
WARNING (continu ed)
with an Advanced Airbag System . A chi ld will be seriously injur ed and can be killed when
the infl atinga irb aghil s the child seal or infant
ca rri er w ith grea t force and smashes the c hild
sca t and child against the backres t, cen te r
arm res t, door or roo f.
• Alwa ys install rea r-facing child seats o r
fant carriers on the rear scat.
• Never install a rear-facing child r estraint in
the forward-facing direction . These restra ints
a rc des ig n ed for th e speci al needs of infants
and very small children and cannot prote ct
th em prope rly if the seat is fo rwa rd-faci ng.
Convertible child seats
Booklet 2.1 Safety first
WARNING (continued)
• If you must in sta ll a rear ward facing child
sca t on the front passenger sca t because
cept ional circ umstances a nd th e PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF light does not come on and stay
on, immediately install the r ear -fa cin g child
sea t in a rear seating position and have the
a irba g sys tem inspected by your Volkswage n
d ea ler.
• Alwa ys re ad and heed all WARN INGS
w hen ever usin g a child r estrain ed in a vehicle
i s bein g used
13, "Safety belts", 27, "A irbag sys tem" and 51,
"C hild
Prop erl y convertible child seats can help protect toddlers and ch ildre n over
age one who weigh. between 20 and 40 lbs. (9 and 18 kg)
a crash..
Fig . 32 Smal ler child in a properly i nstalled for ·
wa rd -fac ing LATCH child restra int system on the rear
seot
- When using the vehicle safety belt to
s ta ll a c hild sea t, y o u must fir st ac tiva te the
s w itch able locki ng fea tur e on the sa fety
belt to prevent the child sea t from movin g
60 .
Pu sh the ch ild seat clown with your full
weig ht to get the sa fe ty belt rea lly tight so
tha t th e sea t cannot move forwa rd or sid e
ways more t han one inch (2.5 cm ) ..
Fa ste n th e safe ty belt that is part of the
c hild r estraint system securely and pu ll it
t ight so that yo u ca n onl y s lip one finger
unde rnea th th e sh o ulder belt portion at
the c hild's ch es t.
If a strap or teth er i s bein g used to tie
the c hild seat to the
passe nger scat,
make sur e th at i t is not so tight tha t it
ca uses the weig ht-sens ing mat to meas ure
more w eig ht tha n is ac tually on the seat.
A to ddl er o r child is usu ally 10 0 large for an restraint , if it i s mor e than on e year old and
we igh s mor e th an 22 lbs. (JO kg).
Todd lers and child re n b etween o ne and abo ut
fou r ye ars old and w eigh betwe en 22 lbs. (10 kg)
and 40 lbs. (18 kg) mu st alway s be properl y
str ai ned in a child scat ce rtifi ed fo r th eir size and
we ig ht 32 .
The airbag on the pa sse nge r side
th e
fr ont sea t a p ote nti ally dange rou s plac e for a
c hild to rid e. The fr ont scat is not th e safe st p lace
for a chi ld in a forward-facing child seat. It is a
v ery dangero us pla ce for an
or a large r
c hild in a r earward-faci ng se at.
Child safety 57

Booklet 2.1 Safety first
WARNING
Not usin g a chi ld sea t, u sing the wrong child
sea t or improp erly in stalling a child res tra int
in creases the risk of seriou s perso nal injur y
an d death in a co llision or o ther em erge ncy
s itu ation.
• Children on the front sea t of any car, even
wi th Advanced Airbags, can be se riou sly in
jured or even killed when an a irbag infl ates. A
c hild in a rearwa rd-facing child seat insta lled
o n the front passenger scat will be seriou sly
in jur ed and ca n be kiJJcd if the front airb ag i n
flates- even with an Advanced Airbag System.
• The inflating a irbag w ill hit th e child seat
or infant carri er w ith great fo rce an d will
s ma sh th e child seal and child agai nst th e
backrest, ce nter arm re st, door or roof.
• Alw ays insta ll r ear-facing child seats on the
r ea r sea t.
• If yo u mu st in sta ll a rear ward facing child
sca t on the front passe nger seat becau se of ex
ce ptional cir cum stances and the PASS ENGER
A IR BAG OFF light docs no t come o n and sta y
o n , immediately ins ta ll th e rear-facing chil d
sca t in a rea r seat ing
th e
a irba g system inspected by your Vo lkswagen
dealer.
• Always read a nd heed a ll WARN INGS
whe never usin g a chi ld restrained in a ve hicle
i s being use d
13, "Sa fety belt s", 27, "A irbag sys tem" and 51,
"C hild safety".
WARNING
An improp erl y in stalled child r estraint can in
t e rf ere w ith th e airba g as it deplo ys and ser i
ous ly injur e or even kill the chi ld
eve n with
a n Advanced Airb ag Syste m. If , in except io nal
circ umsta nc es, yo u mu st in stall a for ward-
58 Child safety
WARNING (continued)
facin g ch ild r estraint on the front pa ssenger' s
scat:
• Forward- faci ng c hild scats insta lled on the
front pa ssenger' s scat may in terfe re with t he
dep loyment of the airbag and ca use se rious
p ersona l injur y to th e c hild .
• Always make sur e the forward-facing scat
ha s been de signe d and
by its manu
fact urer for u se on a front seat
a pa s
se nge r front and sid e a irbag.
• Always carefu lly fo llow the manufactur er's
in struction s provided with th e child seat or
carr ie r.
• Neve r put th e forward-facing child re
s train t up against or very near th e in strument
pane l.
• Always move the passenger seat into it s re
armost position in the seat' s fo re an d aft ad
ju stment range, as far away from the air bag as
poss ible before insta llin g th e forward- facing
chi ld restra int. The b ackre st must be adjusted
to a n upright positi on .
• Always make sure that nothin g pre vents
the fro nt passe nge r's seal fro m being move d
to th e re armos t position in it s fore and
ad
ju stm ent range.
• Neve r pla ce ad ditional it em s on the sca t
that can in crease the tota l we ig ht reg iste re d by
t h e we ig ht- sensin g mat and can ca use injur y
in
cras h.
• Make s ure th at the PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF light comes o n and sta ys on all th e time
w hen eve r the ig nition i s switch ed on.
• If the PASSENGER AIR DAG
light docs
n o t co me on and stay on, immedia te ly in sta U
forwar d-faci ng c hild seal in a rea r sea ting
position a nd have the airb ag sys tem inspec te d
by your Volkswage n dea le r.

Booklet 2.1 Safety first
cause of exceptional circum stances, be properl y
r es train ed and as far away from th e airb ag as
poss ible.
lly keeping ro om b etwe en the child 's
body and the front of th e pa sseng er co mpart
the airbag can inflat e co mple te ly and pro
v id e s uppl emental protection in certain fr ontal
c olli sions.
WARNING
No t usi ng a booster seat, using the booster
scat improp erly, inco rrec tly in sta llin g
booster seat or u sin g the veh icle safety belt
improp erly increases the ri sk of ser iou s p er
sonal injury and death in a co llisio n or other
e m ergency s ituation. To help reduce the risk
of serious personal injury and/or death:
• Always make sure to position the should er
portion of the three-point belt over the middle
of chi ld's shoulder.
• Never le t the sh o uld er portion of the belt
r es t again st or across the neck, face, chin, or
th roa t of the ch ild.
• 1\Jway s make sure the lap belt portion of
th e thr ee-po int belt is worn s nug and pas ses as
l ow as possib le across the child 's pelvi s. Neve r
l et the belt pass over the soft abdome n.
• Failure
10 properly rou le safety belt s over chi ld's body will cause severe injuries in an ac
cident or other em erge ncy s ituation 13.
• Children on the front scat of any car, eve n
w ith Adva nced Ai rbags, can be serious ly in
jured or even killed when an airbag inflates. A
ch ild in a rea rw ard-fac ing ch ild sca t installed
WARNING (continu ed)
on the front pas senger seat w ill be serious ly
injured and can be killed if the front a irbag in
flates.
• Never le t a ch ild stand or kneel on any seat,
for examp le the front scat.
• Never let a child ride in the cargo area of
your ve hicle.
• Always remember that a child leaning for
ward, s itting sideways or out of po sition in any
way during a collisio n can be struc k by a de
ploying
Thi s w ill r esult in seriou s per
so nal injur y or death.
• If you must in stall a rcanvard facing child
sea t o n th e front passenger scat becau se of ex
cept ional circum stance s the PASSENGER AIR
BAG
OFF light must come on and stay on,
whenever the ignition is switch ed on .
• If th e PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF light does
not come on and stay on, perform th e checks
described
39.
• Take the child restr aint olT the front pa s
se nger seat a nd install it properly at one of the
r ear seat pos itions if the PASS ENGER AIR BAG
OFF light docs not stay on whenever the ig ni
tion i s switched o n.
• Always read and heed a ll WARN INGS
whenever using a c hild restrained in a vehicl e
i s bei ng used
13, "Sa fety belt s", 27, "A irb ag sys tem" and 51, "Child safe ty" .
Installing child restraint with a safety belt
Impo rtant t hin gs to kno w
Safety belts for the rea r seats and thefro nl passenger be locked with the
switchable lockingfeature to properly secur e child sea ts.
Th e retractors fo r th e rear sear safe ty belt s and
th e front passenger safety belt have sw itchabl e
l oc kin g fea tur e for chil d res traint s in addition to
emerge ncy lo ckin g fe a ture.
I f yo u need to insta ll a ch ild sea t
one of these
sea ting po sition s, y ou mus t first route the safe ty
b elt as dire cte d b y
manufactur er o f th e ch ild
60 Child safety
seat that you arc using th en act ivate the
convertib le lockin g fe ature.
Whe neve r a ch ild restrai nt is installed
a
sa fe ty th e safe ty belt must b e locke d so that
b elt web bing cannot unr eel. Th e sw itchabl e
l oc kin g fea tur e le ts you lock the belt so that a
c hild r estraint
be prop erl y in sta lled and. for tii,

examp le. so 1ha 1 ii ca n'! lip 10 s ide when the
ve hicle goes aro und a comer.
A lways re m emb er: Eve n thoug h yo ur vehicle is
e quipp ed wit h an Advan ced Airbag system, all
c hildren, especia lly
12 years and young er,
s h oul d always ri de in the ba ck seat prop erl y re
fo r th eir ag e and size
WARNING
Improp erl y in stall ed child seats in crease risk of ser io us persona l injury and death in a
co llisio n.
• Always make sur e !hat the safety be lt re
t racto r is locked whe n installing a chil d sea t.
An unlocked safe ly belt retractor cannot hold
ch ild seal in place durin g nor mal driv ing
o r in a cr ash .
• Alw ays buckl e !h e c hild seal firml y in place
eve n if a child is not sitlin g in it. A loos e ch ild
sea l ca n fly aro und during a sudd en slop or in
collision
• Always make sure !ha! the rear seal back
10 w hich th e cen te r rear safely belt is at is securely la tc h ed whenever the rear
ce nter safety belt is being used to secu re a
c hild r estra in!
3.1, c hapt er "R ea r
sea l b en ch. "
• If
back res! i s not securely la tc h ed , child and th e child r estraint will be for
ward 1ogeth er w i1h !he backrest and will str ike
of the vehicl e inter ior. T he child can be
se rious ly in jured or killed.
• Never insta ll r ear-f acing c hild seals or in
f a n! carr iers on
passenger scat. A
ch ild will be serious ly injured and ca n be
killed when the pa ssenger air b ag
• The i nflatin g airbag will hit child seal
or infant carrier great forc e and will
s m ash !h e child seal and child against th e
backre st, ce nt er ar m
do or or roof.
• Always install r ear-faci ng child seals or in
carriers on !he rear seat.
• Forwa rd-faci ng c hild seal s or infant car
ri ers insta lled on !he front passe nger' s sea t
m ay interf ere
th e dep lo ym ent of !h e
a ir bag and cause ser ious inju ry to th e c hild.
• fl is safer lo install a forward-facing child
sea l on rea r seal .
• Alway s read a nd heed a ll WAR NINGS
w hene ver using a child r estrained i n a vehicle
Booklet 2.1 Safety fir st
,6 WARN ING (co ntinu ed)
is being use d 51. Specia l pr eca ution s
a pply when in sta llin g a c hild seat on !he front
passenger seat
29, "Child res traint s on sea l -s om e important t hings k n ow".
WARNING
Rearwa rd-facing ch ild restrain l s:
• A child in a rearw ard -faci ng c hild seal in
s ta ll ed on
pas senger seal w ill be ser i
ous ly inj ured and can be kill ed if !h e front
a ir bag in flates - even wi th an Adva nced Ai rbag
Sys tem.
• The inflatin g airbag will hit th e chil d seal
or infant carrier
grea t for ce and will
s m as h the chi ld sea l an d child against the
ba ckres t, ce nter arm r est, d oo r or roo f.
• Alwa ys be especia lly ca re ful if yo u mu st in
a reanvard faci ng child seal o n fronl
pa sse nge r seal in excep tiona l cir cumstan ces.
• A tight tether
on a rea rward-facing
c hild restrain! auached lo t he front p assenge r
seal can put t oo mu ch pres sur e on
wc ig hl
m al in the seal and regis ter a heavie r weigh ! in
th e Adva nced A irbag Sys te m . T he heav ier
we ight registe red ca n m ake
syste m work
as though an ad ult were on the sea t a nd de
plo y
Advanced A irbag when
the child.
• Make s ure !h a!
PASSENGER A IR BAG
O FF light comes on and stays o n all !h e lime
whenever
i gnit ion is s wit ch ed on.
• lflh e PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
do es
n o ! co me on and stay on, immediatel y ins ta ll
rear-faci ng chi ld sea t in a rear seat ing po
s ition and have a.i rbag sys te m insp ec ted by
you r dea le r.
WARNING
sea l:
Child safety 61

Booklet 2.1 Safety first
WARNING (continu ed)
• Forward-facin g child seats installed on the
fr ont passe nger's sea t may interfer e with the
d e plo ym ent of
airba g an d cause seriou s
per sonal injury to the ch ild.
• Always make sur e th e fo rwa rd-fa cing sca t
h as bee n de sig n ed and certifi ed by its manu
facturer for use on a front seat with a pas
se nge r front and sid e ai rbag.
• Always carefully foll ow the manufa ctur er's
in structi ons pro vided with th e c hild seal or
ca rri er.
• Never put the fon vard -facing child r e
stra int up against or very near the instrum ent
panel.
• Always move the passenge r sea t int o its re
armost pos ition in the sea t's fore and aft ad
ju stment range, as far away from the airba g as
p ossible before installing the for ward-faci ng
WARN ING (cont inued)
child restraint. The backrest must be adjusted
t o an upr ig ht position .
• Always make sure that nothin g preve nts
t h e front passenger's sea t from bei ng m oved
to th e rearmos t position in it s fore and aft ad
ju stm ent rang e.
• Never place additional items on th e seat
that can in crease the total weight reg is tere d by
the weig ht-se nsin g mat and can ca use inju ry
in a cras h.
• Make s ure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on an d sta ys on all th e tim e
w hen ever the ig nition i s switch ed on.
• If th e PASSENGER
BAG OFF light doc s
n o t come on and stay on , imm ediately insta ll
t he forward -faci ng ch ild sea t in a rear seating
po sition and have the air bag sys tem inspected
b y yo ur Volkswagen dealer.
Activating the switchable locking feature
Us e the switchable Locking feature to properly secure a child restraint
Always ca refully fo llow t he c hild sear man
u fac turer's instruct io n s w hen insta lling a
c hild res tra int in yo ur vehicle .
To activat e
th e sw itch able lock ing fe a ture:
- Pla ce the ch ild res train t on a sea t, pref
erab ly o n the rear
- Route the safe ty belt around or th rough
the child restra int usi ng the proper path
for the sa fety be lt as speci fied by the child
re stra int manu facturer
- In se rt the belt tongu e into the buckle
fo r that seat ing po siti on.
- Make su re th at the red re lease button is
faci ng away from th e child restra int so that
it ca n be unbuckled quickly .
- Push the c hild sca t do wn w it h your full
we ig ht t o get the sa fety belt rea lly tight
- S low ly pull the belt all the way out.
62 Child safety
-Guide th e safety be lt b ack int o the re
t ractor un til the be lt lies fla t and snu g on
the ch ild se at. You sho uld hea r a "c lick ing"
n o ise as t he be lt wi nds back into th e in
ert ia reel of t he safety belt re tr actor. Tes t
the switch able locking featu re by pulli ng
on th e bc l
l. You should n o longer be ab le to
pull the b elt o ut of t he re tra ctor. The swit
c habl e lock ing feature is now act ive.
-
s trap or teth er is being used to tie
th e ch ild sea t to th e front passe nger seat,
mak e sur e th at it is not so tight that it
cau ses the weig h t-s en sin g ma t to m eas ure
m ore we ig h t than is actua lly on th e sea t.
- Pull on the safety belt to make sure th at
it is prope rly fastened and tight.
- Chec k th e c hild seat for prope r install a
ti on by pu llin g on the c hild seat. The child
sea t sh ou ld no t mo ve forward or sid eways
b y m ore than one in ch (2.5 cm) .

WARNING
Using th e wrong c hild res traint or an improp
e rl y in sta lled child res traint can cause ser io us
personal injury or death in an accide nt.
• Always make sur e 1ha1 th e safet y belt r e
tra ctor i s loc ke d when
a child seat . unlo cked safe ty belt r etractor canno t hold
the chil d sca t in pla ce during normal drivin g
or in a cras h.
•
buckle th e child seat firml y in pla ce
ev en if a child i s not sittin g in loo se c hild
sea t ca n around during a sud den stop or in co llisio n.
Booklet 2.1 Safety first @
WA RNING (continued)
• Always make s ure th e scat backre st to
w hich th e child r estraint i s in stalled i s in an
upri ght positi on and securely latc hed int o
pl ace an d cannot fold forward. Otherwi se, the
s cat back with
child scat atla ch ed 10 ii
could fly forward in th e even I of a collision or
oth er emergency situation .
•
• /\!ways read and heed all WARNI NGS
when ever usin g a c hild restra ined in a ve hicle
i s being u sed
51. Special precau tio ns
app ly w hen insta llin g a child seat on th e fro nt
pa ssenge r seat
29, restraint s on
th e front seal - so me impo rtant thin gs lo
kn ow"
Deactivating the switchable locking feature
The sw itchable lockingfeatllre for child restraints will be deactivated automati
cally wh en th e belt is w ound all the way back into the retrac tor
-Press the red button on the safety belt
buckle. The be lt tongue w ill pop ou t o f th e
- Guide th e safe ty belt b ack by hand so
tha t it ro lls e asily onto the retr ac tor and the
trim around t he retracto r w ill not be d am
aged.
A lways lei the safety be ll retra ct com plete ly into
i ts s towed position. The safety bell ca n now b e
used as an ord in ary safe ty be lt without the swit
c h able lo cking featur e for child restraint s.
I f the switchable
sh ould be ac1i
va 1e d inadvc r1en 1ly, the sa fety bell must b e un
fas tened and guide d co mp le tely back in to its
s low ed position to deactivate this feature. If the
sw itch abl e lock ing feat ure is 110 1 d eac tiva ted, the safe
ty belt
w ill gradually becom e tighter a nd un
com fortab le tu
WARNING
Improperl y in stall ed child scats increase risk of serious persona l injur y and dea th in a
co llisio n.
• Neve r unfa ste n the safety belt to deactivate
th e swi tchable lock ing fea tur e for child re
s traint s while th e ve hicle i s mo ving . You
would not be res trained and cou ld be seri
ou sly inju red in an accide nt.
• /\]ways read and h eed a ll WARN INGS
wh en eve r using a c hild r estrained in a vehicle
i s being used
51. Specia l precaution s
appl y when installing a child sea l o n the front
passe nger sea l
29
Child safety 63

Booklet 2.1 Safety first
Additional Information
What types of Child Restraint System anchors are availabl e and how
are they related to child safety?
For years , C hild Restrai nt Sys te m s (C RS) have
b ee n in sta lled us ing the safety belts already
pr ese nt in every ve hicle.
S in ce September
1999, CHS man ufac turers
h ave been providing tet her s traps tha t attach the
top of the C RS to the vehicl e's s tructure on mo st
of th eir forwa rd-fac ing syste m s in order to
co mp ly with U.S. Federal re gulation s for
ens perfo rmance in crash . Ve hicle manu fac tur ers
were req uir ed to p hase -in tether a nchorag es fo r
a tta chm ent of the tet her
in th eir U. S. ve hi
cl es beg innin g September 1999.
The combination of the teth er an cho rages and
the lower anch orages is no w generally ca lled the
LATCH syste m for " Lower Anch or and Tethe r
for Childr en".
(T he t erm
rega rdin g lower anc ho ra ges
had bee n use d by Volkswagen a nd other manu
facture rs in the past, but LATC H is now the stan
dard nam e for the ne w child res traint anchorag e
sys te m .)
64 Child safety
Some C HS manufa ctur ers have been providin g
t e th er straps on certa in mod els o f their CHSs, ei
th er as sta ndard equi pment or as a retrofit, for
seve ral years. Chec k w ith the manufacturer of
th e CRS for te th er stra p availab ility.
Tu provide a simpl er and mor e prac ticable
to attac h th e ens on the ve hicle U.S. Fed
eral reg ulations req uired the pha se- in of lowe r
anchorages in vehicles and d evices on new CRSs
to attach to t he ve hicle a nch orages.
CRS man ufa ctur ers w ill prob ably offer
kin ds
of lower an ch orages o n their c hild seats
T hey co uld come w ith:
• hook-on or p ush -on con nec tor s attach ed to
adj ustable strap s or
• rigid l atches o n bars
exte nd out the ba ck
o f the and a re release d with re lease buttons
at the bo ttom of the
In addition to the LATCH lowe r anchorag es,
both of these child r estrain t systems use teth er
he lp kee p th e C HS firm ly in

Booklet 2.1 Safety first
Tether anchors
Beginning with model year 2000, Volkswagen vehicles have tether anchors as
standard equipment.
Fi g. 3 4 Tether on ch for the rear seating positions
on the hot shelf
WARNING
Improp er in slallalion of c hild r eslrainl s will increa se !h e risk of injury and clculh crash.
• Improp er u se of ch ild reslrainl anchor s
(l elhcr anchors) could le ad 10 injury in
colli·
sion. The ancho rs are desig ned lo wi1h s1and
onl y !ho se load s imp osed by correct ly
ch ild res lrainl s.
Tether strop
WARNING (continued)
• Neve r m ounl l wo ch ild restra int systems
on on e LA T CI I lower a nch or poinl.
• Never attac h lwo c hild re straint syste ms lo
o ne te th er slrap o r lelher a nchor age.
• Always follow lhe in stru ctions provid ed by
the
of lhe c hild restrain! you in
l e nd l o in sta ll in your Volkswage n.
• Neve r use child re strain I t ether a nchora ges
to sec ure safel y bell s or other kind s of occu
pant restra in ts .
• Never attach a
str ap to a tie- down
h oo k in the lu ggage compar lmenl
• Nev er sec ure o r attach an y lu ggage or
ot her ilcm s lo lhe LATC H l ower anc horages or
to lhe t eth er anc ho rs.
• If a le t h er or
strap is used to att ac h a
c hild r estraint lo th e front pa ssenger sca t,
ma ke s ure thal ii is not so tight , thal ii cau ses
th e we ig ht -sensi ng mat to measur e more
weight than is
o n the seal.
• The hea vier weig ht registered can make
lh e Advanced Airbag Syste m wo rk as !hough
an adull were on the seat and d eploy the Ad
va nced Airbag w hen ii must be supp ressed
ca using serio us or eve n
inju ry 10
A tethe r is a straight or V-shaped strap that attaches the lop pa rt of a CRS to special
anchorage points in the vehicle
The purpo se of 1e1h er is lO r e du ce for
ward movem enl of the CRS in a crash, in orde r lo
h elp reduce
risk of head injur y 1h a1 cou ld be
caused by str iking the ve hicle interior.
Forward
C HSs manufactur ed after Sep
te mber I. 1999, required by U.S. fed eral rcgu
l alions 10 w ith child head moveme nt
p er forman ce re quirement s. Th ese perfo r
man ce re quiremems make a tet her ne cessa ry on
m ost new c hild seals
WARNING
Improp er inslallation of child restrain ls w ill
in crease lhc risk of inju ry in a colli sio n.
• Never allach a child seat teth er strap l o
tie-down hook in the lu ggage compartmenl.
• Never secure or att ach any luggage or
ot her ilcm s lo the LATC H l owe r anchorage s or
to the !ether.
Child safety 65