warning VOLKSWAGEN GOLF 2012 Owner's Guide

Moving the selector lever to the wrong posi-tion can cause loss of vehicle control, a co sion, and serious personal injury.
Unintended vehicle movement can cause se-rious personal injury.
you must leave your vehicle while the engine is running, al-ways set the parking brake and shift the transmission into Park (P).
Shifting with Tiptronic®
Fig . 111 lever in Tiptronic position.
Please first read and note the introduc­
on page 171.
176 While driving
WARNING (continued )
will roll down hills, whether the engine is
When the engine is running and a drive gear-Drive (D), or Reverse
(R) -has been selected, press and hold the
brake pedal to keep the vehicle from moving.
The vehicle may and move forward or backward even if the engine is idling ly.
the selec tor lever is moved into Neutral (N) by mistake when the vehicle is moving , take
your foot off the accelerator pedal. Wait until the
engine speed has dropped to idle speed before
mov ing the selector lever into a drive gear.
Leaving the selector le ver for a long period of
whe el with optional Tiptronic
shift paddles .
Tiptronic lets yo u upshift and downshift manually
with
the a utomatic transm ission. When Tiptronic
mode is used, the transmi ssio n stays in the curren t
gea r and does not upshift or dow nshift

Remove your left foot from the brake => The accelera te from a stop at the maximum
rate .
you have accelerated , swi tch
weather, road, and traffic conditions permit and other drivers not be gered by your driving and the vehicle's
tory on page 171.
Emergency shift program
selec to r ment
of the forward gears.
some cases, vehicles with a Direct
is then impossible to drive
the vehicle backwards .
any event , have the automatic transmission
checked by an authorized
Overheating of Direct automatic transmission
The automa tic transmission may overheat ,
for example , due to frequent starts , extended o r stop-and-go traffic. Overheating is and, if by a text message in the in strument ditional warning chime may sound. and let the
tr ansmission coo l down => 178
is switched off, when the road is slippery.
you have accelerated, switch back on again.
with the
wards. This can cause the automatic sion to overheat and be damaged.
in Neutral (N), not be lubricat-ed and be damaged . The vehicle does not move forward or in reverse even though a drive position is selected with the selector
the vehicle does not move in the desired tion , the system may not have engaged the drive
position Press the brake pedal and select the drive position again.
does not move in the desired rection , there is a system malfunctio n.
ther park the vehicle in a safe place or drive faster than 12 mph km/h) .
the tex t message and acoustic warning seconds or so, you must park the vehicle in a safe place as soon as you can safely do so and stop the engine .
L et the transmission cool down.
To help prevent damage to the sion, do not drive the vehicl e agai n until the
acoustic warning has s topped. As long as the
e ngine is overheated, avoid stop and start driv-ing and avoid low speed s pace") .

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

Failure to heed warning lights or t ex t WARN-can result in vehicle damage . Parking brake
Fig. 113 Between the front seats :
on page 179.
the parking brake lever up firmly.
When the ignition is on , the indicator or appears in the instrume nt c luster display to show th at the park ing brake is engaged
the leve r up 113 (arrow) .
While hold ing the release button down, move
t h e lever t he way down.
Parking
Ple ase firs t r ea d and note the introduc­tory info rm ation and heed the WARN­on pa ge 179.
note legal regulations when stopping and
parking your vehicle.
Parking the vehicle
p erform these steps only in the order listed.
the vehicle on a suitab le surface
the rear wheels are braked . Always
use the foot bra ke.
engag ed. This c an cause the brak e to over­
heat and neg ati vely affec t the b rak e sys te m .
start to move even if the parking brake is e ngag ed .
Even
though the tra nsmission is in P ark (P),
t h e vehi cle may move a couple of inche s (a fe w
c entimeters) forwards or backwards if you take
your f oot off the brake pedal after stopping the
ve hicl e without fir s t firmly setting the parking
b rake .
A warning signal sounds if you drive faster
Apply t he parking brake to 182.
For automatic transmissions : (P).
Remove the vehicle key from the igni tion.
necessary , turn the steer ing whee l to
e ngage the steer ing column lock.

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

this sect ion find infor m ation about:
Warning and indicator . . . . . . . . . . 197
Cruise
sys te m m aint ain an stored constant speed when driving
above 12 mph 20 (km/h) .
The
to the engine, not by brak ing
More information:
Shifting gears 171
Part s, accessories, repa irs and modifications 283
Using the cruise control when it is not possi­at a constant speed can be dangerous and can
ahead of you.
Warning and indicator
-----------------
' r
®
on steep, wind­ing, or slippery roads (such roads, wet roads, or snowy or icy roads) or on roads with standing water.
adjust your speed and the dis­tanc e you keep betwee n you and the vehicle s
ahead of you to the road , traffic, weather, and
prevent unintended operation of cruise control, switch the system off when it is not being used.
When going the cruise control may not b e
the
-------------------
©
-----;
the instrument Cruise status i ndications .
on
cause
Cruise is regulating the speed .
Driver assista nce systems 197

When th e ignitio n is switched on, warning
and in dicator
Diff erent crui se Th e
s tor ed sp eed is sh own in the instrum ent
118
® Cruise nu mb ers.
@ an aut horized wagen
© Cruise contr o l activated. No speed sto red in m em ory .
Cru ise contr ol i s a ctive . Sto re d spee d in nu mbers .
the
order to: 119
S wit ch on cru ise Move switc h to ON posi-
l io n.
to c ur-Press the rent vehicle speed.
Move
to d eac tiva te the pos ition.
c rui se Dep ress the bra ke or clut ch
cruise
to heed warning
to break down in traffic and
to he ed warning lights or text WARN -can
tory on page 197.
System is switched on, but does not a spee d is set.
Current vehic le speed is set; cru ise
is sto red in the m emory.
Cruise resum es speed previously set.

tires are identica l to those that were removed
and even if the tire pressure does not change 264.
WARNING
Improper use of the button can cause the tire sure
and tire wear.
Do not rely on the Tire Pressure Check your tires and have no
signs of damage , such as punctures , cuts , cracks ,
and Remove any objects that become
to the body of tire it self.
When you take delivery of the vehicle, the Tire Pressure Monitoring is calib ra ted
fo r the facto ry- recommended cold tire
pressure for the tires on your vehicle, as shown on
the label inside the driver door 138.
reinstalled or rep lacement wheels and tires are
identical to those that wer e removed and even if
the tire pressure does not change
you have to adjust the tire pressure on a
w arm tire ,
138 .
determines that the air pressure in at least one tire is too low, care fully check the sure in cannot be mined by looking at the tir e . This is especially true of low-profile tires .
you have work done on your wheels or tires, inform the workshop that the vehicle is
equ ipped with a Tire Pressure Monitoring
New tires may expand slightly the first time they are driven at high speeds, which can
trigger a tire pressure warning. Remember that lire
pressu re can only be pro perly measured when the
tire is "co ld "
repla ce old tires with tires that have been approved by Volkswagen for you r vehi-
cle type . on page
P up Proper response
A chime may also sound .
T he infl ation pressure of one or more tires is sign ifica ntly lower than the benchmark pres-Reduce
speed immediately! Avoid fast corne ring
su re set by the driver or a tire has structural and
hard braking! I damage. Depending on vehicle equipment , Check the
condition and pressure of a message may ment cluste r display.
D river assistance systems

Flashes Possible cause or meaning
Flashes for abou t
Incorrect tire pressures and/or underinflation
can cause sudden tire failure, loss of control, serious personal injury, or even
death.
appears in
the instrument cluster, stop the vehicle as soon as it is safe to do so and tires .
job.
4 tires when the tires are cold. Never reduce air pressure in warm tires to match cold tire inflation pressure.
258, Tires and wheels .
While driving
Proper response
C he ck and , if n ecessary, adjust the
tire tio n p ress ure i n 4 tires . th e tire pr essure
i s correc t, swi tc h the ign ition off and back on. the indicato r
4 tir es and
pressing the butt on , ta ke the veh ic le to
an auth ori ze d Volkswa gen deal er or an
Have th e
sys te m checke d.
wear prematurely and the cle
and you do not have to change the tire or wheel immediately , drive at reduced speed to the nearest service
always read and
heed the information and all in the section
Improper use of the to give false warnings or to give no warning despite dangerously low tire pres-
sure