
 
¥ 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. 
¥ 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. 
¥ Only transport as many passengers as there are seats and safety belts available. 
¥ Never drive if your driving ability has been impaired, for example by medication, alcohol or illegal drugs. 
¥ 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. 
¥ Always adapt your speed and driving style to visibility, weather, road, and traffic conditions. 
¥ Always obey traffic laws and speed limits. 
¥ On long trips make frequent rest stops – at least once every 2 hours. 
¥ Secure animals in the vehicle with a system that corresponds to 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 
 

 
  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, Child safety and child restraints. 
 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 eyeglasses, 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 safety belt and reduce the overall effectiveness of the system. 
 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.   

 
  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. 
 x Always keep storage compartments closed while driving. 
 x Do not stow hard, heavy, or sharp objects in open bins in the vehicle or on top of the instrument panel. 
 x Remove hard, heavy, and sharp objects from clothing and bags in the vehicle interior and stow securely. Always put 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 area of a side or front airbag during braking, in a sudden maneuver, or in a collision. 
 x Always make sure that there is nothing on the front passenger seat when the backrest is folded forward. When the backrest is folded forward, even light objects could be pushed into the seat cushion and cause the weight-sensing mat in the seat to register enough weight to turn the airbag on, How to tell if the front passenger front airbag is on or off. 
 x Always make sure that the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF 9 light is on and stays on whenever the backrest of the front passenger seat is folded forward, PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF 9 light. 
 x Passengers must never ride in an incorrect seating position because objects are being transported in the vehicle. 
 x Never let anybody sit in a seat that is blocked by objects being carried in the vehicle.  
  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 Always accelerate gently 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 
Heavy loads can change the way your vehicle handles and increase stopping distances. Heavy loads that are not properly stowed or secured can shift suddenly, causing loss of control and serious injury. 
 x Secure the load properly to keep it from shifting. 
 x Always remember when transporting heavy objects that they change the vehicle's center of gravity and also the way it handles. 
 – Always distribute the load as evenly as possible. 
 – Secure heavy objects as far forward in the luggage compartment as possible. 
 – Use your vehicle's luggage compartment tie-downs with suitable straps. 
 x Always tie down heavy items securely with suitable straps. 
 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 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 Always accelerate gently and avoid sudden braking and driving maneuvers. 
 x Always brake earlier than you would if you were not driving a loaded vehicle. 
Weights and axle weights