2013 VOLKSWAGEN BEETLE CONVERTIBLE Owners Manual

Bookmark not defined., Child safety and child restraints. If active, deactivate the locking feature
before using the safety belt to restrain a person without a child restraint system.
Fastening safety belts
Always buckle your safety belt before driving.
x Adjust the front seat and head restraint correctly
x Make sure the seat backrest of the rear seat bench is in an upright position and securely latched in
place before using the safety belt ⇒ .
x Hold the safety belt by the tongue and pull it slowly and evenly across the chest and pelvis. Do not
twist the safety belt webbing ⇒ .
x Insert the tongue into the correct buckle for your seat until you hear it latch securely ⇒ fig. 51.
x Pull on the safety belt to make sure that it is securely latched in the buckle.
Unfastening safety belts
Unfasten safety belts only when the vehicle is not moving ⇒ .
x Press the red button on the buckle ⇒ fig. 52. The buckle tongue is ejected.
x Let the belt wind up on the retractor as you guide the belt tongue to its stowed position to help
prevent the safety belt from twisting and to help avoid damage to the interior trim.
WARNING
Improperly positioned safety belts can cause serious personal injury or death in an accident.
x Safety belts offer optimum protection only when the seat backrest is upright and belts are
correctly positioned on the body.
x A person who is not properly restrained can be seriously injured by the safety belt itself if
it slips from the stronger parts of the body into sensitive areas like the abdomen.
x Unfastening safety belts while the vehicle is in motion can cause severe personal injury or
death in the event of an accident or braking maneuver!
Safety belt position

Fig. 53 Proper safety belt positioning and head restraint adjustment.

Fig. 54 Proper safety belt positioning for expectant mothers.

WARNING
Improperly positioned safety belts can cause serious personal injury in an accident or a sud-
den braking maneuver.
x Always make sure that all vehicle occupants are correctly restrained and stay in a correct
seating position whenever the vehicle is being used.
x Safety belts offer optimum protection only when the seat backrest is upright and belts are
correctly positioned on the body.
x A loose-fitting safety belt can cause serious injuries by shifting its position on your body
from the strong bones to more vulnerable soft tissue and cause serious injury.
x The shoulder belt portion of the safety belt must be positioned over the middle of the
occupant's shoulder and never across the neck or throat.
x The safety belt must lie flat and snug on the occupant's upper body.
x Never wear the shoulder part of the safety belt under your arm or otherwise out of posi-
tion.
x The lap portion of the safety belt must be positioned as low as possible across the pelvis
and never over the abdomen. Make sure the belt lies flat and snug against the pelvis. Pull on
the safety belt to tighten if necessary.
x Expectant mothers must always wear the lap portion of the safety belt as low as possible
across the pelvis and below the rounding of the abdomen.
x Do not twist the belt when attaching it. If you cannot untwist a twisted safety belt, wear it
anyway, but make sure the twisted part is not in contact with your body. Have the problem
corrected right away by an authorized Volkswagen dealer or authorized Volkswagen Service
Facility.
x Never hold the safety belt away from your body with your hand.
x Never wear belts over rigid or breakable objects, such as eyeglasses, pens or keys.
x Never modify the position of the belt using comfort clips, loops or similar devices.
If you have a physical impairment or condition that prevents you from sitting properly on the seat
with the safety belt properly fastened, special modifications to your vehicle may be necessary. Contact
your authorized Volkswagen dealer or authorized Volkswagen Service Facility or call the Volkswagen
Customer CARE Center at 1-800-822-8987 for information about possible modifications to your vehi-
cle.

Safety belt extender

Fig. 55 A safety belt extender properly attached to the factory-installed safety belt.

Fig. 56 Positioning of the safety belt extender.

(C) Centerline of the person using the safety belt extender.
Using a safety belt extender
x Adjust both the seat and the head restraint properly
x Insert the buckle tongue on the safety belt extender ⇒ fig. 55 (2) into the vehicle belt buckle for the
seat where the safety belt extender is being used (1).
x Fastening or unfastening the vehicle safety belt
x Pull the belt to make sure that the tongues are securely locked in the buckles.
x Make sure that the safety belt is positioned properly , Safety belt position.
Properly using safety belt extenders:
x Use a safety belt extender only when the factory installed safety belt is too short when worn
properly by a person in proper seating position.
x Only use 1 safety belt extender per seat and vehicle safety belt.
x Always remove the safety belt extender when it is not needed.
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. 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. 56 (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.
x A pretensioner that has deployed cannot be repaired. The entire safety belt must be re-
placed.
NOTICE
If the safety belt extender is left attached to the safety belt buckle, the safety belt warning
system will sense that the safety belt for that seat is being used. The warning light will not
come on and the warning chime will not sound even though the seat is occupied and the safety
belt is not being used.

Safety belt retractor, pretensioner, load limiter

WARNING
Improper handling, care, servicing, and repair procedures can increase the risk of personal
injury and death by preventing a belt pretensioner from activating when needed or by caus-
ing it to activate unexpectedly.
x The pretensioner can be activated only once. If a pretensioner has been activated, the
safety belt must be replaced.
x Safety belt systems including the pretensioners cannot be repaired. Special procedures
are required to remove, install, and dispose of this system.
x Never repair, adjust, or change pretensioners or any other part of the safety belt system
yourself. We strongly recommend that you have any work on the safety belt system per-
formed by an authorized Volkswagen dealer or authorized Volkswagen Service Facility. They
have the necessary technical information, training, and special equipment 251.
WARNING
Undeployed safety belt pretensioners and airbag modules contain explosive materials that
can cause serious personal injuries if they are not properly handled when they or the vehi-
cles they are installed in are scrapped.
x Never abandon vehicles or vehicle parts.
x Always scrap vehicles and vehicle parts, especially those containing undeployed airbag
modules and undeployed safety belt pretensioners, at a licensed facility that has the
knowledge and experience to properly dispose of the vehicle and its safety belt and airbag
systems.
Undeployed airbag modules and safety belt pretensioners are classified as Perchlorate Materi-
al. Special handling may apply – see http://www.dtsc.ca.gov/hazardouswaste/perchlorate. Obey all
applicable legal requirements regarding handling and disposal of the vehicle or parts of its restraint
system, including airbag modules and safety belts with pretensioners. Authorized Volkswagen dealers
and authorized Volkswagen Service Facilities are familiar with the requirements, and we recommend
that you have them perform this service for you.