2012 VOLKSWAGEN GOLF PLUS service

Safety
Introduction
this sec tion y o u'll find informatio n on th e lowing:
Warning light ................ .... .. , .. .. , . . . 68
F ro ntal collis ions and l ows of ph ys ics . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Whot happens to passengers no t wearing a safety
b elt? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . .
. . 7 5
Safety belt exte nder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 6
Safety belt retractor , pre te nsio ner, load limiter . . . . 78
Serv ice and d isposal of belt prete nsioners . . . . . . . 78
th e co nditi on of all safe ry belt s re gul arly. If a
sa fe ty belt s h ows da m age to we bbin g, b in din gs,
r et rac tors or bu ckles, have the safe ty belt replaced
b y an auth orized Volkswagen deafer or an rized Volk swagen Service rized Volkswagen deale rs and authorize d sw age n Se rv ice Fa cilities
Adju stin g th e seatin g pos ition
A ir ba g page
safety and c hild page
erl y position ed safety belt increa ses th e risk of severe pe rsona l injury or death. S afety belt s
offer optimum protection only whe n they are
u sed pro perly.
Safety belt s are the singl e most effecti ve
m eans availabl e to reduce th e r is k of seriou s jury and dea th in automobil e accid ents. For
your protection and that of your passengers ,
hicl e is moving.
Sitting properly and safely
Every person in the vehicle must b e properly
seat ed on
for e the vehicl e starts to move, and must k eep the belt properl y fastened while riding in the hicle. This applie s to the drive r and all g ers, ev en when ju st dri ving around town.
Alwa ys secure children in the vehicl e with a
restraint s ys te m appropriate for their age,
weight and page
Never attac h the safety belt to the buckl e o f another seat. Attachin g the safety belt to the wrong buckle will reduce safe ty belt
Never le t any obje cts or liquids get into the
s a fety belt latch and pre v ent it from working
prop erly. Alway s keep the belts clean. Dirty belt s
m ay n ot work correctly and can impair the
Neve r remove a safety belt w hil e the ve hicl e
i s moving. Doing so will increas e your risk of being injured or kill ed.
Ne ve r strap more than one person, includin g
s mall child ren, into any single safety belt .
N eve r let children or ba bies ride sitting on your lap and never place
Several layers of heavy clothing may
Ne ver wea r belt s ove r rigid or breakabl e jects in or on your clothing, such as eye glas ses,
p ens, keys etc., as these may ca us e injury.
Never use comfort clips or device s that creat slack in tl1e shoulder belt. Howev e r, spe cial clips may be require d for the correct use of some
c hild restraint sy ste m s.
Always ke ep saf ety belt buckl es fre e of anything
that may prevent the buckle from la tchin g sec urely.
Safe ty belt s off er optimum protecti on only when th e scat b ack is upright and belts a rc correctl y position ed on th e body
66 67

do not provide protectio n for the arms and lower body parts. is important to remember that th e
supple m ental airbag system is designed to reduce the likelihood of serious in juries. However, it is poss ibl e that d ep lo ye d airbag may cause other injurie s such as swelling, bruising, friction burns, and abrasio ns.
A irba gs inflat e in
the blink of an eye, so fast that many people don't eve n realize th a t the airbags
h ave dep loyed. The a irbags will deflate ate ly after deployment s o that th e front occupants can see th roug h the windshield again without terruption.
A ir
bags inflat e with a grea t deal of fo rce. Airbags can cause serious in juries when they infl ate and hit those who are sittin g too close, are out of
mental protection durin g certain kinds of frontal
collisio ns page 67, Safety belts.
Make s
ure that nothing is in the way of the airbags when th ey deploy. For example, items on your lap or o n th e seat could be pushed into yo ur body or fly dangero usly through the passenger ment w he n the ai rbag inflates and cause serio us personal injury.
T he areas outlined in red (dolled lines) and fig. 59 and fig. ind icate the airbag deployment zone. Never place o r aLtach
accessories or other o bjects (such as cup hold ers, telephone bracke ts, note pads, large, heavy or bulky objects) on the doors, on the w indshie ld, over or near the area marked in red (dotted lin es) .
Physical impairm ents and airbags
If yo u have a physica l impairment o r condition that prevents yo u f rom sitting properly o n the driver seat with the safety belt properly fastened
a n d reach ing the pe dal s, special modifications to
your ve hicle may be necess ary. The safety belt and airbagcan only provide optimum p rotection if you
are seated correct ly and can reach the p ed als.
thorized Volkswagen Service Facility or call the
te red by the electron ic control unit. seve rity
depends on speed and decele rati on as well as the mass and stiffn ess of the ve hicle or object in vo lved
in the cras h.
The front airbag s will not inflat e in sid e or rear lisio ns, in roll overs or if the ig niti on is swi tc h ed off .
T he front airbags will not inflate in all frontal sions. The trigger ing of th e a irbag system depends on th e ve hicle dece le rat ion rat e caused by the lisio n and registered by the electr onic control unit. If th is rat e is below the refer ence va lue grammed the control unit, th e a irba gs will not be trigge red, even though the vehicle may be badly damaged as a resu lt of the collision. Vehicl e
damage, repair costs or even the lack of ve hicl e damage is not necessarily an ind ication of whether
a n airbagshould inflat e or not. It is not possib le to
defi ne a range of vehicl e speeds w ill cove r
every possibl e kind and angle of impact that will
a lways trigger the airbag s, s ince th e c ircumstances
will vary con sid erably between one collis ion and a not her. Important facto rs include, for example , the nature (hard or soft) o f the objec t that the hicl e hit s, the angle of impact, ve hicle speed , etc.
When a n airbag deploys, fine dust i s released. This
i s normal and is not caused by fire in the ve hicle.
T hi s d ust is made up mostly of a powder used to
lub ricate the airbags as
s ions when the veh icle deceleration is high enough to depl oy the airbags. Airbags onl y deploy
once, and o nl y i n certain kinds of collisions. safet y belts are always there to offer protectio n in
th ose situ ation s in which airbags are no t s upposed to dep loy, or when they have already deployed; fo r example, when your vehicl e strikes or is st ru ck by
anothe r ve hicle after an initial coll is ion.
is just one o f the reasons w hy a n air bag is supplementary restraint and is not a substitute for a safe ty belt . The airbag syste m wo rks most
The air bags are pan of the overall passive vehicl e safe ty sys tem. The airbag system works most cie ntly when used with properly safety be lts and a proper seatin g posit ion
84 85

tronic control unit to regu late deployment of the front Advanced Airbag on th e passe nger side.
A n airbag monitoring syste m and indicator
light in the in strument page 82.
The BAG light in the center of th e instru ment panel tells you when
th e front Advan ced Airbag Sys te m on th e been turned ofT.
A sensor in sid e the safe ty belt buckle for the fro nt passenger scat to measure th e te nsio n on the safe ty belt. Thi s te n sion on th e safe ty belt and th e
we ig ht regis te re d b y th e weigh t sens ing -mat help
t h e control unit w heth er th e passenger
front airbag should be turned ofT or not.
A switch in the safe ty bel t b uckle for the driver and for the front seat passen ge r senses
w hether th at safety belt is lat ched or n o t and
va nced Airbag System from working properly.
Repairs to th e front passenger seat should be performed by an authorized Volkswagen dealer or an authorized Volkswagen Service Facility.
Never remove the front passenger scat or driver seat from the vehicle .
Never re move the upholstery from the front passenger scat.
Neve r disassemble or take parts off the seat or disconnect wires from it.
Never carry sharp objects in your pockets or put them on the seat. If the weight-sensing mat in passenger scat is punctured it cannot work properly.
Befor e driving
Never carry things on your lap or carry jects on the front passenger scat.
sending the wrong information to the airbag control unit. T hese objects can also cause serious personal injury if th e ai rbag in nates.
Nevers tore items under the front scats. ponents of the Advanced Airbag Sys tem located under the front seats could be damaged, which coul d prevent them and the airbag system fro m
working properly.
Never put seat covers or replac em ent
cifically approved by Volk swage n.
Seat cove rs can prevent the Adva nced Airbag
System from recognizing child rest cupants on the passenger scat and ca n preve nt the side ai rbag in the seat backre st fro m
Never usc cushions, blankets, or simila r items on the front passenger seat. The additional padding will prevent the
tering a child restraint or person on the seat and will prevent the Advanced Airbag System frum
functioning prope rly.
If yo u must use a ch ild restraint on the front passenger seat and the child re straint
foam cushion or somethin g similar to properly the c hild restraint, m ake certain that the AIR BAG light or AIR BAG ligh t comes on and stays on whenever the child restra int is installed on the front passenger seat.
I f the AIR BAG light o r
immediately install the chi ld
r ized Volkswagen dealer or auth orized

To reduce the risk of se riou s injury, make sure
tl1at the or
front
p asse nger seat and
SENGER
rized Volkswagen dealer or swagen Service Facility immediately.
light or
on the front passenger seat.
install the child restraint system on the rear seat!
first re ad and note th e introdu ctory
on pag e
Changes in weight on the passenger seat during travel ca n switch the passe nger front airbag on or so that it does no t deploy when it should or deplo ys when it should
o n your la p or trans­
port things on the passenger seat. weight regis­tered b y the weight-sensing
Never reduce weight on the passenger seat
by hold ing the handle above the passenger door,
suppo rting body weight on the armrest , or by holdin g th e grab handl e on the instrument panel.
Alway s m ake sure that child restraint s are correc tly regi stered by the weight-sensing mat. If the statu s of tl1e Advanced Airbag System has
changed while the vehicl e is moving, the SENGER light blinks for about 5
seconds to catc h the dri ver's attention. If this happens, always stop as soo n as it is safe to do so and check t o make sure that the airbag on/off status is correct for the passeng er riding on the
front passe nger seat
Fig . 62 Dep loymen t zones of the front ond rear side
o irbogs.
Th e side airbags are in th e ba ckre st paddin g of the
drive r a nd passe nge r fig. 61. Dep endin g on
t h e model, th e re al so migh t be side airb ags

Always make sure that th e side airbag can in­flate without interfe re nce :
- Neve r in sta ll
seat covers or replacement uphols tery over th e front seat backs that h ave
not been specifically approved by Volk­
swage n. the s ide airbag may not
b e able to deploy fully.
-Neve r put seat c u shi ons, blanke ts , or other cove rings over th e areas where th e s ide ai r­
b ags inflate.
Side Curtain Protection ® Airbag
-Damage to th e original seat covers or to the seam in the area of the si de airbag module must a lways be repaired imme di ­
a te ly by an au thorized Vol kswagen dealer or authorized Volkswage n Service Facility.
Always prevent th e sid e airbags from
b eing damaged b y heavy objects hitting the
s ides of the seat back s or force be ing put on the scat backs, especially in the area w here the
s id e a irbag modul e is located. The air bag sys te m
A lways have work involving the s ide airbag system, including removal, rep lace­ment, and ins talla ti on of airbag compo n en ts, or other re pairs performed by an authorized Volkswagen deale r o r authorize d Volkswage n
Service Facility. the airbag system may not work correctly. Neve r remove th e front seats from th e vehicl e or modify parts of the front seats. Never attempt to modify a ny components of the air bag system in any way. I f excess ive force is exerted on the seat­back bols te rs, the s ide airbags may deploy not at al l o r
Fig. 63 th e left ve hicle side: In stallation location and deploym ent zone of th e Side in airbag.
information and h eed th e WARNINGS on page
Th e Sid e C urta in ai rbags are in the
h eader are a on bot h sid es of th e fig. 63.
Befo re driv ing
The ge nera l lo ca tion is id entified by the word The red fig. 63 sho w th e deploy­men t zo ne of the Sid e Cu rtain airbag .

To reduce th e risk of serious injury, make sure
t hat the PASSENGER BAG ligh t comes on and stays on w hen ever a is stalled o n th e front passenger seat and th e tion is swit ched on.
Take the child off the front sen ge r seat and install it properly
does not stay on.
Have the airbag system inspected by your auU1orized Volkswagen dealer or author ized Volkswagen service facility
hicle while sitting on the lap of another passenger .
first read and note th e intr oductory information and hee d th e on page
rid e in the back seat properly s tr ain ed for their age and size.
A lwa ys u
se the right child seat for ea c h chi ld and always use it properly.
Always carefully follow the child seat ture r's instru ction s on how to ro ut e th e safety belt
properly through the child seal a nd how to restrain
th e child in the chiJd seat.
When using th e veh icle safety
to a child seat , you mus t firs t activate the switch able locking
featur e on the safety belt to help p revelll the c hild seal from movin g.
Sitting
really tight so tha t
additional information about
a child restraint syste m on the front passenger seat:
If you must in stall a child restraim on th e passe nger seat in excep tional circum stan ces, be
sure to read and heed th e importan t info rmation and warnings in the section of thi s Manual
There are additional adjustments that must
be made in order to be
the safety upper a nchorag e for the fron t passenge r seal so that the availabl e safely belt is
l o ng enough to pro p erly in stall the child restraint.

-Always make sure that the forward-facing seat has been designed and certified by its manufacturer for use on a front passenge r seat with a front and side airbag.
- Always carefully follow the
turer's instructions provided with the child seat or carrier.
- Never install a child restraint without a
properly attached top
tether strap if th e child
restraint manufacturer's instructions quire the top tether strap to be used.
- Never
put the forward-facing child
ment panel.
- Always set
the safety belt upper anchorage to the adjustment position that permits proper installation in accordance with tl1e child restraint manufacturer's instructions.
- Always move the
passenger seat to the high est position in the up and down
straint.
- Always make sure
that nothing prevents the front passen ge r's seat from being moved
to the rearmost position in its fore and aft
-Always make sure that the backrest is in the upright position.
- Never place additional
item s on th e seat that can increase the total weight registered
by the weight-sensing mat and ca use injury
in a crash.
Always buckle the child seat firmly in place
eve n if a
Alway s read and heed aU WARNINGS eve r using a child restraint in a vehicle page
light
comes on and stays on whenever a child straint is installed on tl1e front passenger seat and the ignition is switched on.
AIR BAG
page82.
the off senger seat and install it properly at one of the rear seating positions if the
Have the airbag system inspected by your authorized Volkswagen dealer or aulhorized Volkswagen Service Facility immediat ely .

In this section you'll find information on th e lowing:
Indicator light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
func tions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
w iper service pos itio n . . . . . . . . . . . .
Rain sensor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
and refilling wind shi eld washer fluid 132
More information :
Air condition er air rec irculation mode page 226
Preparatio ns for working in the engin e page 242
Exte rior care and cleaning=> pag e 262
washer fluid without enough frost can freeze on the windshield and duce visibility.
Never use the wind shield wipers/washers when it is freezing without first defrosting the windshield. The washer solution may freeze on the windshie ld and reduce visibility.
sonal injury.
Always replac e wiper blades that are worn,
damaged, or do not kee p the windshield clear.
Note
To help prevent damage to the wiper blades and the wiper motor when it is cold outside, always make sure that blades are not frozen to the shi eld before operating the wipers. When parking the vehicle in freezing weather, it can be he lpful to
plac e th e windshield wipers in the so they do not fr eeze to the windshie ld
Plea se first read and note th e imrodu cto ry informati on and hee d the on page 128.
Light s up Possibl e ca use
was her and re ar windo w
was he r fluid leve l too low.
the ignition is switc h ed Note
Failure to heed warning ligh ts or text can resu lt in ve hicl e damage