weight VOLKSWAGEN JETTA 2008 Owners Manual

Booklet 2.1 Safety first
WARNING (conlinuod)
• Neve r place or install floor mats or other
floor cover ings in th e vehicle that can n ot be
proper ly secure d in place to prevent them
from slip pin g and
with the pedals
or the abili ty to contro l the vehicle.
• Neve r place or insta ll floor mats or o ther
floor coverings on top of alr eady ins ta ll ed
floor mats. Additiona l floor mat s and oth er
Stowing luggage
Loading the luggage compartment
WARN ING (con tinued)
coverings w ill reduce the size of the pedal area
an d int erf ere with the pedals.
• Always properly reinstall and sec ure floor
ma ts that have been removed for cleaning.
• Always make sure that objects can not fa ll
int o the driver foot well w hile th e vehicle is
moving. Objects ca n become trapped under
th e brake pedal and acce lerator peda l ca using
a loss of vehicl e
All luggag e and object s ,n ust b e prop erly stowed and secured the luggage
compartment.
Loos e item s in th e luggag e compartmen t
c an shi ft sudden ly chang ing vehicle han­
dling charact eri stic s. Lo ose item s ca n also
in crea se the ri sk of se ri ous pe rs onal in­
j ur y in a sudd en veh icl e m an euv er or in a
co llision.
- Distribute the load evenly in th e lu g­
gag e compar tment .
- Alwa ys pla c e and properly sec ure heav y
it em s as far forward a s po ss ibl e in the lug ­
gage compar tm ent.
- S tow hea vy lugg age as low as possibl e
in the luggag e compar tm ent.
- Secure luggag e usin g th e tic -dow ns
pro vid ed
11 .
- -Ma ke su re that the re ar sea t ba ck is se­
cu re ly lat ch ed in pl ace.
WARNING
Improp erl y s tor ed luggage or other items can
fly through the vehicl e cau sing serious per­
so nal inju ry in th e event of hard braking or an
accident. To help reduce the risk of se rious
personal injury:
10 Safe driving
WARN ING (continued)
• Always put objects, for examp le, luggage o r
oth er he avy item s in the luggage compa rt-
WARNING
Heavy loads will influ ence the way yo ur ve­
hicle handle s. To help reduce the risk of a lo ss
of contro l lea din g to serio us personal injury:
• Alway s keep in mind when t ransporting
h ea vy objects, that a c hange in the ce nter of
grav ity can also ca use c hang es in ve hicle han ­
d lin g:
- Always distribut e the load as eve nly as
po ss ibl e.
- Place heavy objects as far forward in the
luggage compart ment as poss ible .
• Never excee d the Gross Axle Weig ht Rating
or the Gross Vehicle Weight Rating specified
on the safety complian ce s ticke r on the lef t
door jamb. Exceed ing permissib le we ig ht
s tandards can cause the vehicl e handl e diff er­
e ntl y.
• Please observe information on safe driv ing

Booklet 2 .1 Safety fir st ®
Why safety belts?
Frontal collisions and the laws of physics
Fronta l crashe s subject people riding in vehicles to very strong force s.
F ig . 7 Unbelted occupants in a veh icle head ing for
o wal l.
The ph ysica l prin ciples ar e simpl e. Both th e hicle and th e pa sse nger s po ssess e nergy w hich
va ries with veh icl e s pee d and bod y weig ht. Engi­
n eer s c all thi s en erg y " kin etic energy. "
The hi gher th e s pee d of the vehicl e and th e
gr eater t he v ehicl e's weight, th e more energy h as
to be "a b so rbed " in th e c rash .
V ehicle speed is th e m os t signifi cant factor. I f the
spe ed doubl es from 15 to 30 mph (25 to 50 km /h ),
th e e nerg y in crea ses 4 tim es !
Be ca u se th e pass eng ers of th e vehicle a re not
u sin g s afety belt s
7, th ey w ill kee p movin g th e s am e s pee d th e ve h icl e mo ving ju st
F ig . 8 The vehicle crashes into the wall.
before th e c ras h, un til somet hing stop s them h ere, t he wa ll 8.
T he s ame princip les a pply
people sit ting ve hicle tha t is in vol ve d in a frontal collision.
E ve n at spe ed s o f20 t o 30 mph (30 to 50
km /h ). t he forc es act in g on the bod y reach
on e ton (2,000 lbs. or l,000 kg) or more. Al greater
s pe ed s, these force s are ev en high er.
P eo ple wh o do not u se sa fety belt s arc al so nut
a tta ch ed to th eir ve hicl e. In a fronta l colli sion
t h ey will als o ke ep moving forwa rd a t th e sp ee d
th eir ve hicl e was tra ve lin g ju st befo re the crash.
Of cour se the law s of p hys ics don't ju st a pp ly to
fro ntal colli sion s, the y det ermine what happ en s
in all kind s of accident s
Safety belts 15

Booklet 2.1 Safety first
Child restraints on the front seat some important things to know
- Be sure lo read the import ant informa­
tion and hea d th e WARNINGS for impor­
tant detai ls abou t ch ildr en and Advanced
Airbags
5 1.
Ev en though your ve hicl e is equipp ed wi th an
Ad vanced A irbag S yste m , mak e certain all
chi ldren, e spec iall y thos e 12 years and youn ger,
a lwa ys ride in the back se at prop erly restrain ed
fo r th eir age a nd size. The airbag on the pa s­
s e nger side mak es th e front sea t a pote ntially
dangerou s pla ce fo r a ch ild to ride. Th e front sea t
i s not the safest pla ce for
chil d in forward­
faci ng c hild sea t. It can be very dangerou s
p la c e fo r an in fa nt or a child in a re a rward -facing
s ea t.
Th e Ad vanc ed Airbag System in yo ur vehi cle ha s
b ee n ce rtified
com ply wi th th e Requi re m en ts
of United Fed era l Moto r Ve hicl e Sta nd ard 208 as applica ble at the time your ve­
hicl e was manufactured .
Th e S tandard req uires th e fro nt airbag on the
pa ssenge r sid e
be turn ed off ("s upp re ss e d" ) if
a ch ild up to about one year of ag e restra ined in
on e of th e re ar-fa cin g or forward -faci ng infa nt
r es tra int s liste d in Federal Motor Ve hicle Safety
Sta nda rd 208 with whi ch th e Advan ced Ai rbag
S ys te m in your vehi cle wa s certifi ed has bee n in ­
stalled o n the front pass en ger se at. For a lis ting
o f th e child res traint s th at were u sed to ce rt ify
c omp lia nce w ith th e US Saf ety S tanda rd
53 .
Th e PASS ENGER AIR BAG OFF li ght in th e in ­
st rum ent panel tells you when th e fro nt Ad­
v a nce d Airbag on the passen ger sid e has been
turned off by the ele ctro nic cont rol
The PA SSENGER AIR BAG OFF light:
• will stay on if th e fro nt p ass eng er seat i s not
oc cupied,
• will stay on if t here is a small child or ch ild re­
s tra int on th e front passe ng er sea t,
• go off if th e front passe nge r is occ u­
pied by an ad ult as re g is te red by th e w eigh t­
s e n sing mat
39, "Mon itor ing the Ad­
va nce d Airbag S yste m ".
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF li ght comes on
wh en th e con trol unit detec ts a tota l wei gh t on the
pa
ssen ger sea t th at requ ires th e front
a ir bag to be turned off.
I f the tota l w eig ht on the fron t pa sse nger seat is
mor e th an
of a typical I year- old chil d le ss than the weight of a sma ll ad ult , th e front
a ir bag on the passenger side ca n dep loy (th e
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light do es not co me
o n ). If t he PA SSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
no t come o n, t he fron t airb ag o n the pas se nger
s id e has not bee n tu rn ed off by the e lectro nic
c ont ro l u ni t and can dep loy if th e co ntro l u nit
s ens es an impact th at meet s th e cond ition s
sto re d in its m em ory.
For exampl e, the air b ag may dep loy if:
• a small ch ild that i s heavie r
a ryp ic al I
y ea r-old c hild is o n th e front passenger seat (r e­
gard less of wh eth er th e child is in on e of the
c hild seats liste d
53), or
• a chil d who ha s outgrown c hild res tra int s is
on the front pa ssenger sea t.
I f th e fro nt pa ssenger airbag i s turn ed off,
PA SSENGER AIR BAG OFF l ig ht s up in the in­
s tru ment clu ste r and stays on.
Th e fr on t a irbag on the pass e nger sid e will de­
plo y if th e PAS SENGER AIR BAG OFF li ght does
co me o n an d stay o n even if a small ad ult or
te enager, o r a pa sse nger w ho is s itt in g up ­
right with th ei r back against a no n-re clin ed
back res t w ith th eir fe et on the ve hicle floor in
fr ont of t he se at is on the front passeng er se at
4 , " Proper occupant sea tin g pos itio ns" .
If th e front p assenger air bag deplo ys , th e Fe dera l
Standard r equir es th e airb ag to m eet th e "low
deplo ym en t cri te ri a to re duc e th e ris k of in­
ju ry throu gh int era ction with the airbag .
risk" dep loy men t oc cu rs in t hos e tak e place lower d ecelerat ion s as defined in
the e le ctron ic c ontro l uni t 39, "PAS­
SENG ER BAG OFF l ight".
Alway s re m ember ,
child seat or infant carr ie r
i nsta lle d on front se at may be struck and
kn ocke d o ut of position b y the rapid ly inflat ing
pa sseng er's airbag in a frontal co llis ion. The
a irb ag co uld g re a tly red uce the eff ect ive ness of
th e c hild res traint a nd even se ri ou sly inj ur e th e
ch ild dur ing in flat ion. .,_
Airbag system 29

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

res tr a int s th at liste d in th e Sta nd ard 53. "C hild restra int s an d Adva nce d Air­
bag s."
"S uppr essio n " req uir es the front a irb ag o n the
p ass eng er side to be tu rn ed off if:
• a child up
o n th e fro nt pa ss e n ger se at in one of th e
r ea r-f acing o r forward -facing infant r estra int s
li sted in F ed era l M otor Vehicl e Sa fe ty Stan dard
20 8 w ith whi ch th e Ad van ce d Air b ag Sys te m in
yo ur v eh icl e
ce rtifi ed. Fo r a l is ti ng o f th e
c h ild r estrai nts th at we re use d yo ur ve­
hi cle's complian ce the US Sta n dard
• weight le ss th an a t hres ho ld leve l sto re d in
t h e co nt rol uni t is detec ted on th e fro nt pas­
se nge r
Th e PASS ENGER AIR B AG OFF li ght co mes on
w hen th e el ec tro nic co ntro l un it de tec ts a
w ei ght on th e fron t p asse nge r se at th at r eq uires
th e front a irbag b e tu rn ed off. If th e PAS-
S EN G BAG OFF lig ht do es not co me o n
a nd stay o n, th e air bag o n the passe nge r
s id e has b een turn ed ofTb y th e con trol u nit depl oy if th e con tro l un it se nses an im­
pa ct m ee ts th e co nditi ons st ored in i ts
m emor y.=> page 45 39 "Mo nitoring th e
A dva nce d Airb ag Sys te m ."
Al ways re m emb er: E ve n t hou gh your veh ic le is
eq uip ped
Adv an ce d Air b ags. the safes t
p la c e fo r chil dren i s prop erl y res tra in ed on th e
b ack
Ple a se be sur e re a d th e infor matio n in th e sections fo llow a nd b e
s u re to a ll of th e WARN INGS .
WARNIN G
To re du ce the ri sk of inj ury w hen an airb ag in ­
flate s, always we ar safet y belt s pro perl y.
• If yo u ar e un res tra ine d, lea nin g forw ard,
s itlin g sid eway s or o ut of pos ition in any way,
y our risk of injur y is mu ch hi ghe r.
• You will als o rece iv e se ri o us injuri es and
co uld eve n be kill ed if yo u arc up again st th e
a ir bag o r too clo se to it when it infl ate s
e ve n
w ith an Adva nced Airb ag 27 .
WARNING
A chil d in a rear ward -fa ci ng c hild sea t in­
s talled on th e front p assenge r sea t w ill b e se ri­
ou sly in jur ed and can be killed if th e front
Booklet 2.1 Safety first
WARNI NG (conti nued)
a irba g infl ates eve n with an Ad van ced Airb ag
Sys te m .
• Alth ou gh th e Adva nced A irbag Sys te m in
y our vehicl e is de sig ned to turn ofT the front
a irb ag w hen a rea nva rd-fa cing c hild res trai nt
ha s bee n in stalled on th e front pa ssenger sca t,
n ob od y ca n ab solut ely g uarant ee that d epl oy ­
m ent is im poss ible in all co ncei va ble s itu a­
ti on s th at ma y ha pp en du rin g th e use ful life of
yo ur ve hicl e.
• Th e infl ating airb ag will hit the c hild seal
or in fant carri er w ith grea t for ce an d w ill
s m as h th e c hild seat and child aga inst th e
ba ckres t, ce nter arm r est, door , or r oof .
• Al ways insta ll rea rw ard -facin g child r e­
s traint s in th e back scat.
• If yo u m ust insta ll a rea rwa rd fa cin g c hild
sca t on the front passe nger sea t bec aus e of ex­
ce pti ona l cir cum sta n ces and the "PAS­
SENGE R A IR B AG O FF" light doc s not come on
a nd stay on, imm edi atel y in stall the re ar­
f aci ng c hild scat in a re ar se atin g position and
hav e th e a irbag s ys te m in sp ect ed b y your
V ol kswage n dea le r.
WARNING
A n im prop erl y in sta lled child restr ain t can in­
t e rf ere w ith the a irbag as it d epl oy s and se ri­
o usly injur e or eve n kill the c hild -eve n with
an Ad van ced Airba g Sy stem . If , in exc epti onal
cir cum stan ce s, y ou mu st in sta ll a fo rwar d­
facin g child r estraint on the front p asse nger' s
s ea t:
• Fo rward- facin g child scat s i nstall ed on th e
fr ont p asse nge r's s cat ma y inter fere w ith the
d epl oy ment of the a irbag and cause ser iou s
p erso nal inju ry to the child.
• Alw ays m ake sur e th e forwar d-fa cing se a t
h as bee n d esig ned and certified by its
fa ctur er for u se o n a front se a t with a pas­
s e n ge r front and sid e air bag .
• Alw ay s car efull y follo w the m anu fac turer' s
i n stru ctio ns prov ided with th e child seat or
ca rri er.
• Neve r put th e fon var d-facin g child re­
s traint up against or ve ry ne ar the in strum ent
p an el.
• Always move the passe nge r scat in to its re ­
a rm ost pos ition in th e sea t's for e and
Airbag system 33

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.

Booklet 2.1 Safety first
vanced Airbag System w ill tak e the u se of the
p assenge r saf ety belt into acco unt. If th e safety
b e lt i s being used, the a ir ba g w ill not d eplo y. If
the safety b elt is not b eing u sed, th e firs t st ag e
will d eplo y fo llow ed b y th e se co nd
lat er tim e in the c rash sequen ce.
I f th e e lectronic control unit r egis te rs a cras h of
hi gher sev erity, both stages deploy regardl ess of
w hethe r the sa fety belt is b eing u sed or not.
O n th e pa sse nger sid e, rega rdless of safe ty belt
u se , th e airbag will be turn ed offifth e weight on
th e pas senger seat is less
th e amo unt pro­
gramm ed in the elec troni c contro l unit. Th e
fr ont airb ag on the pa ssenger sid e wi ll als o be
turned off if on e of th e c hild sea ts that
use d
t o ce rtify th e Advanced Airba g Sys te m und er
Federa l Mo tor Vehicl e Sa fety Standard 20 8 ha s
be en rec ogni zed on the seat. The PASSENGER
AIR BAG
OFF light com es on and sta ys on
29, "Child
r es traints on the fron t sea t - so me import an t
things to know··.
WARNING
To red uce the risk of inju ry when an airbag in­
flates, alway s wear safety belts properly.
• If you arc unrestrained , lea nin g forward ,
si ttin g sideways or ou t of pos ition in any way,
yo ur ri sk of injury is much highe r.
• You will also receive serious injuri es and
co uld even be killed if you arc up aga inst the
a irba g or too close to it when it inflate s
even
with a n Advance d Airbag 27, "Impor ­
tance of wearing safety belts and s itting
pro perl y.".
More important things to know about front airbags
Fig . 23 Front oirbog deployment zone
36 Airbag system

• mo ve th e c hild to a re ar sca t po siti on and
m ake sur e that th e ch ild is p ro perl y res train ed in
a child res traint that is appropriat e for it s size
and age.
T he PAS SENGER AIR BAG OFF li ght sh ould NOT
co me on when th e ignition i s on and an adult is
s ittin g in a prop er se ating p osition on th e front
pa sse nger sea t. If th e PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
l ight com es on and stays on und er th ese circum­
s tan ces, make sur e that :
• the adult on th e fron t pa sse nger seat i s prop­
e rl y se ate d on th e ce nter of the se at cu shion with
his or her ba ck up again st th e ba ckr es t and the
ba ckr es t is not r eclin ed
4 , " Prop er occu ­
p ant sea ting posit ion s."
Booklet 2.1 Safety first
• the a dult i s not takin g we ig ht off the se at b y
hold ing on to the pa sse nger a ssist h andl e above
th e fro nt passe nger door or supportin g their
wei ght on th e armre st or ho ld in g on to th e ass is t
handl e on the instrum ent p anel,
• th e safety belt is bei ng prop erl y
an d
tha t th ere is no t lot of sla ck in th e safet y belt
we bbin g,
• access ory seat cove rs o r cu shi ons or oth er
thin gs th at may cause an inco rre ct reading o r
impr ession on th e we ight -sensing m at under
th e up ho ls tery of the seat have be en rem ove d
fr om the front p asse nger sea t,
• the optio nal
b elt ex te nd er h as not
b een le ft in th e b elt lat ch for th e fron t pa s­
se ng er sea t.
Important safety instructions on monitoring the Advanced Airbag
System
WARNING
A n airbag syste m that is not functioning prop­
er ly cannot provide supplementa l protection
in a frontal crash.
• If the
indi cator light comes on, it
mean s that there may be s omething wron g
with the Adva nced Airbag Sy stem. It is pos­
sib le th at the airbag will inflate when it is not
suppo sed to, or will not inflate when it sh ou ld.
• Hav e the airb ag system inspected immedi­
at ely by you r Vo lkswage n dealer.
WARNING
If th e front airbag inflates, a child without a
child restraint, in a rearwa rd-facing child scat
or in a forward-faci ng child restraint that has
not been properly insta lled
b e s eriousl y
injured and can be killed.
• Eve n though your vehicle is equipped with
a n Advanced Airbag System, make certain
that all childr en , e specially 12 year s and
yo ung er, always rid e on the back scat properly
restrained for their age and size.
• Alwa ys install forward or rear-facing child
seat s on the
sea t-eve n with an Advanced
Airbag System.
• If yo u must in stall a rcanvard- faci ng c hild
sea t on the front passenger scat because or ex-
WARNING (co ntinued )
ceptional circumstance s and the PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF light doe s not come on and stay
immedi ately install the rea r-facing chi ld
seat In a rear seating pos ition and have the
airba g syste m inspected by your Volkswagen
d ea ler.
• A tight tether or other strap on a
facing child r estraint attached to the front pas­
se nger sea t can pu t too mu ch pr essure on th e
weight-sens ing mat in the seat and register
more
weight than is actua lly on the sea t. The
h ea vier w eight registered can the
sys te m work as though an adult were on the
sea t and deploy th e A dvanced A irbag w hen
it mu st be suppre ssed caus ing seriou s or even
fat al injury to the c hild .
WARNING
An in sta ll ed c hild restraint can in­
t e rfe re with the airb ag as it deploy s and ser i­
ously injure or eve n kill the ch ild -even with
an Adva nced Airbag Sys tem. If, in excep tional
cir cumstan ces, you must install a fonvard­
facing chil d re straint on the front passenger 's
seat:
• child seats inst alled on the
front p assenger's seat m ay int erfere with the
Airbag system 41

Booklet 2.1 Safety first
WARNING (continu ed)
depl oyment of the ai rba g and ca use se rious
per sonal injury to the child.
• Alway s mak e sur e th e fo rward-facin g seat
h as been des ign ed an d ce rtified b y its
fac turer for use on a front seat with a se nge r front and sid e airb ag.
• Alway s ca ref ull y follow the manufa cturer' s
in stru ctio ns pro vided with the c hild seat or
c arrier.
• Neve r put the
child s trai nt u p aga inst or very near th e in strum ent
panel.
• Al ways move the passe nge r seat into its
armost pos itio n in the seat's fore and aft ju stm ent range , a s fa r away from the a irbag as
po ssibl e befo re in sta llin g th e fonvard-faci ng
c hild res traint. The backre st mu st b e adjust ed
to a n up rig ht p osition.
• Alway s m ake sur e th at nothin g preve nts
th e front passenge r's s eat from bei ng moved
to the re armost positi on in it s fore and aft
justm ent r ange.
• Neve r place additional it em s on the sca t
th at ca n in crease the total weight reg is te re d b y
th e we ig ht -se nsi ng m at and can ca use inju ry
in a cras h.
• Mak e sure th at th e PASSENGER AIR BAG
O FF li ght comes on and stay s on a ll th e time
w hene ver th e ig nition i s switch ed on.
WARN ING (cont inued)
• If th e PASSENGE R BAG OFF light does
not come on and sta y on , imm ediatel y in sta ll
the forward -facing child seat in a rear seating
po siti on and h ave the airbag system insp ec ted
b y yo ur Vo lkswagen dealer.
WARNING
• If the PASSE NGER BAG ligh t do cs
not go ofTwhen an adult i s sitting on the front
pas senger scat after taking the ste p s d esc ribed
above, make s ure the adu lt is prop erl y sea ted
a nd restrain ed at one of th e rear seating
ti ons.
• I lave the airbag syste m inspected by you r
Vo lkswage n dea ler befor e tran sportin g
a n yo ne on the front passen ger sea t.
T ips
• If th e we ig ht-s ensin g m at in th e f ront
seng er se at detec ts a n empt y sea t, th e front
airb ag on th e passe nge r sid e w ill be turn ed off .
a nd th e PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF lig ht will sta y
on.
• If th e opti onal safe ty belt ex te nd er i s le ft in
t h e bu ckle fo r th e
sa fe ty belt , o r th e fron t
pa ssen ger saf ety belt itse lf is bu ck led an d t he
fron t p asse nge r s eat is not occ u pie d , th e
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF light will come
Repair , care and d isposa l of the a irbags
Part s of t he ai rbag sys te m are in sta lled at m an y
d iffe re nt plac es on yo u r V olksw age n. In sta lli ng.
re mo vin g, se rv ic in g or rep air in g a part in an a re a
of th e ve hicl e c an dam age a part of an airb ag
sys te m and pr eve nt that syste m fr om wo rk in g
prop erl y in
co llision .
Th ere ar e so me imp ort ant thin gs yo u have to
kn ow to m ake s ure th at t he eff ec tive ness o f th e
sys te m will not b e impa ire d and t hat d isca rded
c om pon en ts do not c ause injur y or pollu te th e
e n vir onm en t.
WARNING
I mp roper care , se rv ic in g and repair dure s can incr ease ri sk of personal in jur y
42 Airbag sys tem
WA RNING ( conti nue d)
a nd d eath by preve ntin g airba g from ploy ing w hen needed or d eplo yin g an airb ag
un ex pec te dl y:
• Nev er c over, obstru ct, or c han ge the
s te erin g w heel horn pad or airb ag cover or the
in strument panel o r modif y th em in any wa y.
• Neve r att ac h an y obj ects su ch as cup
h old ers or tele phone mountin gs to th e
fac es c overin g th e a irbag units.
• For clean ing th e horn pad or in strum ent
panel, use on ly a so ft, dr y cloth or one moi st·
ened w ith pla in water. Solven ts or cl ea ner s
co uld dam age the a irbag cov er or ch ange the

Booklet 2.1 Safety first
happ en s w hen
yo ur vehicle is in a cras h appl y also to chi ldren
15 , sa fety belt s?". But unlik e adult s
a nd t eenagers, the ir mu scles and bones are not
f ull y deve lo ped. In man y res pe cts child ren are a t
greater risk of serious inju ry in cras hes than
adult s.
13ecausc childr en' s bodi es are not full y deve l­
oped, they re quir e re straint syste m s es peciall y
d esig ned for their size, weight, and
struc­
tu re. Many co untries and all sta tes of the Unit ed
S ta tes a nd pro vin ces of Ca nad a hav e la ws re­
qui ring the use of ap proved child restra int sys­
tem s fo r infan ts and sm all childr en.
In a fron tal cras h at a s peed of20-35 mph (30-56
km /h ) th e forces actin g on a 13-pou nd (6 kg) in­
fant w ill be m ore
20 tim es the we igh t of the
child. This m eans th e we ig ht of t he c hild would
s udd enl y be mor e th an 2 60 pound s (120 kg).
Under these co nditions, o nly a n appropr iat e
child res traint properl y use d can re du ce the risk
of serious injur y. Child rest rain ts , lik e adu lt
belt s, mu st b e used properl y to be effec­
t ive . U sed im pro per ly, they ca n increase the risk
of serious injur y in an
Consu lt the chil d sca t manuf ac!Ur er's instru c­
tion s to b e sure th e seat is right for your chil d's
s ize
54 , " Imp ort ant safety inst ructi ons fo r
u sin g child seats". Please be sure to rea d and
h ee d all of th e im porta nt inform atio n and
WAHN INGS
c hild safety, Advanced Air­
bags , the in sta lla tion of child r estraint s in
thi s
is lot you need to kn ow about the Ad­
van ced in your vehicl e and how th ey
wo rk when infants c h ild re n in child re­
strai nts arc o n the front passenge r sea t.13eca use
of the la rge amo unt of im portant inform ati on .
we cann ot re p eat it all here . We urge you to re ad
th e deta iled inf orm ati on in thi s booklet abo ut a
irba gs and the i\dva nced A irbag Sys te m in yo ur
veh icle an d th e very import ant inform ati on
abo ut transport ing c hildren on th e front pas­
se ng er sea t. Pl ease be sure to heed the WARN­
I NGS -th ey are ex trem ely imp ort ant for yo ur
sa fe ty and th e safety of yo ur pa sse ngers , espe­
ciall y in fants and sm all childr en .
WARNING
• Accident statistics have shown that chil­
dr en are genera lly sa fer in th e rear seat area
t h an in the front seating po sition. Always re­
s train any ch ild age 12 and und er in th e re ar.
• AU vehicle occ upant s and especially chil­
dr en mu st be r estrain ed properl y w hen ever
riding in a vehicle. An unr estrain ed or im­
properly res trained ch ild could be injured by
striking the interior or by being ejec ted from
the vehicle during
sudden maneuver or im­
pact. An unrestrain ed or improperly re­
stra ined ch ild is also at greater r is k of injury or
death through contact with an inflating
airbag.
• A sui table chil d re straint properly in stalled
a nd u sed at on e of th e rear seati ng positio ns
pro vid es t he hi gh est degre e of protection for
infants and small children in mo st accident
s ituation s.
WARNING
Childr en on the front s cat of any car even with
i\dvanced can be seriously injured or
eve n kill ed when an ai rbag inflat es.
• A ch ild in
re arward -facing child seat in­
s ta lled on the front p assenger seat will be seri­
o usly injur ed and can b e killed if the front
a irbag inflate s.
• The inflati ng airbag
hit th e ch ild seat
or infant carrier with great fo rce a nd will II>-
Child safety 51