
Booklet  2.1  Safety  first 
i s  poss ible an airba g not d epl oy a 
se ating  p osition  where  th e s afely  belt  is  being 
u se d 
will  inflat e at  the pos ition  where b elt  is  noc be ing use d.  It i s thal 
nothin g im erfer e belt  bu ck les  so 
th al  th e se nsors  can se nd corr ect  in forma ab oul  safe ty  be lt use th e e lec troni c co n
t ro l 
WARN ING 
Chan gin g th e ve hicle's suspension  including 
use  of unapproved  tire-rim combinations  can 
c hange  Advan ced  Airbag  performanc e and  in
creas e th e risk  of  serious  persona l inju ry in  a 
c ra sh. 
•  Never  install sus pens ion  co mpon ents that 
do  not  have  the same  performance  characte r
i st ics  as  the  components  originally  installed 
on  yo ur vehicle. 
•  Never  u se  tire -rim  combination s that  h ave 
not  been  approved  by VOLKSWAGEN. 
Side  airbags 
Applies  to  vehicles:  with  side airbags 
Description  of  side  airbags 
WARNING 
Leaving  the  optiona l safety  belt  extender  at 
t ached  to  the  safety  belt latch  on  the  front  pas
senger  seat  when the safety  belt  is not  bein g 
u sed  w ill prevent  the Advanced  Airbag  System 
fr om  funct ion ing  proper ly  and  can  increa se 
th e r isk  of se rious  perso nal  injur y in  a co lli
sio n. 
•  Alway s remove  the sa fety  belt  exte nder 
when it is 1101 n ee ded  a11d stu w i I safe ly it  is  not bein g used  with  the  safet y belt. 
•  Nev er  use  th e safe ty  belt  extender  to sec ure 
a chi ld restraint  at  any  seating positi on. 
WARN ING 
Item s stored  between  the safe ty  be lt buckle 
and  the center  co nso le can  ca use  th e sensor s 
in the  buckle  to  send  the wro ng  information  to 
elec troni c control module  and preven t the 
Advanced  A irbag  system  from working  prop
er ly. 
•  Always  make s ure  that  nothing  can inter 
fere  with  th e safety  belt buckl es  a nd that  they 
a re  not  obstructed. 
Th e sid e airba g system  ca n  provide  supplem ental  prot ection  to prop erl y  re
s train ed fron t seat  o ccupan ts. 
Fi g.  26  Side  airbag  in  driver seot 
44 Airbag  system 
The  sid e airba gs are  in paddin g in fro nt seats 26 . Yo ur  vehicl e m ay a lso  be 
eq uipped  with  optional  sid e airb ags for th e re ar 
p os itions.  Th e gen eral  l ocatio n  is 
id entifi ed b y th e wo rd in  th e uppe r re
g io n  of  the b ackres ts 
The  side  airb ag  sys tem  basica lly co nsis ts  of: 
•  The elec troni c control  m odul e and  ext ernal 
s id e imp act se nso rs 
•  The  two  sid e airba gs loc ated  in the  sid es o f 
ch e fro nt  b ackre sts 
•  Th e airba g warning 
in cluste r  

Booklet  3.2  Tips and  Advice 
8 WARNING 
•  Alw ays  remembe r that  vehicle  alterations 
or  modifi cation s can  affec t the  function  of  the 
ABS, BAS,  EDL and  ESP syste ms. Exampl es  of 
t h ese  a ltera ti ons  or modifications  include  a 
diff ere nt  wheel/tire  combination  and brake  or 
c h ass is  modification s =q1age  28, "Repairs  and 
t ec hni cal modifications". 
Electronic  differential  lock {EDL) 
WARNING (continued) 
•  Changing  the vehicl e suspension  or usin g 
unapp roved tire I rim combination  can 
c h ange  the way  the ABS,  BAS, EDL  and ESP 
sys tems  work  and re duc e th eir  elJect iveness. 
•  The  eff ec tiveness  of ABS is a ls o d etermined 
b y  th e tir es  on  your  vehicle 
51, "Tires 
and  wheels" 
The elect roni c differential  lock helps red uce th e los s of  traction  if a  wheel starts 
s pinnin g. 
T he  E DL  help s th e ve hicle mov ing,  accel
era te  and  climb  a gradient  when  t he  going  ge ts 
s li pp ery  where  m ov ing ahea d  ma y otherw ise  be 
diffi cult  or eve n im possibl e. EOL u ses the AB S 
se nso rs  to  monito r th e  spe ed  of t he w hee ls. 
EDL works  on ly when  the  eng ine  is  runnin g. 
EDL  can  help  to  ba la nce  out differen ces in  the 
rotat io n  of  the w hee ls  of a ppro ximat ely 
JOO rpm 
ca use d by sli ppery  gro und surface  on side of the  vehicl e. It do es  thi s by  braking  th e whee l 
t h a t h as  los t tracti on  and  d is tributing  more 
d riv ing  fo rce  to the  oth er  d riven  wheel v ia  th e 
diff ere nt ia l 
E DL  is  ac tive  at sp ee ds up  to a bout 
50 m ph (80 km /h). 
E DL  autom atically  shut s 
to pr event th e di sc 
brak e of  th e w hee l from  over heating 
under  excess ive loa ds.  Th e ve hicle re main s op
era tional  the 
way  as ve hicl e without  EDL. 
For  this reas on.  the dri ver  is not in form ed tha t 
t h e  EDL  has  been  shu t 
ED L w ill auto matica lly  sw itch  on  again  when  th e 
br ake ha s coo le d  down. 
4  Smart  technology 
8 WARNING 
Always adjus t your  driving  to the  road, and  weather  condition s. Never le t th e ex tra 
sa fe ty  that  EDL can  prov ide te mpt  you into 
takin g extra  ri sks. 
•  When  accelerating  on a slippery  surfa ce, 
for  example  on  ice  a nd snow , pr ess  the acce l
e rator  care full y. De spite  ED L, th e w hee ls  may 
s ta rt  to  spin  lead ing to  a loss  of vehicle  control. 
8 WARNING 
• Always  remember  that vehicl e alt erations 
o r modifi cation s can  affect  the fun ction  of the 
AB S,  BAS,  EDL and ESP sys tems . Exa mple s of 
th ese  alt era tion s or modifications  include  a 
di!Tcrenl wheel/tire  combination and  brake or 
chass is  modifications  =q1age 28, "Repair s and 
t ec hni cal m odi fication s". 
•  Changin g t he  vehicle  su spen sio n  or  using 
u napprove d  tire 
I rim  comb ination  ca n 
c hang e the  way  the  ABS , BAS,  EDL and  ESP 
systems  work  and  reduce their 
effective ness  

Booklet 3.2 Tips and  Advice 
Repairs  and  technical  modifications 
Repairs  and modifications  must  always  be carried out  according  to the manufac
turer's specifications 
Unauthorized  modifications to th e e lectronic 
component s or  software  in the  vehicle  may 
cause 
E lectro nic comp o
nents  are  linked  toget her  in networks  and  other 
sys tems  may  be  nega tive ly affected  by improper 
m odificat ions or  improperly  installed  accesso 
ries. Thi s can  se riously impair  safety  and  lead  to 
excessive  wear  o f components. 
Changing  the vehicle's  sus pens io n  system  can 
change  the  way that the Advanced 
Sys tem  performs  in a  crash. For example,  usin g 
t ir e-rim  combinations  not approved  by Volk
swagen,  lower ing  the  vehicle, changi ng the stiff
ness  of the  suspension, including  the  spring s, 
suspension  struts,  shock  absorbers  can  chan ge 
the  forces  that  are  measured  by the  airbag  sen
so rs and  sent to  the  con trol  unit.  Some  su spen
s ion  changes  can, for exa mpl e, incr ease  the force 
levels  measured  by  the  sensors and  make  the 
airbag  system  dep loy  in crashes  in  which  it 
wou ld not  deploy  if  the changes  had not been 
made.  Other  kinds  of changes  may reduce  the 
force  levels measured  by the  sensors  and  pre
vent  the airbag  from  deploying  when  it sho uld. 
We  recommend  that  all necessary  work  be  per
formed  by  an  authorized  Volkswagen  deale r 
using  genuine Volkswagen  parts ®. 
WARNING 
Imp roperly  performed  modifications  or other 
work  that  is  not properly  performed  on  your 
ve hicle  can  cause  malfunctions  leading  to  ac
cidents  and  serious  pe rsonal  injury. 
•  Never  install suspension  components  that 
d o  not  have  the  same performance  character
i stics  as  the  components  originally installed 
on  your  vehicle.  Never use  tire-r im comb ina
tions  th at  have  not  been  approved  by Volk
swage n. 
WARNING 
Improper  care,  servicing  and  repa ir proce
dures  can increase  the  risk of  personal  injury 
a nd  death  by  preventing  an  a irbag  from  de
p lo ying w hen  needed  or deploying  an  airbag 
unexpected ly. 
•  Chang ing  th e vehicle's  su spens ion  in
cluding  use  of unapproved  t ire- rim  combina
tions  can  change  Advanced  Ai rbag  perfor
mance  and increase  the  risk  of serious  per
sona l inju ry in a crash. 
•  Be sure  to read  and  heed  the info rmatio n 
a n d all WARN INGS 
2. 1 "Safety 
fir st", c hapte r  "Airbag 
28  Acc essories,  new  part s, repairs  and modification s