Page 185 of 477

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) .
Page 186 of 477

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
Page 187 of 477

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
Page 188 of 477

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
Page 189 of 477

Booklet 2.1 Safety first
WARNING (continued)
• If a or oth er strap is used lo attac h a
c hild restra int to th e f ro nt p assenger sca t,
make sure that it i s not so tight ,
weight -sensin g lo mea sur e m ore
weig ht than is act ually on th e seat.
Using tethers on rear-facing CRSs
few rear-fa cin g CRSs come wit h a
t e th er. P le a se read and heed the CRS manufa c
t ur er' s in stru ction s carefully
det ermin e how
t o properly ins tall the te th er.
WARNING
A ch ild in a reanva rd-faci ng ch ild seal s tall ed on front passenger seat w ill be ous ly injur ed and can be kill ed if front
a ir ba g in flates· even with a n Advanced Air b ag
Sys te m .
• The
airbag will ch ild seal
or infant carri er w ith g rea t force and will
smas h the child seal and chi ld again st th e
b ac krest, ce nter ar m rest, or door.
• A
tether or other str ap o n a rearward
faci ng c hild re straint attached lo front senge r sca t can put t oo mu ch pr essure on
WARNING (continu ed)
• Th e heavier we ig h t regis tered can make
th e sys te m work as though an adult were on
th e sea l and d epl oy
Adva nce d Air bag w hen ii m ust be s uppressed causing serious or even
fat al inju ry to child .
WARNING (continued)
weig ht -mat in the scat an d register a heav ier
we ig ht in A dvan ced Airba g Syste m. The
h eav ie r we ig ht reg is tere d ca n make
vance d Airba g Sys te m wo rk as thou gh an
a dult were on the seat and dep loy the
va nced A irbag w hen ii must be suppr essed
ca usin g se rious or eve n fatal injury to the
c hild .
• If you mu st in stall a rea rward facing child
sea l o n th e front pas senge r sca t beca use of
cep tional circumstan ces and the PA SSENGER
AIR BAG OFF li ght docs not come on and stay
on, imm edia te ly in sta ll th e rear-facing child
se at in a rear seating po sition and have
airbag system insp ec ted b y your Vo lkswag en
How to install the upper tether strap to the anchorage .
Fig. 35 Prope rly moun ted le ther slrop
66 Child safety In
sta lling the t ether strap
- Release or dep loy the tether str ap on
th e ch ild res train t accor ding to th e ch ild
re stra int manufa ctu rer's in structions.
- Gui de th e upper tether strap und er th e
r e ar head res traint (ra ise th e head res tra int
if necessa ry) .
- Loca te th e te ther anchor on top or th e
h at s h elf.
- Atta ch th e te ther strap anchorag e hook
int o th e op ening
th e tet he r an ch orage.
- Pull on th e te the r strap hook so th at th e
s prin g ca tc h of the h ook is en gag ed .
Page 190 of 477

- 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
Page 191 of 477

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-
Page 192 of 477

WARNIN G (conti nu ed)
ve hicl e safety b elt to in sta ll the child restra int
in th e center sea ting po siti on.
Booklet 2 .1 Safety first
ways re a an 1e e a
w hen ev er using a child res train ed in a vehicle
i s be in g used
13, "Sa fe ty belts", 27, "A ir b ag sys te m " and 5 1, "C hild
cur ely la tc h ed in place.
- Attac h th e co nn ector s ont o th e LATC H
l owe r an ch o ra ges.
- Ma ke sur e yo u hear
CRS cl ick
cur ely in to place .
- Release o r de ploy the c hild restrai nt
t e th er s trap.
- Gui de the up per tether strap und er the
r ear head res train t (ra ise the hea d r estrai nt
i f necess ary ).
- Attac h
te the r stra p anchorage hook
in to the ope ning of
tethe r anc horage.
- Pull on bot h sid es o f
CRS once
yo u've mounted it to make certa in it i s
cu re a nd pro perl y att ac hed.
Releasing
- Release lowe r lat ch from th e LATC H
lo we r an ch ora ge s fo llowing t he C RS ma n
u fac turer' s ins truc tions.
- Releas e th e te th er strap.
Hooks attached to adjustable straps
(hook-on connectors)
- Ma ke su re se at bac k of the rea r seal
b en ch is i n th e upr ig ht p os ition an d
cu rely la tc h ed in p lace.
- Press the hoo k-on con nect or with
spri ng c atch r elease onto th e lower
c h orage so that th e connec to r locks int o
pl ace.
- Pull on th e co nnecto r to ma ke su re th at
i t is prope rly att ac hed
th e lowe r chorage.
-Attach bot h stra ps wit h hoo k-on con
n ecto rs on the CRS sec urely to th e lower
a nch orages.
- Pull stra ps tight follow ing the CRS m an
instru ctio ns.
- Release or de ploy t he child r estra int
tether stra p.
- Gui de the upper tethe r strap under th e
r ear head restra int (rai se the head restra in t
i f n ecess ary) .
-
t h e te th er stra p anc horage hook
i n to th e ope ning of
tet her an ch orage.
- Pull on bo th o f th e ad justab le straps on
th e CRS a nd p ull also on th e te th er stra p
once yo u've moun ted the C RS to make ce r-
tai n it 's secure and prope rly a ttac hed .
Child safety 69