphols tery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252
Cleaning upholstery , fabric trim and
A lc an tara ® . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252
Care
and
f abrics such as dark denim may
not be comp lete ly colorfast. Even with normal use,
dye from these
and other fabrics can rub off on
sea t uphols tery and leave visible discolorations
of colorfastness in the fabric, not by any fault in the seat upholstery fabric. To prevent damage to the seat upholstery, ways make sure you r
it may be to them. stains , dirt and deposi ts are time , th ey may become impossible to remove .
More information:
Exterior care a nd clea ning 243
accessories , repairs and modifi cati ons
V e hi cle care products can be dangerous.
soning, or other severe injuries.
the instructions
and
nents according to m anufacturer's tions.
Stains , dirt and other deposits that contain aggressive substance s or solvents can corrode vehicle material s and cause perman ent age, even after brief contact with the surface.
To help prevent damage, have stubborn stain s remo ved by a profe ssional who has the
neces sary expertise and experience.
thorized Volkswag en deale rs and authorized
Volkswagen Service Facilities.
Vehi cle care and maintenance 251