flat tire VOLKSWAGEN GOLF 2004 Owners Manual

Tank
the tank 3.2: 35
Fuel gauge 3.1:
fuel filler flap 3.2: 35
Technic al modifications 3.2:
32
Tether anchors 2.1:68
Tether strap 2.1:
69
Threaded rim ring 3.2: 57
down hooks 3.1:
Tie-dow ns 2.1: 12
Tire pressure 3.2: 68
Tir e pressure monitorin g disp lay
mode ls) 3.2: 65
Warn ing 3.2: 65
T i
re pres sure monitoring sys tem
3.2: 75
Tires and wheels 3.2: 75
Valves 3.2: 75
Tire pressure monitoring system
models) 3.2 : 62
Tires
Repla cing 3.2:
75
life 3.2:72
rating le tter code 3.2: 74 Tire Identification Number 3.2: 74
Tire manufacturing date 3.2: 74
Tire specifications 3.2: 74
Tread
depth 3.2:72
tire pressure 3.2: 68 tire inflation pressure 3.2: 61 Dimensions 3.2: 73
General notes 3.2: 57
Glossary of tire and loading terminology 3.2: 58
New tires
and wheels 3.2: 73 Replaci ng 3.2: 73
ch ai.ns 3.2: 78
Tir e pressure monitoring system 3.2: 75
Tires and vehic le load lim its 3.2: Whee l bolts 3.2: 79
Winter tires 3.2:77
Tir e serv i
ce life 3.2:72
Tool s 3.2:
Torn or fra yed safe ty belts 2.1: 17
Towing 3.2:
General notes 3.2: 103
When can your vehicle not be
t owed? 3.2:
Towing eye 3.2:
See Tire pre ss ure monitoring system
model s)
Warning
light 3.2: 62
Trail er towing 3.2: 15
Anti-theft alarm system 3.2: 18
Brake s 3.2: 15
instructions 3.2 : 16
3.2:
Transporting long items 3.1: 63
Tread Wear Indi cato r
Trunk lid 3.1: 35
See also Rear lid
Turn signa l and high beam lever 3.1:46
Turn signal s 3.1: 46
Warning light 3
.1: 46
u
Underbody sealant 3.2: 27
Unfast ening belts 2.1: 25
Unidirectional tires 3.2:57, 86
tir e qual ity grading 3.2: 76
Unpleasant odor 3.1: 83
Uphol stery
Key word s 13

program is your assurance that help will be there should yo ur Volk swagen have a mechanical breakdown under norma J3l driving conditions. Whether this happen s th ousands of miles from home (a nywhere in th e U .S . or or in
your own dri vew ay, you only have to call one
toll -free number and h elp
To
tancc is ava ilab le to you for th e firs t fou r years of
your new vehicl e ownersh ip.
T he Volkswagen 24
Hour Roadside Assistance includes th e following em ergency roadside services : emergency towing, battery jump sta rt , flat tire change. em ergen cy fuel
Please refe r to your 24 lo u r ta nce Guide for specific detail s on the services provided.
for the Serv ice

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

changea ble deco rat ive cove rs a re att ached to th e rim with s elf- locking sc rews . lfyou would ro re pla ce damaged wheel covers, contact your authorized Volkswa gen d eale r or
WARNING
New ti res or tires tha t are old, worn or aged cannot provide maximum control and braking ability.
New tires tend to be s lipp ery and must be broken in . To reduce the risk of losing co ntrol,
a co llisio n and serio us personal injuri es, drive with sp ecia l care for the first km).
(cont inued )
Driving with worn or damaged tire s can lead to lo ss of control, sudden tire failur e, cluding a blowou t and sudden deflation ,
c ras hes and seriou s personal injuries. Have wo rn or damaged tires rep laced imme di ate ly.
To redu ce the riskoflosingcontrol, crashes and s erio us personal injuries, never loose n
th e bolts on w heels with bolted rim rings.
more than 6 years old can onl y be used in an em erg en cy and then
w ith specia l care and at low speed.
Neve r m ount u se d tires on your ve hicle if
yo u are not sure of their used tires may have been damaged ev e n
t h oug h the damage cannot be seen th at can
lead to sudden tir e failure and loss of ve hicl e control.
hicl e pull s to one sid e when dri ving, always
s top as soo n as it is safe to do so and ch eck the
whee ls and tires for damage.
Accessory weight
Means the combined we ight ( in excess of those
sta ndard ite m s w hi ch may be repl aced) of mati c tran smission. power steering. po wer
bra kes, power windo ws. p owe r seats , radio, and heater, to th e ex te nt th at th ese item s are
or lowe r indica te
a short s id ewall for improved steering respo nse and better ove rall handling on dry pave ment.
Bead
Mean s the pa rt of the tire t hat is m ad e of stee l
wires , w rap ped or re inforce d by pl y cords and that is shap ed to fit t he rim.
Bead separation
Mean s a breakdow n of th e bond between
Means the strand s forming the in th e tire.
weight
Me ans th e weig ht of motor vehicl e w ith dard equ ipment including the m aximum pacity of fu el, oil. and coolant . a ir conditio nin g
a nd additional weight of opt io n al equipm ent.
E xtra load lire
M ea ns tire desi gn to operate at higher loads and at hi gher inflat ion pressure s th an th e corre -
s ponding sta ndard tire.

Gross Axle W eight Ra ting
Mea ns the load-carryin g capacity of a sing le ax le
Mean s th e maximumlOtalloaded weight of the
ve hicle.
Groove
Means the space between adjacent tread
r ib s.
L
oad ratin g (cod e)
Means the load th at a tire is rated to
carry for a give n inflation pressure. You may no t find thi s information o n all tires because it is not require d b y
Maximum load ratin g
Means the load rating for a tire the m aximum permiss ib le inflation p ressure for that tire.
Maximum loaded vehicle weig ht
Means th e sum of:
( a)
weig ht.
( b ) Accessory
weight,
(c) Vehicl e capacity weig ht. and
(d ) Production o pti ons
b e inflat ed. A lso called imum inflatio n pressure."
Normal oc cupant weight
Means lb s. kilog ra ms} times the n u m ber of occupants sea te d i n the ve hicl e up to the seating capacity of your vehicle.
O c
cupant distr ib ution
Means dist ributio n of occupants in veh icle.
Outer d iameter
Means the overall diameter of an inflated new tir e.
inflated including vations due to or tive bands or rib s.
P ly
M
ean s layer uf parallel cord s.
Productio n optio ns weight
Means the com bined weight of those installed
regular produc tion options weighing over Sibs. (2.3 kg) in excess of those standard items whic h they replace, not previously considered in curb weight or accessory
pne u matic tire in which the pl y cords th at ex tend to the beads a rc laid at substa n tially degrees to the center lin e of the tread.
Re commended inflat io n p ressure
page tire inflation p ressure".
Reinforc
ed tir e
Means a tire designed to operate at higher loads and at higher inflation pressures than the sponding tire.
Rim
Means a m etal support for a tire or a tire and tube assembly upon whic h the tire beads are seate d .
Rim d iameter
Means nominal diameter oft he bead seal. you change your w heel size. you will have to
Means that portion of tire between the tread
and bead.
which
km/h) mph ( 298 k.m/ h ). These rat ings are lis ted in the table 74. You may not find this information on all tire s because it is not required by law.
The speed r ating lett er cod e, where is molded on the tir e s idewall and indicates the maxjmurn permissible road in on page 77 74.
Checking and

3.2 Tip s and Advice
Tir e pressure monitoring
tires are underinflated a nd nates a low tire pressure warning tellt ale.
Tread
Means that porti on of tire that comes into tact the road.
Tread separation
Means pulling away of the tread from the tire carcass.
Tread wea r indicators
visual indication of the degrees o f w ear of th e tread. page 72,
Wea r for more tio n on measurin g tire wear.
Un iform
Tire Quality Grading
that is designed to help buyers make re la ti ve comparisons among ti res. The UTQG is not s afety rating and not a
antee that a tire la st for a prescrib ed number of miles o r perform in simply
g ives tire buyers additional information to bin e w ith other consideratio ns. such as price. brand loya lty and dealer recommendations. Under UTQG, tires arc graded b y th e tire fac turers in three areas: tre ad wear, traction and temperature resistance. The UTQ G information o n the tires, molded into the s idewall s.
This is the tire's "ser ia l begin s w ith the letters
sent week and year of manufacture. For ample . the rnran that the tire
pro duced in the 18th The other numbers arc m arketin g codes that no t be used by th e tire manufacturer. T his mation is used to if a tir e fect requires a recall .
Vehicle
capacity weight
Means the cargo and load plu s lb s. (68 kilograms) times the total
s
eatin g capacity as lis ted on the label attached to the ope n edge o f the driver's door.
Vehicle
maximum load on the tire
Mean s that load o n an indi vidual tire that is t ermined b y di stri buting to each axle its share of the maxim um loaded weight and viding by
normollood on th e tir e
Means that load o n an indiv idual tire that i s termined by di stribut ing to axle its sh a re of the curb weigh t. accesso ry weight. and normal occupant weight (di stributed in accordance with table page and di viding by
Occupant loading and distribution for vehicle normal load
normal load, number Occupant distributio n in number of occupants of occupants normally loaded
2 through 4
2 2 in fro nt.
5
3 2 in front. I in
=Tire pres sure
Checking and

3.2 Tips and Advice
refers to the amount of air in a tire that it needs it to do its job and safe ly carry the combined load of the entire
on the d esign and load limit-the greatest amount of we ight that the can carry safel y and the tire size.
Th e proper lire pressure is frequently re ferred to a s the "recommended co ld tire inflation
It is the tion pre ssure in a tire that counts .
respo nsiv e
is being driven at higher speed s, and th e n cially w hen heavily loaded even within the missible load-carrying capacit ies approved for your vehicl e. T
he r
ecommended tire pressures for your d epend on the kind or tires on your h icl e and the number of passengers and/or amount ofluggage you will be t ransporting.
Th e tire
pressure label on the open ed ge of th e
driver's door on your Volk swagen lists the ommended co ld tir e infl ation pressures for the
at th e tim e it was ufactured.
page fig. 15 for the tion of the label on the open edge of the driver's door (colo r of the actual label and exact locat ion on the
flap.
The table below lists the recommended cold tire
i nflatio n pressures for the models covered by your maximum capacit y we igh t and th e tire
sizes on t h e res pective models as inal equipment, or as a factory opti on.
T ir e Tire
pres-Tire pres-
s ur e front sure rear
kPa
17 91 35 245 35 245
6
1

3.2 Tips and Advice
Because technical changes may be made to ve­hicle equipment during the model year, always compare the tire size desig nation on the tir e pressure label on your vehicle with the tire s on your vehicle. Make sure
a previ­ousl y owned ve hicle.
Remember, your safe ty and t h at of your passen­gers also depends on making sure that load
limit s are not exceeded. Vehicle load includes everybody and everything in and on the vehicle.
T hese load limit s arc techni call y referred to the ve hicle's Gross Vehicl e Rating Hatin g is th e maximum load that
Hating are listed on th e s afet y compliance sticker
label on t h e driver's door
fig. l5 .
WARNING
Overloading a vehicl e can cause loss of vehicle control,
more we ight than your vehicle was des ign ed to carry w ill prevent the vehicle from handling properly and increase the risk of the loss of vehicle control.
The on a vehicle that has been over­
loaded may not be abl e to stop the vehicle within a safe distance.
Tires on a vehicle that has been overloaded can fail suddenly cau sin g loss of control and a crash.
Always make sure that the total load being transp o rted-including the weight of a trailer hitch and the to ng u e weight of a loaded trailer -docs not make the vehicle heavie r than the vehicle's Gross Vehicle
WARNING
Inco rrect tire pressures and/or underinfla­tion can lead t o serious or fata l accident.
Incorrect tire pressures and/or underinfla­tion cause increased tire wear and can affect the ha nd lin g of the ve hicle.
Applies to
The tire pressur e monitoring syste m driver ofsignificantloss of pres­
sure.
Each tire, including the spare ( if provided),
should be c heck ed
your vehicle has tire s of a diff erent s ize than the s ize indi ­cated on the vehicle placard or tire inflation pressure lab el, you should consult the appro­priate sec tion of this
and
luminatcd. one or m ore of your tires is signifi ­
cantly under-inflated. should stop and check your tires as soon as possible , and inflate them to the pro p er p ressure. Driving on a sig nif­
icantly under- inflated tire causes the tire to overheat and can lead to tire failure. Under- in-
flation al so reduces fuel effic iency and tire tread life , and may affe ct th e vehic le's handling stopping ability.
ve hicle has also been equipped with a malfunction te llt ale to indi cate when

syste m is not operating properly. When the mal­funct ion telltale (warning light) is illuminat ed, the system may not be able to detect or signal
low tire pressure as intended. malfunc­
tions may occur for a var iety of reasons, in­cluding the installation of incompatible replace­ment tires on the vehicle. Always check the
and warns the driver in the event of a lo ss of pressu re by means of symbols in the instrument cluster dis plays.
Descri
ption
The system uses sensors at th e whee ls . Rad io
signals from the sensors are transmitted to the tire pressure monitoring system Th e sensors are parts of the air valve.
A visua l
and audio warning will signal a rapid or other significant loss of pressure while the ve­
hicle is moving .
The tir e pressure monitorin g system
This warning shows a rapid loss Stop immediately! Inspect all the wheels
T
IRE! of i nflation pressure in at least for e
xt ernal damage and for eign bodies
one tire. and check the tire pressure for all the wheels. If it is not necessary to change a
w heel on th e spot, you can proceed at reduced speed the nearest qualified
and warnin g TIRE The warn ing indicates that at Chec
k the tire pressure at all fou r whee ls leas t one tire is at a criti ca l pres- immediately. If it is not necessary to sure at least
Warning CHECK TIRE After the ig n it ion is switched Check the tire pressure at all fou r wheels a slow loss of pressure is indi-
There is a malfunct ion in the Consult your a uthorized Volkswagen
system. dealer or qualified workshop and have
the p ro ble m corrected
comes on briefly There is a communica tion No action i
s necessaty.
while you are
driving problem between a sensor and the system. Operation can be temporarily di srupted by inter-
f ere nce from transmitters in the
v icinity of the vehicl e working in
t h e same frequency range (e.g.
rad io equipment, cell ula r phone).
WARNING
Checking and 63

the instrument cluster, stop and insp ec t th e
tir es.
can also lead t o sudden tire failur e, in­
cluding a blowout and sudden deflati on, causing loss of ve hicle control.
The driv er i s responsible for the correct tire pressures fo r all tire s on the vehicl e. Th e appli ­
cable pressure valu es are locat ed on a sticker on the driver' s sid e page 61, fig . 15 .
w hen all on the ve hicl e are filled
to the correct pressure, th e can work
corre ctly.
A lways inflat e tire s to the recomme nd ed
and correct tire pres sure before driving off.
in tread separa tion, sudden
Excess ive speed and/overloadin g can
ca use heat build-up , sudden tir e failur e and lo ss of control.
If th e tire is no t flat and you do not have to change a w hee l immediate ly , drive at reduce d
s peed to tJ1e neares t se rvic e statio n to ch ec k the tir e press ure and add air as req uired.
Whe n r epl acing tir es or wheel rim s on ve­
hicles equipped with always read and heed the information and all re­page 57, and
Note
M iss in g va lve stem caps can result in damage
to the valve and senso rs in the tire pressure
monitor ing sys tem. To preve nt thi s. a lways drive
wit h valve stem caps that are th e equiva le nt of
64
tho se installed
When switc hin g to diff erent tires, make cer­
tain that the valves and the se nsors are not dam­
ag ed .
For the sake of environment
Unde r-inflated tires will a lso in crease the fu el
consumption.
Tips
The tir e press ure mon itoring system ch ecks
th e tir es for the fac to ry recommend ed in flat ion pressures. The recommended val ues are on th e sticker on the o pen edge of th e driver's door
61, fig.
you are driving on tires other than those in­
s talled at th e factory, have the inflati on pres­
s ure s entered in the press ure monitor ing sys tem
by an authorized Vol kswage n dea ler or qua lified
works hop if they are different.
Th e tire pressure monitor ing system sh uts it­self off if a set of tir es without whee l sensors is
mounted on th e veh icle and it cannot receive senso r sig nals. As soon as the syste m rece ives at
lea st one se nsor signa l, it switches itself on
again.
tir e pressures at regu lar int ervals, even
though you have the monitoring system. In spec t
th e
tires for damage (punctu res , cuts, t ea rs a nd
blis ter s). He move foreig n bodi es from the tir e
tread.
senso rs have to be rep laced, have the valves ch anged at th e sa me tim e.
Disc repancies may occur between the pres­
sures read on the press ure ga uge when inflating the tires and th e pressures read by the tire pres­su re sensors. The electro nic tire pressure moni­toring system is m ore accurate.
When deter min es tha t the air pres ­
s u re in o ne or more tires is too low, ch eck the tire
pressure thoroughly using a pressu re Low pressure in a tire often cannot be determi ned by
looking at the tire. This applies especially for low
profile tires.
When there is a rap id or excessi ve loss of pressure while driving. you are immediately
g iven vis u a l and aud ible warn ing .