2012 VOLKSWAGEN GOLF panel

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

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 .

Adaptive Front Lighting
The Adaptive Front Lighting works only
with the low beams switched on and only at
speeds above about 6 mph
improve road
vehicles equipped with the Adaptive Front
Lighting the feature is switched on and off
via the Assistant menu
the roadway. Th e headlights re­
t urn to their original position after a delay , depend­
in g on the speed of the
Crashes and other accidents can happen when you cannot see the road ahead and when you cannot be seen by other motorists.
not be able to see
f a r enough ahead for safety, especially at dusk or when it is dark . Always switch on the low-beam headlights at dusk or when it is dark.
The taillights do not come on when the daytime running lights are switched on. Ave­hicle without
cool or hum id weather, th e insides of th e headlights , th e rea r li ghts, and turn signals
can temporarily fog up. This is normal and does
not affect the service life
of the vehic le's lightin g
system. tory information and h ee d the WARN­on page 122.
Instrument panel lighting
Whe n the lights are on, the brightness of the in­
strument panel lighting is ad justed by turning the
thumbwhee l
Instrument cluster brightness
Whe n t he lights are sw itched on, you can adjust
the brightness of the in strument cluster li ghting by turning the thumbw hee l
Before driving
some vehicles with daytime running lights
(DRL), the instrument lighting switches on
need to
switch the head lights on
turn on
the headlight range is
Headlights that are aimed to o high because of the way the vehicle is loaded can blind and distract other drivers. This can lead to a
crash and serious per sonal injuries.
Always adjust headlights to loading condi-tions so that they do not blind others.

Transporting
Driving tips
this sectio n
Always stow heavy objects in the luggage partment and make sure tha t the rear seat ests are securely latched. Always use the downs in the luggage compartment and secu re th e
ob jects with suita ble straps. Neve r ove rload the
hic le . R emember that the vehicle load, as
More information:
Rear hatch 49
Folding down the passenger seat backrest
Lights page 122
Luggage compartment 141
Roof rack 146
Trailer towing 149
Tires and wheels 258
Unsec ured or incorrectly stowed items can fly through the vehicle, causing serious
senger compartment by the front airbags if they To help reduce the risk of se riou s
per sonal injury:
strument panel.
nothing on
the front passenger seat when the backrest is folded forward. When the backrest is folded
forward, even
85.
scat that is
blocked by objects being carried
H eavy loads will cle handle s and increase stopping distances.
Heavy lo ads that are not properly stowed or secured can cause loss of control and ous injury.
the luggage compartment as possible.
-
Always tie down h eavy items securely with su itabl e strap s using the tie-downs in the luggage compartment.
Tran sporting

Buttons, More information: AC 121, and 122,
knobs
defrost button. Airflow is direc ted to the windshield. Recirc u lation mode switches off autom atically in thi s position. th e w indshie ld as q u ick ly as possib le. The coolin g sys te m sw itc hes on automat ica lly to dehu mid ify th e a ir.
Climatronic: D efog de frost button. The incom ing outside air i s d irected to th e w inds hie ld, a nd a ir rec irc ulatio n aut omat ically switches off. To defrost th e winds hie ld as quickly as pos -humi dity is removed from the air at temperatu res above approximately 38 °F (3 is set to a hig h speed .
Air dist ribution to th e upper instrument panel outlets.
Air di strib ution in th e
Climatronic: Air is d irected upward.
Press the bu tton to switch the air conditioni ng system on or off.
Rea r wi ndow defroster: fu nc tions
A ir reci rculat io n m od e 212.
Sw it c hing off.
Climatronic: Pr ess to bu tton lights up.
Combines te mperat ure settings for the driver side with the passenger side:
DUAL
th e in di cato r
High (h igh fan speed) fu nc tion switches on. The right indicator
ligh t in th e button turns on.
Pre ss the button again: the Low blower speed) fu nction switches on. The
Ne ver switch off the fa n for an extended period of time, since no fres h a ir ente r
__
Air conditioner operation
Please first read and note the introduc ­tory information and heed the WARN­on page
While d rivi ng T
h e coo ling system for the passenger compart­
ment

Air vents
Fig. 123 the instr ument panel : Air vents.
Plea se first read and note the lntroduc­
on page
Air vents
To help ensure sufficie nt heating , cool ing and ven­tilat ion in the passenger compartment , neve r close
the air ven ts complete ly 123.
T o open and close the air vents, turn the
thu mbwhee l in the desir e d direc tio n.
direction.
Additional air ven ts are loca ted in the
as as in the rear area of the passenger compart­
ment.
Air
on pag e
G en era l information
air recircula tion mode , outside air is prevented
from entering the vehicle inte rior .
button is pressed, and the air
dist ribution switc h is tu rned to
Switching air recirculation on and off
Switching o n : Press the
until the indica to r light in the button goes out.
driving
Do not place food, medic ations, or other heat­
s en sitive things in front of the air vents. Food ,
m ed ication s, and other thing s that are sensitiv e
t o heat or cold can be dama ged or made unus­abl e by the air
Th e air comi ng o ut of th e ve nts through
Sta le air c auses driver fatigue and reduces driver al ertness, which can caus e accidents,
collisions a nd serious personal injury.
ente r the passeng er compa rtm ent.
off a nd recir­culatio n m ode is on , conden sation can quick­ly form on the windows and greatly reduce visibility.
Alwa ys switch off recircula tion mode when it is not n ee ded .