VOLKSWAGEN EOS 2008 Owners Manual

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. 52 Warning light in the instrument cluster.

When the ignition is switched on, several warning and indicator lights come on briefly for a function check. They go out after a few seconds.
A warning chime also sounds.
The safety belt warning light ª comes on for 6 seconds when the ignition is switched on. A warning chime also sounds for up to 6 seconds if the driver's safety belt is not buckled. The chime stops soon-er if the driver buckles his or her safety belt. The warning light and the chime go out when both driver and front passenger have bucked their safety belts.
If the driver and front seat passenger do not both fasten their safety belts within about 24 seconds after the chime stops and the vehicle is moving at a speed of more than about 15 mph (25 km/h), the chime will again sound for about 6 seconds, then go off for about 24 seconds, then sound again for about another 6 seconds. The same thing happens if one of the safety belts is fastened and then unfastened while the vehicle is moving. The safety belt warning light ª also flashes. The warning chime continues to sound at 24 second intervals for up to 2 minutes. No chime sounds at speeds of less than about 5 mph (8 km/h).
If the ignition is switched on, the safety belt warning light ª stays on until the driver and front passen-ger have both buckled their safety belts.
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 used cor-rectly.
Frontal collisions and laws of physics

Fig. 54 A vehicle with passengers not wearing safety belts approaches a wall.

Fig. 55 A vehicle with passengers not wearing safety belts hits a wall.

Fig. 57 Unbelted passengers in the rear seats are thrown forward on top of the belted driver.

If you cannot untwist the safety belt, wear it anyway. Make sure that the safety belt is twisted in a spot where it does not come in direct contact with your body. Have the safety belt untwisted immediately by an authorized Volkswagen dealer or authorized Volkswagen Service Facility.
Lockable safety belt
The retractors for the rear seat safety belts and the front passenger safety belt have a switchable locking feature for child restraints in addition to the emergency locking feature. Whenever a child restraint is installed with a safety belt, the safety belt must be locked so that the safety belt webbing cannot unreel. The switchable locking feature lets you lock the belt so that a child restraint can be properly installed and, for example, so that it can't tip to the side when the vehicle goes around a
corner ⇒ page 147, Child safety and child restraints.
To see whether a safety belt is lockable, pull the safety belt all the way out of the safety belt retractor. You should then hear a “clicking” sound as the belt winds back into the retractor reel. Test the switch-able locking feature by pulling on the belt. When the switchable locking feature is active, you should no longer be able to pull the belt out of the retractor.
The locking feature must be deactivated when a vehicle occupant uses the safety belt.
WARNING
Improper use and care of safety belts increases the risk of severe personal injury or death.
x Regularly check safety belts and related parts for damage.
x Damaged safety belts must be replaced; they cannot be repaired.
x Always keep safety belts clean.
x Never catch, damage or chafe safety belt webbing on sharp edges.
x Always keep objects and liquids away from the belt buckle and buckle opening.
Fastening and unfastening safety belts

Fig. 59 A: Inserting the safety belt buckle tongue into the belt buckle. B: Releasing the buckle tongue from the belt buckle.

Fig. 60 Safety belt webbing running through the front safety belt loop.

WARNING
Improperly positioned safety belts can cause serious personal injury or death in an accident.
x Safety belts offer optimum protection only when the seat backrest is upright and belts are correctly positioned on the body.
x A person who is not properly restrained can be seriously injured by the safety belt itself if it slips from the stronger parts of the body into sensitive areas like the abdomen.
x Unfastening safety belts while the vehicle is in motion can cause severe personal injury or death in the event of an accident or braking maneuver!
Before getting in the vehicle, the driver and front passenger should run the safety belt through the belt loop so that they can reach their belts more easily to attach them.
The safety belt loop helps prevent the safety belt from flapping in the wind when driving with windows or the CSC roof down.
Safety belt position

Fig. 61 Proper safety belt positioning and head restraint adjustment.

Fig. 62 Proper safety belt positioning for expectant mothers.

Wearing safety belts improperly can cause serious injury or death. Safety belts can only work when they are correctly positioned on the body. A properly worn safety belt also helps to position the occu-pant so that an airbag can provide maximum protection when deployed. Therefore, always fasten your safety belt and make sure that it is properly positioned over your body.
Improper seating positions reduce the effectiveness of safety belts and even increase the risk of injury or death by moving the safety belt to critical areas of the body. Improper seating positions also in-crease the risk of severe injury or death when an airbag deploys and strikes an occupant who is not seated properly, Adjusting the seating position.
Proper safety belt position
x The shoulder belt part of the safety belt must run through the belt loop on the seat backrest.
x The shoulder portion of the safety belt must always run over the center of the shoulder and never over the throat, over the arm, under the arm or behind the back.
x The lap portion of the safety belt must always run as low as possible over the pelvis and never over the abdomen.
x Always wear the safety belt flat and snug against the body. Pull on the safety belt to tighten if necessary.
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 – throughout the pregnancy. The safety belt must lie
flat against the body to avoid pressure against the abdomen ⇒ fig. 62.
Adjusting safety belt height
The safety belt position can be adjusted using the following feature:
x Front seats with height adjustment.
WARNING
Improperly positioned safety belts can cause serious personal injury in an accident or a sudden 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 position.
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 vehicle.
Safety belt extender

Fig. 63 A safety belt extender properly attached to the factory-installed safety belt.

Fig. 64 Positioning of the safety belt extender.