drive VOLKSWAGEN JETTA 2007 Owner's Guide

Booklet 2.1 Safety first
Improperly worn safety belts
Inco rrec tly position ed safety bel ts can cause severe injuries.
Wearing safe ty belts impro perl y can cause
se rious injury or death. Saf ety bel ts ca n
only work when they a re co rrect ly po si­
tio ned on the body. Improper seating posi­
t ions redu ce th e e ffec tive ne ss o f safe ty
a nd will eve n incr ease the risk of in­
j ury and dea th by mo ving the safety belt t o
c riti ca l area s of the body. Improper seating
p osition s also inc rease the risk of serious
i njury and dea th when a n airbag dep loys
a nd str ik es an occ upant who is no r in the
cor rect seating position.
dri ver is re­
spo nsibl e for the safety o f all vehicl e occ u­
pants and espec iall y for ch ild ren. Ther e­
fore:
Safety belt pretensioners
-permit anyone to assume an in­
correct sittin g posi tion in the ve hicle w hile
WARNING
I mproperly worn belt s in crease the risk
of seriou s per sonal injury and d eath whenever
a ve hicl e is being use d.
• Always make sure that all vehicle occu­
pants are co rrec tly res trai ned and sta y in a
corr ect sea ting position whenever the vehicl e
i s bein g use d.
• Always read and heed all WARN INGS and
other import ant inform ation
1 7 .
How safety belt pretensioners work
In a frontal collision, the safety belts for the front and rea r outboard* seating po­
s itions are tightened up automatically.
The retractor s for the driver and fron t pas seng er
po sition s (r ear o utboar d seat ing positions only
i n co mb ination
op tional sid e air ba gs for
th e ou tboa rd rear sea tin g po sit ions ) are
eq uipped with b elt pre1 ensioner s. S en sors ac ti­
v at e th e belt pre te n sion ers in frontal colli sion s
whe n dec ele ra ti on is high enough. Th is tig ht ens
t h e belt and ta kes up belt sla ck.
up s lack help s to re duce forwa rd o ccup a111 mov e­
m ent durin g a co llis ion .
The belt p re te n sioncr can onl y be activ at ed
o n ce.
Th e belt pr ete nsion er can be
in a frontal, s ide or rea rcn cl colli sion. It will n ot acti ­
va te in a ro llo ve r in which side airb ags do not
d eplo y.
Note
Neve r le t th e belt re main ov er a re a r seat back
that has been fo lded forward . T he re ar belt p re - t
en sio ne r• c an be a cti vated unn ec es sar ily in a
co llision and will then have to be rep laced .
Tips
• When the s afety b elt pre ten sion cr is acti­
v at ed, a fin e du st is re lea sed . Thi s is no rm al and
i s
c ause d by fire in th e ve hicl e.
• Applicab le s afet y req uirem en ts mu st be ob­
s e rved when th e veh icle or comp onents of the
sy ste m are scrapp ed .
A qualified dealers hip i s fa ­
mi liar w ith th es e re g ul atio ns and w ill be pl ease d IO pa ss o n informat ion to yo u.
• B e sur e
to obse rv e all saf ety , e nvironm e111al
an d other r eg ul ation s if t he v eh icl e or ind iv idual
pan s of the sys tem, particu lar ly th e s afety b elt or
a irba g. are to be dispo sed. We re co mmen d yo u
h av e yo ur auth orized Vo lkswagen pe rform thi s
s ervi ce for yo u.
Safety belts 25

Booklet 2.1 Safety first @
Airbag system
Important things to know
Importance of wearing safety belts and sitting properly .
Airbags are only supplemental res traint s. For airbags to do th eir job , occupant s
m ust
prope rly wea r th eir saf ety b elts and be in a proper seating position.
Fo r yo ur safet y an d the safet y of your pa s­
s en gers, before d riv ing alwa ys:
Ad just dr iv er 's seat and stee rin g
wh eel properl y
4.
Adj ust fr on t passe nge r seal p rop erl y
5.
We ar sa fe ty belt s properly 13 .
A lways properl y use th e co rr ec t child
r es tra int lo protect childr en
5 1.
In a co llisio n a irba gs mu st infl ate within th e
blink of an eye and w ith con sid erabl e fo rc e. The
s uppl em ental airb ags c an cause injuri es if th e
dri ver or th e front seat pa sse nge r is not seate d
prop erl y. Ther efor e in order to help the airba g to
do its jo b , it is im porta nt, both as a driver and
a passe nger to sit pro perly at all times.
keepin g ro om betwe en yo ur body and the
s te erin g and th e fr ont of t he passenger
co mpa rtm ent , the a irbag can i nflate f ull y a nd
co mpl etel y and p rovid e suppl em ent al p rotec­
t io n in certa in fro ntal co llision s
deta ils
o n th e opera tio n of the se at adju stm ent contro ls
" F ro nt seat s".
I t 's especia lly im port ant th at child ren b e prop ­
e rl y res train ed
5 1, "C hild safe ty".
Th ere is a lo t t hat th e drive r and the passe ngers
ca n and mu st d o to he lp th e in divi du al safe ty
f e atur es insta lled in yo ur Vo lks wa gen
to­
get he r as sys te m .
Pro per seati ng posi tio n is i mp ort ant sn th a t th e
fron t airb ag o n th e dr ive r sid e ca n do its jo b . If
y ou ha ve
phys ica l imp airm ent or cond iti on
t h at p rev ent s yo u from sittin g prop erly on t he
dri ver
with the sa fe ty belt prop erl y
and r eachin g th e pe dals , s p ecia l m odific ation s
t o yo ur vehicl e ma y be necessary .
Co nta ct you r auth ori7.e d Vo lk sw agen dea le r, or
c all t he V olk swage n Custo m er
Ce nter at 1-800 -822 -8987 .
When the airba g sys te m deploy s, a ga s gen erator
w ill fill the airb ags , b re ak op en th e padd ed
cov ers, and inflate be twee n the ste erin g wheel
and th e dri ver and b etwee n the in strum ent
p an el and the fro nt p asse nge r. Th e a irbag s
w ill defl ate imm edi ate ly af ter dep loy ment so that
t he front o ccupan ts ca n see th ro ugh th e wind ­
s h ie ld a gain with out int errupt io n .
A ll of thi s takes place in the blink ofan ey e, so
fa st that many peopl e do n't eve n rea lize t hat th e
a irbags have dep lo ye d.
airbags a lso inflat e
wit h a grea t dea l of fo rc e and noth in g sh ould be
in their w ay w hen th ey depl oy .
airb ags in
com binati on with pr op erl y wo rn safe ty belt s
s lo w
an d limi t th e occ upant 's for wa rd
m ove ment. T ogether th ey help t o preve nt the
dri ver a nd fro nt sc at passe nge r fr om hillin g
pa rts of the in side th e ve hicle
redu cing th e
fo rces actin g o n th e occu pant duri ng the cras h.
In this way they help to red uce the risk of inju ry
t o th e hea d an d upp er bod y in the c rash . A irb ags
d o no t p rot ect t he arm s or the low er p art s o f th e
b ody.
B o th fron t a irb ags w ill no t i nfl ate in all fro ntal
colli sio n s. Fro nt airba gs w ill no t infla te in all
front al colli sio ns .. The tri gge ring o f the a irbag
sys te m depe nds on the ve hicle dec ele rat io n ra te
ca use d by th e co llisio n and regis te re d b y th e
e lec tron ic control uni t. I f thi s ra te is
th e
r efe re n ce v alu e prog ramm ed in to the c ont rol
u nit , th e air bags
n o t b e trig gere d , eve n
th ou gh th e car may be badl y dam aged as a res ult
o f the colli sio n . Ve hicle dama ge, re pai r co sts o r
eve n th e la ck of v ehi cle
is not n eces-
Airbag system 27

Booklet 2.1 Safety first
Front airbag system -the basics
Description of front airbags
The airbag system can provide supplemental protection to properly restrained
front seat
Fig. 21 L ocotion of d rive r airbag: in steer ing whee l
Your is fru 11L
"A dva nced Airbag in co mplian ce United Stales Fede ral Moto r Veh icle Safery dard (FMVSS ) 208 as applicab le a l time your
ve hicle was manufac tu re d . Yo ur vehicle is also
e quipped
side airbags fo r driver and seal passe nge r. Your vehicl e ma y also be wit h op tional sid e ai rb ags for re ar board T he belt s for front and
r ea r ou tboa rd seats equipped with opti onal side
a irbags have "pretensioner s" that help to take
s lack
of th e belt sys tem. The pret en sio ners
ar e also activa te d by the ele ctroni c control
for airbag syste m.
The front a nd outb oard r ea r seats
belts
al so hav e loa d limit ers to help reduce force s
appli ed to body in a crash.
Th e airbag for
driver is in steering whee l
h ub 2 1 an d airb ag for th e fr o nt pas­
se nger is in in strum ent panel 22. Th e location of airba gs is marked
There is a yo u n eed to know airb ags
in your vehicle. \V e urge you rea d detail ed
in forma tion airbags, safety and child
safety in this and th e oth er bookl ets th at mak e
Fig. 22 Location of front passenger's airbag: in the
instrume nt pa nel
up 1he ow ner 's literawre. Please be s ure to h eed WARNI NGS -th ey arc ext remely for your safet y and the sa fety of yo ur pass enger s,
especially infants and sm all childr en.
WARNING
Ne ver re ly o n air bags alone for protection.
• Even w hen th ey deplo y, airbags provide
on ly s uppl em en tal prot ection.
• Airbag work mo st effectivel y when used
w ith prop erly wo rn safety belts.
• Th erefore, always wear your safety belts
and make sur e
everybody in your vehicle
is properly re strained.
WARNING
A person on front pa ssenger seat , espe­
ci ally infants and sma ll childr en, w ill rec eive
se riou s injuri es and can even be killed by
being too close to lhe airbag when
it inflat es.
• Although
Advanced Airbag Syste m in
yo ur vehicl e is designed to turn off the
passenger airbag an infant or a small child in
o ne of the child restraints used to cer tify
Adva nced A irbag Sys te m i s on pas-
Airbag system 31

Booklet 2.1 Safety first
,0. WARNING (continued)
se nger seat, nobody can absolutely guarantee
th at d eplo yme nt und er these specia l co ndi ­
tion s is i mpo ssible in all co nce iva ble situa­
tion s that may happ en durin g the use ful li fe of
yo ur vehicl e.
• The Adva nced Airbag Sys tem
w ill dep loy in
acco rdance with th e "low risk" optio n under
th e U.S. Federal Stan dar d ifa child that is
h eav ier than the t ypical one-yea r old child i s
to vehicles: wilh odvanced front oirbog system
Advanced front airbag system
Your veh icle is eq uip ped with a front Advanced
Airbag Syste m in co mplian ce with Unit ed Sta tes
Federa l Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 asap­
pli cable at the time your ve hicle was manufac­
tur ed .
Th e front Advanced Ai rbag Syste m su pple ment s
the safety belt s
provide ad dition al p rotect ion
for the dri ver's and fron t pa sse nger's hea ds and
up per bodie s in frontal crashes. The airbags in­
fla te only in fron ta l impa cts when th e vehicle
d ecele ratio n is hi gh e noug h.
T he fro nt Advanced Airbag System for th e fron t
sea t occupants is not a sub stit ute for you r sa fety
belts. Rat her,
is part of the overall occ upant re­
s traint system in yo ur vehicl e. Always remem ber
t h at the airb ag sys tem can onl y help to prot ect
you, if yo u ar e sittin g up rig h t, wearing
safet y bel t an d wear ing it properly. This is w hy
yo u and yo ur passenger s mu st always be prop­
erly res train ed ,
ju st bec ause the req uires
yo u be.
Th e Adva nce d Airbag System in your vehicle has
bee n ce rtifi ed
me et the "low risk " "re quir e­
m ent s fo r 3 an d 6 year-o ld childr en on pas­
s eng er side and very s mall adults on the drive r
side. " Low risk " d eployme nt occ urs in th ose
c rashe s th at tak e pla ce at lower dece lerat io ns as
d efine d in the elec tron ic con tro l u nit
39 .
The low risk depl oy men t criteria are intend ed to
h elp reduce th e risk of injury through intera c­
tion wit h th e front airb ag that ca n occur , for ex­
ample, by bein g
th e s teer ing whee l
a nd in strum ent pane l wh en the airbag infl ates.
Fo r "low risk " deplo ym ent to occur, the
PA SSENGER AIR BAG OFF li ght mu st be off.
32 Airbag system
,0. WARN ING (conti nued)
on the front passenge r sea t and the other con­
dition s for a irbag deploym ent arc met.
• Acci dent stati sti cs have s hown th at chil ­
dre n arc genera lly s afer in th e rea r sc at area
th an in th e front seating po sition.
• For their own safety, a ll children, especially
1 2 years a nd youn ger, s hould always ride in
th e back properly res train ed for their age and
s ize.
-4
39 "Moni to rin g th e Advanced Ai rbag
Sys tem ."
When a perso n is detected on
fron t pa s­
se nger seat, we ig hi ng more than t he total weight
of a c hild that i s abo ut I year old res trai ned in
one of the rea r-faci ng or fo rward-facing infant
re strain ts ( listed in F ed era l Mot or Veh icle Sa fety
Standard 208 wit h wh ic h the Advanced Airbag
S ys tem in you r ve hicle was cert ifie d), the
P ASS ENGER AIR B AG OFF light sh oul d not come
o n and sh ould stay off .. When the PAS SENGER
AIR BAG OFF light is off, the fron t airba g on the
passenger side may or may no t dep loy de­
pending on the natur e of the co llisio n as regis­
tered by the electronic co ntrol unit.
For example , th e airb ag may deploy in the " low
risk " mode if:
• a sm all c hild that is heav ier than a ty pical I
yea r-o ld child in on e of the c hild re stra ints wit h
wh ic h the Advan ced A irbag Syste m was ce rtifi ed
53 is on the front passenger sea t
• a child who has out grown chil d r estrai nts is
o n th e fron t pa ssenger seat.
• a sma ll adult or teenage r is o n the front pa s­
se nger seat
• a pas senger who is no t sitt ing upr igh t wi th
their back aga in st a non- reclined back rest w it h
t h ei r fee t on the vehicle floo r in front of the seat
i s on the front passe nger seat
5
In addition , the sy stem has been certifi ed to
co mpl y wit h the "sup press ion" req uireme nts of
th e Safe ty S tandard,
to turn off the fron t airbag
fo r infan ts 12 m ont hs old and younger who are
r es trai ned on th e front passenge r sea t in chil d

Booklet 2.1 Safety first
WARN ING (cont inued)
justm ent ran ge, as far away from th e a irbag as
po ssi ble before insta llin g th e fo rwar d-facin g
c hild re straint. The backr est mu st be adju sted
t o a n u prig ht po sition .
• Alway s make sure that nothing pr events
the front p assenger's sea t from being moved
to the rea rm ost positi on in it s fo re and aft ad ­
ju stm ent range .
• Neve r pl ace add itional it em s on th e s eat
that can in crease the tota l we ight regis tered b y
WARN ING (cont inu ed)
the weig ht-se nsi ng m at and can cause injury
in a cras h.
• Make sure that the PASS ENGER AIR BAG
OFF light come s on and stays on all th e time
w henever the ig niti on i s sw itched on.
• l fthe PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light docs
not come on an d stay o n, imm edia tely insta ll
th e fo rwa rd-faci ng child seat in a rea r sea ting
position and have the a irb ag sys te m inspec ted
by your Volk swage n dealer. •
Advanced Airbag System components
The front passe nger seat in you r ve hicle has lot
of ve ry im por tant parts of th e Adva nce d Airbag
Syste m in it. The se parts includ e 1he weight­
se nsing mat , senso rs, wir in g, bracke ts, a nd
more. The functio n of the sys te m in th e front
passenger seat is chec ked by th e e lectron ic con ­
t rol unit when th e ig niti on i s on. The contro l uni1
monitor s th e A dva nce d Airbag Syste m and turn s
th e a irbag indicator lig h t on when a malfun ction
in th e syste m co mp on ent s is det ected. The func­
t ion o f th e airb ag indica tor lig ht i s desc ribed in
g reater detail below. Beca use the front pas­
se nge r sea t co ntain s imp ort ant parts of the Ad­
va nc ed Airbag System, you must t ake care to
p reve nt it from being damaged. Damage to 1h c
sea t ma y pre vent th e A dva nce d Airb ag for
fron t passenge r se at f rom doing it s job in a
c ras h.
Th e front Advanced A irbag Syste m consis ts of
the following:
• Cras h se nsors in th e front o f 1h e ve hicle 1hat
m eas ure vehicle acce lera tion/d ecelera tio n to prov ide inform arion to the Advanced Airbag
Sys te m abou t th e seve rity of t he crash.
• An electro nic co ntrol unit, wit h in tegra te d
cras h se nsor s for fron t an d side impacts. The
co ntro l uni t "'decides ·· w hether to
just o ne or
bot h stages of the fron t airbags based on th e
form atio n receive d from the crash sensors . T he
contro l unit also "decides·· whether the safe ry
belt pretens io ners s ho uld b e act ivated .
• A dual -stage Advanced Airbag
g en ­
era tor for th e dr ive r in sid e the stee ring whe el
h ub.
34 Airbag system
• A dua l-stage Advanced A irbag and gas ge ner­in side t he instrument panel fo r the fro nt
pass enger .
•
we ig ht-sens ing m at und er the upholster y
padding of the front passenge r sc at cushion that
m easures th e tot al we igh t o n the scat. The info r­
mation registe red is se nt cont inuousl y to the
e lectro nic contro l unit to re g ul ate deployment
of t he front Advance d Airbag on the passenger
si de.
•
airbag monitoring system and indicator
li ght in the in stru ment clus te r 39 .
• The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light in the
cente r of the instrument pa nel
39 , 25) that te lls yo u when th e fro nt Adva nced
A irb ag on the passe nger si de ha s been turned
off.
• A se nso r below the safety be lt lat ch for the
fro nt sca t pa ssenger to m eas ure the tens io n on
t h e safe ty belt. The
on t he safe ty be lt and
the weig ht reg is te re d by 1h e we igh t-se nsi ng m at
h elp t he control unit "'d ec ide" whe th er the fr ont
airbag fo r th e fro nt p assenger seat sh ould be
t urned off or no t
29, "Ch ild restra int s on
t h e fr o nt sea t - so me impo rtan t thin gs to kn ow··.
• A se nso r in the sa fety belt la tc h for the driver
an d for the front sca t passenger that senses
whe th er that safety belt is latc hed or
and
t ransm its thi s in form ation to t he e lectroni c con­
tro l unit.
Lr!, WARNING
Damage to the fron t pa sse nger se a t ca n pre­
ve nt the airba g from worki ng pr oper ly.

WARNING (continued)
• Impr ope r r epair or di sa ss embl y of th e
front passen ge r and dri ver sca t will pr event
th e A dva nce d Ai rbag Sys te m fro m fun ctionin g
• Repair s to the front passe nge r sc at mu st b e
pe rfo rmed by qualifi ed and pro perl y tra in ed
w or kshop pe rs onn el.
• Neve r rem ov e th e front pa sseng er o r dri ver
s eat fr om the ve hicle.
• Neve r rem ov e th e up hols tery from the
front passe nger sea t.
• Never di sa sse mbl e or remove part s from
th e se at or di sco nnect wi re s from it.
• Neve r carry sh arp obje cts i n yo ur poc kets
o r pl ace them on th e sca t. If the weig ht ­
s e n sin g m at in th e passe nge r se at is pun c­
tur ed it cann ot wor k proper ly.
• Neve r ca rry thi ngs on yo ur la p or carry o b­
je cts on th e pa ss e n ger scat. S uch item s can in­
c re ase the w eig ht regi ste re d b y th e wei ght ­
s e nsin g mat an d sen d th e wro ng inform ati on
to th e airbag c ontrol un it .
• Nev er sto re it em s und er th e f ront pa s­
s e nger sca t. Par ts of the Ad va n ce d Air ba g
Sy ste m un der th e passenge r sea t cou ld be
d am age d, pr eve ntin g th em and the a irbag
s y stem from workin g prop erly .
Booklet 2 .1 Safety first
WARNING (c o ntinu ed)
• Neve r place sc at co ve rs or r epl acem ent up ­
hol stery o n the fro nt sca ts th at have not been
s pecifi call y a pproved by Vol kswagen.
• Scat cove rs ca n pr event the Ad vanc ed
Airbag Syste m from r ecogni zin g c hild r e­
s tr aint s or occ upants on th e fron t passe nger
s ca t and p reve nt the sid e a irba g in th e sca t
b ac kre st fr om depl oy ing pro perly.
• Never u se c ushion s, pill ow s, blanket s or
s imil ar
o n the front p ass enge r sea t. Th e
ad dit ional pa ddin g w ill pr event th e weigh t­
s e nsing m at in the sc at from accurat ely re gis­
t e rin g th e c hild r estra int or p ers o n on the sca t
a nd pr ev ent th eAdva ncc dAi rb agSy ste m fr om
fun ctio nin g pr operl y.
• If you mu st use a c hild re str aint on th e
front passenge r sca t a nd th e child res traint
manufa ctur er's instru ction s re quir e the use of
a to we l, foa m cu shi on or som ethin g else to
prop erl y pos ition th e child restraint, make
certa in that th e PASS ENGER AIR BAG OFF
li ght come s on and stays on wheneve r the
c hild r estraint is in sta lled on th e front pas­
se ng er sea t.
• If th e PASSENGER A IR BA G OFF ligh t doc s
no t co me o n and stay on, imm ediately i nsta ll
c hild re s traint in a rear s eatin g pos ition and
hav e th e a ir ba g sys te m inspe cte d b y your
V olk swage n deal er.
How the Advanced Airbag System components work together
The front Advan ced Airb ag Sys te m and th e s ide
a ir b ags su pp le m en t t he pr otec tio n offered b y
t h e fr ont thr ecpo int safety belts wi th prc tc n­
s io n ers and lo ad lim it e rs and t he ad ju sta ble
h ead
to help re du ce th e risk of injur y
i n w ide ran ge of a ccid ent and cra sh sit uat io ns. sur e to re ad th e im portan t info rmatio n abo ut
safe ty and h eed th e WARN INGS in t his book le t.
De ploy men t o f
Ad va nce d A irbag System a nd
t h e ac tiva tio n of th e s afe ty be lt prete n sio ners
de pend s on the dece lera tion meas ured by the
senso rs and reg is te red by th e electro nic
co ntrol unit. Cra sh seve rity depen ds o n sp ee d
an d dece le rati on as we ll as th e m ass and stiff­
n ess of th e v ehicl e or ob je ct in vo lve d i n th e
c ra sh .
On th e driv er sid e
On t he dri ver sid e, w hen th e elec tro nic co nt rol
u n it reg is te rs a low severity a nd th e
d rive r's safety belt b eing used, th e a irbag w ill
n o t d ep loy. If th e d rive r's sa fe ty hell is no t b ein g
u se d, th e firs t stage depl oys, fo llowed
b y th e
seco nd stage after late r tim e in th e cras h se­
q uen ce.
I f th e
con tro l un it rcg is 1e rs cra sh o f
h ig h er sever ity, bo th sta ge s of th e driver air bag
w ill dep loy a lm ost
the sa me tim e, regar dless
o f th e safe ty belt s a re be ing use d or n ot.
On th e passe ng er sid e
On th e passe nge r in sever ity im pac ts r egis te re d by the e lec tro nic co ntrol unit , th e
Airbag system 35

Fig . 24 In fl ated front airbags
Th e area s ou tli ned in re d 23 indi cate the
a ir bag deploy ment zone. Neve r pla ce or attach
accesso ries or other obj ects (such as cu p
h o ld ers . te lep hone bracket s, la rge. heavy o r
obje cts) on the door s, ove r or nea r area
mark ed in
Sa fe ty ar e importanl to help kee p front seat
occ upant s in th e pro per sea te d p osition so th at
airb ags ca n un fold prop erl y and provi de s uppl e­
m enta l p ro tect ion in a fro ntal co llision.
Th e fron t a ir bags are desig ned to prov ide add i­
t io nal prot ection for th e chest an d
of the
dr iver and the fro nt sea t passe nger
• saf ety belt s are w orn pr operl y.
•
se ats have bee n pos ition ed so th at the
occ upant i s properl y seated as far as poss ible
from the airb ag,
• and th e hea d re straint s have bee n prop erly
adjusted.
B eca use a irbags inflate in
blink of an eye grea t fo rce, things yo u have on your lap or
ha ve pla ced on the seat could become dan ­
gerous pro jec tiles, a nd be pus hed into you if
a irb ag inflat es.
W hen an airb ag deplo ys, fine du st is rel ea sed .
Th is is norm al a nd i s not cause d by a fire i n th e
v ehicl e. Thi s du st is m ade up m ostly of a pow der
u sed
10 lub ricate the airba gs as they deplo y. I t
co uld irritate skin.
It is imp orta nt to remem ber
w hil e sup ­
pl em ental airbag syste m is desig ned to re duce
t h e lik elih ood of serio us inju ries, oth er injurie s,
for exampl e swe lling, brui sin g a nd minor ab ra­
s io n s, can also happe n when ai rbags inflate. Ai r-
Booklet 2.1 Safety first
ba gs do not protect th e ar ms or th e lo we r part s
of th e bod y. Front airbags on ly sup ple m ent th e
thr ee poin t sa fety be lts in some front al co llision s
in whic h th e ve hicle dece lerati on is high enough
t o de plo y th e airbags.
Front airbags will not deploy:
• if ig nition is sw itch ed off when a cras h oc­
c ur s,
• in sid e co llision s,
• in rea r-end co lli sion s.
• in rollo ve rs,
• when th e cra sh d ece lera tion m eas ured by
ai rba g sys te m is les s th an the minimum
thr eshold nee ded for air bag d epl oy ment as reg­
i s te re d b y th e e lec troni c con trol unit.
Th e front passenger airbag wi ll also not deploy :
• when th e front passe nge r sea t is not occ u­
p ied .
• when th e we ig ht on the front passe nger se at
as sensed by the Adva nce d Airba g Sys te m indi ­
c a tes
fron t a irb ag o n th e pas se n ge r side
h as to be turn ed off by th e electro nic co ntro l unit
( th e PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF ligh t comes o n
a nd sta ys on) .
WARNING
Sittin g in the wrong posit ion can in crease the
ri sk of serio us inju ry in cra she s.
• To reduce the risk of injur y when the air­
ba gs inflate, the driver and passengers must
a lwa ys sit in an upright po sition , mu st n ot
l e an again st or pla ce any part of their bod y too
clo se to th e area where the airb ags are located.
• Occupa nts who are unb elt ed , out of posi­
tion or too clo se to the a irbag can be seriou sly
injured by an a irbag as it unfold s wit h grea t
force in the blink of an eye
27.
WARNING
A child in a rea rward -facin g child scat in­
s talled on the front pa ssen ger seat w ill be se ri­
o usly injur ed and can be kill ed if th e front
airba g inflat es -even with an Advanc ed A irbag
Sys te m.
• Th e infl ating airba g
hit th e child seat
or infant carrier w ith great for ce and w ill
s mas h the child scat and child again st th e
ba ckre st, ce nter arm rest, door or roof.
Airbag system 37

Booklet 2.1 Safety first
Two separate indicators monitor the function the Advanced Airbag System: the
airbag monitoring indicator light and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
senso r circu its and
sys tem wirin g) is moni to red conti nuous ly to
make sur e that it i s fun ctio ning pro perl y when­
ever th e ig niti on iso n. Eac h tim e you turn on the
i gn ition . t he airbag mon it or ing ind icator lig ht
w ill co me on for a
seconds (se lf diagn ostic s)
and the text AIRBAG /BELT TENSIONER appears
in the in strum ent cluster.
The system must b e inspected wh en the indi­
cator light
• does no t co me on when the ig nition i s
s wit ch ed on ,
• does not go out a few secon ds after you ha ve
sw itch ed on th e ig niti on. o r
• comes on whil e dri ving.
I f an airbag syste m malfun ctio n is detec te d, th e
ind icator li gh t w ill come on and sta y on
ca tc h
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF ligh t
Fig. 25 Section from the ins trument panel: PAS ­
SENG ER AIR BAG OFF light
T he PAS SENGER AIR BAG OFF light is
in
the cent er of t he in strum ent pan el 25 . th
e driver's artentio n and serve as a constant re­
mind er to ha ve the syste m inspected immedi ­
ate ly. If a m alfunction occurs that turn s th e fro nt
airbag on th e pa sse nger side off, the PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF light
co me on and stay on
w heneve r the ig niti on is on.
WARNING
An airbag system that i s not functionin g prop­
erly cannot pro vide supplemental protection
in a frontal crash.
• If the airbag indicator light comes on, it
mean s that there ma y be somethin g wrong
with the Advanced Airbag System.
It is po s­
s ible that the airbag will inflate when it is not
s uppo sed to, or not inflat e when it
• H ave the airbag system inspec te d immedi ­
ately by your Volkswagen
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF lig ht will co me
on and sta ys on to te ll you when the front Ad­
va nce d Airbag on the passe nge r side ha s been
turn ed off by the e lectro nic co ntro l unit.
I f th e bulb for the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
li ght burn s out , the airbag monitoring ind ica to r
li ght
39 will co me on a nd sig nal mal ­
fun cti on in th e Advanced Airbag system. Al­
th ough th e burn ed o ut bulb will not ch ange the
way the
air b ag on t he pa sse nger s ide
w ork s, it wi ll n o longer be possible to use the
BAG OFF light to verify that t he
a irb ag on/off s ta tu s is co rrect for the occ upant
on the front passe nge r seat. Have the airb ag
sys tem in spec ted imm ed iate ly by your Volk­
sw agen deal er.
Th e PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF lig ht will blink for
up to as long as 9 seco nds w hen
• th e ig nit ion is s witch ed on and
Airbag system 39

&, WARNING (contin ue d)
or strength or material so that the
airbag cannot deploy and protect properl y.
• Neve r rep air, ad just, or change any parts or
the airbag system .
• All work on the stee ring whe el, instrument
panel , front seats o r ele ctri ca l system (in ­
cluding th e in sta llat ion or a udio equipment,
ce llul ar te lep hon es and CB ra dios, etc.) must
b e performed by a
tec hnician who
has th e trainin g and specia l equipment ne ces­
sary.
•
an y work on the air bag system , stron gly rec omm end that you sec yo ur autho ­
rized Vo lkswagen dealer or qualified work­
s hop.
• Neve r modif y the front bumper or part s or
th e ve hicl e body.
• Alwa ys make sur e that the side a irbag can
without intcrrcrence:
Booklet 2.1 Safety first
&, WARNING (continu ed)
Neve r install seat covers or replacemen t
uphol stery over the front scatback s th at
h ave not been specifica lly approved by
Vo lkswagen .
Never use additional seat cushions that
cover the areas w here the sid e air bags in­
nat e.
Damage to the or ig in al scat covers or to
th e sca m in the area or the s ide a irbag
modul e mu st a lway s be repaired immedi ­
at ely by an auth oriz ed Volk swagen dealer.
• The airbag system can be activated o nly
once.
a n airbag has it mu st be
re place d
• Us e on ly original equipment airbag s ap-
1>roved by Volkswagen and in stall ed by a
tra ined techn ician who has the nece ssary
too ls a nd dia gno sti c eq uipment to properl y
r e pla ce a ny airba g in yo ur ve hicle and assure
s ystem effectiveness in a cra sh.
• Neve r permit sa lvage d or recy cled airb ags
to be in sta lled in your vehicl e.
Other things that can affect Advanced Airbag performance
Chan ging th e su sp en sio n sys te m can
c h an ge th at the Adva nce d Airba g
Sys te m p erfo rm s in For e xampl e, usin g
tir e-rim combinati ons no t appro ved by V OLK­
S W AG EN. lowe ring th e v ehi cle, c hangin g th e
the
c han ges had not b een m ad e. Oth er kind s of
c h ang es ma y re du ce th e fo rce le vel s mea sur ed
the se nsor s and preve nt th e a irbag from de­
p lo yin g w hen it sh o uld .
Th e Adv anced Airb ag Sys te m in th e fro nt pas­
s en ger sea t w ill not wo rk lhe way it sh o uld i f th e
opti onal saf ety be lt ex te nd er i s not r em oved
fr om the
belt lat ch w hen th e se at is oc cu­
p ied and the s afe ty belt is no t b eing use d.
L eav ing th e ex tend er a u ac hed to the safe ty belt bu
ck le w hen the f ront sea t is occ upie d and th e
belt is no t b eing u sed w ill sign al th e airba g
c ontro l unit that the front passe nger scat i s oc ­
c upi ed and th at th e sa fe ty belt is bein g use d. T he
e lec troni c contr ol unit fo r th e ai rba g sys te m will
t h en re c eiv e in co rrec t in form ation that will
c au se th e s afet y belt pret en sio ncr and front pas­
se ng er airb ag to depl oy la te r in collision s th at
wo uld n orm ally tr igge r th ese syste m s e arli er in
th e co llision to help prote ct an unre strained
sea t occupant. In addit io n , th e belt
ex te nd er mu st n eve r b e use d to sec ure child re ­
s traint s to the fro nt p asse nger
Fo r th at
r e as on , a lw ays re mo ve th e sarety belt exte n der
w hen it is not needed and stow it sa fel y
22.
Th e se nsor s in th e s arety belt bu ckle for th e
drive r and front pa ssenger se at te ll th e ele c­
t ro nic co ntrol m odul e if th e s afe ty belt is la tc h ed
o r n ot. I f th e s afet y belt is being u sed, th e f ront
airbag will dep lo y at
slightly high er rat e or ve ­
hi cle decele ration than if th e saf ety b elt i s no t
b ein g use d. Therefo re , in a parti cul ar colli sio n, it
Airbag system 43

Booklet 2.1 Safety first
i s poss ible an airba g not d epl oy a
se ating p osition where th e s afely belt is being
u se d
will inflat e at the pos ition where b elt is noc be ing use d. It i s thal
nothin g im erfer e belt bu ck les so
th al th e se nsors can se nd corr ect in forma ­ab oul safe ty be lt use th e e lec troni c co n­
t ro l
WARN ING
Chan gin g th e ve hicle's suspension including
use of unapproved tire-rim combinations can
c hange Advan ced Airbag performanc e and in­
creas e th e risk of serious persona l inju ry in a
c ra sh.
• Never install sus pens ion co mpon ents that
do not have the same performance characte r­
i st ics as the components originally installed
on yo ur vehicle.
• Never u se tire -rim combination s that h ave
not been approved by VOLKSWAGEN.
Side airbags
Applies to vehicles: with side airbags
Description of side airbags
WARNING
Leaving the optiona l safety belt extender at ­
t ached to the safety belt latch on the front pas­
senger seat when the safety belt is not bein g
u sed w ill prevent the Advanced Airbag System
fr om funct ion ing proper ly and can increa se
th e r isk of se rious perso nal injur y in a co lli­
sio n.
• Alway s remove the sa fety belt exte nder
when it is 1101 n ee ded a11d stu w i I safe ly it is not bein g used with the safet y belt.
• Nev er use th e safe ty belt extender to sec ure
a chi ld restraint at any seating positi on.
WARN ING
Item s stored between the safe ty be lt buckle
and the center co nso le can ca use th e sensor s
in the buckle to send the wro ng information to
elec troni c control module and preven t the
Advanced A irbag system from working prop­
er ly.
• Always make s ure that nothing can inter ­
fere with th e safety belt buckl es a nd that they
a re not obstructed.
Th e sid e airba g system ca n provide supplem ental prot ection to prop erl y re­
s train ed fron t seat o ccupan ts.
Fi g. 26 Side airbag in driver seot
44 Airbag system
The sid e airba gs are in paddin g in fro nt seats 26 . Yo ur vehicl e m ay a lso be
eq uipped with optional sid e airb ags for th e re ar
p os itions. Th e gen eral l ocatio n is
id entifi ed b y th e wo rd in th e uppe r re­
g io n of the b ackres ts
The side airb ag sys tem basica lly co nsis ts of:
• The elec troni c control m odul e and ext ernal
s id e imp act se nso rs
• The two sid e airba gs loc ated in the sid es o f
ch e fro nt b ackre sts
• Th e airba g warning
in cluste r