
Booklet 2.1 Safety first
Proper occupant seating positions
Proper seating position for the driver
The proper driver seating position is important for safe, relaxed driving.
Fi g. 1 The correct distance between driver and
steering wheel
For yo ur own safety and Lo reduce the risk
of injur y in th e eve nt of a n accid ent, we
recommend that y ou adju st th e se al
the dri ver to the fo llowi ng po sition:
- A djust th e dri ver's se at so that you can
eas ily push the pedal s all th e way
10 th e
floor while k eeping you r kn ec(s) s light ly
- Adj ust the a ngl e of the sea t b ac k so that
it i s in an upri ght p osition so that your
back comes in full contact with it when
yo u dri ve.
- Adjust th e stee rin g w hee l so that there
i s a di sta nce of at le a st 10 in ch es (25 cm)
b etween the s tee rin g w hee l and your
breast bone
1. I f n ot possib le, see
yo ur authori zed Volkswagen dealership
about adapti ve equipm ent.
- Adju st th e steerin g w hee l so that the
s tee ring whee l a nd airbag cove r point s at
y our ch es t and not at your fa ce.
- Grasp the top of the ste erin g wheel with
yo ur clbow(s) sli ghtl y be nt.
4 Safe driving
Fig. 2 Correct head restraint position for driver
- Adjust t he hea d r estra int so that the
upper edge is as eve n with the to p of your
h ea d as possibl e but n o lower than eye
l eve l and so that it i s as close
to th e ba ck of
yo ur head as possible
2.
- Faste n and wear safe ty belt s co rrectl y
13 .
- Always keep both feet in the footwe ll so
that you are in control of th e ve hicle at all
tim es.
For detail ed in format io n on h ow 10 adj ust drive r 3.1, c hap te r "Sea ts an d
s torage ."
WARNING
Drivers who arc unb elted , o ut of position or
too clo se to the airbag can be seriously injured
b y an airbag as
it unfold s. To help reduc e th e
ri sk of serious p ers onal injury:
• Always adju st
driv er's scat and the
s te ering whe el so that there are al least 10
inches (25 cm) between your brea stbone and
the steer ing wheel.

,&. WARNING (continued)
• Always hold th e steerin g w hee l o n th e out
s ide or the stee ring w heel rim with your h and s
at th e 9 o'clock and 3 o'cloc k p ositions to h elp
redu ce the risk or p erson al injury
• Neve r hold th e s tee rin g w hee l a t th e 12
o 'clo ck p osition or with your hand s at oth er
pos ition s in sid e th e stee ring w hee l rim or on
hub. ste erin g
w hee l th e wron g way c an cause ser ious inju
ri es to th e hand s, arm s and h ead
• P ointin g th e s tee rin g w hee l to war d your d ec reases the ability or the suppl em ental
driver's a irbag to p rotec t yo u in a collision.
• Always s it in an upri gh t p os ition and n ever
l e an a gainst or pla ce any part or y our bod y too
clo se to th e area w here t he a irbags are loc ated.
Booklet 2.1 Safety first
,&. WARNING (continu ed)
• B efor e dri vin g, a lways a djust the front
sea ts and h ead r est ra int s prop erl y a nd m ake
s ur e th at all passe nger s are properly re
s train ed.
• Neve r adju st th e sea ts w hil e th e vehicl e is
m ov ing. Y our seat m ay move unexpec tedly
a n d y ou could lose co ntrol of th e ve hicl e.
• Neve r drive w ith th e ba ckre st r eclin ed or
tilt ed
ba ck! Th e fa rth er the bac kres ts are
tilt ed b ack, th e g reater t he risk du e to
in co rrec t p ositionin g or the sa fe ty belt and im
prop er sea ting pos ition.
• Childr en mu st always ride in child seat s
51. Specl al p reca utio ns ap ply w hen in
s ta llin g a c hild sca t on th e fr ont passe nge r sca t
29, "C hild res trai nts on th e front scat some imp ort ant thin gs to
Proper seating position fo r the front passenger
The p roperf ront passenge r seating position is important for safe, relaxed driving.
For your own saf ety and to reduce th e r is k
of i njury in th e eve nt of an accide nt we rec
o mm end that you adjust the seat fo r th e
front pa ssenge r to th e fo llow ing po sitio n:
- Mo ve the front pas senge r sea t back a s
far as po ssibl e. There mu st be a mi nim um
of IO in ch es (25 c m) betw een the breast
bone and the in str um ent
- Adj ust th e ang le of th e s eatba ck so th at
it is in an upr ight pos it ion a nd your back
comes in full contact with it when ever the
ve hicle i s movin g.
- Adju st th e head restra int so th at the
uppe r edge is as e ven wit h th e top of yo ur
head as possible but not lower t han eye
le ve l and so that it is as close
the back of
yo ur h ead as po ssible
7 .
- Keep both fe et fl at on th e floo r in the
foorw ell in fro nt of the front pas senger
s eat. -
Faste n and wear safety be lts co rrec tly
13.
For d etai led informa tion on how to adju st th e
front passe nger seat 3.1 , chapter
"Sea ts and storage. "
WARNING
Front sea t passe ngers w ho arc unbelt ed, out or
p os ition or t oo close to the a ir b ag c an b e ser i
ou sly inju re d or kill ed by th e a ir ba g as i t un
fo lds. To h elp re du ce the r is k or se rio us p er
so nal inj ury :
• P assenge rs mu st a lways si t in an u pri ght
p os ition and n ever le an aga inst o r p lace any
p art o r th eir b ody too close to th e a rea w here
th e air ba gs arc locat ed .
• Passe ngers who a rc unb elt ed , o u t o r posi
ti on or t oo cl ose to t he a irbag can be se riously
in jur ed by a n airb ag as
it unfold s w ith grea t
for ce in the b link or a n eye .
• Always make s ure th at th ere a rc at leas t 10
in ch es (25 cm) bet wee n t he front p assenge r's
br eas tbone and th e ins trum ent p anel.
Safe driving 5

Booklet 2 .1 Safet y fir st
WARN ING (con tinu ed)
• Eac h pa ssen ger mu st a lwa ys s it on a scat of
t h eir ow n and proper ly fasten and we ar the
be lt b elo nging to t hat seat .
• Before d rivin g, alwa ys adju st th e fron t pa s
s e nger seal a nd hea d re stra int p roperly .
• Alwa ys kee p yo ur f ee l o n
in fro nt
o f th e sc at. Neve r rest them on th e seat , in stru
m en t p anel, o ut o f t he wi ndow, et c. T he air bag
sy ste m and safet y belt w ill n ot be ab le to pro -
WARN ING (c on tinu ed)
tec t y ou p roperly and can eve n in cre a se t he
r is k of in jur y in a cra sh .
• Never drive w ith the backre st re clined o r
tilted far ba ck! The fa rth er t he b ackre sts arc
t il te d ba ck, t he g re at er the r is k of i njur y du e to
in cor rec t pos itio nin g of 1h c safet y bell an d im
prop er seat in g po siti on.
• Child ren m ust al way s ri de in chil d sca ts
5 1. Specia l pre ca uti ons ap p ly wh en in
s ta lli ng a c hild sea t o n th e fro nt p asse nge r se at
29, " Ch ild res tra in ts on t he fron t sca t -
s om e import an t thin gs to know ".
Proper seating position for passengers in rear seats
R ea r seat passe ngers s it u prig ht bot h feet on the floo r con sistent with
ph ysi cal siz e and be pr ope rly rest ra ined whe never t he ve hicle is
7 .. If a passe nge r is sit tin g in
t h e re a r ce nter sea tin g pos iti on , th is co m
pact hea d r estra int is no t h eig ht adju st
a bl e, b ut it mu st alwa ys bee n ra ised when
eve r the cen te r rear seating pos ition is oc
cupied .
- Keep both fee l fla t in th e foo twe ll in
fro nt o f rh e rea r se a t.
- Fas te n an d wea r sa fe ty be lts prop erly
13 .
6 Saf e dr iving
- Ma ke sur e th at chil dre n ar e always
p roper ly res tra ined i n a c hild rest raint th at
is ap propria te for their size an d age
51.
W ARNING
Passe nge rs w ho are im prope rly s ea te d o n th e
re ar s eal can be seriou sly inj ure d in a crash.
• Each pa ssen ge r m ust a lwa ys s it o n a s eal o f
th eir ow n and prop erl y fas te n and wea r t he
be lt b elo nging to th at sea t.
• Safe ty belts onl y
m axim um pro tec
ti on w hen th e sea tback is sec urely la tc h ed i n
th e upri gh t posit ion an d the
belt s are
p rop erl y p ositi oned on th e bo dy. B ynol sittin g
upri gh t, a r ear se al passe nge r incre as es th e
r is k of pers o n al i njur y from i mpro perl y po si
tio ned sa fet y belt s!
• Alw ays adju st t he head res tra in t p ro pe rly
s o th at it can give
pro tec tio n.

Booklet 2.1 Safety first
the
u pp er edge of the r estrain! is le ve l
the
top of your head , but no lower
e ye
l evel and so ii is as clos e to
back of your
h ead as possib le
3 and 4. A lways
raise
head re strain! for the rear center
se alin g position whenever the se at i s oc
cupied.
A dju sti ng head 3. 1 and Equipme nt", c hapt er "Se ats and storag e."
LD, WARNING
Driving without head restraint s or with im
prop erl y adju sted head re str aint s in crea ses
th e risk of serious injuries in a colli sion. To
h elp reduce the risk of injury: Fi
g. 4 Correctly adjusted head restra int viewed
from the side
WARN ING (continued)
• Always drive with the head restraints in
p la ce and properl y adjusted.
• Every person in the vehicl e must ha ve a
properly adjusted head restraint.
• Always make sur e each person in the ve
hicle properly adjusts their head restraint.
Each head re straint mu st be adjusted ac
cording to occupants' size so that th e upper
e d ge is as eve n with the top of the person's
h ead , but no lower than eye leve l a nd so it is as
clo se to the back of to th e head a s possible.
• Never attempt to adjust head res traint
while drivin g. If yo u have dri ven off and must
adju st the dri ver headre st for any reason, first
s top the vehicle safely before attempting to
adjust the head re straint .
• Childr en mu st a lways be properly re
s trained in a child restraint that i s ap propriat e
for their age and siz e
51, "Chi ld
safe ty".
Safe driving 7

Booklet 2.1 Safety first
Active head restraints for the front seats
During a rea r e nd collisio n the passenge rs
in th e vehicle are pressed against th e sea t
back rest. The res ultin g pressu re th at the
body exe rts aga in st th e bac kres t ac tivates
t h e ac tive head rest raint s in the front seats .
Th e front hea d res train ts wi ll mo ve fo r
w ard and upwa rd at the sa me tim e to help
r e duce the risk o f n eck injuri es.
WARNING
Driving without hea d re stra ints or with im
properl y ad justed head r estraint s in creases
th e risk or seriou s injuri es in a collision . To
help reduce th e risk or injury:
• Always drive
th e hea d r estra ints in
place and prop erl y a dju sted. Remember that
th e rear center he ad r estraint is not h eight ad
ju stabl e and that it mu st be rai sed up all th e
w ay w hen eve r the center rear seat is occ upied .
• Every per son in the vehicle must have a
properly adjuste d head restraint.
• Always make su re each perso n in the ve
hicl e prop erl y adju sts th eir head r estraint.
WA RNING (continue d)
Eac h head restraint mu st be adju ste d ac
cord ing to oc cupants ' size so that the upper
edge is as eve n with the top or the person' s
h ead, but no lo wer than eye level and so it is as
clo se to th e back or to the h ead as possibl e.
• Nev er attempt to adjust head res traint
whil e dri vin g. Ir you have driven
and must
adju st the driver h eadr est any reaso n, stop the vehicl e attempting to
adju st the hea d re straint.
• Children mu st always b e properl y re
strained in a c hild restraint that is appropriat e
their age a nd size 5 1, " C hild
Tips
The acti ve head res train ts ca n also ac tivate
w hen p assenger push es up agains t th e ba ck
r es t wi th en ough force exa mpl e yourse lf ju st into th e seat abr uptly) or if th e
h ea d res train t is push ed from behind. This is
n orm al and will not da m age th e head res traint.
I t w ill go back t o its o riginal pos itio n rig h t
Examples of improper seating positions
The occupant rest raint system ca n on ly redu ce th e risk of if v eh icle
pa nts ar e prop erly sea ted .
Improp er se atin g po siti ons ca n cause se
r io us injur y or deat h. Safe ty belts ca n on ly
wo rk whe n th ey are prop erl y pos ition ed
o n th e body . Impr oper seati ng posit ions
r e du ce the e ffect ive ne ss of sa fe ty belt s a nd
w ill eve n inc rease the ris k or injury and
d ea th by m ov ing t he sa fety belt to criti cal
a reas of the body. Imp roper seating posi
ti ons a ls o in crease the risk of seriou s injur y
and d eath when a n airb ag de plo ys and
s trikes an occ upant who is not in the
prop er sea ting po sition.
driver is res pon
s ibl e for the sa fe ty of all vehicl e occ upant s
a nd especiall y for childr en. There for e:
8 Safe driving
-Never a llow anyone to ass um e an im
proper seating pos it ion when th e ve hicl e is
bei ng
lists onl y so me or the pos itions
that will increase the risk or ser io us injury and
d ea th. Our h ope is
th ese ex amples will help
mak e you more awa re of sea ting po siti ons that
ar e da ngero us.
Therefore, whenever the vehic le is moving:
• neve r sta nd up in the vehicle
• neve r stand on the seats
• neve r kneel on th e seats
• neve r rid e with the seat back recl ined
• never lie clown on th e re ar sea t

• never up again st th e in strument panel
• neve r sit on the ed ge of t he sea t
• never sit sideway s
• neve r lean out the wi ndow
• never put your feet o ut the w indow
• never put your fee t o n th e in strument panel
• never rest yo ur f eet on the
cu shi on or
back of the se at
• never rid e in th e footwe ll
Pedal area
Pedals
Booklet 2 .1 Safety first
• never ride in th e lu ggage comp artment.
WARNING
Improper seating position s in crease the risk of
se rious personal injury and death whenever a
ve hicle is bein g used.
• Alway s mak e sure that all vehicl e occu
pant s stay in a proper seat ing position and arc
properly re strained wheneve r the vehicl e is
be ing used
The pedals must always be free to move and mu st neve r be inte1f ered with by a
floor mat or any other object .
Make sure that a ll pedals move freel y w ith out in
t e rf er enc e and that nothing pre vents them from
r e turnin g to th eir orig inal po siti ons.
Onl y use floo r mat s th at l eav e the pedal area free
a nti can
sec ured with floor faste n ers.
l fa brak e cir cuit fai ls, in cre ase d brake pedal
t ra ve l is re qu ire d to b ring th e ve hicle to a full
Floor mats on the driver side
WARNING
Pedal s that cannot mov e fre ely can cause loss
of vehicle contro l a nd increase the risk of se
riou s inj ury.
• Neve r p lace any ob jects in the driver' s foot
we ll. An object cou ld get into the pedal area
and interfe re wit h pedal function. In case o f
s udden braking or an accident, you wo uld not
be abl e to brake or accelera te!
• Always make sure that nothing can fa ll or
mov e into the d river's foo t we ll.
Always floor mats that can be securely attached to floor mat fasteners and
do not int e,f ere
free movement of th e peda ls.
Mak e su re that the floor mat s are prop
e rl y sec ured and can not mo ve and inter
fe re w ith th e
Use onl y flo or m ats that leave the pedal area unand that fi rmly secured so that
th ey ca nnot slip out o f po sition . Prop erly se
c urin g th e floor ma ts w ill pre vent th em from
s lidin g in to po siti ons th at co uld int erf ere wit h
th e pedal s or imp air saf e o perati on of yo ur ve
hicl e in oth er w ays . You
can ob tain suitabl e floo r mat s fro m your au
th orized Volk swa gen dea ler.
WARNING
Peda ls that cannot mo ve freel y can result in a
l oss o f vehicle control and increase the risk of
ser ious pe rs on al in jury.
• Always make sure that floor mats are prop -
erly secured.
Safe driving 9

Booklet 2.1 Safety first
WARNING (conlinuod)
• Neve r place or install floor mats or other
floor cover ings in th e vehicle that can n ot be
proper ly secure d in place to prevent them
from slip pin g and
with the pedals
or the abili ty to contro l the vehicle.
• Neve r place or insta ll floor mats or o ther
floor coverings on top of alr eady ins ta ll ed
floor mats. Additiona l floor mat s and oth er
Stowing luggage
Loading the luggage compartment
WARN ING (con tinued)
coverings w ill reduce the size of the pedal area
an d int erf ere with the pedals.
• Always properly reinstall and sec ure floor
ma ts that have been removed for cleaning.
• Always make sure that objects can not fa ll
int o the driver foot well w hile th e vehicle is
moving. Objects ca n become trapped under
th e brake pedal and acce lerator peda l ca using
a loss of vehicl e
All luggag e and object s ,n ust b e prop erly stowed and secured the luggage
compartment.
Loos e item s in th e luggag e compartmen t
c an shi ft sudden ly chang ing vehicle han
dling charact eri stic s. Lo ose item s ca n also
in crea se the ri sk of se ri ous pe rs onal in
j ur y in a sudd en veh icl e m an euv er or in a
co llision.
- Distribute the load evenly in th e lu g
gag e compar tment .
- Alwa ys pla c e and properly sec ure heav y
it em s as far forward a s po ss ibl e in the lug
gage compar tm ent.
- S tow hea vy lugg age as low as possibl e
in the luggag e compar tm ent.
- Secure luggag e usin g th e tic -dow ns
pro vid ed
11 .
- -Ma ke su re that the re ar sea t ba ck is se
cu re ly lat ch ed in pl ace.
WARNING
Improp erl y s tor ed luggage or other items can
fly through the vehicl e cau sing serious per
so nal inju ry in th e event of hard braking or an
accident. To help reduce the risk of se rious
personal injury:
10 Safe driving
WARN ING (continued)
• Always put objects, for examp le, luggage o r
oth er he avy item s in the luggage compa rt-
WARNING
Heavy loads will influ ence the way yo ur ve
hicle handle s. To help reduce the risk of a lo ss
of contro l lea din g to serio us personal injury:
• Alway s keep in mind when t ransporting
h ea vy objects, that a c hange in the ce nter of
grav ity can also ca use c hang es in ve hicle han
d lin g:
- Always distribut e the load as eve nly as
po ss ibl e.
- Place heavy objects as far forward in the
luggage compart ment as poss ible .
• Never excee d the Gross Axle Weig ht Rating
or the Gross Vehicle Weight Rating specified
on the safety complian ce s ticke r on the lef t
door jamb. Exceed ing permissib le we ig ht
s tandards can cause the vehicl e handl e diff er
e ntl y.
• Please observe information on safe driv ing

WARNING
To help preven t poiso nous ex haust gas bei ng draw n in to the ve hicle, always kee p th e
r ea r li d closed w hile dri vin g.
• Never tra nspo rt objec ts la rger than those
fill ing co mplete ly i nto
lu ggage area be
ca use re ar lid cann ot be full y close d.
• If you abso lutely m usl d rive
th e rear
li d ope n, obse rve fo llow ing notes to red uce ris k of poiso ning:
C lose a ll win dows,
C lose the power
Ope n all ai r o ut lets i n the instrume nt
panel,
Swi tc h olT air reci rc ul ati on,
Se t th e fr esh air fan lo h ig hes t speed .
WARNING
Always make su re that doo rs, the power all w indows a nd rea r lid a re secure ly
closed an d locked lo re du ce the r is k of injur y
w hen
ve hicl e is no t be ing used.
Tie-downs
Bo oklet 2 .1 Safety fir st
WARN ING
• Afte r clo sin g th e rea r lid, always make sure il i s proper ly closed a nd locked.
• Never leave your vehicle u nattended espe
cia lly
rear lid open. A chil d co uld
craw l in to ve hicle thro ugh th e lu ggage
com partmen t a n d cl ose t he rear lid o r wi ndow
b eco min g tra pp ed a nd un abl e to get ou l.
Be ing trapped in a ve hicle ca n lea d lo se rious
p ersona l injury.
• Neve r lei c hild ren play in or around th e ve
hi cle.
• Never le t p assenge rs ride in the lu ggage
co mp artm ent. Vehicle occ upan ts
a lways
be proper ly re stra ined in one of the veh icle's
sea ting positions ..
Mak e sure heat in g w ires in re a r
w indo w ca nnot b e scraped and damaged b y
in ve hi cle .
Tip s
Air ci rc ula tion h elps redu ce window fogg ing.
D o not co ver slot s becaus e can
pre vent stal e air from escap ing the vehicl e.
The lu ggag e compartm ent is equipped w ith Jou r ti e-downs to secure luggage and
other items.
U se 10 sec ure y our cargo prop erl y IO , " Loadin g th e lu gg age compa rtm ent ".
l n a collis ion ,
laws of p hys ics mean even
s m alle r are lo ose in veh icle w ill
b ecome hea vy mi ssiles can cause se rious
injur y. h em s in v ehicl e po ssess e nerg y which
v ar y ve hicl e spee d and wei gh t of the
i t em. Veh icl e s peed is s ignifi cant facto r.
Fo r ex amp le. in a
co lli sion at a sp eed of 30
mph (48 km /h ). th e fo rces ac tin g o n a IO lb s. (4 .5
kg )
arc 2 0 l ime s norma l of item. Thi s m ea ns o f th e
i t e m wo uld sudd en ly be ab out 200 lb s. (9 0 kg) .
You can im agine
inju ries a 200 lbs. (90
kg ) flyin g free ly th rou gh pa sse nger
c ompar tm ent cou ld cau se in a colli sion like thi s.
WARNING
Weak, damaged or im pro per stra ps use d l ose
c u re item s lo lie -d owns can fail durin g hard
braking or i n collisio n an d cause se rious pe r
so nal injur y.
• A lways use suit abl e m ountin g str aps a nd
p ro per ly se cur e ite ms lo the lie-downs in
lu ggage compartment lo he lp preven t items
from or flying forwa rd as dangero us
m issi le s.
• When th e rear seal backres t is fo lded down,
a lway s use sui tab le mo unt ing stra ps an d
proper ly sec ure items to the tie- downs in the
lu ggage compa rtme nt l o help prevent item s
Saf e drivin g 11