seats VOLKSWAGEN GOLF 2009 User Guide

When an airbag deploys , fine dust is released.
This is normal and is not caused by a fire in the hicle . This dust is made up mostly of a powder
used to lubricate the airbags as they deploy. This
dust could irritate skin and eyes and cause
ciently when used with properly worn safety belts
and a proper seating position in Introduct ion on page 58
equipment
Your safety and the safety of your passenge rs
shouldn't be left to c hance. Advances in
gy have made a number of featu res availab le to
help reduce the risk of injury in a collision . The
Sophisticated safety belts for
belt pretensioners for driver and front
passenger .
Advanced front airbag system for driver and
front passenger .
ger.
Airbag indicato r
BAG light.
Electronic control unit and associa ted sensors.
Before driving
Head restraints with height adjustmen t
Adjustable steering column.
LATCH/U CRA lower universal and top tether
anchorages for child safety seats at the rear
These features
can't work as a system if they are not always
be tu rned
off if the weight on the front passe nger seat is less
than the amount programmed in the elect ronic
con t
rol unit . Th e front airbag on the passenge r side
will also be turned off if the combine d weigh t of an
i nfant
of about one year of age in one of the child
seats that was used to certify the Advanced Airbag
ard BAG
Never rely on airbags alone for protection.
69, Safety belts.
ery per son in the vehicle is properly seated on a sea t of his or her own, properly fastens the safety belts belonging to that seat before the vehicle starts to move, and keeps the belts properly fasten ed while riding i n the hicle. This applies eve n when just driving around town. Therefore, always wear your safety belts and make sure that everybody in your vehicle is properl y restrai ned .
too close to the steering wheel or strument panel decrease the ness of the airbags and will increase the risk of personal injury in a collision.

no one can guarantee with absolute certainty that the airbag never deploy
can deploy in accordance with the option for 3 to 6 year-old children under the if a child who is heavier than the combined weight of a typical one-year old fant restrained in one of the forward facing or rearward-facing seats with which your vehicle was certified is on the front passen­ger seat and the other conditions for airbag deployment are met.
on the front passenger seat if the front airbag inflates.
smash the child seat and the child against the seat backrest, center armrest, door, or roof.
conceivable situations that may happen during the useful life of your vehicle.
light does not come on and stay on whenever the ignition is on, immediately
ous personal injury to the child.
exceptional circumstances require the use of a forward-facing child restraint on the front passenger seat, the following special precautions must be taken for the safety and of the child:
-Always make sure that the forward-fac­ing child restraint has been designed and certified for use on a front passenger seat with a front airbag and a side airbag.
-
Always carefully the manufactur­er's instructions provided for the child seat or infant carrier.
- Never
straint up against or very near the instru­ment panel.
-
Always set the safety belt upper chorage to the adjustment position that permits proper installation in accordance with the child restraint manufacturer's
Sitting properly and safely 91

A weight -sensi ng mat under the
weight on the seat. The infor­mation registered is sent continuously to the tronic of the
front Advanced Airbag on th e passe nger side.
An airbag system monitoring indicator in the instrument page 84.
The BAG in the
center of the instrument you when
the front Advanced Airbag System on the passen­
ger side has been turned off
85.
A senso r inside the safe ty f or the
fr ont seat passe nger to meas ure the te ns ion on the
safe ty T his tension on the safety a n d the weight registered by the weig ht se nsing-mat unit whether the passenger
front airbag be turned off or not.
A sw itch in the safe ty
is or not and trans­
mits this informa tion to the unit.
An airbag system and cannot pro­vide protection in a
the airbag on, it mean s that may be system. when when it should.
Hav e the airbag system inspected immedi­
U se original equipment airbags
and diagnostic equipment to any airbag in your and assure system effectiveness in a c ras h.
N ever permit sa lvaged or airbags to be
Damage to the front pas seng er sea t can pre­vent the fron t airbag from working properly.
Im proper repair or disassembly of the front p asse nger and driver sea t ca n prevent
the Advance d Airbag from working
Before driving
be performed by an authorized Volks­
wagen or an authorized
Nev er r emove the front pa ssenger seat or drive r sea t from the
from the front passenger seat.
Never disassemble or ta ke parts off the seat or disconnect wire s from it.
Never carry sharp objects in your pockets or put them on the se at. the weight-sensing mat in the passenger seat is punctured it can­not work
Never carry things on your
seat can
Never store item s under the front seats.
Part s of Airbag System under the front be damaged , sy ste m
on the front seats that have not by for
covers can prevent the Advanced Airbag Sy stem from recognizing straints or occupants on the passenger seat
and prev ent the side alrbag in the seat back­rest from
bl ankets, or similar items on the front pa ssenger seat. The additiona l
restraint or person on the
sea t and prevent the Advanced Airbag tem from functioning properly.
foam cushion or something to properly position the
comes on and stay s on whenev er the on the front pa s-senger seat.

sure that the airbag on/off status is correct for the passenger riding on the front passen-ger seat. Side airbags
Fig. 61 the padding on the outboard side of the fro nt seat backrests : locat ion an d deployment zone of the side airbags (B).
on page 82.
T he side airbags are in the backrest padding of the
driver and passenger seats 61 B. The is shown by the word The
area marked in red (dotted lines) indicates the
ployment zone of the side airba gs.
a side collision, the side airbag in the sea t rest can and reduce the risk of injury to
the drive r or the front seat passenger.
T he side airbags
for the front seating
duce the risk of injury that can be caused by bags when they pant sitting next to it is not seated properly.
Th e s i
de airbag for the front passenger seat can
be used with properly restraints . ways read and heed whenever using a child restraint in the
vehicle: 69 , 82, Airbag
system , Child safety and child in The dangers of using child straints on the fron t seat on page in
A n electronic control module and side impact
sensors.
airbags in the front seat backrests.
An airbag system monitoring indicator light in the instrument cluster
the side airbag between the vehicle
occ upant and the door. The side airbag system
supplements the safe ty and can to duce the risk of injury to the occupants' upper so.
provide th is additional p ro tection,
the side airbag must
especially to 103.
Th e airbag system is mon ito red
to make sure it is working properly at times. E very
time you turn on the igni tion , the airbag syst em come on for a few seconds
( functio n ch eck) .

The airba g system is not a substitute for your Rather, it is part of the occ upa nt straint sys tem in your vehicle
is import ant to remem ber that the side airbag
s ys tem is desig ned t o help re duce the like lihood of
ser io us injury . H owever , it is importa nt to ber th a t a deploying airbag may also cau se other
i njur ies, su ch as bruisin g, fric tio n burns ,
a nd abr asions . A lso re m ember th a t side airbags
if the ignit ion is sw itch ed off when a crash
in side ured by the sensor is too tow,
in fron t-en d co llisio ns,
in rear -e n d
in rollove rs , unless the deployme nt th reshold
fo r dep loyment stored in the co ntrol unit is met.
so me t ypes of accide nts the fron t airbags , Curtai n Protection ® airbags and side airb a gs ma y
b e t rigge re d t ogether.
An inflating side airbag can cause serious or even fatal injury.
To help reduce the risk of injury when the
supplemental side airbag inflates ,
-
Always sit in an upright position and do not lean against the area where the side
airbag is located.
- Never
let a child or anyone else rest their head against the side trim panel in the area where the side airbag inflates.
-
Always make sure that safety belts are worn correctly.
- Nev er
let anyone sitting in the front seat put their hand out of the window.
on the seat backrests
gerously through the passenger ment and cause serious Injury if the mental side airbag inflates.
any children or other passengers to ride in that space.
coat hooks for thing but lightweight clothing. Never leave any heavy or sharp-edged objects in the pockets.
sonal injury a
Improper use, repair , or disassembly of the driver and front passenger seats can prevent side airbags from working property and result in severe injuries.
seat covers or
ests that have not been specifically
ately by an authorized Volkswagen dealer or authorized Volkswagen
ing damaged by heavy objects hitting the sides of the seat backre sts or force being put on the seat backs, especially in the area
where the side airbag module is located .

Child safety and child restraints
this section
Important safety inst ructions for using child
seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
U sing a child restraint on the rear seat . . . . . .
Infant seats.............................
res traints with a safety belt . . . 115
Securing the child restra int with LATCH/
U CRA lower universa l a n cho rages . . . . . . . . . 118
Secu ring a chil d rest rai nt wit h the
Top Tether
st rap . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
or other acciden t also apply to children
de­
signed for th eir size. weight, and body structu re .
M any countries and
states of th e United States
and provinces of Canada have laws requ ir in g t he
use of approved child res traint sys tems fo r i nfants
and
a fron ta l crash at a speed of
be more than times the weight of the child. This means the effective weight of the
kg) . Under these conditions . only
an appropriate child restraint properly used can re­
duce the risk
of serious injury. Child restraints, like safety must be used properly to be ef­
fe ctive. Used improperly, they can increase the risk of serious injury in an accident.
the child seat manufacturer's instructions to be sure the seat is right for your child's size 121, Sources ofinformation about child re­
straints and their use. Please be sure to read and
heed
abou t child safety, Advanced Airbags, and
the
Safety
Airbag system
A child in a r earward -fac ing child seat in­
stalled on the front pa ssenger seat
se at and
Always re arward-fa cing child seats on the rear s eat.
you ha ve, in exce ptional circumstances,
nevertheless d eci de d t o sea t on the front passenger seat
a nd the PASSENGER light does not come on and sta y on when ever the ignition is on , immed iatel y th e rear ­
w ard-fa cin g sea t on the rear se at and have the airba g sy s te m insp ec te d right aw ay
by your authorized Volk sw age n dealer or au­thorized V olk sw age n Service
Accident statistics h ave sh own that c h ildren
are sa fe r in the rea r se at are a than
i n the front seating position . A lw ay s restrain
any a g e 12 and unde r in the rear.
Sittin g properl y and safe ly

safety instructions for using
babies or ride in a of ano ther ger .
on page
seats or other kind of acci­
dent!
seat for each use it
seat manufactur­
er's instructions on how to route the safety through the in the seat.
When using
the to a
prevent the seat from moving
seat down with your tight so that the seat
a
a restraint on the front circumstances, be sure
to read and heed the important information and warn in gs in the sections of this 104 .
There are
the safety is enough to restraint manufacturer's instructions
Move the fron t passenger seat to the highest
restra int and make sure the backrest is in the
upright position
is
equipped with an Advanced Airbag System , especially those 12 years and younger,
must ride in the back seat restrain­ed for their age and size.
be injured and can
be
even with an Advanced Airbag
against the backrest, center armrest, door or roof.
seat, using the wrong restraint increases the risk of serious or other emergency situation.
dren must be restrain ed
and

seats are re-quired to Motor Ve-
and the
restraint systems that
to either side. seats that rest on
seats and the instructions provided by the manufacturer of the seat you are using.
For safety reasons,
restrain t system. Otherwise, they sustain injuries to the abdomen and neck areas during sudden braking maneuvers or accidents.
occupy a
Never
a in your arms is never a substitute for a restraint system.
-The strongest person the strike the interior of the be struck by another passenger.
- The
injure each other in an accident.
Forward-facing on the front passenger's seat can interfere with the airbag when it and cause serious in-jury to the
seats on the rear seat.
(continued)
restraint on the front passenger's seat, the safety and
senger seat with a front and side airbag.
-
er's instructions provided with the seat or carrier.
- Never
a
straint up against or very near the
set the safety chorage to the adjustment position that permits proper
structions.
-
justment range and move it back to the rearmost position in the seat's fore and aft adjustment range, as far away from the airbag as
weight
even if a is not sitting in it. A around during a den stop or in a
restraint in a 82,

you to route the belt around the head restraint.
on the rea r seat.
on pag e
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) ommends that infants shou ld ride in rear-facing
ca r safety seats (in whic h the child faces the back
o f the vehicle) starting wi
th their first ride hom e
from the i nfants and todd le rs s hould
r ide in a rea r-facing car safety seat until they are
2 years
Rear- facing child
seats can be used safely only on the rea r sea t of the vehicle 65 .
Before
a ch ild restrain t on the front senge r sea t, b e s ure to the specia l in str u c­
t ions and h eed the wa rning s and
Before driving
. ,
When using the vehic le safe ty
to help prevent
the sea t from mov ing
a tether strap is being used to tie the child
seat to the front passenger seat, make sure that it
is not so tight that it causes the weig ht-sensing mat
to measu re more weight than
is actually on the
seat and turn the front passenger airb ag on when it
mus t be off (suppressed).
Th e ai r
bag on the passenger side makes the front seat a pote nti ally dangerous place for a ch ild to
ride. The fron t sea t is no t the safest place fo r a is a very gerous place for an infant or a larger
seat s or infant carriers on the fron t pas senger sea t,
eve n with an Advanced Airbag System. A child
again st the
b ackres t, center armrest, door or roof.

Booster seats and safety
first read and note the introduc­
on page
or 18 kg) are best protected in
the vis, of these and
they must not use the restraint.
T
he not fit most
Booster seats raise these dren up so that the safe ty
can protect them in a
Do not use the fea ture when
u sin g the
midway over th e you must transport an
height adjustment to
make sure that the neck.
make sure that the across the thighs or
who are at 4 ft. 9 i n. (57 inches I 1.45 meters) can u se the 3 point and Never use the portio n of the to re ­
s train any of how big the is.
Before driving
remember that do not have the
pronounced
portion of the and The requires that a as Never the pass over the
is best to put these
and parts of
the safety body in the right The routing of the over the body is very important for the protection , whe ther or not a booster seat is
used . age 12 and under must ride
in the rear seat.
airbags must force. order to do its job, the airbag needs room to inflate so that it
he or she be struck receive
serious or
orde r for the airbag to offer protectio n, it is im­
portant that
dren, who must be in the front seat unde r excep­circumstances, be restrai ned and as
far away from th e airbag as By kee ping
r oom between the
precautions when
route the unused safety arou nd the rear head restraint to prevent a from
in it.