wheel VOLKSWAGEN GOLF 2009 User Guide

Driving without head restraints or with properly adjusted head restraints increases
the risk of serious injuries in a
tory information and heed the on page 58.
Adju st the steerin g whee l only w he n the veh icl e is
no t m ovi ng.
Push dow n o n the leve r 41
Adj ust th e steering whee l so th a t it ca n b e held w ith hands at the 9 o'cloc k and 3 o 'clock positio ns
o n the out side of the steering wheel rim and with
t he arms slightl y b ent at the elbow .
Pull the leve r up firml y until it is flu sh with th e
stee ring colum n
the lever
denly while the vehicle is moving.
Never adjust the steering wheel so that it points toward your face . Always make sure that the steering wheel points toward your chest. Otherwise, the airbag system cannot protect you properly in the event of a crash.
side of the steering wheel rim with your hands at the 9 o'clock and 3 o'clock positions to help reduce the risk of serious personal
where inside the steering wheel or on the steering wheel hub. Holding the steering wheel the wrong way increases the risk of vere injury to the arms, hands, and head if the driver airbag deploys.

When an airbag deploys , fine dust is released.
This is normal and is not caused by a fire in the hicle . This dust is made up mostly of a powder
used to lubricate the airbags as they deploy. This
dust could irritate skin and eyes and cause
ciently when used with properly worn safety belts
and a proper seating position in Introduct ion on page 58
equipment
Your safety and the safety of your passenge rs
shouldn't be left to c hance. Advances in
gy have made a number of featu res availab le to
help reduce the risk of injury in a collision . The
Sophisticated safety belts for
belt pretensioners for driver and front
passenger .
Advanced front airbag system for driver and
front passenger .
ger.
Airbag indicato r
BAG light.
Electronic control unit and associa ted sensors.
Before driving
Head restraints with height adjustmen t
Adjustable steering column.
LATCH/U CRA lower universal and top tether
anchorages for child safety seats at the rear
These features
can't work as a system if they are not always
be tu rned
off if the weight on the front passe nger seat is less
than the amount programmed in the elect ronic
con t
rol unit . Th e front airbag on the passenge r side
will also be turned off if the combine d weigh t of an
i nfant
of about one year of age in one of the child
seats that was used to certify the Advanced Airbag
ard BAG
Never rely on airbags alone for protection.
69, Safety belts.
ery per son in the vehicle is properly seated on a sea t of his or her own, properly fastens the safety belts belonging to that seat before the vehicle starts to move, and keeps the belts properly fasten ed while riding i n the hicle. This applies eve n when just driving around town. Therefore, always wear your safety belts and make sure that everybody in your vehicle is properl y restrai ned .
too close to the steering wheel or strument panel decrease the ness of the airbags and will increase the risk of personal injury in a collision.

Transporting
Driving tips
this sectio n
Always stow heavy objects in the luggage partment and make sure tha t the rear seat ests are securely latched. Always use the downs in the luggage compartment and secu re th e
ob jects with suita ble straps. Neve r ove rload the
hic le . R emember that the vehicle load, as
More information:
Rear hatch 49
Folding down the passenger seat backrest
Lights page 122
Luggage compartment 141
Roof rack 146
Trailer towing 149
Tires and wheels 258
Unsec ured or incorrectly stowed items can fly through the vehicle, causing serious
senger compartment by the front airbags if they To help reduce the risk of se riou s
per sonal injury:
strument panel.
nothing on
the front passenger seat when the backrest is folded forward. When the backrest is folded
forward, even
85.
scat that is
blocked by objects being carried
H eavy loads will cle handle s and increase stopping distances.
Heavy lo ads that are not properly stowed or secured can cause loss of control and ous injury.
the luggage compartment as possible.
-
Always tie down h eavy items securely with su itabl e strap s using the tie-downs in the luggage compartment.
Tran sporting

Roof rack
Introduction
this sectio n find informa tion about:
Mo unt in g the roof rack base carrier and roof
rack
................................... 147
Securing a load on the roof rack . . . . . . . . . . . 148
The ro of o f your vehicle has been designed to
approv ed base carrie r mounts and roof racks can
be used .
When should the roof rack be removed?
When it is no longer needed .
Before driving through an automatic car was h.
When the vehic le wou ld otherwise be too high
t o ach ieve min imum clearanc e to enter, for
ple, a garage .
More information:
Lights
Transporting 137
Saving fuel and helping the envi ronment
Tires and wheels 258
283
Transporting heavy or bulky loads on the roof rack will change the way the vehicle handles by shifting the vehicle's center of gravity and
increasing the wind drag area.
146 Before driving
able and undam ag ed straps so that the load
have a negative effect on the vehicle's
aerodynamics , center of gravity and ove rall
Your vehicle is higher when the roof rack is installed , especially when it is loaded. Compare
the vehicl e he ight with existing clear ance
heights , such as underpasses and garage doors.
creases due to increased air resis ta nce.

Introduction
this section
..
L oading the trailer
.............. ........ .
Driving with a trailer ..... . .. .. ........... .
mount .... . .
Retrofitting a trai l
er hitch ................ .
Max imum permissible trailer weight ... . 150
151
151
152
154
155
156
for
more concentratio n from the
dr iver . Always the ope rat ing and driving in ­
stru ctions given , and use common sense.
Un der winter conditions ,
win ter tires on the
vehicle and the trailer.
Tongue weight
The m aximum permissible tow bar tongue weight
exerted on the mount should not exceed kg).
More information:
Anti-theft a larm system
Lights page 122
Startin g assistance systems 195
Tires and wheels page 258
Parts, accessories, repairs and modifications
Riding in a trailer is dangerous and may be il­
incorrect, or damaged trailer hitch can
cause the trailer to separate from the towing vehicle and cause serious personal injuries.
use an undamaged, properly mount­
ed trail er hitch.
mount when you are not towing a trailer.
properly with suit­able and undamaged straps so that the not shift.
and under unfavorable weather, or wind conditions.
careful when passing other vehicles.
Transporting 149

unless the transmission senses a sit­
uation where upshifting or downshifting is necessa­ry to keep the engine from over-or under-revving.
Using Tiptronic with the selector lever
Push the selector lever sideways to the right
from Drive (D) position into the Tiptronic position
in Automatic transmission :
Briefly push the selector lever forward to up­
shift into a higher gear or backward to down ­
shift into a lower gear 111.
Using Tiptronic with the shift paddles behind the steering wheel
Th e paddles 112 (arrows) work when the
selector lever is in the Tiptronic position or when the selector lever is in Drive (D) or
To upshift, on the right to­
ward you.
Driving with automatic transmission
on page 171.
in
Neutral (N).
Reduce speed.
Downshift by the selector l ever back
briefly(-).
Downshift using the paddles on the steer ­
ing wheel
you should use Hold 195 as long as the engine is running .
To downshift , on the left to­
ward you.
To switch off Tiptronic mode,
switch off
shift automatically into the next higher gear be­
fore reaching maximum engine speed (rpm).
you use Tiptronic to shift into a lower gear, the transmission not over-rev the engine. Kick-down acceleration
The kick-down feature permits maximum tion when the selector lever is in the Drive (D ), or Tiptronic mode.
you push the accelerator automatica lly downshift , depe nding on
vehicle speed and engine speed (rpm). This
With kick-down actuated, the transmission
Regulation 179.
Depress and
Move the selector lever into Driv e or Tiptronic position.
With your rig ht foot, depress the accelerator
peda l until the engine reaches about rpm.
shifting, parking

Failure to heed warning lights or t ex t WARN-can result in vehicle damage . Parking brake
Fig. 113 Between the front seats :
on page 179.
the parking brake lever up firmly.
When the ignition is on , the indicator or appears in the instrume nt c luster display to show th at the park ing brake is engaged
the leve r up 113 (arrow) .
While hold ing the release button down, move
t h e lever t he way down.
Parking
Ple ase firs t r ea d and note the introduc­tory info rm ation and heed the WARN­on pa ge 179.
note legal regulations when stopping and
parking your vehicle.
Parking the vehicle
p erform these steps only in the order listed.
the vehicle on a suitab le surface
the rear wheels are braked . Always
use the foot bra ke.
engag ed. This c an cause the brak e to over­
heat and neg ati vely affec t the b rak e sys te m .
start to move even if the parking brake is e ngag ed .
Even
though the tra nsmission is in P ark (P),
t h e vehi cle may move a couple of inche s (a fe w
c entimeters) forwards or backwards if you take
your f oot off the brake pedal after stopping the
ve hicl e without fir s t firmly setting the parking
b rake .
A warning signal sounds if you drive faster
Apply t he parking brake to 182.
For automatic transmissions : (P).
Remove the vehicle key from the igni tion.
necessary , turn the steer ing whee l to
e ngage the steer ing column lock.

Do not reduce pressure on the brake
up on the brake.
Lock (EDL and XDL)
EDL is applied during regular straight -line
traction (spinning) and redirec ts the drive force to other drive wheels. extreme cases , EDL swi tches off to keep the brake from
switches on again .
XDL is an extension of the Electronic Differential
Lo ck sys tem . X DL does not react to drive wheel
s lippage when driving straight ahead .
XDL
detects slippage of the inside front wheel during
fast corne ring . X DL app lies enough brake pressure
to
this wheel in order to stop the slippage. This
Driving fast on icy, or wet roads can to a of control and result in serious persona l injury for you and your passengers.
Always adjust your speed and driving
style to roa d , traffic, weather, and visibility conditions. Never the additiona l sa fety that and EDL can
come the of physics and always prevent and wet
roads are dangero us eve n with and the o ther syste ms!
to A vehicle that has
1861 While driving
tance from the vehicle in front of you.
cele rator Even with these syste m s,
th e wheels may start to spin, le ading to a
The effectiveness of ca n be significantly reduced if other components and sys te m s that a ffect vehicle dynamic s, including but not limite d to bra kes , tires, and other te m s mention ed above , are not properly
maintained or fun ctioning.
Always remembe r that vehicle alterations or modifications can affect the functioning of the EDL, and systems.
Changing the vehicle su spension or using an unappro ved tire I wheel combination can
c han ge the way the EDL ,
and system s work and re duce their fectiveness .
The effectiveness of is als o
tires in orde r for and to work erly . Diff eren ces in the tread circumference of the
tir es can cause the system to r educ e the engine
p ower when it is not expected .
is not working, and EDL not work .
may hear noises when these systems are

Flashes Possible ca use Proper response
Electronic steering column lock malfunction . The ignition cannot be switched on. The vehicle
system stiff.
column not locked I unlocked .
When the
ignition is switched severa l warni ng
a n d indicator lights come on briefly for a function
check . T hey go out after a few seconds.
Failure to heed warning lights and instrument cluster text messages can ca use the vehicle to break down sion and serious personal injury.
tory Information and heed the on page 192.
To
tomatic transmiss ion vehicle.
press the starter button briefly twice in a row
without depressing the brake or clutch pedal.
D o
not drive any farther if the steering column
remains locked after you switch on the ignition.
Get professional assistance.
Always stop the vehicle as soon as it is safe to do so.
F a
ilure to heed warning lights or text can resu lt vehicle damage .
Engaging the steering
co lumn lock
Park ing the vehicle
ing column lock
Turn the steering wheel
slightly to take pressure
off the steering column
l ock .
to the ignition switch.
Hold the steer ing wheel
i n this position and turn
the ignition switch.
Power steering automatically adjusts to driving
speed , steering torque, and the steering angle
of the wheels . Power steering works only when the
engine is running .
it
Sta rting, sh ift ing , park ing

Counter-steering assistance
Counter-steering assistance is part of Electronic
Stability Control (ESC). This feature makes it ier for the driver to control the vehic le in difficult
uation and helps the driver counter-steer with
The counter-steering assistance in can do no more than help the driver steer in
self with feature!
194 driving
the ignition is off, the steer ing column lock engage and the vehicle cannot be steered. For this reaso n, you must leave the ignition on
when going through an automatic car wash, for example, so that the wheels will still steer.