2012 VOLKSWAGEN TOUAREG ECU

d Make sure that children are properly secured by a restraint system appropriate for their size and
weight ⇒  Child safety and child restraints.
d Properly adjust front seats, all head restraints and mirrors to the correct height ⇒  Adjusting the seating position.
d Wear shoes that give your feet a good grip and that give you a feel for the pedals.
d Make sure that the floormat on the driver side is properly fastened and cannot interfere with the pedals.
d Assume a proper seating position before the vehicle starts to move and keep this position while
driving. Make sure that all passengers do the same ⇒  Adjusting the seating position.
d Properly fasten your safety belt before driving the vehicle and wear your safety belt properly at all
times while driving. Make sure that all passengers do the same ⇒  Safety belts.
d Only transport as many passengers as there are seats and safety belts available.
d Never drive if your driving ability has been impaired, for example, by medication, alcohol, or illegal drugs.
d Never let passengers or phone calls distract you while driving and never take your attention off the road while using vehicle software or adjusting vehicle equipment or accessories.
d Always adapt your speed and driving style to visibility, weather, road, and traffic conditions.
d Always obey traffic laws and speed limits.
d On long trips make frequent rest stops – at least once every 2 hours.
d Secure animals in the vehicle with a system that corresponds to their weight and size.
WARNING
Always observe traffic rules and posted speed limits and use common sense. Your good judgment can mean the difference between arriving safely at your destination and being seri-ously injured in a crash or other kind of accident.
Regular service and maintenance of your vehicle is important both for operational and driving safety and to help prolong your vehicle's service life. Always follow the scheduled maintenance inter-
vals in the ⇒ Booklet Warranty and Maintenance, especially for changing the brake fluid. Hard use, frequent stop-and-go driving, driving in very dusty areas, trailer towing, and other factors may make it necessary to have the vehicle serviced more frequently. Ask an authorized Volkswagen dealer or an authorized Volkswagen Service Facility for more information.
Driving in other countries

Installing the front head restraints
x Position head restraint properly over the head restraint guides of the respective seat backrest and insert the head restraint into the guides until it clicks.
x Guide the rods of the head restraint into the corresponding guides on the backrest.
x Push the head restraint down while pressing button (1).
x Adjust the head restraint according to the occupant's size ⇒  Adjusting front and rear head re-straints.
Removing the rear head restraints
x Unlock the rear bench and fold forward ⇒  Luggage compartment.
x Pull the head restraint all the way up ⇒  in Adjusting front and rear head restraints on page 86.
x Slide a flat object, such as a plastic credit card, underneath the right side of the cap on the right-
hand seat guide rod ⇒ fig. 48 (2) to unlock the head restraint.
x At the same time press button (1) while a second person pulls out the head restraint completely.
x Fold the backrest of the rear seat bench back so that it locks securely.
Installing the rear head restraints
x Unlock the backrest of the rear seat bench and fold it forward ⇒  Luggage compartment.
x Position head restraint properly over the head restraint guides of the respective seat backrest and insert the head restraint into the guides.
x Push the head restraint down while pressing the button (1).
x Fold the backrest of the rear bench back so that it locks securely.
x Adjust the head restraint according to the occupant’s size ⇒  Adjusting front and rear head re-straints.
WARNING
Driving without head restraints or with improperly adjusted head restraints increases the risk of serious injuries in a collision.
x Always drive with the head restraints in place and properly adjusted to help minimize the risk of neck injury in crash.
x Always reinstall head restraints as soon as possible so that vehicle occupants are proper-ly protected.
NOTICE
When removing or reinstalling the head restraint, take care that the head restraint does not strike the headliner or the back of the front seat. The headliner or other parts of the vehicle could otherwise be damaged.

WARNING
Not wearing a safety belt or wearing an improperly positioned safety belt increases the risk of severe personal injury or death. Safety belts offer optimum protection only when they are used properly.
x Properly worn safety belts are the single most effective means of reducing the risk of serious injury and death in a collision or other accident. For this reason, always wear your safety belt properly and make sure all passengers wear their safety belts properly as well whenever the vehicle is moving.
x The driver must always make sure that every person in the vehicle is properly seated on a seat 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 fastened while riding in the vehicle. This applies even when just driving around town. Therefore, always wear your safety belts and make sure that everybody in your vehicle is properly restrained.
x Always secure children in the vehicle with a restraint system appropriate for their age, weight and height
x Always fasten safety belts correctly before driving off and make sure that all passengers are properly restrained.
x Never attach the safety belt to the buckle of another seat. Attaching the safety belt to the wrong buckle will reduce safety belt effectiveness and can cause serious personal injury.
x Never let any objects or liquids get into the safety belt latch and prevent it from working properly.
x Never remove a safety belt while the vehicle is moving. Doing so will increase your risk of being injured or killed.
x Never strap more than one person, including small children, into any single safety belt.
x Never let children or babies ride sitting on your lap, and never place a safety belt over a child sitting on your lap.
x Never wear belts over rigid or breakable objects in or on your clothing, such as eye glass-es, pens, keys, etc., as these may cause injury.
x Several layers of heavy clothing (such as a coat worn over top of a sports jacket) may interfere with proper positioning of the belt and reduce the overall effectiveness of the sys-tem.
x Never use comfort clips or devices that create slack in the shoulder belt. However, special clips may be required for the correct use of some child restraint systems.
x Safety belts offer optimum protection only when the seat backrest is upright and belts are correctly positioned on the body.

person who is not using the safety belt. Leaving the extender attached to the safety belt buckle when the front seat is occupied and the safety belt is not being used will signal the airbag control unit during a collision that the front passenger seat is occupied and that the safety belt is being used. The elec-tronic control unit for the airbag system will then receive incorrect information that will cause the safety belt pretensioner to deploy unnecessarily and the front passenger airbag to deploy later in collisions that would normally trigger the front airbag earlier in the collision to help protect an unrestrained front seat occupant. The airbag will not be able to provide enough protection for an occupant not wearing a safety belt.
x Only use the safety belt extender approved by Volkswagen for your vehicle.
WARNING
Improper use or positioning of a safety belt extender increases the risk of serious personal injury and death.
x A driver or passenger who is not properly restrained can be seriously injured by striking the interior of the passenger compartment or by the safety belt itself, which can be displaced from stronger parts of the body into sensitive areas like the abdomen.
x Safety belt extenders offer optimum protection only when they are properly used.
x Only use the extender when the belt is not long enough to be worn low and snug and the person is in the correct seating position. Remove and stow extender safely when not needed.
x Always make sure the safety belt tongue of the safety belt extender is securely inserted into the buckle for the seating position that belongs to the seat where the safety belt extender is being used. Attaching the safety belt to the wrong buckle will reduce safety belt effective-ness and can cause serious personal injury.
x Never use the safety belt extender if you can properly attach the safety belt without it. Using a safety belt extender when not needed can increase the risk of injury, especially in a collision.
x Never use a safety belt extender if the distance (B) between the front edge of the safety belt extender buckle (A) and the centerline of the person using the safety belt extender
⇒ fig. 69 (C) is less than 6 inches (15 cm).
x Never leave a safety belt extender attached to the vehicle safety belt buckle when the extender is not needed and being used with the safety belt. Otherwise, the airbag control module will receive an incorrect signal from the safety belt buckle and this will prevent the airbag from working properly for a person who is not using the safety belt.
x Never use more than 1 extender with a safety belt. Using more than 1 extender can change the way the safety belt passes over the body and can cause serious injury.
x Never use the safety belt extender to secure a child restraint.
x Never use a safety belt extender on your Volkswagen that you got from another automo-bile manufacturer or from an automotive parts store.
x Never use the safety belt extender you got for your vehicle for any other vehicle, regard-less of make, model, or model year.
NOTICE
x Leaving the extender attached to the safety belt buckle when the front seat is occupied and the safety belt is not being used will signal to the airbag control unit that the front passenger seat is occu-pied and that the safety belt is being used. The electronic control unit for the airbag system will then receive incorrect information that will
– cause the safety belt pretensioner to deploy unnecessarily in collisions.
– cause the front passenger airbag to deploy later in collisions in which the front airbag would otherwise be triggered earlier to help protect an unrestrained front seat passenger.

WARNING
Heavy loads will influence the way your vehicle handles and increase stopping distances. Heavy loads that are not properly stowed or secured can cause loss of control and serious injury.
x Secure the load properly to keep it from shifting.
x Always remember when transporting heavy objects that a change in the center of gravity also changes the way your vehicle handles:
– Always distribute the load as evenly as possible.
– Secure heavy objects properly as far forward in the luggage compartment as possible.
– Always tie down heavy items securely with suitable straps using the tie-downs in the luggage compartment.
x Securely latch the rear seat backrest in the upright position.
x Never exceed the Gross Axle Weight Rating or the Gross Vehicle Weight Rating on the safety compliance sticker on the left door jamb. Exceeding permissible weight can cause the vehicle to skid and handle differently.
x Always adapt your speed and driving to the heavier load and the weight distribution in the vehicle. Take road, weather, traffic, and visibility conditions into account as well.
x Drive especially carefully and accelerate gently.
x Always accelerate and avoid sudden braking and driving maneuvers.
x Always brake earlier than you would if you were not driving a loaded vehicle.
Stowing luggage

WARNING
Unsecured or incorrectly stowed items can fly through the vehicle, causing serious personal injury during hard braking or sharp steering or in an accident. Loose items can also be struck and thrown through the passenger compartment by the front airbags if they inflate. To help reduce the risk of serious personal injury:
x Always stow all objects securely in the vehicle. Always put luggage and heavy items in the luggage compartment.
x Always secure objects in the passenger compartment properly with suitable straps so that they cannot move into the deployment zone of a side or front airbag during a sudden braking, in a sudden maneuver, or in a collision.
x Always keep storage compartments closed while driving.
x Never stow hard, heavy, or sharp objects in the vehicle's open storage compartments, on the shelf behind the rear seat bench, or on the top of the instrument panel.
x Always remove hard, heavy, or sharp objects from clothing and bags in the vehicle interi-or and stow them securely in the luggage compartment.
WARNING
Transporting heavy objects causes the handling characteristics of the vehicle to change and increases braking distances. Heavy loads which are not properly stowed or secured in the vehicle can lead to a loss of vehicle control and cause serious personal injury.
x Transporting heavy items causes the handling characteristics of the vehicle to change by shifting the vehicle's center of gravity.
x Always distribute luggage evenly and as low as possible within the vehicle. The vehicle capacity weight figures apply when the load is distributed evenly in the vehicle (passengers and luggage).
x Always stow luggage and heavy items in the luggage compartment as far forward of the rear axle as possible and secure them with appropriate straps to the tie-downs provided.
x Never exceed the vehicle's Gross Vehicle Weight Rating or Gross Axle Weight Ratings, which are printed on the Safety Compliance Certification Label located on the door jamb of the driver door. Exceeding the permissible weight can cause the vehicle to skid and behave differently.
x Always adapt your speed and driving style to accommodate your payload and its weight distribution within your vehicle.
x Be especially cautious and gentle when stepping on the accelerator pedal and avoid sud-den braking and other maneuvers.
x Brake earlier than you would if you were not driving a loaded vehicle.
NOTICE
x The defroster heating wires or antenna in the rear window can be damaged by objects that rub against them.
x The antenna wiring in the side windows can be damaged by items rubbing against it.
The ventilation slots between the rear window and the luggage compartment cover must not be blocked so that stale air can escape from the vehicle.

x After putting the seat backrest back up, the seat must be adjusted to the person using it ⇒  Adjust-ing the seating position.
WARNING
Improper folding and improper latching of the rear seat backrest can cause serious personal injury.
x Always make sure there are no people or animals in the area around the rear seat backrest when folding it forward.
x Never fold the rear backrest up or down while the vehicle is moving.
x When folding the rear seat backrest back up, make sure that the safety belt does not get caught or damaged.
x Keep hands, fingers, feet and other body parts out of the way when folding the rear seat backrest up and down.
x Each rear seat backrest must be securely latched in the upright position so that the safety belts on the rear seats can provide protection. This is particularly the case for the middle seat on the rear bench.
x If a seat is used with an unsecured backrest, the passenger will move forward together with the rear seat backrest during sudden braking, driving maneuvers or a collision.
x No one, including children, may ride on the rear seats if the rear seat backrest is folded down or not correctly latched.
NOTICE
Before folding the rear seat backrest forward, adjust the front seats so that the rear seat's head restraint or backrest cushion will not butt up against the front seats.
x The weight on the rear seat backrests when folded down must never exceed 110 lbs. (50 kg).
NOTICE
Items in the luggage compartment could be damaged or cause damage when the rear seat is adjusted in the fore and aft direction.
If the vehicle battery charge is weak, power release of the rear seat backrests may not be possi-ble.

Removing the luggage compartment cover
x If there is a gap cover (2), unhook it from the fastening eyes on the rear seat backrests ⇒ fig. 102 (1).
x Push down release button (2) and push in the end parts of the luggage compartment cover (3).
x Lift the luggage compartment cover up and out.
Reinstalling the luggage compartment cover
x First fit the luggage compartment cover ⇒ fig. 101 (1) into the left-hand slot.
x Then fit the other end into the right-hand slot.
x Push down release button ⇒ fig. 102 (2) and push in the end parts of the luggage compartment cover (3).
x Push the luggage compartment cover down into the right-hand slot so that it locks into place.
x Make sure that the luggage compartment cover is properly locked into place.
x If there is a gap cover ⇒ fig. 101 (2), hook it back into the fastening eyes on the rear seat backrests
⇒ fig. 102 (1).
WARNING
In a sudden braking or other maneuver, or in a collision, unsecured or improperly secured objects or animals on the luggage compartment cover could cause serious personal injury.
x Never leave hard, heavy or sharp objects in bags or loose on the luggage compartment cover.
x Never let animals ride on the luggage compartment cover.
WARNING
The view towards the rear is greatly limited when the luggage compartment cover is in the convenience position.
x Before driving, ensure that the luggage compartment cover is not in the convenience position.
NOTICE
To help prevent damage to the luggage compartment cover, the luggage compartment may only be loaded to a height at which the luggage compartment cover will not press on the cargo when the rear hatch is closed.
x The defroster heating wires or antenna in the rear window can be damaged by objects that rub against them.
Do not cover the ventilation slots in the side consoles. Otherwise, stale air cannot escape from the vehicle.