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
sa ril y an indica tio n of whe ther an airb ag sh ou ld
in fla te or not.
is not poss ible defin e a ran ge o f ve hicl e
s peeds w ill cove r every po ssibl e kind and
ang le of im pac t will always trigger the air
ba gs, s ince cir cum stances will vary consi d
e ra bl y betw ee n one c olli sion and anoth er. Im
fa ctors includ e, for exa mpl e, !h e (h ard or sof t) of o bj ec t th e ca r h its, the
a n gle of impact, ve hicl e sp eed, The fron t a ir
bag s w ill also inflat e in side or rear colli
s io ns. or in rollo vers .
A lway s re m emb er: Airbag s will d eploy only
once, and o nly in certain k inds of collisions.
Your safet y belt s are always
offe r protecin those si!U alion s in which airbag s no t
s upp osed depl oy, or whe n th ey have a lread y
dep loyed ; fo r exa mple, when your ve hicle str ikes
or is
by ano th er after fir s! co llisio n.
Thi s is ju st
of th e re a so ns w hy an air bag is a
s upp lem ent ary and is not a sub sli!Ule
for a sa fe ty belt. The airba g sys te m wo rks mo st
effecti vely w hen use d with the safety belt s.
Th erefo re, a lways properly wear yo ur safe ty
be lts
13,
WARNING
Silt ing lo o clo se lo !he stee ring w hee l or in
s trumen t pane l wil l d ec rease !he effe ctive ness
of the air b ags a nd
will incr ease th e risk of per
so nal injury in a co llision .
• Never sit clo ser
JO in ch es (25 cm )
injur y is mu ch hi gher.
• You
will also rece ive serious injuries co uld even be killed if you are up agai nst th e
28 Airbag syst em
Cl WARN ING (continued)
airba g or too close to it when it infl ates -even
w ith an Advanced Airbag.
• To re duc e the ri sk of injury when an airb ag
infl ates, always wear saf ety belt s pro perl y
19, "Safe ty belts".
• Always make certain t hat c hildren age 12or
you nger alway s ride in th e rea r seat. If
dren a re not properly res train ed , th ey may be
se vere ly in jur ed or killed an air b ag in
fl ates .
• Neve r let ch ild ren r ide unr estrai ned or im
pr op erly restrained in the vehicl e. Adju st th e
front seats prope rly.
• Nev er rid e w ith the backres t recl ined.
• Alway s sit as far as poss ible from th e
s tee rin g w hee l or the in strum ent pan el
4.
• Always s it uprig ht wit h yo ur back agains t
the back res t of you r seat.
• Never place y our feet o n th e in strument
pane l o r o n th e se al. Alway s kee p both fee t on
th e floor in fro nt of the sca t to help pr eve nt se
riou s in ju ries to th e legs and hips if th e air bag
in flates.
• Neve r recl ine th e fro nt p asse nge r's sea l to
tr anspo rt objects . Items can also move into
th e area of th e sid e a irba g or the
airbag
durin g braking or in a sudd en maneuver.
jec ts near th e airb ags can become projectile s
and cause injury when an airba g infl ates .
WARNING
Airb ags that have deplo yed in a cras h mu st b e
re placed.
• U se on ly orig inal e quipm ent air bag s ap
pro ved by V olk swage n and insta lle d by
tra in ed tec hni cian w ho has the nece ssary
t oo ls an d dia gno stic equ ip m en t lo prope rly
r e p lace any airbag in your ve hicl e and assure
sys tem effect ive ness in a
• Nev er permit salva ged or r ec ycl ed airb ags
t o be in sta lled in your
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
Booklet 2.1 Safety first
Fo r thi s reaso n, a n d becaus e th e ba ck sea t is the
sa fest place for childr en -whe n properl y re
s train ed accordi ng to thei r age and size - we
s trongl y re comm end that childr en always sit in
th e ba ck seat
51, "C hild safety" .
WARNING
A child in a rca nvar d-fa cin g child scat in
s talled o n front passeng er sca t w ill be seri
ous ly injured and can be kil le d if th e front
airbag inflat es -even w ith a n Advanced A irbag
Syste m.
• The inflating a irbag w ill hit the c hild sc at
or infant carrie r wit h grea t for ce and
will smash the c hild sea t a nd chil d aga inst the
backre st, ce nter arm rest, doo r or roo f.
• A lways insta ll rear-faci ng c hild scats on the
rea r sc at.
• If yo u mu st insta ll a rea rwa rd facin g child
se at on the front passenger scat because of ex
cep tional circum stan ces an d the PASS ENGER
AIR BA G OFF light docs not come on and sta y
o n , imm ediate ly in sta ll th e rea r-fa cing child
sca t in a rear seating pos ition and have the
a irb ag sys te m in spe cte d by yo ur Volkswage n
d ea le r.
WARNING
A n imp roperly in sta lled chi ld re straint can in
t er fer e wi th th e airbag as it deplo ys an d ser i
o usly injur e or eve n kill the child -even with
an Advanced Airb ag Syste m . If , in excep tio nal
ci rc um sta nces, you mu st in sta ll a fo nvar d
faci ng ch ild restrain t on th e front p assenge r's
sca t:
• Forward -facing child scats in stalled o n the
fr ont pa ssenger's scat may interfe re w ith the
de ploy men t o f th e a irbag an d ca use se rious
per so nal inju ry to th e child.
• Always mak e sure the fon vard -faci ng sca t
h as been d esig ned an d
by its manu
facture r fo r u se on front scat w ith a pa s
senge r fr ont and side ai rbag.
• Alwa ys care fully fo llo w the manufact ure r's
in stru ctions provid ed w ith th e chil d se at or
ca rri er.
30 Airbag syste m
WARN ING (cont inued)
• Never put the forward -facin g child re
s tra int up against or very near th e in strum ent
p anel.
• Always move the pass enger scat int o its re
ar mos t pos it ion in th e sea t's fore a nd aft ad
ju stm en t ra nge, as far away from the airbag as
po ssible before installin g th e fon va rd -facing
c h ild restraint. The backrest must b e ad juste d
t o an upright pos ition.
• Always make sur e tha t nothin g pr even ts
th e front passe nge r's sca t from being mo ved
to
r ear most pos ition in its fore a nd ad
ju stm ent ran ge.
• Neve r place a dditional items on th e sca t
that can in crease th e to tal weigh t regis tere d by
the weig ht-se nsing mat and can ca use inju ry
in a cras h.
• Make sure th at the PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF ligh t co mes on and stay s on all th e tim e
w henever the ignitio n is sw itch ed on.
• If th e PASS ENGER AIR BAG OFF light doe s
n ot co me on and stay on, imm edi atel y in sta ll
th e for ward- facing child seat in a rea r se ating
po sition a nd have the airb ag syste m insp ec ted
b y you r Vo lkswagen dea ler.
WARNING
To re du ce the ri sk of serious inju ry, mak e sure
th at the PASS ENGE R AIR BAG OFF light is on
w heneve r a c hild res tra int is in stalled on th e
fro nt pass enger seat and the ig ni tio n i s
s witc hed on.
• If th e PASS ENGER AIR BAG OFF lig ht docs
not sta y on, p erform th e ch ec ks desc ribed
39, "Mo nitor ing th e Adv anced A irbag
Sys tem".
• Ta ke the child re stra int off the front pas
s e n ger sea t and in stall it pro perl y at on e of the
rear seat po siti ons if th e PA SSE NG ER AIR BAG
OFF lig ht d ocs no t stay o n.
•
th e airbag system inspe cted by yo ur
Vo lkswage n dealer imme diately
• J\lways carefu lly fo llow i nstru cti ons from
c hild restraint manufactur ers w hen insta llin g
ch ild
Booklet 2.1 Safety first
Front airbag system -the basics
Description of front airbags
The airbag system can provide supplemental protection to properly restrained
front seat
Fig. 21 L ocotion of d rive r airbag: in steer ing whee l
Your is fru 11L
"A dva nced Airbag in co mplian ce United Stales Fede ral Moto r Veh icle Safery dard (FMVSS ) 208 as applicab le a l time your
ve hicle was manufac tu re d . Yo ur vehicle is also
e quipped
side airbags fo r driver and seal passe nge r. Your vehicl e ma y also be wit h op tional sid e ai rb ags for re ar board T he belt s for front and
r ea r ou tboa rd seats equipped with opti onal side
a irbags have "pretensioner s" that help to take
s lack
of th e belt sys tem. The pret en sio ners
ar e also activa te d by the ele ctroni c control
for airbag syste m.
The front a nd outb oard r ea r seats
belts
al so hav e loa d limit ers to help reduce force s
appli ed to body in a crash.
Th e airbag for
driver is in steering whee l
h ub 2 1 an d airb ag for th e fr o nt pas
se nger is in in strum ent panel 22. Th e location of airba gs is marked
There is a yo u n eed to know airb ags
in your vehicle. \V e urge you rea d detail ed
in forma tion airbags, safety and child
safety in this and th e oth er bookl ets th at mak e
Fig. 22 Location of front passenger's airbag: in the
instrume nt pa nel
up 1he ow ner 's literawre. Please be s ure to h eed WARNI NGS -th ey arc ext remely for your safet y and the sa fety of yo ur pass enger s,
especially infants and sm all childr en.
WARNING
Ne ver re ly o n air bags alone for protection.
• Even w hen th ey deplo y, airbags provide
on ly s uppl em en tal prot ection.
• Airbag work mo st effectivel y when used
w ith prop erly wo rn safety belts.
• Th erefore, always wear your safety belts
and make sur e
everybody in your vehicle
is properly re strained.
WARNING
A person on front pa ssenger seat , espe
ci ally infants and sma ll childr en, w ill rec eive
se riou s injuri es and can even be killed by
being too close to lhe airbag when
it inflat es.
• Although
Advanced Airbag Syste m in
yo ur vehicl e is designed to turn off the
passenger airbag an infant or a small child in
o ne of the child restraints used to cer tify
Adva nced A irbag Sys te m i s on pas-
Airbag system 31
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.