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
- Tighten the te ther strap firm ly fo l
lowin g th e ch ild re straint manufact urer's
in struction s
Releasing the tether strap
-Loo sen the tension fo llowing the ch ild
r estrain t manufactur er's instru ctions.
- Depress t he s prin g catc h on the hook
a nd r elease it
th e anchorage ..
Booklet 2 .1 Safety first
Ad justi ng head re straint s 3.1, chapter
"S eals and
Note
If you le ave t he c hild restra in! wilh 1he !et her firml y in stall ed for several day s, !hi s co uld
l eav e mark on !he upholst ery o n th e sea t
c u sh ion and in th e ar ea wher e !h e
1e1h er strap was insta lled . Th e uphol stery would
a lso be permane111 lys 1re1 ched aro und 1he teth er
T hi s appl ies especially 10 lea ther
vehicle at the factory.
Fig. 36 Location of lower anchorages
The lowe r anc horage allachm enl poinl s are lo
caled between 1he re ar scatba ck and re ar sea t
cushio n
36.
Lower
s ec ure !h e in 1he se at using veh icle 's safety belts. Ancho r
ag es prov ide a sec ure and ea sy- lo-use allach
menl and minimiz e th e poss ibil ity of im proper
C RS in stallati on. All
cnss manufac tur ed after Septemb er I , 2002.
mu s! have lowe r
attac hment s for th e
LATCH syste m .
How ever, som e ens manufa ctur ers beg an
pro vide low er a nchorages for the LATC H in 2000 befor e th e requ ired
R em ember that the lower a nch orag e poi nts ar e
only intend ed fo r in stalla tion an d attachment of
specifi cally ce rtifi ed for use with LATC H
low er anchorages . cnss that are not equ ipped
w ilh 1he lowe r ancho rage atta chm ent s c an slill
be install ed a cco rdin g to t he
m anufac
tur er's using vehicle safety belt s.
WARNING
Impr oper insla llation of child restraints will
in crease the risk o f injur y in an accid e111.
• Neve r attach a child seat tether s trap to a
ti e-dow n hook in the luggage compartm ent.
• Neve r sec ure or attac h an y lugga ge or
other item s to the LAT CH lower anchorages or
to th e tet her
Child safety 67
Booklet 2.1 Safety first
Mounting and releasing hook-on or push-on connectors of CRS that
hav e connectors or other latches attached to adjustable straps
Mounting
LATCH lower an chorag e auachment
po ints are on the vehicle body between the
r ear seatback and rear seat cush ion WARNING
Improp er insta llation of c hild restra int s w ill
i ncrease the risk of in ju ri es in a co llision.
• Alw ays refe r to th e C RSs manuf acturer's
in struction s for proper insta ll ati on oft he CRS
and proper use of tet her straps as we ll as the
l ower a nch orages or safety belt s in yo ur
vehicle . ._
Guide fixtures for LATCH lower anchorages
Gu ide permanently atta ch ed the anchorages make it easier to in
stall chil d rest raint systems that /1aue rigid
on bars that extend th e
back of the CRS or push -on connectors
to adjustable straps .
Fig . 3 7 Guide fixtu re for the lower anc horages in
stalled in your Volkswagen
WARNING
I mp ro per u se o f teth er an ch orages or lowe r
anc horages can cause serious p ersonal injur y
in an acci dent.
• Always fo llow
m anufa ctur er's in
s tru cti ons for proper insta llat io n and use of
ch ild restraint systems.
• Neve r use the
or tethe r an ch ora ges
to attac h safe ty be lts or oth er kind s of occ u
pant res tra int s.
• ens tether anchorages and the lo wer an
c h orages are on ly des ig ned to sec ure a CHS
68 Child safety
WARN ING (continued)
that has bee n eq uipp ed u se the se anch or
ages.
• Tet her an chora ges and the l ower anch or
ages are de signed to with sta nd onl y tho se
l oads imposed by correctl y
child r e
stra ints. Und er no ci rc um sta n ces ca n they be
u se d safe ly for adu lt or chi ld sea t belts or har
n esses.
• Never mount m ore than one
ens to a
s in gle tet her or to a lower a nch orage point. At
t ac hin g two child r estra ints to a sin gle an
chorage point can cause th e anc horage to fa il
and cause ser iou s persona l injury in an acci
d en t.
• Never use the t eth er an ch orages and lower
a n ch orage s to in stall three child r estraint s in
y our Vol kswage n.
• Never use th e lower inboard anchora ges
fr om the left and right rear seating position s to
in sta ll a CHS at the center sea ting po siti on of
th e rear sca t. The di stan ce betwee n th e in
bo ard anchors w ill not allow a CHS to be prop
er ly in sta ll ed to be able to with sta nd th e hi gh
forces that arc genera ted in a cras h.
• I f you mu st install thr ee child r estrai nt s on
th e rear sea t of a Volkswage n with thr ee
sea ting po siti ons in the re ar, you mu st u se the 11-
Booklet 2.1 Safety first
Releasing
- Loo sen th e te nsio n on th e stra p fo l
lo wing the CRS manufacturer's in struc
ti on s
- Depre ss the spring catc h on the hook.
- Hold th e spr ing catch in th e depr ess ed
po siti on.
- Move the hook in direct io n of the
ve
hicle floor so that th ere is enough spa ce to
r e le a se th e co nnector from th e lower an
c hora ge.
- Rele a se the tether strap
WARNING
Imp roper use of the LATCH system can in
crease the risk of serious personal injury and
death in an accide nt.
WARNING (continued )
• These anchors were developed solely for
c hild seals using the "LATCH" system.
• Never allach other child seats, belts or
o th er obj ects lo these an chor s.
• Alwa ys make sure that you hear a click
when latchin g the seat in pl ace. If you do not
h ea r a cli ck th e seal is not secure and cou ld fly
forward and
the interior of the vehicle, or
be ejec ted from the vehicl e.
WARNING
Improp er installation of child restraint s will
increase the ri sk of injur y in an accident.
• Alw ays follow the
manufacturer's in
s tru ction s for prop er in stallation of the
and prop er use te ther strap s as well as the
l owe r an chorages or safe ty belts in your ve
hicl e.
• Alway s read and heed th e important infor
mation and WARNINGS about ch ild safety and
the installation of CRSs
51, "Child
s afety ".
Where can I get additional information about child
restraints and their use?
There are numb er of so urces of additiona l in
for mation ab o u1 se )ec 1ion, insta lla tion and
u se :
N HTSA advises that the bes t child safety
i s
t h e o ne fits your child and fits in your ve
hi cle, a nd that you will u se c orrectly and consis
tent ly.
Tr y before you bu y!
National Highwa y
Safe ty Adm inistration
Tel.: (888) DAS H-2 -DOT
www.nh tsa. dot.gov
P rog ra m Profess io nals
T e l.: (734) 324-7550
70 Child safety
W\vw.prog ramprofessionnls.org
N ational SAFE KIDS Campaign
Te l.: (202) 662-0600
WW\V.safek ids.o rg
Sa fet y BeltSafe U.S .A
T el. : (800 ) 745-SA FE (E nglish )
Te l.: (80 0) 74 7-SANO (Spa nish)
www .carsea t.o rg
Volk swa gen Custo m er C AHE
T e l.: (800) 822-8987
Tran sport Canada
Te l.: (8 88) 675-6863
www. tc .gc .ca
64
What types of CRS anchors are available and how are they related to child safety? 64
What you should know when driving with children? 51
When must a safety belt be replaced? 17 When must the airbag system be inspected? 39
Where are lower anchorages located? 67
74 Alphabetical index
Where are my airbags located? Front airbags 31
Side airbags 44 Side curtain protection
TM airbags 48
Where are tether anchors located? 65
Where can I get additional information about CRS application and usage? 70
Why safety belts protect? 17
Why should head restraints be correctly adjusted? 7
Booklet 3.1 Controls and Equipm ent
Head restraints
Correct adjustment of head restraints
Properly adjusted h ead restraints are an importa 11t part of occupant protection
and can help to reduce the risk of
in accidents.
Fig. 3 7 Viewed from in front : properly odjusted
heod restraints end proper belt odjustment
- Adjust the head restraint so that the
uppe r edg e is as eve n wit h th e top o f your
head as possible
no lo wer than eyen
l eve l and so th at it is as close to th e bac k of
y our head a s possi ble
37 and 38.
If a passenger is s itting in th e rear center sea tin g
position thi s co mpact h ead r estraint is no t
h eight adju stabl e, but it must always be raised
whenever the ce nte r rear sea ting posi tion is oc
c upi ed.
A dju sting the head
WARNING
Driving without head rest raints o r wit h im
prop erly adjusted head restraints inc reases
th e risk of serious injurie s in a co llision. To
h elp reduc e th e risk of injury:
• Always drive with th e head restraints in
place a nd properly adjuste d.
58 Seats and storage
F ig . 38 Viewed from s ide: properly adjusted head
restraints and proper belt ad justment
WARNING (contin ued)
• Always raise the head restrai nt for the r ear
center seating position wheneve r the seat is
occupied.
• Ever y perso n in th e ve hicle must have a
properl y adjuste d head r estra int.
• Alway s make sur e eac h person in the ve
hicle properly adju sts their head restraint.
E ac h headres t must be adjusted a ccord ing to
occupant size s o that the upper ed ge is as eve n
wit h the to p of the person's head, but no lower
tha n eye leve l an d soi
is as clo se th e back to the head as pos sibl e.
• Neve r attempt to adj ust head r estraint
wh ile dri vin g. If yo u have driven
and mu st
adjust the driver h eadrest for any reason,
stop the ve hicle safe ly befo re atte mptin g to
ad just the head r estra int.
• Children must always be properly re
s trained in a ch ild restrain t that i s appropr iate
for their age and size
2. 1, ch apter
"Chil d safety. "