Airbags and how they work
on page 82.
Front airbags and how they work
Airbags are restraints . They are
not a substitu te for safety belts that must be worn
even though the front seating positions are
ped with front airbags . The front airb ags can
head restraints and, for the
driver, the steering are properly used and
have been
the airb ags that break open the
padded covers on the stee ring a nd the strume nt The front airb ags inflate between
the stee ring
and the front passe nger.
Front airbags in combination with properly worn
safe ty down and the occupant's for
ward movement. Together they to pre vent the
dri ver and front seat passenger from hitting parts
of the veh icle inter ior, thereby reduci ng the forces
acting on the occupa nts dur ing a crash. this way,
they to reduce the risk of inju ry to the head
and upper body during a crash. Airbags do not body parts. is i mport an t to remember that the
o f an eye, so fast that
many don't even real ize that the airb ags
have deployed. The airbags deflate after deployment so that the front occupants can
see through the w inds hield again without inte rrup
tion .
Airbags infl ate with a great
and the
front of th e passenger compartment, the airbag can inflate and provide protection during certain fronta l sions 69, belts.
Make sure th at nothing is in th e way of the airbags
when they deploy. For example , th ings on your be pushed into your body or
ment when the airb ag inflates and cause serious
personal in ju ry .
T he areas outlined in red (dotted
59 and indicate the airbag deploym ent zone .
N eve r
heavy or objects) on the doors, on the win dshie ld, over or near the area marked in red (do tted lin es).
you have a physical impairment or condition that
prevents you from sittin g on the driver
seat with the safety proper ly fas te ned and
r eac hing the pedals, special modifications to you r
ve hic
le may be necessary. The safety
o r thori zed Volkswagen or th e
Volkswage n Customer Center at for infor mation abo ut poss ible
modifications to your vehicle.
When airbags
Deployment of th e front airba gs and the activation
o f the safety cele rat ion measured by the crash sensors and reg
i ste red by the e lect ronic control unit. Cras h sever it y
depe nds on speed and decelerati on as as th e
m ass and sti ffn ess of the vehicle or object involved
i n th e crash .
T he front airbags
sions , in rollovers or if the ign itio n is sw itched off.
T he front airbags not inflate in fro nta l sions. The triggering of the airbag system depends
on the
and registered by the electronic contr ol unit. thi s ra te is th e refe ren ce program
med into the con tro l unit , the airbags not be
t r igge red, even though the veh ic le m ay be d amaged as a Veh icle age, repair costs o r eve n th e of damage is not necessarily an ind ica tion of wheth er an
a irbag inflate or not. is not possible to fine a ra ng e o f veh icle speeds that cover every
possible kind and of imp act tha t trigge r the airbags , since the circu mstances vary considerably between one collisio n and other . factors
of impact ,
When an airbag deploys , fine dust is released.
This is normal and is not caused by a fire in the hicle . This dust is made up mostly of a powder
used to lubricate the airbags as they deploy. This
dust could irritate skin and eyes and cause
ciently when used with properly worn safety belts
and a proper seating position in Introduct ion on page 58
equipment
Your safety and the safety of your passenge rs
shouldn't be left to c hance. Advances in
gy have made a number of featu res availab le to
help reduce the risk of injury in a collision . The
Sophisticated safety belts for
belt pretensioners for driver and front
passenger .
Advanced front airbag system for driver and
front passenger .
ger.
Airbag indicato r
BAG light.
Electronic control unit and associa ted sensors.
Before driving
Head restraints with height adjustmen t
Adjustable steering column.
LATCH/U CRA lower universal and top tether
anchorages for child safety seats at the rear
These features
can't work as a system if they are not always
be tu rned
off if the weight on the front passe nger seat is less
than the amount programmed in the elect ronic
con t
rol unit . Th e front airbag on the passenge r side
will also be turned off if the combine d weigh t of an
i nfant
of about one year of age in one of the child
seats that was used to certify the Advanced Airbag
ard BAG
Never rely on airbags alone for protection.
69, Safety belts.
ery per son in the vehicle is properly seated on a sea t of his or her own, properly fastens the safety belts belonging to that seat before the vehicle starts to move, and keeps the belts properly fasten ed while riding i n the hicle. This applies eve n when just driving around town. Therefore, always wear your safety belts and make sure that everybody in your vehicle is properl y restrai ned .
too close to the steering wheel or strument panel decrease the ness of the airbags and will increase the risk of personal injury in a collision.
no one can guarantee with absolute certainty that the airbag never deploy
can deploy in accordance with the option for 3 to 6 year-old children under the if a child who is heavier than the combined weight of a typical one-year old fant restrained in one of the forward facing or rearward-facing seats with which your vehicle was certified is on the front passenger seat and the other conditions for airbag deployment are met.
on the front passenger seat if the front airbag inflates.
smash the child seat and the child against the seat backrest, center armrest, door, or roof.
conceivable situations that may happen during the useful life of your vehicle.
light does not come on and stay on whenever the ignition is on, immediately
ous personal injury to the child.
exceptional circumstances require the use of a forward-facing child restraint on the front passenger seat, the following special precautions must be taken for the safety and of the child:
-Always make sure that the forward-facing child restraint has been designed and certified for use on a front passenger seat with a front airbag and a side airbag.
-
Always carefully the manufacturer's instructions provided for the child seat or infant carrier.
- Never
straint up against or very near the instrument panel.
-
Always set the safety belt upper chorage to the adjustment position that permits proper installation in accordance with the child restraint manufacturer's
Sitting properly and safely 91
on page 82.
The is equipped with an Advanced Airbag
Standard
appl icable at the time your
The safe ty belts for the front seating positions have
safety belt pretensioners which help take up slack
i n the belts. The airbag contro l u nit also activates
the belt pretensioners
59
and i ndicate the airbag deployment zone.
Never place or attach accessories or other objects (such as cup holders , telephone brackets, note
pads, navigation systems, large , heavy or bu lky
objects) on the doors , on the windshie ld, over or
near the area
marked in red (dotted lines).
if the ignition is switched off when a crash
in side collisions ,
in rear -end
in rollovers ,
when the crash deceleration measured by the
ai rb ag system is less than the minimum threshold
needed for airbag deployment as regis te red by the
elec tronic cont
rol unit.
The front passenger front airbag
when the front passenger seat is not occupied ,
when the weight on the front passenger seat as sensed by the Advanced Airbag indicates
that the front airb ag on the passenger side must be
s witched o ff by the electronic control unit (the BAG li g ht
ously injured or even
stalled on the front passenger seat will be riously injured and can be killed if the front airbag inflates.
has been installed on the front passenger
seat, nobody can absolutely guarant ee that
you in exceptional a
light not on and stay on whenever the ignition is on,
dren must be restrained properly whenever
riding in a vehicle. An unrestrain ed or
bag .
N
The fine dust created when airbags deploy
can cause breathing problems for people
w ith asthma or other breathing conditions.
To red uce the risk of breath ing problems ,
those with asthma or other respiratory condi-lions shoul d g et fresh air right away by get-ling out of the vehicle or opening windows or doors.
you are in a
the residue should ge t your eyes, flush them with water .
Airbags that have deployed in a c rash must be replaced .
by a
tra ined technician who has the necessary tools and diagnostic equipment to properly replace any airbag on your vehicle and as-sure system effectiveness in a crash .
Never permit sa lvag ed or recycled airbags to be in your vehicle .
Advanced Airbag
tory information and heed the WARNon pag e 82 .
Th e fro nt pass e
nger sea t in yo ur vehicl e has a
Und eployed air bag modules and safety pre tensione rs are cla ssified as Perchlora te
Material . handli ng may
requ irements regarding
h andl ing and disp osal of the veh icle or parts of it s
r estraint system , includ ing airbag modu les and
safe ty
S ervice Faci lit ies are
The front Advanced Airbag System also includes:
Crash senso rs i n the fr on t o f the veh ic le tha t measur e vehicle accelera tio n/dece le ratio n to p ro
vide inf ormation to the Adva nce d Airbag Syste m
a bo ut the seve rity o f th e crash .
An elec troni c cont ro l u nit , w ith i nte gra te d crash
senso rs for front and side im pacts . T he co ntr ol unit
" decides " whe ther
to fire jus t the front airbags
base d on t he info rm ation recei ved from the crash
sensors . Th e con trol unit also "dec id es " whe ther the safety belt pretensi one rs shou ld be activated .
An Advanced Airbag with ga s generator inside
the steering
An Adva nced Airbag with gas generato r inside
th e in str u men t panel for th e f ro nt passenger .
Sitting properly and safely
The airba g system is not a substitute for your Rather, it is part of the occ upa nt straint sys tem in your vehicle
is import ant to remem ber that the side airbag
s ys tem is desig ned t o help re duce the like lihood of
ser io us injury . H owever , it is importa nt to ber th a t a deploying airbag may also cau se other
i njur ies, su ch as bruisin g, fric tio n burns ,
a nd abr asions . A lso re m ember th a t side airbags
if the ignit ion is sw itch ed off when a crash
in side ured by the sensor is too tow,
in fron t-en d co llisio ns,
in rear -e n d
in rollove rs , unless the deployme nt th reshold
fo r dep loyment stored in the co ntrol unit is met.
so me t ypes of accide nts the fron t airbags , Curtai n Protection ® airbags and side airb a gs ma y
b e t rigge re d t ogether.
An inflating side airbag can cause serious or even fatal injury.
To help reduce the risk of injury when the
supplemental side airbag inflates ,
-
Always sit in an upright position and do not lean against the area where the side
airbag is located.
- Never
let a child or anyone else rest their head against the side trim panel in the area where the side airbag inflates.
-
Always make sure that safety belts are worn correctly.
- Nev er
let anyone sitting in the front seat put their hand out of the window.
on the seat backrests
gerously through the passenger ment and cause serious Injury if the mental side airbag inflates.
any children or other passengers to ride in that space.
coat hooks for thing but lightweight clothing. Never leave any heavy or sharp-edged objects in the pockets.
sonal injury a
Improper use, repair , or disassembly of the driver and front passenger seats can prevent side airbags from working property and result in severe injuries.
seat covers or
ests that have not been specifically
ately by an authorized Volkswagen dealer or authorized Volkswagen
ing damaged by heavy objects hitting the sides of the seat backre sts or force being put on the seat backs, especially in the area
where the side airbag module is located .
wagen dealer or authorized Volkswagen the airbag system may not work correctly.
on page 82.
The Curt ain Protection ® airbags are in the
header area on both sides of the vehicle 62.
The general location is identified by the word 62 show the deployment
zone of the
An electronic control module and side impact
sensors.
An airbag system and monitoring indicator light in the instrument cluste r 84.
The
62. The
The airbag system is mon itored electron ically to make sure it is work ing properly at all times. Every
time you turn on the ig n ition , the airbag system in
d icator light will come on for a few seconds
(function check).
The airbag system is not a substitute for your safe
ty belt. Rather, it
is part of the overall occupant re
straint system in your vehic le 58,
Sitting properly and safely
Child safety and child restraints
this section
Important safety inst ructions for using child
seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
U sing a child restraint on the rear seat . . . . . .
Infant seats.............................
res traints with a safety belt . . . 115
Securing the child restra int with LATCH/
U CRA lower universa l a n cho rages . . . . . . . . . 118
Secu ring a chil d rest rai nt wit h the
Top Tether
st rap . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
or other acciden t also apply to children
de
signed for th eir size. weight, and body structu re .
M any countries and
states of th e United States
and provinces of Canada have laws requ ir in g t he
use of approved child res traint sys tems fo r i nfants
and
a fron ta l crash at a speed of
be more than times the weight of the child. This means the effective weight of the
kg) . Under these conditions . only
an appropriate child restraint properly used can re
duce the risk
of serious injury. Child restraints, like safety must be used properly to be ef
fe ctive. Used improperly, they can increase the risk of serious injury in an accident.
the child seat manufacturer's instructions to be sure the seat is right for your child's size 121, Sources ofinformation about child re
straints and their use. Please be sure to read and
heed
abou t child safety, Advanced Airbags, and
the
Safety
Airbag system
A child in a r earward -fac ing child seat in
stalled on the front pa ssenger seat
se at and
Always re arward-fa cing child seats on the rear s eat.
you ha ve, in exce ptional circumstances,
nevertheless d eci de d t o sea t on the front passenger seat
a nd the PASSENGER light does not come on and sta y on when ever the ignition is on , immed iatel y th e rear
w ard-fa cin g sea t on the rear se at and have the airba g sy s te m insp ec te d right aw ay
by your authorized Volk sw age n dealer or authorized V olk sw age n Service
Accident statistics h ave sh own that c h ildren
are sa fe r in the rea r se at are a than
i n the front seating position . A lw ay s restrain
any a g e 12 and unde r in the rear.
Sittin g properl y and safe ly