check engine VOLKSWAGEN GOLF 2012 User Guide

the fuel and take the fuel cap back
on the
Afte r switc hing on the ignition , the light
may stay on or the text message may
however, the malfunction indi cato r light also
comes on, drive to your nearest authorized Volks­
wagen deale r or a uthorized
Vol kswage n Facility and have the fuel system and the engine
checked .
Driving with a fu el tank that is almost empty can lead to and serious personal injuries.
Refueling
Fig . 125 Fuel cap placed on the open fuel
tory information and hee d the WARN­on page 214.
Before refue ling , always switch off the engine, the
i gniti on , and phones , and leave them
switc hed off unt il refu eling is complete .
when driving over bumps, across slopes, and up and down
and relat ed systems no t work if the engine or due to lack o f f uel.
to reduce the risk of running out of fuel and stalling in traffic.
ca n re sult vehicle damage .
fuel supply can cause the
engi ne to misfire . This
The arrow next to the gas pump symbo l in the fuel gauge 124 shows the of the vehicle with the fuel filler Opening the fuel cap
Unlo ck the vehicle from the outside with the ve­
h ic le key or pres s the central loc king button in driv­
er
to unlock the vehicle from the inside 41.
The fuel
Pre ss on the back part of the fuel and
fold open .
Unscrew the fuel cap counterclockwise
and remove . Plac e the cap on the top of the fue l 125 .
The correc t fuel grade for you r vehicle is listed on
a sticker on the insid e of the fuel 125.
The fuel tank is full when the automatic filler nozzle pump switch es off the first time
Do not try to add fuel after the pump stops!
T opping off the tank in this way may the expan­
sion space that the tank needs and cause fuel to
for exam ple, if it gets warmer out side .

Screw the cap neck you hear it
you hear it shut. The must be with the vehi­body.
WARNING
burns, and other severe injuries.
stop once the pump noz­
from
may the environment.
on
________
on page 214.
The engine compartment of any motor
you
know how to carry out the job,
have the correct information and the
proper and
are wi th the necessary safety precau­
tions
you are uncertain in any way, have the work done by an authorized Serious injury may from pe rf ormed work. Make
s ur e that you check the The best thing is to check them every time you
129
227
Brake fluid 179
Tire pressu re
beams and high beams
-
- Brake
regardin g changing
At the gas station 217

Never open or close the engine hood if To reduce th e risk of electrica l shock and steam or coolant is escaping. Hot steam or personal injury
-Never touch ignition cables. Never ant escaping from the engine. touch other components of the high
Always the eng ine down com-age electronic ignition syste m .
opening the hood.
-Never touch the wiring of the Discharge (Xenon) headlights.
system burn skin on contact.
you are read y to open the hood: Moving parts in th e engine compartment can
- Firm ly apply the parking brake a nd shift cause serious personal injury on contact. the transmission into Park (P) (automatic)
vehicles with Keyless Access, make member that the radiator fan is temperature-
s
ure that the remote contro l vehicle key is controlled and can come on sudden ly even
out of range of th e vehicle and that the ve- when the engine
has been switched off for a
hicl e cannot be started by depres sing the 44. ignition.
-
Always keep children and others away you have to perform a check or repair from the engine compartment and never when the engine is runn ing, there are more leave them unsupervised. risks from the rotating parts, such as the
hair do not get caught in
ries. rotating engine
parts. B efore starting an y
- Turn
the cap
fluids onto hot parts of the engine o r exhaust system can
cause a fire. -
Always use
extreme caution if the ac-
ce lerato r pedal has to be depressed to perform a check. The vehicle will start to move even if the parking brake i s on.
Never leave any objects in the engine compartment, for examp le cleaning rags and tools. Objects left b ehind can cause malfunc-lions, engine damage, and even fires.
High voltage sy stems in the engine com part-ment can ca use electrica l shocks or even
electrocution, severe burns, other serious in-juries, and eve n deathl
Neve r short-circuit the electrica l syste m .
B e especially ca reful when using jumper ca-
Operating fluids and some materials in the engi ne compartment can catch fire easily, causing burns an d other serious personal in-juries
Do not smoke .
b les. The
vehicle 's battery could exp lode! Never work next to open flames or sparks .
223

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 oil
find information about:
Wa rning a
nd indicator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227
Engin e oil specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228
Engin e oil capac ity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229
Checking th e engine oil level and adding oil . 229
Eng ine oil consumpt ion . . . . . . 23 0
Changing engine oil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
231
More information:
P reparations for work ing in the engine compart­
m en t 222
Parts, accessories, repairs and modi fications 283
handling of engine oil can cause vere burns and other serious injuries.
Store engine oil only in the closed original container. This also applies to used oil until disposal.
tainers that might mislead someone into drinking from them.
other operating fluids, engine oil can leaking and
sp illed operating fluids and dispose of them erly in accordance with
Please first read and note the introductory information and heed the on page 227.
Lights Possible cause Proper response up
Engine oil
leve l too low. the engine. Check the engine oil level
-
off the engine. Check the engin e lev-
el. -the warn ing light flashes although the oil lev-Engin e oil p ressure to o low . el is norm al, do not co ntinue driving or let the
engi ne idle. the engine could be damaged.
Contact an auth orize d Volkswagen dealer or an
authorized Volkswagen Facility.
Have the engine oil sensor checked by an au-
Engine oil leve l se nsor malfun ction. thorized Volksw agen dealer or an authorized --Volkswage n Faci lity.
the engine compartment 227

When the ignition is switched seve ra l warn ing
and indica tor lights come on for a function
check . They go out after a few seconds.
to break down in traffic and result in a sion and serious personal injury.
Engine
on page 227.
The engine oil used must conform to exact specifi­
cations .
Using the proper engine oil is important for the
functionality and service life
of the engine.
engine was factory-filled with a high-qua lity ,
" synthe tic "
you need to add oil between oil changes, use on­
l y a high quality oil that expressly complies with the Volksw age n oil quality sta ndard specified for your
vehic le 's engine:
Engine s Engine
oil specifi-cation
vw Ga
soline engines vw vw
At the time this Manual was printed, the engine oils
avai lab le in the U.S. that meet these Volkswagen
standards are "syn thetic" oils. Th is does not mean,
howe ver, that any "synthetic " engine oil wi ll meet
Volkswagen standards. A lways use an app roved
228 cl eaning , m aint en ance
or text WARN ­
"synthetic" oil that meets the applicable Volkswa­
gen oil quality standard with viscosi ty grade
or is not availab le in your area,
be sure to use a viscosity grade suitabl e for the cli­
mate, season , and operating conditions th at exist
where the vehicle is used . Make sure the oil meets
the qual i
ty standard listed in on page 228.
Engine oils are cons tantly being improved. Author­
ized Volkswagen dealers and
authorized Volkswa­
gen Service Facilities are a lways up-to-da le re­
garding new developments and changes. Volkswa­
gen therefore recommends
tha t you have the en­
gine oil changed by an authorized Volkswagen
deale r
or an authorized Volkswagen
that meets the Volk swage n oil standard your engine requires, you may add a total of no more than 1/2 quart liter) of a high-quality
or
not be covered by any Volks­wagen Limited Warranty.
Do not mix any lubricants or other additives into the engine oil. Doing so can cause engine
damage! Damage caused by the se kinds of ad­ditives are not covered by any Volk swagen
Limited Warranty .

Engine
on page 227.
Engin es Engine
Checking the engine
Fig. 128 marks . Fig
. 129 the engine compartment: Engine
first rea d and note the introductory information and heed the on page 227.
Perf orm the steps in the order
1. With the engine at operating temperature, park the ve hic le on a surface to prevent an
incorrect r eadi ng.
2. off the engine and wait a few minutes for the engine to flow back int o the pan .
3. the engi ne hood in Introduc tion on page 222.
4. Find the opening and the dipstic k. can identify these by the on the engi ne cap =>fig . 129 and the co lo red hand le on the dipstick . dealer or aut horized Fa­
the way in. dipstick, make sure it lin es up with the notch in the guide tube, and that the dipstick goes the way in.
7 . Remove the dipstick again and
read the on the dipstick 128 as described below:
Do not add any Continue with step 15.
@ : may be added (about 1 pint liter). Continue with step 8 or step 15.
©: You must add Continue with step 8.
8 . After reading the oil level , reinsert the dipstick back into the guide tube
and push it the way in.
9. Remove the cap on the engine oil opening =>fig. 129 .
the engine compartment 229

Engine
this section you'll find information about
Warning light and en gine coolant tempe rature
gaug e ................................. 233
En gine coolant spec ifica tions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
Checking engine coolan t level and toppi ng
o ff 236
Ne ver do any work
on the coolant system unle ss
you
know exactly how to carry out the job,
have the correct technical inform ation and the
proper tools, supplie s, and operating fluids, and
are fa miliar with the necessary safety
you are uncertain in any way, have the work
done by an authori zed Volkswage n dea le r or an
a uth orized Volkswagen
in jury may
to wing =>page 149
Preparat ions for work ing in the engi ne page 222
Parts, accesso ries, repai rs and modifications =>page 283
Engine coolant is poisonous!
To reduce the risk of poisoning, never
store engine coolant in empty food or age containers or in any other containers that might mislead someone into drinking from them.
Always make sure there is enough of the correct coolant additive to provide proper tifreeze protection at the coldest tures that can be expe cted where the vehicle will be used .
At extremely cold temperatures, the ant could freeze, causing the vehicle to break down. The heater would also not work, and
vehi cle occupants could be without
Coolant and coolant additives can po llute the en vironme nt. leaking ope rati ng fluids
a nd dis pose of them properly in acco rdance with
applicab le environment al
Warning light and engine coolant temperature gauge
Fig.
perature range;© Warning zone.
first read and note the
on page 233.
the in dicator in the engine coolant tempera ture
gauge is located in the cold range @, the engine
h as not reached operating temperature . H igh
gi ne s peeds and heavy engine loads should be
avo ided .
Under normal driving con
ditions , the needle should
be in the middle of the gauge . The tempe ratu re
may go higher when the engine is working hard, espec ially i n h ot weather.
When
the ign ition is switched on, seve ra l warn ing and indicato r
the engine compartment 233

Checking engine coolant level and topping off
Fig. 13 1 Coolant expan sion tank in the engi ne
compartme nt.
Please first read and note the introduc­tory Information and heed the WARN ­on page 233.
Park the vehicle on level ground .
Always let the engine down
the engine hood in Introduction on
page 222.
There is a sy mbol on the cap of the engine coolant expans ion tank 132 .
Checking engine coolant
When the engine is cold , check the engine
coolant level relative to the marking on the side of the expansion tank 13 1.
the coolant level in the tank is below the mini ­
mum mark ("min"), add coolant. When th e engi ne is warm, the engine coolant level may be slig htly
above the upper edge of the marked range.
Adding engine coolant
Always protect face, hands and arms from hot
escaping coolant or steam by covering the cap
with a large , thick rag.
Carefully unscrew the cap
Add only new engine coolant according to
The engine coolant level must be inside the
marks on the side of the reservoir 131. Do not
236 cleaning, maintenance Fig.
132 Coola nt expansion tank cap in the eng ine
compa rtment.
Screw the lid tightly .
Even in an emergency , do not use any other kind of coolant additive if engine coolant meeting
add distilled water only As
soon as possible , have the correct coolant ratio re­
sto red using engine coolant that meet s
WARNING
Hot steam and hot engine coolant can cau se serious burns.
Neve r open the hood you see steam or coolant escaping from the engine compart­ment. Always w ai t until you no longer see or hea r steam or co olant escaping from the en­
gine .
opening the hood. Hot components will burn skin on contact.
Park (P) (automatic) or Neutral (manua l only).
- Take the vehicle key
out of the ignition.
-
veh icles with Keyless Access, make
sure that the remote control vehicle key is out of range of the vehicle and that the ve­hicle cannot be sta rted by depressing the
starte r button 44.
-
Always keep children and others away
from the engine compartment and never
l eave them unsupervised.

California Proposition 65 Warning
nect 2 vehicle batteries to each other when the ignition is switched on or the engine is
tem or electronic components.
violet rays may damage the battery housing.
dam-aged by freezing . Warning light
on
Alterna tor malfun ction .
W he n t he igni tion i s sw itched on, severa l wa rnin g
a n d i ndi cato r li g ht s
come on brie fly for a functio n
check . They go out after a few seconds.
Failure to heed warning
Faci lity . H av e the
e le c tric al sys tem checked. o ff unn ecessa ry electrica l loads . The ve-batt ery
to h ee d warning or text can result in vehicle damage.