
 
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 
electronic 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 
effectiveness 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. 58 (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 
automobile manufacturer or from an automotive parts store. 
 x Never use the safety belt extender you got for your vehicle for any other vehicle, 
regardless 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 
occupied 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 
replaced.   

 
Please perform these steps only in the order listed. 
Step  Operation 
7. Removing the vehicle key from the ignition switches off electrical equipment and 
activates the steering column lock. 
 
  WARNING 
Never stop the engine before the vehicle has come to a complete stop. You can lose control 
of the vehicle, crash, and be seriously injured. 
 x The airbags and safety belt pretensioners will not work when the ignition is switched off. 
 x The brake booster does not work when the engine is not running. More brake pedal 
pressure will be needed to stop the vehicle. 
 x The power steering system does not work when the engine is not running, and you will 
need more force to steer the vehicle. 
 x When the key is removed from the ignition switch, the steering will lock and you will not 
be able to steer the vehicle.  
  NOTICE 
If the vehicle has been driven hard for a long time, the engine could overheat when it is 
stopped. To reduce the risk of engine damage, let the engine idle in Neutral for about 2 minutes 
before you switch off the ignition. 
  If the ignition is switched on or the engine is running and the driver door is opened, a chime 
sounds. The chime is also a reminder to switch off the engine and turn off the ignition before leaving 
and locking the vehicle from the outside. 
  On vehicles with automatic transmissions, the vehicle key can only be removed from the ignition 
when the transmission is in Park (P). 
  After the engine has been switched off, the radiator fan in the engine compartment may keep 
running for several minutes, or may start running after the vehicle has been parked for a while, even if 
the ignition is switched off and the vehicle key has been removed. The radiator fan shuts off 
automatically when the engine has cooled down enough. 
Electronic immobilizer