steering wheel VOLKSWAGEN GOLF 2008 Owner's Guide

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

(continued)
T he effecti ve ness of is also d etermine d
b y the tires page 57, and
is very effec tive, always m ember that your veh icle's handling bility is limit ed b y tir e traction.
Note
I n
order to en sure th at an d ASR functio ns
correc tly, all four wheels must b e fitted with the same tire s. Any differences in the rolling radiu s of the tire s can cause the system to reduce gin e power-eve n when this is not th e best th in g
to do under t h e circumstances.
veh icles wit h powe r stee ring, th e amoun t of power ass istance is regula ted
chanical us ing an electr ic motor. The ad tages of thi s s teering system include the fact that n o hydra ulic components su ch as hoses . oil ta iners, filt ers or h ydraul ic flu id s are requir ed. Furt he rmo re, this is a conside rable decr ease in
e n ergy required . The elect romechan ical steering
system, in contrast to the hydraulic system (which requires a constant flow of fluid). only
co nsumes en ergy when the ve hicle is ac tually
b e in g s teered.
The f u e l consumption is reduced as a res ult.
If the
electromechanical power steering sys tem fails, the power ass is ted steer ing sys tem will still work. If th e engine is sw itched off, the power steering does not functio n and the steering
wheel is very hard to turn.
Indicator light
or comes on
The indi cator light comes o n for a few seconds when th e ignition is sw itched on.
If the indica tor light ( or does not go out or comes on while you are driving, th ere is a
prob le m in the ele ctro -mechanical steering. steering assis t may be reduced (light J or be lo st completely (li ght
swage n dealer. If th e yellow warning light stays
off after restart in g an d drivin g a short distanc e,
8 Smart
With th e en g in e not running (e.g. when the car is bei ng towed). there is a lso no power assist able.
Turning the s teerin g wheel i s ve ry difficult when th e power steering sys te m i s not wo rkin g and it is harde r t o control the ve hicl e.
Neve r let the vehicle coast w ith the en gi ne swit ch ed off.
If yo u d o no t pay att entio n to the warning lights w hich have com e o n, includin g th e
warnin g messages appearing in the d is play, this could lead t o personal injury or damage to
your vehicle .
Note
Do not keep the steering wheel turned the way to the le ft or righ t for more than 15 seco nd s
when th e e ngine is running. Doing so could damage th e powe r steering system.
If th e

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.