2012 VOLKSWAGEN GOLF Owners Manual

the BAG
to make certain
tha t the light stays
on continuously whenever the ignition is on.
BAG the time , stop as soon as it is safe to do so AND
reactivate the airbag system by turning the tion off for more than 4 seconds and then turning it
on again ;
remove and
facturer 's instruc tions ;
make sure t hat the switchab le locking feature
on the safety
has been
make sure that things that may increase the
weight of the child and child seat are not being
t r ansported on the front passenger seat;
make sure that the safety buck le on the
front passenge r seat back and fort h;
make sure that nothing can interfere with the
safety buckles and that they are not ed;
if a strap is being used to tie the child sea t to the fron t passenger seat, make sure that it is not so tigh t that it cau ses the weight-se nsin g mat to
measure more weight tha n is on th e seat.
light does not come on ...
the ligh t does
not come on and does not stay on continuously
(when the ignition is switched on). take the child
rest raint off the front passenger seat and
it
properly at one of the rear seat posi tions . Have the
airbag system in spec ted immedia te ly by your thorized Facil ity .
The light should come on ...
The
BAG ligh t should
BAG light comes on and stays on
under these circumstances , make sure that:
the adult on the front passenge r seat is seated on the center of th e seat cushion with his
o r her back up against the backrest and the
the
the safety is being properly worn and that
there is not a of slack in the safety webbing;
accessory seat cove rs or cushions or othe r things th at may cause an incorrect read ing or
holstery of the seat have been taken off the front
passenge r seat;
the optional safety in th e safety
for ab out 5 seconds to ca tc h the drive r's atten-tion.
the light does not go off when an adult who is not very is sitti ng on th e front passenger seat
afte r t aking the s teps describ ed above, m ake
s u re the adult i s properly sea te d and re strain-ed at on e of the rear sea ting positions.
H ave t he a irbag syst e m ins pecte d by your
authorize d
senger se at dete cts an empty seat, the front
airbag on the passenger side
light
the optional safety extender is in the
buckle for the front safety or the front ger safety senger seat is not occupied , the BAG light come on.

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.

or instrument
you cannot sit upright more than ches (25 em) from the steering gate whether adaptive equipment may be to you reach the and
you are unrestrained ,
be seriously injured and
even be if you are siting too
bag wear safety
if the front airbag inflates -even with an Advanced bag
make certain that children age 12 or younger ride in the rear seat.
when the airbag
sit as far as possible from the steering
sit upright with your back against the backrest of your seat.
prevent serious injuries to the head , legs and hips if the airbag inflates.
Objects between you and the airbag crease the risk of injury in a crash by ing with the way the airbag and/or by being pushed into you as the airbag
when the is in use.
instrument or seat backrests or between those areas and someone in the vehicle. These objects if an airbag inflates.
or transport objects on the front passenger seat. make sure that there is nothing on the front passenger seat that to the airbag system that the
seat is occupied by a person when it in fact is not, or to is. The weight of such objects can cause the passenger front airbag to be turned on when it should be off, or can cause the airbag to work in a
way that is different from the way it have worked without objects on the seat.
make sure that nothing is on the front passenger seat when the backrest is
The fine dust created when airbags
To reduce the risk of breathing problems, those with asthma or other respiratory tions should get fresh air right away by or opening windows or

you are in a in which airbags wash your hands and face with soap and water before eating.
.
To reduce the risk of serious injury, make sure that the
the restraint off the front passenger seat and
by your authorized or authorized does not come on and stay on whenever a straint is on the front passenger
seat and the ignition is switched on.
Airbags that have
proved by and
and diagnostic equipment to any airbag on your
Never permit or airbags to be The dangers of using
on page 82.
The airbag on the front passenger side makes the
front seat a potentially dangerous for a is equipped with an vanced Airbag The front seat is a very
dangerous for an infant or
for a 12 years
and younger , must ride on the back seat
and be
a
Because of this danger , and because better protected on the rear seat when
properly restrained for their age and size, we
strong ly urge you
to make sure that dren ride on the rear seat Child safe-
page 83, Advanced
Airbag infants , child restraints and
be injured and
can even be if too to the airbag
when it
dren must be restrained
be injured by striking the interior or by being ejected from the during a sudden maneuver or
is
bag.

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

-
make sure that the backrest is
in the upright position.
- Never
make sure that the PASSEN ­
GER comes on and stays on
BAG does not come on and stay on, immediate ­the forward-facing
or an authorized Service
in even when no is sitting in it. A seat can around the during a sudden stop or in a
read and heed whenever using a restraint in the vehi­82, Air­bag system, and Child safety and child restraints.
Fi g. 59 Loca tion and
Location and zone of the passenger front airbag.
Before driving

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 .