Booklet 2.1 Safety first
the
u pp er edge of the r estrain! is le ve l
the
top of your head , but no lower
e ye
l evel and so ii is as clos e to
back of your
h ead as possib le
3 and 4. A lways
raise
head re strain! for the rear center
se alin g position whenever the se at i s oc
cupied.
A dju sti ng head 3. 1 and Equipme nt", c hapt er "Se ats and storag e."
LD, WARNING
Driving without head restraint s or with im
prop erl y adju sted head re str aint s in crea ses
th e risk of serious injuries in a colli sion. To
h elp reduce the risk of injury: Fi
g. 4 Correctly adjusted head restra int viewed
from the side
WARN ING (continued)
• Always drive with the head restraints in
p la ce and properl y adjusted.
• Every person in the vehicl e must ha ve a
properly adjusted head restraint.
• Always make sur e each person in the ve
hicle properly adjusts their head restraint.
Each head re straint mu st be adjusted ac
cording to occupants' size so that th e upper
e d ge is as eve n with the top of the person's
h ead , but no lower than eye leve l a nd so it is as
clo se to the back of to th e head a s possible.
• Never attempt to adjust head res traint
while drivin g. If yo u have dri ven off and must
adju st the dri ver headre st for any reason, first
s top the vehicle safely before attempting to
adjust the head re straint .
• Childr en mu st a lways be properly re
s trained in a child restraint that i s ap propriat e
for their age and siz e
51, "Chi ld
safe ty".
Safe driving 7
Booklet 2.1 Safety first
Active head restraints for the front seats
During a rea r e nd collisio n the passenge rs
in th e vehicle are pressed against th e sea t
back rest. The res ultin g pressu re th at the
body exe rts aga in st th e bac kres t ac tivates
t h e ac tive head rest raint s in the front seats .
Th e front hea d res train ts wi ll mo ve fo r
w ard and upwa rd at the sa me tim e to help
r e duce the risk o f n eck injuri es.
WARNING
Driving without hea d re stra ints or with im
properl y ad justed head r estraint s in creases
th e risk or seriou s injuri es in a collision . To
help reduce th e risk or injury:
• Always drive
th e hea d r estra ints in
place and prop erl y a dju sted. Remember that
th e rear center he ad r estraint is not h eight ad
ju stabl e and that it mu st be rai sed up all th e
w ay w hen eve r the center rear seat is occ upied .
• Every per son in the vehicle must have a
properly adjuste d head restraint.
• Always make su re each perso n in the ve
hicl e prop erl y adju sts th eir head r estraint.
WA RNING (continue d)
Eac h head restraint mu st be adju ste d ac
cord ing to oc cupants ' size so that the upper
edge is as eve n with the top or the person' s
h ead, but no lo wer than eye level and so it is as
clo se to th e back or to the h ead as possibl e.
• Nev er attempt to adjust head res traint
whil e dri vin g. Ir you have driven
and must
adju st the driver h eadr est any reaso n, stop the vehicl e attempting to
adju st the hea d re straint.
• Children mu st always b e properl y re
strained in a c hild restraint that is appropriat e
their age a nd size 5 1, " C hild
Tips
The acti ve head res train ts ca n also ac tivate
w hen p assenger push es up agains t th e ba ck
r es t wi th en ough force exa mpl e yourse lf ju st into th e seat abr uptly) or if th e
h ea d res train t is push ed from behind. This is
n orm al and will not da m age th e head res traint.
I t w ill go back t o its o riginal pos itio n rig h t
Examples of improper seating positions
The occupant rest raint system ca n on ly redu ce th e risk of if v eh icle
pa nts ar e prop erly sea ted .
Improp er se atin g po siti ons ca n cause se
r io us injur y or deat h. Safe ty belts ca n on ly
wo rk whe n th ey are prop erl y pos ition ed
o n th e body . Impr oper seati ng posit ions
r e du ce the e ffect ive ne ss of sa fe ty belt s a nd
w ill eve n inc rease the ris k or injury and
d ea th by m ov ing t he sa fety belt to criti cal
a reas of the body. Imp roper seating posi
ti ons a ls o in crease the risk of seriou s injur y
and d eath when a n airb ag de plo ys and
s trikes an occ upant who is not in the
prop er sea ting po sition.
driver is res pon
s ibl e for the sa fe ty of all vehicl e occ upant s
a nd especiall y for childr en. There for e:
8 Safe driving
-Never a llow anyone to ass um e an im
proper seating pos it ion when th e ve hicl e is
bei ng
lists onl y so me or the pos itions
that will increase the risk or ser io us injury and
d ea th. Our h ope is
th ese ex amples will help
mak e you more awa re of sea ting po siti ons that
ar e da ngero us.
Therefore, whenever the vehic le is moving:
• neve r sta nd up in the vehicle
• neve r stand on the seats
• neve r kneel on th e seats
• neve r rid e with the seat back recl ined
• never lie clown on th e re ar sea t
Safety belts
General not es
Always wear safety belts!
Wearing safety b elt s correctly saves lives!
Fig . 5 Occ upan ts wear ing safety belts
This Bookl et explain s why safet y belt s are
nece ssary, ho w the y work and how to ad
ju st and wear them correc tly.
Number of seats
Yo ur vehicl e has a tota l of five se ating position s: in the fro nt and three in th e rear. Each
sea tin g p ositio n ha s a sa fety b elt.
WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or wearing them im
properly increases the risk of seriou s per sona l
injury and d eat h.
Booklet 2.1 Safety first
- Read all the information th at follows
and heed all of th e in struction s and warn
in gs in thi s booklet.
WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or wearing them im
properly increases the risk of seriou s personal
injury and death.
• Safety belts are t he sin gle mo st efTec tive
means available to reduce the risk of se rious
injur y and death in automobile accidents.
your protection and that of your passengers,
a lwa ys corre ctl y wear safety belts when the ve
hicle is moving =;fig. 5.
• Pregnant women, injured, or physically
impaired per sons mu st
use safe ty belts.
l..ik eall vehicle occupant s, they arc more likely
to be seriou sly injur ed if the y do not wear
safety bel ts. The best way to protect
fet us is to
protect the mother -throughout the entire
pregnancy.
WAR NING (con tinued)
• Never strap more than one person, in
cluding small children, into any belt. It is espe
cially dangerous to pla ce a sa fety belt over a
c hild sittin g on yo ur lap.
• Never let more people ride in the vehicle
than ther e arc safe ty belt s available.
• Be sure eve ryone riding in the vehicle is
properly res train ed with a separat e safety belt
or child restraint.
Safety belts 13
Booklet 2.1 Safety first
WARN ING (continued)
• Neve r strap m ore than one perso n, in
cluding small ch ildr en, into belt.
• Neve r p lace a safety belt over a child sitting
o n your lap.
• Always keep fee t in the foot we ll in front of
th e scat w hile th e ve hicl e is being driven.
• Neve r let a n y perso n r ide with feet on the
instrument panel or sticking out th e window
or on th e sca t.
• Never remove a safety be lt whil e th e ve
hicle i s mo ving. Do ing so w ill increase yo ur
ri sk of being injur ed or kill ed.
• Neve r wear be lts twi sted.
• Never wear bel ts over rigid o r breakable
ob jects in or on your clothing, su ch as eye
glasses, pen s, keys, etc., as these may cause in
jur y.
• Neve r allo w sa fet y belts to become dam
aged by being caugh t in door or sea t hardware.
• Neve r wear t he s hou lder part of the be lt
und er you r ar m or otherwi se ou t of posi tion.
• Severa l layers of heavy clothing may inter
fere w ith correc t position ing of belt s and re
duce the overa ll eff ect ive ness of t he sys tem.
18 Safety belt s
WARNING (continued)
• Alwa ys keep b elt buckles free of a nyt hing
that may prevent th e buckl e from latc hing se
cure ly.
• Never use comfor t clips or dev ices that
crea te slac k in the sh ould er bel t. Howeve r,
s pecial clips may be required for the correc t
u se of some child restraint systems.
• Torn o r frayed safety belt s can tear a nd
damag ed belt hardw are can break in a colli
s ion. In spect belts reg ularl y. lf webb ing, bind
in gs, buckl es, or retractors are damaged, h ave
b elt s rep laced by an authorized Volkswage n
dealer or qualifi ed worksho p.
• Safety be lts that have been worn and
l oaded in an accident must b e re pl ace d w ith
the correct re placement safety belt by a n au
t h orized Volkswage n dea le r. Replacement
may be necessary even if damage canno t be
clea rly see n. Anchorages t hat were loaded
mu st a lso be inspecte d.
• Neve r remove, modify, disassembl e, or try
t o repa ir th e safe ty belts yourse lf.
• Always keep the belts clean. Dirty belts
m ay not work co rrectl y and can impair the
fun ction o f th e in erti a ree l
3.4 "Ti ps
an d Adv ice", c hap te r "C lea nin g and
Pro tect ion."
Safety belts
Fastening safety belts
Sa fe ty fir st -eve rybody buckle up!
Fig. 12 Belt buck le and tongue fo r th e dr iver's seat
To pro vid e maximum prot ectio n, sa fety
b elt s
alw ays be po siti oned cor rectly
o n
weare r's bod y 20.
- Adju st
fro nt sea t and head restra int
co rrec tly
4.
- Mak e su re th e seat back of the rea r sea t
b ench i s in an upright pos ition and se
cu rely latche d in plac e before usin g th e
sa fe ty
- Hold !he be lt b y ton gu e and pull it
eve nly across the ch es t and pel vis
-th e tongue into correct
bu ckle for your seat until you h ear
latch
sec urely
19, fig. 12 .
- Pull on
belt to mak e sure that it is se
cure ly latc hed in the bu ckle.
Automatic safety belt retractors
E ve ry
b elt i s equipp ed with an aut om ati c
belt retrac tor on th e sho uld er bell. Thi s fea ture
l oc ks th e belt when the
is pu lled ou t fast ,
during hard braking and in a collision. The belt
m ay also lock
yo u d rive a stee p
hill or thro ugh a sh arp cur ve. Durin g no rma l
dri vin g th e belt le ts yo u mo ve freel y.
Booklet 2 .1 Safety first
Belt prete nsio ne r
T he re tracto rs for the drive r,
pa sse nger,
a nd rea r outboard seating po sition s are
e quipp ed wit h a belt pr ete nsio ner that h elp s
th at h elp s to t ight en th e safe ty belt and remo ve
s lac k w hen th e pr etens ioner is act iva te d. Th e
fun ction o f the pr eten sio ner is m onit ored b y a
wa rnin g light
39.
Switc hable l ocking feature
Every safety belt excep t fo r th e one on th e dr ive r
se at is eq uippe d wit h a sw itchable locking fea
tur e th at mu st be use d when the saf ety b elt is
used
1 0 att ach a child seal. Be sur e to read the
imp orta nt in formation about thi s feature
60 .
WARNING
Imp roperl y position ed safe ty belt s ca n ca use
se riou s personal injury in an accident.
• Saf ety belts offer optimum protection only
when the seat back is upright and belt s arc
c o rr ectly positioned on the body.
• Alway s m ake sure that th e re ar sea t back
res t to which th e center re ar safety belt is at
t ached is sec urely la tc h ed when ever th e rear
center safety belt i s bei ng use d
3.1. If
the b ackres t is n ot sec urely latc hed, the pa s
s enger will move fon vard wit h the backres t
during sudden braking, in a sudd en maneuver
a nd especially in a cras h.
• Never attach the safe ty belt to the bu ckl e
for another seat. Attachi ng the belt to th e
wrong buckle will reduce safety belt effective
ness and can cause se rious per sona l injury .
• A pa ssenge r w ho is not corre ctl y restrain ed
can be se riou sly injur ed by th e sa fe ty belt it self
w hen
60.
Safety belts 19
Booklet 2.1 Safety fir st
Safety belt extender
A safety belt extende r is available if a belt is too short for the driver o r a pas
seng e,:
F ig . 16 Safety be lt ex tender
If a safe ty belt is too s hort t o co rrectly fit yo u or
one of your pa sse ngers , even when th e
b elt is pull ed o ut the way, you ca n use a safe ty
b elt ex te nd er 16 . Neve r use th e sa fe ty belt
ex te nd er any o ther purp ose. att ac hm ent of a child re straint.
Th e extender adds about
8 inche s (200 mm ) to
t h e sa fety belt. When is r e quired. always re
mo ve extender and stow it safe ly. See y our
a uthoriz ed Vo lksw agen d ealer for assista nce if
a n ex te nder i s re- qui re d.
How to faste n the s afet y be lt extender properly
23 , "Fa steni ng th e saf ety belt ex te nd er".
WARNING
Im proper use o f the safety belt ex te nder in
c reas es th e risk of serious perso nal injur y and
d eat h.
• U sing a sa fe ty belt ex te n der w hen n ot
n eede d can increase the r isk of inju ry, es pe
cia lly in a co llision . On ly use whe n th e safe ty
b e lt i s not lo ng eno ugh when it is wo rn low
a n d sn u g, and in the cor rect sea ting po sition .
R em ove a nd stow safely w hen not needed.
• Never use t he safe ty belt exte nder if you
can faste n th e safe ty belt w ith out it.
• Never use mo re t han one ex tende r w ith a
safe ty b elt . Th e use of more t han o ne ex ten der
ca n ch ange th e way the sa fe ty be lt passes ove r
th e body and ca n ca use ser ious injury.
22 Safety belts
WARN ING (continued)
• Neve r leave t he safety belt ex te n der at
t ac hed to t he ve hi cle safety belt latc h when it is
n ot needed and bei ng use d because t he a irb ag
con tro l m odul e will n ot r ec eive th e correct
s ig n al from the safety belt la tc h and preve nt
t h e Adva nce d Airbag Syste m fro m wo rk ing
proper ly .
• Neve r use the safety belt extende r to secure
a c hild restr ain t.
• Neve r use a safety belt exte nder from an
o the r au tomo bile manufact ure r or au to m o
t ive par ts sto re on yo ur Volk swagen.
• Never use the safety be lt ex tende r you ob
t a in ed fo r yo ur vehicl e for a ny o ther ve hicl e,
r egard less o f mak e, mo del o r m odel year.
• A drive r or passe nger who is no t correc tly
r es tra ined ca n be ser ious ly inj ured by striking
th e i nterior o f the passenger compartmen t o r
by t he safe ty belt itse lf w hich can be disp laced
f ro m stronge r pa rts of t he bo dy in to se nsit ive
areas like the abdom en.
• Always rea d and h eed all WARN INGS a nd
ot her im portant inform ation
17, " Im
por tan t safety instructio ns about safe ty belt s".
N ote
• Leav ing the extender
10 the safety
b elt bu ckle when the front scat is occ upied a nd
the saf ety belt is not b eing use d
will sig n al the
ai rba g co ntrol unit that the front passe nge r seat
i s occ up ie d and that the sa fe ty b elt is b eing use d.
Th e elec troni c control unit fo r th e airbag system
w ill th en r ece ive incorr ect informat io n that will
ca use the saf ety belt pr ete n sione r a nd fro nt pa s
s enger air bag to dep loy later in co llision s that
wou ld n orm ally trigge r th ese syste m s ea rlier in
th e colli sion
h elp prot ect an unr estrained
fr ont sea t occ up ant.
• If th e safe ty belt ex te nd er
19 is lef t tached to the sa fe ty belt buck le, th e safe ty be lt
warn ing sys te m will se nse th at the safety belt for
that scat is bei ng use d and the warn ing tone will
not soun d eve n thou gh th e sea t is occup ied and
the safe ty belt i s not be in g
Booklet 2.1 Safety first @
Airbag system
Important things to know
Importance of wearing safety belts and sitting properly .
Airbags are only supplemental res traint s. For airbags to do th eir job , occupant s
m ust
prope rly wea r th eir saf ety b elts and be in a proper seating position.
Fo r yo ur safet y an d the safet y of your pa s
s en gers, before d riv ing alwa ys:
Ad just dr iv er 's seat and stee rin g
wh eel properl y
4.
Adj ust fr on t passe nge r seal p rop erl y
5.
We ar sa fe ty belt s properly 13 .
A lways properl y use th e co rr ec t child
r es tra int lo protect childr en
5 1.
In a co llisio n a irba gs mu st infl ate within th e
blink of an eye and w ith con sid erabl e fo rc e. The
s uppl em ental airb ags c an cause injuri es if th e
dri ver or th e front seat pa sse nge r is not seate d
prop erl y. Ther efor e in order to help the airba g to
do its jo b , it is im porta nt, both as a driver and
a passe nger to sit pro perly at all times.
keepin g ro om betwe en yo ur body and the
s te erin g and th e fr ont of t he passenger
co mpa rtm ent , the a irbag can i nflate f ull y a nd
co mpl etel y and p rovid e suppl em ent al p rotec
t io n in certa in fro ntal co llision s
deta ils
o n th e opera tio n of the se at adju stm ent contro ls
" F ro nt seat s".
I t 's especia lly im port ant th at child ren b e prop
e rl y res train ed
5 1, "C hild safe ty".
Th ere is a lo t t hat th e drive r and the passe ngers
ca n and mu st d o to he lp th e in divi du al safe ty
f e atur es insta lled in yo ur Vo lks wa gen
to
get he r as sys te m .
Pro per seati ng posi tio n is i mp ort ant sn th a t th e
fron t airb ag o n th e dr ive r sid e ca n do its jo b . If
y ou ha ve
phys ica l imp airm ent or cond iti on
t h at p rev ent s yo u from sittin g prop erly on t he
dri ver
with the sa fe ty belt prop erl y
and r eachin g th e pe dals , s p ecia l m odific ation s
t o yo ur vehicl e ma y be necessary .
Co nta ct you r auth ori7.e d Vo lk sw agen dea le r, or
c all t he V olk swage n Custo m er
Ce nter at 1-800 -822 -8987 .
When the airba g sys te m deploy s, a ga s gen erator
w ill fill the airb ags , b re ak op en th e padd ed
cov ers, and inflate be twee n the ste erin g wheel
and th e dri ver and b etwee n the in strum ent
p an el and the fro nt p asse nge r. Th e a irbag s
w ill defl ate imm edi ate ly af ter dep loy ment so that
t he front o ccupan ts ca n see th ro ugh th e wind
s h ie ld a gain with out int errupt io n .
A ll of thi s takes place in the blink ofan ey e, so
fa st that many peopl e do n't eve n rea lize t hat th e
a irbags have dep lo ye d.
airbags a lso inflat e
wit h a grea t dea l of fo rc e and noth in g sh ould be
in their w ay w hen th ey depl oy .
airb ags in
com binati on with pr op erl y wo rn safe ty belt s
s lo w
an d limi t th e occ upant 's for wa rd
m ove ment. T ogether th ey help t o preve nt the
dri ver a nd fro nt sc at passe nge r fr om hillin g
pa rts of the in side th e ve hicle
redu cing th e
fo rces actin g o n th e occu pant duri ng the cras h.
In this way they help to red uce the risk of inju ry
t o th e hea d an d upp er bod y in the c rash . A irb ags
d o no t p rot ect t he arm s or the low er p art s o f th e
b ody.
B o th fron t a irb ags w ill no t i nfl ate in all fro ntal
colli sio n s. Fro nt airba gs w ill no t infla te in all
front al colli sio ns .. The tri gge ring o f the a irbag
sys te m depe nds on the ve hicle dec ele rat io n ra te
ca use d by th e co llisio n and regis te re d b y th e
e lec tron ic control uni t. I f thi s ra te is
th e
r efe re n ce v alu e prog ramm ed in to the c ont rol
u nit , th e air bags
n o t b e trig gere d , eve n
th ou gh th e car may be badl y dam aged as a res ult
o f the colli sio n . Ve hicle dama ge, re pai r co sts o r
eve n th e la ck of v ehi cle
is not n eces-
Airbag system 27
Booklet 2.1 Safety first
Child restraints on the front seat some important things to know
- Be sure lo read the import ant informa
tion and hea d th e WARNINGS for impor
tant detai ls abou t ch ildr en and Advanced
Airbags
5 1.
Ev en though your ve hicl e is equipp ed wi th an
Ad vanced A irbag S yste m , mak e certain all
chi ldren, e spec iall y thos e 12 years and youn ger,
a lwa ys ride in the back se at prop erly restrain ed
fo r th eir age a nd size. The airbag on the pa s
s e nger side mak es th e front sea t a pote ntially
dangerou s pla ce fo r a ch ild to ride. Th e front sea t
i s not the safest pla ce for
chil d in forward
faci ng c hild sea t. It can be very dangerou s
p la c e fo r an in fa nt or a child in a re a rward -facing
s ea t.
Th e Ad vanc ed Airbag System in yo ur vehi cle ha s
b ee n ce rtified
com ply wi th th e Requi re m en ts
of United Fed era l Moto r Ve hicl e Sta nd ard 208 as applica ble at the time your ve
hicl e was manufactured .
Th e S tandard req uires th e fro nt airbag on the
pa ssenge r sid e
be turn ed off ("s upp re ss e d" ) if
a ch ild up to about one year of ag e restra ined in
on e of th e re ar-fa cin g or forward -faci ng infa nt
r es tra int s liste d in Federal Motor Ve hicle Safety
Sta nda rd 208 with whi ch th e Advan ced Ai rbag
S ys te m in your vehi cle wa s certifi ed has bee n in
stalled o n the front pass en ger se at. For a lis ting
o f th e child res traint s th at were u sed to ce rt ify
c omp lia nce w ith th e US Saf ety S tanda rd
53 .
Th e PASS ENGER AIR BAG OFF li ght in th e in
st rum ent panel tells you when th e fro nt Ad
v a nce d Airbag on the passen ger sid e has been
turned off by the ele ctro nic cont rol
The PA SSENGER AIR BAG OFF light:
• will stay on if th e fro nt p ass eng er seat i s not
oc cupied,
• will stay on if t here is a small child or ch ild re
s tra int on th e front passe ng er sea t,
• go off if th e front passe nge r is occ u
pied by an ad ult as re g is te red by th e w eigh t
s e n sing mat
39, "Mon itor ing the Ad
va nce d Airbag S yste m ".
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF li ght comes on
wh en th e con trol unit detec ts a tota l wei gh t on the
pa
ssen ger sea t th at requ ires th e front
a ir bag to be turned off.
I f the tota l w eig ht on the fron t pa sse nger seat is
mor e th an
of a typical I year- old chil d le ss than the weight of a sma ll ad ult , th e front
a ir bag on the passenger side ca n dep loy (th e
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light do es not co me
o n ). If t he PA SSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
no t come o n, t he fron t airb ag o n the pas se nger
s id e has not bee n tu rn ed off by the e lectro nic
c ont ro l u ni t and can dep loy if th e co ntro l u nit
s ens es an impact th at meet s th e cond ition s
sto re d in its m em ory.
For exampl e, the air b ag may dep loy if:
• a small ch ild that i s heavie r
a ryp ic al I
y ea r-old c hild is o n th e front passenger seat (r e
gard less of wh eth er th e child is in on e of the
c hild seats liste d
53), or
• a chil d who ha s outgrown c hild res tra int s is
on the front pa ssenger sea t.
I f th e fro nt pa ssenger airbag i s turn ed off,
PA SSENGER AIR BAG OFF l ig ht s up in the in
s tru ment clu ste r and stays on.
Th e fr on t a irbag on the pass e nger sid e will de
plo y if th e PAS SENGER AIR BAG OFF li ght does
co me o n an d stay o n even if a small ad ult or
te enager, o r a pa sse nger w ho is s itt in g up
right with th ei r back against a no n-re clin ed
back res t w ith th eir fe et on the ve hicle floor in
fr ont of t he se at is on the front passeng er se at
4 , " Proper occupant sea tin g pos itio ns" .
If th e front p assenger air bag deplo ys , th e Fe dera l
Standard r equir es th e airb ag to m eet th e "low
deplo ym en t cri te ri a to re duc e th e ris k of in
ju ry throu gh int era ction with the airbag .
risk" dep loy men t oc cu rs in t hos e tak e place lower d ecelerat ion s as defined in
the e le ctron ic c ontro l uni t 39, "PAS
SENG ER BAG OFF l ight".
Alway s re m ember ,
child seat or infant carr ie r
i nsta lle d on front se at may be struck and
kn ocke d o ut of position b y the rapid ly inflat ing
pa sseng er's airbag in a frontal co llis ion. The
a irb ag co uld g re a tly red uce the eff ect ive ness of
th e c hild res traint a nd even se ri ou sly inj ur e th e
ch ild dur ing in flat ion. .,_
Airbag system 29