towing VOLKSWAGEN GOLF PLUS 2012 Owner's Manual

Tow-starting and towing
Introduction
In thi s sec tion you'll find informati on on the low ing:
ti ps on towin g your vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 357
Installing the towing eye in the fron t . . . . . . . . . . . . . 358
In stalling the towing eye in the rear . . . . . . . . . . . . . 359
Driving tips while towing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Ob serve lega l regulations tow -startin g and
t ow ing.
For technical rea sons: A vehicle with dead battery must never be towed;
Engin e control and emissio n control system page315
Never tow a vehicle without any electrica l
power.
Neve r remove the vehicle key from the
first r ea d and no te th e introductory inf ormation and heed the WARNINGS on page357.
Towing eye; bar
A to w ing eye is includ ed in your vehicl e's tool kit.
Thi s ca n b e inserted in a th rea ded h ole in the front bumper a nd use d whe n your ve hicl e is bei ng
t owed by an o th er ve hicle.
Towing a veh icle change s th e way it handles and brake s. To help reduce the risk of an accident and serious personal injury, note the following:
The driver of the ve hicl e that is being towed:
-
need to
press harder on the brak e pedal to slow down or stop. Always be alert so as not to rear-end the towing vehicle.
-
You will have to use conside rably more
force to turn the steerin g whee l because the power steering is not working.
The driver of the ve hicl e that is doing the towing:
- Accelerate gradually
and gently and avoid
jerking movements.
- Do
not brake hard or stee r sharply.
- Brake earlier
and more gently than in normal driving.
Note
Be careful not to damage the paint when stalling and removing the eye and the cove r for the threaded hole behind the bumper.
Unburned fuel can get into the catalytic verter during towing and damage it.
The tow rope s ho uld be nexib le e no ug h to help
protect both v ehicle s from damage . thetic fiber rope or simil ar rope.
A tta ch th e
tow rope or tow bar onl y to the towing
eye included in the vehicl e tool kit for thi s
the transmission in Ne utra l (N).
Do not tow faster than mph km /h ).
D o not tow more than miles

If transmission has leake d out of th e missio n.
If there is o r n o oil in th e transmiss io n cause of damage to your ve hicl e, it mus t be moved
w ith th e dri ve wheels off th e ground.
If the front and rear w heels cannot t u rn.
Fig . 202 In righ t front bumper : Remove cover.
read and note the introdu ctory information and heed the on page357.
T he re is a thread ed hole for
the tow ing eye in the
right front
Take the tow ing eye, the lu g wre nch, and the
sc rewdriver out o f the ve hicle too l kit in the page 326.
on the cove r at the top 202
(a rrow ) so that it pops out.
Remove the cover and let it hang from the bumper.
Do it yourself
the ve hicl e battery is disc harged, since the s teering re m ain disabled, and it may not be poss ibl e to release the elect ro ni c steerin g column lock.
If yo u have to tow an automatic tran smissio n
ve hicl e m ore th an miles km ).
A vehicle can be to we d onl y if the electro nic steerin g co lumn lock is released. In case of a
power loss or malfunc tions of the e lectrical
sys te m , th e e ngine may have to be jump-start ed in order to re lease the electroni c steerin g column
Fig . 2 0 3 In righ t front bumper: Screwing in t owi ng eye .
the tow ing eye counter-clock wise into the threaded ho le as far as it will go (arrow) Use the lug wrenc h to turn and tig ht en th e towing eye.
towing is compl e te, unscrew the towi ng eye cl ock wise to re m ove it.
on the lower part of the cover until the
lower lip has locke d into pla ce.
Note
Always make sure the towin g eye is screwe d all the w ay into threaded hole so that it is secure. If not, it could be pull ed out while your vehicle is being

the towing eye in the rear
Fig. rig ht rear b umper: Remove cover.
P le ase first read and not e th e information and heed the
on page357.
The re is another threaded hole for the towing eye
in the right rear
tow ing instruction s .
the rear towing eye
Tak e the towing eye, the lu g w rench, and the
sc rewdrive r out of the veh icle tool kit in the
Pu sh on the cove r at the (arrow) so that it po ps out.
th e cover and le t it
tips
Fig .
the towing eye counter-clockwise into
th e threade d hol e as far as it will go (arrow) fig. Use th e lu g wrench to turn and tighten th e towin g eye.
W hen t owi ng is complet e, unscrew the towin g
eye clockwise to remove
Position th e lower lip of th e cover in th e
o penin g in the bumper and ca re full y push th e upper lip over the edge of th e opening until the
l ower lip has locke d in plac e.
Note
Always make sure the towing eye is screwe d all the way into threaded ho le so that it is secure . If n ot, it could be pulled out while your veh icle is being
358 359

Driving tips towing
Please fir st read and note the introd uctory in form ation and heed the on p age357.
Tow
ing r equires som e ex perience, especiall y w hen
u sin g a tow rop e. Both drivers mus t be familiar
w ith the techniques required f or towin g.
paved roa d, there is always a risk of overloading and damaging th e a ttachment points.
your ve hicl e is bein g towe d, it can still sign al turns eve n if the em erge ncy flashers are activate d , as lo n g as the ig nit ion is switched on. the turn sig nal in the no rm al way. The e merge ncy flashers
go off as l ong as th e tu rn sig nal is blin kin g. As soon as the turn sig nal lever returns to its ne u tr a l tio n . the e merge ncy flash e rs are auto matically tiv ated agai n.
The driver of the vehicl e towed:
your vehicle is the on e being towed, the ti on switch m ust b e swit ch ed on to keep the
Do it yourself
s teeri ng wheel from loc king. Also m ake sure that the turn signal s, horn , winds hi eld wip ers, and w indshi eld was he rs wo rk properly.
power steering does not wo rk w hen th e
e ngi ne is swi tc h e d off, more e ffort is needed t o
s teer th e ve hicl e.
the brak e booster also does no t w ork when the engin e is s topped, you will need t o press harder o n the brak e ped al to slo wdown or stop. Do not hit the towing vehicl e.
Head and heed the inform ation and in the tow in g ve hicle's owners m anu al.
The driver of the towing vehicle:
Accele rat e g raduall y and gentl y a nd avoid
jerking move men ts. Do no t s teer s h arply.
Brake earli er and m ore ge ntl y than in normal driving.
Head and heed the informatio n and in the owner's m anual of the ve hicl e bein g
tow ed

TIN .................................. .
292
Tiptronic ............................... 185
Tire damage.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 286
Tire inflati on pressure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283
spare wheel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284 Spare wheel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284
Tire mobility set . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 336
minutes . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
tire m ob ilit y set . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 336
no t to use . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 336
Tire Monitoring Sys tem
Tire inflati on
pressu re. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283
Tire Pressure Monitoring Sys te m . . . . . . .
Tire re p a ir set
tir e m ob ility se t . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 336
Tire wear.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287
Tires
T ires and w hee ls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276
Tires a
nd wheels....................... 276
Avoiding
damage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 278
Br eak- in period
...................... 281
spare w heel ............... 288
Determine load limit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Imbal ance.......................... 287
In co rrect wheel a lignment........... 287
I nflat io n pr essure
sensor . . . . . . . . . . . . 284
La beli n g . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Load rating code of th e tir es. . . . . . . . . . 293
New
tires .......................... .. 28 1
rat ing code letter . . . . . . . . . . . . . 293
the replaced w hee l . . . . . . . . . . 288
Technical data. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tire an d wheel handling. . . . . . . . . . . . . 278
Tir e damage. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 286
T ire identifi ca
tion number (TIN) . . . . . 292
Ti re infl ation pressure............... 283
Alphabetical ind ex
Tir e lab eling. . . . . . . . .. .. . . . . .. . . . . .
balancing ..................... 287 rims. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
tires. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 294
Tongue load ............................ 152 Trailer loading ....................... 155
Tools
F ront tow ing eye.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 358
Rear towing
eye.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 359
S pec ia l
consideratio ns. . . . . . . . . . . 357, 358
Tow b
ar ............................. 357
Tow rope ............................ 357
Towi ng prohibi
tion .................. 357 traile r hit ch ..................... 357
Towing
capacity
T railer loading ....................... !55
Tow- starting ........................... 357
Traction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 292
Trailer Driving .............................. !56
D
riv ing w ith a trailer ................. !56
E lec tri
cal socke t ..................... !54 H ea dligh t settin gs .................... 156
L E D r
ear ligh ts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153, !54
Loading ............................. 155
Malfunction ......................... 155
Pa rking System. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Rear ligh ts ....................... 153, 154 Retrofitting a rrailer hitch ............. 158
Safety ch a ins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . !53, !54
Tongue load . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152 Tongue weight ....................... !55 Towing capacity ..................... 155
Trailer towing ....................... !52
Trail er hitch
Ball mount . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 157
Malfun ction ......................... 155
H etrofit ............................. 158
trail er . ................. ......... !52

Trailer towing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
Fire extingu is her . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
Technica l require ments.............. 153
Transporting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
Dr iv ing tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Tread depth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 286
Tread wear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 292
Trip
odomet e r . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Tro ubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 318
Turn signa l leve r . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
u
Undercoating .......................... 268
Unidirec t
ional tires .................... 293
Unlocking
Rear hatch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 Vehicle .............................. 39
Upholstery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Cleanin g fabr ic tr im . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271
C leaning uphols tery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271
Leatherett e . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273
Lockin g from th e outsid e .............. 39
action in case of breakdown
Stopping on an up hill grade . . . . . . . . . . 192
Un locking and l ock ing from the inside .
Battery acid ......................... 259
Battery runs dow n . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Disch arges...................... 174,321
Disconnecting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
In stallation location ................. 257
Jump-start . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 355
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259
R ep l
acement. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Leather. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272
Leatherette . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273
mirror s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265 components .................. 274 was her . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264
R
eplacing wip er b lades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266
Serv ice posit ion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
S pecial considerations . . . . . . . . . . . 263, 264
U ndercoatin g ....................... 268
Uph ols tery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
271
Vehicle pain t.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267 Washing by hand. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263
Wash ing the ve hicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263
W i
ndows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265
W i
ndshi eld -int egrated antenna ....... 312
Woo d trim . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274
374 375

New
limitations on how long an implied warranty lasts, so this limitation may not apply to you.
You are req
uired to u se the BBB procedure before pursuing any legal remedy under 15 with respect to the New Vehicle Limited Warranty. You may also be quired to use the BBB procedure before pursuing legal remedies under your state lemon law. Please refer to the Consumer Protection section of this booklet for more information.
Coverage
This limited warranty covers an y repair to correct a
manufacturer's defect in material or workmanship except wheel alignment, tire balance, and the
miles, whichever occurs first.
Original Equipment Battery
Original equipment batteries are covered
miles, whic hever occurs firs t
( i.e. headlight adjustment).
Towing I Jump start
Towing service to the nearest authorized gen deale r and/o r a jump start are covered for 3
years or
rant able .
Refe r to the 24-Hour Roadside Assis tance Owner's
Guide for speci
fic details on the services provided.
Where to go for warranty service
This limited warranty w ill be hono red by any
including it s territories.
your Volkswagen model is brought to an
including its territories , this limited warranty will not
apply. Defects in material or workmanship
try (except Canada).
Warranty re pairs while traveling in
Warra nty repairs while traveling in Canada should
be performed by an authorized Volkswagen dealer .
New Vehicle Limited Warran ty, Canadian
dea le rs can submit a claim . Proof of U nited residence is requi red. not submit your claim, you may be asked to pay for
t he repair.
please present the invoice to your United
hicle changes within the Warranty period.
Free-of-charge repair
Repairs under this li mited warranty are free of charge. Your authorized Volkswagen dealer will pair the defective part or replace it with a new or remanufacture d genuine Volkswagen part.
bulbs damaged by outside are not covered .
Warranty 3