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Occupant Protection for Your Volkswagen Phaeton 4 Door First Generation (2002-2016)

Occupant Protection  
Overview  
The Phaeton has sophisticated active and  
passive safety equipment. Volkswagen has  
redefined safety standards in luxury class  
cars by employing lighter but high-strength  
materials, improved deformation features,  
curved edges and shatterproof plastics,  
safety glass all around, an improved airbag  
sensory mechanism, and optimized seat  
belt tensioning systems.  
Airbag Triggering  
The four Phaeton airbag systems have  
approximate filling volumes as follows:  
• Driver airbag – 2.65 cubic feet (75 liters)  
• Front passenger airbag 4.24 cubic feet  
(120 liters),  
• Side airbag at front and rear  
0.42 cubic feet (12 liters),  
The Phaeton not only places an emphasis  
on the safety of its occupants, but also  
on the safety of the other vehicles involved  
in the event of a collision.  
• Head airbag 1.09 cubic feet (31 liters).  
The driver and front passenger airbags are  
triggered by the Airbag Control Module  
J234. The Airbag Control Module J234 is  
fed information regarding the type and  
severity of a crash by an internal and two  
external longitudinal acceleration sensors.  
Airbag System s  
All airbags are triggered by the Airbag  
The side airbags are triggered by the Airbag  
Control Module J234 which has one  
internal and four external lateral  
acceleration sensors at its disposal. The  
head airbags are triggered electrically in  
conjunction with the side airbags.  
Control Module J234 which calculates the  
severity of the accident via the sensors, thus  
preventing the unnecessary triggering of the  
airbags in the event of a minor accident.  
All the Phaeton airbags are designed to  
help prevent injury caused by the devices  
themselves when they are deployed. The  
airbag opening flaps and the folding of the  
airbags have been optimized to an extent  
which reduces the aggressive effect of the  
triggering of the airbags on the occupants.  
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Occupant Protection  
Driver Airbag  
Front Passenger Airbag  
SSP270/019  
SSP270/026  
Front Side Airbag  
Rear Side Airbag  
SSP270/023  
SSP270/025  
Side Curtain Protection  
SSP270/024  
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Occupant Protection  
Seat Belt System s  
All seats on the Phaeton have three-point  
retracting seat belts with belt tension  
limiters. All outside seats are equipped with  
pyrotechnical seat belt tensioners that are  
triggered by the Airbag Control Module  
J234 if the accident is bad enough.  
Shoulder Belt Tensioner  
Com fort Mechanism  
A force greater than that used in  
conventional belt buckles is required for the  
automatic seat belt roller to retract the  
compound insertion tongue into its starting  
position in the double retractor system on  
the 18-position seat. However, in order not  
to transmit this force to the vehicle  
occupants, a comfort mechanism in the  
automatic shoulder belt is used which can  
vary the force exerted on the belt.  
The 18-position seat version is also  
available with an optional belt system that  
is equipped with an additional automatic lap  
belt. This extra automatic lap belt is  
attached to the side of the seat. In  
conjunction with the automatic shoulder  
belt, it facilitates the simultaneous  
tightening of the belt in the occupants’  
shoulder and lap areas.  
If a seat is recognized by a buckle check as  
occupied, the mechanism reduces the  
force in the automatic shoulder belt when it  
is being used. This prevents the belt from  
exerting too much pressure on the  
occupants upper body. When the comfort  
mechanism is released during a crash, the  
full restraining force is applied to the belt  
for maximum effectiveness.  
Comfort  
Mechanism  
SSP270/033  
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Occupant Protection  
Front Autom atic Shoulder Belt  
In the standard version – the 12-position  
seat – an automatic shoulder belt ensures  
optimal safety. This means that in the event  
of a collision, the belt is tightened from the  
B-pillar side at the occupants shoulder.  
The front automatic shoulder belt has a  
spherical tensioner.  
SSP270/220  
Autom atic Lap Belt  
(Optional on 18-Position Seat)  
The automatic lap belt is available as an  
option only on vehicles equipped with the  
18-position seat option.  
Attached to the side of the 18-position seat,  
the automatic lap belt affords increased  
safety. It applies additional tension to the  
lap belt simultaneously with the tensioning  
of the automatic shoulder belt.  
The automatic lap belt also increases  
freedom of movement and comfort for  
the seat occupant, since it is attached  
to the seat.  
SSP270/034  
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Occupant Protection  
18-Position Seat Rem oval  
w ith Optional Autom atic Lap Belt  
The metal pin is secured with a sheet metal  
lock. The lock must be disengaged and the  
pin must be removed to separate the belt  
from the buckle tongue. Then seat removal  
can proceed.  
The optional automatic lap belt must be  
separated from the 18-position seat in order  
to remove the seat.  
To detach the automatic lap belt, the plastic  
cover on the buckle tongue and the metal  
pin that attaches the tongue to the belt  
must be removed.  
When installing the lap belt  
winders, make sure that the  
bottom of the housing is not  
damaged. If damaged, the  
complete lap belt winder  
assembly must be replaced!  
The plastic cover must be sawed open at  
the two joints with a hacksaw as shown.  
The cover can then be removed.  
Saw the joints.  
Cover in Place  
SSP270/161  
Cover Rem oved  
Remove the pin.  
SSP270/162  
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Occupant Protection  
Active Headrest System  
The front seats in the Phaeton are  
equipped with an active headrest system.  
In the event of a rear-end collision, the  
headrests are rotated forward and up.  
This reduces the relative differences in  
acceleration between the shoulders and  
the head, and lowers the risk of neck injury.  
The headrest system continues to be fully  
operational after it has been triggered.  
SSP270/145  
Operation  
The active headrest system is activated  
only by a collision at the rear of the vehicle.  
In the event of a frontal crash, activation  
is prevented by a weighted block that  
swings forward to impede movement of  
the headrest.  
Im peding Weighted Block  
SSP270/102  
If an acceleration force in the traveling  
direction is applied to the rear of the  
vehicle, the movement of the occupants is  
delayed by inertia. The occupant is  
therefore pushed into the seat. Due to this  
increased pressure on the seatback, a bent  
lever causes the headrest to move upward  
and forward. The direction of movement is  
determined by a rail guide through which  
the headrest support is routed.  
SSP270/101  
The full range of functions  
including the correct protective  
function of the active headrest  
system requires a body-specific  
seat setting for the occupant.  
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