Volkswagen Tiguan Owners Manual: Booster seats and safety belts

Fig. 77 Child properly restrained in a booster seat on the rear seat.

Read and follow the introductory information and safety information first⇒Introduction to the subject 

Children between about 8 to 12 years old are best protected in child safety seats designed for their age and weight ⇒ Fig. 77 . Experts say that the skeletal structure, particularly the pelvis, of these children is not fully developed, and they must not use the vehicle safety belts without a suitable child restraint.

The vehicle's safety belts alone will not fit most children until they are at least 4 ft. 9 in. (57 inches or 1.45 meters) tall. Booster seats raise these children up so that the safety belt will pass properly over the strong parts of their bodies and the safety belt can help protect them in a collision.

• Do not use the switchable locking feature when using the vehicles safety belt to restrain a child on a booster seat.

• Always position the shoulder portion of the safety belt midway over the child's shoulder. If you must transport an older child in a booster seat on the front passenger seat, you can use the safety belt height adjustment to help adjust the shoulder portion properly.

• Always make sure that the shoulder portion is snug across the shoulder and chest and never rests against or across the child's neck or face.

• Always make sure that the child can wear the lap belt portion across the upper thighs and never over the stomach or abdomen.

Children who are at least 4 ft. 9 in. (57 inches or 1.45 meters) tall can generally use the vehicle's 3 point lap and shoulder belts. Never use the lap belt portion of the vehicle's safety belt alone to restrain any child, regardless of how big the child is. Always remember that children do not have the pronounced pelvic structure required for the proper function of lap belt portion of the vehicle's 3 point lap and shoulder belts. The child's safety absolutely requires that a lap belt portion of the safety belt be fastened snugly across the upper thighs. Never let the lap belt portion of the safety belt pass over the child's stomach or abdomen.

It is usually best to put these children in appropriate booster seats and keep them in a booster seat until they are big enough to fit in a safety belt properly. Be sure the booster seat meets all applicable safety standards.

Booster seats raise the seating position of the child and reposition both the lap and shoulder parts of the safety belt so that they pass across the child's body in the right places. The routing of the belt over the child's body is very important for the child's protection, whether or not a booster seat is used. Children age 12 and under must always ride in the rear seat.

In a collision, airbags must inflate within a blink of an eye and with considerable force. In order to do its job, the airbag needs room to inflate so that it will be there to protect the occupant as the occupant moves forward into the airbag.

Even Advanced Airbags can injure children when they inflate. A vehicle occupant who is out of position and too close to the airbag gets in the way of an inflating airbag. When an occupant is too close, he or she will be struck violently and will receive serious or possibly even fatal injuries.

In order for the airbag to offer protection, it is important that all vehicle occupants, especially children, who must be in the front seat under exceptional circumstances, be properly restrained and as far away from the airbag as possible. By keeping room between the child's body and the front of the passenger compartment, the airbag can inflate completely and provide supplemental protection in certain frontal collisions.

You must take special precautions when installing a child restraint with the vehicle safety belt or with LATCH/UCRA lower universal anchorages behind the front passenger seat or behind the driver seat.

Always route the unused safety belts around the rear head restraint behind the child restraint to help prevent a child from playing with the unused belt and becoming entangled in it.

Warning

Not using a booster seat, using the booster seat improperly, incorrectly installing a booster seat or using the vehicle safety belt improperly increases the risk of serious personal injury and death in a collision or other emergency situation. To help reduce the risk of serious personal injury and/or death:

• Always make sure to position the shoulder portion of the 3 point belt over the middle of child's shoulder.

• Never let the shoulder portion of the safety belt rest against or across the neck, face, chin, or throat of the child.

• Always make sure the lap belt portion of the 3 point belt is worn snuggly across the upper thighs. Never let the lap belt portion of the safety belt pass over the child's stomach or abdomen.

• Failure to properly route safety belts over a child's body will cause severe injuries in a collision or other emergency situation.

• Children on the front seat of any car, even with Advanced Airbags, can be seriously injured 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 of your vehicle.

• Always remember that a child leaning forward, sitting sideways or out of position in any way during a collision can be struck by a deploying airbag. This will result in serious personal injury or death.

• If you must install a booster seat on the front passenger seat because of exceptional circumstances, the PASSENGER AIR BAG light must come on and stay on, whenever the ignition is switched on.

• If the PASSENGER AIR BAG light does not come on and stay on, perform the checks described ⇒ PASSENGER AIR BAG light .

• Take the child restraint off the front passenger seat and install it properly at one of the seating positions on the rear seat if the PASSENGER AIR BAG light does not stay on whenever the ignition is switched on.

• 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 .

Warning

A child in a booster seat installed with the standard safety belt on the rear seat may play with unused rear seat safety belts and become entangled resulting in serious personal injury and even death.

• Always secure unused rear seat safety belts out of the reach of children in child seats such as by properly routing them around the head restraint for the seating position where the booster seat is not installed.

• Never activate the switchable locking retractor when routing the safety belts around the head restraints.

• Never let anyone sit at the center rear seating position if the center rear safety belt has been routed around a rear head restraint.

Note

Be careful not to activate the switchable locking retractor when routing the safety belts around the head restraints. Only pull the safety belt out far enough to allow you to route the belt around the head restraint.