service VOLKSWAGEN JETTA 2012 User Guide

x Liquids, sharp objects and things that do not let the heat in the seat escape into the air, including, for example, a child restraint, a blanket, or seat covers on the seat can damage seat heating.
x If you smell an odor, immediately shut off seat heating and have it checked by an authorized Volkswagen dealer or authorized Volkswagen Service Facility.
x Never install leather upholstery on a vehicle with seat heating that originally had cloth upholstery. The seat heating elements for seats with cloth seats will overheat if the cloth up-holstery is replaced with leather upholstery.
Switch off seat heating when it is not needed to help reduce unnecessary fuel consumption.

WARNING
Damage to safety belts reduces their overall effectiveness and increases the risk of serious personal injury and death whenever the vehicle is being used.
x Never let safety belts become damaged by being caught in the door or seat hardware.
x Torn or frayed safety belts can tear, and damaged safety belt hardware can break in an accident.
x Inspect belts regularly for damage. If webbing, bindings, buckles, or retractors are dam-aged, have the belts replaced immediately with the correct replacement belts approved by Volkswagen for your vehicle, model, and model year.
x Safety belts that were subject to stress in an accident and stretched must be replaced with a correct, new safety belt, preferably by an authorized Volkswagen dealer or authorized Volkswagen Service Facility.
x Replacement after a crash may be necessary even if a safety belt shows no visible dam-age. Anchorages that have been loaded must also be inspected.
x Damaged safety belts must be replaced; they cannot be repaired.
x Never try to repair a damaged safety belt yourself. Never remove or modify the safety belts in any way.
x Have safety belts, bindings, retractors and buckles replaced by an authorized Volkswagen dealer or authorized Volkswagen Service Facility.
x Always keep the belts clean. Dirty belts may not work correctly and can impair the func-tion of the inertia reel.
Warning light

Fig. 43 Warning light in the instrument cluster.

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 height adjusters

Fig. 53 Next to the front seats: Safety belt height adjuster.

Never use the safety belt extender for any other purpose – including the attachment of a child re-straint.
The extender adds about 8 inches (20 cm) to the safety belt. Always remove the safety belt extender when it is not needed and stow it safely. Contact an authorized Volkswagen dealer or authorized Volkswagen Service Facility if you believe you may need an extender.
Key to fig. 54:
(1) Vehicle safety belt buckle.
(2) Buckle tongue on the safety belt extender.
(3) Safety belt buckle on the safety belt extender.
(4) Safety belt buckle tongue on the factory-installed safety belt.
Key to fig. 55:
(A) Safety belt buckle on the safety belt extender.
(B) Distance between the safety belt buckle on the safety belt extender and the centerline of the person using the safety belt extender. The distance must be more than 6 inches (15 cm)!
(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, Adjusting the seating position.
x Insert the buckle tongue on the safety belt extender ⇒ fig. 54 (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, Fastening and unfastening safety belts.
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 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, Parts, accesso-ries, repairs, and modifications.
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.

In cool or humid weather, the insides of the headlights, the rear lights, and turn signals can temporarily fog up. This is normal and does not affect the service life of the vehicle's lighting system.
Applicable only in the United States
Lights and vision features

Daytime running lights (DRL)
Separate lamps are installed in the headlights or in the front bumper for the daytime running lights (DRL).
When the daytime running lights are switched on, only these separate lamps come on ⇒ .
The daytime running lights are switched on whenever the ignition is switched on and the light switch is in position /. The indicator light  or DRL may come on in the instrument cluster to indicate that the feature is active, Lights.
WARNING
Crashes and other accidents can happen when you cannot see the road ahead and when you cannot be seen by other motorists.
x Never use daytime running lights (DRL) to see where you are going. DRL are not bright enough to light up the roadway and be seen by other motorists. You will not be able to see far enough ahead for safety, especially at dusk or when it is dark. Always switch on the low-beam headlights at dusk or when it is dark.
x The taillights do not come on when the daytime running lights are switched on. A vehicle without taillights on cannot be seen by others in bad weather, at dusk, or when it is dark.
In cool or humid weather, the insides of the headlights, the rear lights, and turn signals can temporarily fog up. This is normal and does not affect the service life of the vehicle's lighting system.
Instrument panel lighting

Fig. 72 To the left of the steering wheel: Thumbwheel to adjust instrument panel lighting 1.

NOTICE
To help prevent damage to the wiper blades and the wiper motor when it is cold outside, always make sure that blades are not frozen to the windshield before operating the wipers. Using the service position can be helpful in cold weather so the wipers do not freeze to the windshield, Windshield wiper service position.
x If the ignition is switched off while the wipers are running, the wipers will continue at the same wiping speed when the ignition is switched on again. Frost, ice, snow, leaves, and other objects on the windshield can damage the wipers and the wiper motor.
x Remove snow and ice from the wipers before you begin driving.
x If the wiper blades freeze to the windshield, loosen them carefully. Volkswagen recommends using a deicing spray.
NOTICE
Never switch on the windshield wipers when the windshield is dry because the windshield can be scratched.
On some vehicles, the windshield wipers work only if the ignition is switched on and the engine hood is closed. The windshield wipers turn off automatically when the engine hood is opened.
The intermittent wiping for the front windshield depends on the driving speed. The higher the speed, the faster the wipers move.
If the wiper blades freeze to the windshield, loosen them carefully. Volkswagen recommends using a deicing spray.
Windshield wiper functions

Windshield wiper service position

Fig. 76 Windshield wiper in service position.

WARNING
Unsuitable, worn, or damaged tie-down straps (elastic or non-elastic) can snap or come loose during braking or other maneuvers or in a collision. Objects secured with these straps can then come loose and fly through the passenger compartment, causing severe personal injuries or death.
x To help prevent baggage or other items from coming loose and flying around, always use suitable undamaged tie-down straps.
x Securely fasten the tie-down straps to the tie-downs.
x Loose or improperly secured objects in the luggage compartment can slide about suddenly and change the vehicle's handling.
x Secure even small and light objects. Loose objects in the luggage or passenger compartment can fly about during sudden braking maneuvers or in the event of an accident and injure occupants.
x Never exceed the maximum allowable load on the tie-downs when securing objects.
x Never secure a child seat to the tie-downs.
WARNING
Elastic straps have to be stretched when being attached to the tie-downs in the luggage compartment. Hooks on these straps can cause serious personal injury if not handled properly and attached securely.
x Always protect eyes and face from injury from the hooks when attaching them to the tie-downs in the luggage compartment.
x Always hold the hooks on elastic straps firmly when attaching to the vehicle and do not let them snap back and hit you.
x First attach the hooks on the straps to the tie-downs at the rear seat backrest in the luggage compartment and then to the tie-downs near the loading edge of the luggage compartment. This way, if one of the hooks on the elastic straps snaps back, it will move away from you, decreasing the risk of personal injury.
The maximum load for the tie-downs is about 785 lbs. (356 kg).
For suitable straps and luggage stowage systems, please see an authorized Volkswagen dealer or authorized Volkswagen Service Facility.