2009 AUDI A4 CABRIOLET Owners Manual

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Service and disposal of safety belt
pretension er
The safety belt pretensioners are parts of the safety belts on your
Aud i. Installing, re mov ing, servicing or repairing of belt preten ­
sioners can damage the safety belt system and prevent it from
wo rk ing correct ly in a coll ision.
There are some important things you have to know to make sure
t ha t th e effectiveness of the system w ill not be impai red and that
discarded components do not cause injury or pollute the environ ­
ment .
& WARNING
Improper care , servicing and repair procedure s can increase the
risk of personal injury and death by preventing a safety belt
preten sioner from activating when needed or activating it unex ­
pe ctedly :
• The belt preten sioner system can be activated only once. If belt
preten sioner s have been act ivated , the sy stem mu st be repla ced.
• Never repair , adju st, or change any part s of the safety belt
system .
• Safety belt sy stem s including safety belt pretensioners cannot
be repaired . Spe cial pro cedure s are required for removal, installa­
tion and di spo sal of thi s s ystem .
• For any work on the safety belt s ystem , we strongl y re com ­
mend that you see your authorized Audi dealer or qual ified techni ­
ci an who ha s an Aud i approved repair m anu al, tr aining and spe cial
equipment nece ssary .
W For the sake of the environment
Undeployed airbag modu les and pretensioners might be classified
as Perchlorate Material -special handling may apply, see
www .dtsc .ca .gov/hazardouswaste/perchl ora te. When the vehicle or
Controls and equip­ ment Safety first Vehicle operation parts of the restraint system including airbag modules safety be
lts
wi th pre te nsi oners are scrapped, a ll applicable laws and reg ula ­
tions must be observed . Your authorized Audi dealer is familiar with
these req uirements and we recommend tha t you have you r dealer
perform this service for you. •
Vehicle care Do-it-yourself service Technical data

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Airbag system
Important things to know
Importance of wearing safety belts and
sitting properly
Airbags are only supplemental restraints. For airbags to
do their job, occupants must always properly wear their
safety belts and be in a proper seating position.
For your safety and the safety of your passengers, before
driving off, a lways:
- Adjust the driver's seat and steering wheel properly
=>
page 148,
- Adjust the front passenger's seat properly => page 93,
- Wear safety belts properly=> page 162,
- Always properly use the proper child restraint to protect
children=>
page 190 .
In a collision airbags must inflate within the blink of an eye and with
considerable force . Th e suppl emental airbags can caus e injuries if
the driver or the front seat passenger are not seated proper ly . There ­
fore in order to help the airbag to do its job, it is impor tant, both as
a driver and as a passenger to sit properly at all times.
By keeping room between your body and the steering wheel and the
front of the passenger compartment, the airbag can inflate fully and
completely and prov ide supplementa l protection in certain frontal
collisions ~
page 148, "Proper occupant seating positions" . For
details on the operation of the seat adjustment controls~
page 93
and ~ page 96.
It's especially important that chi ldren are proper ly restrained
~ page 190.
There is a lot that the driver and the passengers can and must do to
help the individual safety features installed in your Audi work
together as a system.
Proper seating posi tion is important so that the front airbag on the
driver side can do its job. If you have a physical impairment or
condition that prevents you from sitting properly on the driver seat
with the safety belt properly fastened and reaching the pedals, or if
you have concerns with regard to the function or operation of the
Advanced Airbag System, please contact your authorized Audi
dea ler or qua lif ied workshop, or call Audi Customer CARE at 1-800 -
822 -2834 for possible modifications to your vehicle .
When the airbag system deploys, a gas generator wi ll fill the
airbags, break open the padded covers, and inflate between the
steering wheel and the driver and between the instrument panel
and the front passenger. The airbags will deflate immediately after
deployment so that the front occupants can see through the wind ­
shield again without interruption .
All of this takes p lace in the blink of an eye, so fast that many people
don't even rea lize that the airbags have dep loyed. The airbags also
inflate with a great deal of force and nothing should be in their way
when they deploy . Front airbags in combination with properly worn
safety bel ts slow down and limit the occupant's forward movement.
Together they help to prevent the driver and front seat passenger
from hitting parts of the inside the vehicle while reducing the forces acting on the occupant during the crash . In this way they help to
reduce the risk of injury to the head and upper body in the crash .
Airbags do not protect the arms or the lower parts of the body.
Both front airbags w ill not in flate in al l frontal collisions . The trig ­
gering of the airbag system depends on the vehic le deceleration
rate caused by the collision and registered by the electronic contro l
unit. If this rate is below the reference value programmed into the
control unit, the airbags will not be triggered, even though the car
may be badly damaged as a result of the collision . Vehicle damage, .,

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repair costs or even the lack of vehicle damage is not necessarily an
indication of whether an airbag should inflate or not .
It is not possible to define a range of vehicle speeds that will cover
every possible kind and angle of impact that will always trigger the
airbags, since the circumstances will vary considerably between
one collision and another. Important factors include, for example,
the nature (hard or soft) of the object which the car hits, the angle of impac t, vehicle sp eed , etc . The front airbags will also not inflate
in side or rear collisions, or in roll-overs.
Always remember : Airbags will deploy only once, and only in certain
kinds of collisions. Your safety belts are always there to offer protec­
tion in those situations 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 a suppl em entary
restraint and is not a substitute for a safety belt. The airbag system
works most effectively when used with the safety belts. Therefore ,
always properly wear your safety belts=>
page 159.
& WARNING
Sitting too close to the steering wheel or instrument panel will
decrease the effectiveness of the airbags and will increase the risk
of personal injury in a collision.
• Never sit closer than 10 inches (25 cm) to the steering wheel or
instrument panel.
• If you cannot sit more than 10 inches (25 cm) from the steering
wheel, investigate whether adaptive equipment may be available
to held you reach the pedals and increase your seating distance
from the steering wheel.
• 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 injuries 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.
Controls and equip­ ment Safety first
Vehicle operation
& WARNING (continued)
• To reduce the risk of injury when an airbag inflates, always
wear safety belts properly~
page 163, "Safety belts".
• Always make certain that children age 12 or younger always
ride in the rear seat. If children are not properly restrained, they
may be severely injured or killed when an airbag inflates.
• Never let children ride unrestrained or improperly restrained in
the vehicle. Adjust the front seats properly.
• Never ride with the backrest reclined.
• Always sit as far as possible from the steering wheel or the
instrument panel~
page 148, "Proper occupant seating posi­
tions".
• Always sit upright with your back against the backrest of your
seat.
• Never place your feet on the instrument panel or on the seat .
Always keep both feet on the floor in front of the seat to help
prevent serious injuries to the legs and hips if the airbag inflates.
• 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 when an airbag
inflates.
& WARNING
Airbags that have deployed in a crash must be replaced.
• Use only original equipment airbags approved by Audi and
installed by a trained technician who has the necessary tools and
diagnostic equipment to properly replace any airbag in your
vehicle and assure system effectiveness in a crash.
• Never permit salvaged or recycled airbags to be installed in
your vehicle. •
Vehicle care Do-it-yourself service Technical data

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Child restraints on the front seat - some
important things to know
- Be sure to read the important information and head the
WARNINGS for important details about children and
Advanced Airbags~
page 190.
Even though your vehic le is equipped with an Advanced Airbag
System, make certain that a ll children, especia lly those 12 years and
younger, a lways ride in the back seat properly restrained for their
age and size . The airbag on the passenger side makes the front seat
a potentia lly dangerous place for a child to ride. The front seat is not
the safest p lace for a chi ld in a forward -facing child safety seat. It
can be a very dangerous place for an infant or a child in a rearward ­
facing seat.
The Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle has been certified to
comply with the Requirements of United States Federal Motor
Vehicle Safety Standard 208 as applicab le at the time your vehicle
was manufactured.
Th e Standard requires the front airbag on the passenger side to be
turned off ("suppressed") if a chi ld up to about one year of age
restrained in one of the rear-facing or forward-facing infant
restraints listed in Federa l Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 with
which the Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle was certified has been instal led on the front passenger seat. For a listing of the child
restraints that were used to certify compliance with the US Safety
Standard =>
page 192.
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light in the instrument panel tells you
when the front Advanced Airbag on the passenger side has been
t urned off by the electronic control unit.
Each time you turn on the ignition, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light will come on for a few seconds and:
• will stay on if the front passenger seat is not occupied, •
will stay on if there is a small child or child restraint on the front
passenger seat,
• will go off if the front passenger seat is occupied by an adult as
registered by the weight-sensing mat=>
page 179, "Monitoring the
Advanced Airbag System" .
The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on when the control unit
detects a tota l weight on the front passenger seat that requires the
front airbag to be turned off.
If the total weight on the front passenger seat is more than that of
a typical 1 year -old child but less than the weight of a small adult,
the fron t airbag on the passenger side can deploy (the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on). If the PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light does not come on, the front airbag on the passenger s ide
has not been turned off by the electronic contro l unit and can
deploy if the control unit senses an impact that meets the condi ­
tions stored in its memory.
For example, the airbag may deploy if:
• a small ch ild that is heavier than a typical 1 year-o ld child is on
the front passenger seat (regardless of whether the child is in one
of the child safety seats listed =>
page 192), or
• a child who has outgrown chi ld restraints is on the front
passenger seat .
If the front passenger airbag is turned off, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on in the instrument cluster and stays on.
The front airbag on the passenger side may
not deploy (the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not illuminate and stay lit) even
if a small adult or teenager, or a passenger who is not sitting upright
with their back against a non -reclined backrest with their feet on the
vehicle floor in front of the seat is on the front passenger seat
=>
page 148, "Proper seating position for the driver".
If the front passenger airbag deploys, the Federal Standard requires
the airbag to meet the "low risk" deployment criteria to reduce the
risk of injury through interaction with the airbag. "Low risk" deploy­
ment occurs in those crashes that take p lace at lower decelerations .,.

Airbag system -----------------=~-
as defined in the electronic contro l unit:::::, page 18 0, "P ASSENG ER
A IR BAG OFF lig ht".
A lways remember, a ch ild safety s eat or infant carrier insta lled on
the front seat may be struck a nd knocked out of position by the
rap id ly infl atin g p ass eng er's ai rba g in a front al co llision . The air bag
co uld greatly reduce the effectiveness of the chi ld re st raint and
e v en s erio usl y inju re the chi ld during inflati on.
F or this reason, and because the bac k seat is t he safest plac e for
c hi ldr en -w he n prop erly res train ed acc ordi ng to th eir age a nd size
- w e stro ng ly recomme nd that c hildren a lways s it in t he bac k seat
::::;, page 190, "Chil d Safe ty" .
& 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 ai rbag will hit the child safety seat or infant
carrier with great force and will smash the child safety seat and
child against the ba ckrest , center arm rest , door or roof.
• Always install rear-facing child safety seats on the rear seat. • 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:
Controls and equip­ ment Safety first
Vehicle operation
& WARNING (continued)
• 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.
& 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 179, "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 :
Vehicle care Do-it-yourself service Technical data

-Airbag system --=----=----------------
& W
ARNING (continued )
• Improper installation of child restraints can reduce their effec­
tiveness or even prevent them from p roviding 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 manufa cturer's instru ctions
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 .
LJ
Front airbags
Description of front airbags
The air bag sy stem can provi de su ppleme ntal pr ote ct io n
to prope rly r estrai ned fron t se at occu pants.
Fig. 1 7 1 L ocation of
driver airbag: in
s teeri ng w heel
Fig . 172 Location of
fron t pa ssenger' s
airbag : in the in stru ­
ment panel
Your vehicle is equipp ed with an " Advanced Airbag System" in
complia nce wit h United States Federal Motor Vehicle Safe ty Stan ­
dard (FMVSS) 208 as appl icab le at the time your veh icle was manu ­
f act ured. The safety bel ts for the front seat s have "pretensi one rs"
t ha t help to take slack ou t of the be lt s ystem. The p re tens io ne rs a re
also activated by the electronic control unit for the airbag system.
The fr ont safe ty belts als o h ave loa d lim iters to hel p reduce the
forces applied to the body in a crash.
The a irbag f or the driver is i n the st eeri ng wheel hub~ fig. 171 a nd
t h e airbag for the front passenger is in the i nstrument panel
~ fig. 172. The genera l location of the airbags is marked "AIRBAG".
There is a lot you need to know ab out t he airbags in y our vehicle. We
u rge you to read the deta iled information about airbags, safety belts
and child s afety i n th is and th e other c ha pt ers t hat make u p the
owner's literature. Please be sure to heed the WARN INGS -they are
e xt reme ly im portan t for y our safe ty a nd the safe ty of y our passen ­
gers, especia lly infants and small childr en.
& WARNING
Never rely on airbags alone for protection .
• Even when they deploy, airbags provide only supplemental
protect ion .

Airbag syst em -----------------=~-
& WARNIN G (cont in u ed)
• Airb ag work m ost effectiv ely when u sed with properly worn
sa fet y be lt s .
• Ther efore , always wear your safety belt s and ma ke sure that
eve rybod y in your vehi cle is prope rly re str ained.
& WARNING
A person on the front p assenger se at, espe cially infant s and small
c hildren , will re ceive seriou s injuries and can ev en be killed by
being t oo clos e to the airbag when it infl ates.
• Although the Adva nced Airbag System in your ve hicle i s
de signed to turn off the front passenger airb ag i f a n infant or a
s mall child i s on the front pa ssenger seat , nobody can absolutely
gu ara ntee that deployment under these spe cial co nditio ns is
impos sible in all conceivable situations that m ay happen during
the useful life of your vehicle.
• The Adv an ced Airbag Sy stem can deploy in a ccordance with
the "lo w risk" option unde r the U .S. Feder al Stand ard if a child t hat
is heavier than the typi cal on e-year old child i s on th e front
pa sse nger seat an d the other condition s for airb ag dep loym ent
are met.
• Acc ident stat istics have sh own that children are gen erally s afer
in the rear se at area than in the front seating posit ion .
• For th eir own safet y, all children , espe cially 12 yea rs and
younger , should alway s ride in th e back properly r estrained for
their age and size. •
Advanced front airbag system
Your vehicle is equipped with a front Advanced Airbag System in
compliance with United States Federal Motor Vehicle Sa fety Stan ­
dard 208 as applicable at the time your vehicle was manufactured.
Controls and equip­
ment Safety first Vehicle operation
The 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 vehic le deceleration is high enough.
The front Advanced Airbag System for the front seat occupants is not a substitute for your safety belts . Rather, it is part of the overall
occupant restraint system in your vehicle. A lways remember that
the airbag system can only help to protect you, if you are sitting
upright, wear ing your safety be lt and wear ing it proper ly . This is why
you and your passengers must a lways be properly restrained, not
just because the law requires you to be .
The Advanced A irbag System in your veh ic le has been certified to
meet the "low risk" requirements for 3 and 6 year -o ld children on the
passenger side and very small adults on the driver side. The low risk
deployment criteria are intended to he lp reduce the risk of injury
through interact ion with the front airbag that can occur, for
examp le, by being too close to the steering whee l and instrument
panel when the airbag inflates.
In addition, the system has been certified to comply with the
"suppression" requirements of the Safety 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 192, "Child restraints and Advanced
Airbags".
"S uppression" requi res the front ai rbag 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
restraints 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 restraints that were used to certify your
vehic le's compliance wi th the US Safety Standard ~
page 192,
• weight less than a threshold leve l stored in the control unit is
detected on the front passenger sea t. _.
Vehicle care Do-it-yourself service Technical data

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When a person is detected on the front passenger s eat, wei ghing
mo re tha n th e to ta l w eigh t of a c hild th at is a bout 1 year old
r estra in ed in one of th e rear -faci ng or forward -fac ing infa nt
r e str aints (lis ted i n Fede ra l M otor Veh icle Safe ty Sta ndard
2 08 with
which the Advanced Airba g Syst em in your vehic le was certified),
the fro nt a irbag on the pas senge r side may or may not dep loy.
Th e
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF lig ht comes on when th e elect ro ni c
control unit detects a total weight on the front passenger seat that
r e qui re s th e front airbag to b e tu rn ed off. If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light does not come on, the front airbag on the passenger side
h as not been tu rned off by the co ntro l unit and can dep loy i f the
control unit senses an impact that meets the conditions stored in its
m emo ry .
I f the t otal we ight on the fro nt passe nger seat is more than t hat o f
a typical
1 year -old, but less than the we ight of a sma ll adult, the
fr ont airba g on the passen ger side may dep loy (the
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
li ght does not come onl.
For example , the airbag may deploy if:
• a sma ll child that is heav ie r th a n a t ypica l 1 year-old ch ild is on
the front passenger seat (regardless of whether the chi ld is in one
o f th e c hild sa fety seats listed~
page 192),
• a ch ild who has ou tg rown chi ld restrain ts is o n the front
p asse nger seat.
I f the front passenge r airbag is turned off, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
l ig ht in the ce nter of t he i nstrum ent panel wi ll co me on and stay
on.
T he fr ont airb ag o n the pa ssenger side ma y
not deploy ( the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF li g ht does not illu mina te and stay l it) i f:
• a small adult o r teenager is on the front passenger seat
• a passe nge r w ho is no t sitt ing uprig ht wi th their bac k aga inst a
non -reclined bac krest with their fee t on the veh icle floor in front of
the seat is on th e fr on t pass enger s eat.
I f the front passenger ai rbag deploys, the Federa l Standard requires
th e a irbag to m eet th e "low r isk" dep loy ment criter ia to he lp redu ce the risk of injury throu
gh interact ion with the airbag. "Low risk"
d ep loy ment o ccurs in th ose cra shes that ta ke pla ce a t low er dec el­
erations as defined in the electronic contro l unit~
page 17 9.
Always remember: Even though your vehic le is equipped with
A dva nced Ai rbags , the sa fest place fo r chi ld re n i s p roperly
restra ined on the back seat. Please be s ure to read the important
i nfo rmatio n in th e sect io ns t hat follow and b e su re to hee d all o f the
WAR NINGS.
& 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 posit ion in any way, your risk of injury is much higher.
• You will also receive serious injuries 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 168 .
& 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 , center arm rest , door, or roof .
• Alway s install rearward -facing child restraints in the back seat . •