Get Parking and maneuvering -> Parking brake Guide for Volkswagen Golf 4 Door 2023

in gear. The vehicle will start to move as soon as

the engine speed increases even if the parking

brake is on.

Parking brake

Using the parking brake (Golf,

Golf GTI)

Never leave children or anyone who cannot help

themselves behind in the vehicle. They could re-

lease the parking brake and move the gear se-

lector lever or gear shift, which could cause the

vehicle to start moving. This can lead to a crash

and serious personal injuries.

Always switch off the engine and the ignition

and take the key with you when you leave the

vehicle. If the key is available, the engine can be

started and vehicle systems such as the power

windows and sunroof can be operated, leading

to serious personal injury.

Never leave children, disabled persons, or any-

one who cannot help themselves in the vehicle.

The doors can be locked with the remote con-

trol vehicle key, trapping passengers in the ve-

hicle in an emergency. For example, depending

on the time of year, people trapped in the vehi-

cle can be exposed to very high or very low

temperatures.

Fig. 115 Between the front seats: Parking brake.

The following information applies to models with

a parking brake lever.

Setting the parking brake

Heat buildup in the passenger and luggage

compartment of a parked vehicle can result in

temperatures in the vehicle that are much high-

er than the outside temperatures, particularly in

summer. Temperatures can quickly reach levels

that can cause unconsciousness and death, par-

ticularly to small children.

— Pull the parking brake lever up firmly.

— When the ignition is on, the red indicator light

in the instrument cluster lights up to show

that the parking brake is engaged.

Releasing the parking brake

— Pull the lever up slightly and press the release

button → fig. 115 (arrow).

NOTICE

— While holding the release button down, move the

lever all the way down.

Always be careful when you park in areas with

parking barriers or high curbs. These vary in

height and could damage your bumper and relat-

ed parts if the front of your vehicle hits a barrier

or curb that is too high while you are getting into

or out of a parking spot. To help prevent damage,

stop before the tires of your vehicle touch a park-

ing barrier or curb.

WARNING

Improper use of the parking brake can cause acci-

dents and severe injuries.

Never use the parking brake to slow down the

vehicle when it is moving, except in an emer-

gency. Braking distance is much longer, since

only the rear wheels are braked. Always use the

foot brake.

Always be careful when you enter a driveway or

drive up or down steep ramps or over curbs or

other obstacles. Parts of the vehicle close to the

ground may be damaged (such as bumper covers,

spoilers, and parts of the engine, suspension, and

exhaust systems).

Never drive with the parking brake partially en-

gaged. This can cause the brake to overheat and

negatively affect the brake system. It will also

cause the rear brake pads to wear prematurely.

Never activate the throttle manually from the

engine compartment when the engine is run-

ning and the automatic or DSG transmission is

in gear. The vehicle will start to move even if

the parking brake is engaged.

178

Parking and maneuvering

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

Parking and maneuvering -> Parking brake for Your Volkswagen Golf 4 Door 2023

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