maintenance VOLKSWAGEN GOLF PLUS 2012 Owners Manual

Contents
Owner's Manual 2
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California Emissions Warranties 377
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Mobile Phone Package 392
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RCD 310 Radio 426
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Supplement 477
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USA Warranty and Maintenance 487
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Service reminder
first read and note the introdu ctory information and heed the WARNINGS on page 16.
The service appointment reminder is shown in the clus te r page 16, fig. 6 more information, please see the Warranty and Maintenance booklet.
Information on
maintenance Booklet booklet
Volkswagen distinguishes between serv ic e ap­pointments an engin e oil change, such as an in spection serv ice. The service reminder di splay indicates only ser­
vice appointme nt s w hi ch includ e an engine oil change. All o th er serv ice appointments, su ch as the n ex t due inspection serv ice or brake fluid
change, are indi cated on the sticker on the veh icle
door pillar or in th e Warranty and Maintenance booklet.
For vehicles with
time or distance-driven depen­
d ent service, fixed service intervals are defined.
Service reminder
If se rv ic e is due in the near future ,
a wrench and a miles (kilomete rs) indicator are shown in the in strument cluster display . The
mil eage shown is the m aximum distance can
b e dri ven until the require d service must be form ed . Th e di spla y changes after a few seconds. A
clock symbol is displayed and the number of days
until the re quired service is show n.
For
i s dis pla yed for severa l sec­onds. For Service now
i s indi cated on the instrument cluster display.
overview
Querying a service message
The current service message can b e accessed
whe n the ig niti on is switched on, the engine is
switched off, and the vehicl e is stopped:
button in the instrument clu ste r
seve ral times until the wrench ap­pears.
Select th e Settings menu.
In the Service sub-menu, se lec t th e Info menu item.
Overdue service is indicated by a negative sig n in
front of the mil eage or day info rm ation. Fo r cles Service since---mi or--­days is indi cated on the instrument cluster displa y.
Resetting the service reminder dis
play
If the service was not performed by an authorize d Volkswagen dealer or an authorized Volk swagen
Serv ice Facilit y, the service reminder can be reset as follows:
Veh icl
es with text message display:
Se lec t th e
menu.
the sub-menu, select the Reset menu ite m.
request with
off the ig nition.
lea se th e button and push button withi n about seconds.
Do
not reset the service r eminde r betwe en serv ice intervals; otherwise, incorrect information will be display ed.
The se rvice reminder disappear s afte r a seconds when the engi ne is running or the bullon has been pushed .

Checklist (contin ue d)
shoes th at give your feet a good grip , a n d that g ive you a feel for the pedals .
Make sure that th e floo r mat on the driver side is pro perly fastened and cannot interfere with th e
peda ls .
Assume and s tay in a proper seatin g positi o n before and driving. Make sure that gers wear their sa fety properly, eve n those siuing in the page 56 .
fasten your safety
transport as m any passenger s as
Never drive if your driving ability has been impaired , for exa mple by medication, alco hol or
Neve r le t passe nge rs o r phone d istract you driving and neve r take your attention off the road using vehicle software or adjustin g vehicle equipment.
Always adapt your speed and dri ving style to v isibility , weather, road, and traffic conditions .
Always obey traffic laws and speed limits .
long trips make freque n t rest stops -at least once every two hou rs.
Sec ure
animals in the vehicl e w ith a syste m that corresponds to we ight and s ize.
Always observe traffic rules and posted speed limits and use common sen se. good ment can mean th e diff erence between arrivi ng safe ly at your destination and b eing seriousl y jured in a crash or other kind of acci dent .
Driving abroad
Hegu lar serv ice and maintenance of your hide is important for operational and drivin g
safe ty, as the sc heduled maintenance
int erva ls in the
towing, and other fac tors
m ay make it necessary to have the ve hicl e serv iced more freque ntly. Ask an authorized Volk swage n
dea ler or a n authorized Volkswagen Service
on page 28 .
Checklist
issues with
regard to the country to which yo u wo uld like to travel:
Should the ve hicl e be technically prepared fo r dri vin g abroad, such as masking or adjustin g head-light s?
Some basics 28 29

Are maintenance , repair facilitie s, necessary tools and t es tin g equipmen t as for your
Are th ere authorized Volkswagen dea le rs a nd authorized Volkswage n Fac ilities in the coun-trie s where you be driving?
For unleaded with the right octane ratin g readil y
For di es el eng ines: low-s ulfur diesel
Are engin e that meet Volkswagen and p erfo r­mance requirements be dri ving"? F o r more inf ormatio n, please see the War ranty and Mai ntenance bookl et.
Does the factory- install ed nav igation system wor k in the co untries w here yo u be dri ving , and is nav igat io n data
Are sp ec ial or heavy-duty tires necessary for the kind of driv in g expec te d?
Note
Volk swagen is not responsible for mechanical damage that may re sult from substandard or service or the unavailability of Genuine Volk­
swagen parts.
first read and note introd uctory informatio n and heed th e on page28.
note the following to preve nt damage when driving through wa ter, fo r examp le
o n roads :
Check depth of th e w ater before driving throu gh it. Th e wa te r must not b e any hi gher than th e bottom or the
Do no t dri ve faster than walkin g sp eed .
Never stop the a nd do n ot driv e in re­
verse or swit ch the engine off when driving
through water.
Oncoming may create waves that raise the water to drive through safe ly .
Befo re driving
After driving through water, mud, sludge, etc., the brakes react slower and need longer stop­ping di stances.
A lw ays dry the brakes and
Avoid abrupt or sudden braking maneuvers after water.
co mponents such as the engine, trans­mission , suspension or electrical system may be sev erely damaged by driving through water.
Never drive through salt water.
parts that were exposed to salt water.

Electrical consumers Max. power sumption
Brake lights total
An improp erl y in sta ll ed or incorrect t railer hit ch can
trail er any
m ore , remove the entire trailer hitch. Always
sea l all bolt ho les to prevent water and deadly
exhaust fumes from getting int o the ve hicle.
Hitching up and connecting a
Ple a se firs t r ea d and no te the introdu cto ry informati on and heed th e on pag e 152.
n ers witho ut str etc hi ng the c hain s. T he safety
c hain s mu st n ot drag o n th e g ro und, ho wev er.
Trailer electrical socket
The vehicl e m ay be opti onally equipped with a
setup for con nec ting a trailer so cket. Th e ele ctrical connec tio n betwee n th e towing ve hicle and the
trailer is a convent io nal7-pin trailer socke t.
T raile r rear lights
Mak e sure that th e trailer light s work prop erly and
m ee t le gal re quir em ent s. D o no t excee d th e
im um po w er co nsumpti on f or th e trail er 153 .
Before drivin g
Note
If you tow a trailerfrequenll y,
ween th e re gular maintenance and inspecti on
int erva ls because of the extra load it has to pull.
Do not use a trailer with LED (lig ht emitting
di ode) rear lights, as they ca n d amage your ve hicle's ele ctroni cs.
If the uses too much elec tricity, the
ve hicle' s e lectroni cs may be damaged.
Never connect the electric.1.l system for th e
trailer directly to the electrical connection s for
th e rear light s or to any other unsuitabl e powe r
sources. Use onl y a suit abl e connector to provide
po we r to trailer.
In some co untries an additio na l fire extin­gui sh er must be carried if th e tota l w eight of th e trailer exce e d s 5,512lb s.
Improp er connections to the ve hicl e elec trical
sys te m can cause malfunction s that affect the
entire vehicle electrical system, which lead to acciden ts and seriou s pe rso nal injury.
Have any work on the electrical syste m d on e
b y an authorized Volkswage n dealer or autho­
rized Volk sw age n Facility.
Never connect th e e lectrical syste m for the trailer to Ll1e e lectrical connections for
th e rear lights or to any other unsuit abl e power
sources . Usc only a suitabl e con nec tor to vide power to the trail er .
Note
------------------------~ Never attach trailer to the vehicle or leave it taclled to the vehicle when the trail er i s supported
b y a trailer jack or blocks. Various thin gs (sucl1 as c h a ng e in traile r or vehicl e load or a fla t tir e) can lower or raise the ve hicle. Thi s subj ects th e trailer
hit ch and th e trailer to strong fo rces that can d a mag e th e ve hicl e or the trailer.

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.

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

To he lp prev ent paint damage to the engine
hood , place wiper blades against th e winds hie ld
after they have dried . Do not le t them snap back
in to p lace.
Washing with a power washer
first r ead and note the introdu ctory information and heed the on pagc262.
A lways follow the instr u ctions
th ere is enoug h dis tan ce to soft ma te­
ria ls s uch as rubb er h ose s or insulatin g material as
well a s th e s en so rs of the Dis tance Co ntrol
sys te m . Th e
Never usc conce ntrated jet nozz les or dirt bla sters
Imp rope r usc of power washers can cause se­
rious invisibl e permanent d a m age leading to
ti re failur e and loss of ve hicle cont rol. This can cause accide nts and se riou s person al injury.
Keep sufficient di stance b e tween wate r je t
and tir es. Never wash tir es with a no zzle that sprays th e wa ter out in a direct stream re g ard­
l ess of th e di stance to the tir e and even for a very
short time .
Neve r u sc b lasters ." to clean tires. Even
a relatively long spraying dista nce and very
s hort applicatio n tim e can do visi ble or inv is ibl e damage to tire s.
Core, maintenance
Lock the hatc h to prevent unintentional ope ning in the car
the ve hicl e has been wash ed , th e wet
b ra kes or, in winter, brake discs or pads coated
w ith icc, rea ct slowe r and need l onger stopping
dista nces.
A lways dry the brakes and clean off any ic e
coa ting s with a few care ful applicatio ns of th e
bra ke. Make sure no t to endan ge r ot11er motor­
i sts or c yclists or disobey legal requi rements.
Note
Wate r temperature should not be m ore tha n
To he lp prevent damag e to paint, do not was h th e ve hicl e in dir ect sunli ght.
In order for and Assis t to work correctly, the sensors in the rear bumper must b e kept clean and clear of snow and ice. When using a pow er was her or steam clean er,
onl y spray the se n so rs directly for a short peri od
o f tim e and always keep the nozzle at l eas t4
in ch es em) from the sensor.
D o not clea n icy or snow- covere d w indow s
w ith
When washin g or rinsin g the vehicle in cold
weather, do no t let wate r ge t into the lock cylin ­
d
ers or po int the hose at gaps around th e doo rs ,
hood or rea r hatcl1. The w ate r could freeze on t11c
locks and sea ls and mak e it difficu lt to open th e

Introduct ion
information on th e lowing:
Caring for upholst ery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271
Clean ing upholstery, fabric trim and . 271
Care and
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 5
Modern clothing fabr ics su ch as dark den im may
not becompl etelycolorfast. Even w ith normal use ,
d ye from these and other fabri cs can rub on seat uphol stery a nd le ave vis ibl e disco lorations (espec ially on ligh t-colored seat upho ls tery) . This
i s caused by a lack of col orfa stn ess in the clothing
fabri c, not by any fa ult in the sea t upholstery
fabr ic. To help preve nt damage he seat always make sure your clo thing is col orfast.
Volkswag en r ecommends having a qualified cialist re m ove any di scolo ration s from the seat holstery.
More information:
ca re and pag e 262
acc esso ries, repa irs and modification s page303
Vehicle
care product s ca n be dangerous. proper use can cause accidents , burns, soning, or oth er seri ous perso na l in juries.
Alway s sto re vehicle care p roducts onl y in
origin al containers that are secure ly closed.
Care, maintenance
A lways read hee d the in structions and on th e packag e.
To red uce the risk of poisoning, never use
empty food or beverage containers
A lwa ys keep vehicl e ca re produc ts out of the rea ch of c hildr en.
plication . Th ere fore , only usc s uch product
Never use fuel , turpentine, engin e nail
pol is h r emover or other volatile fluids fo r hicl e ca re. They are poisonous and hi ghl y mabl e.
Improper care and cleaning of ve hicle nents ca n compromi se th e vehicle' s sa fe ty tures cause se rio us pe rso na l injury .
Always clean and maintain vehi cle
usc approved or r ecommende d clean ers.
products containin g so lvents ca n
d amage plastics and
To help prevent damage, have stubborn stains remo ved by a professio nal has the necessary
ex pcrlisc ex perience.
thori zecl Volkswage n dealers and auth orized Volk swage n