According to US federal stand ards , an vanced Alrbag System can deploy with the
For their own safety, all children, especially 12 years and younger, must always ride on
When installing a child restraint, always
carefully follow the manufacturer's instruc
tion s.
An infant in a reanvard-facing child restraint on the front passenger seat can be seve rely injured or killed if the airbags deploy.
Never use a reanvard-facing child seat or
The deploying airbagwill impact the ch ild
seat or infant carrier with great force and fling it,
along with child, against the seat backrest,
center armrest, door or roof.
Always properly reanvard-facingchild
sea ts or infant carriers, as well as fonvard-facing
child seats, on
ond
If special circumstances require the use of a
senger seat,
A forward-facing child restraint installed on
ploym ent and severely injure child.
Always make sure the fonvard-facing
child restraint has been designed and certified
for use on a front passenger seat with a front
airbag and a side airbag.
Never install a child safety seat without a
properly installed upper tether strap when the
manufacturer 's instructions require use of an upper
Never install a fonvard-facing chil d restraint
right up
Always set the upper anchorage point of the
safety belt to the highest position.
Always move passenger seat to
rearmost position in seat's fore and aft adjus tment range, as far
away from
stalling
Always make sure that no object prevents tJ1e
front passenger seat from being moved as far
back as possible.
Always make sure that the backrest is in its
mo st upright position.
Always make sure that the chil d sea t is curely installed, even when no child occupies it.
A poorly secured child seat can be thro wn
through the vehicle during sudden braking
88 89
Always make sure nothing is in the front airbag deploym ent zone that could be struck by the airbag when it inflates.
Never hold things or on your lap when the vehicle is in use.
Never place accesso ries or other objects
(such as cup holders, tel ephone brackets, note pads, navigation systems, or things that are large, heavy, or bulky) on the doors; never attach them to the doors or the windshield; never place th em over or near or attach them to the area marked
fig. 59 or 91, fig.
Never attach objects to the windshield above the passenger front airbag, such as accessory navigation units or music player s.
Never recline th e front passenger seat to transport objects. can also move into the deployment area of the side airbags or the front airbag during breaking or in a sudden maneuver. near th e a irbags can fly dangerously through the pass enger compartment and cause injury, particularly when the seat is reclined and the airbags inflate.
Always make sure that there is nothing on the front passe nger seat that will cause the weightsensing mat in the scat to signal to theAirbag that the scat is occupied by a person when it i s not, or to signal that it is occupied by someone who is heav ie r than the person actually
sitting on th e sca t. The weight of th e object could cause the passenger front airbag to be turned on when it should be off, or could cause the airbag to work in a way that is differ ent from the way it
would have worked without the added weight.
Alwa ys make sure that nothing is on the front passenger seat when the backrest is folded
forward. Even light objec ts could be pushed into the seat cu shi on and cause th e weight-sensing mat in the seat to re gister enough weight to turn the airbag on.
Never usc solvents or cleaners on the steering wheel horn pad or instrument panel, because they can damage the
Before driving
airbag cover or change the stiffne ss or strength of the material so that the airbag cannot deploy and protect properly. When cleaning the hom pad and instrumen t p anel, use only a soft, dry cloth or a cloth moist en ed
with plain water.
A front seat passenger, especially an infant or small child, will be seriously injured and could
eve n be killed if he or she is
Although the Advanced Airbag has been designed to switch off when an infant or child is on the front passenger seat in a child seat that was used during the certification
process for the Advanced Airbag no one can guarantee with absolute certainty that the airbag never deploy under these particular conditions in all conceivable situations for the duration of the vehicle 's use.
For their own safety, all children, especially those 12 years and younger, mus t always sit on the back seat, properly restrained for their age and size.
Facility. A lit indicator light means the airbag may not work properly if
activated in a crash.
tronic control unit to regu late deployment of the front Advanced Airbag on th e passe nger side.
A n airbag monitoring syste m and indicator
light in the in strument page 82.
The BAG light in the center of th e instru ment panel tells you when
th e front Advan ced Airbag Sys te m on th e been turned ofT.
A sensor in sid e the safe ty belt buckle for the fro nt passenger scat to measure th e te nsio n on the safe ty belt. Thi s te n sion on th e safe ty belt and th e
we ig ht regis te re d b y th e weigh t sens ing -mat help
t h e control unit w heth er th e passenger
front airbag should be turned ofT or not.
A switch in the safe ty bel t b uckle for the driver and for the front seat passen ge r senses
w hether th at safety belt is lat ched or n o t and
va nced Airbag System from working properly.
Repairs to th e front passenger seat should be performed by an authorized Volkswagen dealer or an authorized Volkswagen Service Facility.
Never remove the front passenger scat or driver seat from the vehicle .
Never re move the upholstery from the front passenger scat.
Neve r disassemble or take parts off the seat or disconnect wires from it.
Never carry sharp objects in your pockets or put them on the seat. If the weight-sensing mat in passenger scat is punctured it cannot work properly.
Befor e driving
Never carry things on your lap or carry jects on the front passenger scat.
sending the wrong information to the airbag control unit. T hese objects can also cause serious personal injury if th e ai rbag in nates.
Nevers tore items under the front scats. ponents of the Advanced Airbag Sys tem located under the front seats could be damaged, which coul d prevent them and the airbag system fro m
working properly.
Never put seat covers or replac em ent
cifically approved by Volk swage n.
Seat cove rs can prevent the Adva nced Airbag
System from recognizing child rest cupants on the passenger scat and ca n preve nt the side ai rbag in the seat backre st fro m
Never usc cushions, blankets, or simila r items on the front passenger seat. The additional padding will prevent the
tering a child restraint or person on the seat and will prevent the Advanced Airbag System frum
functioning prope rly.
If yo u must use a ch ild restraint on the front passenger seat and the child re straint
foam cushion or somethin g similar to properly the c hild restraint, m ake certain that the AIR BAG light or AIR BAG ligh t comes on and stays on whenever the child restra int is installed on the front passenger seat.
I f the AIR BAG light o r
immediately install the chi ld
r ized Volkswagen dealer or auth orized
How to if the passenger front airbag is on or off
Please first read and note the introductory information and heed the on page
Passenger fr ont airbag
if the weight on th e front passenger seat is less than the
a m ount programmed in the e lectro nic contro l
unit.
The fron t airbag on the passenger sid e of the front seat will als o be turned off if the weight regis ter ed on the seat (b y the weight -sensin g m at) is less than o r equal to the combined weight of -a typicall-year-old in fant and -any of the Safe ty Standard for whi ch th e
of the restraints that were used to
ce rtif y your vehicle' s compliance with U.S. Safety
Standard or BAG light comes
o n and stays on to tell you w he n th e front Advanced
A irb ag on the passenger sid e has bee n turned off.
P
assenger f ro nt airbag active
Switch on th e ig nition.
T he weight-sensin g mat regi sters the weight on the front passenger seat. lfthat weight is above the
refer ence val ue , the passenger fron t airbag be activa ted.
If th e ign it io n is on, and the ligh t or PASSENGER BAG light in the in strument pane l do es
light h as burn ed out (see below), yo u be able to tell wheth er the passen ge r front airbag is
active or n ot.
U sin g child restraints on th e f ront passenger seat
The airbag o n th e front passenger side m akes the
front seat a potentially dangerous place for a child
page For a listing of the child
re straints that were use d to certify you r vehicle' s compliance with U.S. Safe ty Standard see your authorized V olkswagen dea le r or auth o rize d Volkswage n Se1vice Facility or page
For more information, see C hi ld safety and child page in How to tell if nirbng is
know when th e passenger fro nt airbag
h
as been turned o ff by th e cont rol unit ?
Th e
BAG light come on and stay on to tell yo u when the front A dvanced A irbag on the passenger sid e has been turned off by t he
e lectron ic control unit. Un less th e ye llo w light
page
For safety reasons, yo u m ust never use a child straint sys te m on the front passenger seat unless the lig ht comes o n and stays on, haps in combinati o n w ith th e indicator light in the instrument clu ster. I f th e passenger front airbag deploye d in an accident. it would severel y injure and possibl y
light burns o ut, the airbag m onitorin g cator light will come on and signal a mal function of the A dva nced Airbag System. Although the bulb
light to make sure that the airbag
Have the airbag sys te m inspect e d ately b y your authorized Volkswagen deale r o r au-thorized Volk swag en Serv ice
94 95
To reduce the risk of se riou s injury, make sure
tl1at the or
front
p asse nger seat and
SENGER
rized Volkswagen dealer or swagen Service Facility immediately.
light or
on the front passenger seat.
install the child restraint system on the rear seat!
first re ad and note th e introdu ctory
on pag e
Changes in weight on the passenger seat during travel ca n switch the passe nger front airbag on or so that it does no t deploy when it should or deplo ys when it should
o n your la p or trans
port things on the passenger seat. weight registered b y the weight-sensing
Never reduce weight on the passenger seat
by hold ing the handle above the passenger door,
suppo rting body weight on the armrest , or by holdin g th e grab handl e on the instrument panel.
Alway s m ake sure that child restraint s are correc tly regi stered by the weight-sensing mat. If the statu s of tl1e Advanced Airbag System has
changed while the vehicl e is moving, the SENGER light blinks for about 5
seconds to catc h the dri ver's attention. If this happens, always stop as soo n as it is safe to do so and check t o make sure that the airbag on/off status is correct for the passeng er riding on the
front passe nger seat
Fig . 62 Dep loymen t zones of the front ond rear side
o irbogs.
Th e side airbags are in th e ba ckre st paddin g of the
drive r a nd passe nge r fig. 61. Dep endin g on
t h e model, th e re al so migh t be side airb ags
door and the backre st. T he general locatio n is
s hown b y th e The area s marked in (dotted lin es)=> 62 in dicate the deploy
m ent zones of the s ide airbags.
Durin g a s ide colli sio n , the sid e airbags in the backres t ca n deploy. there by redu cing th e risk of inju ry to ve hicle occupants.
The side airbag system includes :
ele ctroni c control m odule and side impact sensors .
Sid e ai rbags in the fro nt backrests and , where applicable, sid e airbags in the rear backrests .
An airb ag monito rin g sy ste m an d indicator light in the in strumen t clu ste r
W hen a side a irbag deploys in a coll is io n, a gas gene ra tor the side airbag b etween the vehicle occupant and the door. Th e side airbag syste m
supple m ents th e safety belt s and ca n help toreduce the ris k of injury to the occupants' upper torso .
In ord er to help pro v
ide this additio nal protection, the sid e airbag must infl ate w ithin the bl ink of an eye at very hi gh sp ee d and w ith great force. The supplemental side a irbag co uld injure yo u if your seating position is not proper or upright or ifitems are in the area where the supplemental sid e airbag inflate s. Thi s applies especiall y to children
w ill co m e on for a few seconds
(self- d iagnos is).
The airbag syste m i s no t a s ubstitute for your safety be lt. Rather, it is part of the ov era ll occ upant restra int system in your ve hicle=> page 56,
re ad y dep lo ye d.
properly and safe ly
The side airbag sys tem
if the ignition i s sw itched ofT wh en a crash occurs,
in side c o lli sio ns wh en the a cce le rat ion mea
s u re d b y the sensor is to o low,
in front-end collis ion s,
in re a r-end collis ion s,
in rollovers, unless the depl oy men t threshold for deploym ent stored in the control unit is met.
I n s
ome ty pes of accid ent s the front airbags , Sid e
C urtain airbag s and sid e airb ags may
b e triggered together.
A n Inflatin g side a irbag can cause serious or even fatal injury. Improp erly wearing safet y
b elt s and improp er seatin g po siti ons increase
th e risk of se riou s persona l injury and death
whenever vehicle is being used.
To help reduce the risk of injury when the
supplemental sid e a irb ag inflat es,
- Always sit in
an upright po sition and do
not l ea n agai nst th e area where the s ide
airbag is located.
- Neve r le t a c hild or anyo ne e lse rest their
head again st th e s ide trim panel in the area
where the s ide ai rbag inflates.
- Never let anyo ne s itting in the front
seat put their hand out o f window.
betw een yo u and the airba g ca n in
crease the risk of injury in a colli sion by inter
fering with the way the airbag unfolds or by
being pushed into you as th e airbag inflates.
Never pla ce or attach a ccess ories or other ob
je cts (su ch a s cup holders, telephone bracke ts , or eve n large , bulky objects) on the doors or over or ncar th e area mark ed p age 96, fig. 6 1.
Accessories or other object s ca n fly dangerously
throu gh the passe nger compart ment and cau se serio u s injury if the supplemental sid e airbag
Neve r position or hol d any obje cts o r pet s in the
deplo yment space of an airbag or allow any child
r e n or other passenge rs to trave l in s uch a pos ition .
Never use th e built -in coat hook s for any thin g but lightweig ht clothing . Neve r leave
any heavy or sharp- edged objects in the pockets. objects may interfere w ith side airbag de
pl oy ment and cau se seriou s personal injury in a
co llisio n.
96 97
Introduction
In this sect ion you'll find information on the lowing:
C hild restraints and Advanced front airbag system
Importa nt safety instructions using child seats
Using a child restrain t on the rear seat
Toddler seats
Convertible child seats
. 112
child restraint s with a safety . 114
Secur ing the restraint with LATCH lower universal anchorages
118
Sources of information about chi ld res traints and thei r use 119
The physica l principles of what happens w hen your ve hicle is in a collision o r other accid ent also apply to p age
sig n ed fo r thei r size, weight, and body structure.
Many countries and stat es of the Un ited and provinces of have laws requiring th e
use of approved child restraint syste ms for infant s and sm all childr en.
sp eed mph km /h). the forces actin g o n 13-pound (6 kg) fant will be more than tim es the we ig ht of th e
c hild. This mea ns the effec tive we igh t of the child
wo uld sudd enl y increase to more than pounds kg). Under th ese conditi ons, only an pria te child restraint properly used can reduce the risk of serious injury.
rious injury in an accident.
the child sea t manufacturer 's instructions to b e sure the seat i s rig ht for you r child's size
Sittin g properly and safely
be sure to read and hee d all of the important mation and bags, and the in stallatio n of child restra int s in thi s
Man uaL
Th ere is a lot
you n eed to kno w about th e vanced Airb ags in your ve hicl e and how they wo rk
w he n infant s and children in child restra ints are on the front passe nger seat. Because of the large amount o f information, we cannot peat it all he re. We urg e yo ulO read the detail ed formation in this Manual about a irb ags and the
Advance d Airba g in your vehicle and the very important inf orm atio n about transporting
c hild ren on the front passe nger seat. be
s ure to h eed th e they are ex treme ly for your safety and the safety of your passe ngers, especially in fants and small childr en.
DANGER
on the front seat of any car, even with Advanced Airbags, can be seriously injured or eve n killed when an airbag inflates.
A child in a rearward-facing s talled on the front passenger seat will be
The infl ating airbag
Always install rearward-facing child seats on the rear seat.
you have, in exceptional ci.rcumstance s, decided to ins tall a rearward-facing child seat on the front passenger seat and the
Accident stati sti cs have shown childr en are
generally safer in the rear seat area than in the front restrain any child age 12
All ve hicl e occupants and especially childr en must be restrai ned properly whenever ridin g in vehicle. An unrestrained or improperly strained child could be injured by striking the
interior o r by being ejected from the vehicle during sudden maneuver or impact. An strained or improp erly restrained child is at
airbag.
suitab le child rest raint properl y install ed and used
Forward-facing child seals installed on the front passenge r seat may interfere with the ment of th e a irbag and cause serious personal injury th e c hild .
exceptional circumstances require the u se of fonvard-fac ing child restraint on the front
passenger's seat, the child's safety and being requir e th e following special preca utions to be taken:
- Always
make sure that the fonvard-faci ng seal has bee n designed and certifi ed by its
m anufacturer for use on
ch ild res traint without top tether strap if the child
restraint manufacturer's instructions quire the top tether strap to be u sed.
- Never
putt he fonva rd-facing chil d
ment panel.
Before driving
-Always set the safety bell upper anchorage to the adjustmelll position permits
p roper
in the up and down
position in the seat's fore and aft adjustment range, as far away from the airbag as possib le
before installin g the fonvard -facing child s traint .
- Always
make sure that nothing prevents t h e fro nt passeng er' s scat fr o m being moved
justment range .
- Always
make sure that the backr est is in
th e upri ght position.
- Never place ad dit ional it
ems on the seal
th at can in crease th e total weight registered
b y the weight-se nsing mal cause jury in a crash.
- Always
make sure
BAG light does
not come on and stay on, immediately install
t h e fonvard-facingchi ld seat in rear seating sys tem spected by your authorized dealer or auth ori ze d Se rvice
A lways buckle the child seal in place
even if loose child seat ca n around during a sudd en slop or in a
Always read and heed all WARNINGS ever using child res train t in ve hicl e 67, Safety page 80,Airbagsystem page safety
A lways replace child restraint s that were s talled in cras h. Damage to
a child res traint that is not visib le co uld cause it to fail in another collision situati on