Get Parking and maneuvering -> Park Distance Control-PDC Guide for Volkswagen Golf 4 Door 2023

to the obstacle, the faster the beep. When the ob-

stacle is very close, the sound is continuous.

NOTICE

Even though the transmission is in Park (P), the vehi-

cle may move a couple of inches (a few centimeters)

forwards or backwards if you take your foot off the

brake pedal after stopping the vehicle without first

firmly setting the parking brake.

If you move even closer to the obstacle despite the

continuous warning sound, the system cannot

measure the distance remaining until collision.

WARNING

A warning signal sounds if you drive faster

than about 4 mph (6 km/h) with the parking

brake engaged.

Park Distance Control is no substitute for careful

and attentive driving. Never rely completely on

these systems for information about people and

objects that might be in the way of the vehicle and

could be struck resulting in serious personal inju-

ries.

Tips and troubleshooting

Always be careful and look around you when

parking. The sensors have blind spots and can-

not always detect people, animals, and objects.

Watch out for small children and animals in par-

ticular.

When the ignition is switched on, several warning

and indicator lights come on briefly for a function

check. They go out after a few seconds.

Never pay so much attention to the images on

the screen that you fail to notice what is going

on around you.

The parking brake is switched on

The red warning light comes on.

Certain types of clothing and the surfaces of

WARNING

certain objects do not reflect the ultrasonic

waves that the sensors send and receive. Such

objects and persons wearing such clothing will

not be detected by PDC or will not be detected

accurately.

Failure to heed warning lights and instrument

cluster text messages can cause the vehicle to

break down in traffic and result in a collision and

serious personal injury.

Never ignore warning lights or text WARNINGS.

Noise in the area can interfere with the signals

of the Park Distance Control sensors. Under cer-

tain circumstances, the system will not detect

people and objects for this reason.

Always stop the vehicle as soon as it is safe to

do so.

NOTICE

Failure to heed warning lights or text WARNINGS

can result in vehicle damage.

Things like trailer draw bars, thin rods, fences,

trees, narrow painted vertical poles, posts, or

a trunk lid that is opening may not be detected by

the Park Distance Control sensors and could dam-

age the vehicle.

Park Distance Control (PDC)

If you keep driving closer to an object that the

Introduction

Park Distance Control has already detected and

reported, the object may disappear from the sen-

sor range and may no longer be detected. This is

especially true for low or high objects. The system

will no longer sound warnings about these ob-

jects. Ignoring signals from the Park Distance

Control system could result in serious damage to

the vehicle.

Depending on equipment, your vehicle may be

equipped with the Park Distance Control system

(PDC).

The Park Distance Control (PDC) system can help the

driver when backing up and parking. PDC uses ultra-

sonic sensors in the bumpers to measure the dis-

tance between the vehicle and objects. The system

uses the time it takes for the ultrasonic waves to

bounce back from the object to calculate the dis-

tance between the vehicle and an object. PDC works

only at speeds up to about 5–10 mph (10–15 km/h).

The sensors in the bumpers can be damaged or

become misaligned in low speed impacts and

parking maneuvers. Damaged or misaligned sen-

sors cannot accurately detect or report objects

that might be within range of the PDC system.

To help make sure that the system works proper-

ly, always keep the sensors in the bumpers clean

If the vehicle gets too close to an obstacle behind it,

a beeping signal sounds. The closer the vehicle gets

Park Distance Control

179

and free of snow and ice; do not cover the sen-

sors with stickers or other objects.

PDC is automatically switched on when you shift in-

to reverse (R) or when the vehicle rolls backwards.

Repainting the sensors in the bumpers can pre-

vent the PDC system from working properly.

The indicator light in the button lights up and stays

on as long as PDC is active.

When cleaning the sensors with power washers

or steam cleaners, only spray the sensors directly

for a very short time, and always keep the washer

nozzle at least 4 inches (10 cm) from the sensors.

In some vehicles, PDC can also be set to activate au-

tomatically when the vehicle moves forward

→ page 180, Automatic PDC activation when driving

forward (depending on equipment).

Noise from rough roads, cobblestones, other vehi-

cles and the surrounding area, for example, can

prevent the Park Distance Control system from

accurately detecting and reporting people and

objects that may be within range of the sensors.

Switching Park Distance Control (PDC) off

— Press the

button → fig. 116.

— OR: Drive forward faster than about 5–10 mph

(10–15 km/h).

Aftermarket components such as bicycle racks

can prevent the PDC system from working prop-

erly.

— OR: Move the selector lever to park (P).

Automatic PDC activation when driving forward

(depending on equipment)

When the PDC is activated automatically when driv-

ing forward, a mini PDC display appears on the left-

hand side of the screen.

Volkswagen recommends practicing with the

Park Distance Control system in a location or

parking space with no traffic in order to become fa-

miliar with the system and how it works.

Automatic PDC activation when driving forward only

works when the speed falls below about 10 mph

(15 km/h) when driving slowly toward an obstacle in

front of the vehicle. Automatic activation only hap-

pens once. Reactivate the PDC with one of the fol-

lowing actions when the ignition is switched on:

Certain settings are automatically saved by

the driver personalization feature → page 30,

Driver personalization.

A Declaration of Compliance with the United

States FCC and Industry Canada regulations is

on → page 322, Declaration of Compliance, Tele-

communications and Electronic Systems.

— Press the

button.

— Switch the ignition off and back on again.

— Automatic or DSG transmission: Move the selector

lever to park (P) and then to reverse (R).

Switching on and off

— Vehicles with electronic parking brake: Switch the

parking brake on and off again.

Please read the introductory information and

Automatic PDC activation when driving forward can

be turned on or off in the Vehicle settings menu in the

Infotainment system → page 26, Infotainment sys-

tem operation and displays.

heed the Warnings and Notice

179.

and on page

Maneuver braking

The maneuver braking feature can help the driver by

braking automatically when the vehicle is backing up

and an obstacle behind the vehicle is detected.

Depending on equipment, the maneuver braking

feature may also brake the vehicle automatically

when driving forward if PDC has been switched on

manually.

The maneuver braking feature helps prevent colli-

sions only at vehicle speeds lower than 5 mph

(10 km/h). The feature is activated or deactivated

when PDC is switched on or off.

Fig. 116 In the lower center console: Button to switch

the Park Distance Control system on or off.

Switching Park Distance Control (PDC) on

The maneuver braking feature does not switch on if

PDC is activated automatically when driving for-

ward. You must switch on PDC manually by pressing

— Press the

button → fig. 116.

180

Parking and maneuvering

the

button to activate emergency braking while

Temporary malfunction in the scanned area,

depending on vehicle equipment (not pic-

tured).

driving forward.

You can also switch maneuver braking on and off by

tapping the

function key in the PDC display

→ page 181, PDC signal chimes and displays or in

the Vehicle settings menu in the Infotainment system

→ page 26, Infotainment system operation and dis-

plays.

Tips and troubleshooting

Please read the introductory information and

After emergency braking occurs, the maneuver brak-

ing feature is deactivated until you move the selec-

tor lever to another position. The same restrictions

that apply to the PDC system also apply to the ma-

neuver braking feature.

heed the Warnings and Notice

179.

and on page

If the system is not responding as expected

Possible causes:

— The sensors are dirty → page 310, Exterior care

and cleaning. The sensors may not work properly

if blocked by dirt and snow or residue from abra-

sive cleaning agents or coatings.

PDC signal chimes and displays

Please read the introductory information and

— The conditions for automatic PDC activation are

not met → page 180, Automatic PDC activation

when driving forward (depending on equipment).

heed the Warnings and Notice

179.

and on page

— The sensors have been damaged or misaligned in

low speed impacts or parking maneuvers. Dam-

aged or misaligned sensors cannot accurately de-

tect or report objects that might be within range

of the PDC system.

— The system function is impaired by an aftermar-

ket component such as a bicycle rack.

— A sensor area has been repainted or structural

modifications have been made.

— The sensors may not detect people and objects

due to noise interference from rough roads, cob-

blestones, other vehicles, and the surrounding

area.

Fig. 117 PDC display of the area around the vehicle

(display may vary depending on vehicle equipment).

When the factory-installed Infotainment system is

switched on, the areas to the front and rear of the

vehicle that are scanned by ultrasonic sensors are

shown on the screen → fig. 117. The positions of po-

tential obstacles are displayed relative to the vehi-

cle.

If there is no sensor visibility, an error message, or

the system switches itself off

If an ultrasonic sensor malfunctions, the corre-

sponding sensor area is switched off and cannot be

reactivated until the malfunction is corrected.

If you hear a long beep of about 3 seconds when you

Obstacle close to the vehicle. A continuous

chime sounds. Stop! Do not keep driving!

Obstacle in the vehicle’s path. An intermit-

tent chime sounds. The shorter the distance,

the shorter the intervals between the chimes.

first turn PDC on or the indicator light in the

but-

ton starts blinking, there is a malfunction in the Park

Distance Control system.

A message may also appear in the instrument cluster

display, depending on equipment.

Obstacle outside of the vehicle's path.

Switch the PDC sound on or off.

Possible solutions

— Switch the system off temporarily.

Switch maneuver braking on and off (de-

pending on vehicle equipment).

— Check whether any of the causes described in this

section apply.

Switch to the Rear View camera display.

— Clean the sensors or remove stickers or accesso-

ries from the sensors and cameras → page 310,

Exterior care and cleaning.

System fault in the scanned area.

Park Distance Control

181

— Check for any visible damage.

Always adjust your speed and driving style to

road, traffic, weather, and visibility conditions.

— After checking all the possible causes and making

the necessary adjustments, switch the system

back on.

Always keep an eye on the parking direction and

the vehicle surroundings. The front of the vehi-

cle swings out more than the rear of the vehicle.

— If the system still does not respond as expected,

have it checked by an authorized Volkswagen

dealer or an authorized Volkswagen Service Facili-

ty.

Never pay so much attention to the images on

the screen that you fail to notice what is going

on around you.

Use the Rear View Camera system only when

the trunk lid is completely closed.

Rear View Camera system

NOTICE

The Rear View Camera system shows only two-di-

mensional images on the screen. Due to the lack

of depth of field, it may be difficult or impossible

to identify protruding objects or potholes in the

road, for example.

Introduction

There is a camera in the trunk lid to assist the driver

while backing up or maneuvering. The camera image

is shown together with the orientation lines project-

ed by the system on the screen of the factory-instal-

led Infotainment system.

Things like thin rods, fences, posts, and trees may

not be shown by the Rear View Camera system

and could damage the vehicle.

The Rear View Camera system may take a couple of

seconds to bring up the camera image.

NOTICE

The functions and displays of the Rear View Camera

system may vary on vehicles with or without Park

Distance Control (PDC) → page 179, Park Distance

Control (PDC).

The orientation lines are displayed independent of

the area around the vehicle. There is no automatic

detection of obstacles. The driver is responsible for

judging if the vehicle fits into the parking spot.

WARNING

Volkswagen recommends practicing with the

Rear View Camera system in a location or

parking space with no traffic in order to become fa-

miliar with the system and how it works.

The Rear View Camera system is not able to give

you a clear and undistorted view of all areas be-

hind the vehicle.

The camera lens can enlarge and distort the

field of view and can cause objects on the

screen to appear altered and imprecise.

Switching the Rear View Camera

system on and off

Due to the screen resolution or in low-light con-

ditions, the camera may not pick up thin posts,

chain-link fences and similar fences, and other

objects, or it may not show them clearly.

Please read the introductory information and

heed the Warnings and Notice

182.

and on page

Always be careful and look around you when

parking. The Rear View Camera system has

blind spots and cannot always show people, an-

imals, and objects in certain situations. Watch

out for small children and animals in particular.

Switching the Rear View Camera system on

— Switch the ignition on.

— Shift into reverse (R).

Always keep the camera lens clean and free of

snow and ice; do not cover the lens.

— OR: For vehicles with Park Distance Control, if the

full-screen PDC display is on, move your hand to-

ward the screen and tap the

→ page 179, Park Distance Control (PDC).

function key

WARNING

The Rear View Camera system technology cannot

overcome the laws of physics and the limits of the

system. Careless or unintentional use of the Rear

View Camera system may result in accidents and

severe injuries.

The camera image will be displayed with the orien-

tation lines. The Rear View Camera system function

keys are not shown. This helps the driver to have an

unobstructed view of the area behind the vehicle.

182

Parking and maneuvering

Parking and maneuvering -> Park Distance Control-PDC for Your Volkswagen Golf 4 Door 2023

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