VOLKSWAGEN GOLF MK6 2012 Owners Manual

Dispose of the sponsible manne r. Never dump th e on
garden in wooded areas, in the street , into
st reams , rivers , or bodies of water , or down age drains .
by taking it to a collec tio n
or an Fa cility .
Volkswagen recommends that you have your changed by an
Facility . They have the quired expertise and special dispose
of the properly.

Engine
this section you'll find information about
Warning light and en gine coolant tempe rature
gaug e ................................. 233
En gine coolant spec ifica tions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
Checking engine coolan t level and toppi ng
o ff 236
Ne ver do any work
on the coolant system unle ss
you
know exactly how to carry out the job,
have the correct technical inform ation and the
proper tools, supplie s, and operating fluids, and
are fa miliar with the necessary safety
you are uncertain in any way, have the work
done by an authori zed Volkswage n dea le r or an
a uth orized Volkswagen
in jury may
to wing =>page 149
Preparat ions for work ing in the engi ne page 222
Parts, accesso ries, repai rs and modifications =>page 283
Engine coolant is poisonous!
To reduce the risk of poisoning, never
store engine coolant in empty food or age containers or in any other containers that might mislead someone into drinking from them.
Always make sure there is enough of the correct coolant additive to provide proper tifreeze protection at the coldest tures that can be expe cted where the vehicle will be used .
At extremely cold temperatures, the ant could freeze, causing the vehicle to break down. The heater would also not work, and
vehi cle occupants could be without
Coolant and coolant additives can po llute the en vironme nt. leaking ope rati ng fluids
a nd dis pose of them properly in acco rdance with
applicab le environment al
Warning light and engine coolant temperature gauge
Fig.
perature range;© Warning zone.
first read and note the
on page 233.
the in dicator in the engine coolant tempera ture
gauge is located in the cold range @, the engine
h as not reached operating temperature . H igh
gi ne s peeds and heavy engine loads should be
avo ided .
Under normal driving con
ditions , the needle should
be in the middle of the gauge . The tempe ratu re
may go higher when the engine is working hard, espec ially i n h ot weather.
When
the ign ition is switched on, seve ra l warn ing and indicato r
the engine compartment 233

The what to do if the gine warn ing
driving.
Temperature
Lights up g auge cause Proper re sponse
Stop the engine and it the temperature range again. if needed is
© Engine tempera ture reel or the co
ntinues after adding
Warning zone too
high.
the
the fuses and
the engine after the gine has
is cor rect or the do
® Engin e too not drive any farther. Contact an authorized range or author ized
ant temperature stays in the if the © .
Engine system -function.
--
Engine system
and instrument cluste r text messages can cause the vehicle to break down in traffic and in a sion and serious personal injury.
234 Care, m ainten ance gen
ice or another
WARNING
Nev
er ignore warning

Failure to heed warning lights or text WARN-can result in vehicle damage. Engine coolant specifications
on page 233.
Th e engine cooling system is
loy parts in the engine cooling system against ros ion. addition , the mixture helps prevent
coolant additive even in warm
weathe r or climates where antifreeze protection is
not needed.
otherw ise ,
antifreeze protection is reduced and the ability of the mixture to cool the engine is also reduced.
When
adding engine coolant, use a mixture of tilled water and at least coolant additive
G 12 pius-plus for optimum corrosion protection
.
Too little antifreeze protection in the engine cooling system can cause engine failure and
severe injuries.
tures that can be expected where the vehicle will be used.
ant could freeze, causing the vehicle to break down. The heater would also not work, and vehicle occupants could be without
gine and the engine cooling syste m.
can pollute the environment. Collect leaking
operating fluids and dispose of them properly in
accordance with applicable environmental laws
and
regu lations .

Checking engine coolant level and topping off
Fig. 13 1 Coolant expan sion tank in the engi ne
compartme nt.
Please first read and note the introduc­tory Information and heed the WARN ­on page 233.
Park the vehicle on level ground .
Always let the engine down
the engine hood in Introduction on
page 222.
There is a sy mbol on the cap of the engine coolant expans ion tank 132 .
Checking engine coolant
When the engine is cold , check the engine
coolant level relative to the marking on the side of the expansion tank 13 1.
the coolant level in the tank is below the mini ­
mum mark ("min"), add coolant. When th e engi ne is warm, the engine coolant level may be slig htly
above the upper edge of the marked range.
Adding engine coolant
Always protect face, hands and arms from hot
escaping coolant or steam by covering the cap
with a large , thick rag.
Carefully unscrew the cap
Add only new engine coolant according to
The engine coolant level must be inside the
marks on the side of the reservoir 131. Do not
236 cleaning, maintenance Fig.
132 Coola nt expansion tank cap in the eng ine
compa rtment.
Screw the lid tightly .
Even in an emergency , do not use any other kind of coolant additive if engine coolant meeting
add distilled water only As
soon as possible , have the correct coolant ratio re­
sto red using engine coolant that meet s
WARNING
Hot steam and hot engine coolant can cau se serious burns.
Neve r open the hood you see steam or coolant escaping from the engine compart­ment. Always w ai t until you no longer see or hea r steam or co olant escaping from the en­
gine .
opening the hood. Hot components will burn skin on contact.
Park (P) (automatic) or Neutral (manua l only).
- Take the vehicle key
out of the ignition.
-
veh icles with Keyless Access, make
sure that the remote control vehicle key is out of range of the vehicle and that the ve­hicle cannot be sta rted by depressing the
starte r button 44.
-
Always keep children and others away
from the engine compartment and never
l eave them unsupervised.

under pres­
sure when the engine is hot. Never unscrew the coolant expansion tank cap when the en­
gine is hot. Hot coolant can spray out and
cause severe burns and other serious inju­ries.
-Turn
the cap slowly and very carefully
Use distilled water anti
damage to the engine. This can even to engine failure.
Refill engine coolant up to the top edge of the marked
when the engine
is completely cooled down. Significant engine coolant Joss is a sign of leaks
you pour operating
fluids the wrong reservoir. 237

Introduction
this sec tion
b attery . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241
Th e standard 12 vehicle battery is pa rt of the
veh ic le electr ical sys te m .
N ever do any wor k on
the ve hic le elec trica l system
unl ess you
know ho w to carry out the job ,
have the correct te chn ical infor m ation an d the
p roper an d
are familiar with t he necessary safety
Faci li ty .
Meaning
A lways w
ear eye pro tec tion !
B attery acid is highl y co rrosive.
ces hydrogen gas whic h is highly
away from
Warra nty an d Maint enance
283
238 Care, cleaning, maintenance
Working on the batteries or the tem in your vehicle can cause serious acid
burn s, fires , explosions , or electrical shocks. read and heed the and safety precaution s before working on the batteries or the
switch off the ignition and
cable from the standard 12
always
switch off the light first.
batteries in
wear eye protection . Never contact with your eyes, skin, or clothing.
battery acid is very corrosive.
ness. wear protective gloves and eye
protection . To reduce your risk of injury, er acid through the vents and burn you.
you get battery acid in your eyes or on your skin , immediately rinse w ith water for minutes and then get immediate attention.
disconnect th e negative ( -) first and then the tive
switch off consumers
before reconnect ing the 12 batt eri es. connect th e cable(+) first and then the
n egative cable(-). Never reverse the polarity of the c onnections. Thi s
explo sive mixture of ga ses is en off when the battery is being charged.
e quipm ent. Never short circuit the battery terminals . High-ener-gy spark s can cause serious personal injury.

California Proposition 65 Warning
nect 2 vehicle batteries to each other when the ignition is switched on or the engine is
tem or electronic components.
violet rays may damage the battery housing.
dam-aged by freezing . Warning light
on
Alterna tor malfun ction .
W he n t he igni tion i s sw itched on, severa l wa rnin g
a n d i ndi cato r li g ht s
come on brie fly for a functio n
check . They go out after a few seconds.
Failure to heed warning
Faci lity . H av e the
e le c tric al sys tem checked. o ff unn ecessa ry electrica l loads . The ve-batt ery
to h ee d warning or text can result in vehicle damage.

Fig. 133 the engi ne compartment: Remove the
cover from the vehicle battery.
first read and note the tory information and heed the on page 238.
of the battery if th e vehicle has high in with a
warm a nd if the vehicle has an
Prepare the for work in the engine pa rtm ent 222
the engine hood in Introduction on
page 222
With a hard cover: Press on the 133 in direct ion of t h e arrow and remove the cove r upwa rd.
W ith a son cover: the cove r to the
side in th e direction of the arrow 1 34 .
Checking the vehicle battery acid
the lighting co nd it ions are poo r, use a so tha t you can see the ba ttery charge
indica tor and
The rou nd batt ery window on th e top of the battery ch anges
Care, cleaning, maintenance Fi
g. 134
cove ring of the vehic le battery .
Action cation
Battery
is too The vehicle battery may need to be Light yellow replaced. Have it chec ked by an or colorless thorized Volkswagen or an a uthor ized Volksw ag en
is sa tisfac-
tory.
Working on the batteries can cause serious acid burns, explosion, or
can burn unprotec te d skin and cause ne ss. and eye protection.
Never out of th e battery vents a nd burn you.
Never open a vehi cle battery .
you get battery acid in your eyes or on your skin, immediately rinse with water for several minutes and t hen ge t immediate
medical attention.
you any battery acid, get medi-

Charging,
on page 238.
Charging the vehicle battery
Vehicle batteries should be charged by an author­
ized Volkswagen dealer or an authorized Volkswa­
gen
because the factory -installed
battery requires a charger with overload protection
Replacing the vehicle battery
The battery in your vehicle is
batteries meet­
ing standards TL 825
electrical system, note the following :
off
Unlock the vehicle before disconnecting the
battery; otherwise the alarm system
Fir st disconnect the negativ e cable(-) and then the positive
Connecting the vehicle battery
Pr ior to reconnecting the battery , switch off electrical sys tems and devices and the ignition .
Connect the posit ive cable(+) first and then the
negative cable (-)
After the battery is connected and the ignition is
sw itched on, different indicator light s may come on. They should go out after you drive a short distance
ice Facility and have the checked.
th e ign ition not start after reconnecting the vehicle battery , lock the vehic le from the outside
and unlock it again. Then try to start the ignition
again.
lhe ignition cannot be switched on, con­
tact an authorized Volkswagen dealer, an author­
ized Volkswagen
o r another quali­
fied workshop for assistance.
Automatic electrical load deactivation
onboard electrical system management auto mati ­takes steps to help prevent battery drain.
The idle speed is increa sed so that the alterna­
t o r provides more power.
Th e power to devices that consume a lot of electricity is cut back or switched off completely.
When the engine is started, the power supply to the 12
Long periods when the engine is not running,
especially when the ignition is on .
Using electr ical sys tems or devices when the
engine is swi tched off. Leaving the
The selecto r lever is left for a long period of time in any position other than P when the ignition
is swi tched off =>page 175.
Failure to use th e proper battery with proper mounting and connection s may cause short circu its, fires, and serious persona l injuries.
Always use only maintenance-free or cy-
cle-free, leak-proof batteries with the sa me
s p ec ifications and dimensions as the original
equipment b attery. Specifications are listed
on the battery housing.
Wh en the vehicle battery is ch arged, it produ-
ces highly explosive hydroge n gas.
th e engine compartment