20
Occupant protection
Introduction
The Passat is equipped with the following airbags:
● Two-stage driver and front passenger airbags
● Head airbags
● Side airbags (optional in the rear)
The outer seats are fitted with seat belts with belt
tension limiters.
Front seat belt pre-tensioners are fitted as standard.
Seat belt pre-tensioners are optionally available for
the outer rear seats.
The two-stage airbags
The new Passat is equipped with two-stage airbags on
the driver and front passenger side; these inflate to
different levels according to the accident severity.
Together with the installation position selected for the
front passenger airbag, in the upper part of the dash
panel, optimal occupant restraint is achieved with
minimal risk of injury in the event of a frontal crash
thanks to the airbags' activation.
The Passat's airbag activation system is comprised of
an airbag control unit secured in the front area of the
frame tunnel; this is equipped with three internal
acceleration sensors (two sensors in the vehicle
longitudinal direction and one in the vehicle
transverse direction), an early crash sensor in the area
of the bonnet lock for supporting front crash detection
and 4 sensors for lateral crash detection.
Two sensors are designed as pressure sensors and are
located in both front doors. During a lateral collision,
these sensors measure the rise in air pressure caused
by front door deformation.
S339_120
Early crash sensor