check engine VOLKSWAGEN GOLF 2012 Owner's Manual

Fig. 133 the engi ne compartment: Remove the
cover from the vehicle battery.
first read and note the tory information and heed the on page 238.
of the battery if th e vehicle has high in with a
warm a nd if the vehicle has an
Prepare the for work in the engine pa rtm ent 222
the engine hood in Introduction on
page 222
With a hard cover: Press on the 133 in direct ion of t h e arrow and remove the cove r upwa rd.
W ith a son cover: the cove r to the
side in th e direction of the arrow 1 34 .
Checking the vehicle battery acid
the lighting co nd it ions are poo r, use a so tha t you can see the ba ttery charge
indica tor and
The rou nd batt ery window on th e top of the battery ch anges
Care, cleaning, maintenance Fi
g. 134
cove ring of the vehic le battery .
Action cation
Battery
is too The vehicle battery may need to be Light yellow replaced. Have it chec ked by an or colorless thorized Volkswagen or an a uthor ized Volksw ag en
is sa tisfac-
tory.
Working on the batteries can cause serious acid burns, explosion, or
can burn unprotec te d skin and cause ne ss. and eye protection.
Never out of th e battery vents a nd burn you.
Never open a vehi cle battery .
you get battery acid in your eyes or on your skin, immediately rinse with water for several minutes and t hen ge t immediate
medical attention.
you any battery acid, get medi-

Charging,
on page 238.
Charging the vehicle battery
Vehicle batteries should be charged by an author­
ized Volkswagen dealer or an authorized Volkswa­
gen
because the factory -installed
battery requires a charger with overload protection
Replacing the vehicle battery
The battery in your vehicle is
batteries meet­
ing standards TL 825
electrical system, note the following :
off
Unlock the vehicle before disconnecting the
battery; otherwise the alarm system
Fir st disconnect the negativ e cable(-) and then the positive
Connecting the vehicle battery
Pr ior to reconnecting the battery , switch off electrical sys tems and devices and the ignition .
Connect the posit ive cable(+) first and then the
negative cable (-)
After the battery is connected and the ignition is
sw itched on, different indicator light s may come on. They should go out after you drive a short distance
ice Facility and have the checked.
th e ign ition not start after reconnecting the vehicle battery , lock the vehic le from the outside
and unlock it again. Then try to start the ignition
again.
lhe ignition cannot be switched on, con­
tact an authorized Volkswagen dealer, an author­
ized Volkswagen
o r another quali­
fied workshop for assistance.
Automatic electrical load deactivation
onboard electrical system management auto mati ­takes steps to help prevent battery drain.
The idle speed is increa sed so that the alterna­
t o r provides more power.
Th e power to devices that consume a lot of electricity is cut back or switched off completely.
When the engine is started, the power supply to the 12
Long periods when the engine is not running,
especially when the ignition is on .
Using electr ical sys tems or devices when the
engine is swi tched off. Leaving the
The selecto r lever is left for a long period of time in any position other than P when the ignition
is swi tched off =>page 175.
Failure to use th e proper battery with proper mounting and connection s may cause short circu its, fires, and serious persona l injuries.
Always use only maintenance-free or cy-
cle-free, leak-proof batteries with the sa me
s p ec ifications and dimensions as the original
equipment b attery. Specifications are listed
on the battery housing.
Wh en the vehicle battery is ch arged, it produ-
ces highly explosive hydroge n gas.
th e engine compartment

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

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

up a warning triangle or other warning device in order to alert other motorists and cyclists.
9. Let the engine cool down and get expert assistance if necessary .
are on, use the turn
Traffic suddenly slows down or stops in front of you to warn those approach ing from behind .
any emergency situation.
When being towed.
Always obey traffic laws that govern the use of
emergency
the emergency are not working, a
Disregarding the safety-related checklist may
lead to accidents and serious personal ries.
accepted safety practices and use common sense.
Do it yourself
The vehicle exhaust system and the catalytic converter get very hot. They can cause fires and serious personal injury.
The vehicle battery be drained if the emergency flashers are on for a long time -
even if the ignition is switched off.

in side To do so,
up the jack so it just fits underneath the point.
9. Positio n the jack so that its base is directly underneath the 163, making sure that the
en tire base of t he jack rests
the jack and wind up the jack at the same lime, derneath the
cranking up the jack the
to ous personal injury. To
eve n those approved for other Volkswagen
ground. Th e ground.
a hard , slippery surface (such as a use an anti-skid rubber mat or som ething to prevent the jack from
make sure the jack grips the vertical rib unde r the so that the jack does not off when you are ra ising
the 163 .
314 Do it yourself
other per-sons have any part of their body under the
you must work under a raised on a make sure that the vehi-is
the to one side or the engine is running.
is
s upported by a jack. Engine vibrations may
cause the off the jack.
Disregardi ng the safety-related checklist may to acc idents and serious personal inju-ries.
review and accep ted safety practices and use common sense .

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

Checklist (continued)
12. Never touch the glass
of the light bulb with your bare hands. Fingerprints can cloud the out er sur­face of the light bulb when heated , affecting the lighting power, clouding the reflector, and reduc ing
the bright ness .
1 3 . Always make sure tha t the new bulb works .
cor­
rectly ; the connection plug may not be complete ly seated ; the corresponding fuse may be burned
out ; or the bulb may be bad .
14. Always have the headlights adjusted by an authorized Volkswage n dealer or an author ized Vol ks­
wagen Facility after a headlight bulb has been replaced.
Disregarding the safety-related checklist may
lead to accidents and serious personal inju­ries.
Replacing headlight bulbs
the checklist. Follow accepted safety practices and use common sense .
Always insert and remove lamps carefully to avoid damage to the vehicle paint or to other parts of the vehicle. Fig . 1 69
on page
169 Low be am head- High
beam head-
Parking
321.
2 .
the engine hood
Do

safety seat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103 the rear seat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
seat
B ooster seat ........................ 114 Child seat mounting .................. 114 Co nvertible child sea t . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111 Infant carrier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110 Sec uring with loc ka bl e safety belt ....... 115 Securing with safety belt .............. 115
seats
Child seat mounting .............. 110, 111 Informati on about child restraint systems 121 Transpo rting children in vehicles . . . . . . . 107
veh ic le care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243
Climatronlc
Also see: Air cond iti o ning . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207
............. ........•.......... 18 Sett ing t he time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 8 Setting time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Closing
Doors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . 51 Windows .......................... 53 w ith Keyless Access . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 . . . . . . . 160
Cockp it ......................... ...... 9
. . . . . 28 1
Comfort turn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Communication window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
Compact spare Drivin g style . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269
Front seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
sunro of . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 win dows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Engine coo la nt . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Counter-steering assistance . . . . . . . . . . . 194
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
weight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
D
Data recorded by control units . . . . . . . . . 287
Data recorded
(DRL) . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Daytime running (DRL) deactivation
DRL parking feat ure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Daytime running lights (DRL) parking fea-
ture DRL deact i
vation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Declaration of compliance . . . . . . . . . . . . 294
. . . . . . . . . . . . . 293 Deicing door lock cylinders . . . . . . . . . . . . 249
Deicing locks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 49
Department of Transportation uniform tire quality grades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 292
Diagnosis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297 Differential lock Br aking ass istance systems . . . . . . . 186
Digital clock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Dim en sions . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Doors ............................... 47 Child safe ty lock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 Emergency closing and ope ning . . . . . . . 301 Warnin g light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 Driver door Overview .....................•..... 9 Driving
Driving checklists and warning s . . . . . . . . . 31 Driving in other countries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Driving throug h wa te r on roads . . . . . . . . 33 Efficiency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189 Environmen tally . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189 gauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 5 too . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216 Getting ready . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 on a dow nhill grade . . . . . . . . . . . 183 on an

Some basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 S tarting up on . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
S toppi ng on . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
T hroug h water . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Towi ng ........................... 333
With a traile r . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
W it h aut oma tic transm ission . . . . . . . . . . 177
Driving abroad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Ch ecklist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Driving checklists and warnings . . . . . . . . . 3 1
Driving directions Co mpact spare . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269
Spare . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269
Dri
ving . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Dri
ving safely . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Driving through
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dynamic
Brak ing assistance systems . . . . . . . 186
consumers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 1
deactivation . . . . . . . . . . . . 241
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 3 ,
sockets
1 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
Differentia l Lock (EDL) . . . . . . . 186
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . 185
Em ergency closing and opening . . . . . . . .
P assenge r doo r . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Power sunroof . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . R ea r doo rs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Em ergency closing or opening E mergency release for the selecto r . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Em erg ency flashers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 299
Em erg
ency starting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 327
J umper cables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 328
Emission system . . . . . . . . . . . . . 295
I ndic ator
Engine
B rea k-in period . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283 Does not start . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297
N oises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
Engine and ignition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
1 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
Ignition switch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166 Immobi lizer ......... . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . 222 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227
Plenum chamber . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 9
P repara tions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . 225 Vehicle battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238
En
gine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 295
Engine syste m . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 295 In dicator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 295
Engine coolant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 3
Check ing coo lan t . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233 Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
Temperature gauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233
T opping
off . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236 Warning
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225
Warning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224
Engine identification code Determining . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227
Adding oil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229
Change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231 Checking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229
Consumption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
openi ng . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229
I n dica to r . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227
Specif ica tions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228
Warning
driving . . . . . . . . 189 Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284
................................ 185
Electronic Stability . . . . . . 18 5
E xte rior views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6