tires VOLKSWAGEN GOLF 2004 Owner's Guide

Tires and
There arc limits to th e amount of load or weig ht that any vehicl e and any tire can carry. A ve hicle that is overloaded will not handle well and is mor e to stop. Overloading can not only
lead l oss of ve hicle control. but ca n al so damage including a blowout
and s udden d eflatio n th at can cause the vehicl e
to crash .
Your safet y
and that of your passengers also de­
pends on making sure th a t l oad limit s arc not ex­ceeded. load in cludes everybody and ev­eryth in g in and on the vehicle. These load limit s are technically refe rred to as th e vehicle' s Gr oss Ratin g
includes the weight of the basic ve­all factory installed accessorie s. a full tank of coolant and other fluids plus max­imum load. The m ax imum load incl udes the number of passengers that the ve hicle is in ­tended to carry lbs. (68 kg) for each pas­senger at designation seating position and the
total wei ght of a ny lu ggage in the ve hicle. yo u the weig ht of the trailer hit ch and the tongue weight of the loaded trailer mus t be included o f the ve hicle load.
T he Gross
Axle is the m aximum load th at can be ap plied at each of the
veh icle's two
has 5 seat ing pos ition s, 2 in the front and 3 in the rear for seating ca­paciry of 5. Eac h seatin g posit ion ha s a sa fe ty bookle t2.1
and
The fact that there is an upper li mit to your ve­
hi cle's Gross Hating means that the total weight of whatever i s bein g carried in the vehicle (in cluding the weight of a trailer hit ch and the tongue weig ht o f the load ed
t railer) is limited. The more passengers in the ve­
hicl e or passengers are heav ier than the standard weig hts assumed mean that less weig ht can be carried lu ggage.
The tire pressure on your Volkswage n also lists the maximum combined weight of all of the occupants and
page fig . 15 .
WARNING
Overloading a ve hicl e can cause loss of vehicle control, a crash or other accident, serious pe r­
sonal injury, nnd even dent h.
more weight than your vehicle was d esig ne d to carry will prevent th e ve hicl e
fr om handling properl y and increase the ri sk of th e loss of ve hicl e control.
The brakes on a ve hicl e that has been over­loaded may not be abl e to sto p the ve hicle
w ithi n a safe di stance.
o n a ve hicle that has been overloaded can
Alway s make sure that the to tal load bein g transported-including the weight of a trail er hitch and the tongu e weight of a loaded trail er -does no t m ake th e ve hicle heavier t11e
ve hicl e's Gross Vehicle Rating .

3.2 Tip s and Advice
Tire service
The serv ice life of tires depends on a lot of different things including proper
lation and balancing, correct tire pressure and driving style.
Fig. 17 Tire tread : tread wear indicators (TWI)
T re ad
Wear Indicator {T W I)
The original tires on your ve hicle have 1/16 inch
(1.6 mm) high fig . 17 ning across the tread. Dependi ng on the m ake, there will be six to eight o f them evenly placed around th e tire.
he tread
Tir e press ure
In correct tire pressure cau ses premature wear and ca n cause sudden tire blow-out. For this
reason , tire pressure must be c h ecke d at least once a page 68.
D riving style
Driving fast around curve s, heavy acceleration and hard braki ng increase tire
Rota ting tires for m ore even wear
If the front tires arc worn considerably more than the rear ones. rotate them shown 18 . All the tires will then last for about the same amount of time.
A
ll four tires should h ave the same amount of wear. All four w heels mus t have th e same ro llin g
circumference.
72
Fig_ 18 Rotat ing tires for more even wear
Wheel balanci ng
The wheels on new vehicles are balanced. I low­vario us s ituation s during everyday driv ing can cause them to become unbalanced, re­
s u lting in vibrations you can usu ally feel through
t h e stee ring wheel.
tire wea r. impairin g the safe ty of the ve hicl e. tires show excess ive wea r. have the w heel a lig n-
m ent checke d by Volkswagen
d ealer or qualified works ho p.
Sudden tire failu re
Never drive ve hicle when
Worn tires safety
and loss of comrol.
Always keep chemical s that can cause tire
damage, s u ch as grease,

(continued)
T ires age even if they arc not being used
and can f ail suddenly, especially at high
s peeds. Tire s that are more than 6 years old can only be used in an emerge ncy and then special care and at lo we r speeds.
(continued)
Never mount used tires on yo ur ve hicle if yo u are not sure of their used tir es may have been damaged eve n though the damage cannot be seen that can lead to sudden tire fa ilure and loss of vehicl e control.
Ne w tires and wheels have to be broke n in.
Ratio of height to width (aspect ratio)
of tire - Load
index &
speed rating
in
hicle's design
. The tires and rim s approved by Volk swagen are specially matched to th e te ristics of th e ve hicl e and can make a major comribution to good road ho ldin g and safe
We recommend that all wo rk on tires and wheels be performed by an authorized Volkswage n dealer. They arc famil iar with recommended procedures and have the sp ecial tools
and spare pa rts as well as the proper facilit ies for disposing of the old tires .
Author ized Volkswage n dealers have
the sary info rmation about technical requirements for installing or changin g tires and rims.
R
eplacing tires and wheels
Tires should b e replaced at lea st in pairs and not
individuall y (fo r example both front !ires or
ve hicle with read and heed th e page 75,

eq uipped with Tire Monitoring
Always buy replacement rad ia l tires that have the same s p ecifica tions as the tires approved for your by
th e original equipment or approved op­tional tires listed in the page
and its load
limits, and can contribute t o the important road holding, driv ing characteris tics. and safety of the vehi cle. The page 6 1) lists specifications of t h e tires approve d for the Literature.
T he tir e pressure label on the open edge of th e driver's page fig. 15lis ts the s pecifica­tions of the o riginal equipment tires installed o n your ve hicl e at the time it was manufactured.
Federal law requires tire manufacturers to place standardized information on the sidewall of all page fig. 19 . This information identi­fies and describes the fundamental characteris­tics, the qualit y grade of the tire and also pro­vides a tire identificatio n number for safety stan ­dard certification and in case of a recall.
Tir e
specifications
K n
owledge of tire specificatio ns makes it easier to choose the correct tires. Rad ial tires have the
tir e specifications marked on the sidewall, for exampl e:
R 17 91 W
T
his example contains the follow ing informa­
t ion:
rat ing letter code
(o r Indicates that the tire has some mud and snow capability
The tires coul d also have the information of di­rection of page 86.
Speed rating letter code
The speed rati ng letter code o n the wheels indi­cates the maximum permissible road speeds in o n 77.
up to 93 mph
km/h )
R
up to km/h)
up to mph
mph
krn /h)9l
W
up t o 168 mph
Tire Identification Number and tire manufacture dote
T
his i s the t ire's begi ns with th e letters
mean tha t the tire was produced in th e 18th week
fabric in the tire. In gen ­the g reater the number o f plies, the m ore weight tire can support. Tir e manufacturers
a lso must indicate the materials in the tire, which include steel, nylon, polyes ter, and others.
system)
For tires with maxim um sp eed over t49 mph (240 le tt ers
74 Checking and

Maximum Load Ratin g
This number indi cates the maximum load in and pounds that can be carried b y th e
tire. Tire
and temperature resistance.
Tire quality grading for tr ead wear, traction,
and temperature resistance
Tread trac tion tempe rature grades
Maximum Permissibl e
su re that sh o ul d ever be put in t he tir e under normal driv in g con d itio ns.
Replacin g tire s
or rims on
stantly monitors the air pressure in sid e the tire , and then transmit s thi s information to th e
you arc goin g to replace the wheel
rims on your ve hicl e, have these se n sors. The sensors must be compatibl e with the sys te m on yo ur hicle .
you rims. which do not sors, or have sensors w hi ch are not compatibl e,
then the TPM S will no t wo rk properly. wo uld not be able to monit or the tir e pressure o r you if it i s necessaty.
senso rs mus t b e rep laced at sp ecific va ls.
yo u ch an ge sen sors, yo u have to new valv es.
driv e wi th the stem caps curely m ounted . valve stem caps. your authorized Volk swage n dealer to re p lace lost va lve stem caps.
T he in stallat i
on of replacement ti res w ith steel cord p lie s in th e tire sidewal l may cause m alfuncti on of the tire pressure monitoring sys te m and is no t recomme nded (cord material inform ation in molded o n the tir e
if your ve hicle was equipped with r un-flat tires. rep la cin g them
wi th tire s that are not identical to th ose fill ed may cause mal function of the
3.2 Tips and Advice
and i s not recommended. Run-flat ti res should not be used to replace regular tires.
indicator after p la cing o ne or more tire s on you r ve hicle. the m alfu nctio n indi cator is is
not working p ro perly. Your r eplacement tire
m ight be incompatible with system,
o r some component of the be age d.
Usin g incorrect or unmatch ed tires and I or wheels or imprope r tire and wheel
use tires , rims and wheel b o lts that meet the sp ecificatio ns o f o ri ginal
Tires age even if they are n o l b eing used and can fail suddenly, especially a t hi gh
s peeds. Tires that arc m ore tha n 6 years old can only be used in an em erge ncy and then
w ith special care and lower speed s.
Never moun t used tires o n your ve hicl e if you are not sure o f their
four whee ls mus t be fitt ed with radial tires o f the same ence) and the same tread pattern. Dri ving with different tires reduces vehicle and can lead t o loss of contro l.
If the s pare wheel is no t the sam e as the tires that are m ounted on the vehicle-fo r ample with winter tires-on ly usc th e spare w heel fo r a short perio d of t im e and drive with extra care. Refit the normal road w heel as s oo n
a s safe ly possibl e.
Neve r drive fa ster th a n the maximum
speed f or which the tires on your ve hicl e are
r a te d because ti res that are driven faste r than their ra te d speed can suddenly.
Ov erloading tires cause heat build -up,
sudde n tire failure, including a blowout and sudden d eflati on and loss of control.

(continued)
For technical reasons it is not
I f you install wheel t rim discs on the ve­
hicle wheels, make sure that the air flow to the brakes is not blocked. Reduced airflow to the brakes can them to overheat, increasing stop­ping distances and causing collision.
Note
For technical reasons. it is not ge nerally pos­
s ibl e to use th e wheel rim s from other vehicle s.
This can ho ld true for wheels of the same vehicle
ty pe.
Uniform tire
Tr ead wear
Temperature A B
Quality can be found where applicable on the tire sid e wall between tread shoulder an d maximum section pa ge 73, fig.
For example: Tread wear Tra ction M, Te m ­
perature A.
All passe nger car tire s must conform to Federa l
Sa fe ty Hequirement s in addition to these grades.
Tread
wear
T he /read comparative rat ing base d on th e wea r rate of the tire when tested under controll ed co nditi ons on a sp ecifie d go v­
ernment test course.
For exa
mple, a tir e graded would wear one and one half(ll/2) times as well on the govern ­
ment cou rse as a tir e
The relati ve performance of tires depends upon the actual conditions of th eir use , h oweve r, and m ay depart significantl y fro m the norm due to
76 Checking and
extra care. Replace the flat tire
with the tir e matchin g the others on your vehicl e
a s soon as poss ible.
Note
in stall ing new
drive without the va lve ste m cap. The valves and sensors co uld get damaged.
If the sen sors must be re pla ced, then the valve mus t also be replaced th e sa me time.
The sensors mus t be replaced in schedule d bookle t ...
For the sake of environment
Dispose of o ld tires in accordance w ith the local
requirement s.
variations in driving habits, serv ice pra ctices and diff ere n ces in road characteristics and cli­
mate.
Traction
AA, A, B, C
T he
from highes t to lowest, are M, A, Band T hose grades rep resent the tire's abil iry to stop on wet pave ment measured under controlled conditions o n specified gov­ernment tes t s urfa ces of and co ncre te. A
tir e marked may have poor tra ction perfo r­
Temperatur e A, B, C
The lemperruuregrad es arc A (th e highest), B. and C, representing the tire's resistance the
ge neration of heat and its abilit y to diss ipat e heat tested under controlled conditi ons
o n a sp ecified indoor laboratory test wheel.
Susta ined hig h t em pera t
ure cause mate­
rial of th e tir e to degenerat e and reduce tire lif e. and excessive tempera tur e

The g rad e C corresponds to a level of passe nger car tires must meet under the Federa l Motor G rades
trac tion tests, does not acceleration, cornerin g, droplaning or peak traction ch aracteristics.
Winter tire s
3.2 Tips and Advice
Winter tires can improve vehicle handling on snow and ice. At temperatures
b elow
F
some heav y snow areas, local governments may require true w inter or tires, those with very deeply cut trea d. T hese tires should only be used in pair s and be installed on fou r
wheels. Make sure you purchase snow tires that are the same size and construction type as th e
other tires on your
fou r wheels on you r
performance and reduces stoppin g di stances.
S
ummer tire s provide less grip on ice and snow.
tires (snow tir es) must have th e same specification and must always be fille d on four wheels.
yo u want to usc the tire pressure monitoring system compatibl e sensors must be ins talled on fou r winte r page
dealer or
tires lose their effectiveness when the tread is worn down to a dept h of 4 mm inch).
drive with winter tires under winter tion s. Summe r tire s handl e whe n th ere is n
o s
now or ice on the roads and the temperature is above F C).
you have a sec notes on spare wheel 73, tires and replacing tires and
alway s remember that winter tires may have a lower speed rati ng than the tires installed on your veh icle at the time it was manufactured. page 59, rating (letter for listin g oft he speed
r at ing le tt er
codes and the maximum speed at
w hi ch the t ires can be driven.
The speed ratin g le tter page 59) is o n
t h e s ide of th e page 73, fig. 19.
tires have maximum speed that may be lower than your m aximum speed. Always know the maximum speed fo re driving off. Never drive faster than the
s peed permilled fo r your specific winter tire s.
T his will cause damage to the t ires leadin g to an accident and serious pe rsonal injury to you and your passe nge rs.
= Tire press ure monito ring sys tem )
and

Booklet 3.2 Tips and Advice
loss of con­trol, c rash es and serious personal injuri es. ave worn or d amage d tires rep la ce d imme­diate ly.
Wint er tires have maximum sp ee d rating
th at m ay be lo w er th an your vehicle's
imum sp ee d.
N ever drive faste r th an th e speed f or which the wint er or othe r tir es installe d on your ve­
hicl e are rated.
Always adjus t your speed and driv in g style to
road , traffi c and wea ther co nditi ons. Ne ve r le t
th e good acce le ration of the w inter tires tempt yo u into ta kin g ex tra risk s. A lwa ys re m ember:
Dri ve care full y and reduc e your s p ee d o n
ic y slippery roads, eve n win te r tires cannot h elp unde r bl ack icc condition s.
For the sake of environment
summer ti re s w he n wea ther condit ions
perm it. They are qu ie te r. do not wear as qu ick ly and r ed uce fu el con sum ption.
Snow chains -for each
Snow ch ain s may be fitte d only to th e front
w heels, and onl y to ce rtain t ire sizes .
T he s n
ow ch ain s m ust h ave low -profile and m ust not be thick er than 15 mm. includ in g
t h e lock.
Remo ve w h
eel cente r co vPrs trim discs be­fore pullin g snow ch ain s on yo ur vehicle=>
the wron g sno w chains for your vehicl e or installin g th em incorrectly can incre ase th e
ri sk of lo ss of cont rollc a din g to seri ous per­
sonal injury.
78 Checking and Filling
(continued)
Snow c h ai ns a re available in diff ere nt
s izes. Alw ays make sure to follo w the in struc­
ti o ns provid ed b y th e s now ch ain manufac­turer.
s n ow chain s neve r dri ve
fast e r than th e speed p ermill ed for your sp e­
cifi c snow chains.
Always ob serve loca l reg ulati ons.
H e m ove sn ow ch ains before driv in g on roa ds
not c ov ere d with sno w to av o id damagin g tires and weari ng the sn ow ch ain s down unneccs-sa ril y.

3.2 Tips and Advice
(continued)
knock the vehicle ofT the jack or hid e under a
vehicle.
Never support your body weight on the hicle when it is up on the jack.
Never allow anyone to stay in the vehicle when raising the ve hicle with th e jack or when it is up on the jack.
Never let anyone place any part of their body underneath the ve hicle when supported by th e jack.
Fig. 28 Changing a wheel: remov ing the wheel
Removing the
U sing the hex socke t in the screwd rive r
fig. 28 to re move pr ev iously loosened
w
hee l bolts.
Then remove th e o ther wheel bolts as
d
escribed above.
Tak e off the w heel.
Mounting the spare
Mount the spare wheel.
In stall the wheel bolts and tight en them
lig hrly using the hex socket in the screw
driv er.
Lower the vehicle on th e jack.
86 What do do now?
(continued)
Ne ver support your vehicle on cinder blo ck s, bricks or ot her objects . These may not
b e abl e to support the load and collapse denl y.
Neve r start th e en gine when you have
rai sed the veh icle on th e jack. The engine brations and ve hicle movements could kno ck
th e ve hicle off the jack.
Neve r raise your ve hicle when it is parked on a s lope .
Tighten the w hee l bolt s firml y using th e
lug wre n ch. Tighten
the w heel bolt s in
agonal sequence, fo r exa mple, tighten the
top bolt and then the opposite bolt closest
to th e ground and continue tight ening the
bolts until all have been firmly and
quence.
Use the adapter w hen tight enin g th e
anti-theft wheel bolt.
In stall the w heel bolt caps.
note that the anti-theft w heel
bolt h
as its ow n separate cap. This ca p
o nl y
fits whee l bolts. It does not
fit the standard wheel bolt s.
Unidirectional tires
Unidirectiona l tires must be correctl y mount ed
all around.
A unidir
ectional tire can
must follow the specifie d direction of ro tatio n. T his is necessary
s o these tire s can deve lop their optimum chara cte ristics regard ing gr ip. road noise. wear and hydroplaning resis ta nce.
you have to mount tir e opposite to its proper d ire ction of rotati on, please drive carefull y since
th e tir e no lo ng er posse sses its optimal ha ndlin g
c h arac te rist i
cs when mounted on th e wro ng
s id e of th e ve hicl e. T hi s is particu larly impo rtant

in wet con dition s. o rd er t o f ully exploi t th e
b en efits of un idi re c tional tires ag ain, yo u sh o uld
imm ed iat ely r eplace or chan ge th e tire in o rd er
t o r estor e th e co rrect direc tio n o f rotat ion.
WARNING
Imprope rl y tig h te n ed or mainta ined wheel
bo lts can b ec ome lo ose causing loss o f co n tro l,
a c olli sion and serious p erso nal inju ry:
Always keep the wh eel bolt s and th e
thread s in the wh eel hu bs clean so th e wheel
b olt s can turn eas ily and be properly
N eve r g re ase or oil th e w heel bo lts and the
threads in the wheel hub s. They can become loose whil e dri vin g if gr ease d or oiled , eve n if
ti ghten e d t o the sp ecified t orque.
After changing a
-secure the jack and
tool kit in th e luggage
-
page 86 .
- H
ave the tire pressures all
the d e tect an
page 62 o r
Always read a nd heed all and oth e r important pa ge 79,
Note
The s pecified to rqu e for th e w hee l bolts is
88 ft / lb s N m). The torque must be c hecke d
a s soon as possib le w ith a torq ue w re n ch -erably by an authorize d Volkswa gen deale r o r
q ualified wo rksho p.
rod ed and pla ced befo re you ha ve the torq ue chec ked or have the b olts ti g htened to th e proper to rq ue.
H ave th e damage d tire replace d with a tire o f
th e sa me brand . s p ecifi ca tio ns a nd tread
WARNING
Alw ays properly secure the vehicl e jack an d
too l kit in the lu gg ag e compartment.
ment. Loose item s in th e ve hicle ca n fly
a round the in sid e o f the ve hicl e d urin g hard brakin g or in a c rash causin g se riou s perso nal
in jury.
Note
Th e specified to rqu e fo r th e w heel bolts is
88 N m). Th e torqu e must be c hec ked as soo n as possi ble w ith a torqu e w renc h -erably by an a uth orized Volk sw age n deale r o r
qua lified wo rk s h o p.
yo u no tice that the w he el b olts arc rode d and ha rd to tu rn . they mu st b e rep la ced
b efor e yo u have the torq ue c hec ke d or have th e
b olts tight en ed to the prop er
W ha t d o