Atlas – edition 4.2018 Model year 2018 · straints on the rear seat. If you have, in exceptional circumstances, ... generally safer in the rear seat area than in the front seating

SupplementAtlas – edition 4.2018Model year 2018

Child safety and child restraintsThe information in this supplement supersedes the information of the respectivechapters in the following Owner's Manual:

– Atlas Owner's Manual

Please continue to refer to the Owner's Manual in conjunction with this supplementfor information, descriptions, and specifications regarding the operation and care ofyour vehicle as well as information and warnings that you must heed for your ownsafety and the safety of your passengers.

Nachtrag: Child safety and child restraintsStand: 13.01.2017Englisch USA: 04.2018Teile-Nr.: 5K7012723FC

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Signs and symbols

Indicates a reference to a section with im-portant information and safety warnings that should always be heeded.

Arrow indicating that the section continueson the next page.

Arrow marking the end of a section.

The symbol indicates situations in whichthe vehicle must be stopped as quickly aspossible.

® The symbol indicates registered trade-marks. However, the absence of this sym-bol does not constitute a waiver of anyrights associated with intellectual property.

→ Cross-reference to a red, orange, or yellowwarning in the same section or on the stat-ed page, pointing out possible risks thatcan cause serious personal injuries and howto help prevent them.

→

→

→ Cross reference to a Notice about possibleproperty damage, in the same section or onthe stated page.

Used on vehicle labels and indicates theavailability of additional important infor-mation and warnings in this Owner’s Man-ual.

DANGERTexts with this symbol contain information regard-ing hazardous situations which will cause death orsevere injuries if not avoided.

WARNINGTexts with this symbol contain information regard-ing hazardous situations which could cause deathor severe injuries if not avoided.

CAUTIONTexts with this symbol contain information regard-ing hazardous situations which could cause minoror moderate injuries if not avoided.

NOTICETexts with this symbol contain information regard-ing situations which could cause vehicle damage ifnot avoided.

Texts with this symbol contain informationabout the environment and how you can help

to protect it.

Texts with this symbol contain supplementaryinformation.

Child safety and childrestraints

Introduction

The physical principles of what happens whenyour vehicle is in a collision or other accident alsoapply to children → chapter Safety belts. But un-like adults and teenagers, their muscles andbones are not fully developed. In many respectschildren are at greater risk of serious injury in ac-cidents than are adults.

Because children's bodies are not fully devel-oped, they must use restraint systems especiallydesigned for their size, weight, and body struc-ture. Many countries and all states of the UnitedStates and provinces of Canada have laws requir-ing the use of approved child restraint systemsfor infants and small children.

In a frontal crash at a speed of 20–35 mph (30–56 km/h), the forces acting on a 13 pound (6 kg)infant will be more than 20 times the weight ofthe child. This means the effective weight of thechild would suddenly increase to more than260 pounds (120 kg). Under these conditions, on-ly an appropriate child restraint properly usedcan reduce the risk of serious injury. Child re-straints, like adult safety belts, must be usedproperly to be effective. Used improperly, theycan increase the risk of serious injury in an acci-dent.

All children, especially those 12 years and young-er, must always ride in the back seat properly re-strained for their age and size. If you must installa child restraint on the front passenger seat inexceptional circumstances, be sure to read andheed the important information and warnings inthe section of this Manual that begins on→ page 5, Child restraints and the AdvancedAirbag System. Infants and other children whoare properly restrained in an appropriate child re-straint that is for their size and age can benefitfrom the protection that supplemental side air-bags provide in some kinds of crashes.

For more information, please see informationprovided by the:

– National Highway Traffic Safety Administration(NHTSA), currently at: http://www.safercar.gov(for the USA)

– Transport Canada Information Centre, current-ly at: http://www.tc.gc.ca (for Canada)

Consult the child restraint manufacturer's in-structions to be sure the seat is right for yourchild's size → page 25, Sources of informationabout child restraints and their use. Please besure to read and heed all of the important infor-mation and WARNINGS about child safety, Ad-vanced Airbags, and the installation of child re-straints in this Manual.

There is a lot you need to know about the Ad-vanced Airbags in your vehicle and how theywork when infants and children in child restraintsare on the front passenger seat. Because of thelarge amount of important information, we can-not repeat it all here. We urge you to read thedetailed information in this Manual about airbagsand the Advanced Airbag System in your vehicleand the very important information about trans-porting children on the front passenger seat.Please be sure to heed the WARNINGS - they areextremely important for your safety and thesafety of your passengers, especially infants andsmall children.

DANGERChildren on the front seat of any car, even withAdvanced Airbags, can be seriously injured oreven killed when an airbag inflates.

● A child in a rearward-facing child restraintinstalled on the front passenger seat will beseriously injured and can be killed if the frontairbag inflates.

● The inflating airbag will hit the child restraintor infant carrier with great force and willsmash the child restraint and child againstthe backrest, center armrest, door or roof.

● Always install rearward-facing child re-straints on the rear seat.

● If you have, in exceptional circumstances,nevertheless decided to install a rearward-facing child restraint on the front passengerseat and the PASSENGER AIR BAG lightdoes not come on and stay on whenever theignition is on, immediately install the rear-ward-facing child restraint on the rear seatand have the airbag system inspected rightaway by your authorized Volkswagen dealeror authorized Volkswagen Service Facility.

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WARNINGAccident statistics have shown that children aregenerally safer in the rear seat area than in thefront seating position. Always restrain any childage 12 and under in the rear.

● All vehicle occupants and especially childrenmust be restrained properly whenever ridingin a vehicle. An unrestrained or improperlyrestrained child could be injured by strikingthe interior or by being ejected from the ve-hicle during a sudden maneuver or impact.An unrestrained or improperly restrainedchild is also at greater risk of injury or deaththrough contact with an inflating airbag.

● A suitable child restraint properly installedand used at one of the rear seating positionsprovides the highest degree of protection forinfants and small children in most accidentsituations.

WARNINGForward-facing child restraints installed on thefront passenger seat may interfere with the de-ployment of the airbag and cause serious per-sonal injury to the child.

● If exceptional circumstances require the useof a forward-facing child restraint on thefront passenger's seat, the child's safety andwell-being require the following special pre-cautions to be taken:– Always make sure that the forward-facing

seat has been designed and certified by itsmanufacturer for use on a front passengerseat with a front and side airbag.

– Always carefully follow the manufacturer'sinstructions provided with the child re-straint or infant carrier.

– Never install a child restraint without aproperly attached top tether strap if thechild restraint manufacturer's instructionsrequire the top tether strap for proper in-stallation, or if required by law. For exam-ple, the use of a top tether strap for for-ward-facing child restraints is required bylaw in Canada.

– Never put the forward-facing child re-straint up against or very near the instru-ment panel.

– Always set the safety belt upper anchor-age to the adjustment position that per-mits proper installation in accordance withthe child restraint manufacturer's instruc-tions.

– Always move the front passenger seat tothe highest position in the up and downadjustment range and move it back to therearmost position in the seat's fore and aftadjustment range, as far away from theairbag as possible before installing the for-ward-facing child restraint.

– Always make sure that the safety belt up-per anchorage is behind the child restraintand not next to or in front of the child re-straint so that the safety belt will be prop-erly positioned.

– Always make sure that nothing is in theway that prevents the front passenger'sseat from being moved to the rearmostposition in its fore and aft adjustmentrange.

– Always make sure that the backrest is inthe upright position.

– Never place objects on the seat (such as alaptop, CD player, or electronic games de-vice). These may influence the electricalcapacitance measured by the capacitivepassenger detection system and can alsofly around in an accident and cause seriouspersonal injury.

– Never place or use any electrical device(such as a laptop, CD player, or electronicgames device) on the front passenger seatif the device is connected to the 12 Voltsocket → chapter Power outlets.

– If a seat heater has been retrofitted orotherwise added to the front passengerseat, never install any child restraint sys-tem on this seat.

– Make sure that there are no wet objects(such as a wet towel) and no water or oth-er liquids on the front passenger seatcushion.

– Always make sure that the PASSEN-GER AIR BAG light comes on andstays on all the time whenever the ignitionis switched on.

– If the PASSENGER AIR BAG lightdoes not come on and stay on, immediate-ly install the forward-facing child restraint

(Supplement) – Child safety and child restraints2

in a rear seating position and have the air-bag system inspected by your authorizedVolkswagen dealer or authorized Volkswa-gen Service Facility.

● Always buckle the child restraint firmly inplace even if a child is not sitting in it. Aloose child restraint can fly around during asudden stop or in a collision.

● Always read and heed all WARNINGS when-ever using a child restraint in a vehicle. See→ chapter Safety belts, → chapter Airbag sys-tem, and → page 1, Child safety and child re-straints.

Always replace child restraints that were in-stalled in a vehicle during a crash. Damage

to a child restraint that is not visible could causeit to fail in another collision situation.

Child restraints – Overview

Please read the introductory information andheed the Warnings and Notice and on page1.

All children and especially infants must be prop-erly restrained in a child restraint appropriate fortheir size and age whenever riding in a vehicle.

Their safety also requires that the child restraintbe properly installed. There are many car seatchoices on the market. You can use the informa-tion below to help you choose a car seat thatbest meets your child’s needs.

Type of child restraint Applies to

Rear-facing child restraint

Birth to 12 months: Your child under age 1 should always ride in arear-facing car seat. There are different types of rear-facing carseats:– Infant-only seats can only be used rear-facing.– Convertible and all-in-one car seats typically have higher heightand weight limits for the rear-facing position, allowing you tokeep your child rear-facing for a longer period of time.

Rear-facing child restraint beforemoving to a forward-facing childrestraint

1–3 years: Keep your child rear-facing as long as possible. It’s thebest way to keep him or her safe. Your child should remain in arear-facing car seat until he or she reaches the top height orweight limit allowed by the car seat’s manufacturer. Once yourchild outgrows the rear-facing car seat, your child is ready totravel in a forward-facing car seat with a harness and tether.

Forward-facing child restraint

4–7 years: Keep your child in a forward-facing car seat with a har-ness and tether until he or she reaches the top height or weightlimit allowed by the car seat’s manufacturer. Once your child out-grows the forward-facing car seat with a harness, it’s time totravel in a booster seat, but still in the back seat.

Booster seat

7–12 years: Keep your child in a booster seat until he or she is bigenough to fit in a seat belt properly. For a seat belt to fit properly,the lap belt must lie snugly across the upper thighs, not the stom-ach. The shoulder belt should lie snugly across the shoulder andchest and not cross the neck or face. Remember: your childshould still ride in the back seat because it’s safer there.

Today's child restraints are designed to be se-cured to the vehicle either with the standard3 point lap and shoulder belt or with the LATCH/UCRA lower universal anchorages. Many child re-straints also require the use of a top tether strap.

Depending on your state or country, top tetherstraps may also be required by law. The top teth-er strap reduces the forward movement of thechild restraint in a crash, to help reduce the riskof head injury if the child hits the vehicle interior.

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Your vehicle has the following installation op-tions in the second and third row of seats

Child restraint installation Second row of seats (2 or 3 seat-ing positions)

Third row of seats (2 seating po-sitions)

LATCH/UCRA lower universal an-chorages

–

Top tether anchorage

Safety belts with the switchablelocking feature

The LATCH/UCRA lower universal anchorage at-tachment points are on the lower part of thesecond row seat backrests. Each lower universalanchorage point is accessible through an open-ing in the backrest upholstery. There are two an-chorages for each of the seating positions on thesecond row. The circular markings help you to lo-cate the lower anchorages → fig. 8 .

Installing 3 child restraints on the second rowWith the right combination of child restraints it ispossible to install three child restraints on thesecond row at the same time. However, somechild restraints are wider than others. It is notpossible to properly install three wide child re-straints on the second row at the same time. Ifyou need to install three child restraints at thesame time, always make sure that the child re-straints are properly installed.

Be especially careful when installing a child re-straint on the center seating position in the sec-ond row as it is narrower than the outboard posi-tions. A wide child restraint installed on the cen-ter seat may cover the safety belt buckles for theother seating positions. Do not allow someone toride in a seating position where the safety beltbuckle is covered by a child restraint → chap-ter Safety belts.

A child restraint in the center seating positionmay also contact or push up against the safetybelt buckles, which can damage the buckles andmake them unusable or unsafe. Always checkthat the child restraint does not contact any ofthe safety belt buckles. Check the placement ofthe child restraint regularly to make sure that ithas not shifted and come into contact with anyof the safety belt buckles. Although properly in-stalling the child restraint and regularly checkingits placement will help to prevent damage to thesafety belt buckles, installing a protective cover

on the buckles will provide additional protection→ page 10, Using a child restraint on the rearseat.

How to tell if the child restraint is properlyinstalled– The child restraint is flush with both the seat

cushion and the seat backrest, unless a smallgap between the child restraint and the seatbackrest is allowed by the child restraint man-ufacturer.

– The child restraint does not hang over theedge of the vehicle seat by more than what isallowed by the child restraint manufacturer.

– The child restraint is centered in the seatingposition and is not installed at an angle.

– The child restraint does not move forward orsideways by more than about 1 inch (2.5 cm).

– The child restraint does not contact or pushagainst any of the safety belt buckles, becausethis can cause damage to the buckles andmake the buckles unusable or unsafe.

– The child restraints do not interfere with eachother and each remains fully functional andaccessible to properly restrain and protecteach child.

– The child restraint is installed with LATCH/UCRA or the vehicle safety belt according tothe weight limits stated on the child restraintand that the child restraint’s top tether is usedas instructed by the child restraint manufac-turer.

More information:– Important safety instructions for using child

restraints → page 7

– Using a child restraint on the rear seat→ page 10

– Infant seats → page 12


– Convertible child restraints → page 14 – Booster seats and safety belts → page 16,Booster seats and safety belts

– Installing child restraints with a safety belt→ page 18

Child restraints and the AdvancedAirbag System


Advanced front airbag system and childrenYour vehicle is equipped with a front “AdvancedAirbag System” that complies with United StatesFederal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard(FMVSS) 208 and with Canada Motor VehicleSafety Standard (CMVSS) 208 as applicable at thetime your vehicle was manufactured.

The Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle hasbeen certified to meet the “low risk” require-ments for 3 to 6 year-old children (as defined inthe standard) on the passenger side and smalladults on the driver side. “Low risk” deploymentoccurs in those crashes that take place at lowerdecelerations as defined in the electronic controlunit. The low risk deployment criteria are intend-ed to reduce the risk of injury through interactionwith the airbag that can occur in these collisions,for example, by being too close to the steeringwheel or instrument panel when the airbag in-flates.

In addition, the system has been certified tocomply with the “suppression” requirements ofthe Safety Standard, to turn off the front airbagautomatically for infants up to 12 months whoare restrained on the front passenger seat inchild restraints that are listed in the Standard.

Even though your vehicle is equipped with an Ad-vanced Airbag System, all children, especiallythose 12 years and younger, must always ride inthe back seat properly restrained for their ageand size. The airbag on the passenger side makesthe front seat a potentially dangerous place for achild to ride. The front seat is not the safest placefor a child in a forward-facing child restraint. It isa very dangerous place for an infant or a largerchild in a rearward-facing seat.

The vehicle's Advanced Airbag System has a ca-pacitive passenger detection system in the frontpassenger seat cushion that can detect the pres-ence of a baby or a child in a child restraint sys-tem on this seat.

The capacitive passenger detection systemmeasures the capacitance of the child and thechild restraint and a child blanket on the frontpassenger seat. The capacitance due to the pres-ence of a child, a child restraint, and a baby blan-ket on the front passenger seat is related to thechild restraint system resting on the seat. The ca-pacitance of a child restraint system varies de-pending on the type of system and specific makeand model.

The electrical capacitance of the various types,makes, and models of child restraints specifiedby the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Ad-ministration (NHTSA) in the relevant safetystandard are stored in the Advanced Airbag Sys-tem control unit together with the capacitancestypical of infants and a 1 year-old child. When achild restraint is used on the front passenger seatwith a typical 1 year-old infant, the AdvancedAirbag System compares the capacitance meas-ured by the capacitive passenger detection sys-tem with the data stored in the electronic controlunit.

Child restraints and Advanced AirbagsNo matter what child restraint you use, makesure that it has been certified to meet U.S. Feder-al Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 213(FMVSS 213) or, if you live in Canada, Canada Mo-tor Vehicle Safety Standard 213 (CMVSS 213). Al-so make sure that the child restraint you are us-ing has been certified by its manufacturer for usewith an airbag. Always be sure that the child re-straint is properly installed at one of the rearseating positions. If in exceptional circumstancesyou must use it on the front passenger seat,carefully read all of the information on childsafety and Advanced Airbags and heed all of theapplicable WARNINGS. Make certain that thechild restraint is correctly recognized by the ca-pacitive passenger detection system inside thefront passenger seat, that the passenger front

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airbag is switched off, and that the airbag statusis always correctly signaled by the PASSEN-GER AIR BAG light.

Many types and models of child restraints havebeen available over the years, new models are in-troduced regularly incorporating new and im-proved designs and older models are taken out ofproduction. Child restraints are not standardized.Child restraints of the same type typically havedifferent weights and sizes and different “foot-prints,” the size and shape of the bottom of thechild restraint that sits on the seat, when theyare installed on a vehicle seat. These differencesmake it virtually impossible to certify compliancewith the requirements for Advanced Airbags witheach and every child restraint that has ever beensold in the past or will be sold over the course ofthe useful life of your vehicle.

For this reason, the United States National High-way Traffic Safety Administration has published alist of specific types, makes and models of childrestraints that must be used to certify compli-ance of the Advanced Airbag System in your ve-hicle with the suppression requirements of Fed-eral Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208. Thesechild restraints are:

Subpart A. Car bed child restraints

Model Manufactured on orafter

Angel Guard Angel RideAA2403FOF

September 25, 2007

Subpart B. Rear-facing child restraints


Century Smart Fit 4543 December 1, 1999

Cosco Arriva 22-013PAW and base 22-999WHO

September 25, 2007

Evenflo Discovery AdjustRight 212

December 1, 1999

Graco Infant 8457 December 1, 1999

Graco Snugride September 25, 2007

Peg Perego PrimoViaggio SIP IMUN00US

September 25, 2007

Subpart C. Forward-facing and convertiblechild restraints


Britax RoundaboutE9L02xx

September 25, 2007

Cosco Touriva 02519 December 1, 1999

Cosco Summit DeluxeHigh Back Booster22-262

September 25, 2007

Cosco High Back Booster22-209

September 25, 2007

Evenflo Tribute V379xxxx

September 25, 2007

Evenflo Medallion 254 December 1, 1999

Evenflo Generations352xxxx

September 25, 2007

Graco ComfortSport September 25, 2007

Graco Toddler SafeSeatStep 2

September 25, 2007

Graco Platinum Cargo September 25, 2007

WARNINGTo reduce the risk of serious injury, alwaysmake sure that the PASSENGER AIR BAG light comes on and stays on whenever a childrestraint is installed on the front passengerseat and the ignition is switched on.

● Take the child restraint off the front passen-ger seat and install it properly at one of therear seat positions if the PASSEN-GER AIR BAG light does not come onand stay on.

● Have the airbag system inspected immedi-ately by your authorized Volkswagen dealeror authorized Volkswagen Service Facility.


Important safety instructions forusing child restraints


Fig. 1 Never let babies or older children ride in a ve-hicle while sitting on the lap of another passenger.

Proper use of child restraints greatly reduces therisk of injury in a collision or other kind of acci-dent!

All children, especially those 12 years and young-er, must always ride in the back seat properly re-strained for their age and size.

Always use the right child restraint for each childand always use it properly.

LATCH/UCRA lower universal anchorages securethe child restraint system in the seat without us-ing the vehicle's safety belts. Anchorages providea secure and easy-to-use attachment and mini-mize the possibility of improper child restraint in-stallation. If you decide to install a child restraintsystem using the standard safety belt instead ofthe LATCH/UCRA anchorages for the respectiveseating position, be sure to always carefully fol-low the child restraint manufacturer's instruc-tions on how to route the safety belt properlythrough the child restraint and how to restrainthe child in the child restraint.

When using the vehicle safety belt to install achild restraint, you must activate the switchablelocking feature on the safety belt to help preventthe child restraint from moving → page 18, In-stalling child restraints with a safety belt.

Push the child restraint down with your fullweight to get the safety belt really tight so thatthe seat cannot move forward or sideways morethan about 1 inch (2.5 cm).

Important additional information aboutinstalling a child restraint system on the frontpassenger seat:If you must install a child restraint on the frontpassenger seat in exceptional circumstances, besure to read and heed the important informationand warnings in the section of this Manual thatbegins on → page 5, Child restraints and the Ad-vanced Airbag System.

There are also additional adjustments thatmust be made in order to be able to properlyinstall a child restraint on the front passengerseat:Set the safety belt upper anchorage for the frontpassenger seat so that the available safety belt islong enough to properly install the child re-straint. Always follow the child restraint manu-facturer's installation instructions → .

Move the front passenger seat to the highest po-sition in the seat's up and down adjustmentrange and to the rearmost position in the seat'sfore and aft adjustment range, as far away fromthe airbag as possible before installing the for-ward-facing child restraint and make sure thebackrest is in the upright position → .

Always make sure that the safety belt upper an-chorage is behind the child restraint and not nextto or in front of the child restraint so that thesafety belt will be properly positioned.

When using the vehicle safety belt to install achild restraint, you must activate the switchablelocking feature on the safety belt to help preventthe child restraint from moving → page 10, Us-ing a child restraint on the rear seat. Always fol-low the child restraint manufacturer’s instruc-tions when installing a child restraint.

Do not use the switchable locking feature whenusing the vehicle's safety belt to restrain a childon a booster seat.

Always remember: Even though your vehicle isequipped with an Advanced Airbag System, allchildren, especially those 12 years and younger,must always ride in the back seat properly re-strained for their age and size.

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DANGERNever install rearward-facing child restraints orinfant carriers on the front passenger seat.

● A child will be seriously injured and can bekilled when the passenger airbag inflates –even with an Advanced Airbag System.


● Always install rearward-facing child re-straints and infant carriers on the rear seat.

WARNINGNot using a child restraint, using the wrongchild restraint, or improperly installing a childrestraint increases the risk of serious personalinjury and death in a collision or other emer-gency situation.

● All vehicle occupants and especially childrenmust always be restrained properly whenev-er riding in a vehicle.– An unrestrained or improperly restrained

child can be injured or killed by beingthrown against the inside of the vehicle orby being ejected from it during a suddenmaneuver or impact.

– An unrestrained or improperly restrainedchild is at much greater risk of injury ordeath by being struck by an inflating air-bag.

● Commercially available child restraints arerequired to comply with U.S. Federal MotorVehicle Safety Standard FMVSS 213 (in Cana-da CMVSS 213).– When buying a child restraint, select one

that fits your child and the vehicle.– Volkswagen does not recommend using

child restraints that rest on legs or tube-like frames. They do not provide adequatecontact with the seat.

● Always check that the child restraint hasbeen properly installed.– Only use child restraint systems that fully

contact the flat portion of the seat cush-ion, unless otherwise allowed by the childrestraint manufacturer. The child restraintmust not tip or lean to either side.

– Always make sure that the child restraintis securely installed and cannot move for-ward or sideways more than about 1 inch(2.5 cm).

– Always make sure that the child restraintis not installed at an angle.

– Always make sure that the child restraintdoes not contact or push up against anysafety belt buckles, because this can causedamage to the buckles and make thebuckles unusable or unsafe.

– Always heed all legal requirements per-taining to the installation and use of childrestraints and carefully follow the instruc-tions provided by the manufacturer of theseat you are using.

● For safety reasons, children under 4 ft. 9 in.(57 inches / 1.45 meters) may not wearstandard safety belts. Children must alwaysbe restrained by a proper child restraint sys-tem. Otherwise, they could sustain injuries tothe abdomen and neck areas during suddenbraking maneuvers or accidents.

● Never let more than one child occupy a childrestraint.

● Never let babies or older children ride in avehicle while sitting on the lap of anotherpassenger.– Holding a child in your arms is never a

substitute for a child restraint system.– The strongest person could not hold the

child with the forces that exist in an acci-dent. The child will strike the interior ofthe vehicle and can also be struck by an-other passenger.

– The child and the passenger can also injureeach other in an accident.

WARNINGForward-facing child restraints installed on thefront passenger's seat can interfere with theairbag when it inflates and cause serious injuryto the child.

● Always install child restraints on the rearseat.

● If exceptional circumstances require the useof a forward-facing child restraint on thefront passenger's seat, the child's safety andwell-being require the following special pre-cautions to be taken:


– Always make sure that the forward-facingseat has been designed and certified by itsmanufacturer for use on a front passengerseat with a front and side airbag.

– Always carefully follow the manufacturer'sinstructions provided with the child re-straint or carrier.

– Never install a child restraint without aproperly attached top tether strap if thechild restraint manufacturer's instructionsrequire the top tether strap to be used, orif required by law. For example, the use ofa top tether strap for forward-facing childrestraints is required by law in Canada.







– Never place additional items on the seatthat can influence the capacitance regis-tered by the capacitive passenger detec-tion system and can cause injury in acrash.






WARNINGTo reduce the risk of serious injury, alwaysmake sure that the PASSENGER AIR BAG light comes on and stays on whenever a childrestraint is installed on the front passengerseat and the ignition is switched on.

● If the PASSENGER AIR BAG light doesnot stay on, perform the checks described→ chapter PASSENGER AIR BAG light.

● Take the child restraint off the front passen-ger seat and install it properly at one of therear seat positions if the PASSEN-GER AIR BAG light does not stay on.

● Have the airbag system inspected immedi-ately by an authorized Volkswagen dealer orauthorized Volkswagen Service Facility.

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Using a child restraint on the rear seat

Please read the introductory information and heed the Warnings and Notice and on page 1.

Fig. 2 Keep unused safety belts away from childrenin child restraints.

Fig. 3 Protective cover for the safety belt buckle.

Important special steps when installing achild restraint with LATCH/UCRA loweruniversal anchorages or with the vehiclesafety belt.You must take special precautions to prevent achild from playing with an unused safety belt andbecoming entangled with it → fig. 2. Alwaysroute the center safety belt and the unused safe-ty belt for the seating position where the childrestraint is being installed securely out of thechild’s reach.

How to tell if the child restraint is properlyinstalled– The child restraint is flush with both the seat

cushion and the seat backrest, unless a smallgap between the child restraint and the seatbackrest is allowed by the child restraint man-ufacturer.

– The child restraint does not hang over theedge of the vehicle seat by more than what isallowed by the child restraint manufacturer.

– The child restraint is centered in the seatingposition and is not installed at an angle.

– The child restraint does not move forward orsideways by more than about 1 inch (2.5 cm).


– The child restraint does not contact or pushagainst any of the safety belt buckles, becausethis can cause damage to the buckles andmake the buckles unusable or unsafe.

– The child restraints do not interfere with eachother and each remains fully functional andaccessible to properly restrain and protecteach child.

– The child restraint is installed with LATCH/UCRA or the vehicle safety belt according tothe weight limits stated on the child restraintand that the child restraint’s top tether is usedas instructed by the child restraint manufac-turer.

Protecting the safety belt buckles fromdamageA child restraint in the center seating positionmay damage the safety belt buckles on eitherside of the child restraint and make them unusa-ble or unsafe. You can help to prevent damage tothe safety belt buckles as follows:

– Install the child restraint properly → page 10,How to tell if the child restraint is properly in-stalled.

– Only install a child restraint that fits betweenthe safety belt buckles in the center seatingposition.

– Check regularly that the child restraint has notshifted and come into contact with any of thesafety belt buckles.

– Check regularly that the safety belt buckleshave not been damaged in any way.

As additional help in preventing damage to thesafety belt buckles, a protective cover for thesafety belt buckles will be available from an au-thorized Volkswagen dealer or authorized Volks-wagen Service Facility. The protective covershould be attached to the safety belt buckleswhenever a child restraint will be installed on thecenter seating position either with LATCH/UCRAlower universal anchorages or with the vehiclesafety belt.

Installing the protective cover:

– Attach the protective cover before installing achild restraint on the center seating position.

– Place the protective cover on top of the safetybelt buckle, and push it in until you hear itlatch securely.

– Pull on the protective cover to make sure thatit is securely latched in the buckle.

Removing the protective cover:

– Insert the safety belt tongue into the slit in theprotective cover and press the button below→ fig. 3 . The protective cover is ejected.

When a protective cover is attached to a safetybelt buckle, that buckle cannot be used with thesafety belt. Remove the protective cover beforeallowing someone to use that seating position.

Securing the unused safety belts out of child'sreachSecure an unused safety belt to help prevent achild from playing with and becoming entangledin the safety belt. The method for securing anunused safety belt depends on the seating posi-tion.

Secure an unused safety belt for an outboardseating position:

– Route the safety belt around the head re-straint for the center seating position → fig. 2.

– Make sure the safety belt is out of the child’sreach, so that the child cannot grab and playwith it.

– Make sure that the safety belt does not blockthe LATCH/UCRA lower universal anchorages.This could prevent you from correctly instal-ling a child restraint with the LATCH/UCRAlower universal anchorages.

– Do not activate the switchable locking feature.Otherwise it will be very difficult to wind thesafety belt back into its normal position. Youshould not hear a “clicking” sound when thesafety belt retracts.

Secure an unused safety belt for the center seatand third row:

– Buckle the safety belt → fig. 2.

– Pull the shoulder belt portion of the safety beltall the way out of the retractor to activate theswitchable locking feature. You should hear a“clicking” noise as the belt winds back into theretractor.

– Let the safety belt fully retract and then pullon it to make sure the switchable locking fea-ture is active and the safety belt is properlyfastened and tight so that the child cannotgrab and play with the safety belt.

When a child safety seat is secured on the sec-ond or third rows, adjust the position in front ofthe child restraint to provide the child with suffi-cient space. For example, adjust the front

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passenger seat to the size of the child safety seatand the child directly behind it. Consider theproper seating position of the passenger → .

When child restraints are not needed, be sure toremove the safety belt(s) from around the headrestraint(s), unbuckle the center safety belt, andreturn all safety belts to their normal stored posi-tions so that they will be available for regularuse.

WARNINGA child in a child restraint installed with theLATCH/UCRA lower universal anchorages orwith the standard safety belt on the rear seatmay play with unused rear seat safety belts andbecome entangled, resulting in serious personalinjury and even death.

● Always secure unused rear seat safety beltsout of the reach of children in child restraintssuch as by properly routing them around thehead restraint adjacent to the seating posi-tion where the child restraint is installed.

NOTICEThe outboard safety belts may become damagedif they are secured improperly.

● Be careful not to activate the switchable lock-ing retractor when routing the unused safetybelt around the head restraint. Otherwise itwill be very difficult to wind the safety beltback into its normal position.

● Only pull the unused safety belt out farenough to allow you to route the belt aroundthe head restraint. If the safety belt is pulledout too far, the switchable locking feature willbe activated.

● When installing a child restraint, be careful notto get the belt caught in the structure of thechild restraint and become damaged, especial-ly when the switchable locking feature hasbeen activated.

Infant seats


Fig. 4 Example of a rearward-facing infant seatproperly installed on the rear seat.

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) rec-ommends that all infants should ride in rear-fac-ing car safety seats (in which the child faces theback of the vehicle) starting with their first ride

home from the hospital. All infants and toddlers(generally up to age 3) should ride in a rear-fac-ing car safety seat as long as possible – or untilthey reach the highest weight or height allowedby their child restraint’s manufacturer. These in-fant seats support the baby's back, neck andhead in a collision. Rear-facing child restraintscan be used safely only on the rear seats of thevehicle → fig. 4. The best place for a rear-facingsafety seat is in the second row where the safetyseat can be installed with the LATCH/UCRA sys-tem.

Before installing a child restraint on the frontpassenger seat, be sure to follow the special in-structions and heed the warnings → page 5, Childrestraints and the Advanced Airbag System and→ chapter The dangers of using child restraintson the front seat.


– When using the vehicle safety belt to install achild restraint (except a booster seat), youmust activate the switchable locking featureon the safety belt to help prevent the child re-straint from moving → page 10, Using a childrestraint on the rear seat. Always follow thechild restraint manufacturer’s instructionswhen installing a child restraint.

– Attach the Top Tether strap or straps to thetether anchorage for the seating positionwhere the child restraint is being installed witheither the LATCH/UCRA system or with a safe-ty belt → page 23, Securing a child restraintwith the Top Tether strap.

– Follow the manufacturer's instructions for po-sitioning the handle of the car seat when it isinstalled in the vehicle.

The airbag on the passenger side makes the frontseat a potentially dangerous place for a child toride. The front seat is not the safest place for achild in a forward-facing child restraint. It is avery dangerous place for an infant or a largerchild in a rearward-facing seat.

You must take special precautions when instal-ling a child restraint with the vehicle safety beltor with LATCH/UCRA lower universal anchorageson a rear seating position. Always route the cen-ter safety belt and the unused safety belt for theseating position where the child restraint is beinginstalled securely out of the child’s reach. Secur-ing the safety belts will help prevent a child fromplaying with an unused safety belt and becomingentangled with it → page 10, Using a child re-straint on the rear seat, → fig. 2.

DANGERNot using a child restraint, using the wrongchild restraint or improperly installing a childrestraint increases the risk of serious personalinjury and death in a collision or other emer-gency situation.

● Never install rearward-facing child restraintsor infant carriers on the front passenger seat,even with an Advanced Airbag System. Achild will be seriously injured and can be kil-led when the inflating airbag hits the childrestraint or infant carrier with great forceand smashes the child restraint and childagainst the backrest, center armrest, door orroof.

● Always install rearward-facing child re-straints and infant carriers on the rear seats.

● Never install a rearward-facing child restraintin the forward-facing direction. These re-straints are designed for the special needs ofinfants and very small children and cannotprotect them properly if the seat is forward-facing.

● If you must install a rearward facing child re-straint on the front passenger seat becauseof exceptional circumstances, but the PAS-SENGER AIR BAG light does not comeon and stay on, immediately install the rear-ward-facing child restraint at a seating posi-tion on the rear rows and have the airbagsystem inspected right away by your author-ized Volkswagen dealer or authorized Volks-wagen Service Facility.




NOTICE● Be careful not to activate the switchable lock-

ing retractor when routing the unused safetybelt around the head restraint adjacent to theseat where a child restraint has been installed.

● Only pull the unused safety belt out farenough to allow you to route the belt aroundthe head restraint.

● When installing a child restraint with a safetybelt, be careful not to get the belt caught inthe structure of the child restraint and becomedamaged, especially when the switchablelocking feature has been activated.

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Convertible child restraints


Fig. 5 All convertible child restraints have lower anchors and a Top Tether. Figures A and B show how tocorrectly install a LATCH/UCRA seat. Figure C shows the set up of a seat using the vehicle's safety belt sys-tem.

Children between 1 and about 7 years old mustalways be properly restrained in a child restraintcertified for their size and weight → fig. 5.

Once your child outgrows the rear-facing car seat(generally up to age 3), your child is ready totravel in a forward-facing car seat with a harness.Keep your child in a forward-facing car seat witha harness until he or she reaches the top heightor weight limit allowed by your car seat’s manu-facturer.

Before installing a child restraint on the frontpassenger seat, be sure to follow the special in-structions and heed the warnings → page 5, Childrestraints and the Advanced Airbag System and→ chapter The dangers of using child restraintson the front seat.

– When using the vehicle safety belt to install achild restraint, you must activate the switcha-ble locking feature on the safety belt to helpprevent the child restraint from moving→ page 10, Using a child restraint on the rearseat.

– Push the child restraint down with your fullweight to get the safety belt really tight sothat the seat cannot move forward or side-ways more than about 1 inch (2.5 cm).

– Make sure that the child restraint is centeredin the seating position and is not installed atan angle.

– The child restraint must not contact or pushagainst any of the safety belt buckles, as thiscan cause damage to the buckles and makethe buckles unusable or unsafe.

– Fasten the harness webbing that is part of thechild restraint system securely and pull it tightso that you can only slip one finger underneaththe shoulder belt portion at the child's chest.

– Attach the Top Tether strap to the tether an-chorage for the seating position where thechild restraint is being installed with either theLATCH/UCRA system or the safety belt.→ page 23, Securing a child restraint with theTop Tether strap.

The airbag on the passenger side makes the frontseat a potentially dangerous place for a child toride. The front seat is not the safest place for achild in a forward-facing child restraint. It is avery dangerous place for an infant or a largerchild in a rearward-facing seat.

You must take special precautions when instal-ling a child restraint with the vehicle safety beltor with LATCH/UCRA lower universal anchorageson the rear seating positions. Always route thecenter safety belt and the unused safety belt forthe seating position where the child restraint isbeing installed securely out of the child’s reach.Securing the safety belts will help prevent a childfrom playing with an unused safety belt and be-coming entangled with it → page 10, Using achild restraint on the rear seat, → fig. 2.


DANGERNot using a child restraint, using the wrongchild restraint or improperly installing a childrestraint increases the risk of serious personalinjury and death in a collision or other emer-gency situation.

● Children on the front seat of any car, evenwith Advanced Airbags, can be seriously in-jured or even killed when an airbag inflates.

● A child in a rearward-facing child restraintinstalled on the front passenger seat will beseriously injured and can be killed if the frontairbag inflates – even with an Advanced Air-bag System.


● Always install rearward-facing child re-straints on the rear seat.

● If you must install a rearward facing child re-straint on the front passenger seat becauseof exceptional circumstances, but the PAS-SENGER AIR BAG light does not comeon and stay on, immediately install the rear-ward-facing child restraint at a seating posi-tion on the rear seat and have the airbag sys-tem inspected right away by your authorizedVolkswagen dealer or authorized VolkswagenService Facility.


WARNINGAn improperly installed child restraint can in-terfere with the airbag as it deploys and seri-ously injure or even kill the child – even with anAdvanced Airbag System.

● If exceptional circumstances require the useof a forward-facing child restraint on thefront passenger's seat, the child's safety andwell-being require the following special pre-cautions to be taken:– Forward-facing child restraints installed

on the front passenger seat may interferewith the deployment of the airbag andcause serious personal injury to the child.

– Always make sure that the forward-facingseat has been designed and certified by itsmanufacturer for use on a front passengerseat with a front and side airbag.

– Always carefully follow the manufacturer'sinstructions provided with the child re-straint or carrier.

– Never install a child restraint without aproperly attached top tether strap if thechild restraint manufacturer's instructionsrequire the top tether strap for proper in-stallation, or if required by law. For exam-ple, the use of a top tether strap for for-ward-facing child restraints is required bylaw in Canada.







– Never place objects on the seat (such as alaptop, CD player, or electronic games de-vice). These may influence the electricalcapacitance measured by the capacitivepassenger detection system and can alsofly around in an accident and cause seriouspersonal injury.

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– Make sure that the PASSEN-GER AIR BAG light comes on andstays on all the time whenever the ignitionis switched on.

– If the PASSENGER AIR BAG lightdoes not come on and stay on, immediate-ly install the forward-facing child restraintat a seating position on the rear seat andhave the airbag system inspected by yourauthorized Volkswagen dealer or author-ized Volkswagen Service Facility.




NOTICE● Be careful not to activate the switchable lock-

ing retractor when routing the unused safetybelt around the head restraint adjacent to theseat where a child restraint has been installed.

● Only pull the unused safety belt out farenough to allow you to route the belt aroundthe head restraint.

● When installing a child restraint with a safetybelt, be careful not to get the belt caught inthe structure of the child restraint and becomedamaged, especially when the switchablelocking feature has been activated.

Booster seats and safety belts


Fig. 6 Child properly restrained in a booster seat inthe second row.

Fig. 7 Child properly restrained in a booster seat inthe third row.

Children between about 8 to 12 years old arebest protected in child safety seats designed fortheir age and weight. Experts say that the skele-tal structure, particularly the pelvis, of these chil-dren is not fully developed, and they must notuse the vehicle safety belts without a suitablechild restraint.


The vehicle's safety belts alone will not fit mostchildren until they are at least 4 ft. 9 in. (57 in-ches / 1.45 meters) tall. Booster seats raise thesechildren up so that the safety belt will pass prop-erly over the strong parts of their bodies and thesafety belt can help protect them in a collision.

– Do not use the switchable locking featurewhen using the vehicle's safety belt to restraina child on a booster seat.

– Always position the shoulder portion of thesafety belt midway over the child's shoulder. Ifyou must transport an older child in a boosterseat on the front passenger seat, you can usethe safety belt height adjustment to help ad-just the shoulder portion properly.

– Always make sure that the shoulder portion issnug across the shoulder and chest and neverrests against or across the child's neck or face.

– Always make sure that the child can wear thelap belt portion across the upper thighs andnever over the stomach or abdomen.

Children who are at least 4 ft. 9 in. (57 inches /1.45 meters) tall can generally use the vehicle's3 point lap and shoulder belts. Never use the lapbelt portion of the vehicle's safety belt alone torestrain any child, regardless of how big the childis. Always remember that children do not havethe pronounced pelvic structure required for theproper function of lap belt portion of the vehi-cle's 3 point lap and shoulder belts. The child'ssafety absolutely requires that a lap belt portionof the safety belt be fastened snugly across theupper thighs. Never let the lap belt portion of thesafety belt pass over the child's stomach or ab-domen.

It is usually best to put these children in appro-priate booster seats and keep them in a boosterseat until they are big enough to fit in a safetybelt properly. Be sure the booster seat meets allapplicable safety standards.

Booster seats raise the seating position of thechild and reposition both the lap and shoulderparts of the safety belt so that they pass acrossthe child's body in the right places. The routingof the belt over the child's body is very importantfor the child's protection, whether or not a boos-ter seat is used. Children age 12 and under mustalways ride in the rear seat.

Keep your child in a booster seat until he or she isat least 4 ft. 9 in. (57 inches / 1.45 meters) tallAND your child is:

– tall enough to sit without slouching; and

– able to keep his or her back against the vehicleseat; and

– able to keep his or her knees naturally bentover the edge of the vehicle seat; and

– able to keep his or her feet flat on the floor;and

– able to sit in that position during the entiretrip.

The way the safety belt passes over the child’sbody is important for their safety and protectionin a crash. Always make sure you child can wearthe safety belt properly:

– The lap belt must lie snugly across the upperthighs, not the stomach.

– The shoulder belt must lie snugly across theshoulder and chest, and never cross the neckor face.

– Never let a child put the shoulder belt underthe arm or behind the back, because it couldcause severe injuries in a crash.

Always check belt fit on the child in every vehicle.A booster seat may be needed in some vehiclesand not in others. If the seat belt does not fitproperly, the child must continue to use a boos-ter seat. Regardless of whether the child is usinga booster or is able to properly wear the standardsafety belt properly without a booster seat, keepyour child in the back seat. Accident statisticsshow that children are safer on the rear seat thanon the front seat.

In a collision, airbags must inflate within a blinkof an eye and with considerable force. In order todo its job, the airbag needs room to inflate sothat it will be there to protect the occupant asthe occupant moves forward into the airbag.

Even Advanced Airbags can injure children whenthey inflate. A vehicle occupant who is out of po-sition and too close to the airbag gets in the wayof an inflating airbag. When an occupant is tooclose, he or she will be struck violently and willreceive serious or possibly even fatal injuries.

In order for the airbag to offer protection, it isimportant that all vehicle occupants, especiallychildren, who must be in the front seat under ex-ceptional circumstances, be properly restrainedand as far away from the airbag as possible. Bykeeping room between the child's body and the

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front of the passenger compartment, the airbagcan inflate completely and provide supplementalprotection in certain frontal collisions.

You must take special precautions when instal-ling a booster seat with the vehicle safety belt onthe rear seats. Always route and secure the un-used center safety belt to help prevent a childfrom playing with the unused safety belt and be-coming entangled in it → page 10, Using a childrestraint on the rear seat, → fig. 2.

WARNINGNot using a booster seat, using the booster seatimproperly, incorrectly installing a booster seator using the vehicle safety belt improperly in-creases the risk of serious personal injury anddeath in a collision or other emergency situa-tion. To help reduce the risk of serious personalinjury and/or death:

● Never use the switchable locking featurewhen using the vehicle's safety belt to re-strain a child on a booster seat.

● Always make sure to position the shoulderportion of the 3 point belt over the middle ofthe child's shoulder.

● Never let the shoulder portion of the safetybelt rest against or across the neck, face,chin, or throat of the child.

● Always make sure the lap belt portion of the3 point belt is worn snugly across the upperthighs. Never let the lap belt portion of thesafety belt pass over the child's stomach orabdomen.

● Never let a child put the shoulder belt underthe arm or behind the back, because it couldcause severe injuries in a crash.

● Failure to properly route safety belts over achild's body will cause severe injuries in acollision or other emergency situation.

● Children on the front seat of any car, evenwith Advanced Airbags, can be seriously in-jured or even killed when an airbag inflates.

● Never let a child stand or kneel on any seat,for example, the front seat.

● Never let a child ride in the cargo area ofyour vehicle.

● Always remember that a child leaning for-ward, sitting sideways or out of position inany way during a collision can be struck by adeploying airbag. This will result in seriouspersonal injury or death.

● If you must install a booster seat on the frontpassenger seat because of exceptional cir-cumstances, the PASSENGER AIR BAG light must come on and stay on, wheneverthe ignition is switched on.

● If the PASSENGER AIR BAG light doesnot come on and stay on, perform the checksdescribed → chapter PASSENGER AIR BAGlight.

● Take the child restraint off the front passen-ger seat and install it properly at one of theseating positions on the rear rows if the PAS-SENGER AIR BAG light does not stay onwhenever the ignition is switched on.


WARNINGA child in a child restraint installed with theLATCH/UCRA lower universal anchorages orwith the standard safety belt on the rear seatsmay play with unused rear seat safety belts andbecome entangled, resulting in serious personalinjury and even death.

● Always secure unused rear seats safety beltsout of the reach of children in child restraintssuch as by properly routing them around thehead restraint adjacent to the seating posi-tion where the child restraint is installed.

Installing child restraints with asafety belt


Safety belts for the rear seats and the front pas-senger seat must be locked with the switchablelocking feature to properly secure child re-straints.

Child restraints are designed to be secured to thevehicle either with the 3 point lap and shoulderbelt or with LATCH/UCRA lower universal ancho-rages. The child restraint may also have a TopTether strap, which must be used if required by


the child restraint manufacturer or by law→ page 23, Securing a child restraint with theTop Tether strap.

Regardless of the kind of child restraint that youuse, always make sure that the child restraint isproperly secured in the vehicle; otherwise thechild could be seriously injured in a crash. Alwaysfollow legal requirements regarding the installa-tion of child restraints.

Place the child restraint on a seat, preferably ona rear seat → .

Switchable locking featureWhenever a child restraint (except a booster seat)is installed with a safety belt, the safety beltmust be locked so that the safety belt webbingcannot unreel. The switchable locking featurelets you lock the belt so that a child restraint canbe properly installed and, for example, so that itcannot tip to the side when the vehicle goesaround a corner.

Installing the child restraint on a rear seatAlways carefully follow the child restraint manu-facturer's instructions when installing a child re-straint in your vehicle → .

– Make sure that the child restraint is centeredin the seating position and is not installed atan angle.

– Always make sure that the child restraint doesnot contact or push up against any safety beltbuckles, because this can cause damage to thebuckles and make the buckles unusable or un-safe.

– Route the safety belt around or through thechild restraint using the proper path for thesafety belt as specified by the child restraintmanufacturer.

– Insert the belt tongue into the buckle for thatseating position.

– Make sure that the red release button facesaway from the child restraint so that it can beunbuckled quickly.

– Remove all slack from the lap belt portion ofthe safety belt and hold it tightly against thechild restraint.

– Push the child restraint down with your fullweight to make sure that the child restraintwill be properly installed with the safety beltreally tight.

– Activate the belt's switchable locking feature→ page 20, Activating the switchable lockingfeature.

– Pull on the safety belt to make sure the safetybelt is properly fastened and tight.

– Check the child restraint for proper installationby pulling on the child restraint at the placewhere the vehicle's safety belt goes into thechild restraint. The child restraint should notmove forward or sideways by more than about1 inch (2.5 cm).

Special instructions for installing childrestraints if the child restraint must beinstalled on the front seatAlways carefully follow the child restraint manu-facturer's instructions when installing a child re-straint in your vehicle → .

Place the child restraint on a seat, preferably ona rear seat → . If in exceptional circumstancesyou must install the child restraint on the frontseat, be sure to follow the special instructionsand heed the WARNINGS below.

– Make sure the front seat backrest is in the up-right position.

– Move the front passenger seat to the rearmostposition in the seat's fore and aft adjustmentrange, as far away from the airbag as possible.

– Set the front passenger's safety belt heightadjuster so that available safety belt length issufficient to properly install the child restraint.

– Always make sure that the safety belt upperanchorage is behind the child restraint and notnext to or in front of the child restraint so thatthe safety belt will be properly positioned.

– Route the safety belt around or through thechild restraint using the proper path for thesafety belt as specified by the child restraintmanufacturer.

– Insert the belt tongue into the buckle for thatseating position.

– Make sure that the red release button facesaway from the child restraint so that it can beunbuckled quickly.

– Remove all slack from the lap belt portion ofthe safety belt and hold it tightly against thechild restraint.

– Push the child restraint down with your fullweight to make sure that the child restraintwill be properly installed with the safety beltreally tight.

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– Activate the belt's switchable locking feature→ page 20, Activating the switchable lockingfeature.

– Pull on the safety belt to make sure the safetybelt is properly fastened and tight.

– Check the child restraint for proper installationby pulling on the child restraint at the placewhere the vehicle's safety belt goes into thechild restraint. The child restraint should notmove forward or sideways by more than about1 inch (2.5 cm).

– After checking to make sure that the child re-straint is properly installed, make certain thatthe child restraint is correctly recognized bythe capacitive passenger detection system inthe front passenger seat and that the PASSEN-GER AIR BAG light signals the correctfront passenger front airbag status. Please besure to read the additional important informa-tion and heed the WARNINGS about the Ad-vanced Airbag System and the function of thePASSENGER AIR BAG light in this Manual.

Always remember: Even though your vehicle isequipped with an Advanced Airbag System, allchildren, especially those 12 years and younger,must always ride in the back seat properly re-strained for their age and size.

Activating the switchable locking feature– Slowly pull the shoulder belt portion of the

safety belt all the way out of the retractor.

– While keeping your weight on the child re-straint, guide the shoulder belt portion of thesafety belt back into the retractor until thebelt lies flat and is tightened against the childrestraint.

– You should hear a “clicking” noise as the beltwinds back into the inertia reel of the safetybelt retractor. Test the switchable locking fea-ture by pulling on the belt. You should no lon-ger be able to pull the belt out of the retractor.The switchable locking feature is now active.

Deactivating the switchable locking featureThe switchable locking feature for child restraintswill be deactivated automatically when the beltis wound all the way back into the retractor.

– Press the red button on the safety belt buckle.The belt tongue will pop out of the buckle.

– Guide the safety belt back by hand so that itrolls easily onto the retractor and the trimaround the retractor will not be damaged.

Always let the safety belt retract completely intoits stowed position. The safety belt can now beused as an ordinary safety belt without theswitchable locking feature for child restraints.

If the switchable locking feature should be acti-vated inadvertently, the safety belt must be un-fastened and guided completely back into itsstowed position to deactivate this feature. If theswitchable locking feature is not deactivated, thesafety belt will gradually become tighter and un-comfortable to wear.

WARNINGUsing the wrong child restraint or an improper-ly installed child restraint can cause seriouspersonal injury or death in an accident.

● Always make sure that the safety belt retrac-tor is locked when installing a child restraint,except a booster seat. An unlocked safetybelt retractor cannot hold the child restraintin place during normal driving or in a crash.


● Always make sure the seat backrest to whichthe child restraint is installed is in an uprightposition and securely latched into place andcannot fold forward. Otherwise, the seatbackrest with the child restraint attached toit could fly forward in a collision or otheremergency situation.

● Always read and heed all WARNINGS when-ever using a child restraint in a vehicle→ page 1, Child safety and child restraints.Special precautions apply when installing achild restraint on the front passenger seat→ chapter The dangers of using child re-straints on the front seat, and → page 5,Child restraints and the Advanced AirbagSystem, and → page 7, Important safety in-structions for using child restraints.

WARNINGImproperly installed child restraints increasethe risk of serious personal injury and death in acollision.

● Never unfasten the safety belt to deactivatethe switchable locking feature for child re-straints while the vehicle is moving. Youwould not be restrained and could be seri-ously injured in an accident.


NOTICEWhen installing a child restraint, be careful not toget the belt caught in the structure of the childrestraint and become damaged, especially whenthe switchable locking feature has been activat-ed.

Securing the child restraint withLATCH/UCRA lower universalanchorages


Fig. 8 On the second row seat backrests: Markingsindicating the location of the LATCH/UCRA loweruniversal anchorages.

LATCH is used in the United States and stands forLower Anchors and Tethers for Children. In Cana-da, Universal Child Restraint Anchorages (UCRA)is used to describe the combination of top tetherstraps and lower anchorages.

All child restraints manufactured after Septem-ber 1, 1999 must have LATCH/UCRA lower uni-versal anchorages.

Each seating position in the second row has theLATCH/UCRA lower universal anchorage attach-ment points on the lower part of the backrests.The circular markings on the backrests help youto locate the lower anchorages → fig. 8. The thirdrow seating positions do not have LATCH/UCRAlower universal anchorage attachment points.

LATCH/UCRA lower universal anchorages securethe child restraint system in the seat without us-ing the vehicle's safety belts. Anchorages provide

a secure and easy-to-use attachment and mini-mize the possibility of improper child restraint in-stallation.

Remember that the LATCH/UCRA lower universalanchorage points are only intended for installa-tion and attachment of child restraints specifical-ly certified for use with these lower universal an-chorages. Child restraints that are not equippedwith the LATCH/UCRA lower universal anchorageattachments can still be installed with vehiclesafety belts according to the child restraint man-ufacturer's instructions. You must never mount2 child restraint systems to one LATCH/UCRAlower universal anchorage point at the sametime. For example, never install a child restraintwith LATCH/UCRA lower universal anchoragepoints on one of the second row outboard seat-ing positions and then use the inboard anchorageto also install a child restraint in the center of thesecond row. Instead, use the LATCH/UCRA loweruniversal anchorage points specifically intendedfor the second row center seat.

The child restraint must not contact or pushagainst any of the safety belt buckles to helpprevent damage to the buckles, which can makethe buckles unusable or unsafe.

There are 2 ways to attach an appropriate childrestraint to the LATCH/UCRA lower universal an-chorages:

Rigid connectors on bars at the back of thechild restraint:Depending on your vehicle's seats, you may wantto use guide fixtures when installing a child re-straint that has rigid mountings. Installation withguide fixtures is easier and protects the uphols-tery. Guide fixtures are included with the childrestraint in some cases. If not, they can be pur-chased from an authorized Volkswagen dealer oran authorized Volkswagen Service Facility. Theguide fixtures must be installed in accordancewith the manufacturer's instructions at the an-chorage points between the seat cushion and theseat backrest.

– Make sure the seat backrest of the second rowseat is in the upright position and securelylatched in place.

– Release or deploy the top tether strap (if one isrequired by the child restraint manufacturer orby law) to secure the seat → page 23, Secur-ing a child restraint with the Top Tether strap.

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– Guide the upper tether strap under the rearhead restraint (raise the head restraint if nec-essary).

– Attach the tether strap anchorage hook intothe opening of the tether anchorage.

– Attach the connectors onto the LATCH/UCRAlower universal anchorages.

– Make sure you hear the child restraint click se-curely into place.

– Tighten the top tether strap (if there is one) tosecure the seat → page 23, Securing a childrestraint with the Top Tether strap.

– Pull on both sides of the child restraint onceyou've installed it to make certain it is secureand properly attached.

Releasing– Release the top tether strap (if one is required

by the child restraint manufacturer or by law).

– Release the lower latch from the LATCH/UCRAlower universal anchorages following the childrestraint manufacturer's instructions.

Hooks attached to adjustable straps (hook-onconnectors)– Make sure the seat backrest of the second row

seat is in the upright position and securelylatched in place.

– Attach the hook-on connectors with the springcatch release onto the LATCH/UCRA lower uni-versal anchorage so that the connectors lockinto place.

– Pull on the connector attachments to makesure that it is properly attached to the LATCH/UCRA lower universal anchorage.

– Pull straps tight following the child restraintmanufacturer's instructions.

– Release or deploy the top tether strap (if one isrequired by the child restraint manufacturer orby law) to secure the seat → page 23, Secur-ing a child restraint with the Top Tether strap.

– Guide the upper tether strap under the rearhead restraint (raise the head restraint if nec-essary).

– Guide the tether strap between the rear seatback and the luggage compartment cover, ifequipped.

– Attach the tether strap anchorage hook intothe opening of the tether anchorage and pullthe top tether strap tight.

– After you have installed the child restraint, pullon both of the adjustable straps on the childrestraint and pull also on the tether strap tomake certain the seat is secure and properlyattached.

Releasing– Loosen the tension on the hook-on connector

straps following the child restraint manufac-turer's instructions.

– Release the top tether strap (if one is requiredby the child restraint manufacturer or by law).

– Depress the spring catch on the hook.

– Hold the spring catch in the depressed posi-tion.

– Move the hook in the direction of the vehiclefloor so that there is enough space to releasethe connector from the lower anchorage.

You must take special precautions when instal-ling a child restraint with the vehicle safety beltor with LATCH/UCRA lower universal anchorageson the rear seats. Always route the unused cen-ter seat safety belt and the unused safety belt forthe seating position where the LATCH/UCRAchild restraint is being installed around the rearhead restraint behind the child restraint to helpprevent a child from playing with the unused beltand becoming entangled in it.

WARNINGImproper use of the LATCH/UCRA system canincrease the risk of serious personal injury anddeath in an accident.

● Always carefully follow the child restraintmanufacturer's instructions for proper instal-lation of the child restraints and proper useof tether straps as well as the LATCH/UCRAlower universal anchorages or safety belts inyour vehicle.

● Never mount 2 child restraint systems on1 LATCH/UCRA lower universal anchoragepoint.

● These anchors were developed only for childrestraints using the LATCH/UCRA system.

● Never attach other child restraints, belts,luggage or other things to the LATCH/UCRAanchorages.


● Always make sure that you hear a click whenlatching the seat in place. If you do not heara click, the seat is not secure and could flyforward and hit the interior of the vehicle orbe ejected from the vehicle.

NOTICEA child restraint may damage the seat upholsteryor the safety belt buckles if installed improperlyor left on the seat when not in use.

● Remove the guide fixtures from the anchoragepoints when there is no child restraint securedin the vehicle anchorage points.

● Always remove the guide fixtures from the an-chorage points before folding the backrest onthe second row seats forward.

● When installing, make sure that the child re-straint does not contact or push up against anysafety belt buckles, because this can causedamage to the buckles and make the bucklesunusable or unsafe.

Be careful not to activate the switchablelocking retractor when routing the safety

belts around the head restraints. Only pull thesafety belt out far enough to allow you to routethe belt around the head restraint.

Securing a child restraint with the Top Tether strap


Fig. 9 Example of a mounted upper tether strap: The top tether strap reduces the forward movement of thechild restraint in a crash, to help reduce the risk of head injury if the child hits the vehicle interior.

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Fig. 10 Anchorages for the top tether strap on theback of the third row seats and the second rowseats .

Installing the Top Tether strap– Release or deploy the Top Tether strap on the

child restraint according to the child restraintmanufacturer's instructions → .

– Remove the luggage compartment cover, ifnecessary.

– Locate the tether anchor behind the rear seatbackrest → fig. 10.

– Second row outer seating positions and thirdrow seating positions: Guide the upper tetherstrap under the head restraint (raise the headrestraint if necessary). For child restraints withV-tether straps: Always make sure that thehead restraint guide rods do not interfere withany part of the top tether strap.

– Second row center seating position (if applica-ble): Guide the upper tether strap under thecenter rear head restraint only when it is push-ed all the way up. If the tether strap hook istoo big to pass under the center head re-straint, push the head restraint all the waydown and guide the strap over the center headrestraint.

– Guide the tether strap between the rear seatbackrest and the luggage compartment cover,if equipped.

– Attach the tether strap anchorage hook intothe opening of the tether anchorage → fig. 10.

– Pull on the tether strap hook so that the springcatch of the hook is engaged.

– Tighten the tether strap firmly following thechild restraint manufacturer's instructions.

– Move the head restraint back into the originalposition, if necessary → chapter Seats andhead restraints.

Releasing the tether strap– Loosen the tension on the tether strap follow-

ing the child restraint manufacturer's instruc-tions.

– Depress the spring catch on the hook and re-lease it from the anchorage.

WARNINGImproper installation of child restraints will in-crease the risk of injury and death in a crash.

● Always follow the instructions provided bythe manufacturer of the child restraint wheninstalling it in your vehicle.

● Never install a child restraint without a prop-erly attached top tether strap if the child re-straint manufacturer's instructions requirethe top tether strap for proper installation, orif required by law. For example, the use of atop tether strap for forward-facing child re-straints is required by law in Canada.

● Improper use of top tether straps and an-chors can lead to injury in a collision. The an-chors are designed to withstand only thoseloads imposed by correctly fitted child re-straints.

● Never attach 2 child restraint systems to1 top tether strap or top tether anchorage.

● Never attach a child restraint tether strap toa tie-down hook in the luggage compart-ment.

● Never use child restraint top tether ancho-rages to secure safety belts or other kinds ofoccupant restraints.

● Never secure or attach any luggage or otheritems to the Top Tether anchorages.


NOTICEIf you leave the child restraint with the tetherstrap firmly installed for several days, this couldleave a mark on the upholstery on the seat cush-

ion and backrest in the area where the tetherstrap was installed. The upholstery would also bepermanently stretched around the tether strap.This applies especially to leather seats.

Sources of information about childrestraints and their use


The following are some sources of additional in-formation about child restraint selection, instal-lation and use:

Safety authorities advise that the best child safe-ty seat is the one that fits your child and fits inyour vehicle, and that you will use correctly andconsistently.

Try before you buy!

Transport Canada Information CentreTel.: 1-800-333-0371Tel.: 1-613-998-8616 (Ottawa)http://www.tc.gc.ca/roadsafety

National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationTel.: 1-888-327-4236 (TTY: 1-800-424-9153)http://www.nhtsa.govhttp://www.safercar.gov

National SAFE KIDS CampaignTel.: 1-202-662-0600http://www.safekids.org

SafetyBeltSafe U.S.A.Tel.: 1-800-745-SAFE or 1-800-745-7233 (Eng-lish)Tel.: 1-800-747-SANO or 1-800-747-7266(Spanish)http://www.carseat.org

Volkswagen Customer CARETel.: 1-800-822-8987

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http://www.tc.gc.ca/roadsafety

http://www.nhtsa.gov

http://www.safercar.gov

http://www.safekids.org

http://www.carseat.org

Atlas – edition 4.2018 Model year 2018 · straints on the rear seat. If you have, in exceptional circumstances, ... generally safer in the rear seat area than in the front seating

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