warning VOLKSWAGEN GOLF 2012 Owner's Manual

Adjusting the seating position
Introduction
this section find inf ormation about:
Examp les
of improper seat ing pos itions . . . 59
Pr ope r seating position . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Manual contr ols on the driver and passe nger
seat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 Ele ctrica l co ntr ols o n the driver and front
passenger seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Adj ustin g
the head restra ints . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
R emoving and re in stalling head restraints . . . 64
Adj usting the stee
ring whee l position . . . . . . . 65
Cen te r armrest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Number of seats
Th e vehicle
has a t otal of 5 seat ing posit ions: 2 in front and 3 in the rea r. Eac h seating pos ition has a
safety belt.
More information:
funct ions 67
page 69
Ai r ba g syste m 82
safety and child restraints
WARNING
Improper seat ing pos itions increase the risk of severe or fatal injuries in a crash or other accidents,
times .
Never
Always secure children in the vehicle with a n approved and suitable restraint system appropriate for their age, weight, and height 82 .
Always keep your feet on the in front of the seat. Never rest them on the seat,
Always adjust seat , safety belts, and head straints properly before driving and make sure that
inches (25 em) betw een the front pa ssenger' s breastbone and the in strument panel.
ches (25 em) between your breastbone and the steering wheel.
Adjust the driver's seat so that you can push the pedals while keeping your knee(s) slightly bent. The
di stance to the instrument panel in the knee
a rea must be at least 4 inche s
these requirements cannot be met for physical reason s, contact an authorized
Volk swagen dealer or an auth orized gen Facility to see whether adaptive equipment is avai la bl e.
Always hold the steering wheel on the side of the steering wheel rim with your hands at the 9 o'clock and 3 o'clock positions to help reduce the risk of personal injury if the driver's airbag inflates .
Never hold the steering whee l a t the
12 o'clock position or with your hands at e r places inside the steering whee l rim or on the steering wheel hub. Holding the steering wheel the wrong way can cause serious rie s to the hand s, arm s, and head if the
Pointing the steer ing whe el t oward your face dec reases the of the driver's bag to h elp protect you in a
Never drive with backrest s reclined or ed back farthe r than necessary to drive

Damage to safety belts re duces their effective ne ss and increa ses the risk of seri­ous personal injury and death whenever the
v ehicle is being used.
Torn or frayed safety belts can te ar, and
damag ed safety belt hardware can break
web­
bing, bindings, buc kles, or retractors are damaged , hav e the belts replaced immediate­
ly with the correct replacement belts proved by Volkswagen for your vehicle, mod­el , and model yea r.
Fig . 45 Warning light in the instrume nt
Lights up or Possible caus e flas hes
Driver and front p asse nge r have not
tened their safety belts, if fr o nt passenger sea t is occup ied.
Heavy items on the front passe nge r seat.
Whe n the ign itio n is switched on, seve ra l warni ng
and indica tor lights come on brie fly for a func tion
check. They go out after a few seconds.
A warning chime also sounds.
Replacement after a crash may be neces­
s ary even if a sa fety belt shows no visible damag e. Anchorages that have been loaded must also be inspect ed .
D amaged safety belts must be replaced ; they cannot be repaired .
Never try to repair a dam ag ed s afety belt yourself. Never remove or modify the safety
belts in any way.
Have safety belts, bindings, retractors and buckles replaced by an authorized
Always keep the belts clean . Dirty belts
may not work
tory information and heed the WARN­on page 69.
Proper response
Fasten safety belts .
Re move it e m s f
rom fr ont passe nger seat and
stow them safe ly .
T
he safety belt wa rnin g light comes on f or 6 sec­
onds when the ignition is sw itched on. A warning
ch ime also sounds for up to 6 seco nds if the driv­er's safe ty belt is not bu ckl ed . Th e c hime stops
soone r if the driver buckles his or her safe ty be lt.

and the chime go out when both
driver and f ront passenger have bucked their ty
again sound for about 6 seconds, then go off for abo ut 24 seconds, then sound aga in for about anolher 6 seconds. The same thing happens
i f one of the safety fastened warning
of physics
Fig. 46 A vehicle with passengers not wearing safety
on page 69.
The physical principles of a frontal are
s imple . Both the moving vehicle and the passenger
possess energy 46, which varies with
er the vehicle 's weight, th e more energy h as to be "abso rbed" in a c rash.
speed is the most significan t factor .
they are not "attached " to the
increases the risk of severe personal injury or death.
with passengers not wea ring
safety
keep moving at the same speed the ve hicle was moving just befo re the cras h,
in the example are not wearing safety their entire kinetic energy pact with the 47.
The same principles on the highway. Even at
c ity speeds of 20 to 30 mph (30 to 50 km/h), the
fo rces acting on the body can reach one ton
(2 ,000 o r kg) or more. At greater speeds,
these forces are even higher.
of physics don't j ust to frontal they determine what happens in kinds of accidents and properly and safel y 71

cause the safe ty belt pretensioner to deploy u n­
necessar ily and the front passe nger airbag to de­
p loy late r in that would
not be ab le to p rovi de enou gh pro tection
f or an occupant not wearing a safety be lt.
use t he safe ty b elt ex te n de r app ro ved by Volkswage n for your veh ic le .
Im
proper use or positioning of a safety belt extender increases the risk of serious per­
sonal injury and death .
A driver or passenger who is not properly restrained can be seriously Injured by strik­
Safety belt extenders offer optimum pro­tection only when they are properly used.
use th e ex te nder when the belt is not tong enough to be worn tow and snug a.n.d the person the correct seating
Always make sure the safety belt tongue of the safety belt extender the buckle for the seating position that belongs to the seat where the safety belt extender is being used. Attaching the safety belt to the wrong buckle will reduce safety
belt effectiveness and can cause serious per­
sona l injury.
Never use a safety belt extender if the dis­tance (B) between the front edge of the safety belt extender buckle (A) and the centerline of the person using the safety belt extende r less than 6 inches (15 em).
Never leave a safety belt extender attach­ed to the vehicle safety belt buckle when the
extender is not needed and being used with the
safety belt.
the airbag control module will receive an incorrect signal from the safety belt buckle and this will prevent
the alrbag from working properly for a person who is not usi ng the safe ty belt.
Never use the safety belt extender to se­
cure a child restraint.
Never use the safet y belt extender you got for your vehicle for any other vehicle, regard­less of make, model, or model year.
be­used. The elect ronic control unit for the air­
bag system will then receive incorrect informa­
tion that will
- cause the safety belt pretensioner to de­ploy unnecessarily in collisions
-cause the fron t passenger alrbag to de­ploy la ter in collisions
A pretens ioner that has deployed cannot be
repaired . The entire safety belt must be re­
placed .
being used. The warning

Lights and vision
Lights
lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
Turn signal lever and high beam switch . . . . . 123
Switching li ghts on and off . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
lights and Vision functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
and reading lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
A lways obey loca l ve
hicle lighting laws.
The drive r is always responsible for the correct
headlight settings.
More information:
Exterior views
Volkswagen
Changing a light bulb
Headlights that are aimed too high and
an d distract other drive rs. This can lea d to a crash and serious personal injuri es .
Always make sure that are properly adjusted .
or distrac t other drive rs . on p age 122.
Lights up Possible cause
or more driving lights not wor king .
. Adaptive Front lighting ma l-
function.
Fog lig hts switched on (ind icator light on the
headlight switch).
L eft
or right turn signal. The indicator light blinks twice as fast if a turn
signal is not working on the vehicle or the
t r a iler .
Daytime running lights
High beams switched on or headl ight nashers
i n u se.
When the ignit io n is sw itched on, several warning
and indicator lights come on
122 Before driving Prope
r response
Replace burn ed out bulb
all light bulb s are
Fa cility .
125
123.

sion and serious personal injury.
on emergency flashers and set up a warning
can result in vehicle damage.
Discharge head lig ht s provide bright, uniform lightin g to help you
see and be seen. The light comes from an electric
arc between 2 electrodes in the gas-filled bulb.
lamp's
contro l un it then inc reases th e vo ltage to keep th e
arc 's bright ness consta nt. However , the commo nly
called bulb s will also ultimately burn out. Before they burn o ut, lamps can flicker . A
message will then appear in the MFD. This is your
r emi nder to see an aut ho rized Volkswagen dealer or an authorized Volkswage n
Turn
tory information and heed the on page 122.
Move
the l ever to the des ired position.
Right turn signal .
Le ft turn signal.
high bea ms on in dicator
light comes on in the instrument cluster
when the hig h beams are switc hed on.
H ead li gh t flasher. The headlight flasher turns
on the high beams as long as the leve r is
p ulled and man ually held
in the pulled position .
The indica tor light lights up. When released,
the lever moves back to the home position and
turns off the high beams. The indic ator light goes out.
Move the lever back to t
he home posit io n to turn
off th e se lected feature.
Lane change signaling feature (comfort turn signal)
T o use
the lane change sig n aling feature , move the
lever up or down slightly , just to th e point of you have lane cha n ge flash (Ln. chg. flash) switched on, the turn si g­nals and the turn sign al in dicator flash 3 ti mes . it is sw itched off, they flash as long as you hold th e
leve r up or down, and go out when you release the
lever.
L ane change flash is switched on and off
in the Lights & menu in the instr ument cluster
d isplay your vehic le is not equipped
Lights and vision 123

with the Lights & Vision menu, the feature can
be deactivated by an authorized Volkswagen deal­
er or authorized Volkswagen Service Facility.
use of high beams can distract and blind others, causing accidents and serious injuries.
299.
Switching
The indicator twice as fast if a turn signa l bulb is burned out.
High beams can only be switched on when low beams are on. tory information and hee d the WARN­on page 122.
Turn
the switch to the desired position
Symbol When the ignition is switched off
Fog lights, low beams and parking lights
switched off.
Low beams off, parking lights (if applicable)
Fog lights switched off. The DRL may stay
on for some time.
Fog lights:
The indicator li ght shows that the fog lights are
switched on.
To switch on the fog lights first turn the light
switch to posi tion and then the li ght switch
out to the first detent.
To switch off the fog lights , push the switch
back in from the first detent. To then turn off the
headlights , turn the switch to position
124 Before driving When
the ig
nition is switched on
Headlights off/daytime running lights (DRL) on.
L
ow beams switched on.
H eadlights and fog
switched on
Acoustic warning when lights are not switched off
the following situation, a warning chime sound if yo u tak e th e ke y out of the ignition and
open the driver door. This is to remind you that
l ig hts are still on.
Light switch in position

find information about:
Indicator light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
129
W indshield wiper lever . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Windshield wiper funct ions ................ 131
Windshiel d wiper service position . . . . . . . . . . 132
Checking and
Exterior views 6
Climate control
Preparations for working in the engine compart­
ment page 222
Exterior care and cleani ng
Windshield washer fluid without enough frost protection can freeze on the windshield and reduce
..
Worn or dirty wiper blades reduce
132. on
windshield washer reservoir at the next
opportun ity 132 .
Failure to heed warning lights or text WARN­can result in vehicle damage .
Light s and vision
129

Shifting
Introduction
this section find information about:
Warning
and i ndicator ... .. . .
Pedals
............. ........... .
Manual transmission: Gearshift lever
172
173
174
Automat ic transm ission :
lever.... 175
Sh ifting with nptro nic ® . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
Driving with automatic transmiss ion 177
Automat ic transmission malfunction . . . . . . . . 178
Explanatory
notes in this sec tion regarding
Direct
The backup lights come on.
Climatronic switches to air culation mode.
The rear window wiper switches on when the
windshield wipers are switched on.
More information:
Braking , stoppi ng and parking 179
Climate control
Engine control and emission control system
Emergency
Rapid acceleration can cause skidding and loss of traction , especially on slippery roads,
re sulting in a loss of vehicle control, sions, and seriou s personal injury.
use the kick-down feature or fast cele ration if visibility, weather, road, and
Constant braking causes the brakes to and se rious personal injury.
the brakes or apply the brake
pedal too often or too long.
substantially reduce braking performance, increase stopping
the brakes by keeping your foot on the brake pedal when you do not want to brake . Thi s make the brakes wear faster.
gine braking and reduce the load on the brakes. Otherwise , the brake system could overheat and even

Warning and indica tor lights
on page 171.
L
ights Possible cause up
transmission too hot.
Brake pedal not depressed.
Flash es Possible
cause
The release button in the selector lever did not engage.
blinks, alternating with the selector lever
indicator , for example D.
When the ignition is switched on, several warning
and indicator lights come on briefly for a funct ion
check . They go out after a few seconds .
Failure to heed warning text messages can cause the vehicle to break down in traffic and result in a injury.
or t ext WARN­
172 While driving Proper
response
Do not continue driving
the warni ng does not turn off, do not continue
driving.
175.
Drive at low en gine speed (rpm) to th e nearest
autho rized Vol kswagen dealer or authorized
Volkswagen F acility to have th e system
checked .
Always stop the vehicle as soon as it is safe to do so.
damage.