__________________________________________________ A_ i_ r _b _a...; g::- s_ y=--- s_t _e _m __ lllll
& WARNING
A child in a rearward-facing child safety seat installed on the front
passenger seat will be seriously injured and can be killed if the
front airbag inflates -even with an Advanced Airbag System .
• The inflating airbag will hit the child safety seat or infant
carrier with great force and will smash the child safety seat and
child against the backrest, door or roof. • If you must install a rearward facing child safety seat on the
front passenger seat because of exceptional circumstances and
the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not come on and stay on, immediately install the rear -facing child safety seat in a rear
seating position and have the airbag system inspected by your
Audi dealer .
• Forward-facing child safety seats installed on the front
passenger's seat may interfere with the deployment of the airbag
and cause serious personal injury to the child.
& WARNING
If , in exceptional circumstances, you must install a forward-facing
child restraint on the front passenger's seat:
• Always make sure the forward-facing seat has been designed
and certified by its manufacturer for use on a front seat with a
passenger front and side airbag .
• Never put the forward -facing child restraint up against or very
near the instrument panel.
• Always move the passenger seat into its 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. The backrest must be adjusted to an upright position .
• Make sure that the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
and stays on all the time whenever the ignition is switched on .
Controls and equip ment Safety first
Vehicle operation
& WARNING
To reduce the risk of serious injury , make sure that the PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF light will be displayed whenever a child restraint is installed on the front passenger seat and the ignition is switched
on .
• If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not stay on , perform
the checks described=>
page 157, "Monitoring the Advanced
Airbag System ".
• Take the child restraint off the front passenger seat and install
it properly at one of the rear seat positions if the PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF light does not stay on.
• Have the airbag system inspected by your Audi dealer immedi
ately. • Always carefully follow instructions from child restraint manu
facturers when installing child restraints .
& WARNING
If, in exceptional circumstances, you must install a forward or
rearward-facing child restraint on the front passenger's seat :
• Improper installation of child restraints can reduce their effec
tiveness or even prevent them from providing any protection.
• An improperly installed child restraint can interfere with the
airbag as it deploys and seriously injure or even kill the child -
even with an Advanced Airbag System .
• Always carefully follow the manufacturer's instructions
provided with the child safety seat or carrier .
• Never place additional items on the seat that can increase the
total weight registered by the weight -sensing mat and can cause
injury in a crash . •
Vehicle care Do-it-yourself service Technical data
Airbag syst em -----------------=~-
& WARN ING (co ntinued)
is he avier tha n the t ypi ca l o ne -yea r old child i s on the front
p asse nger seat and the othe r con dition s for airba g deploym ent
a re met .
• Accident stat istic s have shown that children are gen era lly safer
i n th e rea r seat ar ea th an in the front se ating posit ion .
• For its ow n sa fet y, a c hild should always ride pr operly
re str ai ned f or it s a ge a nd si ze . •
Advanced front airbag system
Your vehicle is equipped with a front Advanced Airbag System in
compliance with United States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Stan
dard 208 as applicab le at the time your vehicle was manufactured.
Th e front Advanced Airbag System supplements the safety belts to
provide additional protection for the driver's and front passenger 's
heads and upper bodies in frontal crashes. The airbags inflate only
in frontal impacts when the vehicle deceleration is high enough .
The front Advanced Airbag System for the front seat occupants is not a substitute for your safety be lts. Rather, it is part of the overa ll
occupant restraint system in your vehicle. A lways remember that
the airbag syste m can only help to protect you, if you a re sitting
upright, wearing your safety be lt and wearing it proper ly. This is why
you and your passengers must a lways be proper ly restrained, not
just because the law requires you to be .
The Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle has been certified to meet the " low risk" requirements for 3 and 6 year-old children on the
passenger side and very small adults on the driver side . The low risk
deployment cr iteria are intended to help reduce the risk of injury
through interaction with the front airbag that can occur, for
examp le, by being too c lose to the steering wheel and instrument
panel when the airbag inflates .
Controls and equip
ment Safety first Vehicle operation
I
n addition, the system has been certified to comply with the
"suppression" requirements of the Safe ty Standard, to turn off the
front airbag for infants 12 months old and younger who are restrained on the front passenger seat in child restraints that are
listed in the Standard=>
page 170, "Child restraints and Advanced
Airbags" .
"Suppression" requires the front airbag on the passenger side to be
turned off if:
• a child up to about one year of age is restrained on the front
passenger seat in one of the rear-facing or forward-facing infant
res traints listed in Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 with
wh ich the Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle was certified. For
a listing of the child rest raints that were used to certify your
vehic le's compliance with the US Safety Standard=>
page 170,
• weight less than a threshold leve l stored in the cont rol unit is
detected on the front passenger seat.
When a person is detected on the front passenger seat, weighing more than the total weight of a child that is about 1 year old
restrained in one of the rear-facing or forward -facing infant
restraints (lis ted in Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 with
which the Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle was certified),
the front airbag on the passenger side may or may not deploy .
The
PA SS EN GER AIR BA G OFF light comes on when the e lectronic
control unit detects a total weight on the front passenger seat that
requires the front airbag to be turned off. If the
PAS SEN GER AIR BAG
OFF
light does not come on, the front airbag on the passenger side
has no t been turned off by the con trol un it and can deploy if the
control unit senses an impact that meets the conditions stored in its
memory .
If the total weight on the front passenger seat is more than that of
a typical 1 year -o ld, but less than the weight of a small adult, the
front a irbag on the passenger side may dep loy (the
PA SS ENGER AIR
BAG OFF
light does not come onl.
For e xample , the airb ag may deplo y if:
Vehicle care Do-it-yourself service Technical data
-Airbag system ----------------
•
a sma ll ch ild th at is heavi er than a typ ica l 1 ye ar-o ld child is on
th e front p assenger s eat (regar dle ss of whet her the child is in on e
of th e child saf ety seats listed~
page 1 70),
• a chil d w ho h as outgrow n chi ld re str ain ts is on the fr ont
passen ger seat.
I f the fr ont passe nge r ai rbag is tu rned off, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light in the cent er o f the instrum ent pan el wi ll come on and stay
o n.
The front airb ag o n the passenger si de may
not depl oy (the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not illuminate and stay l it) if:
• a small ad ult or t eenage r is on the fr ont passenger sea t
• a passenger who is not sitting upright with their bac k against a
n o n-re clined back res t w it h th e ir fe et on th e ve hicle flo or in fr ont of
th e se at is on th e front pass enger s eat.
I f the front pas senger ai rbag depl oys, the Federa l Standard requ ires
the airb ag to me et the "low r is k" dep loy ment criter ia to h elp r educe
th e risk of in jury t hroug h in teraction w ith the a irbag. "Low risk"
de ploy ment occu rs in those c ras hes that ta ke p lace a t low er d ecel
erations as defined in the electron ic contro l unit~
page 157.
Always remember:
P lease be sur e to r ead the i mport ant info rm ation
in th e sections that follow and b e sur e to heed all of the WARN INGS.
& WARNING
To reduce the risk of injury when an airbag inflates , always wear
safety belts properly.
• If you are unrestrained , leaning forward, sitting sideways or out
of position in any way, your risk of injury is much higher.
• You will also receive serious injur ies and could even be killed if
you are up against the airbag or too close to it when it inflates ·
even with an Advanced Airbag~
page 146 .
& WARNING
A child in a rearward-facing child safety seat installed on the front
passenger seat will be seriously injured and can be killed if the
front airbag inflates -even with an Advanced Airbag System .
• Although the Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle is
designed to turn off the front airbag when a rearward -facing child
restraint has been installed on the front passenger seat , nobody
can absolutely guarantee that deployment is impossible in all
conceivable situations that may happen during the useful life of
your vehicle.
• The inflating airbag will hit the child safety seat or infant
carrier with great force and will smash the child safety seat and
child against the backrest, door, or roof .
• If you must install a rearward facing child safety seat on the
front passenger seat because of exceptional circumstances and
the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not come on and stay on ,
immediately install the rear-facing child safety seat in a rear
seating position and have the airbag system inspected by your
Audi dealer .
& WARNING
If, in exceptional circumstances , you must install a forward -facing
child restraint on the front passenger's seat :
• Always make sure the forward -facing seat has been designed
and certified by its manufacturer for use on a front seat with a
passenger front and side airbag .
• Never put the forward-facing child restraint up against or very
near the instrument panel.
• Always move the passenger seat into its rearmost position in
the seat's fore and aft adjustment range , as far away from the
airbag as poss ible , before installing the forward-facing child
restraint. The backrest must be adjusted to an upright position. ..,.
Airbag syst em -----------------=~-
& WARN ING (co ntinued)
• Make s ure th at the PA SSENGER AIR BAG OFF light come s on
a nd sta y s o n all the tim e whene ver the ign ition i s sw itched on . •
Advanced Airbag System components
The front passenger seat in your vehicle has a lot of very important
parts of the Advanced Airbag System in it. These parts inc lude the
weight -sensing mat, sensors, wiring, brackets, and more. The func
tion of the system in the front passenger seat is checked by the e lec
tronic contro l unit when the igni tion is on. The control unit monitors
the Advanced Airbag System and turns the airbag indicator light on
when a malfunction in the system components is detected . The
function of the airbag indicator light is described in greater detail
below. Because the front passenger seat contains important parts
of the Advanced Airbag System, you must take care to prevent it
from being damaged. Damage to the seat may prevent the
Advanced Airbag for the front passenger seat from doing its job in a crash.
T he front A dvance d Airb ag Syst em con sis ts of th e
following:
• Crash sensors in the front of the vehicle that measure vehicle
acceleration/dece leration to prov ide information to the Advanced
Airbag System about the severity of the crash .
• An electronic control unit, with integrated crash sensors for front
and side impacts. The control unit "decides" whether to fire the
front airbags based on the information received from the crash sensors. The contro l unit a lso "decides" whether the safety belt
pretensioners should be activated .
• A dual -stage Advanced Airbag with gas generator for the driver
inside the steering wheel hub .
• A dual -stage Advanced Airbag and gas generator inside the
instrument pane l for the front passenger .
Controls and equip
ment Safety first Vehicle operation
•
A weight -sensing mat under the upholstery padding of the front
passenger sea t cushion that measures the total weight on the seat .
The information registered is sent continuously to the e lectronic
control unit to regula te dep loyment of the front Advanced Airbag on
the passenger side.
• An airbag monitoring syste m and indica tor l ight in the instru
ment cluster=>
page 157.
• The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on and stays on in the
center of the instrument panel=>
page 157, fig. 133 and tells you
when the front Advanced Airbag on the passenger side has been
turned off .
• A sensor be low the safety belt latch for the front seat passenger
to measure the tension on the safety belt . The tension on the safety
belt and the weight registered by the weight -se nsing mat help the
control unit "decide" whether the front airbag for the front
passenger sea t should be turned off o r not =>
page 147, "Child
restraints on the front seat -some important things to know" .
• A sensor in the safety belt latch for the dr iver and for the front
seat passenger that senses whether that safety be lt is latched or not
and t ransmits this information to the electronic control unit.
& WARNING
Damage to the front pa ssenger seat can prevent the front airbag
fr om worki ng properly .
• Improper repair or di sa ssembly of the front pa ssenger and
dri ver seat will prevent th e Adv an ced Airbag Sy stem from func
tioning properly.
• Rep air s to the front p assenger seat must b e perfor med by qu al
ified and properly tra ined work shop per sonnel .
• Never remo ve the fro nt pa ssenger or dr iver se at from the
v ehi cle.
• Nev er remove th e uphol stery from the fron t pass eng er seat.
• Never disas semble or r emove p arts from the seat or di sconne ct
wires from it . ..
Vehicle care Do-it-yourself service Technical data
-Airbag system ----=---'---------------------------------------------
& WARNING (continued)
• To reduce the risk of injury when the airbags inflate, the driver
and passengers must always sit in an upright position, must not
lean against or place any part of their body too close to the area
where the airbags are located .
• Occupants who are unbelted, out of position or too close to the
airbag can be seriously injured by an airbag as it unfolds with
great force in the blink of an eye~ page
147.
& WARNING
A child in a rearward -facing child safety seat installed on the front
passenger seat will be seriously injured and can be killed if the
front airbag inflates -even with an Advanced Airbag System .
• The inflating airbag will hit the child safety seat or infant
carrier with great force and will smash the child safety seat and
child against the backrest, center arm rest, door or roof.
• If you must install a rearward facing child safety seat on the
front passenger seat because of exceptional circumstances and
the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not come on and stay on ,
immediately install the rear -facing child safety seat in a rear
seating position and have the airbag system inspected by your
Audi dealer .
& WARNING
Objects between you and the airbag will increase the risk of injury
in a crash by interfering with the way the airbag unfolds or by
being pushed into you as the airbag inflates .
• Never hold things in your hands or on your lap when the vehicle
is in use .
• Never transport items on or in the area of the front passenger
seat . Objects could move into the area of the front airbags during
& WARNING (continued)
braking or other sudden maneuver and become dangerous projec
tiles that can cause serious personal injury if the airbags inflate.
• Never place or attach accessories or other objects (such as cup
holders, telephone brackets, large , heavy or bulky objects) on the
doors , over or near the area marked "AIRBAG" on the steering
wheel, instrument panel , seat backrests or between those areas
and yourself . These objects could cause injury in a crash, espe
cially when the airbags inflate .
• Never recline the front passenger's seat to transport objects .
Items can also move into the area of the side airbag or the front
airbag during braking or in a sudden maneuver . Objects near the
airbags can become projectiles and cause injury, particularly when
the seat is reclined.
& WARNING
The fine dust created when airbags deploy can cause breathing
problems for people with a history of asthma or other breathing
conditions.
• To reduce the risk of breathing problems , those with asthma or
other respiratory conditions should get fresh air right away by
getting out of the vehicle or opening windows or doors .
• If you are in a collision in which airbags deploy, wash your
hands and face with mild soap and water before eating .
• Be careful not to get the dust into your eyes, or into any cuts or
scratches .
• If the residue should get into your eyes , flush them with
water. •
___ A_ ir_ b_ a-g _ s_y _s_ t_ e_ m _________________________________________________ _
Repair, care and disposal of the airbags
Parts of the airbag system are installed at many different places on
your Audi. Ins tal li n g, r em ovin g, s erv ic ing o r re pairi ng a part in an
area of the veh icle can damage a part of an a irbag system and
prev ent th at system from working pr oper ly in a c ollisio n.
There are some important things you have to know to make sure
that the effect ive ness of the system will not be impai red and that
discarded co mpone nts do not cause inju ry or po llute t he env iro n
ment .
& WARNING
Improper care , servicing and repair procedures can increase the
r isk of personal injury and death by preventing an airbag from
deploying when needed or deploying an airbag unexpectedly:
• Never cover , obstruct , or change the steering wheel horn pad
or airbag cover or the instrument panel or modify them in any way.
• Never attach any objects such as cup holders or telephone
mountings to the surfaces covering the airbag units.
• For cle aning the horn pad or instrument panel , use only a soft ,
dry cloth or one moi stened with plain water. Solvents or cleaners
could damage the airbag cover or change the stiffness or strength
of the material so that the airbag cannot deploy and protect prop
erly .
• Never repair , adjust , or change any parts of the airbag system.
• All work on the steering wheel , instrument panel, front seats or
electrical system (including the installation of audio equipment ,
cellular telephones and CB radios, etc .} must be performed by a
qualified technician who has the training and spec ial equipment
ne cessary .
• For any work on the airbag system , we strongly recommend
that you see your authorized Audi dealer or qualified workshop .
• Never modify the front bumper or parts of the vehicle body.
& WARNING (continued)
• Always make sure that the side airbag can inflate without inter
ference :
- Never install seat covers or replacement upholstery over the
front seatbacks that have not been specifically approved by
Audi .
- Never use addit ional seat cushions that cover the areas
where the side airbags inflate.
- Damage to the original seat covers or to the seam in the area
of the side airbag module must always be repaired immedi
ately by an authorized Audi dealer .
• The airbag system can be activated only once . After an airbag
has inflated, it must be replaced by an authorized Audi dealer or
qualified technician who has the technical information , training
and special equipment necessary.
• The airbag sy stem can be deployed only once . After an airbag
has been deployed , it must be replaced with new replacement
parts designed and approved especially for your Audi model
version. Replacement of complete airbag systems or airbag
components must be performed by qualified workshops only .
Make sure th at any airbag service action is entered in your Audi
Maintenance
& Warranty booklet under AIRBAG REPLACEMENT
RECORD .•
Other things that can affect Advanced Airbag
performance
Changing the vehic le 's suspension system can change the way that
th e A dva nced Ai rbag Sys te m p erform s in a c ras h. F or example,
using tire -rim combinations not approved by Audi, lowering the
ve hicle, c hanging the stiff ness of th e sus pensi on, in clud ing the
springs, suspens ion struts, shock absorbers etc . can chang e the
forces that a re measured by the airbag sensor s and sent to the e lec -
tronic control unit. Some suspension changes ca n, for example, .,_
increase the force levels measured by the sensors and ma ke the
a irbag sy ste m d eploy in crashes in which it wou ld not deploy if the
changes had no t been made . Other kinds of changes may reduce
the force levels measured by the sensors and prevent the airbag
from deploying when it should.
The sensors in the safety belt buckle for the driver and front
passenger seat te ll the electronic control module i f the safety belt is
latched or not. If the safety belt is being used, the front airbag will
deploy at a sligh tly h igher rate of vehic le d ece leration than if the
safety belt is not being used. Therefore , in a particular co llision , it is
possible that an ai rbag will not deploy at a seating position where
the safety belt is being used but will inflate at the posi tion where the
safety belt is not being used . It is important tha t nothing interfere
with the safety belt buckles so t hat the sensors can send the co rrect
information about safe ty belt use to the elec tronic control unit.
& WARNING
Changing the vehicle's suspen sion including use of unapproved
tire -rim combinations can change Advan ced Airbag performan ce
and in crease the risk of serious personal injury in a cra sh.
• Never in stall su spen sion compone nts that do not have the
same performance characteristics as the components originally
in stalled on your vehi cle.
• Never use tire -rim combination s that have not been approved
by Audi.
& WARNING
Items stored between the safety belt bu ckle and the center
console can cau se the sen so rs in the buckle to send the wrong
inform ation to the ele ctron ic control module and prevent the
Advanced Airbag System from working properly .
• Always make sure that nothing can interfere with th e safety
belt buckle s and that they are not obstructed.
Safety first
Airbag sy ste m
ffi For the sake of the environment
Undeployed airbag modu les and pretensioners might be classified
as Perchlorate Material -specia l handling may apply, see
www.dtsc .ca.gov/hazardouswaste/perchlorate. When the vehicle or
parts of the restraint system including airbag modules safety belts
with prete nsioners are scrapped, all appl icable laws and regu la
tions must be observed . Your au thori zed Audi dealer is familiar wi th
t hese requirements a nd we rec ommend that y ou have your dea ler
perform this service for you. •
Knee airbags
Description of knee airbags
The air bag system can pr ovide supplemen tal pr otec tio n
to pro perly restrained fron t seat occupants.
Fi g. 13 4 D rive r's
airba g
The ai rbag for the driver is located in the instrument panel under
neath the steering wheel:=:, fig. 134 , the airbag for the passenger is
at about the same height in the instrum ent panel underneath the
glove compartment.
T he knee airbag offers add itional protection to the driver 's and
p assenger 's knees and upper and lower thigh areas as a supple -
ment to the safety belts . •
Vehicle care I I irechnical data
___ A_ ir_ b_ a-g _ s_y _s_ t_ e_ m _________________________________________________ _
If the front airbags deploy, the knee airbags also deploy in frontal
collisions above a certain severity=:>
page 155, "More important
things to know about front airbags".
Besides their normal safety function, safety belts work to help keep
the driver or front passenger in position in case of a frontal collision
so that the airbags can provide protection.
The airbag system is not a substitute for your safety belt. Rather, it
is part of the overall occupant restraint system in your vehicle .
Always remember that the airbag system can only help to protect
you if you are wearing your safety belt and wearing it properly. This
is why you should always wear your safety belt, not just because the
law requires you to do so=:>
page 137, "Gene ral notes" .
The safety belt buckle for the driver and front seat passenger have
switches that tell the airbag control module if the safety belt is
being used or not. If the safety belt is being used, the front airbag
will deploy at a slightly higher rate of deceleration than if the belt is
not being used. Therefore, in a particular collision, it is possible that
an airbag will not deploy at a seating position where the safety belt
is being used but will inflate at the position where the safety belt is
not being used .
Remember too, airbags will deploy only once and only in certain
kinds of accidents -your 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, for example when your
vehicle strikes or is struck by another after the first collision.
This is just one of the reasons why an airbag is not a substitute for
the safety belt . The airbag system works most effectively when used
with the safety belts. Therefore, always wear your safety belts
correctly.
It is important to remember that while the supplemental airbag
system is designed to reduce the likelihood of serious injuries, other
injuries, for example, swelling, bruising, and minor abrasions can
also be associated with airbags . The knee airbag system basically consists of:
• The electronic control module
• Two inflatable airbags (airbag and gas generator), one for the
driver and one for the front passenger
• Th e airbag indicator light in the instrument panel
The knee airbag system will not deploy:
• when the ignition is turned off
• in front-end collisions when the deceleration measured by the
control unit is too low
• in side collisions
• in rear-end collisions
• in rollovers
• in the event of a system malfunction (warning/indicator light illu
minated) =:>
page 19.
&, WARNING
• Safety belts and the airbag system can only provide protection
when occupants are in the proper seating position=:>
page 155.
• If the airbag indicator light comes when the vehicle is being
used, have the system inspected immediately by your authorized
Audi dealer. The airbag may not work properly when the vehicle
acceleration in a side collision is high enough to deploy the airbag.
See also =:>
page 19. •