ABS VOLKSWAGEN GOLF 2004 User Guide

The wa rnin g light ABS does not light up w hen th e ignit io n is switched on .
T he wa rnin g lig ht does not turn off again afte r a few seco nds.
The wa rnin g light light s up whe n the vehicle
i s m ov ing.
Th e ve hicle can still be braked in the normal (except th at the is not active). dealer or a qualifie d works hop as soon as po ssible.
If a fault occurs in theABS. th e
sys te m warning lights BHAKE and/or , th e fective , but there is also possible malfun ction in th e brak e sys te m
Th ere may be a messag e in the in strumem cluster informing yo u or advis ing you of the
Before working in th e e ngin e ment, always read and h ee d all
Driv ing wi th bad brakes can cause a collisio n and seriou s perso nal injury .
If the does not go out, o r i f it up when dri vin g
th e brake fluid leve l in the reservoir is too low or there is a fault in the brake system. ately stop driving and
I f the brak e light s up at the same time warning light ABS or , th e may not be wo rkin g properly and the rear wheels could lo ck up first under hard braking. Hea r wheel brake lo ck-up ca n cause loss of ve hicl e control. If you b elieve that it is to do so, go ately at low sp ee d to the nearest authorized Volkswagen dealer or qualified workshop and have the brake sys te m inspected. Drive slow ly and avoid sudden, hard brake application .
out, or if it comes on while driv ing, the
w ill not have the protectio n provides. Con tact your rized Volkswagen deal e r o r qualified s hop as soon as possible.
Smart technology 5

when dri ving in deep snow or on loose faces.
w he n r ocking the ve hicl e out.
Switch
ba ck on w he n yo u no longer need wheel s pin. The
remains switch ed oiT.
Ho w
works
The electroni c stab ilization progra m
helps to reduce the ris k of skiddin g braking th e w heels individually. works o nl y
w he n th e e ngine is ru nning.
The sys te m uses th e steering whee l an gle and road speed to calculate th e changes of tio n desired by the driver, and constantl y pares thi s informat ion with the actual behavior of the vehicl e. accurately ( for example if the hicle is beginni ng to skid ) tomatically by applyin g th e at the priate wheel.
The forces acti ng on the braked wheel help to
b rin g the vehicle back on course. th e ve hicl e is tending away at the rear, the brake
wide r dius in a curve. th e brake is mainly applied to the
in sid e wheel.
How the Anti-slip regulation
reduces engine powe r to he lp preven t the driven wheels of front-wheel d rive vehicles
losing traction during acceleration. The sys te m works in the entire speed ra nge in conjunctio n
with fails , the will a lso be out of action. h elp s the ve hicl e to moving. accele rat e and climb a grad ient in slipp ery d itions wh ere thi s may o therwise be diffi cult or even imposs ibl e.
When do the indicator light and the button come on or flash?
T he indicator light comes on for about
2 seconds as o perati o nal check when the
3.2 Tips and Advice
The indicator ligh t flashes while yo u are driv ing when the is wo rking.
They come on if there is a malfun ction in the
They come on when the
Th ey also come o n in the event of an malfunction because the system works in conjunction with the ABS.
the indicator light comes on immedia tel y
a fter the engine is started , th ere m ay be a
sys tem-controlled deactivation. You can vate the tion off and on agai n. th e in dicator ligh t
goes out , the sys te m is full y ope rational again.
the battery has been disconnected, th e
A lways adjust your speed and driving style to road, traffi c and weather conditions. Never le t the extra safety that can provide tempt you into taking extra risk s.
Alway s drive sa fe ly .
and
cannot reduc e the ris k of cident, for example if you drive too for conditions or if you do not keep your distance from the vehicle in front of yo u.
Although
Always remember that vehicle alterations or modificatio ns can affec t the functio n of the EDL and
different wheel/ tire combination and brake or chassis modifications=> page 32, and technical modifi cations".
Changing
EDL and sys te m s work and reduce their effecti veness.
Smart

Booklet 3 .2 Tips and Advic e
recommend that you have the
thi ckne ss of your brake pads checked by an au­
t horized Vol kswagen dealer mo re fre quent ly
t h an recommende d in the serv ice sched ule.
you drive with wet brakes, for example afte r a
dri ving through water, after heavy rainfall or after washing the ve hicle, braking power be
reduced and s to ppin g distances will be longer
because the brake discs will be we t or in winter mayb e eve n frozen-the brakes must be dried
with several ca re ful brak e applicatio ns.
Brak e fluid absor bs water
and must be changed
every two years. Heavy use of the brakes can cause vapor lock if the brake fluid is too old.
Vapor lock redu ces braking power, increases
stopping distances and ca n even cause total
brake failure.
New tires and new bra ke pads do no t pro­
v id e m aximum gri p, control o r b raking abil ity.
To red uce the risk of l osi ng control, a s io n an d se rio us perso nal injuries, drive with
specia l ca re for the first 350 miles (560 km).
New brake pads do not have th e best sto p­
ping power for the fir st ISO mile s (240 km ) and
m ust be b roken in. can compensate for the slightly reduced braki ng abil ity by dri ving care and applyin g more pressure on th e
brake pedal.
Never follow oth e r veh icles to close ly or
p u t you rse lf in to other s ituations th at might
requ ire su d den , hard bra king especially when the brake pads have not been broken in.
apply brakes for a test.
Always dry brakes and clea n off icc coat­
i ngs an d salt coatings with a few cautious brake applications.
A lways read and heed in in tire s and brake on page 12.
Always avoid overheati ng the brakes!
When driving downhill, t11 e brakes have to
work har d and h eat up quickly.
Before driving down a lo ng, steep hill, al­
ways reduce speed and downshift to a lower
gear. This will let the vehicle usc engine
Always ch ange th e brake fluid at l east
every two years. Hard braki ng wi th o ld flui d may cause a va po r lock . Vapor loc k duces powe r, inc reases stoppin g di s­tan ces and can even cause tota l b rak e failure.
A damaged front spoiler or n ew non stan­dard spoiler can reduce t h e airflow to th e
brakes and cause them to ove rh eat.
Always see an authorized Volkswag en
dealer or qualified workshop
Be sure to re ad and heed all and th e page
Driving and protecting the environm ent 13

WARNING (c o ntinu ed )
Alwa ys read and heed all W ARN IN GS an d additional information regarding sa fet y booklet 2 . I
yo u plan to tow a
tr ailer, p lease re m ember th a t yo ur car will be performing a serv ice for which it was not
ra b ility, ha ndl ing, econ o m y and performa nce.
Tra
ile r towin g not o nl y places more stress on the ve hicl e, it als o calls fo r more concentratio n fr o m the driver.
For these re a so ns, always follow th e o pe ra ting
and d rivi ng instructio ns given and use common sense.
Trail er hit ch
trail er hit ch on your ve hicle.
D o not use a bumper hitch.
The hitch must be installed so, it does not
interfe re the impact-absorbin g bumper system. Do not make any ch an ges to th e ve hicl e
ex haust and b rake system s. Fro m time to tim e, check that all hi tch-mounting bo lt s remain curely fas te ned .
When you are no t towin g
Engine cooling system
Tow ing a tra iler makes the engine wo rk ha rder. is important that th e engine cooling system is u p
t o the job. Ma ke s ure that th e coo ling system has enough fluid .
Traile r bra kes
Never connect the tr a iler light syste m direc tly to the light syste m of your ve hicle . Be su re to check wit h your authorized Volkswage n dealer for rec t w iring, switches
you alwa ys have clear v is ion to th e rear.
Maxim um power consumption for the traile r
Do not exceed the ratings given in the c hart
E lectric al load
Max . power
T ailligh ts total watts
T urn sig na ls p
er sid e 54 watts
B rak e lig hts total 84
Backup light total 54 walls
Driving and protecting the environ ment 15

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

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

Booklet 3.2 Tips and Advice
Repairs and technical modifications
Repairs and modifications must always be carried out according to the
Ele ct ronic nent s are linked toge ther in network s and othe r
sys te m s m ay be negati vely affe cte d by im proper
modification s or improperl y ries. T his c an seriou sly impair safety and lead to
e xces sive wear of components.
th e su spension sys tem can change the way that the airbag sys tem perform s
in a cra sh. Fo r example, using tir e- rim tion s not approved by Volk sw agen, low ering the ch anging the s tiffn ess of the the springs, su spension strut s,
s hock absorbers can change the forces tha t a re measure d by the airbag sensors and se n t to the contro l unit. Some su spension ch a nge s can. for
exa mpl e, increase the force leve ls measured b y the sensors and m ake the airbag sys tem deploy
in cras hes in whi ch it w ould not deploy if the changes had not been made. Other kinds of change s m ay reduce the force leve ls m easured
by the sensors and p reven t th e airbag from plo ying when it should.
We recommend that nece ssary work be
can cause malfunctions leading to
Never s u spension components that d o not have the sa me performance is tic s as the components install ed on your Never use tire-rim tions that have not been approved by swagen.
care, servic in g and repair dures can increase th e risk of personal injury and death by preve nting an airb ag from ploying w he n needed or deploying an airbag unexpectedly.
the suspen sion cluding use o f unapproved tir e-rim tions change a irbag performance and
Be sure to read and heed the inf ormation and all bookle t chapter
32 Accessories , new parts, repairs and modifications

WARNING (continued)
Never reach into the area around or tou ch the radiator fan. Contact w ith the blade s can resuh in se riou s personal injury. Always m ember that the radiator fan is controll ed and can turn on
m oved from the ignit ion.
Never unscrew the coolant expa nsio n tank cap when th e engin e is hot. A hot engine will heat the coo la nt and put it under pressure . mov in g a cap that i s under pressure ca n rcsuh in seriou s personal injury and/or burns.
A lway s prote ct face, hand s and arms from hot esca ping coolant or steam b y cove ring the ca p with a large, thick rag.
Turn the cap slow ly a nd very carefully in a
counter- clo ckw ise direction whil e applying
light downward pressure on the top of the cap.
Never spill on hot engine parts o r hot
e xhau st sys te m . S pilled
Neve r short-circuitthc elec trica l sys te m ,
es peciall y w here th e jumper cabl es are tached -th e balleri es could explode!
Neve r leave any objects in the e ngine partment, for exam ple cleaning rag s and too ls. Objects
Neve r work unde r the veh ic le unless you
h ave safely secured th e ve hicl e from movin g.
I f yo u must work under th e ve hicl e wit h th e
w hee ls on th e ground, always make sure the vehicl e is on leve l ground, th e wh eels arc
b locked from movin g and th e key is not in the
ignition.
Always support your ve hicle with safety
s tands if you have to wo rk underneath it. The
ja ck suppli ed with the ve hicle is not s tron g enough for this purpose and can co llap se causin g se riou s personal injury.
If you have to perform a check or r ep a ir
w hen th e e ngine is running, there arc more
ri sks from
the ro tating parts, such as the drive
WARNING (con tinued)
Neve r to uch the e lec tr ica l w ir in g of the ig ni tio n sys tem.
Always make sure that j ewe lry, loose clothing and lo ng hair do not get caught in
rota ting engine pans. Before startin g any work remove jewelry, tie back and cover
hair, and do not wear clothing that can hang down and get caught in mov ing gin e parts.
Always use extre me cauti on if the erator pedal has to be depresse d to perform
a ch eck. The vehicle could move suddenly, eve n if the parking brake is applied.
If wor k on the fu el sys te m or th e electrica l
syste m is necessa ry:
Always discon nect th e balleries. Make
sure th e vehicle is unlo cked when
Neve r sm oke .
Neve r work nea r heaters, wa te r h eaters of other open names .
A lways have an approve d fire ext guis her nearby.
To avo id electrical shock and personal jury w hil e the eng ine is running or being
s tarted :
n ever touch ignition cables,
never to uch othe r component s of the
high vohage electronic ignition syste m,
never touch the gas discharged (Xeno n) headlights wiring.
Note
Whe n chang ing or topp ing orr service fluids. make absolutel y ce rtain that you fill the fluid s
into the corr ect reservoirs. Using incorrec t fluids will resuh in serious malf unct ions and engine
damage!
For the sake of environment
Service fluid leaks are harmful to the environ-
ment. Reg ularl y check the ground undernea th
your vehicle . you find spots of oil or other
fluids. have your vehic le checked by your rized dealer or a qualified

3.2 Tips and Advice
The brake fluid be changed every two years.
We recommend that you have the brak e changed b y an authorize d Volkswagen dealer.
S top! Be
fore openin g th e e ngin e hood, always
read and heed all page 39.
Brake fluid
absorbs m oisture. time, it will absorb wate r from the air. the wa ter content in the brak e fluid is too high, the brake sys te m
c
ould corrode. Too much wa te r in the brak e fluid
a lso consid erably reduces the boilin g point of the brake fluid. Very heavy use of th e brak es with
old brake fluid may cause vapor lock . Vapo r lock
reduces braking power, in cre ases stopping tances and can eve n cause total brake failu re.
For this r
eason the brake fluid must be repla ced
every two years.
use brak e fluid the s pecification U S standard 116 4. The brake fluid must be new.
Stop ! Befor e working in the engine compart­ment, always read and h eed all WARNINGS 39. The engine compartment of any motor vehicl e is a potentiall y dangerous area and can cause seriou s persona l injury .
Brake failure can result from old or incorrect brake fluid.
fica tio n
(continued)
A lwa ys check with your authorized swage n deale r to make sure that you arc u sing the correct brake fluid.
The correct brake fluid is also listed on the
labe l on the brak e fluid reservoir.
Always store brake fluid in the closed
To reduce th e risk of poisoning, neve r us e empty food or beverage containers that mi ght mislead someone into drinking from them.
A lwa ys keep bra ke flu id out of the reach of childr en.
Alway s change th e b rake fluid as required in the maintenance bookl et. Heavy braking w ith old brake fluid may cause a vapor lock that reduces braking power, increases ping distances and can even cause tota l brake failure.
Note
Brake fluid can damage the pai nt. Wip e off any
brake fluid from rh c paint immedia tely.
For the sake of environment
B rake fluid
must be drained and disposed of in
th e proper manner obse rv ing env ironmental

(continued)
cause cancer and reproductive harm. Wash
h ands afte r handling.
Do no t d isconnect th e battery if the ig nit io n
i s swit ch ed on or if the e ng in e is running. Thi s
Warning
could damage the e lectrical sys tem or electronic compon ents.
Do not expose the battery to direct sunlight
for long periods of tim e, ultrav io let rays can
damage the battery hous ing.
Thi s warning light sign als a fault in the generator.
The warning light lights up when the ign itio n
is sw itch ed on. should go out when the engin e
s ta rt s running.
the wa rning light lights up w hile driving.
t h e ge ne rator is no lon ger charg ing th e battery. should imme dia te ly driv e to the neare st
Volkswagen dealer or qu alified wo rk shop.
However, you should avo id usin g e lectrical equipment that is not absolu tely necessary be­cause thi s
If yo u do not pay attentio n to the warnin g
li ghts which have come on, including the warning messages appearing in the display, th is could lead to personal injury or damage to your vehicl e_
Charging and
this we recommend you
h ave the ve hicle battery ch ecked by an autho­rize d Volkswage n dealer w here it be prop­
erly recharged or re pl aced .
Chargin g ve hicle battery
Th e charging of the ve hicle battery should le ft to an authorize d Volkswage n deale r or qual ified
w orks hop. because your ve hicl e is equip pe d
wi th special ba tt ery that must be charged in a environment.
56 Checking and
A lways use onl y m aintenance-free or cycle -free , leak-proof batteries with the same specification s and d im en sio ns as the orig in al equipment battery- Specifi cations arc listed o n the battery ho using_
in of on page 55.