Booklet 2.1 Safety first
i s poss ible an airba g not d epl oy a
se ating p osition where th e s afely belt is being
u se d
will inflat e at the pos ition where b elt is noc be ing use d. It i s thal
nothin g im erfer e belt bu ck les so
th al th e se nsors can se nd corr ect in forma ab oul safe ty be lt use th e e lec troni c co n
t ro l
WARN ING
Chan gin g th e ve hicle's suspension including
use of unapproved tire-rim combinations can
c hange Advan ced Airbag performanc e and in
creas e th e risk of serious persona l inju ry in a
c ra sh.
• Never install sus pens ion co mpon ents that
do not have the same performance characte r
i st ics as the components originally installed
on yo ur vehicle.
• Never u se tire -rim combination s that h ave
not been approved by VOLKSWAGEN.
Side airbags
Applies to vehicles: with side airbags
Description of side airbags
WARNING
Leaving the optiona l safety belt extender at
t ached to the safety belt latch on the front pas
senger seat when the safety belt is not bein g
u sed w ill prevent the Advanced Airbag System
fr om funct ion ing proper ly and can increa se
th e r isk of se rious perso nal injur y in a co lli
sio n.
• Alway s remove the sa fety belt exte nder
when it is 1101 n ee ded a11d stu w i I safe ly it is not bein g used with the safet y belt.
• Nev er use th e safe ty belt extender to sec ure
a chi ld restraint at any seating positi on.
WARN ING
Item s stored between the safe ty be lt buckle
and the center co nso le can ca use th e sensor s
in the buckle to send the wro ng information to
elec troni c control module and preven t the
Advanced A irbag system from working prop
er ly.
• Always make s ure that nothing can inter
fere with th e safety belt buckl es a nd that they
a re not obstructed.
Th e sid e airba g system ca n provide supplem ental prot ection to prop erl y re
s train ed fron t seat o ccupan ts.
Fi g. 26 Side airbag in driver seot
44 Airbag system
The sid e airba gs are in paddin g in fro nt seats 26 . Yo ur vehicl e m ay a lso be
eq uipped with optional sid e airb ags for th e re ar
p os itions. Th e gen eral l ocatio n is
id entifi ed b y th e wo rd in th e uppe r re
g io n of the b ackres ts
The side airb ag sys tem basica lly co nsis ts of:
• The elec troni c control m odul e and ext ernal
s id e imp act se nso rs
• The two sid e airba gs loc ated in the sid es o f
ch e fro nt b ackre sts
• Th e airba g warning
in cluste r
Booklet 3.2 Tips and Advice
8 WARNING
• Alw ays remembe r that vehicle alterations
or modifi cation s can affec t the function of the
ABS, BAS, EDL and ESP syste ms. Exampl es of
t h ese a ltera ti ons or modifications include a
diff ere nt wheel/tire combination and brake or
c h ass is modification s =q1age 28, "Repairs and
t ec hni cal modifications".
Electronic differential lock {EDL)
WARNING (continued)
• Changing the vehicl e suspension or usin g
unapp roved tire I rim combination can
c h ange the way the ABS, BAS, EDL and ESP
sys tems work and re duc e th eir elJect iveness.
• The eff ec tiveness of ABS is a ls o d etermined
b y th e tir es on your vehicle
51, "Tires
and wheels"
The elect roni c differential lock helps red uce th e los s of traction if a wheel starts
s pinnin g.
T he E DL help s th e ve hicle mov ing, accel
era te and climb a gradient when t he going ge ts
s li pp ery where m ov ing ahea d ma y otherw ise be
diffi cult or eve n im possibl e. EOL u ses the AB S
se nso rs to monito r th e spe ed of t he w hee ls.
EDL works on ly when the eng ine is runnin g.
EDL can help to ba la nce out differen ces in the
rotat io n of the w hee ls of a ppro ximat ely
JOO rpm
ca use d by sli ppery gro und surface on side of the vehicl e. It do es thi s by braking th e whee l
t h a t h as los t tracti on and d is tributing more
d riv ing fo rce to the oth er d riven wheel v ia th e
diff ere nt ia l
E DL is ac tive at sp ee ds up to a bout
50 m ph (80 km /h).
E DL autom atically shut s
to pr event th e di sc
brak e of th e w hee l from over heating
under excess ive loa ds. Th e ve hicle re main s op
era tional the
way as ve hicl e without EDL.
For this reas on. the dri ver is not in form ed tha t
t h e EDL has been shu t
ED L w ill auto matica lly sw itch on again when th e
br ake ha s coo le d down.
4 Smart technology
8 WARNING
Always adjus t your driving to the road, and weather condition s. Never le t th e ex tra
sa fe ty that EDL can prov ide te mpt you into
takin g extra ri sks.
• When accelerating on a slippery surfa ce,
for example on ice a nd snow , pr ess the acce l
e rator care full y. De spite ED L, th e w hee ls may
s ta rt to spin lead ing to a loss of vehicle control.
8 WARNING
• Always remember that vehicl e alt erations
o r modifi cation s can affect the fun ction of the
AB S, BAS, EDL and ESP sys tems . Exa mple s of
th ese alt era tion s or modifications include a
di!Tcrenl wheel/tire combination and brake or
chass is modifications =q1age 28, "Repair s and
t ec hni cal m odi fication s".
• Changin g t he vehicle su spen sio n or using
u napprove d tire
I rim comb ination ca n
c hang e the way the ABS , BAS, EDL and ESP
systems work and reduce their
effective ness
Booklet 3.2 Tips and Advice
Repairs and technical modifications
Repairs and modifications must always be carried out according to the manufac
turer's specifications
Unauthorized modifications to th e e lectronic
component s or software in the vehicle may
cause
E lectro nic comp o
nents are linked toget her in networks and other
sys tems may be nega tive ly affected by improper
m odificat ions or improperly installed accesso
ries. Thi s can se riously impair safety and lead to
excessive wear o f components.
Changing the vehicle's sus pens io n system can
change the way that the Advanced
Sys tem performs in a crash. For example, usin g
t ir e-rim combinations not approved by Volk
swagen, lower ing the vehicle, changi ng the stiff
ness of the suspension, including the spring s,
suspension struts, shock absorbers can chan ge
the forces that are measured by the airbag sen
so rs and sent to the con trol unit. Some su spen
s ion changes can, for exa mpl e, incr ease the force
levels measured by the sensors and make the
airbag system dep loy in crashes in which it
wou ld not deploy if the changes had not been
made. Other kinds of changes may reduce the
force levels measured by the sensors and pre
vent the airbag from deploying when it sho uld.
We recommend that all necessary work be per
formed by an authorized Volkswagen deale r
using genuine Volkswagen parts ®.
WARNING
Imp roperly performed modifications or other
work that is not properly performed on your
ve hicle can cause malfunctions leading to ac
cidents and serious pe rsonal injury.
• Never install suspension components that
d o not have the same performance character
i stics as the components originally installed
on your vehicle. Never use tire-r im comb ina
tions th at have not been approved by Volk
swage n.
WARNING
Improper care, servicing and repa ir proce
dures can increase the risk of personal injury
a nd death by preventing an a irbag from de
p lo ying w hen needed or deploying an airbag
unexpected ly.
• Chang ing th e vehicle's su spens ion in
cluding use of unapproved t ire- rim combina
tions can change Advanced Ai rbag perfor
mance and increase the risk of serious per
sona l inju ry in a crash.
• Be sure to read and heed the info rmatio n
a n d all WARN INGS
2. 1 "Safety
fir st", c hapte r "Airbag
28 Acc essories, new part s, repairs and modification s