VOLKSWAGEN GOLF PLUS 2004 Owners Manual

Failure to heed warnin g light s and instrument cluster text message s can cause the ve hicl e to break down in traffic and result in a and seriou s personal injury .
Never ignore warning light s or text I NGS.
Engine coolant specifications
introdu ctory information and heed th e on pag e 252.
The engi ne c ooling sys tem is fille d
p erce nt of Volk s wa gen engi ne coo lant additi ve G 12 plu s-plu s (TL-VW 774 G) o r G 12 plus (TL -VW F). Both of these engin e coola nt ti ve s are purple.
This mixtur e pro vides antif r eeze pro te ction down
to -13 a ls o he lps to pro tec t th e light
allo y pan s in th e eng in e coolin g sys te m against
corro sio n. In addit ion, the mi xture help s preve nt
c alcium dep os its and in creases the bo ilin g point of the e ng in e coola nt.
T o
protec t th e e ng in e, the mi xture must a lway s co nt ain nt le a st
mate conditions , th e perc entage of coola nt ti ve can be in cre ased. Howe ver, the coo la nt ti ve pe rc e n ta ge mu st never be m ore than oth erw ise , ant ifreeze prot ection is reduce d a nd
th e ability of the mi xture to coo l th e e ngine is als o
r educed.
Whe n addin g e ngine coolant, use a mixture of till ed water and at l ea st c o o la nt addit ive G 12 plu s- plu s for optimum co rro sion protection
Core, maintenanc e
Always stop the vehicl e as soon as it is saf e to do so.
Note
Failure to heed warning lights o r text can re s ult in veh icle damage.
Too little antifreeze protection in the en gin e coolin g syste m can cause eng in e failure and vere injuri es.
be used.
At extremely cold temperatures, the coolant could freeze, cau sin g the v ehicl e to brea k down. The heater would als o no t work, and ve hicl e cupants could be without protection at free zing temperatures.
Note
N eve r mix original Volkswagen engine coo lant additives with other additi ve s no t approved by
Volkswagen. Mixing Volkswage n coo la nt
facturers can serio usly damage th e engine and th e engi ne coolin g sys te m .
Eng in e coolant additive G 12 plus-plus can b e
m ixed with G 12 plus and G
If the fluid in th e e ngine coo lant res ervoir is any color but purple (s u ch
this is th e case, the gin e coolant mus t b e r epla ced immedi ate ly . envi se serious m alfun ction s or engine damage can occ ur!
E ng in e coolan t a nd engine c oo lant additi ves can pollute th e environm ent. le akin g opera ting a nd disp ose of th em in
acco rdance with appli cable e nvir o nm ent al la ws
a nd

read and note the introductory
on page 252.
If th e coolant level drops too low, the engin e
coo lant level/ tempe ratur e warni ng ligh t lights up.
Park the ve hicl e on level ground.
Always let the engin e cool
th e engine hood
There is a fig.
When the eng in e is co ld, check the e ngine
coolant leve l relat ive to th e marking on th e sid e of th e expa nsio n tank fig. 154.
Always protec t face, hands and arms from h ot
escaping coo lant o r steam by cover ing the cap with a larg e, thi ck rag.
Carefully unsc rew the
Add new engine co olant ac co rding to Volkswagen specifications page 254)
Th e engi ne coo lant leve l must b e in sid e the mark s on the sid e of the 154. Do
not above top edge of the
the engine compartment
Fig. 155 Coolan t e xpans ion tank cap in the eng in e
compartment.
Screw the lid tightly.
Even in a n em erge ncy, do not use any other kind of coolant addi tive if eng ine coolant meeting
Volkswagen pa ge 254) is una v ail­
able! Instead, add distilled water
page 254.
H
ot steam and hot engin e coo lant can cause se­
rio us burns.
Never open the hood if yo u sec steam o r coolant esca ping from the engine compartment. Always wait until you no longer see or hear steam or coolant escapin g from the engine.
Always let the e ngin e cool down compl etel y
before carefully opening th e hood.
When the engin e has coo le d down and you are ready to open hood:
- F
irmly apply the parking brake and shift (automatic) o r Neutral (manual only).
- Hemov e
the vehicl e key from the ignition.
- Always keep c
hildren and others away from the en gin e compartment and never
leave them unsupervise d.
The engine coolant system is under pressure
w hen the engine is hot. Neve r unscrew the coolant expansion tank cap whe n the engine is hot. Hot coolant can spray out and ca use severe burns and other serious injuri es.
254 255

-Turn the cap slowly and ve ry ca re full y in a
counte r- clo ckwise dir ect.ion whil e appl yin g light downwa rd pressure o n the top of th e cap.
-
Always prot ect your face, h ands, an d a rms
f ro m hot escaping co olant o r steam b y ering the ca p with a la rge, thick ra g.
Never spill fluid s on th e e ng in e o r exhaust
sys te m when refi lling . fluid s ont o ho t
p ar ts of the e ng ine or exhaust syste m can cause a fire. some conditio ns, the eth yle ne
g lycol in en gin e cool an t catc h fir e.
Note
di still ed wa te r onl y when adding coo lant! All othe r types of wa te r contain ch e m ica l pounds that can ca use exte nsive cor rosio n
damag e to the e ngin e. Th is can eve n lead to
ri zed Volkswa ge n deale r or an authorize d to have th e coo lant sys te m
d rai ned , flu sh ed , and refille d compl ete ly w ith the
p ro per co olant.
m aintenance
Note (co ntinue d !
Refill eng in e cool ant only up to th e to p edge o f the m arke d fill range=> p age 255, fig. 154 . Excess
e ng in e coolan t m ay be forced out of th e e ng in e
co olin g sys te m when it ge ts ho t and cau se
d am age.
engi ne coo lant o nl y wh en the e ng in e is coole d Sig n ifica nt engin e cool ant loss is a s ig n of leak s in the cooling sys te m. Have
th e e ng in e coo ling syste m ch ecke d immedi ate ly
b y a n authorize d Volkswage n deale r or an ri ze d Volkswage n
When ch an gin g o r top pin g off ope ratin g
fluid s, make sure tha t yo u pour the fluid s int o th e
correc t reservoi rs. ma lfunctio n s and gine da m age can result if yo u p ou r operating fluid s int o the wro ng

th is sect io n yo u'll find inform ation on th e low ing:
Warning light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258
Check ing . . . . . . . . . . 2 59
Charg ing, replacing, disconnect ing
and c o nn ecti ng the ve hicle boHery . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
you are uncerta in in anyway , have the work do ne an aut ho rized Volk swage n dealer or au th orized
Volkswage n Service Serious personal
tery
Symbol Meaning
Always wear eye protectio n!
B a tt ery
acid is hi ghl y co rro sive. ways wear protective gloves and eye protec tion !
Fire, sparks, op en light and sm okin g
a re pro hibit ed !
W hen a batt ery is c ha rge d, it
Bookle t Warranty and Main tena nce book let
fo r worki ng in th e eng ine page 242
Par ts, acce ssories , repai rs and m odifica tio ns
or the electrical sys te m
in your vehicl e can cause seriou s acid burns,
fir es, explo sion s, o r electri ca l s hock s. Alway s
re ad and heed the followin g and safety preca ution s befor e working on
Before working on the ele ctri cal s ystem, way s switch off the ignition and all ele ctrical
consumers and di sconnect the negative
Alwa ys ke ep children awa y from
Always wear eye prot ection . Never let ballery
ac id or lead particles come int o contact with
your eyes, skin , and clothing .
Sulfuric battery ac id is ve ry corros ive . In
contac t with your skin , it can cause acid burns.
If it to uches your e y es, it can cau se blindn ess.
your hands, your arms, and your face and eye s from spillin g or squirtin g acid. To reduce your risk of injury , n eve r tilt the batteri es ,
as thi s could acid throu gh th e vents and burn you.
batterie s from the
v e hicle electri cal sys tem, always disconnect the negative cable H fir st and then the positive cable(+ ).
Always swit ch ofT electri cal con sumers for e reconnec tin g th e batt eri es. Reconnect the plu s cabl e(+) first and then th e nega tive cable(­).Neve r rev erse the pol arity of the connection s.
Thi s could cause a fire.
A highly explos iv e mixture of ga ses is give n
ofT wh en th e battery is be in g c harged.
D o no t s moke and avoid fires, sparks , and open names when wo rkin g. Never create sparks or ele ctros tati c charges when handlin g ca ble s and elec trica l equipm ent. Nev er short cir cuit the b att ery te rminal s. Hig h -energy s parks can
ca use seriou s pers on al injury.
256 257

Never use or attempt to ch arge a damaged or frozen battery, or a battery was frozen but has thawed. a frozen or thawed battery could cause explosion s and ch emi cal burns! place damaged or froze n ba tt eri es m ediat ely. A disc harge d battery can freeze at
temperatures around +32 Alway s
the battery has a ve nt lin e or tube, make sure thi s is connec te d.
Always make sure that the vent line is curely attached to a cated in the
If you battery acid in your eyes or on your
eral minutes. The n medical attention
ical attention immedia te ly.
Warning
Battery posts, termin als and related rie s contain lead and lea d compon ent s, cals known to the of to cau se
cancer or other h arm . Wash your hand s after
handlin g.
Note
Never di scon nect a ba tt ery or connec t
two b atte ries to each other when th e
Do not expose the battery to dire ct light for an extend ed p eriod of tim e as ultraviolet rays may damage th e battery housing.
is lef t s tanding in the cold for a
lon g tim e, prote ct th e battery from
fr ee zin g. A battery will be permanentl y damaged by fr eez ing.
infunnatiun on pa ge 257 .
Light s cause up
Alternator malfunctio ning.
W he n th e ig niti on i s s witched on. several warning
a nd in dica tor lights come on briefly for a funct ion ch eck. T hey go out aft er a few seco nds.
Failure to hee d warning lights and instrument
Never ignore warning light s or tex t
cleaning, maintenance
to an authorized dea le r or authorized Volksw agen Fa-cilit y. Have e lectrical syste m ch ec ke d . off unnecessary elec trica l load s. Th e ve-battery will not be c ha rged by the alt er-nato r whil e th e is in moti on.
Always stop tl1e
Note
Failure to heed warning lights or te xt

Checking the
the engine compartment: Remove the
cove r from the vehicle
first read and n o te th e introducto ry
o n p age 257.
the ve hicle battery does quire mainten an ce.
th e ve hicl e for work in th e engin e page 242
page 242.
the battery cover
De pending o n the e ng in e ty pe, there are different kinds of battery covers:
cove r: fig . 156 in directi o n of th e arrow and re m ove the cove r upward.
With a soft cove r: th e s ide
If the lighti ng conditi ons a re poor, use see the ba tt ery charge indicato r and w ha t co lor it is. Neve r use
The round ba tt ery ch a rge wind ow level
the engine compartm ent Fig
. 157
the engine compart ment:
p la ce d. Have it ch ec ke d by an thorize d Volkswagen deale r o r an authorize d Volk swage n cility.
Ba ttery electro ly te leve l is to ry.
Working on the batterie s can cause se riou s acid burns, exp lo sion, or electri cal shock.
Alway s wear eye protection and protective
glove s.
tect above a ll your hands, your arms, and your fa ce and eyes from spilling or squirting acid .
Never tilt the vehicl e battery. Acid could out of the battery vents and burn you.
Never open
258 259

Charging, replacing, disconnecting and connecting the
first rea d and no te the introductory
o n p age 257.
the vehicle batte ry
Vehicl e batteries should be c harged by your rized Volk swagen deale r or an authorize d
Replacing the ve hicle battery
Th e batt ery in
your vehicl e is s pecially deve loped
f o r it s locati o n, w ith sp eci al dim ensio ns and safe ty
featu res. Befo re buy in g a new battery, ask an th ori ze d Volkswage n deale r o r authorize d swagen Facility w ha t batt eries are suit abl e
w ith r egard to e lectro-m agnetic compatibility, mension s, requir ed m aintenan ce, perfor man ce,
and safety sp ec ifications. H ave th e battery place d by an auth ori ze d Volkswage n deale r o r an authori zed Volk swage n Facility.
use m aint ena nce-free vehicl e ba tt eries m ee tin g standards T L 825
hicle's elec tri cal sys te m , note the following:
off all electrical syste ms and dev ices
and th e ign ition.
Fir st di sconnec t the negative cabl e and th en the positive
the vehicl e battery
to reconnecting the ba tt ery , switch off all elec trical sys te m s and dev ices and the ig niti on .
Con nec t th e positive cable fir st a n d then th e
n ega tive
ta n ce at mph (15-20 km /h).lf the in dica to r ligh ts do not go out, contact an auth orized swage n dealer or a n au th orize d Volkswagen v ice Facility and have the vehicle c hec ked.
If th e battery was discon necte d f or a long tim e, the
n ext scheduled se rvice may no t be correct ly la te d and page 16 The maximum per-
an d nance booklet.
Vehicles with
h icle battery, lock an d unloc k th e ve hicl e from th e outs id e. Th en try to sta rt the ig niti on again. If th e
ig niti on canno t b e switch ed on , ge t expe rt ta n ce.
Automatic electrical
load deactivation
I f t
he ve hicle battery drain is hig h, t he intelligent
o n board electrical sys te m m anage ment cally takes steps to help p reve nt b attery d rain.
The id le speed i s in creased so that the n ato r provides more powe r.
The power to dev ices that co nsume lot of e lec tricity is cut bac k or switched off com ple te ly.
W hen the en gine is s ta rt ed , p owe r supply oft h e
1 2-vo lt socke ts and t he c igare tte lighter is ra ril y int errupted.
T he on
board elec trica l sys tem man age men t
canno t always keep th e battery fro m being drained. For example, th e battery will drain if th e
e n g in e is not running, but th e ig ni tio n i s switc he d
o n for a lo ng tim e or th e parkin g lights a re left o n for a lo ng time.
What drain s th e battery?
Long period s w hen th e engine is no t running, especially w hen th e ig niti on is on.
Fa ilur e to use the proper batte ry with prop er mounting and connecti ons may ca use short seriou s personal injurie s.
Always use only mainten ance- free or leak-pro of batteries with the same
ment battery. Specification s are liste d on the
b attery ho using.
Wh en th e battery is charged, it produces hi ghly explosive hydroge n gas.
Charge ve hicl e batte ries only in w ell-ve nti-
l a te d areas.

Never charge a frozen or thawed battery. A
disch arged battery can freeze at temperatures around +32
Note
Never disconnect t11evehicle battery when the ignition is s witched on or the engine is running, as the electrica l system or electronic components can be damaged.
Note
Never connect power-generating equipment,
such as a solar panel or battery charger, to the 12-volt s ocket or the c igar ette light er in order to
charge the vehicle battery. This can damage the vehicle's electrical system.
Battery acid can pollute th e e nvironment. Operating mu st be collecte d and posed of properly, following all applicable
261

In this section information on th e fol­
l owing:
Washing the vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263
Washing with a power washer ................ .
Cleaning windows
and outside mirrors ......... .
Cleaning
and changing the winds hield wiper
b l
ades .......................
. . . . . . . 267
Cleaning wheel rims . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268
Care of rubber door and window seals . . . . . . . . . 268
De-icing door lock cylinders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268
Undercoating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268
Cleaning the engine comportment ....... -. . . . . 269
Regu l
ar and expert ca re helps to preserve the value of your vehicle. expert care may also be o ne of th e requirements of you r New Vehicle Lim ited if co rros ion re pair or repa intin g is neces­
s ary.
Veh icle care produc ts avai lable fro m your au­
th orized Volkswagen d eale r or A uthorized
Int erio r care and page
Preparations for work ing in the e ngine com­page 242
Parts. accessorie s. repair s and modifications
Vehicle care produc ts ca n be dangerous. Im­
proper usc c a n cause accid ents, burns, poi­sonin g, or oth er seri ous persona l injuries.
Alway s sto re vehicle care products only in o rigina l co ntainers that are securely closed.
Alway s read and heed all th e in structions and all o n the pac kag e.
To reduce the risk of poiso ning, never usc empty food or beverage containers that might m is lead someone int o frum
A lways keep vehicl e ca re products out of the reach of childre n .
Never usc fuel, turpentine, eng in e o il, nail poli sh r emov er or ot her vo la til e fluid s for ve­
hicl e ca re. They are po isonous and hi ghl y flam­
mable.
Improper care and cleaning of ve hicl e compo­nent s can impact the safe ty feature s of the ve­
hicl e and cause serio us personal injury.
A lways clea n and maintain vehicl e compo­nent s according to manufacturer's instructions.
use ap1>roved or recomm ended
clean ers.
Vehi cle care products containing s olvents can damage plastics and other ve hicl e th e material s.
Wash th e ve hicl e only des ig ­nated was h loca tio ns to preve nt wa ter con­
t a minated with oil. grease and fuel from enterin g the storm drain sewe r system. In some are a s it is
a gains t th e to wash motor ve hicles anywhere than other than sp ecified design ated car
was hing locatio n s.
choo se those that are no t harmful to the en­viron ment.
Never th row out ve hicl e care produ cts with ordina ry house ho ld waste. Always read and hee d all th e in structi ons and on the

Washing the
fir st read and note th e in formatio n and heed th e on page 262.
The lo nge r insect splaue r, b ird droppings. tree sap,
road din, indu strial depo sits, road and o ther aggressive materials sta y on your ve­
hicle , more damage they do sunlight ) crease the corros ive effects. The vehicle under­body sh o uld als o be was hed regularl y and thor­
o ughly.
to the information by the car wash operator. Before going through a
ca r wash , b e s ure
you have installed addition al accessorie s on the vehicle, su ch as a spoiler, a roof rack, or an ant enna, alway s
a sk th e car was h opera tor if thi s po se s problem
The paint finish is
dep end s a la rge exte nt on th e rype of ca r
was h. Volk swagen recommend s using brush le ss
ca r w as h faciliti es.
' l b
rem ove wax res idu e from th e windows and
avoi d jerky wind shi eld wip er move m ent , heed the
f ollow ing page 265, outsi de
w ith
on the roof and work down. Usc sp ec ia l shampoo only on hard-to -remove or grim e.
Hinsc
different sponge or wash mill.
edges under the vehicle
Always protect your hands
Alway s dry the brakes and clean off any icc
coatings with a few caref ul appli cations oftlte brake. Make sure not to endanger other motor­is ts or cyclists or disob ey lega l requirement s.
Note
The water temperature mus t not be more than
To help prevent damage to the paint, do not wash the vehicle in direct sunlight .
Do not use insect sponges, abrasive kitchen
s ponges or similar things to clean the ve hicle .
These can damage the paint finish.
Neve r clean headlight s with a dry cloth or sponge. Always use a
When washin g or rinsing the vehicle in cold
weather, do not let water get into the lock cylin ­ders or point the hose The water could freeze on the locks and seals and make it difficult to open the vehicle!
Note
To help prevent vehicle damage in a car wash:
the vehicle track width with the di­
men sion s of the guide rail s in the car wash to help prevent damage to wheel rims tires!
off the rain sensor before driving
through a wash .
Mak e sure there is enough clearan ce for the height and width of the ve hicle.
Fold the outside mirrors toward the vehicle
body. Do not fold power mirrors manually!
262 263