tires VOLKSWAGEN GOLF 2009 Owner's Manual

Tires and wheels
thi s section
...........
p ress ure in tir es 266
Tr ead dep th and tread wear
indi cators ..
...................... .. . 26 7
Tire wea r and damage ............. 267
................................ 269
Tir e
......................... 271
Wi nter t ires
......................... 2 7 4
.. ....................... 276
T ir es and
.......
Dete rmin ing the cor rect . 281
Vo lkswage n reco mm ends that
be do ne by
a n auth orized Volk swage n
or
a uth orized Volkswage n
ty . They are
tires.
More information:
137
T ire Press ure Mon itoring
Care, cleaning, maintenance
Cons umer information
covers
Changing a 31
New tires or tires that are
a
ries.
tire
Tire s with

or bumps). Driving with worn or
damaged tires can
with
used tires and
acci­
dents, and severe
in an
emergency and even then
reasons it is
to use rims
from other
Even rims
from the same
may not fit prop­
Check with an authorized

Tire and
on
page
Tires may be the
Tires are very important , since
their
patches of rubber are the
and reg­
ing tread separation and
The tires and
parts of the design . The tires
and
approved by
matched to the charac­
teristics
of the for good road
inflated.
maintenance
Avoiding tire damage
you must drive over a curb or oth­
er
drive very
to
the curb with the tire tread of both
front
warning messages from
the Tire
worn or damaged tires im­
267.
to one side, this may indicate that one
of the tires is damaged . The tires
must be checked
wagen or an authorized
267.
and permis­
grease ,
missing

Unidirectional tires
tires are designe d to
tires have arrows on the
that show th e d irection of
tion 271.
their best grip, brak ing
perfo rmance,
road noise, and
goo d wear as
as good
ing res is ta nce.
yo u h ave to mount a tire op pos ite to
it s p rope r dir
ection of r otation, yo u
m ust
drive more
ti res,
t ir e ro tat io n according to the
d iag ram
137 is recom mended .
this way
or auth or ized
Tires more than 6 years
Tir es age even if th ey are not being
used .
and
es reduce tire strengt h and
tires can su d­
and withou t warn ing.
tires that are 6 years and This
t o t ires that
the tire on th e compac t spare
be
minimum depth
The age of each tire ca n be
mined with the manufact uring date
t h at is part of th e
cation righ t, fr ont , rear) a nd
dry and Do not
store tir es mounted on
be cove re d to pro tec t th e m fro m
dirt and stored (sitting on the
tr ead).
Aggressive
tire damage that can cause tire
keep
braking
Tires age even if they are not be-
ing use d and can
acci-
dents ,
and severe
care and maintena nce 261

New tires
Drive a with ne w tires
km) beca use the tires must first
be
broken in. Tir es that are not broken
in have red uced traction and
braking performance
4
and
facturers because of different design
features and
tread design.
Replacing tires
Tires be in pairs
and not
(both front tires o r
both rea r tir es
at the same time)
and top
speed rat i
ng as the tires approved by
and
or
wide r than the dimensi ons
of the tires
approved by
for your
Larger tires
body or
other
parts of the
Tire Pressure Monitoring
after each tire change
New tires tend to be
a
Tires must have the required
Tires that do not have
enough
tread
dispose of tires in
requiremen ts.
the replacement
wint er tires or wide r,
tires, or a compact spare), then use
the
.
it w ith a tire matching the
others on yo ur
as soon as
care and maintenance

di­
mensions may differ from those nomi-
Tire
for different tire makes, or
the tire contours may be
different.
on
page 258.
The correct tire inflation pressure for
the factory-installed tires is
on a
138 is on the driver
door jamb
Under-
or over-inflation
of the
The correct tire pressure is very
important ,
is driven at higher speeds .
rect tire pressure causes increased
wear and even sudde n tire
and
ways before
to a tire . When tires are
warm, the pressure
be higher than
when the tires are
Do not reduce the tire pressure on
warm tires to match the required
tire inflation pressure. The tire infla­
tion pressure
then be too
and
Checking tire
check the tire pressure
on tires when the
at

Check tire inflation pressure
and on cold tires. Check all the
tires, including the compact spare,
if
any. colder climates tire pressure
shou ld be checked more often, but
on ly when the tires are co
ld. Always
use
an accurate tire pressure gauge.
After adjusting the tire inflation
pressures , make sure to screw the
valve caps back on; replace missing
valve caps immediately. Read an d
heed information on resetting the Tire
Pr essure Monitoring System
Remember that the vehicle
facture r, n ot the tir e manufacturer,
sure specified for the compact spare
on the
tire pressure labe l or on a
serious
personal injury, and even death.
pressure, and blowouts. Tires
with excessively low pressure
flex (bend) more, which can
cause
the tire to overheat and fail
suddenly without warning.
sure.
at the factory. The caps
must be screwed on tightly. Do not
use metal valve caps or
Underinflation increases fuel con-
s umpti on.
care and maintenance

When the warns that the
pressure in at
one tire is too
check the tire pressure in
not be spotted by
true for
Tire Pres-4 tires with an accurate tire pressure
gauge. Low tire pressure
can-sure Monitoring System (TPMS). Tire
on page 258.
R 18 92
R 18 92 H 35 245
The Tire
Monitoring is configured at the factory with the cor-
rect tire inflation pressure
engine and factory-
tires. The tire
on the driver door jamb =>fig. 138 . The tire inflation pressures for the
road tires are
on this
or on a separate
on the tire
on the use. The to
road tires. The Tire Monitoring must be recalibrated using
the
button whenever you remove and remount or change any
or replacement
a) Inform ation not avail able at tim e of printing
266 Care, m aintenance

Fig. 139 Tread patt ern: Wear indicator.
on page 258.
Tread depth
Most driving situations requi re as mu ch tread
dept h as possible and similar tread depth for the
tir es on the front and rear wheels. This is
peratures and under wet cond iti ons
ments .
Wint
er tires are no longer suitab le for winter ation once the tr ead pattern is wo rn down to a
depth of 3/16 in (4. 8 mm)
Tire wear and damage
diately reduce speed!
Check tires and wheel rims for
damage .
The tread depth of new tires can diffe r between tire models and manufacturers because of the different
design features and tread patterns.
Tread
wear indicator (TWI) in the tire
The
139 . wear indicator s are evenly spaced around
the tire. Mark ings on the sides of the tir es (for or sy mbol s) show the position of the
wear indicators .
Wear indicato rs show when the tires are worn
down. The tires must be replaced no later than
w hen the tread pattern is worn down to the wea r
indicat o
rs.
Worn tires are dangero us and can cause lo ss of vehicle control including serious p ersonal injuries.
Never drive a vehicle when the trea d on any tire is worn down to the wear indicators,
r e plac e them sooner.
and loss of control.
Worn tires reduce the ability of your
a tire is damaged, do not drive
a ny farther. Get expert assistance.
Facility,
or other qualified workshop and have
the ve
hicle checked .

the luggage compart-
ment: Hand wheel holding spare ment:
Hand wheel holding compact
whee l
in place . spare
wheel in place.
first read and note the Return the vehicle tool kit to its
on Unhook the floor covering and fold
page of
Rem9ving the spare wheel gage compartment.
covering and hook it on the upper
whee ls, a compact spare wheel, for
or compact spare wheel 141 examp le, or i f the road whee ls are
counterclockw ise and remove the winte
r tires, use the spare wheel for a
spare
covering on the up- Rep
lace it w ith a tire match ing the
per edge of the luggage compart- others
on your vehicle as soon as
ment. possible.
i
nto the spare wheel so tha t Do not drive faste r than mph
the center hole
of the rim is a ligned
Avoid N Turn the hand wheel clockw ise until
braking and fast cornering!
the whee l replaced is secure ly in
p lace.