Volkswagen Tiguan Owners Manual:  Introduction to the subject

In this chapter you will find information on the following subjects:

⇒ Child restraints and the Advanced front airbag system 

⇒ Important safety instructions for using child seats 

⇒ Using a child restraint on the rear seat 

⇒ Infant seats 

⇒ Convertible child seats 

⇒ Booster seats and safety belts 

⇒ Installing child restraints with a safety belt 

⇒ Securing the child restraint with LATCH/UCRA lower universal anchorages 

⇒ Securing a child restraint with the Top Tether strap 

⇒ Sources of information about child restraints and their use 

The physical principles of what happens when your vehicle is in a collision or other accident also apply to children ⇒ Safety belts . But unlike adults and teenagers, their muscles and bones are not fully developed. In many respects children are at greater risk of serious injury in accidents than are adults.

Because children's bodies are not fully developed, they must use restraint systems especially designed for their size, weight, and body structure. Many countries and all states of the United States and provinces of Canada have laws requiring the use of approved child restraint systems for 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 of the child. This means the effective weight of the child would suddenly increase to more than 260 pounds (120 kg). Under these conditions, only an appropriate child restraint properly used can reduce the risk of serious injury. Child restraints, like adult safety belts, must be used properly to be effective. Used improperly, they can increase the risk of serious injury in an accident.

Consult the child seat manufacturer's instructions to be sure the seat is right for your child's size ⇒ Sources of information about child restraints and their use . Please be sure to read and heed all of the important information and WARNINGS about child safety, Advanced Airbags, and the installation of child restraints in this Manual.

There is a lot you need to know about the Advanced Airbags in your vehicle and how they work when infants and children in child restraints are on the front passenger seat. Because of the large amount of important information, we cannot repeat it all here. We urge you to read the detailed information in this Manual about airbags and the Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle and the very important information about transporting children on the front passenger seat. Please be sure to heed the WARNINGS - they are extremely important for your safety and the safety of your passengers, especially infants and small children.

More information:

• Safety Belts ⇒ Safety belts 

• Airbag system ⇒ Airbag system 

Danger!

Children on the front seat of any car, even with Advanced Airbags, can be seriously injured or even killed when an airbag inflates.

• A child in a rearward-facing child seat installed on the front passenger seat will be seriously injured and can be killed if the front airbag inflates.

• The inflating airbag will hit the child seat or infant carrier with great force and will smash the child seat and child against the backrest, center armrest, door or roof.

• Always install rearward-facing child seats on the rear seat.

• If you have, in exceptional circumstances, nevertheless decided to install a rearward-facing child seat on the front passenger seat and the PASSENGER AIR BAG light does not come on and stay on whenever the ignition is on, immediately install the rearward-facing child seat on the rear seat and have the airbag system inspected right away by your authorized Volkswagen dealer or authorized Volkswagen Service Facility.

Warning

Accident statistics have shown that children are generally safer in the rear seat area than in the front seating position. Always restrain any child age 12 and under in the rear.

• All vehicle occupants and especially children must be restrained properly whenever riding in a vehicle. An unrestrained or improperly restrained child could be injured by striking the interior or by being ejected from the vehicle during a sudden maneuver or impact. An unrestrained or improperly restrained child is also at greater risk of injury or death through contact with an inflating airbag.

• A suitable child restraint properly installed and used at one of the rear seating positions provides the highest degree of protection for infants and small children in most accident situations.

Warning

Forward-facing child seats installed on the front passenger seat may interfere with the deployment of the airbag and cause serious personal injury to the child.

• If exceptional circumstances require the use of a forward-facing child restraint on the front passenger's seat, the child's safety and well-being require the following special precautions to be taken:
  • Always make sure that the forward-facing seat has been designed and certified by its manufacturer for use on a front passenger seat with a front and side airbag.
  • Always carefully follow the manufacturer's instructions provided with the child seat or infant carrier.
  • Never install a child restraint without a properly attached top tether strap if the child restraint manufacturer's instructions require the top tether strap to be used.
  • Never put the forward-facing child restraint up against or very near the instrument panel.
  • Always set the safety belt upper anchorage to the adjustment position that permits proper installation in accordance with the child restraint manufacturer's instructions.
  • Always move the passenger seat to the highest position in the up and down adjustment range and move it back to the rearmost position in the seat's fore and aft adjustment range, as far away from the airbag as possible before installing the forward-facing child restraint.
  • Always make sure that nothing is in the way that prevents the front passenger's seat from being moved to the rearmost position in its fore and aft adjustment range.
  • Always make sure that the backrest is in the upright position.
  • Never place objects on the seat that can increase the total weight registered by the weight-sensing mat and can also fly around in an accident and cause serious personal injury.
  • Always make sure that the PASSENGER AIR BAG light comes on and stays on all the time whenever the ignition is switched on.
  • If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not come on and stay on, immediately install the forward-facing child seat in a rear seating position and have the airbag system inspected by your authorized Volkswagen dealer or authorized Volkswagen Service Facility.

• Always buckle the child seat firmly in place even if a child is not sitting in it. A loose child seat can fly around during a sudden stop or in a collision.

• Always read and heed all WARNINGS whenever using a child restraint in a vehicle. See ⇒ Safety belts , ⇒ Airbag system  and ⇒ Child safety and child restraints .

Always replace child restraints that were installed in a vehicle during a crash. Damage to a child restraint that is not visible could cause it to fail in another collision situation.