Volkswagen Golf GTI 2016, Owner'S Manual

Page: 288 / 1341

The front airbags will not inflate in side or rear collisions, in rollovers
or if the ignition is switched off. The front airbags will not inflate in all
frontal collisions. The triggering of the airbag system depends on
the vehicle deceleration rate caused by the collision and registered
by the electronic control unit. If this rate is below the reference value
programmed into the control unit, the airbags will not be triggered,
even though the vehicle may be badly damaged as a result of the
collision. Vehicle damage, repair costs or even the lack of vehicle
damage is not necessarily an indication of whether an airbag should
inflate or not. It is not possible to define a range of vehicle speeds
that will cover every possible kind and angle of impact that will
always trigger the airbags, since the circumstances will vary
considerably between one collision and another. Important factors
include, for example, the nature (hard or soft) of the object that the
vehicle hits, the angle of impact, vehicle speed, etc.
When an airbag deploys, fine dust is released. This is normal and is
not caused by a fire in the vehicle. This dust is made up mostly of a
powder used to lubricate the airbags as they deploy. This dust could
irritate skin and eyes and cause breathing problems for people with
asthma or other respiratory conditions.
Always remember: Front airbags only supplement the 3 point safety
belts in some frontal collisions only when the vehicle deceleration is
high enough to deploy the airbags. Airbags only deploy once, and