service VOLKSWAGEN GOLF PLUS 2004 Owner's Manual

Driving with automatic transmission
Please fir st read and n ote the int rod uctory informatio n and heed th e WARN INGS on page 179.
All forwa rd gea rs shift up and down automatically.
Driving on
Th e steeper grade, lower the gea r that must be selec te d. Lowe r gea rs in crease the b raking ef­
fect o f th e e ng ine. Neve r coast downhill in (N).
Heduce sp eed.
Switch to Tiptron ic mod e by m oving these­lecto r l eve r fro m Drive (D) t o the rig ht into the Tip­p age 185.
Dow nshift by pullin g th e selec to r l ever back briefly(-).
page 185.
Emergency shift
program
trans­
m issio n will th en operate in th e em ergency shif t
p rogram. The emergency shift progra m lets you drive th e ve hicle, bu t at a re duced speed and w ithout bein g able to use all of th e forwa rd gears.
I n
som e cases, vehicles with Direct Gearbox (DSG® ) may not be able to shift into reverse.
I n
any event, have the automatic tra nsm iss ion checke d by an authorized Volkswage n dealer or authorized Volkswage n Service Facility.
O verload prot ection for Direct
Drive
With k ick-down actu ate d , t he tran sm iss io n will stay in th e current gear lo nge r an d not ups hift un til
t h e e ng ine reaches m aximum rpm.
Launch control
program
The launch control p rogra m lets you ta ke ad van­
t age of maximum acce lera tion from a standstill.
Switc h off Anti -Sli p H egulation 188.
De press and ho ld th e bra ke pedal with your le ft
foot.
Move th e selector leve r in to Dr ive
W ith your rig ht foot, depress the accelerator
pedal un til the engine reaches rpm.
Hemove you r left foo t from the stop at the m aximum rate.
y o u h ave acce le rated, swit ch back on aga in!
H apid
accele rati on ca n cause skidding and loss of trac ti o n, esp eciall y on slippery roa ds, re ­
s ultin g in loss of ve hicl e co ntrol , co llisio ns,
and se rious pe rso na l injury .
Use th e kic k-down feature or fa st accelera­tion only if vis ibilit y, weather, road , and traffic conditions permit.
A lways adapt your dri vin g to th e tr affi c flow.
use the launc h contro l progra m if road and traffic co nditi ons a llow it and oth er dri ve rs
w ill no t b e endangered by your drivin g and th e
ve hicle's accele rati on .
Note tha t th e drive whee ls ca n spin and the
ve hicle can swerve when
back

Note
Always be careful when you park in areas with parking barriers or high cmbs. These vary in h eigh t and could damage your bumper andre­lated parts ifLhe front of your ve hicl e hit s a barrier or curb that is too high while you are getting into or out of a parking spot . To help prevent damage, stop before the tires of your vehicle touch a parking barrier or curb.
Warning and indicator
Note (continu ed)
Always be careful when you enter a driveway or drive up or down steep ramps or over curbs or obstacles. of the vehicle close to Lhe ground may be damaged (s u ch as bumper covers,
spoilers, and parts of the engine, suspen sion, and exhaust
firs t read and note Lhe introdu ctory informat io n and hee d the WAHNINGS page 188.
Lig ht s
191.
Brak e syste m malfun ction. Stop!
Get
expert assi stance pag e 192.
Brake fluid leve l too low. Stop!
BRAKE brake fluid page 197.
Take the vehicle to an au thorized indicator light or dea ler or authorize d Volksw agen Service Fa-
ABS: failure. ci
lity. Th e ve hicl e brakes will work without ABS.
Brake pedal not depressed! Depress the brake
pedal.
BRAKE Immediate ly take the vehicle to an auth orized
WEAR Front brake pads wo rn. Volkswagen dealer or authorized Volk swage n
Serv ice Facility. and if necessary re-place, all brake pads.
switc h ed off for syste m r easo ns. Switch ignit ion off an d on again . You may have
to dri ve a short dis tan ce.
Take th e ve hicle to an authori zed Volksw age n malfunc ti on. dealer or a
uthorize d Volk sw agen Service Fa-cilit y .
Tak e the vehicl e to or d ea le r or a uthori zed Volksw agen Service Fa-
ABS:
page257
manually deacti va te d. S
witch on p age 196. a ut om atically
turns on w he n you turn the ig nition on and off.
Startin g, shift ing, parking 188 189

Lights cause or up
I
Together w ith indicator
m alfun ction.
T oge th
er with warning light
cause
or is opera ting.
W hen the ig nition
is sw itched on,
light s and instrument cluster text messages can cause the vehicl e to
break down in traffic and result in a collision and serious personal injury.
Never ignore warning light s or text WARN­
Always stop the vehicl e as soon as it is safe to
do so.
Driving
with bad brake s can cause a collision and serious p ersonal injury .
does
not go out, or co mes on w hen driving, either the brak e fluid leve l in the reservoir is too low or there is a fault in the brake sys tem. Immediately
s top driving and get expert assista nce
response
Take the veh icle to an authori zed Volkswage n
d ealer or authori zed Volkswagen Service Fa-The ve hicl e brake s will work without
response
foot off accelerator pedal. Adapt driving to road conditi ons.
If the brake warnin g light BRAKE or co mes on at the same time as the warning light or th eABS may not be working properly. Thi s
could cause th e rear whee ls to lock up re latively
quickly during braking. Rear wheel brake lock­
u p can cause loss of veh icle control. If yo u be­
lieve that it is safe to do so, reduce your speed and d ri ve carefully and at low speeds to the neares t authorized Volkswagen dealer or a qual­
the indicator light or does not go out , or if it comes on driving, the sys tem is not workin g properly. The vehicle can th en be stopped onl y with the standard brake s
(wi thout ABS). w ill not have the protection provides. Contact your authorized Volk­
swage n dealer or an authorized Volkswagen vice Facility as soon as possib le.
lights up in the
in strument cluster display, whether alo ne or to ­gether with a te xt message, immediately contact an authorized Volkswagen dealer or authorized Volkswage n Facility to have the brake pad s ch ecked and, if necessary, replaced.
Note
Failure to heed warning lights or text WARNINGS can re sult in vehicle damage

Befo re stopping th e en gine, turn the s teerin g
w heel so th at, if the ve hicl e sta rt s to its w heels w ill int o th e curb:
Fac ing turn the fro nt whee ls s o th a t
they point t oward the curb .
Fa c in g uphill , turn the front whee ls so that th ey
p o int away from the curb .
WARNING
The vehicl e exh aust system and the catalyt ic
co nverter or diesel particulate filter get very hot and can cause a and serious personal injury.
Never park where the ho t exhaust system could ignite flammable m aterial s, su ch as brush, leaves, dry grass , spilled fuel, etc.
About the brakes
read and note th e introductor y information and hee d th e on page 188.
New d o not provi de to miles to km) and m ust firs t be
hard braking and situ atio ns that
mi ght re quir e hard braking (such follow in g other vehicles too closely)-during the break-in period .
pad wear depe nd s m ostly o n operatin g the vehicle is d riven.lfyou do a l ot o f ci ty and shor t-dis ta nce driv ing and/or have
a sp o rt y driv in g s ty le, yo u sh ould have th e brake
p ad s checke d by a n authorized Vol ksw age n d eal er or a u thori ze d Volkswagen Service Fa cilit y m ore
o fte n than the regula r servi ce interva ls.
Wet
r e la tive ly hi gh speed.
Mak e sure nobo dy is be hind you and that yo u do
not endanger yo urself or
Not e
Alwa ys be careful when you park in areas with parking barriers or high curbs . T hese vary in heig ht and could damage your bumper lated parts if the front of your ve hicl e hits a barrier or curb that is too high while you are getting into or out of parking spot. To help prevent dam age,
s top b efore the tires of your ve hicle touch a parking barrier or c urb.
Alwa ys be c areful when you enter a or down steep ramps or over curbs or other obstacl es. o f th e v ehicl e close to the ground be damaged (such as btm1per covers,
s p oi lers, and parts of the en gine, suspension, and exhaust sys tems).
coa ted with road sa lt also react slowe r and need lo nge r stopping dis ta n ces. there is salt o n
t h e ro ads and you are no t b raki ng reg ularly , b ra ke carefully and ge ntl y from tim e to tim e to rem ove
a n y salt coa ting from the bra ke discs an d pad s
Brake d isc corro sion (rust) and dirt buil d-up on
th e br
ake pads are m ore like ly to o ccur if th e hide is no t dri ven muc h or i s drive n only fo r sh o rt dista nces w ith littl e brakin g. th e brake s have not
been use d and th ere is so me ru st o n t he di scs, clean th e brak e discs and p ad s o nce in a whi le by carefully braking co upl e of times whi le dri v in g at
r e lati vely hi gh sp ee d to help clean the bra ke di scs
and pad s. Mak e sure n o bod y is behind you and that you do no t enda nger yo urself or
B rake system malfunction
you brake and
th e ve hicl e to the n earest authorize d Volkswage n dea ler or
p in g d is ta nce, and be ready to pus h lo nger and harder on th e brak e pedal to slow th e ve hicl e
d own.

Brake booster
Th e brak e boo ste r w ork s o
nly wh en the engi ne is
running . It increa se s th e forc e on the brake s above and beyond the pre ssure put on th e brake pedal by
the driver.
If the brake booster is not working, or if th e ve hicl e
ha s to be towed, you have to push th e brak e
p ed a l hard er to make up for the lack of booster
New brake pads do not provide maximum braking performance.
New brake pads do not have the best ping power for the first km) and must be You can compensate for the slightl y reduced braking force by putting more pressure on the brake pedal.
Drive with
Never follow otl1er vehicles too closely or put yourself into other sit uation s that might require sudden, hard braking ,especially when the brake pads have not been broken
Overheated brakes
When driving downhill , the brakes have to
work es pecially hard and heat up quickly.
Before driving downhill, es peciall y on th at are long or steep, alwa ys reduce s peed and shift into lower gear (manual or automatic
transmission) so that the engine he lp s to brake
the vehicl e. Othenvise, the brake system cou ld
ov erheat and pos sibly u se the brakes
w hen yo u need them to slow the v ehicl e down
m ore or to stop.
A damaged front spoiler or a non- standard spoiler can reduce airflow to the brakes and
Starting, shifting, parking
Wet brakes or brakes witl1 icc or road salt
react slow er and n eed lo n ger stoppin g tances.
Ca refully apply the brakes to test th em.
Always dry brak es and clean off ice and salt
coat ings with a few cautious
tions permit.
Driving when the booster is no t working
in creases stopping distances and can cause dent s and seriou s personal injuries.
Never le t the vehicl e coast when the en gine is
switc hed off.
If the brake booster is not working (such as
w he n the vehicle is bein g towed), a lot more pedal force is needed to slow down and stop.
Note
Neve r the by keeping your foot on the to brak e.
Constant pressure on the brake pedal can make th e brakes overheat. This sub stantially reduce
braking performance, increase stopping di stan ce, and can cause co mpl ete failure of th e brake
s y stem.
Before driving downhill, especially on that are long or steep, always reduce speed and shift into lower gear (manua l or automati c
When th e front brake s are serviced , you should have the rea r brake pads inspected
rized Volksw agen deal er or au th orize d Volkswa gen
Service Facility vis uall y insp ec t th e pads through
th e o pe nin gs in the wh eel rim s or from nea th tl1e ve hicle. If n ecess ary, the wheels ca n be
t ake n off for a mor e thorou gh
192 193

the info rm ation on the co ntainer for the brake fluid you want to use to
mak e sure it meets th e requirem ent s for your hicl e.
A ppro priat e brak e fluid can
be purchased from your authorized deal er or authori zed Facility.
Brake fluid level
The fluid
level in the transparent brake fluid voir must always be betw een th e MIN and MAX
some vehicle s, eng ine components blo ck th e
v iew of th e brake fluid reservoir and make it po ssibl e to see the brake fluid level. I f you cannot clearl y see the brake fluid leve l in the brake fluid reservoir, please see an authoriz ed deale r or authorized Facility.
The brake fluid level drop s slightl y when the hicle is being use d becaus e the brake pad s wea r
down and the brak es automatically adjust to thi s.
Changing brake fluid
Brak e fluid
must be changed a ccor ding to the
thori zed
Brake failure and reduced brake performance can be caused by not having enough brake fluid
in the reservoir or by old or incorrect brake fluid.
change brake fluid according to the service schedule in your Warranty and
lock reduces braking
standard 4925 another brake fluid can
standard 50114, 116 4 or 4925 4, do not use it.
The brake fluid must be new.
Always make sure that only the correct brake fluid is used. the container does not say that the brake fluid complies with standard 4925 4, do not use it.
Brake fluid is poi sonous.
To reduce the risk of poisoning, never use food, beverage or other non-original containers
to store brake fluid. might be misled
by the label on th e non-original container, or by the shape of the container, and drink the brake
fluid. This could occur even if you re-label the container as
dren.
Note
Brake fluid
Brake fluid can pollut e the en vironment.
196 197

Park Distance (PDC)
Fig. 13 2 the center console: Button to switch th e
P ork Distance Control system
Please first read and note the introductory information and heed the on page
system can help the driver when backing up and parking. The ve hicle
ge ts too close to an obstacle in th e front of or be­hind it , a beeping sig nal sounds. Th e closer the ve­
hicl e gets to the obstacle, the faster the system beeps. W hen the obstacle is very clo se, the sound is conti n uous.
Switch in g the D istance Contr ol sys te m on
a
nd off
W ith the ignit ion switc hed on, press the fig. 132.
A u into reverse .
denctivatiou: Drive faster than about 9 mph (15 km/h ).
T he indi cator
light in the button goes on
Distance Control
some the Park Distance Control inter­pret s wa te r o n the sensors as an obstacle.
I f th e dista nce remains the same, the warnin g
ton e volume decreases after a
There is no beeping when the selector lever is
in Park P.
The vo lume of the audib le s ig n als can be ad­
justed by an authorized Volk swage n dealership or an authorized Volkswagen Service Facility.
A short continuous tone during initi al activa­tion and a light in the button indi­cate a malfunction in the Park Distance system. Switch off Park Distance Control w ith the button and have it immediate ly checked by an au­
thori zed Volkswagen deale r or

Warning and indicator lights
-
. .
r
Fig. 139 the instrument display : Cruise contro l status displays.
on p age 214.
Light s up Possible cause
139
control is regulating the speed.
When th e ign ition is switched on, seve ral warning
a nd indic ator light s come on briefly for a function
c h eck. They go out after few seconds.
Disp lay
Diffe rent c rui se control versions are available. vehicles wi th a multi-fun ction dis p lay, the sto red
s p eed is s hown in the in strum en t cluste r display.
139
control temporarily deactivated. di sp lay size fo r stored sp ee d.
ma lfunctio n. Take th e ve hicle to a n au ­
thori zed Volkswagen dealer or authorize d Volkswage n Service Facility.
contro l ac tivated. No speed sto red in
memory .
control i s active. Large display size for
s tored speed.
Drive r assistanc e sys tems
off cruise con trol. Take th e vehicl e to
a n authorized Volkswage n deal er or a u th o-
ri ze d Volkswage n Serv ice Facility.
Failure to hee d warnin g lights and in strument clu ster text message s ca n cause the vehicl e to breakdown in traffic and result in collision and seriou s personal injury.
Neve r ignore warning lights or tex t WARN­
Alway s stop it is sa fe to do so.
Note
Failure to heed warning can result in ve hicle

In thi s section you'll find information on th e fol­lowi ng:
C o
ntrols ................................... .
Heating system operation
Air conditioner operation .. .................. .
Air vents .... .............................. .
Air recirculotion
and
228
23 1
232
232
ve hicle is equipped e ith er with a Climatic cli­
mate co ntrol system or with a Climatronic cli­mate co ntrol sys tem. ve hicles w ith tron ic clim ate co ntrol, syste m statu s m ess ages will appear
Volkswa gen Informa tion page
Windshi eld w iper and pag e
Exterior care an d page 262
increases th e risk of and other acci de nt s that cause seri ous pe rso nal in­
jurie s.
Always make sure all win dow s are clea r of ice , s now and condensa tion fo r good visibil ity to the front, si des, and rear.
Maximum heatin g output and defrost ing
w ill only be possi ble after th e engine yo u
h ave good visibili ty before driving off.
Alwa ys make sure yo u know how to properl y
u se t he heating and ve ntilation syste m s as well as the rear window defogger that yo u will nee d
for goo d visibility.
While driving
Neve r use air recircu lation for lo ng peri ods of time. W hen the air conditioner is off and r ecir­culation mode is on, co ndensation ca n qui ckly
form on th e windows an d great ly reduce visi ­
bility.
A lways switch off reci rculati on mode w he n it
i s not n eeded.
air causes d ri ve r fatigu e and reduces drive r alertness, w hich can cause accidents, collisions and seriou s personal injury.
Never swi tc h off the fa n for a lo ng pe riod of lim e and never use air reci rc ulation a lo ng pe ­
r iod of time because no fresh air will co me into
th e passe nger compartment.
Note
th e a ir conditioner
checked by an authorize d Volk swage n dealer or authorized Volkswage n Servic e Facility.
Air conditi oner repair requires speciali zed
kn ow le d ge and special tool s. Volkswagen recom­
m ends that you sec an authorized Volkswagen
dealer or authorized Vol kswagen Service Facility.
Do no t smoke whe n air reci rc ulati on is
sw itched on. drawn int o th e ve ntilation
syste m can leave residue on th e e vaporator an d
on th e dust a n d pollen active carbon re­
su ltin g in permanent odors when ever the air con­
ditione r i s switched o n.
out side air no t b e dehumidified. To keep the windows from fogging over, Volk swage n rec­
omme nd s leavi ng th e air conditioner (co m­
pre sso r) switc hed on. button. The in-
dica tor light in the bunon mu st come on.

At the gas station
Refueling
In this section yo u'll fin d information on the lowing:
Indicator lights and gouge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
Refueling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . 237
Refueling checklist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238
The fue l filler flap is located on the rear ri ght side of th e ve hicle.
More info rmation:
Fuel page 239
Preparations for work ing in the engine page 242
Improp er refuel in g or ha ndl in g of fue l can ca use fire, explosion, an d severe burns.
Always m ake sure that the fuel tank cap is
screwed on all the way. This help s keep fu el from spillin g out or evapora ting.
Fuel is highly flammable and explosive ; it can cause severe burns and other seve re ries.
Failure to shut the e ngine off while refueling and/or to in se rt the pump nozz le into the vehicl e's filler n eck can cause fu e l overflow and fue l spray. Fuel spray and overflowing fuel are dangerous beca use they can ca use fire or seriou s
injury.
Durin g refuelin g, the e ngine, an d th e ti on must be swi tc hed off for safety reasons.
Never use a cell ular te leph one, radio, or other radio eq uipment while refueli ng. The
fire.
While driving
Neve r get back into your veh icle while eling . If in exce ptiona l circumstan ces you must
ge t back in your ve hicl e while refue ling, make cert ain that you close th e door and touch metal
to disc harge static electricity before touching the filler nozzle again. This helps avoid the buildup of stati c elec tricity , w hich can cause sparks that can ig nit e fuel vapors re leased during refueling .
Never smoke or have an open flam e (or
sparks, ciga re tt es, or oth er sm old erin g obj ects)
anywhere in or your vehicle when refueling
o r
Avoid elec trostatic discharge and
safety instructions and procedures that apply a t th e service statio n whe re yo u fuel.
Never spill fuel in the ve hicl e or the luggage compartment.
For safety
or empty, may leak and could cause a fire,
under exce ption al cir cumstances, yo u must tmnspo rt a po rt able fuel contain er, please observe the following:
- Neve r
fill a portable fuel container while it
i s anywhere in or o n the ve hicl e (for example,
i n the luggage compartment). tri city ca n build up while filling and can