2012 VOLKSWAGEN GOLF Owners Manual

option for 3 to 6
and when the other conditions for airbag
A
wARN
heavy, or
Before driving
ers.

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

A weight -sensi ng mat under the
weight on the seat. The infor­mation registered is sent continuously to the tronic of the
front Advanced Airbag on th e passe nger side.
An airbag system monitoring indicator in the instrument page 84.
The BAG in the
center of the instrument you when
the front Advanced Airbag System on the passen­
ger side has been turned off
85.
A senso r inside the safe ty f or the
fr ont seat passe nger to meas ure the te ns ion on the
safe ty T his tension on the safety a n d the weight registered by the weig ht se nsing-mat unit whether the passenger
front airbag be turned off or not.
A sw itch in the safe ty
is or not and trans­
mits this informa tion to the unit.
An airbag system and cannot pro­vide protection in a
the airbag on, it mean s that may be system. when when it should.
Hav e the airbag system inspected immedi­
U se original equipment airbags
and diagnostic equipment to any airbag in your and assure system effectiveness in a c ras h.
N ever permit sa lvaged or airbags to be
Damage to the front pas seng er sea t can pre­vent the fron t airbag from working properly.
Im proper repair or disassembly of the front p asse nger and driver sea t ca n prevent
the Advance d Airbag from working
Before driving
be performed by an authorized Volks­
wagen or an authorized
Nev er r emove the front pa ssenger seat or drive r sea t from the
from the front passenger seat.
Never disassemble or ta ke parts off the seat or disconnect wire s from it.
Never carry sharp objects in your pockets or put them on the se at. the weight-sensing mat in the passenger seat is punctured it can­not work
Never carry things on your
seat can
Never store item s under the front seats.
Part s of Airbag System under the front be damaged , sy ste m
on the front seats that have not by for
covers can prevent the Advanced Airbag Sy stem from recognizing straints or occupants on the passenger seat
and prev ent the side alrbag in the seat back­rest from
bl ankets, or similar items on the front pa ssenger seat. The additiona l
restraint or person on the
sea t and prevent the Advanced Airbag tem from functioning properly.
foam cushion or something to properly position the
comes on and stay s on whenev er the on the front pa s-senger seat.

gen dealer or authorized Volkswagen Service that originally had cloth upholstery. Never
not work if different upholstery is
on page 82.
grammed in the electronic control unit.
Th e fro nt airbag on the passenger side
of the front
seat b e turned off if the weight registere d
on the seat the weight-sensing mat) is than or to the combined weight of
a typ ical 1 year-old infant and
any of the child restraints in Federa l tor Vehicle vanced Airbag in your vehicle is certified .
For a
see The GER BAG comes on and s tays on
to yo u when the front Advanced Airbag on the
pa sse nger side has been turned off.
Passenger front airbag active
on the ignit ion.
Th e weight- sens ing mat regis ters the weight on
the front passenge r seat. that weight is abov e the reference value, the passenger front airbag
the ignition is on, and the GER BAG in the i nstrumen t does not come on , the passenge r front airbag is
ac tive . the has burned out
(s ee belo w). you be unable to w hether the
passenger front airba g is act ive or not.
Using restraints on the front
passenger seat
The airbag on the front passenger side makes the
front seat a pote ntially dangerous for a to ride. Because of this danger , and because dre n are be tter protec ted on the rear seat
when properly restrained for their age and size, we
strongly advise that you always restraint s used
t o certify complia nce of the Advanced Airbag with the suppression
Child ty and child rest raint s; not e below !
How do know when the passenger front airbag has been turned off by the control unit?
The BAG in the come on and stay on to you
whe n the front Adva nced Airbag on the passenger
s ide has bee n turned off by the electron ic co ntrol
unit. Unles s the co mes on and
s tay s on , th e passenger front airbag is act ive 85 .
For safety reasons, you must never use a res traint system on the front passen ger seat less the BAG
indicato r in the instrument cluster. the
passenger front airbag were to dep loy in an
den t, it se ve re ly injure and possib ly the
c h il d in the restraint system . the

PASSENGER BAG light burns out, lhe
airbag monitoring indicator light come on and
signal a malfunclion of the Advanced Airbag tem. Although the burn ed-out bulb not change
the way the front airbag on the passenger side
works , it
SENGER BAG
tem inspected immediat ely by your authorized
V olkswagen dealer or autho rized Volkswagen
Service
Faci lit y.
vehic le occupants and especially dren must be restra in ed properly wheneve r
riding in a vehicle. An unrestrained or properly r estrained child could be injured by striking the interior or by being ejected from the vehicle during a sudden maneuver or
bag .
A child in a rea rward -facing child seat on the front passenger seat will be
The inflating airbag
seat and the child against the seat backrest, center armrest , door, or roof.
restraint properly ins talled and u se d at on e of the rea r seating position s provides the highes t degre e of protection for infants and children in most accident situations.
Fo r their own safety,
a child restraint, always the manufacturer' s
To reduce the risk of serious injury, make
sure that the PASSENGER light come s on and stays on whenever a child restraint is insta lled on the front passenger sea t and the ignition is switched on. T ake the child restraint off the front passenger seat and it properly at one of t he seat ing positions on the rea r seat if the BAG light does not stay on.
H ave the airbag system insp ec ted immediate­ly by an authorized Volkswage n dealer or an
authorized Volksw agen Facility.
you must u se a child restraint on the front passeng er seat and the child restraint manufa cturer's instructions require the use of a towel, foam cushion or som ething similar to properly position the re strain t, make certain that the BAG light comes on and stays when ever the child restrain t is installed on the front passenger
sea t.
Otherwise , the tem on the rear sea t!
Changes in weight on the passenger seat while driving can switch the passenger front airbag on or off so that it does not deploy when it should or deploys when it should not,
r esulting in an increa sed risk of se riou s sonal injury.
Do not carry anything on your lap or transport things on the passeng er sea t. Things on the passenger seat can influence the weight registered by the weight-se nsing mat, sending the wrong information to the
airbag control unit. These objects can als o
ca use serio us personal injury if the airbag
g er door, supporting body weight on the rest, or by holding the grab handle on the stru m ent pane l.
Always mak e sure that a child res traint ha s bee n reg istered by the the status of the Advan ce d Airbag changes while the vehicle is moving, the light blinks for about 5 seco nds to catch the driv-er's attention . this happen s, alway s s top as soon as it is sa fe to do so and chec k to mak e

sure that the airbag on/off status is correct for the passenger riding on the front passen-ger seat. Side airbags
Fig. 61 the padding on the outboard side of the fro nt seat backrests : locat ion an d deployment zone of the side airbags (B).
on page 82.
T he side airbags are in the backrest padding of the
driver and passenger seats 61 B. The is shown by the word The
area marked in red (dotted lines) indicates the
ployment zone of the side airba gs.
a side collision, the side airbag in the sea t rest can and reduce the risk of injury to
the drive r or the front seat passenger.
T he side airbags
for the front seating
duce the risk of injury that can be caused by bags when they pant sitting next to it is not seated properly.
Th e s i
de airbag for the front passenger seat can
be used with properly restraints . ways read and heed whenever using a child restraint in the
vehicle: 69 , 82, Airbag
system , Child safety and child in The dangers of using child straints on the fron t seat on page in
A n electronic control module and side impact
sensors.
airbags in the front seat backrests.
An airbag system monitoring indicator light in the instrument cluster
the side airbag between the vehicle
occ upant and the door. The side airbag system
supplements the safe ty and can to duce the risk of injury to the occupants' upper so.
provide th is additional p ro tection,
the side airbag must
especially to 103.
Th e airbag system is mon ito red
to make sure it is working properly at times. E very
time you turn on the igni tion , the airbag syst em come on for a few seconds
( functio n ch eck) .

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