steering VOLKSWAGEN GOLF 2012 Owner's Manual

on
to the desired position
® Wiper switched off.
wiping for the windshield. ® Adjust the settings with switch 76
© wiper speed.
the pressed down to wipe faster.
® toward the steering to activate the front windshield washers, then re-
Intermittent wiping for the rear window . The wipe r wipes about every 6 seconds .
Press the forward as far as it
To prevent damage to the wiper outside, ways make sure that before ope rating the wipers. ing the service position can be weather so the wipers do not fre eze to the 132 .
the ignition is switched off the continue at the same wiping speed when the ignition is switch-
Remove snow and ice from the wipers fore you b egin driving.
the wiper
mends using a deicing spray.
if the lion is sw itched on and the engi ne hood is The

Explanatory notes in this section regarding tomatic transmissions Direct
an unauthorized vehicle key is used or the sys­
tem mal functions , Immobilizer active! may
appear on the instrument
stead wh ile following proper and safe procedures.
More information:
Vehicle key set
Shifting gears
Braking , stopp ing and parking =>page 179
Steering 192
Startin g assistance systems
Refueling =>page 214
Emergen cy clo sing and opening
Jump-starting
Towing
off the engine while the vehicle is moving can make the vehicle harder to stop and result in loss of vehicle control, leading to collisions and severe perso nal injurie s.
To reduce the risk of serious personal injury when starting and running the vehicle's gine:
shifting, parking 165

Keyless Access locking and starting sys­
tem :
on page 165.
The starter button
be used when an au­
t horized
the elec tronic steering is ac tivated when the ignit io n is
swi tched off and the driver door is opened
192.
Switching the ignition on and off
press the starter button once without op­
e rating the brake or
Emergency start feature
an authorize d remote veh icle key is in the
passenger compartment but the inst rume nt
can
Make sure the
key to the right of the steering trim immed iate ly after
p ressing the starter button
the
eng ine starts.
Emergency shut-off
the engine does not switch off by
Press the starte r butt on twice within one sec­
ond or once for more than 2 secon ds
Engine restart function
no author ize d r emote control veh ic le key is iden­
tified in the passenger compartmen t afte r the en­
gine has been switched off, the engin e can be re­
s tarted wi
thin about 5 seconds . A rela ted message
is sh ow n in the instrument cluster displa y.
Afte r the
5 seconds have passed, the engine can
n o be started without an author ized ve hicle
key in the passenger compartment.
Unintended
in se­
rious
start th e engine, and operate vehicle systems such as the power windows,
The doors can be
Starting, shifting, parking 167

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

Lights cause or up
I
ES deactivated.
I Together with indicator malfunction .
T ogethe r with warning
or BRAKE:
Brake not dep ressed.
cause
I
The butt on in the is not
engaged .
When the ign ition is switch ed on,
text messages can cause the to break down in traffic and
or text WARN­
stop the as soon as it is safe to do so.
Driving with bad brakes can cause a and serious
the brake warning BRAKE or does not go out, or comes on when driving, either the brake or there is a the as soon as you can do so and get expert assistance 187, Brake
fluid.
the brake warning comes on at the same time as the or the
187 . automatically
turns on when you turn the ignition on and off.
an authorized Volkswagen or an thorized Volkswage n The brake s work without
to
Adapt driving to
road conditions.
E ngage the Automatic
Lock
This up brake
you is safe to drive, drive and very authorized Volkswagen Service or other
spected. Avoid sudden hard braking and steering.
or does not go out, or if it comes on while driving, the system is not working can then be stopped with the
s tandard brakes (without not have the protection
thorized Volkswagen Service as soon as
Starting, shifting, parki ng 181

Steering
Introduction
this section
is an system. The advantage of this
steering system is that no hoses,
quired. The system is more
pressure in the system; an
steering.
The electro-mechanica l power steering syst
em tomatically adjusts to driving speed, steering of the
turning the
Starting and stopping the engine
battery page 238
Towing
Warning and indicator lights
Turning the stee ring
the
when the
the coast with the engine switched off.
the to a stop. Th e steering and you b e to the first read and note the introductory information and heed the on page 192.
Li g
hts up ca use Proper response
Power steering malfuncti on. Have
the powe r stee ring system checked imme-by an authorized Volkswagen or an authorized Volkswagen Service
Stop, restart the engi ne. and drive a short dis-
lance . the does not come
on again, you do not need to have the steering
P ower steering assist is reduced . system checked .
Otherwise , have the steering checked immedi-by an authorized Volkswagen
12 mph
been reconnected . (1 5 -

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.

worn down.
,
chains can scratch or damage
recommends using coated snow chains. Glossary of tire and loading terminology
on
page 258.
Accessory
weight
The combined weight (in excess of
those standard items which may be
of automatic trans miss ion,
power steering ,
power brakes, po
wer w indo ws, power
seats, radio, a nd heater , to
the extent
that these items are
equipment (whethe r in­
or
indi cates a tire with a
shorter
for impro ved ste ering
response and better
on dry pavement.
Bead
The part of a tire made of wires,
wrapped or r einfo rced by
cords ,
w ith the shape and structure to en­
sure proper fit to th e
rim .
Bead separation
A breakdown of the bo nd between
components in the bead.
276 maintenance
Carcass
The tire structure, except tread and
Cord
The strands of forming the
or inner
manufacturer for a tire of a
speci
fied size that has not been driv­
en for more than a

on the steering wheel, in­strument panel, backre sts or between these
a reas and the occupant. objects could cause serious injury in a
phone or and sepa­
rate outside antenna can be dangerous to
Fig. 14 3 Front point for work sh op hoist or floor
jack .
tory information and heed the WARN­on page 283 .
The 143 an d 144 . the is lift e d at diff erent po ints, dam ­
age and ser io us injuri es ma y occur
Works hop hois ts that use fluid cushion s ( rece iving
platfo rms) must n ot be used for lifti ng t he
There are many precautions that have to be fol­
lowed when lifting a vehicl e on a workshop hoist or
your health and that of your passengers be­
cause th e e lectromagnetic radiation energy
that phones and limits. This a lso p roperly.
Always keep the em) away from pacemak­
e rs. Heart phones can adverse ly affect the way pacemakers work.
Never carry a phone that is switched on the breast pocket directly over a pace­
maker .
you suspect there may be Interference with a pacemaker or other medical device, switch the phone off immediately.
Fig. 144 Rea r lift point for works hop hois t or floor jack .
I n formation about liftin g t
he veh icle with the
Improper ly your vehicl e with a work­shop hoist or floor jack can cause the vehicle to off and ca use serious per son al Injury.
Always read and heed the operating structions from the floor jack manufacturer and legal regulations if necessary before us­ing th e floor jack to the vehicle .
Never let anyone stay in the vehicle whe n
Vehicle care and maint enanc e