warning VOLKSWAGEN GOLF PLUS 2012 Workshop Manual

Always disconnect the batt ery (or teries, where appli cable). Make sure the hicle is unlocked when you disconnect the battery, or th e alarm w ill go off. Never touch the electrica l w irin g of the ign ition sys te m .
Neve r smoke.
Never work near heaters, water heaters, or other open flames.
Always have a functional, approved fire tinguisher nearby.
Warning
Note
W hen c
hangin g or topping off fluid s, make sure that you pour the fluids into the correct voirs. Addin g incorrect fluids will cause serious
malfunc tions and engine damage!
Fluid leaks are harmfu l to the environm ent.
thori zed Volkswagen dealer or authori zed swagen Serv ice Faci lity. Dispose of le aked at ing fluid s
first read and note the in tr o du ctory informat io n and heed th e on p age 242.
Lights ca use up
Engine hood not proper ly closed.
When the ignition is sw
itched on, several warning
a nd in dicator light s co me on bri efly fo r a functio n
c h eck. They go out after a few seconds.
If th e engi ne hood is open or not clos
ed properly,
the following warning light comes on in the ment cluster:
tions , a sy mbol showing th at the hood is not erly clo sed may appea r in th e in stru ment clu ste r
di splay instead of the warnin g light . Th e light or sy mbo l will als o com e o n whe n th e ig nition is swit ched off. T he di splay goe s out about
Core,
response
Close the eng ine hood.
I S seconds
after the vehicle has been locked with
the doors closed.
Failure to heed warning lights and instrument cluster text messages can cause the vehicle to
break down in traffic and res ult in a co llision and se riou s personal injury.
Never ignore warning lights or text
Always stop the vehicle as soo n as it is safe to do

Engine oil
Introduction
In thi s sect io n you'll find inform ation on the fol­
lowing:
Warning and indicator lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247
Engine
=>Boo klet Warranty
fo r wor king in the engine com­partment=> page 242
accessories, repairs and modifications page303
Im
proper h andling of engin e oil can cause se­vere burns and other seriou s injurie s.
Always wear eye protection.
Warning and indicator light s
Engine oil is poisonous and must be stor ed out of the rea ch of children.
To reduce
Engine oil becomes ex tremely hot when the engine is running and can ca use severe burns. Alway s le t the engine cool down to the tou ch.
all othe r operat in g flui ds, engine oil can pollut e the envir o nment. leak ing op­
erat ing fluid s and dispose of them properly in ac­
co rdance with appl icable environmental laws and regu latio ns.
on page 247.
Light s response up
Engine oil level too low. th e engine. th e eng ine oil leve l --=>page 249.
Flashes cause respon se
Switc h off the eng ine.
Engine oil press ure too low.
-If the warning light flashes although the oil level is normal , do continue driving or let the en gine idle. as damage may result. Get ex -pert assis ta n ce.
Take the veh icle to an auth orized Volkswagen Engine oil leve l sensor malfunction. dealer or authorized Volkswagen Service Fa-cility. Have the engine oil sensor checked .

Failure to heed warning lights and instrument cluster text messages can cause ve hicl e to break down in traffi c and result in a collision and serious perso nal injury .
Never ignore warning lights or text WARN­INGS.
Eng ine
first read and not e the introductory information and h eed the on page 247.
The engine oil used must conform to exact specifi­cations.
U sin g
the prop er engin e oil is import an t for th e
fun ctionality and serv ice life of th e engine. Your engin e was factory-filled with a hi gh-qualit y
multi -gr ad e oil which can usuall y be used
t h roughout the entire ye ar.
Your engine was factory
-fille d with a hi gh -quality, all-season e ng in e oil that meets stric t Volkswagen oil quality standards and has a vis­grad e ofSAE You can use this oil for normal d riv in g in temperatures.
D iesel engin es with diesel
diesel particulat e filt er
At the tim e thi s Manual was printed, the engine oils available in the U.S. that m eet these swage n standards oils. This does
not mean, however, that any engin e oil
will meet Volkswagen standard s. Always use an ap­proved oil that exp ress ly complies w ith the
Core,
Always stop the veh icle as soon as it is safe to
d o so.
No te
Failure to heed warning lights or tex t WARNINGS can result in ve hicle
swagen oil qualit y standard th at applies to your ve­
hicle's e ngin e.
General recommendations:
If oi l th a t meets the applicab le swagcn oil quality standard w ith viscosity grade SAE or is no t availab le in your area,
b e sure to use viscosity g rad e suitabl e for the cl i­mate, sea so n, a nd operati ng conditions th at exi st where the vehicle is used. Make sure the oil meets
th e quality standard listed table on page 248.
Engine oils arc consta ntl y being improved. swa gen dea lers and Service Facilities are alway s regarding new deve lopments and chan ges. Volk s wagen therefore recommends that
yo u have the e ngin e oil changed by an authorized Volk swagen dealer or an author ized Volk swagen
Service Facility.
Note
If yo u need to add oil and there is none avail­
a bl e that meets th e Volkswagen oil quality stan­dard your en gi ne requires, you may add a to ta l of no more than 1/2 quart of a high-quality
or SAE
Us e only a high quality engine oil that ex­pressly complies with the Volkswagen oil standard specified fo r your ve hicle's engine. U si ng any o ther oil can cause serious engin e damage that will not be cove re d b y any swagen Limited Warranty.
Do not mix any lubricants or other additives
into the motor oil. Doing so can cause engine damage! Damage caused by these types of addi­tives are not covered by any Volkswagen Limited

the oil leve l agai n befo re addin g more
oil. Never add much
O nce th e oil leve l is at least in the ( B) ra nge
oil dip stick all th e way. oil could le ak out while th e en­
g in e is running.
Afte r r efilling, car efully put the oil ca p back on and scre w it shut. Oth erwi se, oil could leak out whi le th e e ngine is running.
E ngin e oi l ca n ignite
when it tou ches hot e n g ine parts. T hi s can ca use fires, burns, and other se­vere injuri es.
Always make sure that the engin e oil fill er cap is screwed on tightly afte r adding oil so that oil cannot leak out ont o hot engin e parts whe n
th e vehicle is moving .
Engine
first r ea d and no te th e introductory information and h eed o n pa ge 247.
To prov ide effective lubricatio n and coolin g for in­
ternal engine parts, all internal combustio n en­
g ines use some oil. consumption varies from
e ng in e to engi ne and may ch an ge ove r th e life of th e e ng in e. Engi nes te nd to use m ore oil during th e
br eak- in peri od th an they do afterwa rd, when oil
co nsumption has s ta bili zed.
rat e of oil consump­
tion dep e nd s on oil quality a s well as v isc osity, e n ­
g in e s pee d (rpm), outs ide tempe rature, road con­dit io ns, the amount o f oil dilution caused b y con­densed water o r fuel residue, and oxidation of th e
o il. consumptio n may in crease with eng in e
wea r ove r time, until re pla cement of worn eng ine part s may beco me necessary .
Volk swage n recommends th at yo u to c heck the en­gin e oil leve l
vehicl e may consum e engine oil d e­pending o n seve ral var iables. A maximum of I quart per miles (!lite r km ) would be
Care, maintenance
Note
D o not start the engine if lhe e ngine oil leve l is
above range expert ass is ta n ce! Otl1envise the ca talytic con verter and engine ca n be dam­
aged!
W hen changin g or topping ofT make sure that you pour the into the correct res­ervoir s. Addi ng incorrec t
The e ngine oil leve l s h o uld never be above ran ge oil ca n be drawn in by
th e cra nkcase ventilation syste m and ent er th e at­
mo sphere via th e e xh au st sys te m .
co nside red normal. New vehicles may consume
m ore oil over th e km).
T he oi l pressure warning light is not an indicator oflowe ng in e oillevel.lfthe warning light stays on or whil e d rivin g (above rpm), a chime
will sound. It indica tes that the oil pressure is too
low. th e engine immediately, check the en­gine oil leve l and add oil if n ecessary . If the engine oil leve l is normal , but the continues to do not kee p driving or let t11e e ngin e idl e, as damage may occur.
If you believe your en g in e uses to o much oil, Volk­swagen recommends havin g th e vehicle checked b y an auth orized Volkswagen dea le r or an ri ze d Volk swagen Service Facility. Keep in mind that accurate measurem ent of oi l consumption re­quires great ca re and m ay take som e time. au­
t h orized Volkswa gen d ea ler and a uthorized Volk­
s wa gen Facility have instru ctions for how to m eas ure oi l co nsumptio n acc ura te ly.
Dep e ndin g on the wa y th e ve hicl e is dri ven an d th e ope ratin g conditions, oil consump­
t ion can be up to I quart per mil es (!liter per

Engine coo la nt
Introduction
In thi s section you'll find informat ion on the fol­lowing:
Warning
engine coolant and topping off . . . 255
Never do a ny wor k on the coo lant system unless
you
-know exactly ho w to carry out the job,
-have the correct tec hnical informa tion and
th e proper to ols, supplie s, and operating
fluid s, a nd
-are familiar with the necessary safet y
pr eca utions
Traile r page 152
fo r work ing in the e ngine com­partment page 242
Part s, acce ssories , re pair s and modification s
Engin e coo lant is poisonous!
Always keep the coolant in its origi nal con­
t ainer stored in a safe place .
To reduce the risk of poisoning, never store engine coolant in empty food or beverag e con­tainers or in any other containers that might mislead someone into drinking from them.
Always keep engine coolant out of reach of c hildr en.
Alway s make sure there is enough of tJ1e cor­
re ct coo lant additive to provid e proper anti­
fr eeze protection at the cold es t temperatures that can be expected where the vehicle will be used .
At extremely cold temperatures, the coolant could freeze, causing the vehicle to break down.
The heater would also not work, and vehicle oc­
cupants could be without protection at sub­freezing temperatures.
leaking operat ing
fluids and dispose of t h e m properly in acco rdance
w ith applicable environmental laws and regulat ion s .
Warning light and engine coolant temperature gauge
Fig . 153 E ngine coolant temperature gauge in the in­str umen t Engi ne cold;® Normal tempera­ture range;© Warn ing zone.
Core, maintenance
first read and note th e introduct ory information and heed th e on page 252.
normal driving conditi ons, th e needle
s h o uld be in the middl e of th e ga uge. The temper­
ature may go high er w hen th e e ngine is w orking
h ard, espec iall y in hut
When the igni tion is sw itch ed on , seve ra l warnin g and indicator light s co me o n bri efly fo r a function
c h ec k. The y go our after a few seconds.
Th e fo
llow ing table explains w ha t t o do if th e en ­
gine coolant warn ing does no t go out a few secon ds after the engine is s tart ed or light s up or
s tart s fla sh ing while driving.

Temperature
Lights up gauge needle response page252,
fig . 153
off the road and s top as soon as you can do so safely.
the engin e
coolant l eve l and add e ngine coolant if page 255. th e e ngin e coo lant E ng in e coolant tempera-
leve l is correc t o r the p roble m continues Warning zone l
u re too high. afte r addin g coo la nt and driv ing a sh ort tance, do not drive an y farther.
sary 341.
th e engin e coo la nt level after the en-
gine has coole d d own and add en gine
coolant i f page 255. the engine coo la nt leve l is correc t or tl1e problem continues after adding coolant, do
En gin e coolant leve l too not drive a ny farther.
Facility.
These in struction s apply only when the coolant temperature stays in the normal
rang e. immediately if the needle goes
in to
the red warning zone
Eng ine coo lant system the nearest authorized Volk swagen .. malfunction. dealer or authorized Volkswage n
Do not drive at hi gh en g in e s peeds or with heavy en g in e loads until the engine warm s
cause
Engi ne coo lant syste m malfun ction .
the engine compartment 252 253

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

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

rims
Please fir st read and no te the introducto ry inform atio n and heed the WARN INGS on page 262.
Cleaning
steel wheel s
S
tubborn brake dus t can b e removed an in ­dustrial clean e r. s teel wheel s regularly with
a se pa rat e s po nge.
Repai r any paint damage o n steel wheels befor e rust begins to fo rm .
Cleaning alloy
wheels
Every two weeks: Wash road salt and brak e dust ofT alloy wheel s, and clean the w heels w ith an ac id-
of rubber door and window
Please information and heed the WARNINGS on p age262.
T he
rubbe r seals around the d oors and w indow s
will s ta y soft a nd flexib le, sea l bett er and la st
De-icing door
Please informatio n and heed th e WARNINGS on page 262.
Volkswage n recommends us in g only genuine Volkswagen spray with lubricating and anti -corro­
s iv e pro perti es de-ice door lock cylind ers.
Undercoatin g
Ple ase read and n ot e the introductory heed th e o n page 262.
The ve hicl e underbody is co ated to help protect it
f rom corrosio n and damage. The undercoating could b e damaged durin g normal u se. We there­
for e recommend that you have the protectiv e coat­in gs on the underbody and su sp e nsion in spected
regularly, and repaired if necessary.
compound to the wheel s.
road and brake dust are not re m ove d regu­
larly, they can corrode m etal.
the protective coating is damaged, fo r example
b y s tone impact, repai r the damaged area right
longer if the seals are treat ed regu larly with a suit­
able rubbe r care product.
B efor e applyin g the treatment, usc a soft cloth to
r emove dust and dirt from the rubber
Lock de-ic ers that contain grease solvents can cause the lock cylinder to
Undercoating and rust-proofin g products can catch fire on the hot ex h au st sy stem or any othe r
h ot engine componen t.
Neve r apply additional undercoating or rust
proofi ng on or near the ex hau st manifold, the exhaust pipes, catalytic converter, the heat s hields, or any oll 1e r hot vehi cle component