light VOLKSWAGEN GOLF 2004 Owner's Manual

Forward-facing child seats insta lled on the front passenger's seat may interfere with the
d eployment of the airbag and cause serious
personal injury to the child.
Always make sure the fonvard-facing seat has been designed and certified by it s fa cturer for use on a front scat with a senger front and side airbag.
Alway s carefully follow the manufacturer's instructions provided with the child seat or carrier.
Never put the fonvard-facing child
Always move the passenger seat into its arrnost position in the seat's fore and aft
(cont;nued)
justment range, as far away from the airbag as poss ible before installin g the fonvard-facing
c hild restraint. The backrest must be adjusted to an upright position.
Always make sure that nothing prevents the front passenger's seat from being moved to the rearmost position in its fore and aft justment range.
Never place additional it ems on the seat that can increase the total weight registered b y the weight-sensing mat and can cause injury in a crash.
Advanced Airbag
trolunit whent h e igniti on i s on. The control unit monitors the Advanced AirbagSystem and turns
th e airbag indicato r light on w hen malfunction in the syste m components is detec te d. The tion of the a irbag indicator light is described in
g reater detail below. Because the front
vanced Airbag you must take car e to prevent it from being dam aged. Damage to the seat m ay prevent the Advanced Airb ag for th e
front passenger seat from doing its job in a
crash.
The front
Advanced Airbag System consists of the following:
Cras h sensors in the front of the ve hicl e th at measure ve hicle accelera tion /deceleratio n to
prov ide informatio n t o the Advanced Airbag
Sys tem about the severity of the cras h.
An electronic control unit, with integra ted crash sensors for fr ont and side impacts. The control u nit whethe r to fire just one or b oth stages o f the front a irbags based o n the formation received from the cra sh sensors. The control unit also w hethe r th e safety belt pretensioners should be acti va ted.
A dual -stage Ad vanced Airbag with gas
A dual-stage Adva nced Airb ag and gas
A weight-sensi ng under uphols tery
paddi ng of the front passenger seat c u shion that m eas ure s th e total weight on the seat. The matio n registered is sent continuous ly to regulate deployment of th e front Advanced Airbag on the passenger side.
An airbag monitoring system and indicator light in the in strument page
Airbag system 35

The PASSENGER light in the center of the instrument panel fig. 25) that tells yo u when the front Advanced
Airbag on the passeng er side been turned
orr.
A se nso r in side the safe ty belt latch for the
front seat passenger to measure th e ten sion on th e sa fet y belt. The ten sion on th e safety belt and th e weight regis ter ed by the we ig ht -se nsin g mat help the control unit
page
A senso r in the safety belt lat ch for the driver and for the front seat passenger that senses whether that safe ty belt is latch ed or n ot and tran smit s thi s information to the elec troni c
Damage to the front passenger seat ca n
Never remove the passenge r or driver
scat from the vehicle.
Never re m ove the uphol stery from the front passenger seat.
Never disassemble or remove parts from
th e seat or disconnect wires from it.
Never carry sharp object s in your pockets or place them on the seat. If the sen si ng m at in the passenger scat i s tured it cannot work properly.
36 Airbag system
(continued)
Neve r carry things on you r lap or jects on th e passenger seat. items can the and send the wrong information
to the airbag con trol unit.
Never store items under the front
under the passenger scat could be damaged, pre ve nting them and th e airbag system from working properly.
Never place seat cove rs or r eplace ment ho ls tery on th e front seats that have no t been
specifically approved by Volk swagen .
covers can prevent the Advanced
Airbag from recognizing child straint s or occupants on the front passenger seat and prevent the sid e a irbag in the seat backr es t fr om deploying properly.
Neve r u sc cushions, pillows, blankets or sim ilar items on th e front passenger seat. T he addition al paddi ng w ill prevent the
If yo u must use
BAG light comes on and sta ys on whenever the child restraint is in stalled on the front (>as-senger scat.
If t he BAG stay on, immediatel y in stall
c hil d restrain t in rear seati ng position and have the airbag system inspected by your thorized Volkswagen dealer o r qualifi ed
wor kshop

The front passenger airbag
when th e front passe nger pied,
when th e we ight o n th e front p ass en ger seat as sensed by the Advanced Airbag cates that th e front airbag on th e pa sse nge r side has light comes on and stays on).
To reduce the risk of injury w hen the
a lw ays sit in an upright positi on, must n ot
l
ean agai nst o r place part o f th eir body to o
close t o the area w here the airbags a rc locate d.
Occupa n ts who are unbelte d, out o f tion or too close to the a irbag can be seriously injure d b y an air b ag as it unfo lds g reat force in the b link of a n page
A n i nfant or child in a re arward-faci ng c hild seat install ed on the front passenge r scat w ill
b e seri ously injure d can be ki lled if the
front airbag infl ates even with an A dva nced
Airbag
T he i nfl ating a irba g will hit the c hild sea t or infant carrie r with great fo rce and will
s mash the cl1ild scat
Always ins ta ll rearward -facing child seats
o n th e rear seat.
yo u must in stall a rearward faci ng c hild seat o n the fron t passenger seat because o f ceptio nal ci rcums tances and the stay on, imme di ate ly in stall the reanvard-facing c hild seat in
s h o p .
between yo u and the airbag will
(continued)
fering wit h th e
Neve r h o ld things in your h ands o r o n your la p whe n the ve hicl e is in use.
Neve r transport items on o r in the
co me dangerous projecti les that can cause rious personal injury if the a irbags in flate.
Never place or auach accessori es or other
obj ects (s uch
page
crash, especiall y w hen the airbags infla te .
Neve r recline t he fro nt passenger's scat tra n sp ort objects. o f th e sid e airbag or th e fro nt during braking o r in a sudden m aneu ve r. jects ncar th e airbags can becom e pro jectiles and cause in ju ry , p artic ul arl y w hen the scat is
r eclined.
Always make sure that nothing is on the
fr ont passenger scat that w ill cause th e
weigh t-sensing mat in the seat to sense that the scat is occupied or is occu pied by
A lw ays make su re that n othing is on th e
front p asse nger seat whe n the backrest i s
f olded forward . Eve n
Always make sure tha t the statu s sig naled
b y the light is rect for the way that the fron t passenger scat is bcinguscd.
Airbag system 39

WARNING
The fine dust created when airbags deploy can cause breathing proble m s for people w ith a history of asthma or other breathing condi­
tions.
To reduce the risk of breathing problems,
those with asthma or other respiratory condi­
tions should get fresh air right away by getting
(cont;nu od)
out of the vehicle or opening w indows or doors.
If yo u are in a co llision in which airb ags de­
ploy, wash your h ands and face with mild soap and water before eating.
Be carefu l not to get the dust into your eyes, or into any cut s or scratc hes.
If the residue should get into your eye s,
flush them with water.
Two separate indicators monitor the function the Advanced Airbag System: the
airbag monitoring indicator light
and the PASSENGER light.
The A dva nced Airba g Sys te m (in cludin g th e electronic control unit, senso r c ir c uits and sys te m wiring) is m onit ore d continuously to mak e sure tha t it is fun cti o nin g properl y when­eve r the ignition is o n. Each time you turn on th e
i gnition. the a irba g monitoring indicator light
w ill co me o n for a fe w second s (se lf di ag nostics) and th e text AIRBAG/BELT appears
in the in strument clu ster.
The sys tem must be inspected when the indi­
cator light
does not come on when th e ignition is
switc h ed on,
doe s not go out a few seconds after you have
s wit ched on the ignition, or
comes o n while driving.
If an airbag system malfu nc tion is de te cte d , th e
indicator light will come on and sta y on to catch
th e dri ver's attention and se rve as a con stant re-
fa malfunction occurs that turn s th e front airbag on th e passe nge r side th e PASSENGER AIR BAG
WARNING
An airbag system that is no t functioning prop­
erly cannot provide suppl emental protection
in a frontal crash.
not inflat e when it should.

Fig. 25 Section from the instrumen t pone l: PAS­SENGER BAG OFF
The PASSENGER BAG fig . 25.
The PASSENGER come on and stay on to
burns out. the airbag monitoring indicator
not change the the front airbag on the passenger side works, it no longer be possible to usc the PASSENGER BAG light to verify that the airbag on/off status is correc t for the occupant on the front passenger seat. Have the a irbag system in ­
specte d immediately by your authorized Volk­swagen deal er or qualifi ed workshop.
The PASSENGER blink for
up to long 9 seconds when:
the ignition is switched on and
the re is a change in the weight measured b y the weight-sensing mat in the fro nt passenger sca t that determines w hethe r the Advanced
A irbag on the passenger side can d eploy or be lllrned off.
Af te r
the light stops
light is proper for the siz e. age, and weight of the occupant on the front passenger seat.
ways make sure that th e safety for the fron t passenger scat is prope rly fastened.
The PASSENGER BAG light show the correc t status o f th e front Advanced Airbag on the passenger side
stay on if the front passenger seat is no t occup ied,
s ta y on if the combined weight of an in­
fant up t o about one year of age in one of the reanvard-fa cing or fonva rd-faci ng child re­
straints in Federa l Motor with whic h th e Advanc ed Airbag
Sys te m in your vehicl e was certified. is regis­tered by the weight-sensing mat in the front pas­senger seat. For a listin g of the chil d restraints
t h a t
were used to certi fy your vehicle's compli­a nce with the Safety
registered by the weight­sensing
The BAG light must come
on and stay on if the ignition is on and
a car bed has been o n the front pas­senger seat. or
a reanvard-facingchild restraint has been in­
a forward-facing child restra int has been in ­
and if the weig ht reg istered on the front pas­senger seat is equal to or less than the combine d weight o f a ty pical year-o ld infant restrained in one of the reanvard-facin g or fonvard-facing c hild restraints in Federall'v1 otor Safe ty in your vehicl e certified.
the front passenger seat is not occupi ed . the
front passenge r a irbag BAG stay on. Never on the fr o nt passenger seat, the safest p lace for in any kind of page
page 53,
Airbag system 41

Booklet 2.1 Safety first
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG light comes
on ...
If th e PASSENGER AIR BAG comes on
w hen one o f th e conditio ns listed above is m et,
b e sure to check the light ta in that th e PASSENGER AIR BAG
does not appear and not stay on
reactivate th e sys te m by turning the ign ition
orr a nd th e n turning it on again ;
re move and th e child re stra int. Make
sure that the c hild restraint is pro p erly
ufacture r's in str u ctions;
make sure th at the conve rtibl e lockin g ture on the safety
Th e belt must no t be loose or have loops of slack so tha t th e sensor b elow the safe ty belt lat ch on the sea t can do its job 63.
m ake sure th at things that m ay increase th e weight o f the chil d and ch ild seat are not b e in g transp orted on the front passenger seat;
make sure tha t th e sa fe ty belt te nsion sen sor is no t blocke d. the sa fe ty la tc h on the
fr o nt passenger seat back and fo rth,
make sure that no thin g can int erf ere w ith the
safe ty belt buckles and that they are no t str ucte d.
If a strap o r tether is being used t o tie th e
c hi ld seat to th e front passenger scat, make sure tha t it is no t so tight that it c auses the sen sin g m at m easure m ore weig h t than is o n the seal.
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG light
light docs not com e o n and does no t stay on continuous ly (when th e ig niti on i s swi tc h ed on).
42 Airbag sys te m
take the c hild restrai nt off the front passenger scat and
your autho rized Volkswagen dealer o r q ualified wor ks hop immedia te ly.
move th e c hild to a rear seat posit io n and make su re that the
light should come on
The PASSENGER AIR BAG should NOT
come o n when the ign ition i s on and an adult is
s ilting in p ro per position on the front pa sse nger seat. If the PASSENGER AIR BAG lig ht comes o n and on u nder these circ um -sta nces. make su re that:
the adul t on the front passenge r scat is seat e d on the cente r o f the seat cushio n with
h is or her back up against th e back rest and th e
b ackres t is not page
the adult is not taking weigh t orr the seat by
hold ing on to the passenger assis t h andle above the fro nt passenger door or supporting th eir weig ht o n the armrest or hold ing o nt o the assist handle on th e in strument
th e safe ty belt is bei ng properly worn and that th e re is n ot in the safe ty belt
webb ing.
a ccessory seat cove rs or c u shions o r other th ings that m ay cause
passe nger seat.
is mov in g. the PASSENGER AIR BAG light blinks for about 5 seconds to catch th e driver's it is
s a fe to do s o and c heck the steps described

BAG light does not go off when an adult is sitting on the front
passenger scat after taking the s te p s described
above, make sure the adult i s properl y seated
and r estrai ned at one of the rear seating posi­
tions.
Have the a irba g sys te m inspecte d by your authorized Volkswagen dealer or qualified
workshop before transporting anyon e o n th e
front passenger seat.
be turn ed off, and th e BAG light on.
o r th e front passe nger sa fety belt its elf is buckled and th e
f ru nt seat i s not occ upied . th e co me on.
Repair, care and
re moving, servicing or repairing a
Never cover, obstruct, or change the
steeri ng wheel horn pad or airbag cover or the in strument panel or m odify them in any
Never attach any o bj ects such as cup holders or te lephone mountings to the sur­faces covering the airbag units.
For cleaning the horn pad or instrument panel, use only a soft, dry cloth or one moi st­
e ned w ith plain water. Solvents or cleaners
co uld damage the airbag cover or change the
s tiffn ess or strengt h of the material so that the
a irbag cannot deploy and protect properly.
Never repair, adjust, or change any parts of the a irba g system.
All work on the steering wheel, instrument panel, front seats or ele ctri cal sys tem (in-
44 Airbag system
{ continu ed )
eluding the installation of audio equipment ,
ce llular te lephones and C B radios, etc.) must be performed by a qualified tech nici an who
h as the training and special equipment neces­
sary.
For any work on the airbag s ys te m , we strongly recommend that yo u see you r autho­rized Volkswagen dealer or qualified work­
shop.
Never modify the front bumper or parts of the vehicl e body.
Alwa ys make sure that the s ide airbag can inflate witho ut interference:
Neve r scat covers or rep lacement upholstery over the front scat backs that have no t been specifically approved by Volkswagen.
Never use additional seat cushions that cover the areas where t11e sid e a irba gs in­
flate .
Damage to the original scat cove rs or to
th o scam in the area of tho side airbag module must always be re p ai red immedi­ate ly by an authorized Volkswagen deale r or qualified workshop.
The airbag sy stem can be activated only
o n ce. After an airba g has inflated, it must be replaced.
trained t echnician who has th e necessary
too ls and diagnostic equipment to properly

to vehic les: with side airbags
Description of side airbags
Always make sure that nothing can inter-fe re with the safety be lt buckles and that they are not
The sid e airbag system ca n provid e supplemental protection to properly
strain ed fron t seat occupant s.
Fig. 26 a irbag in drive r seat
The side air b ag s are in the backr est p addin g in the fig. 26 . ve hicl e m ay als o b e
equipped w ith optiona l sid e ai r bags for the re a r
outs id e po siti ons.Th e ge nera l lo cat io n is in the upper regio n of the backrests .
The side airbag system basically consis ts of:
the e lectroni c co ntro l module with grated sensors, pre ssure sen so rs in the front doors and re a r s ide impact sensors (only four doors ve hicle).
the two side airbags locate d in the s ides of the fro nt backre sts a ir ba gs
opti ona l s id e a irbags for the outboard rear seats (only four door s ve hicle).
3) W here ap plicabl e
46 Airbag system
the airbag warning light in the in strument clu ster.
The airb ag syste m is monitore d electroni cally to make certain that it is fun ctioning properly at all times. Ea ch time you turn on th e ig nition, the
a irba g syste m indi cator light will come on fo r a
few s e conds (self diagnostic s).
Th e side
airbag s ys te m supplements the s afet y
b elt s and can help to reduce the ris k of injury to the dri ver's and passenge r's and the rear
outboard3> passen ge r's upper to rs o on the s ide
o f the ve hicl e that is st ruck in a s ide colli sio n. The a irb ag infl ates onl y in sid e impacts and o nl y
w he n th e ve hicle accele rati on r egis te re d by the
co ntrol unit is hi gh enough. If thi s rate is be lo w
th e re fe re nce valu e progr ammed into the control unit. the s ide airb ags will not be tri gge re d , ev en
th oug h the car m ay be bad ly da m ag ed a s a re su lt
o f the c ollis ion .
sib le angle of impa c t, s ince th e c ircumsta nce s
will v ary consid era bly betw een one collisio n and ano ther. Important fac tor s includ e, Fo r e xample, the nature (hard or soft) oft h e impacting o bject, the ang le of impact, ve hicl e speed, e tc . s afe ty in stru ctions fo r the sid e a irbag
Aside from their normal safety function, sa fe ty
b elt s work to he lp keep the driver or front se n ge r in po sition in sid e co llision so that the
s ide airb ags c an pro vid e pro tection whe n th ey
inflate. Safety belt s als o help to keep rear seat
passenge rs in pos ition so tha t opti onal seat

that you and your passenger s must
know and do to help the safety belt s and airbag s do their job to provide supplem ental protec tion .
Th e S
ide airb ags installed
for th e front seating and outboard rear seating
posit ions have been desig ned and ce rtified to he lp reduce the risk of injur y that can be caused
b y air bags when they inflate, particularly w he n
th e occupant sitti ng nex t to it is no t seated prop­
erly .
WARNING
lmp roperlywearingsafcty belts and improper seating positions increase the risk of serio u s
p erso na l injury and death whenever a vehicle
i s being used.
Never let occupants place any parts of their bodi es in th e area from whi ch th e Side
Always make sure that th e S ide
Use the built-in coat hooks only for light ­
we ight clothing. Never leave any heavy or sharp-e d ge d object s in the pocket s th at may
52 Airbag sy ste m
(contin ued)
interf ere w ith airbag deployment and can
cause personal injury in a collision .
Never use hangers to hang clothe s on th e
h ooks.
use factory-installed sun shades in the case of shades installed after the vehicl e
l eaves the factory, use only genui ne swagen sun booklet 3.2 new parts, re­
pair s an d modification s."
A lways sit in proper sea ting position and wear safety belts whil e trave ling so that th e
Side
The a irb ag sys te m can onl y be trigger ed
once. the airb ag has been tr iggered, the
system must be rep laced by a n authorized Volkswagen dealer or qualified workshop.
Always have work involv in g the curtai n
airbag system , removal and installation of the a irbag components, or other repairs per­
formed by a qualified dealers hip. Othenvis e
the airbag system m ay no t work correctly.
Neve r attempt to modify an y components of the airbag system in any way

2.1 Safety first
child on the front passe nger seat u sing th e weight-sensing m at in the seat c ushion and the sen sor below the safety belt latch on the front
p assenger seat that measures th e tension on the safe ty be lt.
Th e we ight -sensin g
mat measures to tal weight of the c h ild and th e child seat and a chi ld blanket on th e front passeng er seat. The weight on the
front pas s enge r seat is re lated to the design of th e c hild restraint and its the size and s h ape of the bo ttom of the chil d restr aint as
it sit s on the seat. The w eight o f a child restraint and its
manufacturers .
T he
weight ra nges for the indi vidual types,
m akes and models of child restr aints that th e
N HTSA has s pecified in the Sa fe ty Standard gether w ith the weight r a n g es of t ypical infan ts a
nd ty
pical I year-old child have been in
th e control unit of the Adva nced Airba g Sys te m.
When a child restraint is being used on the front passenger seat w ith a typic al! year-o ld infant ,
th e Ad va nc ed Airbag System compares the weight measured by the weight-sensin g m at
with the informa ti on stored in the electro nic
control unit.
T he el
ectroni c control unit als o registers the s ion on th e front passenger safe ty belt. The sion on th e sa fe ty belt for the front passenge r
seat w ill be differe nt for an adult who is properly using the sa fety belt as compared to the te nsion on th e belt when it is used to atta ch a child strain t to the seat. Th e sensor below the latch for the sa fet y belt for th e front seat passenger sures the tension on th e belt. The input from this
se nsor is then u sed w ith the weight to w he th er there is a child restraint with a ty pical
I year-o ld child on the front passenger seat a nd
w hether o r n ot th e airba g must be turned off .
Safety dards and has been certified by its m anufa cturer
f o r use with an airbag. Alwa ys be sure that the chil d restraint is pro perly in stalled at one of th e
rear seating positi ons. If in exce ptional sta nces you must use it on the front passe nge r seat, carefully read all of the information on child safety and Ad vanced Airbag s and heed all of th e a pplic abl e WARNINGS. Ma ke certain that
t h e c hild res traint is correctly recognized by the
we ig ht-sensi ng mat in side the front passeng er seat, that th e fron t passenger a irb ag is turne d off and that the airbag statu s is alw ays correctly naled by the BAG light.
Man y ty
pes and model s of c hild restrain ts hav e
been availabl e ove r the years . new mode ls a re introduced reg ularly incorporating new and prove d desig n s and older mod els are take n out of production. res traint s are not iz ed. re s traint s of th e same type ty picall y h
ave diff e
rent weig hts and sizes and diff erent the size and s hape of the bottom of
th e child res traint that sit s on the seat, when they are in stalled on a seat. These ences make it virtu ally impossibl e to certify compliance with the require m ents for advanced
airbags with each and every child restraint that has ever been so ld in the past or w ill be s old ove r
t h e course of the useful life of your
For thi s rea son, the United States National High way Traffi c Sa fety Adm ini strat ion has lis h e d a list of s p ecific type, makes and m od els of c hild restraint s that must b e use d to certify compliance of th e Advanced Airbag System in
your ve hicle with the suppression requirements of Federal Mo tor These child restraints are :
A. Car beds, manufactured on or after tember 1,
Dream Ride 02-719
safety 55