Booklet 2.1 Safety first
,0. WARNING (continued)
se nger seat, nobody can absolutely guarantee
th at d eplo yme nt und er these specia l co ndi
tion s is i mpo ssible in all co nce iva ble situa
tion s that may happ en durin g the use ful li fe of
yo ur vehicl e.
• The Adva nced Airbag Sys tem
w ill dep loy in
acco rdance with th e "low risk" optio n under
th e U.S. Federal Stan dar d ifa child that is
h eav ier than the t ypical one-yea r old child i s
to vehicles: wilh odvanced front oirbog system
Advanced front airbag system
Your veh icle is eq uip ped with a front Advanced
Airbag Syste m in co mplian ce with Unit ed Sta tes
Federa l Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 asap
pli cable at the time your ve hicle was manufac
tur ed .
Th e front Advanced Ai rbag Syste m su pple ment s
the safety belt s
provide ad dition al p rotect ion
for the dri ver's and fron t pa sse nger's hea ds and
up per bodie s in frontal crashes. The airbags in
fla te only in fron ta l impa cts when th e vehicle
d ecele ratio n is hi gh e noug h.
T he fro nt Advanced Airbag System for th e fron t
sea t occupants is not a sub stit ute for you r sa fety
belts. Rat her,
is part of the overall occ upant re
s traint system in yo ur vehicl e. Always remem ber
t h at the airb ag sys tem can onl y help to prot ect
you, if yo u ar e sittin g up rig h t, wearing
safet y bel t an d wear ing it properly. This is w hy
yo u and yo ur passenger s mu st always be prop
erly res train ed ,
ju st bec ause the req uires
yo u be.
Th e Adva nce d Airbag System in your vehicle has
bee n ce rtifi ed
me et the "low risk " "re quir e
m ent s fo r 3 an d 6 year-o ld childr en on pas
s eng er side and very s mall adults on the drive r
side. " Low risk " d eployme nt occ urs in th ose
c rashe s th at tak e pla ce at lower dece lerat io ns as
d efine d in the elec tron ic con tro l u nit
39 .
The low risk depl oy men t criteria are intend ed to
h elp reduce th e risk of injury through intera c
tion wit h th e front airb ag that ca n occur , for ex
ample, by bein g
th e s teer ing whee l
a nd in strum ent pane l wh en the airbag infl ates.
Fo r "low risk " deplo ym ent to occur, the
PA SSENGER AIR BAG OFF li ght mu st be off.
32 Airbag system
,0. WARN ING (conti nued)
on the front passenge r sea t and the other con
dition s for a irbag deploym ent arc met.
• Acci dent stati sti cs have s hown th at chil
dre n arc genera lly s afer in th e rea r sc at area
th an in th e front seating po sition.
• For their own safety, a ll children, especially
1 2 years a nd youn ger, s hould always ride in
th e back properly res train ed for their age and
s ize.
-4
39 "Moni to rin g th e Advanced Ai rbag
Sys tem ."
When a perso n is detected on
fron t pa s
se nger seat, we ig hi ng more than t he total weight
of a c hild that i s abo ut I year old res trai ned in
one of the rea r-faci ng or fo rward-facing infant
re strain ts ( listed in F ed era l Mot or Veh icle Sa fety
Standard 208 wit h wh ic h the Advanced Airbag
S ys tem in you r ve hicle was cert ifie d), the
P ASS ENGER AIR B AG OFF light sh oul d not come
o n and sh ould stay off .. When the PAS SENGER
AIR BAG OFF light is off, the fron t airba g on the
passenger side may or may no t dep loy de
pending on the natur e of the co llisio n as regis
tered by the electronic co ntrol unit.
For example , th e airb ag may deploy in the " low
risk " mode if:
• a sm all c hild that is heav ier than a ty pical I
yea r-o ld child in on e of the c hild re stra ints wit h
wh ic h the Advan ced A irbag Syste m was ce rtifi ed
53 is on the front passenger sea t
• a child who has out grown chil d r estrai nts is
o n th e fron t pa ssenger seat.
• a sma ll adult or teenage r is o n the front pa s
se nger seat
• a pas senger who is no t sitt ing upr igh t wi th
their back aga in st a non- reclined back rest w it h
t h ei r fee t on the vehicle floo r in front of the seat
i s on the front passe nger seat
5
In addition , the sy stem has been certifi ed to
co mpl y wit h the "sup press ion" req uireme nts of
th e Safe ty S tandard,
to turn off the fron t airbag
fo r infan ts 12 m ont hs old and younger who are
r es trai ned on th e front passenge r sea t in chil d
res tr a int s th at liste d in th e Sta nd ard 53. "C hild restra int s an d Adva nce d Air
bag s."
"S uppr essio n " req uir es the front a irb ag o n the
p ass eng er side to be tu rn ed off if:
• a child up
o n th e fro nt pa ss e n ger se at in one of th e
r ea r-f acing o r forward -facing infant r estra int s
li sted in F ed era l M otor Vehicl e Sa fe ty Stan dard
20 8 w ith whi ch th e Ad van ce d Air b ag Sys te m in
yo ur v eh icl e
ce rtifi ed. Fo r a l is ti ng o f th e
c h ild r estrai nts th at we re use d yo ur ve
hi cle's complian ce the US Sta n dard
• weight le ss th an a t hres ho ld leve l sto re d in
t h e co nt rol uni t is detec ted on th e fro nt pas
se nge r
Th e PASS ENGER AIR B AG OFF li ght co mes on
w hen th e el ec tro nic co ntro l un it de tec ts a
w ei ght on th e fron t p asse nge r se at th at r eq uires
th e front a irbag b e tu rn ed off. If th e PAS-
S EN G BAG OFF lig ht do es not co me o n
a nd stay o n, th e air bag o n the passe nge r
s id e has b een turn ed ofTb y th e con trol u nit depl oy if th e con tro l un it se nses an im
pa ct m ee ts th e co nditi ons st ored in i ts
m emor y.=> page 45 39 "Mo nitoring th e
A dva nce d Airb ag Sys te m ."
Al ways re m emb er: E ve n t hou gh your veh ic le is
eq uip ped
Adv an ce d Air b ags. the safes t
p la c e fo r chil dren i s prop erl y res tra in ed on th e
b ack
Ple a se be sur e re a d th e infor matio n in th e sections fo llow a nd b e
s u re to a ll of th e WARN INGS .
WARNIN G
To re du ce the ri sk of inj ury w hen an airb ag in
flate s, always we ar safet y belt s pro perl y.
• If yo u ar e un res tra ine d, lea nin g forw ard,
s itlin g sid eway s or o ut of pos ition in any way,
y our risk of injur y is mu ch hi ghe r.
• You will als o rece iv e se ri o us injuri es and
co uld eve n be kill ed if yo u arc up again st th e
a ir bag o r too clo se to it when it infl ate s
e ve n
w ith an Adva nced Airb ag 27 .
WARNING
A chil d in a rear ward -fa ci ng c hild sea t in
s talled on th e front p assenge r sea t w ill b e se ri
ou sly in jur ed and can be killed if th e front
Booklet 2.1 Safety first
WARNI NG (conti nued)
a irba g infl ates eve n with an Ad van ced Airb ag
Sys te m .
• Alth ou gh th e Adva nced A irbag Sys te m in
y our vehicl e is de sig ned to turn ofT the front
a irb ag w hen a rea nva rd-fa cing c hild res trai nt
ha s bee n in stalled on th e front pa ssenger sca t,
n ob od y ca n ab solut ely g uarant ee that d epl oy
m ent is im poss ible in all co ncei va ble s itu a
ti on s th at ma y ha pp en du rin g th e use ful life of
yo ur ve hicl e.
• Th e infl ating airb ag will hit the c hild seal
or in fant carri er w ith grea t for ce an d w ill
s m as h th e c hild seat and child aga inst th e
ba ckres t, ce nter arm r est, door , or r oof .
• Al ways insta ll rea rw ard -facin g child r e
s traint s in th e back scat.
• If yo u m ust insta ll a rea rwa rd fa cin g c hild
sca t on the front passe nger sea t bec aus e of ex
ce pti ona l cir cum sta n ces and the "PAS
SENGE R A IR B AG O FF" light doc s not come on
a nd stay on, imm edi atel y in stall the re ar
f aci ng c hild scat in a re ar se atin g position and
hav e th e a irbag s ys te m in sp ect ed b y your
V ol kswage n dea le r.
WARNING
A n im prop erl y in sta lled child restr ain t can in
t e rf ere w ith the a irbag as it d epl oy s and se ri
o usly injur e or eve n kill the c hild -eve n with
an Ad van ced Airba g Sy stem . If , in exc epti onal
cir cum stan ce s, y ou mu st in sta ll a fo rwar d
facin g child r estraint on the front p asse nger' s
s ea t:
• Fo rward- facin g child scat s i nstall ed on th e
fr ont p asse nge r's s cat ma y inter fere w ith the
d epl oy ment of the a irbag and cause ser iou s
p erso nal inju ry to the child.
• Alw ays m ake sur e th e forwar d-fa cing se a t
h as bee n d esig ned and certified by its
fa ctur er for u se o n a front se a t with a pas
s e n ge r front and sid e air bag .
• Alw ay s car efull y follo w the m anu fac turer' s
i n stru ctio ns prov ided with th e child seat or
ca rri er.
• Neve r put th e fon var d-facin g child re
s traint up against or ve ry ne ar the in strum ent
p an el.
• Always move the passe nge r scat in to its re
a rm ost pos ition in th e sea t's for e and
Airbag system 33
Booklet 2.1 Safety first
WARN ING (cont inued)
justm ent ran ge, as far away from th e a irbag as
po ssi ble before insta llin g th e fo rwar d-facin g
c hild re straint. The backr est mu st be adju sted
t o a n u prig ht po sition .
• Alway s make sure that nothing pr events
the front p assenger's sea t from being moved
to the rea rm ost positi on in it s fo re and aft ad
ju stm ent range .
• Neve r pl ace add itional it em s on th e s eat
that can in crease the tota l we ight regis tered b y
WARN ING (cont inu ed)
the weig ht-se nsi ng m at and can cause injury
in a cras h.
• Make sure that the PASS ENGER AIR BAG
OFF light come s on and stays on all th e time
w henever the ig niti on i s sw itched on.
• l fthe PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light docs
not come on an d stay o n, imm edia tely insta ll
th e fo rwa rd-faci ng child seat in a rea r sea ting
position and have the a irb ag sys te m inspec ted
by your Volk swage n dealer. •
Advanced Airbag System components
The front passe nger seat in you r ve hicle has lot
of ve ry im por tant parts of th e Adva nce d Airbag
Syste m in it. The se parts includ e 1he weight
se nsing mat , senso rs, wir in g, bracke ts, a nd
more. The functio n of the sys te m in th e front
passenger seat is chec ked by th e e lectron ic con
t rol unit when th e ig niti on i s on. The contro l uni1
monitor s th e A dva nce d Airbag Syste m and turn s
th e a irbag indicator lig h t on when a malfun ction
in th e syste m co mp on ent s is det ected. The func
t ion o f th e airb ag indica tor lig ht i s desc ribed in
g reater detail below. Beca use the front pas
se nge r sea t co ntain s imp ort ant parts of the Ad
va nc ed Airbag System, you must t ake care to
p reve nt it from being damaged. Damage to 1h c
sea t ma y pre vent th e A dva nce d Airb ag for
fron t passenge r se at f rom doing it s job in a
c ras h.
Th e front Advanced A irbag Syste m consis ts of
the following:
• Cras h se nsors in th e front o f 1h e ve hicle 1hat
m eas ure vehicle acce lera tion/d ecelera tio n to prov ide inform arion to the Advanced Airbag
Sys te m abou t th e seve rity of t he crash.
• An electro nic co ntrol unit, wit h in tegra te d
cras h se nsor s for fron t an d side impacts. The
co ntro l uni t "'decides ·· w hether to
just o ne or
bot h stages of the fron t airbags based on th e
form atio n receive d from the crash sensors . T he
contro l unit also "decides·· whether the safe ry
belt pretens io ners s ho uld b e act ivated .
• A dual -stage Advanced Airbag
g en
era tor for th e dr ive r in sid e the stee ring whe el
h ub.
34 Airbag system
• A dua l-stage Advanced A irbag and gas ge nerin side t he instrument panel fo r the fro nt
pass enger .
•
we ig ht-sens ing m at und er the upholster y
padding of the front passenge r sc at cushion that
m easures th e tot al we igh t o n the scat. The info r
mation registe red is se nt cont inuousl y to the
e lectro nic contro l unit to re g ul ate deployment
of t he front Advance d Airbag on the passenger
si de.
•
airbag monitoring system and indicator
li ght in the in stru ment clus te r 39 .
• The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light in the
cente r of the instrument pa nel
39 , 25) that te lls yo u when th e fro nt Adva nced
A irb ag on the passe nger si de ha s been turned
off.
• A se nso r below the safety be lt lat ch for the
fro nt sca t pa ssenger to m eas ure the tens io n on
t h e safe ty belt. The
on t he safe ty be lt and
the weig ht reg is te re d by 1h e we igh t-se nsi ng m at
h elp t he control unit "'d ec ide" whe th er the fr ont
airbag fo r th e fro nt p assenger seat sh ould be
t urned off or no t
29, "Ch ild restra int s on
t h e fr o nt sea t - so me impo rtan t thin gs to kn ow··.
• A se nso r in the sa fety belt la tc h for the driver
an d for the front sca t passenger that senses
whe th er that safety belt is latc hed or
and
t ransm its thi s in form ation to t he e lectroni c con
tro l unit.
Lr!, WARNING
Damage to the fron t pa sse nger se a t ca n pre
ve nt the airba g from worki ng pr oper ly.
WARNING (continued)
• Impr ope r r epair or di sa ss embl y of th e
front passen ge r and dri ver sca t will pr event
th e A dva nce d Ai rbag Sys te m fro m fun ctionin g
• Repair s to the front passe nge r sc at mu st b e
pe rfo rmed by qualifi ed and pro perl y tra in ed
w or kshop pe rs onn el.
• Neve r rem ov e th e front pa sseng er o r dri ver
s eat fr om the ve hicle.
• Neve r rem ov e th e up hols tery from the
front passe nger sea t.
• Never di sa sse mbl e or remove part s from
th e se at or di sco nnect wi re s from it.
• Neve r carry sh arp obje cts i n yo ur poc kets
o r pl ace them on th e sca t. If the weig ht
s e n sin g m at in th e passe nge r se at is pun c
tur ed it cann ot wor k proper ly.
• Neve r ca rry thi ngs on yo ur la p or carry o b
je cts on th e pa ss e n ger scat. S uch item s can in
c re ase the w eig ht regi ste re d b y th e wei ght
s e nsin g mat an d sen d th e wro ng inform ati on
to th e airbag c ontrol un it .
• Nev er sto re it em s und er th e f ront pa s
s e nger sca t. Par ts of the Ad va n ce d Air ba g
Sy ste m un der th e passenge r sea t cou ld be
d am age d, pr eve ntin g th em and the a irbag
s y stem from workin g prop erly .
Booklet 2 .1 Safety first
WARNING (c o ntinu ed)
• Neve r place sc at co ve rs or r epl acem ent up
hol stery o n the fro nt sca ts th at have not been
s pecifi call y a pproved by Vol kswagen.
• Scat cove rs ca n pr event the Ad vanc ed
Airbag Syste m from r ecogni zin g c hild r e
s tr aint s or occ upants on th e fron t passe nger
s ca t and p reve nt the sid e a irba g in th e sca t
b ac kre st fr om depl oy ing pro perly.
• Never u se c ushion s, pill ow s, blanket s or
s imil ar
o n the front p ass enge r sea t. Th e
ad dit ional pa ddin g w ill pr event th e weigh t
s e nsing m at in the sc at from accurat ely re gis
t e rin g th e c hild r estra int or p ers o n on the sca t
a nd pr ev ent th eAdva ncc dAi rb agSy ste m fr om
fun ctio nin g pr operl y.
• If you mu st use a c hild re str aint on th e
front passenge r sca t a nd th e child res traint
manufa ctur er's instru ction s re quir e the use of
a to we l, foa m cu shi on or som ethin g else to
prop erl y pos ition th e child restraint, make
certa in that th e PASS ENGER AIR BAG OFF
li ght come s on and stays on wheneve r the
c hild r estraint is in sta lled on th e front pas
se ng er sea t.
• If th e PASSENGER A IR BA G OFF ligh t doc s
no t co me o n and stay on, imm ediately i nsta ll
c hild re s traint in a rear s eatin g pos ition and
hav e th e a ir ba g sys te m inspe cte d b y your
V olk swage n deal er.
How the Advanced Airbag System components work together
The front Advan ced Airb ag Sys te m and th e s ide
a ir b ags su pp le m en t t he pr otec tio n offered b y
t h e fr ont thr ecpo int safety belts wi th prc tc n
s io n ers and lo ad lim it e rs and t he ad ju sta ble
h ead
to help re du ce th e risk of injur y
i n w ide ran ge of a ccid ent and cra sh sit uat io ns. sur e to re ad th e im portan t info rmatio n abo ut
safe ty and h eed th e WARN INGS in t his book le t.
De ploy men t o f
Ad va nce d A irbag System a nd
t h e ac tiva tio n of th e s afe ty be lt prete n sio ners
de pend s on the dece lera tion meas ured by the
senso rs and reg is te red by th e electro nic
co ntrol unit. Cra sh seve rity depen ds o n sp ee d
an d dece le rati on as we ll as th e m ass and stiff
n ess of th e v ehicl e or ob je ct in vo lve d i n th e
c ra sh .
On th e driv er sid e
On t he dri ver sid e, w hen th e elec tro nic co nt rol
u n it reg is te rs a low severity a nd th e
d rive r's safety belt b eing used, th e a irbag w ill
n o t d ep loy. If th e d rive r's sa fe ty hell is no t b ein g
u se d, th e firs t stage depl oys, fo llowed
b y th e
seco nd stage after late r tim e in th e cras h se
q uen ce.
I f th e
con tro l un it rcg is 1e rs cra sh o f
h ig h er sever ity, bo th sta ge s of th e driver air bag
w ill dep loy a lm ost
the sa me tim e, regar dless
o f th e safe ty belt s a re be ing use d or n ot.
On th e passe ng er sid e
On th e passe nge r in sever ity im pac ts r egis te re d by the e lec tro nic co ntrol unit , th e
Airbag system 35
Booklet 2.1 Safety first
vanced Airbag System w ill tak e the u se of the
p assenge r saf ety belt into acco unt. If th e safety
b e lt i s being used, the a ir ba g w ill not d eplo y. If
the safety b elt is not b eing u sed, th e firs t st ag e
will d eplo y fo llow ed b y th e se co nd
lat er tim e in the c rash sequen ce.
I f th e e lectronic control unit r egis te rs a cras h of
hi gher sev erity, both stages deploy regardl ess of
w hethe r the sa fety belt is b eing u sed or not.
O n th e pa sse nger sid e, rega rdless of safe ty belt
u se , th e airbag will be turn ed offifth e weight on
th e pas senger seat is less
th e amo unt pro
gramm ed in the elec troni c contro l unit. Th e
fr ont airb ag on the pa ssenger sid e wi ll als o be
turned off if on e of th e c hild sea ts that
use d
t o ce rtify th e Advanced Airba g Sys te m und er
Federa l Mo tor Vehicl e Sa fety Standard 20 8 ha s
be en rec ogni zed on the seat. The PASSENGER
AIR BAG
OFF light com es on and sta ys on
29, "Child
r es traints on the fron t sea t - so me import an t
things to know··.
WARNING
To red uce the risk of inju ry when an airbag in
flates, alway s wear safety belts properly.
• If you arc unrestrained , lea nin g forward ,
si ttin g sideways or ou t of pos ition in any way,
yo ur ri sk of injury is much highe r.
• You will also receive serious injuri es and
co uld even be killed if you arc up aga inst the
a irba g or too close to it when it inflate s
even
with a n Advance d Airbag 27, "Impor
tance of wearing safety belts and s itting
pro perl y.".
More important things to know about front airbags
Fig . 23 Front oirbog deployment zone
36 Airbag system
Fig . 24 In fl ated front airbags
Th e area s ou tli ned in re d 23 indi cate the
a ir bag deploy ment zone. Neve r pla ce or attach
accesso ries or other obj ects (such as cu p
h o ld ers . te lep hone bracket s, la rge. heavy o r
obje cts) on the door s, ove r or nea r area
mark ed in
Sa fe ty ar e importanl to help kee p front seat
occ upant s in th e pro per sea te d p osition so th at
airb ags ca n un fold prop erl y and provi de s uppl e
m enta l p ro tect ion in a fro ntal co llision.
Th e fron t a ir bags are desig ned to prov ide add i
t io nal prot ection for th e chest an d
of the
dr iver and the fro nt sea t passe nger
• saf ety belt s are w orn pr operl y.
•
se ats have bee n pos ition ed so th at the
occ upant i s properl y seated as far as poss ible
from the airb ag,
• and th e hea d re straint s have bee n prop erly
adjusted.
B eca use a irbags inflate in
blink of an eye grea t fo rce, things yo u have on your lap or
ha ve pla ced on the seat could become dan
gerous pro jec tiles, a nd be pus hed into you if
a irb ag inflat es.
W hen an airb ag deplo ys, fine du st is rel ea sed .
Th is is norm al a nd i s not cause d by a fire i n th e
v ehicl e. Thi s du st is m ade up m ostly of a pow der
u sed
10 lub ricate the airba gs as they deplo y. I t
co uld irritate skin.
It is imp orta nt to remem ber
w hil e sup
pl em ental airbag syste m is desig ned to re duce
t h e lik elih ood of serio us inju ries, oth er injurie s,
for exampl e swe lling, brui sin g a nd minor ab ra
s io n s, can also happe n when ai rbags inflate. Ai r-
Booklet 2.1 Safety first
ba gs do not protect th e ar ms or th e lo we r part s
of th e bod y. Front airbags on ly sup ple m ent th e
thr ee poin t sa fety be lts in some front al co llision s
in whic h th e ve hicle dece lerati on is high enough
t o de plo y th e airbags.
Front airbags will not deploy:
• if ig nition is sw itch ed off when a cras h oc
c ur s,
• in sid e co llision s,
• in rea r-end co lli sion s.
• in rollo ve rs,
• when th e cra sh d ece lera tion m eas ured by
ai rba g sys te m is les s th an the minimum
thr eshold nee ded for air bag d epl oy ment as reg
i s te re d b y th e e lec troni c con trol unit.
Th e front passenger airbag wi ll also not deploy :
• when th e front passe nge r sea t is not occ u
p ied .
• when th e we ig ht on the front passe nger se at
as sensed by the Adva nce d Airba g Sys te m indi
c a tes
fron t a irb ag o n th e pas se n ge r side
h as to be turn ed off by th e electro nic co ntro l unit
( th e PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF ligh t comes o n
a nd sta ys on) .
WARNING
Sittin g in the wrong posit ion can in crease the
ri sk of serio us inju ry in cra she s.
• To reduce the risk of injur y when the air
ba gs inflate, the driver and passengers must
a lwa ys sit in an upright po sition , mu st n ot
l e an again st or pla ce any part of their bod y too
clo se to th e area where the airb ags are located.
• Occupa nts who are unb elt ed , out of posi
tion or too clo se to the a irbag can be seriou sly
injured by an a irbag as it unfold s wit h grea t
force in the blink of an eye
27.
WARNING
A child in a rea rward -facin g child scat in
s talled on the front pa ssen ger seat w ill be se ri
o usly injur ed and can be kill ed if th e front
airba g inflat es -even with an Advanc ed A irbag
Sys te m.
• Th e infl ating airba g
hit th e child seat
or infant carrier w ith great for ce and w ill
s mas h the child scat and child again st th e
ba ckre st, ce nter arm rest, door or roof.
Airbag system 37
Booklet 2.1 Safety first
WARNING (con tinued)
• Al ways insta ll r ear -faci ng child seats o n th e
rea r seat.
• If yo u mu st in sta ll a reanva rd faci ng c hild
se at on th e fr ont p asse nger seat beca use of ex
c epti onal cir cum stance s an d th e PAS SEN GER
AIR BAG OFF light do es not co me o n an d stay
on, immedi ate ly in sta ll th e rear -fa cin g child
sea t in
re ar se a ti ng po siti on and hav e th e
a irba g syste m inspe cte d b y yo ur Volk swagen
d ea le r.
WARNING
O bj ec ts be twee n yo u and th e airbag w ill in
c rease the r is k of injury in a c rash by int er
fe rin g w ith th e way the a ir ba g unfold s or by
b ein g pu sh ed into yo u as the a ir ba g infl ates.
• Never hold thin gs in your hand s or on your
l a p when the v ehicl e is in u se.
• Neve r tran sport item s on or in th e area of
the f ront p asse nger sea t. Obj ec ts co uld move
int o th e a rea of the front airb ags durin g
br ak ing o r oth er su dden man euv er and be
co me dange ro us pro jec tiles that ca n ca use se
ri ou s
injur y airba gs infl ate.
• Neve r place or att ac h acce ssori es or oth er
o bj ec ts (s uch as c up h old ers, tele phon e
bra ckets, la rge , h eav y or bul ky obj ects) on the
d oor s, ove r or n ear th e area mark ed "AIRB AG"
o n th e steer ing wh eel, in strum ent pan el, sca t
b ac krests or b etw een those a reas
36,
fi g. 23 and yourself. T hese ob jec ts coul d ca use
in ju ry in a cras h, es pecia lly w hen th e airbags
infl ate .
• Nev er re clin e th e fro nt p asse nge r's sca t to
t ra nsp o rt obj ec ts. Item s can also move into
th e are a of the sid e airba g or the front air b ag
durin g bra kin g or in a s udd en m an eu ve r. Ob
j ec ts nea r th e a irb ags can beco me pro jec tiles
a nd cause inj ury , p articu lar ly w hen th e sea t is
r ecl ined .
• Always make s ure that no thin g is on th e
fr ont pass enger s eat that will cause the
we ig ht -se nsing mat in th e scat to sense that
t h e sea t is occupi ed or is occ upie d b y a perso n
th at i s hea vier th an th e occ upa nt actually on
38 Airbag system
WA RN IN G (con tinued)
th e s eat. Th e w eight oflhe obj ect could cause
the pas senge r sid e airbag t o be turn ed on
wh en it shoul d be off o r could cau se the a irbag
to fun ctio n in a w ay th at is diff ere nt fro m the
way it wo uld h ave w orked with o ut th e added
we ig ht .
• Always make s ure th at nothin g on th e front
pa sse nge r sca t w hen the bac krest is fold ed for
w ard. Eve n light obj ect s c ould b e pu sh ed int o
th e seat c ushi on and cause the weig ht-se nsin g
m at i n th e scat to reg is te r enou gh we ig ht to
turn th e airb ag on.
• Al ways make sur e that the s ta tu s s ignal ed
b y th e PAS SENGER AIR BAG OFF light is c or
r ec t for the w ay that the front p assenger sea t is
b ein g use d.
WARNING
The fin e dust c rea ted wh en airb ags depl oy ca n
ca use brea thin g pr oblem s for p eople w ith a
hi sto ry of asthm a or o th er bre athin g condi
tion s.
• T o reduce the risk of brea thing problem s,
with asthm a or oth er res pir ato ry c ondi
ti o ns s hould get fr esh ai r right away by ge tting
o ut of the ve hicle o r openin g windows o r
d oor s.
• If y ou ar c in a co llisio n in w hi ch airb ags de
pl oy, wash yo ur hand s and fa ce with mild soap
a nd wa te r b efo re e atin g.
• B e caref ul not to get th e du st int o yo ur
eyes , o r int o any c uts o r sc ratc hes.
• If th e re sid u e s hou ld ge t int o your eyes ,
flu sh th em with wate r.
Tips
If yo u or a pa sse nge r w ho yo u w ill be using your
ve hicl e has a d isab ility tha t ma y affect the way
t h e Advan ced Airb ag Sys te m in yo ur vehicle
wo rks, you can contact Volkswagen Custo m er
C ARE at 180 0 822-8987 for informa tion about
p oss ib le m od ifi ca tion s or o th er ste p s th at h elp
address th e sit uat io n .
-
Booklet 2.1 Safety first
Two separate indicators monitor the function the Advanced Airbag System: the
airbag monitoring indicator light and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
senso r circu its and
sys tem wirin g) is moni to red conti nuous ly to
make sur e that it i s fun ctio ning pro perl y when
ever th e ig niti on iso n. Eac h tim e you turn on the
i gn ition . t he airbag mon it or ing ind icator lig ht
w ill co me on for a
seconds (se lf diagn ostic s)
and the text AIRBAG /BELT TENSIONER appears
in the in strum ent cluster.
The system must b e inspected wh en the indi
cator light
• does no t co me on when the ig nition i s
s wit ch ed on ,
• does not go out a few secon ds after you ha ve
sw itch ed on th e ig niti on. o r
• comes on whil e dri ving.
I f an airbag syste m malfun ctio n is detec te d, th e
ind icator li gh t w ill come on and sta y on
ca tc h
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF ligh t
Fig. 25 Section from the ins trument panel: PAS
SENG ER AIR BAG OFF light
T he PAS SENGER AIR BAG OFF light is
in
the cent er of t he in strum ent pan el 25 . th
e driver's artentio n and serve as a constant re
mind er to ha ve the syste m inspected immedi
ate ly. If a m alfunction occurs that turn s th e fro nt
airbag on th e pa sse nger side off, the PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF light
co me on and stay on
w heneve r the ig niti on is on.
WARNING
An airbag system that i s not functionin g prop
erly cannot pro vide supplemental protection
in a frontal crash.
• If the airbag indicator light comes on, it
mean s that there ma y be somethin g wrong
with the Advanced Airbag System.
It is po s
s ible that the airbag will inflate when it is not
s uppo sed to, or not inflat e when it
• H ave the airbag system inspec te d immedi
ately by your Volkswagen
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF lig ht will co me
on and sta ys on to te ll you when the front Ad
va nce d Airbag on the passe nge r side ha s been
turn ed off by the e lectro nic co ntro l unit.
I f th e bulb for the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
li ght burn s out , the airbag monitoring ind ica to r
li ght
39 will co me on a nd sig nal mal
fun cti on in th e Advanced Airbag system. Al
th ough th e burn ed o ut bulb will not ch ange the
way the
air b ag on t he pa sse nger s ide
w ork s, it wi ll n o longer be possible to use the
BAG OFF light to verify that t he
a irb ag on/off s ta tu s is co rrect for the occ upant
on the front passe nge r seat. Have the airb ag
sys tem in spec ted imm ed iate ly by your Volk
sw agen deal er.
Th e PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF lig ht will blink for
up to as long as 9 seco nds w hen
• th e ig nit ion is s witch ed on and
Airbag system 39