VOLKSWAGEN GOLF 2005 Owners Manual

Booklet 2.1 Safety first
A n ai rbag sys te m tha t i s no t func ti o nin g erl y cannot provi de s upplemental pro tec tio n
in a fronta l crash .
th e a ir bag indi cato r
sib lc that th e airb ag
wo rksh op.
o r be seriou sly injure d an d ca n b e kill ed .
Even tho ugh your vehi cle i s with Advance d Air bag make certain
that chil dre n, es pecia lly 12 years yo unge r, always ride on th e back seat p roper ly
res tra ined fo r th eir age and size.
A lways install fo rward o r rea nvard -facing
c hild seats o n th e re a r seat- eve n with an vance d Airbag Sys te m .
a rearward - faci ng chil d scat on the fro nt passenger seat because o f
BAG does not com e on an d stay o n, immedi ate ly
s h op.
A tig ht tethe r or other str a p o n a faci ng ch ild res tra int attach ed t o the fro nt se nger seat ca n put to o much press ure on the
we ight-se nsing mat in the se a t and reg is te r more a weight than is on th e seat. The
h ea vier weig ht regis tere d can make the
sys te m w ork as thou gh an adult were on th e seat a nd dep loy th e Advance d Air bag w he n it
m ust b e s uppresse d causin g se rious o r eve n
fata l inju ry to the c hild .
An imp roperly in sta lled child res tra int can
ou sly in ju re or even child -eve n wit h
a n Advanced Airbag Syste m .
in exce pti onal ci rcums ta nces, you must a fo n vard-faci ng chil d restrai nt on the
f ro nt passenger's seat:
-
Fon vard-faci ng c hild seats o n
th e front passe nge r's scat may inte rfere with the deploym en t of th e a irbag and
ca use serio us perso nal inju ry to the child .
- Always
mak e s ure the fonvard-fac ing seat has been des ig ned and certifi ed by its
m anufact ure r f or use o n a fron t seat with a
passenger fron t a nd side airbag.
- Always
the lllr er's in structi o ns provid ed with the seat o r carrier.
- Never
put the fonva rd-faci ng c hild straint up again st o r v ery near th e ment panel.
- Always move the passenger seat into its rearmos t p osi tion in th e seat's fo re a nd aft adjustm ent ra nge, as fa r away from the airbag as p oss ib le before in sta llin g th e war d-faci ng child restra int. The backrest must b e adjuste d to an upright p os ition.
- Alway s ma ke sure t hat n
oth in g preve nts
th e front passe nger's seat from bei ng
m ove d to th e rearmost p osition in its fore and aft adju stment range.
- Never pl
ace additio nal it e m s o n th e seat
th at
te re d b y the weight-se nsin g m at an d can
ca use inju ry in a cras h.
M ake sure th at th e PASSENGER ligh t comes on and stays on
BA G
wo rksh o p .
Airbag sy ste m 43

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

replace any airbag in your vehicle and assure system effectiveness in a crash.
Booklet 2.1 Safety first
Never permit salvaged or recycled ai rb ags
to be installed in your
low ering th e veh icle, changing the
s tiffness of th e suspe nsion , including the spring s, suspe nsion struts, shock absorber s etc.
ca n change th e forces that are meas ured by th e
air bag senso rs and sen t to the electron ic control
unit. s u sp ensio n chang es for ample, increase the force level s m eas ured by the
sensors and make the airb ag system deploy in
cras hes in wh ic h it wou ld no t dep loy if th e
c h a nges had no t bee n made. kind s of ch a nges may reduce the force leve ls mea sured by the senso rs and preve nt the airbag from ploying whe n it should.
The Advanced Airbag will not work the
way it s houl d if th e o ptional safety belt exte nder is not removed from the safety belt latch when
the seat i s occup ie d and the sa fe ty belt is not bei ng used. Leaving th e extender attach ed to the safety belt buck le when the front seat is
s ig na l the airbag control unit that the front seat is occup ied and that the sa fety belt is being used. The elec tron ic co ntro l unit for the airbag system
will then rece ive incorrect information that will cause the safe ty belt pretens ioner to deploy
has deployed can not be re pair ed.
T he entir e safety belt must be rep laced . For that
rea son, a lways re move the sa fety belt exte nde r
w hen it is not nee ded and stow it sa fely
23. In ad d ition, the safet y belt extender must never be used to secure child rest raint s to
th e front passenge r seat.
T he se ns
ors in the safety belt buckle for the driver and front passenge r seat tell th e troni c control module if the safe ty belt is latc hed or If th e sa fe ty belt is being used, the front airbag
will deploy
at a sl ightly highe r rate of hi cle dece leration than if the sa fe ty belt is not
b eing used . Therefore , in a particular collision, it
i s possible that an airbag will not deplo y at a seatin g position where the safety belt is being
u sed but infla te at the position where the safe ty belt is not bei ng use d. It is important that n othing interfere with the safety belt buck les so
that the sensors can send the correct tion abou t safety belt use to the elec tron ic
C hanging the ve hicl e's suspension including
us e of unapproved tire-rim combinations ca n change Advanced Airbag performance and crease the risk of se rious personal injury in a
c ras h.
Never install s uspension components that do not h ave the same performance ist ics as th e components originally in stalled on your ve hicl e.
Never use tire-rim combin a ti o ns th at have not been approved by Volkswage n.
Leaving the optional safety belt extender tached to th e safety belt latch on the front senger seat when the safety belt is not being
u se d will prevent the Adva nced fro m functioning properl y and ca n in crease the risk of se riou s pe rso nal injury in a
Always remove the safety belt extende r
w hen it is not needed and stow it safely whe n
it is not bei ng used with the safety belt.
Never use th e safety belt exte nder to secure
a c hild restraint at any seating position.
buckle and the cente r conso le can cause the sensors
Airbag system 45

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

sid e ca n pro vide prot ection in a side c ollision in wh ic h the sid e airbag infl ates.
Th e a irba g sys
tem is not a sub stitut e for your safet y belt. Rath er, it is part of th e pant res traint syste m in you r ve hicle. Always member that th e ai rba g sys te m can only help protect you if yo u are wea ring you r safety belt
a nd wearin g it pro perly. This is another reaso n
w hy you sh ould alwa ys wear your safet y be lts, no t ju st b eca use the la w requires yo u to do so 13, belts".
is important to rem ember th at whil e the
brui sing, and minor abrasio ns ca n als o be associated with
these a irb ags. Rem ember too , s id e airb ags will de ploy onl y on ce and only in certain kind s of
damage, re pai r costs o r eve n the la ck of ve hicl e damage is not n ecessa rily an ind ication of proper air bag operation . some collisio ns,
b ot h front and sid e airbags may inflate. m emb er too, airbags d e ploy only o nce
and onl y in certa in kinds of co llisio ns-your
safe ty belt s are always there to offer protect ion in
thos e acc ident s in whi ch ai rbags not su p-
2.1 Safety first
po sed to deploy or w hen they have already plo ye d.
The sid e airbag sys te m will not inflat e:
in sid e collisio ns w hen th e accelera tion
in fron t-end collisio ns,
in rear-end collisio ns,
in rollove rs.
so me types of accidents th e fron t a irbags,
S ide airb ags sid e bags may be tri gge red toget her.
Safety belts and th e airbag sys te m will only
prov ide protection when occupant s are in the correc t seatin g page 13 , belts".
spec te d immediately by your au thorized
Airbag system 47

side oirbog on left side of vehicle
Suppl em ental sid e ai rbag s infl ate betw een the occupant and the door panel on the sid e of the
ve hic le is s truck in ce rtain sid e collision 27.
A pplies to ve hicl es: with side o irbogs
m enta l s id e a irbag injure you if your seatin g position is not proper o r upri ght o r i f
it e m s are locate d in the a re a where the menta l s id e a irbag inflates. This a pplies cially to page 53, "Child
A lth oug h th ey arc no t a soft pill ow, they can the i mpac t and in thi s w ay th ey can help r educe the risk of in ju ry to th e upper part of the body.
A fin e dust dev elop whe n th e
safety instructions for the side airbag system
A irb ags are only supplemental rest raints. Alway s prop erly wear safety belts and
rid e a proper seating
There is a lot tha t you and your p asse nge rs mus t
kno w and do to he lp the safe ty and airbags do their jo b to provid e supple m ental protection.
T he s ide
airbags installed for the front seating positio ns and th e rear outboard have
been des igned and cert ified to he lp reduce the risk of injury th a t can b e caused by air bag s w he n
th ey inflat e. particularl y wh en the occupant
To he lp red uce th e risk of injury w he n the supple m ental s id e airbag inflates,
Always sit in an upright posit ion and do not lean against the area whe re the mental s id e airbag is locate d .
WARNING
An inflatin g s ide airbag can cause serious or fatal injury. Impro perl y wearing safety belt s
Never let a c hil d o r a nyone els e rest their
h ead against th e side trim panel in th e area
W here applic able
48 Airbag system

flates.
- Alway s
make sure that safety belts are wor n correctly,
- Never le t a nyo ne s itting in the front
seat put th e ir hand o ut of the window.
Always make sure th at the sid e airbag can
inflat e without interferen ce:
- Neve r in stall se
at covers or re p lace ment upholstery over th e front seat back s that
h ave not bee n specifica lly approved by
- Never use additional seat cushi on s that co ver th e areas where th e s ide airbag s flate.
-
Dam age to the original seat covers or to
th e seam in th e area of th e si de airbag
modul e must alwa ys be repaired ate ly by an authorized
betwee n yo u and the airbag can crease th e risk of inju ry in colli sion by fering with the way the airb ag unfold s or by bei ng pushed you as th e a irba g infl ates.
- Neve r pla ce or a
ttach accesso ries or other objec ts (su ch as cup hold ers , phone brac ke ts, or eve n bulky ob-
(continued)
jec ts) on the doors , over or n ear th e area marke d on the seat ba ckre sts.
- Acc esso ries or other objects ca n beco me
dangerou s mi ssiles and cause inju ry
ploy ment space between them and the bags or allo w children or other passengers
to travel in thi s po sition.
Always usc the built-in coat hook s only for ligh tweig ht clothing . Never leave any h eavy or sharp-ed ged obj ec ts in the po cke ts that may
int erfe re w ith side ai rba gdeployment and can cause personal injury in a collisio n.
Always prevent the sid e airbags from being damaged by heavy object s knockin g or hitting the sides of the seat backs.
The ai rb ag syste m can onl y be tri gge re d
once. the airbag has bee n tri ggered, the sys tem mus t b e re placed by an authori zed Volkswagen dealer or qualifi ed work shop.
Always have work invo lv in g th e s ide airbag
syste m, re m ova l a nd installa tion of th e airbag
components, orothcrrep air s p erformed by an authorized Volkswagen dealer or qualified works ho p. Otherwise th e a irbag sys te m may
n ot work correctly.
Neve r attempt to modify any com ponents of the airbag syste m in any wa y
Airbag system 49

with s ide curtain protection oirbogs
Description of
oirbogs located above th e windows on the sides .
T he Side
28 . The general locatio n is identified by the wo rd
T he Side airbag sys tem airbag syste m su ppl em ent s the safety belts and can help to reduce the ris k of injury for heads a n d upper to rso on the side of the th at i s s truck in a side collis io n. Th e S ide
gramm ed into the control unit, the Side w ill not be triggered. even thou g h the car may be badly d am aged as a res ult of the collision.
ot her. Import ant fac tors of the impacting object, the angle of impact, ve hicle speed, etc.
bags
Aside fro m their normal safe ty fun ctio n, sa fety belt s work to help keep th e driver or front pas-
pant restraint syste m in you r ve hicle. Always member that the airbag system can o nl y help
yo u should always wear your safety belt s, not just because the law requires you to do so page
Vehicle damage, repair costs o r even the lack of
ve hicl e damage is no t necessarily an indicati on of proper a irbag operation. It is important member t hat while th e Side
kinds of collis ions your sa fet y belt s are always there offer protect ion in those accid ents in which airbags are not sup-posed deploy or when they have already de-ployed.

The Protection'M airbag system
consists of:
the elec troni c control module with grated senso rs, press ure sensors in the doors and rear side impact sensors.
airbags above the front and rear side w indo ws.
the ai rbag
Protection airbag sys te m is not activated:
if the ignit ion is sw itched off,
in sid e collisio ns w he n the acceleratio n sured by the senso r i s too low,
Applies t o vehi cles: w ith side curta in protection oirbogs
Booklet 2.1 Safety first
in front-end collisio ns,
in rear-end collision s,
some types of accidents the fron t, Sid e tain ProtectionTM side airbag s m ay be
Safety belts and the airhag syste m will only
provide protection w hen occupants are in the proper seating page 4.
spected immedia tel y by you r authori ze d
tion in a side co llision is hig h enough to vate the .
How
duce the risk of head and uppe r torso injuries for occupants are properly
strained .
Fig. 29 airbogs on th e left sid e
Th e Sid e airbag s infl ate
b etween the occupant a nd the si de window on
that sid e of th e ve hicl e is struck in certain
s ide fig . 29 . When
the sys
te m is tri gg ered, the Sid e airba g is fille d with propellant gas
and break s th roug h th e header above the front and rear sid e window s and center d oo r pillar and deploys dow nwards. In order to help v ide thi s additional prote ction, the S ide ProtectionTM airba g must inflate w ith in th e
b lin k of a n eye at very high speed and with great force. The Sid e Protectio nTM airba g
co uld injure you if your seating posit io n is not proper o r upright or if area where tec tion TM a irbag in fla tes. T hi s appli es especially
t o page 53,
the impact and in
th is way they can help to reduce the risk o f injury
t o th e head and the upper part o f the bo dy.
A fin e dust m ay deve lo p w hen th e a ir b ag ploys. This is quite norm al and does n ot mean
th ere is a fir e in th e ve hicl e .
Airbag sy ste m 51

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