Booklet 2.1 Safety first
WARNING (conlinuod)
• Neve r place or install floor mats or other
floor cover ings in th e vehicle that can n ot be
proper ly secure d in place to prevent them
from slip pin g and
with the pedals
or the abili ty to contro l the vehicle.
• Neve r place or insta ll floor mats or o ther
floor coverings on top of alr eady ins ta ll ed
floor mats. Additiona l floor mat s and oth er
Stowing luggage
Loading the luggage compartment
WARN ING (con tinued)
coverings w ill reduce the size of the pedal area
an d int erf ere with the pedals.
• Always properly reinstall and sec ure floor
ma ts that have been removed for cleaning.
• Always make sure that objects can not fa ll
int o the driver foot well w hile th e vehicle is
moving. Objects ca n become trapped under
th e brake pedal and acce lerator peda l ca using
a loss of vehicl e
All luggag e and object s ,n ust b e prop erly stowed and secured the luggage
compartment.
Loos e item s in th e luggag e compartmen t
c an shi ft sudden ly chang ing vehicle han
dling charact eri stic s. Lo ose item s ca n also
in crea se the ri sk of se ri ous pe rs onal in
j ur y in a sudd en veh icl e m an euv er or in a
co llision.
- Distribute the load evenly in th e lu g
gag e compar tment .
- Alwa ys pla c e and properly sec ure heav y
it em s as far forward a s po ss ibl e in the lug
gage compar tm ent.
- S tow hea vy lugg age as low as possibl e
in the luggag e compar tm ent.
- Secure luggag e usin g th e tic -dow ns
pro vid ed
11 .
- -Ma ke su re that the re ar sea t ba ck is se
cu re ly lat ch ed in pl ace.
WARNING
Improp erl y s tor ed luggage or other items can
fly through the vehicl e cau sing serious per
so nal inju ry in th e event of hard braking or an
accident. To help reduce the risk of se rious
personal injury:
10 Safe driving
WARN ING (continued)
• Always put objects, for examp le, luggage o r
oth er he avy item s in the luggage compa rt-
WARNING
Heavy loads will influ ence the way yo ur ve
hicle handle s. To help reduce the risk of a lo ss
of contro l lea din g to serio us personal injury:
• Alway s keep in mind when t ransporting
h ea vy objects, that a c hange in the ce nter of
grav ity can also ca use c hang es in ve hicle han
d lin g:
- Always distribut e the load as eve nly as
po ss ibl e.
- Place heavy objects as far forward in the
luggage compart ment as poss ible .
• Never excee d the Gross Axle Weig ht Rating
or the Gross Vehicle Weight Rating specified
on the safety complian ce s ticke r on the lef t
door jamb. Exceed ing permissib le we ig ht
s tandards can cause the vehicl e handl e diff er
e ntl y.
• Please observe information on safe driv ing
Booklet 2.1 Safety first
What happens to occupants not wearing safety belts?
In crashes unbelted occupant s cannot stop themselve s from flying forward and
being injured or killed. Always wear your safety belts.
Fig. 9 A driver not wearing o safety belt is violently
thrown forward
Un belted occ upants ar e not abl e to res ist the tre
m endo us fo rces o f imp act by holdin g tig ht or
bra cing themse lves . W ith ou t th e ben efit of
s af etv res traint systems. th e unr estrai ned o ccu
slam vio le ntl y into t he steering wheel,
in strnm ent panel, win dshi eld , o r w hate ve r else
is in the way
9. T his impac t w ith the ve hicle
inte rior has a ll th e e nergy the y had just before
the cras h.
Neve r re ly on airb ags alone for pro tec tion. Eve n
wh en th ey deplo y, air ba gs provide onl y a ddi
t io n al prot ection. Airb ags are not su pposed
depl oy in all kin ds of a cci den ts. Alt hough your
Volk swag en i s eq uipped with airbags, all vehicl e
occ upant s, inclu ding th e dr ive r, mu st wear
sa fety belt s co rrectl y in order to min imize th e
ri sk of seve re injur y or d eath in a cras h, regard-
16 Safety belts
Fig . 10 A rear passenger not wearing o sa fety belt
will fly forward and strike the drive r
less of wheth er a se atin g pos ition has a n or no t
R em emb er too, that ai rbags w ill dep loy o nly
once a nd t hat your sa fery be lts are always there
to offe r pro tec tion in th ose acci dent s in whi ch
a irba gs are not supp osed to dep loy o r w hen they
h ave already deployed. Unbelt ed occ upan ts can
a lso be thro wn out of th e ve hicle w here e ven
more severe or fa ta l in jur ies can occur.
I t i s a lso important for the rear passe ngers to
wea r sa fety belts correct ly. Unb elt ed pas se nge rs
in th e re ar sea ts endanger no t on ly th emse lves
b u t a ls o th e driver an d oth er pa ssenge rs
JO .
In a fron tal collisio n th ey w ill be thrown forward
v io len tly, whe re they ca n hi t a nd injure the
driver and /or front seat
Booklet 2.1 Safety first
it 's po ssibl e to use the to brace the body a ,ninor collision.
It 's simp ly not
Fi g. 11 Driver is co rrectly re strained in o s udden
broki ng ma neuver .
Safely belt s used prop erl y can make a big diff er
ence. Safet y belts help to keep passe ngers in
the ir sea ls , gra dually r edu ce e nergy levels ap
pli ed
to the body in co llision s. and help preve nt
th e unc ontroll ed mo veme nl tha t can cause se
riou s injur ies. In ad di1i on, safe ty belt s redu ce
th e clang er of being thro wn ou1 o f th e ve hicl e.
Safe ty belt s atta ch passengers 10 the car and giv e
th em t he ben efi t of b eing
down more
ge nll yor "sof tly" through lhe "g ive" in the saf ety
b e lts, cru mp le zo ne s
other saf ely fea1 ures
e n gin ee re d into toda y's vehicl es. By "ab sorb ing"
t h e kinet ic ener gy ov er
longe r per iod of lime , th
e fo rces o n 1h e body be come more "tolerable "
and less likely to c ause injur y.
A lthoug h 1hese exa mples are ba sed on a frontal
co llision,
belt s can also sub sla nt ially re
duc e the risk of inju ry in 01h er kin ds of crash es.
So . w heth er yo u're on a long 1rip or ju sl go ing to
lh e c orner stor e, always buckle up and make
s ur e oth ers do, too. Acci denl statist ics sh ow 1h at
ve hicle occ upan 1s prop erl y wea ring sa fe ty
ha ve lower risk of bein g in jur ed and a much
b elie r ch an ce of in collis io n. Properl y
u sin g safe ty bell s also great ly in cre a ses the
abili 1y of 1 he s uppl em ent al a irbags 10 do their
job in a collisio n . Fo r thi s rea son, wea ring a
safe ty belt is lega lly re quir ed in mo sl cou ntries
includin g mu ch of th e Un ited
and
Canada .
A lth ough your Volk swage n i s eq uipped wilh a ir
ba gs. yo u still have to we ar th e safe ly be lts pro
v id ed. Fro nt a irba gs, for examp le,
a cti va ted
on ly in some frontal collisio ns. Th e front airb ags
a re no t acli vated in all fron ta l co lli sio ns, in sid e
and rea r co llisio ns. in rollo vers o r in cas es wh ere
is no t e nou gh de celeration through impac t
to the front of the vehicle. Th e sa me go es for the
01 hcr airbag sys1ems in yo ur Volk sw agen. So, al
w ays
you r saf ety belt and mak e sure ev ery
bo dy in ve hicle is prop erly
Impo rtant safety instructions about safety belts
Safety bel ts must alway s be cor rect ly pos i ri on ed across the strongest bones of you r
body.
- Always wea r saf ety bells as ill ustra ted
and descr ibed in thi s Bookl et.
- Make su re th at yo ur sa fet y be lts a rc a l
ways rea dy fo r u se and arc no t da ma ged.
WARNING
Not wea ring sa fe ty belt s or wearing t hem im
prop erl y inc re as es the ri sk of se rious per sona l
WAR NING (continued)
injury and death. Safety belts ca n w ork onl y
w hen u sed correct ly.
• Always fas te n yo ur safety belt s cor rect ly
before dri vin g o ff and make sure all pa sse n
ge rs are cor rec tly res tra in ed.
•
m ax imum protection, sa fel y belt s
mu st be po sitione d cor rectly on th e
body.
Safety belts 17
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
Improperly worn safety belts
Inco rrec tly position ed safety bel ts can cause severe injuries.
Wearing safe ty belts impro perl y can cause
se rious injury or death. Saf ety bel ts ca n
only work when they a re co rrect ly po si
tio ned on the body. Improper seating posi
t ions redu ce th e e ffec tive ne ss o f safe ty
a nd will eve n incr ease the risk of in
j ury and dea th by mo ving the safety belt t o
c riti ca l area s of the body. Improper seating
p osition s also inc rease the risk of serious
i njury and dea th when a n airbag dep loys
a nd str ik es an occ upant who is no r in the
cor rect seating position.
dri ver is re
spo nsibl e for the safety o f all vehicl e occ u
pants and espec iall y for ch ild ren. Ther e
fore:
Safety belt pretensioners
-permit anyone to assume an in
correct sittin g posi tion in the ve hicle w hile
WARNING
I mproperly worn belt s in crease the risk
of seriou s per sonal injury and d eath whenever
a ve hicl e is being use d.
• Always make sure that all vehicle occu
pants are co rrec tly res trai ned and sta y in a
corr ect sea ting position whenever the vehicl e
i s bein g use d.
• Always read and heed all WARN INGS and
other import ant inform ation
1 7 .
How safety belt pretensioners work
In a frontal collision, the safety belts for the front and rea r outboard* seating po
s itions are tightened up automatically.
The retractor s for the driver and fron t pas seng er
po sition s (r ear o utboar d seat ing positions only
i n co mb ination
op tional sid e air ba gs for
th e ou tboa rd rear sea tin g po sit ions ) are
eq uipped with b elt pre1 ensioner s. S en sors ac ti
v at e th e belt pre te n sion ers in frontal colli sion s
whe n dec ele ra ti on is high enough. Th is tig ht ens
t h e belt and ta kes up belt sla ck.
up s lack help s to re duce forwa rd o ccup a111 mov e
m ent durin g a co llis ion .
The belt p re te n sioncr can onl y be activ at ed
o n ce.
Th e belt pr ete nsion er can be
in a frontal, s ide or rea rcn cl colli sion. It will n ot acti
va te in a ro llo ve r in which side airb ags do not
d eplo y.
Note
Neve r le t th e belt re main ov er a re a r seat back
that has been fo lded forward . T he re ar belt p re - t
en sio ne r• c an be a cti vated unn ec es sar ily in a
co llision and will then have to be rep laced .
Tips
• When the s afety b elt pre ten sion cr is acti
v at ed, a fin e du st is re lea sed . Thi s is no rm al and
i s
c ause d by fire in th e ve hicl e.
• Applicab le s afet y req uirem en ts mu st be ob
s e rved when th e veh icle or comp onents of the
sy ste m are scrapp ed .
A qualified dealers hip i s fa
mi liar w ith th es e re g ul atio ns and w ill be pl ease d IO pa ss o n informat ion to yo u.
• B e sur e
to obse rv e all saf ety , e nvironm e111al
an d other r eg ul ation s if t he v eh icl e or ind iv idual
pan s of the sys tem, particu lar ly th e s afety b elt or
a irba g. are to be dispo sed. We re co mmen d yo u
h av e yo ur auth orized Vo lkswagen pe rform thi s
s ervi ce for yo u.
Safety belts 25
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