seat belts and airbags can provide the opti-
mum level of protection. Volkswagen recom-
mends using a Volkswagen dealership for this
purpose.
Seat belt height adjuster
Please refer to at the start of the chap-
Fig. 30 Next to the front seats: belt height ad-
juster.
The seat belt height adjusters for the front
seats can be used to adjust the position of
the seat belt on the shoulder so that it can be
fastened properly:
— Push the shoulder belt guide together in
the direction of the arrows and hold
→
— Push the shoulder belt guide up or down
so that the seat belt is routed over the
middle of the shoulder → page 42.
— Let go of the shoulder belt guide.
— Pull sharply on the seat belt to check
whether the shoulder belt guide is engag-
ed securely.
WARNING
Never adjust the seat belt height when the
vehicle is in motion.
Belt retractor, belt tensioner,
belt tension limiter
Please refer to at the start of the chap-
The safety belts in the vehicle are part of the
vehicle safety concept → page 47. The vehi-
cle safety concept has the following impor-
tant functions:
Belt retractor
The seat belts on the driver seat and front
passenger seat, as well as those on the outer
rear seats (and on the middle rear seat, de-
pending on the level of vehicle equipment),
are fitted with an automatic belt retractor at
the shoulder part of the seat belt. Full free-
dom of movement is ensured when the
shoulder belt is pulled slowly or when the ve-
hicle is travelling at normal speeds. However,
if the belt is pulled out quickly or during sud-
den braking, during travel in mountains or
bends and during acceleration, the belt re-
tractor blocks the seat belt.
Fastened seat belts on the front seats may be
tensioned automatically by the proactive oc-
cupant protection system in critical situa-
tions, for example during an emergency stop
or in the event of oversteering or understeer-
ing. Both seat belts are slackened again if the
accident does not happen, or when the criti-
cal situation has passed. The proactive occu-
pant protection system is ready to be trig-
Belt tensioner
The seat belts for the front seat vehicle occu-
pants, and, depending on the vehicle equip-
ment, those on the outer rear seats, are
equipped with belt tensioners.
The belt tensioners are activated by sensors
during severe frontal, side and rear collisions
and also possibly vehicle rollovers. They
tighten the seat belts against the direction in
which they are pulled. Any slack in the seat
belt is tightened. This can reduce the forward
movement of the vehicle occupants and their
movement in the direction of the impact. The
44
Safety
