air condition VOLKSWAGEN GOLF 2013 5G / 7.G Owners Manual

d Properly fasten your safety belt before driving the vehicle and wear your safety belt properly at all
times while driving. Make sure that all passengers do the same
d Only transport as many passengers as there are seats and safety belts available.
d Never drive if your driving ability has been impaired, for example by medication, alcohol or illegal
drugs.
d Never let passengers or phone calls distract you while driving, and never take your attention off the
road while using vehicle software or adjusting vehicle equipment or accessories.
d Always adapt your speed and driving style to visibility, weather, road, and traffic conditions.
d Always obey traffic laws and speed limits.
d On long trips make frequent rest stops – at least once every 2 hours.
d Secure animals in the vehicle with a system that corresponds to weight and size.
WARNING
Always observe traffic rules and posted speed limits and use common sense. Your good
judgment can mean the difference between arriving safely at your destination and being
seriously injured in a crash or other kind of accident.
Regular service and maintenance of your vehicle is important both for operational and driving
safety and to help prolong your vehicle's service life. Always follow the scheduled maintenance
intervals in the ⇒ Booklet Warranty and Maintenance, especially for changing the brake fluid. Hard
use, frequent stop-and-go driving, driving in very dusty areas, trailer towing, and other factors may
make it necessary to have the vehicle serviced more frequently. Ask an authorized Volkswagen dealer
or an authorized Volkswagen Service Facility for more information.
Driving in other countries

Accident statistics show that vehicle occupants properly wearing safety belts have a lower risk of being
injured and a much better chance of surviving a collision. Properly using safety belts also greatly
increases the ability of the supplemental airbags to do their job in a collision. For this reason, wearing
a safety belt is required by law in most countries including the United States and Canada.
Although your Volkswagen is equipped with airbags, you still have to wear the safety belts provided.
Front airbags, for example, are activated only in some frontal collisions. The front airbags are not
activated in all frontal collisions, in side and rear collisions, in rollovers, or in cases when the
conditions for deployment stored in the electronic control unit are not met. The same goes for the other
airbag systems on your Volkswagen.
So always wear your safety belt and make sure that everybody in your vehicle is properly restrained!
Using safety belts

WARNING
Improperly positioned safety belts can cause serious personal injury in an accident or a
sudden braking maneuver.
x Always make sure that all vehicle occupants are correctly restrained and stay in a correct
seating position whenever the vehicle is being used.
x Safety belts offer optimum protection only when the seat backrest is upright and belts are
correctly positioned on the body.
x A loose-fitting safety belt can cause serious injuries by shifting its position on your body
from the strong bones to more vulnerable soft tissue and cause serious injury.
x The shoulder belt portion of the safety belt must be positioned over the middle of the
occupant's shoulder and never across the neck or throat.
x The safety belt must lie flat and snug on the occupant's upper body.
x Never wear the shoulder part of the safety belt under your arm or otherwise out of
position.
x The lap portion of the safety belt must be positioned as low as possible across the pelvis
and never over the abdomen. Make sure the belt lies flat and snug against the pelvis. Pull on
the safety belt to tighten if necessary.
x Expectant mothers must always wear the lap portion of the safety belt as low as possible
across the pelvis and below the rounding of the abdomen.
x Do not twist the belt when attaching it. If you cannot untwist a twisted safety belt, wear it
anyway, but make sure the twisted part is not in contact with your body. Have the problem
corrected right away by an authorized Volkswagen dealer or authorized Volkswagen Service
Facility.
x Never hold the safety belt away from your body with your hand.
x Never wear belts over rigid or breakable objects, such as eyeglasses, pens or keys.
x Never modify the position of the belt using comfort clips, loops or similar devices.
If you have a physical impairment or condition that prevents you from sitting properly on the seat
with the safety belt properly fastened, special modifications to your vehicle may be necessary. Contact
your authorized Volkswagen dealer or authorized Volkswagen Service Facility or call the Volkswagen
Customer CARE Center at 1-800-822-8987 for information about possible modifications to your
vehicle.

WARNING
Improper use of the trailer hitch can cause accidents and injuries. An improperly installed,
incorrect, or damaged trailer hitch can cause the trailer to separate from the towing vehicle
and cause serious personal injuries.
x Only use an undamaged, properly mounted trailer hitch.
x Never repair or modify the trailer hitch.
x To reduce the risk of injury in rear-end collisions, and the risk to pedestrians and cyclists
when the vehicle is parked, always remove the ball mount when you are not towing a trailer.
x Never install a “weight distributing” or “load equalizing” trailer hitch on your vehicle. The
vehicle was not designed for these kinds of trailer hitches. The trailer hitch attachment can
fail, causing the trailer to tear loose from the vehicle.
WARNING
Improper trailer towing can cause loss of vehicle control and serious personal injury.
x Driving with a trailer and carrying heavy or large things can change the way the vehicle
handles, increase the distance it needs to stop safely, and cause accidents.
x Always secure the load properly with suitable and undamaged straps so that the load will
not shift.
x Always adapt your speed and driving to the heavier load and the weight distribution in the
vehicle. Take road, weather, traffic, and visibility conditions into account as well.
x Reduce your speed even more than you otherwise would when going downhill and under
unfavorable load, weather, or wind conditions.
x Trailers with a high center of gravity tip more easily than trailers with a low center of
gravity.
x Always avoid sudden maneuvers and hard braking.
x Be especially careful when passing other vehicles.
x Reduce speed immediately if the trailer shows the slightest sign of swaying.
x Never try to stop the swaying by accelerating.
x Always obey speed limits. In some areas, the speed limits for vehicles towing trailers are
lower than for vehicles without trailers. Never drive faster than 50 mph (80 km/h; under
exceptional circumstances 60 mph - 100 km/h) when towing a trailer. This applies even if the
local speed limit is higher.
WARNING
Installing a trailer hitch on Golf R models can cause an accident and serious personal
injuries.
x Never install a trailer hitch on a Golf R vehicle.
x A trailer hitch can fall off while driving or rip loose while pulling a trailer causing the trailer
to separate from the vehicle.
NOTICE
Installing a trailer hitch of any kind on Golf R models will cause expensive damage to your
vehicle that will not be covered by any Volkswagen Limited Warranty.

Opening and closing the glove compartment
If necessary, unlock the glove compartment. It is locked when the key slot is vertical.
To open, pull the handle ⇒ fig. 111.
To close, push the lid up.
Owner's Manual slot
The slot at the top of the glove compartment is designed to hold the Owner's Manual.
The Owner's Manual is in this glove compartment slot ⇒ fig. 112 (1).
Always keep the Owner's Manual in this slot.
Cooling the glove compartment
There is an air vent (2) in the back of the glove compartment. Cool air can be directed into the glove
compartment if the air conditioner is on. Open or close the air vent by turning it.
Button in the glove compartment
The Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) SET button (3) is also located in the glove compartment
.
WARNING
An open glove compartment door can increase the risk of serious injury during sudden
braking or driving maneuvers or in a crash.
x Always keep the glove compartment closed while the vehicle is moving.
NOTICE
In some vehicle models, design considerations have made it necessary to have openings in the
glove compartment behind the Owner's Manual slot, for example. Small items may fall through
these openings and get behind the instrument panel. This can cause unusual noises and
damage the vehicle. Never put any small objects in the glove compartment for this reason.
Applicable only in Canada
Glove compartment

Fig. 113 On the passenger side: Glove compartment.

speed fluctuations caused by taking your foot off the accelerator. Active braking and accelerating is
then not necessarily required.
Calm and smooth driving
Consistency is more important than speed. The more smoothly you drive, the less fuel the vehicle
consumes.
When driving on the highway or freeway, a constant, moderate speed is more efficient and economical
than constantly accelerating and braking. Usually you can reach your destination just as quickly by
driving at a moderate, but steady speed.
The cruise control system can assist in maintaining a uniform driving style.
Moderate use of extra electrical loads
Comfort inside the vehicle is nice and important, but it is important to use them in an environmentally
conscious manner.
Some devices can increase fuel consumption when activated (examples):
x Climate control system (air conditioner): If the air conditioner has to produce starkly contrasting
temperatures, it requires a large amount of energy, which is generated by the engine. The temperature
in the vehicle should therefore not be extremely different from that of the outside temperature. It may
be helpful to ventilate the vehicle before driving and then to drive a short distance with the windows
open. After that, switch on the air conditioner with the windows closed. Keep the windows closed when
driving at high speeds. Open windows increase fuel consumption.
x Switch off seat heating once it has served its purpose.
x Switch off the rear window defroster as soon as the windows are free of fog and ice.
Additional factors that increase fuel consumption (examples):
x Malfunctioning engine control.
x Driving in the mountains.
x Towing a trailer.
NOTICE
Never let the vehicle coast or roll down a hill in Neutral (N), especially when the engine is not
running. The transmission will not be lubricated and will be damaged.

Heating and air conditioning

WARNING
Poor visibility increases the risk of collisions and other accidents that cause serious
personal injuries.
x Always make sure all windows are clear of ice, snow and condensation for good visibility
to the front, sides, and rear.
x Maximum heating output and defrosting performance are not possible until the engine has
reached operating temperature. Wait until you have good visibility before driving off.
x Always make sure you know how to properly use the climate control system as well as the
rear window defroster that you will need for good visibility.
x Never use air recirculation for long periods of time. When the air conditioner is off and
recirculation mode is on, condensation can quickly form on the windows and greatly reduce
visibility.
x Always switch off recirculation mode when it is not needed.
WARNING
Stale air causes driver fatigue and reduces driver alertness, which can cause accidents,
collisions and serious personal injury.
x Never switch off the fan for a long period of time and never use air recirculation a long
period of time because no fresh air will enter the passenger compartment.
NOTICE
x If you think the air conditioner is not working properly or may be damaged, switch it off to
help prevent more damage. Have the air conditioner checked by an authorized Volkswagen
dealer or an authorized Volkswagen Service Facility.
x Air conditioner repair requires specialized knowledge and special tools. Volkswagen
recommends that you see an authorized Volkswagen dealer or an authorized Volkswagen
Service Facility.
x Do not smoke when air recirculation is switched on. Smoke drawn into the ventilation
system can leave residue on the evaporator and on the dust and pollen active carbon filter,
resulting in permanent odors whenever the air conditioner is switched on.
If the air conditioner is switched off, the fresh outside air will not be dehumidified. To help keep
the windows from fogging over, Volkswagen recommends leaving the air conditioner (compressor)
switched on. Press the !

Buttons,
knobs More information: Manual AC ⇒ fig. 144, and Climatronic ⇒ fig. 145.
OF F Climatronic: Press OF F button or set the fan manually to 0. If the system is switched
off, an indicator light in the OFF button lights up.

WARNING
Stale air causes driver fatigue and reduces alertness, which can cause accidents, collisions,
and serious personal injury.
x Never switch off the fan for a long time, because no fresh air will enter the passenger
compartment.
Air conditioner operation

Air conditioner does not work
The air conditioner may not switch on for one of the following reasons:
x The engine is not running.
x The fan is switched off.
x The air conditioner fuse has blown.
x The outside air temperature is colder than about +38 °F (+3 °C).
x The air conditioner compressor has been temporarily switched off due to excessive engine coolant
temperature.
x There is another malfunction in the vehicle. Have the air conditioner checked by an authorized
Volkswagen dealer or authorized Volkswagen Service Facility.
Special considerations
When it is very hot and humid outside, water condensation can drip from the air conditioner
evaporator and form a puddle under the vehicle. This is normal and does not indicate a leak.
The climate control system adjusts the passenger compartment temperature as fast as possible
considering the outside temperature.
Due to residual moisture in the air conditioner, the windshield may fog up after the engine is
started. Switch on the windshield defroster to help evaporate the condensation as quickly as possible.
The air coming out of the vents flows through the passenger compartment and through the vents
under the rear window. Do not cover these slots with clothing or other things.
Air vents

Fig. 146 In the instrument panel: Air vents.