warning VOLKSWAGEN GOLF PLUS 2004 Owner's Manual

the colli sio n to help prot ect a n unrestrained front
sea t occ upa nt. The airba g m ay then not pro vide
e nou gh protection fo r an occ upant not wearin g a
s af ety be
lt.
u sc th e safety belt ex te nd er ap proved by Volkswag en for you r vehicl e.
Safety belt extenders offer optimum protec­
tion onl y w hen they are prop erl y used.
A driver or passe nger wh o is not properl y
re strain ed ca n be seriou sly injured by strikin g
th e interi or o f t he passe nger compartment or by the s afety be lt itse lf, w hich can be displac ed fro m stron ger parts of the body int o se nsitiv e
area s lik e the abdomen.
usc the extender when the belt is not
lon g eno ugh t o be worn low and snug and th e person is in the correct sea ting po sition . R e m o­
ve an d stow extender sa fe ly w hen no t needed.
Never usc the safety belt extender if you can prop erl y attach the safe ty be lt wit hout it. safety belt ex tender when not n eeded can crease the risk of inju ry, especiall y in a co llision.
Never use safety belt ex tender if the dis­
tan ce (B ) between the front ed ge of the safe ty
b elt exte nd er buckle (A) and th e ce nterlin e of the perso n using the safety belt exte nde r= page 76, fig. 56 © is less than 6 in ches (15 em ).
Never leave an unused safe ty belt exte nder in the belt bu ckl e. Remo ve and stow the sa fety belt
ex te n d er safely wh en no t n eeded.
Sitti ng p roperly and safely
Always make sur e that the tongue of the
sa fety belt extender is securely inserted into the buckle for the seating position that belongs to
th e sca t where the safety belt extende r i s being
u se d. Attaching the safety belt to th e wrong
bu ckle will reduc e safety belt effec tive ness and can cause se rious perso nal injury.
Never usc more than one sa fe ty bel t extende r
w it h a safety belt. more than on e safety
b elt extender can change the way the sa fety
belt passes over the body a nd can cause seriou s
injury.
Never use the safety be lt ex tender to secure
a child restrai nt.
Never use a sa fety belt ex tend er on your
Neve r usc the safety belt ex tender you ob ­
t a in ed for your vehicl e for any other ve hicle,
regardless of m ake , model , or model year.
Note
Leaving the extender attached to the s afety be lt buck le when the front seat i s occ upied an d the safe ty belt is not being used w ill sig n al t o th e
a irbag control unit that the fron t passenger sea t
i s occupied and that the saf e ty be lt is be ing used. The electron ic contro l unit for th e a ir b ag system
will the n r eceive incorrect information that will
- ca use th e sa fety belt prete n sioner to deplo y unnecessarily in colli sion s and -ca use the front passe nger airb ag to dep loy
later in colli sion s in whic h th e front airba g
wo uld otherwise be triggered earlier to help
protec t a n unrestrain ed fron t sea t passe nger.
A pre te nsioner that has deployed cannot be p aired. The e ntire safety belt must be replaced.
! Note
If the safety belt extender is left atta ch ed to the
safe ty belt buckle, the safety belt warni ng sys te m
w ill sense that the sa fe ty be lt fo r th at seat is being
used . The w arning light will not come on and th e warning chime will not sound even though the
s cat is occ upie d and the safety belt is not b eing u sed.
76 77

Airbag system
find information on th e fol­
low ing :
Advanced Airbog
. 82
. . . . . .
Advanced Airbog Sys tem compon e nt s . . . . . . . . . . 93
H ow to if the passenger fron t oirbog is on or off 9 5
. . . . . . 98
Your vehicle is e quipped a front air bag for the
d ri ve r an d fro nt pa sse nger. The front airbag s can pro vide additional p ro tec tion fo r th e ch est and h ead of th e driver and the fro nt sea t p assenge r seats, sa fe ty belts, h ead re stra int s and, for
the driver, th e s teerin g whee l, are prop erly use d and have bee n properly adjusted. Airb ags are on ly
s u pplemental restraints. Th ey are not a su bstitut e for sa fe ty belt s th at must be wo rn eve n though front seatin g pos itions are equipp ed wit h front air ­
bag s.
More information:
Driv ing instru ction s=> page
seating position=> pag e 56
Safe ty belts=> page 67
sa fe ty and child pa ge
care and pag e
accessories, re pa ir s and modifica tion s pag e303
informati on=> page 311
Never rely on a irbags alone for protect io n.
Eve n when th ey deploy, airbags provide only
s uppl em ental protec tion.
Be fore driving
Airbag s work most effec tive ly w hen used
with properl y worn safe ty belt s=> page 67,
Every perso n in the ve hicl e must b e prop erl y seated on a seat of hi s or he r own, must properl y faste n th e safet y belt belongi ng to th at seat b e­
for e the vehicle sta rt s to move, and must ke ep the belt properly faste n ed whil e riding in the ve ­
hicle. Th is a pplie s to the driv er and all
Obj ects between you an d the airbag will crease the risk of injury in a crash by interfe rin g
witl1the way the airbag unfolds or by being push ed into you as the a irbag inflates.
Never h old th ings in your hand s or on your lap when the vehicl e is in use.
Never items on or in th e area of th e
front passe nger seat. Ob jects could move into
th e a rea of the front airbag s during braking or other sudden maneu ve rs and fly dan gero usly
through the passe nge r compartment when an airbag infl ates.
The airbag deploym ent zones must be kept
clear at all tim es. Make sure there are no objects ,
pets, or ot her persons in the space be tween any ve hicl e occupant and any airb ag at an y time. Thi s also applie s to c hildr en and o ther pa sse n­
gers .
WARNING-
An airb ag works o nl y once. Airbag s th a t h ave de­
plo yed in a cras h must be re placed.
Deployed airbag s and the re lated sys tem
p art s must b e repla ced immediately with new parts approved for the ve hicl e by Volkswagen.
Use o nly orig inal equipment airb ags ap­
prov ed by Volkswag en and by a trained
techni cian who has the necessary too ls and di ­
agnostic eq uipmen t to properl y replace an y airbag in your ve hi cle and assure sys te m effec-
ti veness in a c rash.

Safety equipment
safet y and the s afe ty of your p assenge rs shouldn 't be l eft to c han ce. Advances in tech­
nolo gy have made a numb er of featur es available help reduce the ris k of injury in a collisio n. The follo wi ng are just a few o f th e sa fe ty features for your Volkswag en :
Soph is ticated safety belts for all seating posi­
tions.
Safety belt pretensio ne rs for the outboard seatin g positi ons on the rea r seat o n ve hicl es equipped with optional side a irbags for the o ut­
board rear seating positi ons?.
belt load limit ers fo r all outb oa rd seating
positions.
b elt h e ig ht adju ste rs for the front
belt warning light.
A dvanced front airba g sys tem for driver and fro nt passe nger.
airbag s.
Driver knee airbag .
Airbag indicator light
BAG light.
Ele ctronic cont rol unit and asso ciat ed senso rs.
Head res traint s w ith heig ht adju stment opt i­mized for rear -end collisio ns.
Adju stabl e stee rin g column.
lo w er univer sa l and top te th er an chor­
age s for child restraint s.
These individual safety wo rk tog eth er as sys te m t o help pro tect yo u and your passenger s in w id e rang e of collisio ns. Th ese features can't
work as a syste m if they are no t a lwa ys correctly
adju ste d and prope rly used!
How the Advanced Airbag System components
work together ...
in ­
fan t of about one yea r o f ag e in one of th e c hild
seats u sed to certif y th e Adva nced Airb ag under Federa l Motor dard h as been regis te re d on th e seat. Th e AI sta ys on
Before driv ing
o n th e passenge r side has been turned off
Neve r rely on airbags alone for protec tion.
Even wh en they depl oy, airbags provide only
supplemental protection.
Airbag s work most effec tive ly when used with properly worn safe ty page 67, Safety
belt
s.
Every person in ve hicle must be prope rl y
se ated on a seal of his or he r own, must prope rl y
fasten the s afety belt belonging to that seat be­
fore th e ve hicle start s to move, and must keep the belt properly fas tened w hil e riding in the ve­
hicle. This applies to the dri ver and all passen-
too close to the steering wheel or instru­
m ent panel will dec rease the effectiveness of th e
airbags and will increase the risk of personal in­
jury in a coUision .
Never sit closer than inche s (25 em ) from the s teering whee l or instrument panel.
If yo u cannot sit upright more th an inch es (25 em) from the steering wheel, investigat e
whether adaptive equipment may be ava ilable
to help you reach the pedal s and increase your seating di stance from the steering wheel.
If you are unres trained , leaning fonvard, sit­
tingsideway s, or out of position in anyway, your ris k of injury is m uch higher.
To reduce the risk of injury w hen an airbag always wear safety belt s properl y.
A n infant in a reanvard-facing child seat in­
s talled in the front passe nge r seat w ill be seri ­
ously injured an d ca n b e killed if the front airbag
inflates-even with an Advanced Airbag
Always make certai n that children age 12 or younger alway s ride in the re ar seat. If childre n
are not properl y re stra in ed, they may be se­
ve rel y injured or killed when th e infl ates.
Never le t children ride unres trained or im ­properly re strain ed in th e ve hicl e.
Adjust the front seats properly.

Always make sure that th e side airbag can in­flate without interfe re nce :
- Neve r in sta ll
seat covers or replacement uphols tery over th e front seat backs that h ave
not been specifically approved by Volk­
swage n. the s ide airbag may not
b e able to deploy fully.
-Neve r put seat c u shi ons, blanke ts , or other cove rings over th e areas where th e s ide ai r­
b ags inflate.
Side Curtain Protection ® Airbag
-Damage to th e original seat covers or to the seam in the area of the si de airbag module must a lways be repaired imme di ­
a te ly by an au thorized Vol kswagen dealer or authorized Volkswage n Service Facility.
Always prevent th e sid e airbags from
b eing damaged b y heavy objects hitting the
s ides of the seat back s or force be ing put on the scat backs, especially in the area w here the
s id e a irbag modul e is located. The air bag sys te m
A lways have work involving the s ide airbag system, including removal, rep lace­ment, and ins talla ti on of airbag compo n en ts, or other re pairs performed by an authorized Volkswagen deale r o r authorize d Volkswage n
Service Facility. the airbag system may not work correctly. Neve r remove th e front seats from th e vehicl e or modify parts of the front seats. Never attempt to modify a ny components of the air bag system in any way. I f excess ive force is exerted on the seat­back bols te rs, the s ide airbags may deploy not at al l o r
Fig. 63 th e left ve hicle side: In stallation location and deploym ent zone of th e Side in airbag.
information and h eed th e WARNINGS on page
Th e Sid e C urta in ai rbags are in the
h eader are a on bot h sid es of th e fig. 63.
Befo re driv ing
The ge nera l lo ca tion is id entified by the word The red fig. 63 sho w th e deploy­men t zo ne of the Sid e Cu rtain airbag .

Accident stati sti cs have shown childr en are
generally safer in the rear seat area than in the front restrain any child age 12
All ve hicl e occupants and especially childr en must be restrai ned properly whenever ridin g in vehicle. An unrestrained or improperly strained child could be injured by striking the
interior o r by being ejected from the vehicle during sudden maneuver or impact. An strained or improp erly restrained child is at
airbag.
suitab le child rest raint properl y install ed and used
Forward-facing child seals installed on the front passenge r seat may interfere with the ment of th e a irbag and cause serious personal injury th e c hild .
exceptional circumstances require the u se of fonvard-fac ing child restraint on the front
passenger's seat, the child's safety and being requir e th e following special preca utions to be taken:
- Always
make sure that the fonvard-faci ng seal has bee n designed and certifi ed by its
m anufacturer for use on
ch ild res traint without top tether strap if the child
restraint manufacturer's instructions quire the top tether strap to be u sed.
- Never
putt he fonva rd-facing chil d
ment panel.
Before driving
-Always set the safety bell upper anchorage to the adjustmelll position permits
p roper
in the up and down
position in the seat's fore and aft adjustment range, as far away from the airbag as possib le
before installin g the fonvard -facing child s traint .
- Always
make sure that nothing prevents t h e fro nt passeng er' s scat fr o m being moved
justment range .
- Always
make sure that the backr est is in
th e upri ght position.
- Never place ad dit ional it
ems on the seal
th at can in crease th e total weight registered
b y the weight-se nsing mal cause jury in a crash.
- Always
make sure
BAG light does
not come on and stay on, immediately install
t h e fonvard-facingchi ld seat in rear seating sys tem spected by your authorized dealer or auth ori ze d Se rvice
A lways buckle the child seal in place
even if loose child seat ca n around during a sudd en slop or in a
Always read and heed all WARNINGS ever using child res train t in ve hicl e 67, Safety page 80,Airbagsystem page safety
A lways replace child restraint s that were s talled in cras h. Damage to
a child res traint that is not visib le co uld cause it to fail in another collision situati on

Child restraints and Advanced front airbag system
Please firs t read informatio n and heed the WARNINGS o n page
vehi cle is equipped w ith front complies with United States Federal Motor Vehicle and with Vehicle Safety dard
The Advanced Airbag requirements
for 3 and 6 yea r-old children (a s defined in the
standard) o n the passenger sid e and adults
o n th e side." Low risk" de ployment occurs
in those cras hes place at lower decelera­tions programmed in the e lectronic control unit. The low risk deployment c riteria are in­
t e nded to reduce the risk through int erac­tio n with the airbag can occur in these colli­
sio ns. for example, b y being too close to the steerin g wheel or in strument pan el when the airbag In addition, the system has been certifi ed to comply with the re­quirements of the Safe ty rd. to turn off the
f ront airbag fo r infant s up to 12 months w ho are restrained on th e front passenger seat in one of the c hild restraint s that a re lis ted in the
Airbag children, especially
those 12 years and younger. mus t a lways ride in the backseat properly re strained for their age and size. The airbag o n the passe nge r sid e makes the front scat potentiall y dangerous place for a child to
ride. The front seat is not the safest place for a child in a forward-facing child seat. la rger child in a rear­ward -fac ing seat.
The ,\dvanced Airb ag Syste m in your vehicle de­tects the presence o f a n in fant or child in a child straint on the front passenger seat using th e weight-sen sin g mat in th e scat cushion and the
se nsor in the sa fe ty be lt buckle on the fro nt pas­senger that measures the tension on the safet y
belt.
The weight-sen sin g measures total weight of the c hild and the child seat and
i.e. the size
pro perly ond safely
and shape of the botto m of the chi ld restraint as it
s it s on the seat. The weight of a chi ld restraint and its vary for different k inds of c hild re­
straints and for the diff erent mode ls o f th e same ki nd of child restra int offered by child restraint manufacturers.
The weight ranges for the in div idual types, makes a nd models of child res traint s
the Adva nced Airbag
Syste m compares th e weight measured by the weight-sen sing w ith the information sto re d in the electro ni c cont rol unit.
se nsor in the belt buckle fo r th e front seat
pnssenger measures th e te nsion on th e belt and sends thi s information to the electro ni c control
m odule for the sys tem. The tensio n on the safety belt for the front passenger seat w ill be dif­
ferent for an i s properly using the safety
belt, as
w hether th ere is a child res tra int with
restraints and Advanced Airbags
Regnrdlessofthcchild rest raint that yo u u se, make
s u re th at it bee n certifi ed to meet United States Federa l Mo tor Vehicle Standard Motor Vehicl e if you live in sure that the child re ­
straint yo u arc usin g been cerlifi ed b y its m an­ufacturer for use w ith airb ag. Always be s ure that th e ch ild restra int is properly installed at one of t h e rear seatin g position s.
of th e information on child
safety and Adva nced
that
th e passenger front is turne d off. that the is light.
Many types have been availn ble over th e years, new models are in-troduced r egularly in corporating new and im-

To reduce th e risk of serious injury, make sure
t hat the PASSENGER BAG ligh t comes on and stays on w hen ever a is stalled o n th e front passenger seat and th e tion is swit ched on.
Take the child off the front sen ge r seat and install it properly
does not stay on.
Have the airbag system inspected by your auU1orized Volkswagen dealer or author ized Volkswagen service facility
hicle while sitting on the lap of another passenger .
first read and note th e intr oductory information and hee d th e on page
rid e in the back seat properly s tr ain ed for their age and size.
A lwa ys u
se the right child seat for ea c h chi ld and always use it properly.
Always carefully follow the child seat ture r's instru ction s on how to ro ut e th e safety belt
properly through the child seal a nd how to restrain
th e child in the chiJd seat.
When using th e veh icle safety
to a child seat , you mus t firs t activate the switch able locking
featur e on the safety belt to help p revelll the c hild seal from movin g.
Sitting
really tight so tha t
additional information about
a child restraint syste m on the front passenger seat:
If you must in stall a child restraim on th e passe nger seat in excep tional circum stan ces, be
sure to read and heed th e importan t info rmation and warnings in the section of thi s Manual
There are additional adjustments that must
be made in order to be
the safety upper a nchorag e for the fron t passenge r seal so that the availabl e safely belt is
l o ng enough to pro p erly in stall the child restraint.

-Always make sure that the forward-facing seat has been designed and certified by its manufacturer for use on a front passenge r seat with a front and side airbag.
- Always carefully follow the
turer's instructions provided with the child seat or carrier.
- Never install a child restraint without a
properly attached top
tether strap if th e child
restraint manufacturer's instructions quire the top tether strap to be used.
- Never
put the forward-facing child
ment panel.
- Always set
the safety belt upper anchorage to the adjustment position that permits proper installation in accordance with tl1e child restraint manufacturer's instructions.
- Always move the
passenger seat to the high est position in the up and down
straint.
- Always make sure
that nothing prevents the front passen ge r's seat from being moved
to the rearmost position in its fore and aft
-Always make sure that the backrest is in the upright position.
- Never place additional
item s on th e seat that can increase the total weight registered
by the weight-sensing mat and ca use injury
in a crash.
Always buckle the child seat firmly in place
eve n if a
Alway s read and heed aU WARNINGS eve r using a child restraint in a vehicle page
light
comes on and stays on whenever a child straint is installed on tl1e front passenger seat and the ignition is switched on.
AIR BAG
page82.
the off senger seat and install it properly at one of the rear seating positions if the
Have the airbag system inspected by your authorized Volkswagen dealer or aulhorized Volkswagen Service Facility immediat ely .

first read and no te the introductory informatio n an d heed th e WARNINGS on page
Safe ty belt s for the rear seats and the fro nt
crash .
W hen
ever a child res traint is in stalled wi th a sa fe ty
b elt , the safe ty be lt must be loc ked so that b elt webbin g cannot unreel. The sw itc hable lock ing feature lets yo u l ock the belt so that a chil d strain t can be properly in stalle d and, for example, so th a t it ca nnot tip to th e si de w hen the ve hicle goes around a corner.
on the front
s eal
A lways carefull y fo llow the c hild res tra in t factu rer's instruct ions when insta llin g a c hild str ain t in your ve hicl e. B efo re trying to a
c hild restr aint on the fro nt passenger seat, be sure
t o follow th e specia l instructio ns and heed th e WARNINGS below. To activa te the s witc h abl e
lock in g feature:
the chil d restraint on
in exce ptiona l c ircu mstances, you must
senger seat so that availa b le safe ty belt length is
s u ffici ent to properly install the child restraint. Make su re the backrest is in the upright p osition.
Always
Mo ve the fron t passenger seat to the high est posit io n in th e seat's up and down adjustment ra nge and m ake sure th e backres t is in the upright
posit io n.
Move the front passenger seat to the rearmost
positi on in th e seat's fo re a nd aft adjustment
B efo re drivin g
ra nge . and as far away fro m the ai rbag as possib le,
b e fore installing th e fonvar d-facing child restraint.
I f a te ther stra p is bein g used to t ie t he ch ild
t h e safety belt upper anchorage for the rear
o utboar d seatin g positi on to the hi ghest ment position.
R o ute the safety be lt around or through the
c hild res traint using th e proper p ath fo r the safe ty
b elt as specified by th e chil d res traint turer.
M ak e sure that the re d r ele ase button faces
away from the chil d res train t so th a t it can b e buckle d quick ly.
Remove all slack fro m the la p belt po rtion of the safety belt and ho ld it tightly against the chi ld
rest rai nt.
th e child restra in t down wit h your full
weight t o make su re that th e child restrai nt w ill be properly in stalled w ith the safety belt re all y tig ht.
Activating the switchable locking feature
pull the sh o uld er be lt portio n of th e
sa fety belt the way out of the retractor.
W hil e keep ing your weigh t o n the child strain! , guide th e sh o ulder belt portio n of th e
s a fety belt back into the retractor until th e belt lies flat a nd is tig htened aga inst the chil d restraint.
You sh o uld hea r a noise as th e belt
w inds back in to the in ert ia reel o f th e safety belt tractor. Test the sw itch a bl e lock ing feature by
pullin g on th e belt. s h o ul d no lo nge r be able to
pull the belt ou t of the retracto r. T he sw itc habl e
l ock ing feature is now active.
o n th e sa fe ty belt to make su re the safe ty
belt is prope rly fa stened a n d tight.
Check th e child res traint for p roper in stallatio n
by pullin g on th e c hild re straint at th e place where the ve hicle's safety belt goes into the ch ild straint. The child restrai nt sh ou ld no t m ove ward or sideways by more than a bout one in ch (2.5 e m).
After ch eck ing to make su re that th e chil d

Please first read and no te th e im rod uc tory info rmation a nd heed th e on page
Light s up Possible cau se Proper re sponse
any burned out lightbulb s page 344 or Driving not worki ng.
if ligh t bulbs are d ea le r or authorized ... swage n Serv ice Facility if necess ary.
Adaptive Front Ligh
ting Sys te m malfunc-
t ion. -
near fog s witc h e d on.
-
Front fog
T he in dicato r blin ks twice as fas t if a
If necessary, ch ec k th e vehicle and t railer turn signal is not wo rking on the vehi cle or
DRL
Daytime runnin g on.
High beams switched on or headligh t in use.
High beam co ntrol (Lig ht Assis t) on.
F las h
es Poss ible cause
.. Adap tive Front Lighting Syste m malfun c-tio n.
Whe n the ig nition is swi tched
Failure to heed warning light s and Instrument clu ste r t ex t m essages can cause the vehicle to break down in traffic and result in and seriou s personal injury.
Never i gno re warn ing lights or t ex t INGS.
Alwa ys stop the as soon as it is safe to do so.
light s and vision
-
122.
Proper respon se
a n authorize d
Wheneve r safe di stance ofT the sto p th e e ng in e, turn on th e em erge ncy flasher s,
and usc other warning dev ices to warn chin g
Neve r park the ve hicl e in areas where th e
h o t catalyt ic converter and exhau st syst em can
come int o contact with dry grass, brush, oil , or other m ate rial that can catch fire. A broken down ve h icle present s a high
ge ncy flash ers and se t up warning triangl e to
wa rn oncoming traffic