start VOLKSWAGEN GOLF 2012 Owner's Guide

on page 58.
The cont rols on the front passenger seat mirro r
those on the driver seat. Fig
. 36 Lumbar support control (if app licable) .
There
may be both manual and elect rical
Forward or back-Adjust backrest angle. ward.
Press fig. 36 switch for each area:
Adjust lumbar support.
Adjust lumbar support height.
Improper use of electrical seat controls can cause serious personal injuries.
up the stored memory set-
tings for the front seats.
on ply concentrated pressure to a area of the seat or backrest.
the vehicle battery is too weak , the elect ri­cal seat adjustment controls may not work .
When entering and exiting the vehicle , be careful not to come into contact with any
switches that could change the seat adjustment.
Starting the engine stops seat adjustment.

When an airbag deploys , fine dust is released.
This is normal and is not caused by a fire in the hicle . This dust is made up mostly of a powder
used to lubricate the airbags as they deploy. This
dust could irritate skin and eyes and cause
ciently when used with properly worn safety belts
and a proper seating position in Introduct ion on page 58
equipment
Your safety and the safety of your passenge rs
shouldn't be left to c hance. Advances in
gy have made a number of featu res availab le to
help reduce the risk of injury in a collision . The
Sophisticated safety belts for
belt pretensioners for driver and front
passenger .
Advanced front airbag system for driver and
front passenger .
ger.
Airbag indicato r
BAG light.
Electronic control unit and associa ted sensors.
Before driving
Head restraints with height adjustmen t
Adjustable steering column.
LATCH/U CRA lower universal and top tether
anchorages for child safety seats at the rear
These features
can't work as a system if they are not always
be tu rned
off if the weight on the front passe nger seat is less
than the amount programmed in the elect ronic
con t
rol unit . Th e front airbag on the passenge r side
will also be turned off if the combine d weigh t of an
i nfant
of about one year of age in one of the child
seats that was used to certify the Advanced Airbag
ard BAG
Never rely on airbags alone for protection.
69, Safety belts.
ery per son in the vehicle is properly seated on a sea t of his or her own, properly fastens the safety belts belonging to that seat before the vehicle starts to move, and keeps the belts properly fasten ed while riding i n the hicle. This applies eve n when just driving around town. Therefore, always wear your safety belts and make sure that everybody in your vehicle is properl y restrai ned .
too close to the steering wheel or strument panel decrease the ness of the airbags and will increase the risk of personal injury in a collision.

you to route the belt around the head restraint.
on the rea r seat.
on pag e
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) ommends that infants shou ld ride in rear-facing
ca r safety seats (in whic h the child faces the back
o f the vehicle) starting wi
th their first ride hom e
from the i nfants and todd le rs s hould
r ide in a rea r-facing car safety seat until they are
2 years
Rear- facing child
seats can be used safely only on the rea r sea t of the vehicle 65 .
Before
a ch ild restrain t on the front senge r sea t, b e s ure to the specia l in str u c­
t ions and h eed the wa rning s and
Before driving
. ,
When using the vehic le safe ty
to help prevent
the sea t from mov ing
a tether strap is being used to tie the child
seat to the front passenger seat, make sure that it
is not so tight that it causes the weig ht-sensing mat
to measu re more weight than
is actually on the
seat and turn the front passenger airb ag on when it
mus t be off (suppressed).
Th e ai r
bag on the passenger side makes the front seat a pote nti ally dangerous place for a ch ild to
ride. The fron t sea t is no t the safest place fo r a is a very gerous place for an infant or a larger
seat s or infant carriers on the fron t pas senger sea t,
eve n with an Advanced Airbag System. A child
again st the
b ackres t, center armrest, door or roof.

Introduction
this section
..
L oading the trailer
.............. ........ .
Driving with a trailer ..... . .. .. ........... .
mount .... . .
Retrofitting a trai l
er hitch ................ .
Max imum permissible trailer weight ... . 150
151
151
152
154
155
156
for
more concentratio n from the
dr iver . Always the ope rat ing and driving in ­
stru ctions given , and use common sense.
Un der winter conditions ,
win ter tires on the
vehicle and the trailer.
Tongue weight
The m aximum permissible tow bar tongue weight
exerted on the mount should not exceed kg).
More information:
Anti-theft a larm system
Lights page 122
Startin g assistance systems 195
Tires and wheels page 258
Parts, accessories, repairs and modifications
Riding in a trailer is dangerous and may be il­
incorrect, or damaged trailer hitch can
cause the trailer to separate from the towing vehicle and cause serious personal injuries.
use an undamaged, properly mount­
ed trail er hitch.
mount when you are not towing a trailer.
properly with suit­able and undamaged straps so that the not shift.
and under unfavorable weather, or wind conditions.
careful when passing other vehicles.
Transporting 149

some area s, speed
is higher.
you are driv ing a new vehicle or a ve hicle with a new or rebui lt engine, do not tow a during the break-in period, about 283.
Technical requirements
tory informatio n an d heed the WARN­on page 149.
Use only a weight-car rying
hitch must be suitable for
you r
a "weight -dis­
tributing " or "load-equalizing " trailer hitch on your The vehicle is not designed for this kind of trailer hitch
Do not use a bumper-mounted traile r hitch
Never
a trailer hitch on the bumper or on the
bumper attachments. The trailer hitch must not in­
terfe re with the impact-absorbing bumper system.
Do not make any changes to the vehicle exhaust
and brake systems. From time to time, check that trailer hitch mounting bolts are secure ly fas­
tened. When you are not towing, remove the trailer
hitch. This
helps keep the trailer hitch from causing damage if your vehicle is hit from behind.
Engine cooling syste m
Tow i
ng a trailer makes the engine and its cooling
system work harder.
Before driving
maintenance more often because of the extra
load it has to move.
When you are not towing , remove the trailer hitch
Some models need a trailer hitch to tow or tow-start other vehicles. after it has
been removed. Be sure to stow it securely. Trailer brakes
your trailer has its own brakes , make sure it
meets
151 .
T ra
iler
Trailer lights must meet regulations 151.
Never connect the trailer lights directly to the elec­
t rical system
of your
Outside mirrors
you cannot see the traffic behind you using the
r egular outside mirrors, then you must ex­
t ended mirrors. Extended mirrors may also be re­
quired by law in some countries
I states I provin ­
ces . Always adjust the outside mirrors befo re dr iv­ing. It's vital that you always have a clear view to
the rear of the veh icle .
Maximum po w er con sumption fo r the trailer
Do not exceed the power ratings listed in the chart
b elow.
E l
ectr ica l load Maximum power
Taillights total

Volkswagen Service Vehicles with Xenon
gas-discharge self-adjust to vehicle load
and do not need manual adjustment.
Special towing considerations
th e t railer has an overrun brake, apply the
br akes
Due to the combined towing weight including
the higher gross vehicle weight, the stopping
tance is longer.
Be fo re drivi ng especially on
The vehicle's center of grav ity and , in turn, the
Weight distribution is especially bad if the is emp ty and the trailer is loaded.
Depending on how steep the is an d the
backwards when you first start moving.
When starting off with a tra iler on a
Depress and hold the brake pedal and depress
and hold the clutch (manu al transmission).
171, Shifting .
Unlock the parking brake a nd gently release it
whi le holding the unlock button. At the same time,
release the brake pedal and
depress the
accelerator and, for manual transmissions , let out
the clutch
you can feel the car moving ward . applicable, follow the instruct ions for the Hold feat ure
Do not release the parking brake lever until the
engine starts to move the vehicle forward. your
vehicle has an automatic tr ansmission , you can
so depress and hold the brake peda l for added
b raking and then Jet up on the brake pedal when
you feel that the to move forward .
Drive ahead slowly.
hicle contro l and serious per sonal injury.
dles and increases the distance it needs to stop safely .
Always adapt your sp ee d and driving to th e heavier loa d and the weight distribution in the vehicle. Tak e road , weather , traffic, and visibility conditions into account as well .
Always avoid sudde n maneuv ers and ha rd braking.
atin g.
som e areas
s p ee d for vehicles towing trailers are
lower than for vehicles without trailers. T ra n spo rting

N
12 Volt sockets
Introduction
sockets in the . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
devices can be connecte d to the 12 socke ts .
Th e co nn ected devices
must be in good worki ng
order .
More information:
Parts . accessories. repairs a nd modifications 283
Consume r informa tion
use of
unattended in the and connected devices can be
used when the ignition is switched on.
switch it off and disconnect the power
12
Fig . Front center 12
or battery charger to a
12 socket.
ed for electromagnetic with a
ations, switch off nected to the 12 socket before switching the ignition on or off or starting the engine.
socket that draw more than the maximum wattage the socket can Drawing too much power
can damage the
turn off the engine when you stop for any of time.
m The battery drain if you use equipmen t when the engine is not run-
ning.
m reception or the system.
m Operating shiel d-integrat ed ant enna may interfere with
A M r adio recept ion. Fig . the luggag e compartment: 12 socket.
and equipment

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

Fig.
tory information and heed the on page 165.
there is no key in the ignition, the
key posi tio n
key can be
r emoved .
Ignit ion is switched on . S teering
the engi ne. When the e ngin e starts . key. When the key return s to position
you use the wrong key
an unautho rized key has bee n in serted
int o the ignition switch , it can be removed as
Automatic transmission : The vehicle key cannot
b e remo ved from the
rect position . Press the and The key can now be removed .
Manual transmission : out the
rious
tak e the key with you when you the The engine can be s tart ed
and s ystems such as the power to seriou s injury.
..
Never disabled persons, or anyone who cannot themselves in the The doors can be locked with the
in an emergency . For example, dependi ng on the time of year, people trapped in the can be exposed to very high or very
gage compartment of a parked that are
much higher than the outside temperatures, in summer. Temperature s can reach sciousness and d eath , to
Never remove the key from the ignition switch the
to stee r or control the
Leaving the key in the igni tion for a when th e engine is no t running drai n the
vehic le battery .
Leaving the selec tor for a period of time in any positi on other than Park (P) whe n
the ignition is swi tched off can drain the ve hi cle
bat tery.
automati c tran smi ssion vehic les, the key can be removed from the ignition
sw itch
may have to press the release button on the
t ransmission selector to put th e into Park (P) .

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