brake VOLKSWAGEN GOLF PLUS 2012 User Guide

Driving with a
Please fir st read and note the introductory
o n page 152.
Headlight settings
Towing a tra
ile r can ra ise the fron t end of th e ve­
hicle enough fo r the low beam s to blind other road u sers. the headlight ra nge adjustment feature
to lower the light cones as req uired . your vehicle does not have headlight range adjustment, have
the headli gh ts adjusted by an authorized Volk­swage n dealer or au th orized Volkswagen Serv ice Facility . Vehicles with gas-d ischa rge lamps self-adjus t to vehicle load an d do not need manual adjustme nt.
Special towing
considerations
Due to th e combined towing weig h t includin g the hi gh er gross vehicle weight, the stopping dis­tance is longer .
Before driving downhill , especially on hills that
a re long or steep, shift in to a lower gea r (m anual
t ransmi ssion) or a lower drive position (automatic
t ra n smi ssion) so that the eng in e helps to brake th e vehicl e. Otherwise, the b rake system could ove r­heat and might fail.
The ve hicle's center of grav ity and, i n
Weigh t dis tr ibutio n i s especially bad if the
tow ing veh icle is e mpty and the traile r i s loaded. If
you absolutely must d rive with this combination , drive with extra care an d at a reduced speed.
Starting off with a trail er on hills
Depend ing o n how steep the h ill is and the com­bined tow ing weig ht, a parked vehicle wi th trailer can roll backwards when yo u firs t sta rt mov ing.
When sta rti
ng off with a trailer on a hill :
Depress and ho ld the brake pedal.
Befo re driv ing
Ma nual transmiss io n : d epress th e clutch fully.
Shift into fir s t gear or drive posi t ion D page 179,
Unlock the par ki ng brake and release it
w hil e ho ld ing th e unl ock butto n.
page assistance systems.
Do not re lease th e parkin g bra ke leve r until the engine sta rt s to move th e vehicle fonvard. your veh icle has an automatic t ransmissio n, yo u can
also depress a nd ho ld the brake pedal for added b raking and then letup on th e brake pedal w hen
you feel th a t the vehicle to move fo rward.
Drive ahead slowly at first.
A lways watch what i s happening up a head
and a round you. Brake earlier than you would if yo u were not to wing a trailer.
Drive especially care full y and accel erate gently. Always avoid sudde n m an euvers and h ard braking.
Be especiall y care ful when p ass ing other hicles. Reduce speed immediate ly if t he trailer
s hows the s lightes t sig n of swayin g. Reduce speed immediatel y if the t ra ile r shows even the
slightest sig n of sway ing.
Neve r try to sto p th e swayin g by accelerating.

In this section yo u'll fin d information on th e
ke y p ositions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 4
Starter button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
Sta rting the engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
S topping th e e ngine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
Electro nic immobi lizer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
Explanatory no tes in thi s chapter regard
rec t S hift Gea rbox.
Immob i
lizer display
I f a n unauthori z
ed vehicle ke y is used or the
s y s te m malf un ctions, o r Immobiliz er activ e!
m ay appear on th e in strum ent cluster. The e ng in e cannot b e s tarte d.
P ush -starting
and tow-starting
F o r t ec hni cal re as
ons, never try to pus h -s ta rt or
stead w hil e following proper a nd safe proc edures.
Mor e information:
Vehicle key pag e 34
Shifting pag e
B raking, sto pping and page
pag e
234
Fuel page 23 9
E m erge ncy clo sing and page 322
353
Towing and page 357
W hile driv ing
Switch in g off the engin e whil e th e ve hicle is
m oving can m ake the ve hicl e harder to s top and re sult in loss of ve hicl e control,lcading to sion s and seve re personal injuri es.
Brake and steerin g assis ta n ce sys tem s, the
a irbag syste m, safety belt pretensione rs, and oth er vehicle safety features onl y wor k when the
e n gi ne is runni n g.
Sw itch off theengineon lyw he n th e vehicl e is
not m ov ing.
The ris k of serious injury ca n be reduced with
the e n g in e runnin g or when startin g the en gine .
To reduce th e risk of seriou s perso nal inju ry
w hen sta rling and running the ve hicle's en gi ne,
n eve r start the e ngine or le t it run in a confined or en clo se d area. Carbon an odorl ess and colorless poisonous gas, is one co mpone nt of en gine exhaust fumes . monoxide can cause loss of conscio usn ess and d ea th.
Never leave the ve hicle unattended with the
e ngin e running. Th e ve hicl e could move denly or a n unusu al operating condition could
occ ur res ult ing in property damage or personal
i njury.
Neve r usc assi st
The ve hicle exhau st s ys tem and th e ca ta ly tic
co nve rter or diese l particula te filter ge t very ho t
and ca n cause and seriou s perso nal injury .
Never park th e veh icle where the ho t ex haust
sys te m or cataly tic co nverte r could ignit e mable materials, su ch brus h , leaves, dry grass, spilled fuel, etc.

Never leave the vehicl e unattend ed w hil e th e e n­gin e is running . The ve hicle could move sud­
d enl y, es peci ally w hen th e vehicl e is in gear, re­
s ultin g in accide nts and personal injury.
assis t ca n ex plode and ca n
ca use a ve hicle condition.
Neve r u se
Note
Yo u can damage the s tarter o r vehicl e is still
mo vin g, or if you try to res ta rt
Not e (c onti nued)
Avoid high en gin e sp ee ds, full throttl e and heavy en gin e lo ads wh en th e eng in e is cold.
D o n ot push-sta rt or tow-start the ve hicl e. Un­
burne d fuel can ge t int o the cataly tic convert er
and damag e it.
Do not let yo ur vehicle warm up whil e sta nding; ins tead, sta rt driving right away
after makin g sure th at you have good vis ibil ity
t hrou g h all windows. This will he lp th e e ngin e
reach operating temperature fas ter an d keep down
emiss io ns.
Majo r consu mers of e lectricity are te mpo­rarily swi tc hed off when th e e ng in e is bei ng
s tarted .
After starting cold engin e, increased oper­ating nois es may be heard f or f ew seconds.
Thi s is no rmal and
firs t r ead an d note th e intro ductory in fo rm atio n an d heed th e page 172.
Pl
ease car ry out each ste p onl y in the order sp ecified .
Vehicl es with out
Bring th e veh icle to a co mplete
2. Depress an d hold down th e brake pedal until step 4 i s co mpleted.
3 . A uto matic tra nsm ission: Shif t the tra nsmiss io n in to Park (P).
4 .
Apply the parking page
pag e 175,
5. Turn th e vehicle key to pag e fig. 119. th e ignitio n sw itch. out the emergency sh ut -offproc edure
6. W ith a manual tra nsmiss ion, sh ift in to Ist gear (vehicle on fla t surfa ce or p ointing uphill ) or reve rse (vehicle pointing downhill ).
N ever turn off the e ngin e before th e ve hicle has come to
T he a irbags and safe ty belt prete nsio ners w ill not work when th e ig nition is swit ch ed off .
Starting, parking 176 177

Shifting
Introduction
In this section you'll find information on
. . . . . . . .
Pedals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
Manual transmi ssion: Gearshift lever . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
Automa tic transmission: Selector lever . . . . . . . . . . . 182
with Tiptronic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
Driving with automatic transmission . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
E xplanatory no tes in thi s chapter also apply rect Gearbox.
When the ignition is switched on and th e
T he backup light comes on.
Th e air co nd itionin g sys te m sw itch es ically r ecirculat ing air verse.
The rear window wiper swi tches on when
sis t sys te m , a nd camera For
Instrum em s
Brak ing, and
D is tance
H everse driving assista nl (Rea r Assist)
Clima te comrol
Eng in e contro l and emission cont rol sys tem
Eme rgen cy closi ng and page 322
accelera tion can cause skidding and loss of t ract ion, especially on slipp ery roads, sulling in loss of vehicl e control , collision s,
and seriou s personal injury.
kick -d own feature or fast ti on onl y if vis ibility, weather, road , and traffi c
co nditi ons permit.
Neve r
or apply the p edal often or lo ng. Constant brakin g ca uses the brakes to over hea t. This subs ta nti ally duce performance, increase stop1> ing
d is tance, and cau se complete failure of th e
Note
Neve r the brakes by keeping your foot
o n brake ped al when you do not want to brake.
Thi s
Before driving downhill , es peci all y on that are lon g or steep, alw ays reduce speed an d into lower gear (manual or auto mati c mission) so that th e engin e help s to brake hi cle. Otherwi se, th e brake system could over hea t and possibl y fail. use th e when yo u
n eed them slow v ehicl e dow n more or

Warning and indicator
Please fir st r ead and not e th e int rod uc tory informatio n and heed th e on pag e 179.
Light s
Possibl e cause up
Brak e pedal not d ep ressed!
Brake pedal w as not depressed before a new drive position wa s selected with the
se lec to r l eve r. o r be fo re pe rformin g
Possibl e caus e
The re lease bul!on in th e s elec tor leve l did
n o t en gage in po siti on. V ehicle is preve nted.
th e ig niti on i s s witch ed on, seve ral warnin g
and indica to r lig hts c om e on briefly fo r a function
c heck . T hey go out aft er few sec o nd s.
to hee d warning light s and in strument
clu ste r te xt m essages cause the v ehicl e to
b reak d own in and result in colli sion and seri ou s persona l injury.
Neve r ignore warning lig ht .s or t ext
drivin g
Prop er re sponse
Dep ress the brake pedal.
Appl y th e brake pedal to sele ct a dri ve position
Prop er re sp o nse
E ngage se lecto r lev er
page 183.
Alwa ys stop the ve hicl e as s oo n it is safe to
d o s o.
stalled or stopped f or r epa ir , move the ve hicl e a safe di sta n ce
Note
Fa ilur e to heed warning lights o r tex t

with manual transmission: Clu tch
Plea se first re ad and note th e in troducto ry information and heed th e on pag e
usc floor mats that leave the pedal area fre e and ar e held sec urel y in plac e w ith floor mat fas­
t e n ers to help prevent slidin g.
with automatic transmis­
s io n : Accelerator pedal, Broke
in the driver footwell can prevent the pedal s from moving fr ee ly . Thi s ca n ca use loss of vehicl e control and increase the risk of serious
p ersonal injurie s.
Never put floor mats or other floor coverings
o n top of alr eady in stalled floor mats.
Always make sure that n o thing can f all into
th e driver footwell while the vehicl e is mov ing.
CD Note
Alway s make sure that the pedals arc abl e to move
fre ely and that nothing ca n interf ere with them.
For examp le, if a brak e ci rcui t malfun ction s, more brake pedal trave l will be needed to bring the ve­
hicl e to a full stop, and yo u will have to depress th e
brake pedal harde r and further than

first rea d and not e the introductory informatio n and heed the on page
The pos ition s of the indiv idual gea rs are s hown on th e gea rs h ift fig.
Dep ress the pedal th e way and ho ld.
Move the lev er in to the des ired tion.
Th e clut ch
pedal mus t be depresse d to stan the eng ine.
Automatic transmission :
Fig . 124 Au tom atic transmissio n selector lever with
shift
When vehicle is not m ovin g. depress th e and ho ld.
th e shift le ve r d own.
Move the leve r to the and th en push
forwar d int o the reverse gear position
When the engine running and a gear gaged , th e vehicle will start to mov e as soon as the pedal is released, even when the parking brake is appli ed.
Never shift into reve rse when th e vehicle is
moving.
Note
T o h elp prevent damage and premature wear:
Do not re st your hand on the gear shift leve r
whil e dri ving.
Make sure th at the vehicle has come to a
Always depress th e pedal
Do not hold the ve hicl e on a
fir st rea d and no te t he int roduc tory information and hee d th e on page
sold in the United and have an Automatic Lock ve hicles with you must depress the brake pedal and ho ld it d ow n whil e press ing th e rclense
fig. in ord er to move th e selec to r leve r
o ut of and int o drive gea r. W hen lector leve r is in Ne utral (N). you also have to press th e brak e pedal before you can move lecto r leve r to Dr ive (D ), Drive o r neverse (R).
If th e ignition is switched on. the c urrent selec tor lever

Selector lever posi- Designation tion
The drive wheels are mecha nica lly locked.
p Se le c t only when the ve hicle is
N Neutral Tran
smissio n i s in Ne utral positi on. No power is tra nsferre d to
th e wheels and no e ng in e brakin g effect is available.
D Driv e (standard All forwa rd gears shift up and d ow n automatically. The tran smi s-
dri vin g pos ition) s
ion shift s as nee ded dep endin g on engin e load , indiv idual dri vin g sty le, and dri ving speed.
A
ll f orwa rd gea rs aut omatically up shift/aterand dow nshift ear-
s Sport Dri ve
leve r lock
Th e
selector leve r lo ck in
the re le ase button on th e selec tor leve r a t th e sam e time .
Th e se lec to r leve r l
ock is no t e ngaged if these­
(R) to Dri ve (D)).
T hi s makes it possibl e to
second and th e
ve hicl e is tra velin g no faste r than approx imate ly
3 mph (5 km /h).
ra re cases. the Dir ect Gea rbox. thi s ha ppens, th e eng ine w ill be disab led to pre­
ve nt the vehicle from m oving unexpec te dly. Th e
gree n ind ica tor light will blink and text mes­
sage will be di sp layed. To e n gage th e selec tor lever lock, do as follows:
6-speed trans missions: Depress and then re le a se the brak e pedal; try to e ngage th e se lector l oc k again.
Starting, shifting, parking
Never accelerate when m ovi ng the selector lever.
Whe n the en gin e is running and a drive posi­tio n is engaged, the ve hicle will start to move as soon as the brake pedal is re leased.
Never shift into Reverse or
Never get out of the driver's seat whil e the engine is running, especially when the tra nsmi s­
s ion is in a drive gear. lfyou m ust leave your ve­
hicl e while the engi ne is running, alwa ys set the
p a rkin g brake and shift the transmi ssio n into (P).
182

(D), Sport Drive (5), or has been selected, press and hold the peda l to keep the vehicl e from moving. The vehicle may and move forward or backw ard even if the engine is idling slowly.
Never shift into !!everse when the vehicl e is movin g.
Never leave the vehicle in Neutral (N). will
roll down hill s, whether the engine is running or not.
While driving
Note
Even though the transmission is in the vehicl e may move a couple of inches fonvards or backwards if yo u take your foot off the pedal after stopping the vehicle without first setting the parking brake.
b y mi stak e w hen the vehi cle is moving. take
your foot o ff the accelerator p ed al.

Braking, stopping, and parking
Introduction
In this section yo u'll find inform ation on fo l­
lowi ng:
Warning and indicator lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
Park in g brake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 1
About t
he brakes . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 192
Bra king assistance sys tem s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194
Switching Anti-Slip Regulation (ASR) on ond off . . 196
Brake fluid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196
T he brakin g support syste ms are Brake A ss is t E lec tro nic Differ e n tial Loc k (EDL). Anti-Slip
M ore information:
Trail er page
pag e
Tires and page 276
acce ssories, r epa ir s and modifi catio ns
brakes or worn brake pads can
ca use colli sio n and serious personal inju ry.
light s up in the
in strument cluste r di splay, w heth er a lo n e or to­
ge ther with tex t message, immediat ely conta ct an authorized Volk swage n dea ler or authorized
Volkswag en Se rvi ce Faci lity to have th e brake pad s ch ecke d and , if necessary, re pl aced.
WARNING
improperly can cause se riou s pe rso nal
injury .
Never re m ove key from the ignition switch while vehicl e is m ov ing or ro llin g to a
s top. The steering w heel w ill lock and you not be
Never park the vehicle w here the ho t ex ha ust
syste m or catalyti c convert er could ignit e flam ­
mabl e mater ia ls, su ch as brus h , leaves , dry grass, spilled fue l, e tc .
Always apply th e parki ng brake whe n
p a rki ng your veh icle. Imprope r u sc of th e
p a rking bra ke can se rio usly injur e you and your passe nge rs.
Never use the
e m ergency . The stopping dista n ce is muc h
longer b ec au se onl y the wheels arc braked . use the foot brake to sto p the vehicle .
Never the throttl e from
th e e ng in e
th e automati c transmission is in gear. The ve hicle will start t o move as soon the e ngine speed ev en i f th e brake is on.
Never leave childr en or anyo ne w ho canno t
h elp them se lve s beh in d in the vehicl e. They could re leas e the brak e move the gear selector leve r or shift , wh ic h could cause th e vehicle to start m ov ing. Thi s ca n lea d
to a cras h and seri ous personal injuri es.
Always take the key with you when yo u
leave th e ve hicle . The engine ca n be started and ve hicl e sys te m s s uch as the power wind ows can
b e operate d , le ad ing to seri ous perso nal injury.
Neve r leave childr en , di sabled perso ns, or a nyon e who cannot h elp them se lves in the vehicl e. T he doors can b e lo cke d wit h the re mote contro l ke y, trapping passe nge rs in the
ve hicle in an emerge ncy. For exa mpl e, dep en­ding on th e tim e of year, people trappe d in the
ve hicle can be ex pose d to very high or very temperatures. Heat build -up in the passenger and parked vehicl e result in temperatu res in the ve hicl e th at arc much hi gher than the outsid e tempe mtu­
res, partic ul arl y in summer. T emperatures ca n
qui ckly reac h le v e ls that can cause uncon­
scio usn ess ch ildr en.