airbag VOLKSWAGEN PASSAT 2000 User Guide

Safety
B6N-052M [
If a safety belt is too short because of body size or driving position, even when the
three point safety belt is ful ly extended and
when the adjustable upper shoulder belt
an­chorage (if so equipped) is in the lowest position, you can use a seat belt extender .
This extender can be used only if existing
belt is not long enough . The extender adds
approximately 8 inches
the front airbag deploy at a slightly higher rate of decel­
eration than if the belt is not being used.
Therefore, in a particular collis ion, it is pos ­
sible that
an airbag will not deploy at a seat­
ing position where the safety belt is being
used but
see page
17 for details.
For that reason, always remove the safety belt extender when it is not needed and stow it safely.
See your VOLKSWAGEN dealer for assis­
tance if the extender is required .
SAFETY
Using a safety belt extender when not needed can increase the
risk of injury in a collision.
Never use the safety belt extender if you can fasten the
safety belt without it.
Safety belts can work only when used properly. Never wear safety belts in any other way than
illustrated and described in this
chapter.
A driver or passenger who is not properly restrained can be serious­ly injured by striking the interior of
the passenger compartment or by the safety belt itself which can be displaced from stronger parts of
the body into sensitive areas like
the abdomen.
Never use more than one ex­tender with a safety belt. The use
of more than one extender can change the way the safety belt passes over the body and can cause serious injury.

Airbag system
Your
out of position or too
for the driver and
front seat passenger have switches that
the airbag if the safety
the safety
higher rate of
that an air­bag
at the position where the safety is not being used.
For that reason,
are there to offer
protection in those accidents in which air­
bags
are not supposed to or when
they have
is part of the
Therefore. wear your safety
pages 3 to 13.
the airbag system is designed to
reduce the
of serious injuries, it
can cause bruising, and minor
abras ions.

or have on the seat become
dangerous
When the system is activated, fine dust is This is
This dust is made up
The fine dust created when air­
bags deploy can cause breathing problems for people with a history of asthma or other breathing
conditions.
within a force.
The airbags
times. By keeping room
between your body and the front
of the
and
page
Booklet 3. 1, for
be chapter
receive serious or fatal injuries from the airbag if you are up against it or too close to it when it
inflates.
Always read and heed

SAFETY FIRST
ride in the rear seat.
B45-421K
Adjusting the driver's seat
For see
We recommend that you adjust the driver's
seat as follows:
- adjust the seat in fore and aft direction
so
that you can push the
keeping your knee
-adjust the steering
and chapter Booklet 3. 1.
-the distance from the center of your
breastbone to the center of the airbag
cover on the steering
must be at least inches (25 em) or more. See
--------------------AIRBAG

SAFETY
smash the
child seat and
ommend that children alway s sit in the back
seat. See
require that the following special
tions be taken :
see in this
22 --------------------AIRBAG

Front airbags
The airbag for the driver is
in the instrument
marked with See
is very important to remember that front
airbags
in some accidents in
which the is high
enough to activate the airbags.
Front airbags are not activated ...
if th e igni tion is swi tched off
in s ide
in rear-end
in
in certain fron­damage, repair costs
or even the
damage is not
provide protection for the ch est and face of the driv­
er
and the front seat passenger when ...
safety
the seats have been positioned so that
the occupant is
seated as far as from the airbag
and the head restraints have been prop­
part of the
body.
Safety
s e e next p ages.
AIR BAG SYSTEM--------------------23

How the front airbag system works
Both front airbags in some fron­
not in sions in which
cover every
of impact, since the circumstances vary
factors
rate
caused by the collision and registered by
the unit.
programmed into the unit. the airbags
with a propellant gas. break open the
padded covers, and between the
steering
of an
so fast that many don't even that the airbags have
be in their way when
they
airbags in combination with
worn safety down and
so that the front occupants can see through the
This is

that is struck in a side The ou tboard
side
of each front backrest is marke d w ith the word
The side airbags in some side
if the igni tion is switched off
in
in which
erat ion is not high enough
in rear
in
the
order to assure this additional protection,
the side airbag
must
is not possible to define an airbag trigger ­
ing range that cover every poss ible
AIR BAG SYSTEM --------------------25

SAFETY
angle of
this rate is belo w the ref­
e rence value programmed into the contro l
unit. the airbags will
not be triggered, even
th oug h the vehicle may be badly damaged
as a re sult
of the acci dent.
When the supplemental side airbag is acti­
it breaks through a seam on the side of the sea tback identified by the BAG la­
bel.
-
in the area where the An
of proper seat­
ing
ord er to help the airbag to do its
read and heed

is
sides above the
doors and behind the
trim. They are
fied by the word
The bag expa nd to cover the side dows and door
cushion the
occupants by means of the
der This per torso and head injuries on the side
where the airbag
let for information on functional reliability and potential system
to ensure that the Side
jects. Never use hangers to hang clothing from the hooks.
mals or objects to be positioned between vehicle occupants and
the area into which the Side tain Protection TM inflate. pants must never place any parts
of their bodies in the area from
which the Side Curtain Protec­
tion ™ emerges. Nor must any jects be