171 VOLKSWAGEN GOLF 2012 User Guide

Automatic transmission:
Auto mati c transmissio n wit h sh ift
first re ad and note the tory information and heed the on page 171.
posi-Designation Meaning tion
Automa tic tra nsm issio n ic With you must depress
th e brake and pres sing
th e
in order to
move the
is in Neu-(N) , yo u before you can move the to Drive (D), Drive or Reverse (R).
sett ing is sho wn in the ins trument as the current gear (if
p Park is not moving. To change the
button
R Reverse The
re ver se gea r is en gage d. into Reverse when the
Transmis sion is in
D Drive (sta ndard dri v-fo rwa rd gears shift up and down auto m atica lly. The transmi s-
ing pos ition) sion
shifts as needed depending on engine individual driving and
forward gears automa tica lly upshift later and dow nshift earlier
s than in th e (Dri ve) position , to take advan ta ge of the engin e's
driving position) p
ower reserves. The tran smi ssion shift s as needed dependi ng on
e ng ine in divid ual driving and speed.
Automatic
The Automati c Lock in Park (P) and (N) prevents drive posit ions fro m b eing g aged inadvertentl y, w hich ca use the to move.
wards if it is stuc k in sno w or mud. The gages automa tically if th e brake pr esse d and the is in is traveling no
fast er than abo ut 3 mph (5 km/h ).
To the depress and the brake wit h th e ign ition switched on. Press the
(N) (e.g ., when shifting from Reverse (R) to Drive (D)). Th is mak es
i t possib le to "roc k" the
ra re cases , th e m ay not eng age on vehicles
w ith Direct Gea rbox. this happens,
power to th e drive ven t th e and a tex t sage Lock
sh ift ing , parking 175

Moving the selector lever to the wrong posi-tion can cause loss of vehicle control, a co sion, and serious personal injury.
Unintended vehicle movement can cause se-rious personal injury.
you must leave your vehicle while the engine is running, al-ways set the parking brake and shift the transmission into Park (P).
Shifting with Tiptronic®
Fig . 111 lever in Tiptronic position.
Please first read and note the introduc­
on page 171.
176 While driving
WARNING (continued )
will roll down hills, whether the engine is
When the engine is running and a drive gear-Drive (D), or Reverse
(R) -has been selected, press and hold the
brake pedal to keep the vehicle from moving.
The vehicle may and move forward or backward even if the engine is idling ly.
the selec tor lever is moved into Neutral (N) by mistake when the vehicle is moving , take
your foot off the accelerator pedal. Wait until the
engine speed has dropped to idle speed before
mov ing the selector lever into a drive gear.
Leaving the selector le ver for a long period of
whe el with optional Tiptronic
shift paddles .
Tiptronic lets yo u upshift and downshift manually
with
the a utomatic transm ission. When Tiptronic
mode is used, the transmi ssio n stays in the curren t
gea r and does not upshift or dow nshift

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

Remove your left foot from the brake => The accelera te from a stop at the maximum
rate .
you have accelerated , swi tch
weather, road, and traffic conditions permit and other drivers not be gered by your driving and the vehicle's
tory on page 171.
Emergency shift program
selec to r ment
of the forward gears.
some cases, vehicles with a Direct
is then impossible to drive
the vehicle backwards .
any event , have the automatic transmission
checked by an authorized
Overheating of Direct automatic transmission
The automa tic transmission may overheat ,
for example , due to frequent starts , extended o r stop-and-go traffic. Overheating is and, if by a text message in the in strument ditional warning chime may sound. and let the
tr ansmission coo l down => 178
is switched off, when the road is slippery.
you have accelerated, switch back on again.
with the
wards. This can cause the automatic sion to overheat and be damaged.
in Neutral (N), not be lubricat-ed and be damaged . The vehicle does not move forward or in reverse even though a drive position is selected with the selector
the vehicle does not move in the desired tion , the system may not have engaged the drive
position Press the brake pedal and select the drive position again.
does not move in the desired rection , there is a system malfunctio n.
ther park the vehicle in a safe place or drive faster than 12 mph km/h) .
the tex t message and acoustic warning seconds or so, you must park the vehicle in a safe place as soon as you can safely do so and stop the engine .
L et the transmission cool down.
To help prevent damage to the sion, do not drive the vehicl e agai n until the
acoustic warning has s topped. As long as the
e ngine is overheated, avoid stop and start driv-ing and avoid low speed s pace") .

this sect ion find infor m ation about:
Warning and indicator . . . . . . . . . . 197
Cruise
sys te m m aint ain an stored constant speed when driving
above 12 mph 20 (km/h) .
The
to the engine, not by brak ing
More information:
Shifting gears 171
Part s, accessories, repa irs and modifications 283
Using the cruise control when it is not possi­at a constant speed can be dangerous and can
ahead of you.
Warning and indicator
-----------------
' r
®
on steep, wind­ing, or slippery roads (such roads, wet roads, or snowy or icy roads) or on roads with standing water.
adjust your speed and the dis­tanc e you keep betwee n you and the vehicle s
ahead of you to the road , traffic, weather, and
prevent unintended operation of cruise control, switch the system off when it is not being used.
When going the cruise control may not b e
the
-------------------
©
-----;
the instrument Cruise status i ndications .
on
cause
Cruise is regulating the speed .
Driver assista nce systems 197

Getting ready to work in the engine compartment
information and heed the on page 222.
steps in the order in whic h they are
Park the vehic le in a safe place on a firm , su rface .
the brake pedal down
the par king brake to help preve nt the vehicle fr om moving 179 .
S hift th e t ra nsmiss ion
P ark (P) (automatic) or Neu tr al (manual page 171 .
Stop th e e ng in e a nd re m ove th e key f
rom th e ig nit ion sw itch 165 .
Le t the engin e down suffi cie ntly .
K eep children and others away from
the .
Make sure the ve hicle can not move unexpecte dly .
Disregarding the safety-rela ted checklist may re sult serious accept ed safety practices and use __ m_o_ n_s_e_n_s_e_. ____________________
Opening and closing the engine compartment
Fig . 1 26 engi ne hood release lever.
on page 222. Fig
. 1
27 Above the rad iator Outside engine
hood release .

Engine
In this sectio n yo u 'll find informatio n about
Indicato r lights ............... ........... 295
Cata lytic co nverter
..... 296
More information:
Sh ifting gears 171
Refueling 214
Fuel 219
Engine oil
Vehicle ba ttery
N otice about data recorded by vehic le co ntr ol
modu les
T owing 330
The vehicle exhaust system and the catalytic
converter get very hot. This can cause a fire
and serious personal injury.
Never apply additional undercoating or rust proofing on or near the exhaust mani-fold, exhaust pipes, catalytic converter , or heat shields .
Proposition 65 Warning
constituents,
and certain vehicle components contain or emit chemicals known to the
addition, certain fluids contained in vehicles and certain products of component wear contain or emit chemicals
known to the
on page 295.
L
ights up Possibl e ca use Proper respon se
Engine contr
ol malfunctio n (Elec tron ic Pow -Have engi
ne checked immediat ely by an au-
er
Contr ol). thor
ized Volkswage n dea ler or aut hor ized Volks-
wagen Fa cility .
Engine contr ol/ monitoring system
malfunc- E
ase off the accelerator . Carefully drive to the
lion (engine Malfunction Indicator Light- n
ea rest auth orized Volkswagen dealer or au-MIL) thorized
Volkswagen Facility . Ha ve en-
gine checked .
Flashes Possible cause Proper response
Ease
off the accele rator. Caref ully drive to the Misfire , which can damage th e catalytic con-
nearest authorize d Volkswagen dealer or au-.
thorized Volkswagen Service Faci lity. Have en-
gine checked .
When
the ignition is switched severa l warning
and indicator ligh ts come on briefly for a func tion
check . The y
go out after a few seconds . Failure to h
eed warning lights or text WARN-
can result
Vehi cle care and maint enance

about:
2 99
More information:
B raking , stop pin g a nd pa rki ng 17 9
Emerge ncy clo sing and openi ng
kit
Chang ing a whee l 310
A vehicle breakdown in traffic is dangerous and creates a great risk for you, your passen­gers, and others.
Protecting
Fig. 145
as soon as it is safe to do so. Move the vehicle a safe
doors in an emergency.
Turn on the emergency flashers and set up another warning device about 25 yards (25 mete rs) b ehind the vehicle to warn proaching traffic.
in people being trapped in the vehicle in an emergency. Depending on the time of year, people trapped in the ve hicle
c an be exposed to very high or v ery tem-
per atures. on page 299 .
requi rements regarding protecting a
broken-down vehicl e. For example , turning on the
eme rge ncy
1 . P ark the vehi cle at a safe distance from traffic and on a suitab le surf ace
2. on emergency flashers by pressi ng 145 .
3 .
171 .
the eng ine and re m ove the key fr om the ignit ion switch
passengers exit and go to a safe location away fr om movi ng t raffic , such as beh ind a guard
veh ic le keys with yo u whe n leavi ng your ve hic le .
Pra ctic al tip s

Preparations for changing a wheel
on page
Getting ready to cha n ge a these steps in the order here
1. you have a tire, move as fa r away from tr affic a s possi ble. Park t he
etc .
2. the parki ng brak e to fr om movi ng
165.
5 . 171.
6. Hav e
the diagonally opposite with a c hock or anot her suitab le object.
8. from the prope rly .
9. th e R emove th e luggage.
Take th e s pare or compac t spare ki t ou t of the
cove rs
may
ries.
Wheel bolts
Fi g. Changing a Loosening
tory information and heed the on page
Loose n the that was
the checklist. accepted safety practices and use
L c_ o_ m __ m_o_n __ s_en_s_ e_ . ______________ ________
Fig. 161 Changing a Tire
Loosen the the
tips 311

N
After replacing a headlight bulb or other light bulb, always make sure that the rubber covers or plastic caps have been properly and secure-
Indicator light
to help prevent water from getting into the electrical connections and headlight housing and damaging the electrical system.
on
Lights up Possible cause Proper response
Light bulb of the exterior vehicle lighting not Replace the light bulb that isn't working .
working .
When the ignition is switched on, several warning
and indicator lights come on briefly for a function
check . They go
out after a few seconds.
WARNING
Failure to heed warning lights and instrument cluster text messages can cause the vehicle to break down in traffic and result in a
can result in vehicle damage.
indicated. However, indicator light come on if LEO s fail.
on
Checklist
for replacing a light bulb. Please carry out these steps only in the order listed
1.
179.
3.
4.
5.
6 .
7.
8.
9 .
position
122 .
Automatic transmission :
the transmission into Park (P) 171.
the engine and remove the key from the ignition switch 165.
Manual transmission: Engage a gear
122.
Let the burned
out light cool down.
Check
if the fuse is blown 317 .
Replace the burned
out light according to
Practical tips 321