Volkswagen Beetle Convertible (2015 year). Instruction — part 7

Center armrest

Fig. 49 Front center armrest.

Please first read and note the introductory information and heed the WARNINGS

Your vehicle may be equipped with a front center armrest.

Front center armrest

There is a storage compartment in the center armrest

⇒ Storage areas.

To raise the center armrest, pull the armrest upward in the direction of the arrow

⇒

fig. 49

.

To lower the center armrest, first lift it all the way up. Then you can push the center armrest down until
it latches in place.

WARNING

The center armrest can restrict the driver's arm movement and cause crashes and serious
personal injury.

Always keep storage compartments in the center armrest closed while driving.
Never let a passenger, especially a child, ride on the center armrest. Improper seating

position can increase the risk of serious personal injury in a crash.

Seat functions

Introduction

In this section you’ll find information about:

Seat heating

More information:

Adjusting the seating position
Safety belts
Airbag system
Child safety and child restraints
Climate control

WARNING

Improper use of seat adjustment controls can cause severe personal injuries.

Always sit properly at all times before starting to drive and while the vehicle is moving.

Make sure all passengers, especially children, are properly seated whenever the vehicle is
moving.

Keep hands, fingers, feet and other body parts away from moving parts and adjustment

areas of the seats.

Seat heating

Fig. 50 In the center console: Seat heating buttons for the front seats (Manual air conditioning).

Fig. 51 In the center console: Seat heating buttons for the front seats (Climatronic).

Please first read and note the introductory information and heed the WARNINGS

Your vehicle may be equipped with a seat heating feature.

When the ignition is switched on, the front seats can be electrically heated by heating elements that
warm the seat backrest and cushion.

Do not use the seat heating if any of the following conditions apply:

If the seat is not being used.
If there is a child restraint installed on the front passenger seat.
If there is a blanket or seat cover on the front passenger seat.
If the seat is damp or wet.
If the outside temperature or the temperature inside the passenger compartment is +77 °F (+25 °C)

or more.

Function

Action for seat heating

⇒

fig. 50

or

⇒

fig. 51

Switch on:

Press the or button. Seat heating is switched on to maximum.

Adjust the heating
level:

Press the or button repeatedly until the desired heating level is set.

Switch off:

Press the or button repeatedly until all indicator lights in the button are
off.

Special seat heating features

The seat heating on the front passenger side is switched off every time the ignition is switched off.
Seat heating must be switched on again each time the ignition is switched on.

On the front driver side, the seat heating will resume at the setting that was set when the ignition was
switched off, as long as the ignition is switched on again within 10 minutes.

People suffering from a low level of perceived pain or a lowered awareness of pain as from medica-

tion, paralysis, or chronic illness (e.g. diabetes) should NEVER use the seat heating feature

⇒ !

The use of seat heating by persons with these conditions could result in burns to the back, buttocks,
and legs that may take a long time to heal and may never heal completely. If you have any of these
conditions, you should take regular breaks and get out of the vehicle, particularly on long trips. Consult
your doctor for advice regarding your specific condition.

WARNING

Certain medical conditions, such as paralysis and diabetes, and certain medications can
increase the risk of serious burns when the seat heating feature is switched on.

Vehicle occupants who have a low level of perceived pain or a lowered awareness of pain

can receive serious burns to the back, buttocks, and legs that take a long time to heal or may
never heal completely.

Never use the seat heating feature if you or your passengers are at risk of being burned

because of a medical condition. Take regular breaks and get out of the vehicle, particularly
on long trips. Consult your doctor for advice regarding your specific condition.

Never let exposed skin remain in contact with the seat upholstery when the seat heating is

being used.

WARNING

A wet seat can cause the seat heating to malfunction and increase the risk of serious burns.

Always make sure the seats are dry before using the seat heating.
Never sit on the seat with wet clothes.
Never put damp or wet things including clothes on the seat.
Never spill liquids on the seats.

NOTICE

To help prevent damage to electrical and other parts in the seat, do not kneel on the front

seats or apply concentrated pressure to a small area of the seat or backrest.

Liquids, sharp objects and things that do not let the heat in the seat escape into the air,

including, for example, a child restraint, a blanket, or seat covers on the seat can damage seat
heating.

If you smell an odor, immediately shut off seat heating and have it checked by an authorized

Volkswagen dealer or authorized Volkswagen Service Facility.

Never install leather upholstery on a vehicle with seat heating that originally had cloth

upholstery. The seat heating elements for seats with cloth seats will overheat if the cloth up-
holstery is replaced with leather upholstery.

Switch off seat heating when it is not needed to help reduce unnecessary fuel consumption.

Safety belts

Introduction

In this section you’ll find information about:

Warning light

Frontal collisions and laws of physics

What happens to passengers not wearing a safety belt

Safety belts protect

Using safety belts

Fastening and unfastening safety belts

Safety belt position

Safety belt extender

Safety belt retractor, pretensioner, load limiter

Service and disposal of belt pretensioners

Properly worn safety belts are the single most effective means of reducing the risk of serious injury
and death in a collision or other accident.

Damage to safety belts reduces their overall effectiveness and increases the risk of serious personal
injury and death whenever the vehicle is being used.

Check the condition of all safety belts regularly.

If a safety belt shows damage to webbing, bindings, retractors or buckles, have the safety belt re-

placed by an authorized Volkswagen dealer or an authorized Volkswagen Service Facility

⇒ .

More information:

Adjusting the seating position
Airbag system
Child safety and child restraints
Interior care and cleaning
Parts, accessories, repairs, and modifications

WARNING

Not wearing a safety belt or wearing an improperly positioned safety belt increases the risk of
severe personal injury or death. Safety belts offer optimum protection only when they are
used properly.

Properly worn safety belts are the single most effective means of reducing the risk of

serious injury and death in a collision or other accident. For this reason, always wear your
safety belt properly and make sure all passengers wear their safety belts properly as well
whenever the vehicle is moving.

The driver must always make sure that every person in the vehicle is properly seated on a

seat of his or her own, properly fastens the safety belts belonging to that seat before the
vehicle starts to move, and keeps the belts properly fastened while riding in the vehicle. This
applies even when just driving around town. Therefore, always wear your safety belts and
make sure that everybody in your vehicle is properly restrained.

Always secure children in the vehicle with a restraint system appropriate for their age,

weight and height

⇒ Child safety and child restraints.

Always fasten safety belts correctly before driving off and make sure that all passengers

are properly restrained.

Never attach the safety belt to the buckle of another seat. Attaching the safety belt to the

wrong buckle will reduce safety belt effectiveness and can cause serious personal injury.

Never let any objects or liquids get into the safety belt latch and prevent it from working

properly.

Never remove a safety belt while the vehicle is moving. Doing so will increase your risk of

being injured or killed.

Never strap more than one person, including small children, into any single safety belt.
Never let children or babies ride sitting on your lap, and never place a safety belt over a

child sitting on your lap.

Never wear belts over rigid or breakable objects in or on your clothing, such as eyeglass-

es, pens, keys, etc., as these may cause injury.

Several layers of heavy clothing (such as a coat worn over top of a sports jacket) may

interfere with proper positioning of the safety belt and reduce the overall effectiveness of the
system.

Never use comfort clips or devices that create slack in the shoulder belt. However, special

clips may be required for the correct use of some child restraint systems.

Safety belts offer optimum protection only when the seat backrest is upright and belts are

correctly positioned on the body.

WARNING

Damage to safety belts reduces their overall effectiveness and increases the risk of serious
personal injury and death whenever the vehicle is being used.

Never let safety belts become damaged by being caught in the door or seat hardware.
Torn or frayed safety belts can tear, and damaged safety belt hardware can break in an

accident.

Inspect belts regularly for damage. If webbing, bindings, buckles, or retractors are dam-

aged, have the belts replaced immediately with the correct replacement belts approved by
Volkswagen for your vehicle, model, and model year.

Safety belts that were subject to stress in an accident and stretched must be replaced with

a correct, new safety belt, preferably by an authorized Volkswagen dealer or authorized
Volkswagen Service Facility.

Replacement after a crash may be necessary even if a safety belt shows no visible dam-

age. Anchorages that have been loaded must also be inspected.

Damaged safety belts must be replaced; they cannot be repaired.
Never try to repair a damaged safety belt yourself. Never remove or modify the safety belts

in any way.

Have safety belts, bindings, retractors and buckles replaced by an authorized Volkswagen

dealer or authorized Volkswagen Service Facility.

Always keep the belts clean. Dirty belts may not work correctly and can impair the func-

tion of the inertia reel.

Warning light

Fig. 52 Warning light in the instrument cluster.

Please first read and note the introductory information and heed the WARNINGS

Lights

up or

flashes

Possible cause

Proper response

Driver and front passenger have not
fastened their safety belts, if front pas-
senger seat is occupied.

Fasten safety belts.

When the ignition is switched on, several warning and indicator lights come on briefly for a function
check. They go out after a few seconds.

A warning chime also sounds.

The safety belt warning light comes on for 6 seconds when the ignition is switched on. A warning
chime also sounds for up to 6 seconds if the driver's safety belt is not buckled. The chime stops soon-
er if the driver buckles his or her safety belt. The warning light and the chime go out when both driver
and front passenger have buckled their safety belts.

If the driver and front seat passenger do not both fasten their safety belts within about 24 seconds
after the chime stops and the vehicle is moving at a speed of more than about 15 mph (25 km/h), the
chime will again sound for about 6 seconds, then go off for about 24 seconds, then sound again for
about another 6 seconds. The same thing happens if one of the safety belts is fastened and then
unfastened while the vehicle is moving. The safety belt warning light also flashes. The warning
chime continues to sound at 24 second intervals for up to 2 minutes. No chime sounds at speeds of
less than about 5 mph (8 km/h).

If the ignition is switched on, the safety belt warning light stays on until the driver and front passen-
ger have both buckled their safety belts.

WARNING

Not wearing a safety belt or wearing an improperly positioned safety belt increases the risk of
severe personal injury or death. Safety belts offer optimum protection only when used cor-
rectly.

Frontal collisions and laws of physics

Fig. 53 A vehicle with passengers not wearing safety belts approaches a wall.

Fig. 54 A vehicle with passengers not wearing safety belts hits a wall.

Please first read and note the introductory information and heed the WARNINGS

The physical principles of a frontal collision are simple. Both the moving vehicle and the passenger

possess energy

⇒

fig. 53

, which varies with vehicle speed and body weight. Engineers call this energy

“kinetic energy.”

The higher the speed of the vehicle and the greater the vehicle's weight, the more energy has to be
“absorbed” in a crash.

Vehicle speed is the most significant factor. If your speed doubles (for example, from 15 mph to
30 mph – 25 km/h to 50 km/h), the energy increases 4 times!

Because the occupants of the vehicle in the above example are not using safety belts, they are not
“attached” to the vehicle. In a frontal collision, they will keep moving at the same speed the vehicle
was moving just before the crash, until something stops them - here, the inside of the passenger
compartment. Because the occupants of the vehicle in the example are not wearing safety belts, their

entire kinetic energy will be absorbed by impact with the wall

⇒

fig. 54

.

The same principles apply to people in a vehicle that is in a frontal collision on the highway. Even at
city speeds of 20–30 mph (30–50 km/h), the forces acting on the body can reach one ton (2,000 lbs or
1,000 kg) or more. At greater speeds, these forces are even higher.

Of course, the laws of physics don't apply just to frontal collisions; they determine what happens in all
kinds of accidents and collisions.

What happens to passengers not wearing a safety belt

Fig. 55 The unbelted driver is thrown forward.

Fig. 56 Unbelted passengers in the rear seats are thrown forward on top of the belted driver.

Please first read and note the introductory information and heed the WARNINGS

Many people believe that it is possible to resist the forces of an impact by holding tight or bracing
themselves. That is simply not true!

Even at low collision speeds, the forces acting on the body are too much for the body to be held in the
seat with the arms and hands. In a frontal collision, unrestrained occupants will slam violently into the

steering wheel, instrument panel, windshield or anything else in the way

⇒

fig. 55

.

Never rely on airbags alone for protection. Even when they deploy, airbags provide only additional
protection. Airbags are not supposed to deploy in all kinds of accidents. Even if your vehicle is
equipped with airbags, all vehicle occupants, including the driver, must wear safety belts correctly in
order to minimize the risk of severe injury or death in a crash, regardless of whether a seating position
has an airbag or not.

An airbag will deploy only once. Safety belts are always there to offer protection in those accidents in
which airbags are not supposed to deploy or when they have already deployed. Unbelted occupants
can also be thrown out of the vehicle, causing even more severe injuries or death.

It is also important for occupants in the rear seats to wear their safety belts properly since they can be
thrown violently forward through the vehicle in the event of an accident. Unbelted passengers in the
rear seats endanger not only themselves but also the driver and other passengers in the vehicle
⇒

fig. 56

.

Safety belts protect

Fig. 57 Belted driver secured by the correctly worn safety belt in the event of a sudden braking maneuver.

Please first read and note the introductory information and heed the WARNINGS

Used properly, safety belts can make a big difference. Safety belts help to keep passengers in their
seats, gradually reduce energy levels applied to the body in a collision, and help prevent the uncon-
trolled movement that can cause serious injuries. In addition, safety belts reduce the danger of being

thrown out of the vehicle

⇒

fig. 57

.

Safety belts attach passengers to the car and give them the benefit of being slowed down more gently
or “softly” through the “give” in the safety belts, crumple zones, and other safety features (such as
airbags) engineered into today's vehicles. The front crumple zones and other passive safety features
(such as the airbag system) are also designed to absorb kinetic energy. By “absorbing” the kinetic
energy over a longer period of time, the forces on the body become more “tolerable” and less likely to
cause injury.

Although these examples are based on a frontal collision, safety belts can also substantially reduce
the risk of injury in other kinds of crashes. So, whether you're on a long trip or “just going to the corner
store,” always buckle up and make sure that others do, too.

Accident statistics show that vehicle occupants properly wearing safety belts have a lower risk of being
injured and a much better chance of surviving a collision. Properly using safety belts also greatly
increases the ability of the supplemental airbags to do their job in a collision. For this reason, wearing
a safety belt is required by law in most countries including the United States and Canada.

Although your Volkswagen is equipped with airbags, you still have to wear the safety belts provided.
Front airbags, for example, are activated only in some frontal collisions. The front airbags are not
activated in all frontal collisions, in side and rear collisions, in rollovers, or in cases when the condi-
tions for deployment stored in the electronic control unit are not met. The same goes for the other
airbag systems on your Volkswagen.

So always wear your safety belt and make sure that everybody in your vehicle is properly restrained!

Using safety belts

Please first read and note the introductory information and heed the WARNINGS

Checklist

Using safety belts

⇒

Damage to safety belts reduces their overall effectiveness and increases the risk of serious per-

sonal injury and death whenever the vehicle is being used.

Check the condition of all safety belts regularly.

Keep safety belts clean.

Keep objects and liquids away from safety belt webbing, the safety belt buckle tongue, and the

safety belt buckle latch and opening.

Do not pinch or damage the safety belt or buckle tongue (for instance, when closing a door).

Never modify, disassemble or try to repair safety belts and safety belt anchorages.

Always fasten your safety belt properly before driving and keep it fastened whenever the vehicle is

moving.

Twisted safety belt

If it is difficult to pull the safety belt out of the belt guide, the belt may be twisted inside the side trim
because the belt retracted too quickly when it was taken off.

Hold the safety belt tongue, slowly and carefully pull safety belt all the way out.
Untwist the safety belt and slowly return the belt by hand.

If you cannot untwist the safety belt, wear it anyway. Make sure that the safety belt is twisted in a spot
where it does not come in direct contact with your body. Have the safety belt untwisted immediately by
an authorized Volkswagen dealer or authorized Volkswagen Service Facility.

Lockable safety belt

The retractors for the rear seat safety belts and the front passenger safety belt have a switchable
locking feature for child restraints in addition to the emergency locking feature. Whenever a child
restraint is installed with a safety belt, the safety belt must be locked so that the safety belt webbing
cannot unreel. The switchable locking feature lets you lock the belt so that a child restraint can be
properly installed and, for example, so that it can't tip to the side when the vehicle goes around a

corner

⇒ Child safety and child restraints.

To see whether a safety belt is lockable, pull the safety belt all the way out of the safety belt retractor.
You should then hear a “clicking” sound as the belt winds back into the retractor reel. Test the switch-
able locking feature by pulling on the belt. When the switchable locking feature is active, you should
no longer be able to pull the belt out of the retractor.

The locking feature must be deactivated when a vehicle occupant uses the safety belt.

WARNING

Improper use and care of safety belts increases the risk of severe personal injury or death.

Regularly check safety belts and related parts for damage.
Damaged safety belts must be replaced; they cannot be repaired.
Always keep safety belts clean.
Never catch, damage or chafe safety belt webbing on sharp edges.

Always keep objects and liquids away from the belt buckle and buckle opening.

Fastening and unfastening safety belts

Fig. 58 Inserting the buckle tongue into the belt buckle.

Fig. 59 Releasing the buckle tongue from the belt buckle.

Please first read and note the introductory information and heed the WARNINGS

Properly worn safety belts help to hold occupants in their seats and provide optimum protection during

braking or in a collision or other accident

⇒ .

The switchable locking feature makes a “clicking” sound when the safety belt is winding back onto the
safety belt retractor wheel after being pulled all the way out. Whenever a child restraint is installed with

a safety belt, the safety belt must be locked so that the safety belt webbing cannot unreel

⇒ Child

safety and child restraints. If active, deactivate the locking feature before using the safety belt to
restrain a person without a child restraint system.

Fastening safety belts

Always buckle your safety belt before driving.

Adjust the front seat and head restraint correctly

⇒ Adjusting the seating position.

Make sure the seat backrest of the rear seat bench is in an upright position and securely latched in

place before using the safety belt

⇒ .

Hold the safety belt by the tongue and pull it slowly and evenly across the chest and pelvis. Do not

twist the safety belt webbing

⇒ .

Insert the tongue into the correct buckle for your seat until you hear it latch securely

⇒

fig. 58

.

Pull on the safety belt to make sure that it is securely latched in the buckle.

Unfastening safety belts

Unfasten safety belts only when the vehicle is not moving

⇒ .

Press the red button on the buckle

⇒

fig. 59

. The buckle tongue is ejected.

Let the belt wind up on the retractor as you guide the belt tongue to its stowed position to help

prevent the safety belt from twisting and to help avoid damage to the interior trim.

WARNING

Improperly positioned safety belts can cause serious personal injury or death in an accident.

Safety belts offer optimum protection only when the seat backrest is upright and belts are

correctly positioned on the body.

A person who is not properly restrained can be seriously injured by the safety belt itself if

it slips from the stronger parts of the body into sensitive areas like the abdomen.

Unfastening safety belts while the vehicle is in motion can cause severe personal injury or

death in the event of an accident or braking maneuver!

Safety belt position

Fig. 60 Proper safety belt positioning and head restraint adjustment.

Fig. 61 Proper safety belt positioning for expectant mothers.

Please first read and note the introductory information and heed the WARNINGS

Wearing safety belts improperly can cause serious injury or death. Safety belts can only work when
they are correctly positioned on the body. A properly worn safety belt also helps to position the occu-
pant so that an airbag can provide maximum protection when deployed. Therefore, always fasten your
safety belt and make sure that it is properly positioned over your body.

Improper seating positions reduce the effectiveness of safety belts and even increase the risk of injury
or death by moving the safety belt to critical areas of the body. Improper seating positions also in-
crease the risk of severe injury or death when an airbag deploys and strikes an occupant who is not

seated properly

⇒ Adjusting the seating position.

Proper safety belt position

The shoulder portion of the safety belt must always run over the center of the shoulder and never

over the throat, over the arm, under the arm or behind the back.

The lap portion of the safety belt must always run as low as possible over the pelvis and never

over the abdomen.

Always wear the safety belt flat and snug against the body. Pull on the safety belt to tighten if

necessary.

Expectant mothers must always wear the lap portion of the safety belt as low as possible across the
pelvis and below the rounding of the abdomen – throughout the pregnancy. The safety belt must lie

flat against the body to avoid pressure against the abdomen

⇒

fig. 61

.

Adjusting safety belt height

The safety belt position can be adjusted using the following feature:

Front seats with height adjustment.

WARNING

Improperly positioned safety belts can cause serious personal injury in an accident or a sud-
den braking maneuver.

Always make sure that all vehicle occupants are correctly restrained and stay in a correct

seating position whenever the vehicle is being used.

Safety belts offer optimum protection only when the seat backrest is upright and belts are

correctly positioned on the body.

A loose-fitting safety belt can cause serious injuries by shifting its position on your body

from the strong bones to more vulnerable soft tissue and cause serious injury.

The shoulder belt portion of the safety belt must be positioned over the middle of the

occupant's shoulder and never across the neck or throat.

The safety belt must lie flat and snug on the occupant's upper body.
Never wear the shoulder part of the safety belt under your arm or otherwise out of posi-

tion.

The lap portion of the safety belt must be positioned as low as possible across the pelvis

and never over the abdomen. Make sure the belt lies flat and snug against the pelvis. Pull on
the safety belt to tighten if necessary.

Expectant mothers must always wear the lap portion of the safety belt as low as possible

across the pelvis and below the rounding of the abdomen.

Do not twist the belt when attaching it. If you cannot untwist a twisted safety belt, wear it

anyway, but make sure the twisted part is not in contact with your body. Have the problem
corrected right away by an authorized Volkswagen dealer or authorized Volkswagen Service
Facility.

Never hold the safety belt away from your body with your hand.
Never wear belts over rigid or breakable objects, such as eyeglasses, pens or keys.

Never modify the position of the belt using comfort clips, loops or similar devices.

If you have a physical impairment or condition that prevents you from sitting properly on the seat

with the safety belt properly fastened, special modifications to your vehicle may be necessary. Contact
your authorized Volkswagen dealer or authorized Volkswagen Service Facility or call the Volkswagen
Customer CARE Center at 1-800-822-8987 for information about possible modifications to your vehi-
cle.

Safety belt extender

Fig. 62 A safety belt extender properly attached to the factory-installed safety belt.

Fig. 63 Positioning of the safety belt extender.

Please first read and note the introductory information and heed the WARNINGS

If a safety belt is too short to correctly fit you or one of your passengers, even when the safety belt is
pulled out all the way, you can use a safety belt extender.

Never use the safety belt extender for any other purpose – including the attachment of a child re-
straint.

The extender adds about 8 inches (20 cm) to the safety belt. Always remove the safety belt extender
when it is not needed and stow it safely. Contact an authorized Volkswagen dealer or authorized
Volkswagen Service Facility if you believe you may need an extender.

Key to

fig. 62

:

(1)

Vehicle safety belt buckle.

(2)

Buckle tongue on the safety belt extender.

(3)

Safety belt buckle on the safety belt extender.

(4)

Safety belt buckle tongue on the factory-installed safety belt.

Key to

fig. 63

:

(A)

Safety belt buckle on the safety belt extender.

(B)

Distance between the safety belt buckle on the safety belt extender and the centerline of the
person using the safety belt extender. The distance must be more than 6 inches (15 cm)!

(C)

Centerline of the person using the safety belt extender.