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
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
• there is a c han ge in the we ight mea sur ed by
th e we ig h t- se n sing mat in th e fro nt pas se nge r
s ea t th at d ete rmin es wheth er th e Adva nced
Ai rbag o n the pass eng er s id e ca n dep lo y or w ill
be t urn ed off.
Aft er th e PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF lig ht stop s
b lin kin g, a lwa ys mak e sure that t he airbag
s tat us ( on or off) as show n by the PASS ENG ER
A lR B AG OFF lig ht is prop er fo r th e size, age , a nd
we ig h t of the occupant o n the fron t pa ssenger
s ea t.Alwa ys mak e s ure that th e
b elt f or th e
fr ont pa sseng er sea t is p roperl y fa ste n ed whe n·
ev er th e pa sse nge r seat i s occ upi ed.
T he PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF ligh t w ill sh ow
th e c orre ct sta tu s of th e fron t Ad vance d Air b ag
on th e pa sse nger sid e a few sec onds after t he
niti on h as be en sw itc h ed on and:
• will sta y o n if t he fron t pa ssen ger sea t is no t
o ccupi ed,
• will sta y on if a child up t o ab out one yea r o f
ag e is o n th e front passe nger seat in one of th e
r e a r- fa cin g or fo rw ard -facin g in fant r estra int s
list ed in F edera l M oto r Ve hicl e Safety S ta nd ard
2 08 w it h whic h t he A dva nce d Airbag Syste m i n
y our vehicle was ce rtified, is reg is te re d b y th e
w eig ht- sensing m at in th e sea t. Fo r a listin g of
th e c hild res traint s th at we re use d t o ce rtify your
ve hicl e's co mplianc e w ith th e US Safe ty
d a rd 5 3,
• will go ou t if the fro nt passe nge r se at is
pi ed b y an adult as reg is te re d b y th e se nsi ng m at.
Th e PASSENGE R AIR BAG O FF lig ht must come
o n and stay o n if the ig nit io n i s o n a nd
• a car b ed has bee n in stall ed on th e fro nt sea t.
o r
• a rear wa rd-faci ng c hild res tra int has bee n
sta lled on th e fro nt p asse nger seat, or
• a forwa rd-fa cing c hild r estraint h as been
sta ll ed on th e fron t p asse nge r sea t, or
• th e we ig ht r egis tered o n the front passe nge r
s eat is equ al to o r less than th e co mb in ed weig ht
o f a ty pi ca l I ye ar- old res tra in ed in one o f th e
rea r-fac in g o r fo nva rd-faci ng in fa nt re s tra int s
li ste d in F ed era l Moto r Ve hicle Saf ety St andard
208
w hic h th e Adva nce d Ai rb ag Sys te m in
yo ur vehicl e w as ce rtifi ed .
I f th e front passe nge r sea t is not occ upied , th e
fr ont a ir b ag w ill not de ploy, and t he PASS ENG ER
OF F light will sta y o n. Nev er a
40 Airbag system
re ar ward-facing chil d res traint on the front se nger seat, the sa fest pla ce for a chil d in an y
k ind of c hild r estra in t is at on e of t he sea ting
sit ion s on t he rea r se at 29, " Chil d strai nts on th e front seat-so me import ant
th ings to kn ow " a nd 51, "C hild safe ty ."
If th e PASSENGE R
AIR BAG OFF light come s on
w hen one of t he co ndit io ns liste d ab ove is m et,
b e s ure
c h eck the li gh t r eg ula rl y to m ake tai n th at th e PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF lig ht
s tays o n co ntinu ously w hen eve r th e ig nit io n is
o n. I f th e PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF light does
n ot app ear and no t stay o n all th e time, sto p as
soo n as it is safe to d o so a nd
• re ac tiva te th e sys te m b y turn in g th e ig n iti on
off and th en t urni ng it on a gain ;
• re m ove a nd re in stall t he child res traint. Mak e
s ur e that th e c hild r estra int is prop erly in sta lled
and th at th e saf ety be lt for t he front p asse nge r
sea t has bee n co rrec tly rout ed aro und th e child
r es traint a s desc ribed in th e ch ild r estra int
in struc tio ns;
• make sur e th at th e co nve rtib le lock in g
tu re o n th e safe ty belt fo r the front p asse nge r
sea t has bee n ac tivated a nd th at th e sa fety belt
h as bee n pulled ti gh t. The be lt mu st n ot b e loose
or have loops of s lack so th at t he se nsor below
t h e
be lt la tc h on th e se a t ca n do its jo b 60.
• make su re th at th in gs that m ay inc rease th e
we ig ht of the c hild and chi ld sea t a re not bein g
t ra nspo rted on th e fro nt passe nge r sea t;
• make s ure th at th e
belt tens io n se nsor
i s not blocke d. S hake th e sa fe ty be lt la tc h on th e
fro nt passe nger sea t bac k and forth;
• make s ure th at n oth in g ca n i nte rfe re w ith t he
safe ty be lt bu ck les and th at th ey a re not
stru cte d.
• If a stra p or te th er i s bein g used to tie th e
c h ild sea t to th e fro nt passe nge r seat, make sur e
that it i s
110 1 so tig ht that it ca uses the sensin g ma t to meas ure m ore we igh t th an is t u ally on th e se at.
If the PA SSE NGER AIR
light still doc s
n ot co me o n and docs not s tay on co nti nuo usly
(w hen th e ig nit ion i s sw itch ed on),
• take th e ch ild res tra in t o ff t he fro nt passe nge r
sea t a nd in sta ll i t prope rly
at on e of t he rea r sea t
pos itions. Ha ve the airbag sys tem in spec ted by
Vo lkswage n deale r
Booklet 2.1 Safety first
happ en s w hen
yo ur vehicle is in a cras h appl y also to chi ldren
15 , sa fety belt s?". But unlik e adult s
a nd t eenagers, the ir mu scles and bones are not
f ull y deve lo ped. In man y res pe cts child ren are a t
greater risk of serious inju ry in cras hes than
adult s.
13ecausc childr en' s bodi es are not full y deve l
oped, they re quir e re straint syste m s es peciall y
d esig ned for their size, weight, and
struc
tu re. Many co untries and all sta tes of the Unit ed
S ta tes a nd pro vin ces of Ca nad a hav e la ws re
qui ring the use of ap proved child restra int sys
tem s fo r infan ts and sm all childr en.
In a fron tal cras h at a s peed of20-35 mph (30-56
km /h ) th e forces actin g on a 13-pou nd (6 kg) in
fant w ill be m ore
20 tim es the we igh t of the
child. This m eans th e we ig ht of t he c hild would
s udd enl y be mor e th an 2 60 pound s (120 kg).
Under these co nditions, o nly a n appropr iat e
child res traint properl y use d can re du ce the risk
of serious injur y. Child rest rain ts , lik e adu lt
belt s, mu st b e used properl y to be effec
t ive . U sed im pro per ly, they ca n increase the risk
of serious injur y in an
Consu lt the chil d sca t manuf ac!Ur er's instru c
tion s to b e sure th e seat is right for your chil d's
s ize
54 , " Imp ort ant safety inst ructi ons fo r
u sin g child seats". Please be sure to rea d and
h ee d all of th e im porta nt inform atio n and
WAHN INGS
c hild safety, Advanced Air
bags , the in sta lla tion of child r estraint s in
thi s
is lot you need to kn ow about the Ad
van ced in your vehicl e and how th ey
wo rk when infants c h ild re n in child re
strai nts arc o n the front passenge r sea t.13eca use
of the la rge amo unt of im portant inform ati on .
we cann ot re p eat it all here . We urge you to re ad
th e deta iled inf orm ati on in thi s booklet abo ut a
irba gs and the i\dva nced A irbag Sys te m in yo ur
veh icle an d th e very import ant inform ati on
abo ut transport ing c hildren on th e front pas
se ng er sea t. Pl ease be sure to heed the WARN
I NGS -th ey are ex trem ely imp ort ant for yo ur
sa fe ty and th e safety of yo ur pa sse ngers , espe
ciall y in fants and sm all childr en .
WARNING
• Accident statistics have shown that chil
dr en are genera lly sa fer in th e rear seat area
t h an in the front seating po sition. Always re
s train any ch ild age 12 and und er in th e re ar.
• AU vehicle occ upant s and especially chil
dr en mu st be r estrain ed properl y w hen ever
riding in a vehicle. An unr estrain ed or im
properly res trained ch ild could be injured by
striking the interior or by being ejec ted from
the vehicle during
sudden maneuver or im
pact. An unrestrain ed or improperly re
stra ined ch ild is also at greater r is k of injury or
death through contact with an inflating
airbag.
• A sui table chil d re straint properly in stalled
a nd u sed at on e of th e rear seati ng positio ns
pro vid es t he hi gh est degre e of protection for
infants and small children in mo st accident
s ituation s.
WARNING
Childr en on the front s cat of any car even with
i\dvanced can be seriously injured or
eve n kill ed when an ai rbag inflat es.
• A ch ild in
re arward -facing child seat in
s ta lled on the front p assenger seat will be seri
o usly injur ed and can b e killed if the front
a irbag inflate s.
• The inflati ng airbag
hit th e ch ild seat
or infant carrier with great fo rce a nd will II>-
Child safety 51
Booklet 2.1 Safety first
WARNING (continued)
sma sh th e c hild scat and child against th e
backr est, ce nter arm r est, door or roof.
• If y ou mu st in sta ll a rearward facin g ch ild
sca t on the front pas senger seat in exce ptional
circum stan ces and the "PAS SENGER
BAG li ght d ocs not come on and stay on, im
m ed iately install the rear-faci ng ch ild sca t in a
r ear sea ting po siti on and have the airbag
sys tem inspe cted immedia tely by your Volk
swagen dea le r.
WARNING
If , in exce ptiona l circumstances , you must in
s tall a forward-facing child r estraint on the
fr on t pa sse nger's seat:
• Always make s ure th e forward-facing seat
h as be en de signed and certifi ed by it s m anu
factur er for use on a front seat w ith a pa s
se nge r front and side airb ag.
WARN ING (con tinued)
• Always fo llow the m anufacturer 's in stru c
tions provid ed wi th the c hild seal or carri er.
• Alw ays move the pa sse nger seat into its re
armost p osition in the seat's fore and aft ad
ju stm ent range, a s far away from
airbag as
po ssibl e befo re in stallin g the child re str aint.
The ba ckrest mu st be adju sted lo an upright
po sition.
• /\lwa ys make su re th at nothing pre vents
th e fro nt passenger' s sea t from being mo ved
to the re armo st p osition in it s fore and aft ad
ju stme nt ran ge.
• Always make sure that the PASSENGER AIR
B A G OFF li ght come s on and sta ys o n all th e
tim e when eve r the ignition is switch ed on.
• If th e PASSENGE R
BAG light does
nol come o n and sta y o n, immediat ely install
th e fo rward-fac ing child seat in a rear seating
po sition and h ave the air ba g sys te m in spec te d
by your Volkswage n deale r.
-4
Advanced front airbag system and children
Your vehicl e is equ ipped with dual-stage fron t
" A dvan ced Airbag Sy ste m " in comp lian ce w ith
U nited Sta tes Fed eral Motor Vehicl e Safety Stan
dard (FMV SS) 2 08 as app licable at th e tim e yo ur
ve hicl e
manuf actur ed.
Th e Advan ced Airbag syste m in your vehicle has
b e en certifi ed t o mee t the "low risk " re qui re
for 3 and 6 year -o ld childr en on the pa s
s e ng er sid e and small adults on the dr ive r sid e.
Th e lo w r is k dep loym ent crit eria arc int ended
to redu ce th e risk of inju ry through wi th the air ba g th at ca n occ ur, for examp le , b y
being too clo se lO the s tee ring wheel and ment pane l wh en th e a irbag inflat es. In addi
ti o n, th e sys te m ha s bee n ce rtifi ed t o co mply
52 Child safety
with the " suppr essio n" re qui re ments of the
Saf ety Standa rd. to turn off th e fro nt air bag for
in fants up to 12 month s who are re strai ned on
th e f ront pa ssenger se at in child rest ra int s th at
ar e liste d in th e S ta ndard.
Eve n thou gh yo ur vehicl e is e quipped w ith an
A dv an ced Airb ag sys te m, all chil dren, e sp eci ally
t h ose
12 year s and younger, sho uld a lway s ride
i n th e ba ck se at prop erly re strained for their ag e
a n d siz e . T he airbag on th e pa sse nger side
makes t he front sca t
po te ntiall y dangerou s
pla ce for a child to rid e. Th e front seat is not the
s af es t pla c e f or a child in a forward -fac ing child
se at. It ca n be a ve ry dang erou s place for a n in
fa nt or a larger child in a r earward-facing seat.
-4
Booklet 2.1 Safety first
Advanced Airbags and the weight -sensing mat in the front seat
The A dva nced Airba g Sys te m in yo ur vehicl e de
t e cts the presence of an infant or ch ild in a child
r estrai nt on th e fron t passe nger sea t usin g th e
weig ht-sensin g mat in the sea t cushi on and the
se nso r below the safe ty belt lat ch on the front
p assenger seat th at m eas ures the te nsion on th e
belt.
The weigh t-se nsi ng m at m eas ures
we ig ht
o f th e c hild and the child seat and a child bla nk et
on the front pa sse nge r sea t. The weight on th e
front passe nger seat is re la ted to th e de sig n of
the child restrai nt and its "foo tprint ", the s ize
an d sh ap e of the b ou om of the c hild res traint a s
it sits on the se at. The we ig ht of
ch ild res traint
an d it s "foot print " vary for differe nt kind s of
child re straint s and for th e diffe re nt m odels of
t h e sam e kin d o f child r estraint offere d b y child
re straint manufa ctu rers.
Th e weig ht ranges for the indi vidual ty p es,
makes and m odels of c hild res trai nts th at th e
N HT SA has sp ecified in th e Safe ty Standa rd to· ge
ther w ith th e weight ra nges of typi ca l in fants
and ty pic al I ye ar-old child have bee n sto re d in
t h e co ntrol un it o f the Advanced Airb ag Sys te m.
Whe n a c hild res traint is bei ng use d on th e fro nt
passe nge r sea t w ith a ty p ica l
1 ye ar- old child , th e
A dvanc ed Ai rbag System compares the weight
mea sur ed b y th e we ig h t-se nsi ng ma t w ith the
informa tion stored in the elec tro nic con trol unit.
T he elec troni c control u nit al so reg is te rs th e ten
s ion on th e front passeng er sa fe ty be lt. T he te n
s ion on th e sa fety belt for the front pa ssenger
sea t
be different for ad ult is prop erl y
u sin g th e s afety belt as compar ed to the te n sio n
o n th e be lt
it is use d to att ach a child r e
s traint to th e seat. Th e senso r be low the la tc h fo r
th e safe ty belt for t he front seat passe nger mea
s ur es the tensio n on th e be lt. The input from thi s
se nso r is th en use d wit h the weig ht t o "d ec ide ",
w hethe r th ere is a chil d res tra int with a typica l
1 year-old ch ild on the front passe nger seat and
w he th er or not th e airb ag mu st b e turn ed
Child restraints and Advanced Airbags
Hegar dlcss of the ch il d re stra in t that you use,
mak e sur e th at it has been ce rtifi ed me et
United States Fe dera l Motor Vehicl e Saf ety S tan
dard s and has been ce rtified by its m anufa ctu re r
for use w ith a n airb ag. /\!ways be sur e that the
c hild r estrai nt i s pro perly
at o ne of t he
r ear sea ting pos itio ns. I f in exce ptional circu m
s ta nces you m ust u se it o n the fro nt pa ssenge r
sea t, car efull y read all of th e in for matio n on
c hild safety and Adva nced Airbags and hee d all
of th e a pplicabl e
IN GS . Mak e ce rtain that
t h e c hild res traint is cor rec tly reco gnized by th e
we ig ht- sensin g mat in side the front passe nge r
sea t, th at th e front p assenge r air b ag is turn ed off
and th at the a irb ag stat us is always correc tly s ig
n aled by th e PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light.
Many ty p es an d m odels of ch ild res 1rai111 s have
b ee n avai lab le ov er th e years ,
models are
introdu ced r egularl y in cor poratin g new and im
proved des ign s and old er m odels are take n out
of produ cti on. Chil d res train ts are no t sta ndard
i zed. C hild restra ints o f the sam e ty p e typi ca ll y h
ave diff ere nt weight s and sizes and differ en t
'foot prin ts ,' t he s ize and sh ape of th e bott om of
th e c hild res train t th at s its on the seat, whe n
th ey are installed on a vehi cle seat. Th ese differ
e nces mak e it virt uall y impos sib le to cert ify
co mplian ce with th e re quireme nts fo r adva nce d
a ir bag s wit h ea ch and every child res traint that
h as eve r bee n so ld in the pa st or will be sold ove r
th e co urse of the use ful life of yo ur vehicle.
For thi s reaso n, th e Uni te d Sta tes N ati ona l
Hi gh way Tra ffic Sa fe ty A dmini strat io n has pub
li sh ed
li st of sp ecifi c type, makes and mode ls
of child restr ai nt s that must b e use d t o ce rti fy
co mpliance of the Advan ced Air bag Syste m in
y our vehicl e w it h th e s uppre ssio n r equir em en ts
of Fe d era l Moto r Ve hicle Safety S tandard 208.
Th ese c hild restra ints are:
A. Car beds, manufactur ed an or after De·
cember 1, 1999:
• Cos co Dre am Rid e 02-7 19
Child safety 53
Booklet 2.1 Safety first
8. Rear facing child restraint systems, manufac
tured on or alter December l, 1999.
( W hen the res tra in t sys te m comes e quipp ed
w ith a re mo vable ba se, co mpli ance ha s to be
ce rtified with or wit hout the ba se).
• Britax Hand le wit h Care
191
• Centur y Ass ura 4553
• Centu ry Sm art Fit 4 543
• Cosco Arriva 02727
• Eve nflo Disc overy A dju st 212
• Evenflo Fir st Ch oice
204
• Gra co Infant 8 11 57
C. For war d-facing convertible child res trai nt
systems, manufactured on or after Dece mber l ,
1999:
• Brit ax Rou ndabou t
161
• Brit ax Expressway J SOFIX
• Centur y Enco re
• Century 1000
• Cosco Ol ymp ia n 0280 3
• Cosco Touriv a 02519
• Even flo Horizon V 425
• Evenfl o Meda llion 25 4
• Saf ety 1s t Co mfort Ride 22-400
D. Forward-fac ing toddler /be lt po sitioning
booster systems, manufactur ed on or after D e
cember l, 1999 :
• Brita x Roadster
9004
• Century Next Step 4920
• Cosco High Back Booste r
• Eve nfl o Hig ht Fit 2 45
L'.0, WARNING
To redu ce the ri sk of serio us inju ry, mak e sur e
that the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF li ght comes
on and sta ys on when eve r a child restraint is
in stall ed on the front pa ssenger sea t and the
ignition is switched on.
• Take the child res traint
the front pa s
s enger seat a nd install it properl y at one of the
rear seat position s if th e PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF light does not sta y o n.
• Have the airbag system insp ec ted by yo ur
aut hori zed Volkswag en dealer immediately.
Important safety instructions for using child seats
Correct use of chil d seat s substant ially reduce s the risk of injury in an ac cident!
Fi g. 3 0 Neve r le t babi es or older c hildren rid e in a
v ehicl e wh ile s itting on th e lop o f a no th er passenge r.
As the driver, yo u ar e res pon sible for th e
s a fety of eve ry bod y in th e ve hicle , espe
ci all y chil dren:
54 Child safety
-Alway s use the right child seat for each
c hi ld and alwa ys use it prop erly
51.
- Alw ays caref ully foll ow the child seat
m anu fac turer 's in stru ction s on how to
rou te the sa fe ty bel t pr oper ly throu gh
child seat.
- When usin g th e ve h icle safety belt
10 in
s ta ll a child seat, you must fir st a ctivat e
sw itchab le lock ing fea tur e on th e safe ty
b elt
p reven t th e child seal from mov ing
60.
- Push th e c hild sea t d ow n with yo ur full
weig ht to get the sa fe ty belt re all y light so
th at the seat cannot mov e for ward or side -
w ays more th an one inch (2.5 cm ).
»,,
-If a strap or te ther is being use d to tie
th e ch ild sea t to th e front passenge r seat,
ma ke s ure that it is
no t so tight that it
ca uses the we ight -sensin g mat to meas ure
more weig ht th an is actuall y on the se at.
Always remember: Even though yo ur vehicle is
e quip ped w ith an Advanced Airbag sys te m. all
c hildr en, especia lly those 12 years a nd youn ger,
s h ould always ride in the ba ck sea t p roper ly re
s train ed for th eir age and size.
WARNING
Not using a child sc a t, u si ng th e wrong child
s eat or improp erly insta llin g a c hild r estraint
in creases the risk of se riou s personal injury
and dea th.
• All ve hicle occupants and especia lly chil
dr en must alway s be res train ed properl y
whenever riding in a ve hicl e.
-
unr estrain ed or improperl y re
s trained child can be injur ed or kill ed by
b ein g thrown against the insid e of th e ve
hicle or by being ejected from it during a
s udd en man euver or imp act.
-
unrest rained or improperly re
stra ined ch ild is at much greater risk of in
jur y or death by being stru ck b y an in
fl atin g ai rbag.
• Comm ercia lly ava ilabl e child seats are re
quir ed t o co mply with U.S. Federal Motor Ve
hicle Safe ty Sta ndard (FMVSS) 2 13 (in Canada
CMVSS2 13).
- Wh en buying a child re straint , selec t one
that
y our child and the vehicle.
- Onl y use child restraint syste m s that
full y contact the flat portion of
seat
cushion. The child restraint must not tip or
lean t o either side. Volkswag en do cs not
r eco mmend using child scats that r es t on
l egs o r tube -lik e fram es. They do not pro
vide adequate co ntact with the scat.
- Always hee d all legal r equirem ent s per
t a inin g to the in stallati on an d u se of ch ild
sc ats and care fully follo w the in structions
pro vided by the manufacturer of the seat
yo u arc usin g.
• Neve r allow childr en und er 4 ft 9 in (57
in che s, 1.5 met ers) to wear a normal safety
belt. They must always be restr ained b y a
Booklet 2.1 Safety first
WARN ING (continu ed)
proper child re straint system. Oth erw ise, they
c ould susta in injurie s to the abdomen and
ne ck ar eas during sudden braking maneuvers
or accidents.
• Never let more than one child oc cupy a
child scat.
• Neve r let babi es or older chil dre n ride in a
ve hicle while sittin g on the lap of anoth er pas
se nge r.
- Holding a child in your arms is neve r a
sub stitute for a child restraint system.
- The strongest person could not hold the
c hild with the forces that exis t in an acci
dent. The child will strik e th e int eri orof the
ve hicl e and can al so be s tru ck by the pa s
senger.
- The child and th e passenge r ca n also in
jur e each another in an accident.
• Ne ver install rear-faci ng child seat s or in
fant carriers on the front passe nge r sea t.
w ill b e se riou sly injur ed and can be
killed when the passenger airbag inflates
even with Advanced Airbag System.
• The i nflating airb ag w ill hit th e child scat
o r infant carrier w ith great force and will
s mash th e child scat a nd child against the
backr est, ce nter arm res t, d oo r or roof.
• Alwa ys insta ll rear-facing child scats or in
fant carri ers on the r ear seat.
• Forward-facing child seats insta lled on th e
front pa ssenger 's sca t can interfer e with th e
a irb ag w hen it inflate s an d cau se se riou s in
ju ry to th e child . Always install forward-facing
c hild scats on the rear seat.
• I f exce ptional circumstance s requir e th e
u se of a forward-facing child res traint on the
front pa ssenger's scat, th e c hild 's safet y and
we ll-be ing require that the following sp ecia l
pr ecaut ions be taken:
- Make sur e the fonvard-facing seat ha s
been des ig n ed and
by its manu
factur er for use on a front scat with a pas
se nger front and side airba g.
- Always carefully follow the manufac
tur er's instru ction s pro vid ed w ith th e child
sea t or carrier.
- Always move the front pa ssenger seal
into th e rearmo st position
pass enger
Child safety 55