2008 VOLKSWAGEN GOLF child restraint

the elec tronic control page 41, SENGER
Always remember. a child seat or infa nt carrier
in stalled on th e fron t seat may the rapidly pas senger's airbag in a frontal collision. The
airbag could greatly re duce the effectiveness of the c hild restraint and even seriou sly injure th e
c hild during
stro ng ly recommend that children always sit in
th e back page 53,
infant in a seat stall ed on th e front passe nge r seat ously injured and can be killed if the front
airbag inflates eve n with an
System.
The inflating airba g will hit the child seat or infant carrier with great force and will
smas h th e c hild seat and c hild against the backrest, cent e r armre st, door or roof.
Always install r earwa rd-facing child seats on the rear scat.
If you must install a rearward facing child seat on the front passe nger scat becau se of
light docs not com e on and stay on, imme diatel y
your authorized swage n dealer or qualified workshop.
terferc with the ously inju re or even the child -eve n with
a n A irb ag
in exceptio nal circumstances, you must
in stall a fonvard-facing c hild restraint on the front passe nger's sca t:
-
Fon vard-facin g seats install ed on the front passenger's seat may interfer e
with the deplo ym ent of the air bag and cause seriou s personal injury to the child .
2.1 Safety first
turer's instructions provid ed with the c hild
sea t or carrier.
- Neve r
put the fonvard-faci ng c hild
ment panel.
- Always move the passe nge r sca t into its
rearmost pos ition in the scat's fore and aft adjustment range, as far away from the airbag as possi ble before installing ward-facing
scat that can increase the total weight te re d by the weig ht-sensing mat and ca n
ca use injury in a cras h.
Make sure that the BAG light comes on and stays on all the time w henever the igniti on i s switc hed on.
th e BAG light does not com e on and stay on , imm ediately in stall the fonv ard-facing child scat in a rea r seatin g
position and have the airba g sys tem inspec ted
by your authorized Volkswagen dealer or qualified workshop.
To reduce the ris k of se rious injury, make su re that tltc light is on whenever a child restraint is install ed on th e
front passenger scat and the ig niti on is switched on.
the d ocs not stay on, perform th e c hecks descr ibed the Advanc ed
Take the c hild restra int off the front senger seat and in stall it properly at one of the
r ear sea t position s if th e BAG light does not sta y on.
Airbag system 31

Therefore, always wear your safety belts and make sure that everybody in your vehicl e
i s properly re strained.
A person o n the front passenger seat, cially infants and small
Although the Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle is designed to turn orr the front passenger airbag if an in fant or a small child in one of the child restraints used to certify the Advanced Airbag System is on the front
tion s is impossible in all conceivabl e situa-
Applies to vehicles: with advanced front airbag system
Advanced front airbag system
Your vehicl e is equipped with a front Advanced
A irbag System in complia nce with States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard as applicable the time your hicle was manufactured.
The front Advanced AirbagSystem supplemems the s afety belt s to provide additional protection
for the driver's and front passenge r' s head s and upper bodi es in frontal crashes. The airbags
straint system in your vehicle. Always remember that the a irba g system can only help to protect if you are sittin g upright, wearin g your safe ty belt and wearing it properly. This is why
yo u and your passengers must always be erly restrained, not just because the law requi res you to be.
The Adva nced Airbag System in yo ur ve hicl e has been to meet the ment s for 3 and 6 yea r-old childr en (as defined
in the s tandard) on the passenger sid e and very
The Advanced AirbagSyste m can deploy in accordance with the
fant restrained in one of the fonvard facing or rearward facing child seats wit h which
plo yment arc met.
Accident statistic s have shown that
For their own safety, all children, especially 12 years and younger, should always ride in the back properly restrained for their age and
small adult s on the driver side. ployment occurs in those crashes th at tak e place
troni c control unit. The low risk deployment teria are intended to help reduce the ris k of jury through interact ion with th e front airbag
t hat can occur in these collisions, for example.
b y
being too close to the steering wheel and
deplo yme nt to occur. the PASSENGER light mus t be orr "Monito ring the Advanced Airbag
year old. restrained in one of the rearward-facing or forward-facing
child restraims (listed in Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard with which the Advanced
A irbag System in yo ur veh icle was the PASSENGER BAG light mayor may not come on. Wh en the PASSENGER light is off, the fron t airbag on the passe nge r side may or may not deploy depending o n the nature
Airbog system 33

a small child that is heavier than a typica l
I ye ar-old infant in one o f th e child restraint s
w ith whi ch th e A dvan ced Airbag was page 55.
a child who has outgrown child res traints is
o n
a small adult or te enage r is on th e front se nger seat.
a passe nge r w ho is not sitting upright with
thei r back against a non -re clined backr est with
th eir feet on th e ve hicl e floor in front of the seat occupant seatin g is on t h e fr o nt passenger seat.
re quir em ent s of th e to turn off the fron t a irb ag
f o r infant s 12 months old and younger w ho are
re strained on the fro nt passenger seat in ch ild
restraint s that are liste d in the Standard re str aint s and Adva nce d
requires the front airb ag on th e passenge r sid e to be turned off if th e tota l weig ht
r eg is tered on th e front passe nger is less
th an a inf ant up to about one year of age is s tra ined on the front passe nger seat in one of the rea rward-faci ng or for wa rd-fa cin g inf ant str aint s listed in Fed eral Moto r Vehicle
page 55
The BAG
light does no t come o n and stay on . th e front airbag on the passen ge r
s id e has not been turned off by th e co ntrol u nit and can deploy if th e control unit se nses an pact that meets th e co nditio ns s tored in its page
Alwa ys remember: Even thoug h yo ur veh icle is equipp ed with Adva nced Airb ags, the sa fest
34 Airbag system
pla ce fo r childr en i s properl y restrained on th e back seat. b e sure to read the important
information in the sections tl1at follo w and be
sure to heed all of th e WARNINGS.
To reduce th e risk of serious injury when an airbag inflates , always wear safety belts erly .
You will also receive serious injuries and could even be killed if you are up against the airbag or too close to it when it infl ates eve n
with an Advance d Airbag
An infant or child in a rearward-facing child
seat installed on the fron t passenger seat will be seriously injure d and can be killed if th e
front airbag inflate s eve n with an Advanc ed
Airbag System.
Although
ment is impossibl e in all conce ivab le tions that may happen during th e usefu l lif e of your ve hicle.
The infl atin g airbag hit the child seat or infant ca rrier with great force and will
s m as h th e child seat and child against backres t, center armrest, door or roof.
straint s in the rear seat.
front passe nge r scat because of ceptional circumstances and the
sh op.
terfer e with the airbag as it deploys and seri -

Forward-facing child seats insta lled on the front passenger's seat may interfere with the
d eployment of the airbag and cause serious
personal injury to the child.
Always make sure the fonvard-facing seat has been designed and certified by it s fa cturer for use on a front scat with a senger front and side airbag.
Alway s carefully follow the manufacturer's instructions provided with the child seat or carrier.
Never put the fonvard-facing child
Always move the passenger seat into its arrnost position in the seat's fore and aft
(cont;nued)
justment range, as far away from the airbag as poss ible before installin g the fonvard-facing
c hild restraint. The backrest must be adjusted to an upright position.
Always make sure that nothing prevents the front passenger's seat from being moved to the rearmost position in its fore and aft justment range.
Never place additional it ems on the seat that can increase the total weight registered b y the weight-sensing mat and can cause injury in a crash.
Advanced Airbag
trolunit whent h e igniti on i s on. The control unit monitors the Advanced AirbagSystem and turns
th e airbag indicato r light on w hen malfunction in the syste m components is detec te d. The tion of the a irbag indicator light is described in
g reater detail below. Because the front
vanced Airbag you must take car e to prevent it from being dam aged. Damage to the seat m ay prevent the Advanced Airb ag for th e
front passenger seat from doing its job in a
crash.
The front
Advanced Airbag System consists of the following:
Cras h sensors in the front of the ve hicl e th at measure ve hicle accelera tion /deceleratio n to
prov ide informatio n t o the Advanced Airbag
Sys tem about the severity of the cras h.
An electronic control unit, with integra ted crash sensors for fr ont and side impacts. The control u nit whethe r to fire just one or b oth stages o f the front a irbags based o n the formation received from the cra sh sensors. The control unit also w hethe r th e safety belt pretensioners should be acti va ted.
A dual -stage Ad vanced Airbag with gas
A dual-stage Adva nced Airb ag and gas
A weight-sensi ng under uphols tery
paddi ng of the front passenger seat c u shion that m eas ure s th e total weight on the seat. The matio n registered is sent continuous ly to regulate deployment of th e front Advanced Airbag on the passenger side.
An airbag monitoring system and indicator light in the in strument page
Airbag system 35

The PASSENGER light in the center of the instrument panel fig. 25) that tells yo u when the front Advanced
Airbag on the passeng er side been turned
orr.
A se nso r in side the safe ty belt latch for the
front seat passenger to measure th e ten sion on th e sa fet y belt. The ten sion on th e safety belt and th e weight regis ter ed by the we ig ht -se nsin g mat help the control unit
page
A senso r in the safety belt lat ch for the driver and for the front seat passenger that senses whether that safe ty belt is latch ed or n ot and tran smit s thi s information to the elec troni c
Damage to the front passenger seat ca n
Never remove the passenge r or driver
scat from the vehicle.
Never re m ove the uphol stery from the front passenger seat.
Never disassemble or remove parts from
th e seat or disconnect wires from it.
Never carry sharp object s in your pockets or place them on the seat. If the sen si ng m at in the passenger scat i s tured it cannot work properly.
36 Airbag system
(continued)
Neve r carry things on you r lap or jects on th e passenger seat. items can the and send the wrong information
to the airbag con trol unit.
Never store items under the front
under the passenger scat could be damaged, pre ve nting them and th e airbag system from working properly.
Never place seat cove rs or r eplace ment ho ls tery on th e front seats that have no t been
specifically approved by Volk swagen .
covers can prevent the Advanced
Airbag from recognizing child straint s or occupants on the front passenger seat and prevent the sid e a irbag in the seat backr es t fr om deploying properly.
Neve r u sc cushions, pillows, blankets or sim ilar items on th e front passenger seat. T he addition al paddi ng w ill prevent the
If yo u must use
BAG light comes on and sta ys on whenever the child restraint is in stalled on the front (>as-senger scat.
If t he BAG stay on, immediatel y in stall
c hil d restrain t in rear seati ng position and have the airbag system inspected by your thorized Volkswagen dealer o r qualifi ed
wor kshop

Fig. 25 Section from the instrumen t pone l: PAS­SENGER BAG OFF
The PASSENGER BAG fig . 25.
The PASSENGER come on and stay on to
burns out. the airbag monitoring indicator
not change the the front airbag on the passenger side works, it no longer be possible to usc the PASSENGER BAG light to verify that the airbag on/off status is correc t for the occupant on the front passenger seat. Have the a irbag system in ­
specte d immediately by your authorized Volk­swagen deal er or qualifi ed workshop.
The PASSENGER blink for
up to long 9 seconds when:
the ignition is switched on and
the re is a change in the weight measured b y the weight-sensing mat in the fro nt passenger sca t that determines w hethe r the Advanced
A irbag on the passenger side can d eploy or be lllrned off.
Af te r
the light stops
light is proper for the siz e. age, and weight of the occupant on the front passenger seat.
ways make sure that th e safety for the fron t passenger scat is prope rly fastened.
The PASSENGER BAG light show the correc t status o f th e front Advanced Airbag on the passenger side
stay on if the front passenger seat is no t occup ied,
s ta y on if the combined weight of an in­
fant up t o about one year of age in one of the reanvard-fa cing or fonva rd-faci ng child re­
straints in Federa l Motor with whic h th e Advanc ed Airbag
Sys te m in your vehicl e was certified. is regis­tered by the weight-sensing mat in the front pas­senger seat. For a listin g of the chil d restraints
t h a t
were used to certi fy your vehicle's compli­a nce with the Safety
registered by the weight­sensing
The BAG light must come
on and stay on if the ignition is on and
a car bed has been o n the front pas­senger seat. or
a reanvard-facingchild restraint has been in­
a forward-facing child restra int has been in ­
and if the weig ht reg istered on the front pas­senger seat is equal to or less than the combine d weight o f a ty pical year-o ld infant restrained in one of the reanvard-facin g or fonvard-facing c hild restraints in Federall'v1 otor Safe ty in your vehicl e certified.
the front passenger seat is not occupi ed . the
front passenge r a irbag BAG stay on. Never on the fr o nt passenger seat, the safest p lace for in any kind of page
page 53,
Airbag system 41

Booklet 2.1 Safety first
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG light comes
on ...
If th e PASSENGER AIR BAG comes on
w hen one o f th e conditio ns listed above is m et,
b e sure to check the light ta in that th e PASSENGER AIR BAG
does not appear and not stay on
reactivate th e sys te m by turning the ign ition
orr a nd th e n turning it on again ;
re move and th e child re stra int. Make
sure that the c hild restraint is pro p erly
ufacture r's in str u ctions;
make sure th at the conve rtibl e lockin g ture on the safety
Th e belt must no t be loose or have loops of slack so tha t th e sensor b elow the safe ty belt lat ch on the sea t can do its job 63.
m ake sure th at things that m ay increase th e weight o f the chil d and ch ild seat are not b e in g transp orted on the front passenger seat;
make sure tha t th e sa fe ty belt te nsion sen sor is no t blocke d. the sa fe ty la tc h on the
fr o nt passenger seat back and fo rth,
make sure that no thin g can int erf ere w ith the
safe ty belt buckles and that they are no t str ucte d.
If a strap o r tether is being used t o tie th e
c hi ld seat to th e front passenger scat, make sure tha t it is no t so tight that it c auses the sen sin g m at m easure m ore weig h t than is o n the seal.
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG light
light docs not com e o n and does no t stay on continuous ly (when th e ig niti on i s swi tc h ed on).
42 Airbag sys te m
take the c hild restrai nt off the front passenger scat and
your autho rized Volkswagen dealer o r q ualified wor ks hop immedia te ly.
move th e c hild to a rear seat posit io n and make su re that the
light should come on
The PASSENGER AIR BAG should NOT
come o n when the ign ition i s on and an adult is
s ilting in p ro per position on the front pa sse nger seat. If the PASSENGER AIR BAG lig ht comes o n and on u nder these circ um -sta nces. make su re that:
the adul t on the front passenge r scat is seat e d on the cente r o f the seat cushio n with
h is or her back up against th e back rest and th e
b ackres t is not page
the adult is not taking weigh t orr the seat by
hold ing on to the passenger assis t h andle above the fro nt passenger door or supporting th eir weig ht o n the armrest or hold ing o nt o the assist handle on th e in strument
th e safe ty belt is bei ng properly worn and that th e re is n ot in the safe ty belt
webb ing.
a ccessory seat cove rs or c u shions o r other th ings that m ay cause
passe nger seat.
is mov in g. the PASSENGER AIR BAG light blinks for about 5 seconds to catch th e driver's it is
s a fe to do s o and c heck the steps described

replace any airbag in your vehicle and assure system effectiveness in a crash.
Booklet 2.1 Safety first
Never permit salvaged or recycled ai rb ags
to be installed in your
low ering th e veh icle, changing the
s tiffness of th e suspe nsion , including the spring s, suspe nsion struts, shock absorber s etc.
ca n change th e forces that are meas ured by th e
air bag senso rs and sen t to the electron ic control
unit. s u sp ensio n chang es for ample, increase the force level s m eas ured by the
sensors and make the airb ag system deploy in
cras hes in wh ic h it wou ld no t dep loy if th e
c h a nges had no t bee n made. kind s of ch a nges may reduce the force leve ls mea sured by the senso rs and preve nt the airbag from ploying whe n it should.
The Advanced Airbag will not work the
way it s houl d if th e o ptional safety belt exte nder is not removed from the safety belt latch when
the seat i s occup ie d and the sa fe ty belt is not bei ng used. Leaving th e extender attach ed to the safety belt buck le when the front seat is
s ig na l the airbag control unit that the front seat is occup ied and that the sa fety belt is being used. The elec tron ic co ntro l unit for the airbag system
will then rece ive incorrect information that will cause the safe ty belt pretens ioner to deploy
has deployed can not be re pair ed.
T he entir e safety belt must be rep laced . For that
rea son, a lways re move the sa fety belt exte nde r
w hen it is not nee ded and stow it sa fely
23. In ad d ition, the safet y belt extender must never be used to secure child rest raint s to
th e front passenge r seat.
T he se ns
ors in the safety belt buckle for the driver and front passenge r seat tell th e troni c control module if the safe ty belt is latc hed or If th e sa fe ty belt is being used, the front airbag
will deploy
at a sl ightly highe r rate of hi cle dece leration than if the sa fe ty belt is not
b eing used . Therefore , in a particular collision, it
i s possible that an airbag will not deplo y at a seatin g position where the safety belt is being
u sed but infla te at the position where the safe ty belt is not bei ng use d. It is important that n othing interfere with the safety belt buck les so
that the sensors can send the correct tion abou t safety belt use to the elec tron ic
C hanging the ve hicl e's suspension including
us e of unapproved tire-rim combinations ca n change Advanced Airbag performance and crease the risk of se rious personal injury in a
c ras h.
Never install s uspension components that do not h ave the same performance ist ics as th e components originally in stalled on your ve hicl e.
Never use tire-rim combin a ti o ns th at have not been approved by Volkswage n.
Leaving the optional safety belt extender tached to th e safety belt latch on the front senger seat when the safety belt is not being
u se d will prevent the Adva nced fro m functioning properl y and ca n in crease the risk of se riou s pe rso nal injury in a
Always remove the safety belt extende r
w hen it is not needed and stow it safely whe n
it is not bei ng used with the safety belt.
Never use th e safety belt exte nder to secure
a c hild restraint at any seating position.
buckle and the cente r conso le can cause the sensors
Airbag system 45