2008 AUDI TT ROADSTER wheel

___ A_ ir_b _a_ g;:::;_ s--:.. y_s _t _e _m _________________________________________________ _
Front airbags
Description of front airbags
The airbag system can pro vid e supp lemen tal prot ection
to p roperly r es tra ined front seat occu pa nts.
Fig . 130 Location of
driver airb ag: in
s te ering wheel
Fig . 13 1 Locat ion of
front p assenger 's
airbag: in the instru ­
ment panel
You r ve hicle is equipped w ith a dual -stage front "Adva nced Airbag
System" in comp liance with United States Federal Motor Vehicle
Sa fet y S tanda rd (F MVSS) 208 as app licable at the time your ve hicl e
was manufactu red. Your veh icle is also equipped with s ide airbags
fo r th e d river an d front seat passenge r. The safe ty bel ts for the fr ont
seats have "pretens ione rs" that help to take slac k out of the belt
sy stem. Th e pre tensio ners a re a ls o ac tiv ate d b y the elec tron ic
control un it for t he airbag system . T
he front saf ety be lts also have load limiters to help reduce the
f o rc es a pp lie d t o th e b ody in a cra sh .
T he airbag for the driver is in the steerin g wh eel hub~ fig. 13 0 and
t h e ai rbag fo r the front pas senge r is in the i nstrument panel
~ fig. 1 31. The gene ral loca tion of the airba gs is m arke d "AIR BA G".
T here is a lot you need to know about the airbags in your vehicle . We
u rge you t o rea d th e deta iled inf orma tion about a ir ba gs, s afe ty belts
and child safety in this and the other chapters that make up the
owne r's lite ra tu re. P lea se be s ure to hee d the WAR NINGS· th ey are
e xtremely important for your safety and the safety of your passen ­
ge rs, especia lly i nfa nts a nd sma ll children.
& WARNING
Never rely on airbags alone for protection.
• Even when they deploy, airbags provide only supplemental
protection .
• Airbag work most effectively when used with properly worn
safety belts.
• Therefore , always wear your safety belts and make sure that
everybody in your vehicle is properly restrained .
& WARNING
A person on the front passenger seat, especially infants and small
children , will receive serious injuries and can even be killed by
being too close to the airbag when it inflates.
• Although the Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle is
designed to turn off the front passenger airbag if an infant or a
small child is on the front passenger seat , nobody can absolutely
guarantee that deployment under these special conditions is
impossible in all conceivable situations that may happen during
the useful life of your vehicle .
• The Advanced Airbag System will deploy in accordance with
the "low risk " option unde r the U.S . Federal Standard if a child that .._

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 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

_____________________________________________ C_ h _ il_d _S_ a _ fe_t.....: y'----""
& WARNING
If , in e xceptional circum sta n ce s, y ou mu st in stall a forward -fa cing
c hild re straint on the front pa ssenger' s seat:
• Always m ake sure the forw ard-f acing se at has b een de signed
and cert ified by it s manufa cturer for use on a front seat with a
p ass eng er fro nt and side airbag .
• Alwa ys follow the manufacturer' s instruc tion s provided with
the child s afet y seat or carrier .
• Alway s move the p assenger sea t into it s rearmo st po sition in
the seat's fore and aft adjustme nt r ange , as far a way from the
airbag as po ssible before in stalling the child restraint. The ba ck­
rest must be adju sted to an upr ight p osition .
• Alway s m ake sure th at the PASSEN GER AIR BA G OFF l ight
c ome s on and stay s on all the time wheneve r the ignition is
s witched on. •
Advanced front airbag system and children
Your vehicle is equipped with a dual-stage front "Advanced Airbag
System" in comp liance with United States Federal Motor Vehicle
Safety Standard (F MVSS) 208 as applicab le at the t ime your vehic le
was manufactured .
The Advanced Airbag sys tem in yo ur vehicle has been cer tified to
meet the "low -risk" requirements for 3 and 6 year -old children on
the passenger side and small adults on the d river side. The low risk
deployment criteria are intended to reduce the risk of injury through
interaction with the airbag that can occur, for examp le, by being too
close to the steering wheel and instrument pane l when the airbag
inflates . In addition, the system has been certified to comp ly with
the "suppression" requirements of the Safety Standa rd, to turn off
the front airbag for infants up to 12 months who are restrained on
the front passenger sea t in child restraints that are listed in the
Standard .
Controls and equip­
ment Safety first Vehicle operation
Even though your vehicle is equipped with an Advanced Airbag
system, a child should always ride in theseat pr operly restrained for
its age and size. The airbag on the passenger side makes the front
seat a potentially dangerous place for a child to ride. The front seat
is not the safest place for a child in a forward -facing child safety
seat . It can be a very dangerous p lace for an infant or a larger child
in a rearward -facing seat. •
Advanced Airbags and the weight -sensing
mat in the front seat
The Advanced A irbag System in your vehicle detects the presence
of an infan t or child in a chi ld rest rain t on the front passenger seat
using the weight -sensing mat in the seat cushion and the sensor
below the safety belt latch on the front passenger seat that
measures the tension on the sa fety belt.
The weight -sensing mat measures total weight of the child and the
child safety seat and a chi ld blanke t on the front passenger seat . The
weight on the front passenger seat is related to the design of the
child res tra int a nd i ts "footprin t", the size and shape o f the b ottom
of the child restraint as it sits on the seat . T he weight of a child
restra in t and its " footprint" va ry for different kinds of ch ild
restraints and for the different models of the same kind of chi ld
restraint offered by child restraint manufacturers .
The weight ranges for the ind ividual types, makes and models of
child restraints that the NHTSA has specified in the Safety Standard
t ogether with the weight ranges of typical infan ts and typica l 1 year ­
old chi ld have been stored in the control unit of the Advanced
Airbag Sys tem. When a child res traint is being used on the front
passenger seat with a typical 1 year-old chi ld, the Advanced Airbag
System compares the weight measured by the we ight sensing ma t
with the information stored in the e lectronic control unit.
The electronic contro l unit also registers the tension on the front
passenger safe ty bel t. The tension on the safety be lt for the front
passenger seat will be different for an adult who is properly using •
Vehicle care Do-it-yourself service Technical data

the vehicle begins to skid, ESP brakes the appropriate wheel auto­matical ly .
The vehicle is stabilized again by the forces acting on the wheel during braking. With an oversteering vehicle (tendency for the rear
end to skid out of the curve), the brake application is mainly at the
front wheel on the outside of the curve, with an understeering
vehicle (tendency to run wide in the curve) at the rear wheel on the
inside of the curve or additionally at the other wheels as needed .
This brake application is accompanied by noises.
ESP works in conjunction with ABS=:>
page 189. If there is ma lfunc­
tion in the ABS, ESP is also inoperative .
Activa ting
The ESP is automatica lly activated when the engine is started, and
it performs a self-test. As soon as the test is completed, the system
is in normal operating mode . With ASR deactivated, or with ESP/ASR
deactivated, pressing the button=>
page 184, fig. 142 returns the
system to normal operation.
D eac tiva ting
ESP should norma lly be activated at all times because this ensures
optimum vehicle stability . Only in certain exceptional cases it does
make sense to deactivate Anti -Slip Regulation (ASR) or the Elec ­
tronic Stability Program !ESP) by pressing the button =:>
page 184,
fig. 142. Both deactivation stages can only be activated from normal
mode.
Dea cti vat ing ASR
Tap the switch . Deactivation is indicated by s low flashing of the ESP
lamp in the instrument c luster. In certain situations (e.g. driving
with snow chains, in deep snow or on loose ground, or when rocking the car free), it may be necessary to deactivate ASR. Deacti ­
vation is effective only up to a speed of about 45 mph (70 km/h). At higher speeds, ASR is switched on again automatical ly in front ­
whee l drive vehicles, deactivation is possible only up to about 30
mph (50 km/h). With a ll -whee l drive vehicles, ASR is active above
Controls and equip­
ment Safety first Vehicle operation
In
te llig ent tec hn olo gy
about 45 mph (70 km/h) and deactivated automatical ly below this
speed.
D eac tiva tin g ES P/ASR
Press the button for more than 3 seconds . Deactivation is indicated
by the ESP lamp in the instrument c luster staying on permanently .
This deactivates the E lectronic Stabi lity Program (ESP) in addition to
ASR . No Electronic Stability System operation and no Anti-Slip
Regu lation is availab le across the entire speed range; ASR and ESP
are activated only when the brakes are used for the duration of the
braking action and remain active until a stab le vehicle condition has
been reached. There is no driving situation which requires ESP to be
deactivated, so this should only be done if the driver's skill and the
traff ic situation permit .
& WARNING
• The limi ts of ph ysics ca nnot be suspe nd ed by E SP. E ven in vehi ­
cles w ith ESP, you should always adapt your dr iving to road and
tr affi c co ndition s. Thi s is part icul ar ly tr ue on a s lippe ry and wet
road . Do not be te mpt ed b y th e incre as ed safet y prov ided t o ta ke
ri sks - dang er of an accident !
• Plea se note that when ASR or ESP /ASR i s deactivated , the drive
w heel s can spin on icy and slipper y ro ad s and the vehi cle can
break away - da nger of skiddin g!
Ii ] Tip s
In the event of a defect in the rear spoiler system or in Audi
magnetic ride, it can happen that ASR and ASR/ESP cannot be deac ­
tivated, or they are activated automatica lly in the deactivated
state. •
Vehicle care Do-it-yourself service Technical data