parking brake VOLKSWAGEN GOLF 2012 Owners Manual

malfunctions or certain functions . Some
warning and indicator ligh ts come on when the ig­
nition is swi tched on and shou ld go out when the
engine is running or when the vehicle is moving. D
epending on the vehicle options, a symbol may
appea r
in the instrum en t cluster in stead of a warn­
ing light.
Additional text messages appear in th e instrumen t
cluster
of appropriately equipped vehicles to give
mo re information or prompt you to take certain ac­tions 18, Instrument cluster.
addition, a chime or other acoustic warning
sounds when certain warning and indicator lights
goon.
Refer to
PARK
Parking brake engaged.
BRAKE Brake fluid level too low, o r brake system malfunction .
Lights up: Engine coolant level too low, too high , or engine coolant
227
E ngine oil pressure too low.
At least one vehicle door is aja r or not closed properly .
192
Li gh ts up or nashes : Steering system malfunction.
Driver and/or passenger safety belts not buckled .
DSG® transmission too hot. 171
Alternator malfunction.
cluster and instrument panel 15

are not bright enough to le t you see ahead or be see n by others when it is dark.
not let you see far enough
Lights and
tory information and the WARN­on page 122.
Daytime running
lamps are or in the front bumper fo r t he daytime running lights
( DRL ).
Turning on DRL
ahead for safety,
at dusk or when it i s dark .
are on, a vehicle cannot be seen by others
cool or humid weathe r, th e insides of the
lighting system.
When the dayt ime running are switched on,
only these separa te lamps com e on =>
Th e daytime running lights are switched on when­
ever the ign itio n is swi tched on and the ligh t sw itch is in position The indicator or in th e in­strument cluster indicates that the feature is active =>page 122.
Turning
off DRL
P ress and ho
ld the turn signa l leve r and high beam Press and hold the turn signa l lever and high beam
switc h up and to the back (right turn sign al and switch down and to the back (left turn signa l and
headlight flasher). headlight flasher).
the ignit ion on f or about 3 seconds and then off again .
th e ignition on.
- Turn the ligh t swi tch to the posi tion.
the parki ng brake.
vehicl e may have fog lights under the front
bumpe r that are also static corneri ng l ight s. A t
speeds below about 25 mp h km/h ), th e l igh t on
one side of t he
yo u turn to the right , the righ t fog light -
Release the parking brake.
-
Turn the light swit ch to the tD pos ition.
-the igni tio n off.
comes on; turn left and the left fog l
ight comes on .
T he light dims and goes out when the steering
whee l is st
raig ht ened out again.
T he static cornering lights work only when the
are on. The static corneri ng lights do not come on when the switch is in the position or when the fog lights themselves have
been switched on =>page 124.
Light s and vision

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

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

Major con sumers of are sw itched off when the engine is being started .
Stopping the engine
After start ing a engin e, there may be creased operating noises fo r a few seconds .
This is
first read and note the introductory information and heed the on
perform each step
without Keyless Access Vehicles with Access
1. Bring the to a
2. Dep res s and down the brake s tep 4 is
3 . A ut omatic transmission: th e transmission into Park (P) .
4 .
the parking brake to fr om moving
in Briefly press the starter button 167. 5. the engine 167.
6 . With
a
tran smi ssion , shift into 1st gear or re-
ve rse pointin g down hill).
Never stop the engine before the has
come to a trol of the vehicle, crash, and be
be needed to stop the
not be able to steer the
the engine
running and the driver door is opened, a
c him e sounds. Th e c hime is a re minder to
sw itch off the engine and turn off the igniti on before and from the outside.
with automatic t ransmissio ns. the be remov ed from the
ignition when the transmission is in Park (P).
After the engi ne has been switched off. the radiato r fan in the engine compartment may
keep running for ning after the even if the ignition is sw itche d off and t he ve hicle
key has bee n remo ved. Th e radiat or fan sh uts off
automatically when th e engine has down
enough.
Starting, shifting, parking 169

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

Pedals in vehicles with manual sion : Accele rator pedal ,® Brake
on page 171.
peda ls must always be able to move freely in
a n d out without interference from floor mats or oth ­
er thing s.
te ners to help preve nt slid ing.
a brake circu it malfunct ions, more brake pedal
tr ave l is needed to bring the ve hic le to a stop ,
and it is important that noth ing is in the way when
yo u have to depress the brake pedal harde r and
farth er than
Objects in the driver footwell can prevent the pedals from moving freely . This can cause loss of vehicle control and increase the risk of serious personal injuries. Fig.
Pedals
in vehicles with au tomatic Acce le rator pedal ,® Brake
a brake circuit fails, more brake pedal
travel will be needed to bring the vehicle to a
stop. The brake pedal must be pressed harder and farther than normal.
Starting, shifting, parking

Manual transmission: Gearshift lever
Fig. Gea rshift pattern of a 6-speed manual
t r ansmission .
Please first read and note the introduc­tory information and heed the o n page 171.
The positions of the
individua l gea rs are shown on
t he gearshift leve r
Depress the clutch pedal the way and hold.
Move the gearshift lever into the desired
Release the clutc h pedal to engage the gear.
T he c
lutch pedal must be
shift to the reverse gear when the vehic le
is not moving.
Depr ess the and hold
Move the gearshift lever to neutral and press
down .
Move the shift lever to the left and then push
f orward into the reverse gear position @.
Release the clut ch pedal to engage the gear .
Downshifting
You should always downshift gear by gear when
driving , meaning always in to the next lowes t gear. Do not downshift when the engine rpm (revo lutions
At fast speeds or high
engine rpms, skipping over one or more gears
when downshifting can cause damage to the clutch
and transmission, even
if a gear is not engaged
... -
Down shifting to a lowe r gear incorrectly can result in loss of vehicle control and can
cause accidents and serious personal inju-ries.
When the engine is running and a gear is en-
gaged, the vehic le will start to move as soon
as the c lutch pedal is released, even when
th e parking brake is applied. This a lso ap-plies when the parking brake is engaged.
Never shift into reverse when the vehicle
is moving.
Shifting
down to a gear that is too low when driving at fa st spee ds or high engine rpms can
cause extensive damage to the clutch and
transmission. That is true even if the clutch pedal is pressed so that the clutch is not
To help prevent damage and premature wear:
Do not rest your hand on the gearshift leve r
while driving. time, the pressure ca use premature wear in the transmission.
Make sure that the vehicle has come to a
comple te stop before shifti ng into reve rse.
Do not hold the vehicle on a hill using

Automatic transmission:
Auto mati c transmissio n wit h sh ift
first re ad and note the tory information and heed the on page 171.
posi-Designation Meaning tion
Automa tic tra nsm issio n ic With you must depress
th e brake and pres sing
th e
in order to
move the
is in Neu-(N) , yo u before you can move the to Drive (D), Drive or Reverse (R).
sett ing is sho wn in the ins trument as the current gear (if
p Park is not moving. To change the
button
R Reverse The
re ver se gea r is en gage d. into Reverse when the
Transmis sion is in
D Drive (sta ndard dri v-fo rwa rd gears shift up and down auto m atica lly. The transmi s-
ing pos ition) sion
shifts as needed depending on engine individual driving and
forward gears automa tica lly upshift later and dow nshift earlier
s than in th e (Dri ve) position , to take advan ta ge of the engin e's
driving position) p
ower reserves. The tran smi ssion shift s as needed dependi ng on
e ng ine in divid ual driving and speed.
Automatic
The Automati c Lock in Park (P) and (N) prevents drive posit ions fro m b eing g aged inadvertentl y, w hich ca use the to move.
wards if it is stuc k in sno w or mud. The gages automa tically if th e brake pr esse d and the is in is traveling no
fast er than abo ut 3 mph (5 km/h ).
To the depress and the brake wit h th e ign ition switched on. Press the
(N) (e.g ., when shifting from Reverse (R) to Drive (D)). Th is mak es
i t possib le to "roc k" the
ra re cases , th e m ay not eng age on vehicles
w ith Direct Gea rbox. this happens,
power to th e drive ven t th e and a tex t sage Lock
sh ift ing , parking 175

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