_____________________________________________ S_a _f _e _t _y _b_ e_lt _ s __ lJ'II
[I) Tip s
• T he shoulder belt part shou ld route approximate ly over the
middle of your shoulder -under no circumstances shou ld it route over
you r neck a nd throat area~
& in "Safety belt position" on page 204.
• With the front seats, the height adjustment of the seat can also
be used to adjust the position of the safety belts. •
Improperly worn safety belts
Incorrectly positioned safety belts can cause severe inju
nes.
Wearing safety belts improperly can cause serious injury or
death. Safety belts can only work when they are correctly
positioned on the body . Improper seating positions reduce
the effectiveness of safety belts and will even increase the
ris k of injury and death by moving the safety belt to critical
areas of the body. Improper seating positions also increase
the risk of serious injury and death when an airbag deploys
and str ikes an occupant who is not in the correct seating posi
tion. A driver is responsible for the safety of all vehicle occu pants and especially for children. Therefore:
- Never permit anyone to assume an incorrect sitting posi
tion in the vehicle while traveling
~ & .
& WARNING
Impr ope rly w orn safet y belts inc re a se the ris k of se rious pe rsonal
injur y and de ath when ever a vehi cle i s bei ng u sed.
• Alw ay s m ake sure th at all vehicle occup ants are corre ctl y
r es trained an d stay
in a co rrect seating po sition wh enever the
ve hicle is being used.
Controls and equip ment Safety first Vehicle operation
& WA
RNING (continu ed)
• Alw ays re ad and heed all WARNINGS and o ther imp ort ant
information ~
page 202 . •
Safety belt pretensioners
How safety belt pretensioners work
In front, side and rear -end collisions above a particular
severity and in a rollover, safety belts ore tensioned auto matically.
The safety belts are equ ipped with safety belt pretensioners. The
system is activated by sensors in front, side and rear-end collisions of
great sever ity and in a rollove r. This tightens the belt and takes up
belt slack ~
& in "Service and disposal of safety belt pretensioner"
on
page 208. Ta king up the slack helps to reduce forward occupant
movement during a collision.
0 Note
Never let the belt rema in over a rear seat back that has been folded
forward .
[ i ] Tips
Th e safety belt pretensioner can only be activated once .
• In m inor fronta l and side collisions, in rear-end coll isions and in
acc idents involving very little impact force, the safety belt preten
sioner are not activated.
• Whe n the safety belt p retensioners are activated, a fine dust is
re leased. This is normal and is not caused by a fire in the vehicle.
• T he relevant safety requirements must be observed when the
vehicle or components of the system are scrapped. An authorized
Vehicle care Do-it-yourself service Technical data
........ _A_ i_rb _ a_,g,:;._ s_, y'- s_ t_e _m ________________________________________________ _
costs o r ev en t he lack of v ehicle da mage is no t necessar ily an ind ica
t ion of whe the r an a irbag should inflat e or not.
S ince th e cir cums tances will vary cons idera bly betw een one co llision
and another, it is not possible to define a range o f vehicle spee ds that
w ill co ver eve ry p oss ible kin d and a ngle o f im pact th at w ill alw ay s
tri gg er the a irba gs. Im portant facto rs inclu de, for examp le, the
n at ure (h ard or s oft) of th e obje ct whi ch th e c ar hits , th e ang le of
impact, vehicle speed, etc. The front air bags will also not inflate in
s ide or r ear coll isions , or in roll-ove rs.
Always remember: Airbags w ill deploy only once, an d on ly in certa in
kinds of co llisio ns. Your safety be lts are a lways there to offer protec
t ion in those s ituatio ns in which airbags ar e no t sup pose d to d eploy,
or w hen they have alrea dy de ploye d; for examp le, when your ve hicl e
st rike s or is st ruc k b y ano ther veh icle a fter t he first collision .
T hi s is just one of the reasons w hy an airbag is a s upplementa ry
restra in t a nd is no t a su bst itute for a safe ty bel t. Th e air bag sy stem
works most effectively when used with the safety be lts . Therefore,
always p rope rly wear y ou r safety belts => page 199 .
& 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 help 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.
& WARNING (co ntinued )
• To reduce the risk of injury when an airbag inflates, always
wear safety belts properly=>
page 203, "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 infl ates .
• 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 190.
• 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 seriou s 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 neces sary tools and
diagnostic equipment to properly replace any airbag in your
vehicle and assure system effectiveness in a crash.
• Never permit salvaged or recycled a irbags to be installed in
your vehicle. •
Airbag system -----------------=--=---
Child restraints on the front seat - some
important things to know
- Be su re to re ad t he i mpo rt a nt i nfo rmation a nd heed the
WA RNINGS fo r i mporta nt details about chil dre n and
Advanced Airbags ~
page 231.
Even t hough your ve hicle is eq uipped with an Advanced Airbag
System, ma ke ce rtain that a ll chi ld ren, especia lly those 12 years an d
younger, always r ide in the back seat prope rly rest rained fo r th eir age
and si ze. The airbag on the passenger side makes the front seat a
po tentially da ngerous place fo r a child to r ide. The fro nt seat is not
the safest place for a ch ild in a forward-facing child safety seat. It can
be a very dange rous place fo r an i nfan t or a child in a rearward-fac ing
seat.
Th e Advanced Ai rbag System in your vehicle has been cer tified to
comply with the req uirements of Un ited States Federa l Moto r Veh icle
Sa fety Standard 208 as applicable at the time your vehicle was manu
factured.
The Standard requires the front airbag on the passenger side to be
tu rne d off ("s uppressed") if a c hild up to abou t one ye ar of age
restra ined in o ne of the rear -facing or forward -fac ing infant
restra ints listed in Fed era l Moto r Vehicle Safety Standard 208 with
whic h the Advanced Airbag System in yo ur vehicle was cert ified has
been installed on the front passenger seat. For a listing of the ch ild
restra in ts that were used to certify compliance with the US Saf ety
Standard =>
page 233.
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF ligh t in th e in st rume nt p anel t ells you
when the front Advanced A irbag on the passenger side has been
tur ned off by the ele ct ronic con trol uni t.
Each time you t urn on the ignition, t he
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light will come on for a few seconds and:
• will stay on if th e front passenger se at is no t oc cupied
Controls and equip
ment Safety first
Vehicle operation
• will stay on if there is a small ch ild or child restra int on the front
p assenge r se at
• will go off if the front passenger seat is occup ied by an adult as
reg iste red by t he weight -sens ing mat =>
page 220, "M oni tor ing t he
Advanced Airbag System" .
T he
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes o n when t he control unit
de tects a total weight on t he front passenger seat that req uires the
front airbag to be t urned off .
If th e total weight o n the front passenger seat is more than th at of a
typical 1 year-o ld child but less than the weight of a small adult, the
fr on t a ir bag on the passenge r si de c an deploy (t he
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 side has
not been turned off by the electronic co ntrol unit and can deploy if
the control unit senses an impact t hat meets the conditions stored in
its memory.
For example, the airbag may deploy if:
• a small child that is heavier than a typical 1 year -old child is on the
front passenger seat (regard less of whether the chi ld is in one of the
child safety seats listed =>
page 233), or
• a child who has outgrown child restraints is on the front passenger
sea t.
If the fro nt passenger a irbag is tur ned off, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
lig ht comes on in the instr ument cluster an d stays on.
Th e fron t airbag on t he pa sse nger side may
not de ploy ( the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF li ght does not illum inate and stay lit) even
if a small a dult or teenager, o r a passenger who is no t sitti ng upright
with their back against a non-reclined backrest w ith the ir feet on the
vehicle floor in front of the seat is on the front passenger seat
=>
page 190, " P roper seat ing pos itio n for the dr iver".
If the front passenger ai rbag dep loys, the Federal Standard requires
t he a irbag to mee t the "low risk" deployme nt cr iter ia to reduce the
risk of inj ury through interaction with the a irbag. "Low r isk" deploy
me nt o ccurs in those cras hes t hat tak e pla ce a t lower decelerat io ns as
I),
Vehicle care Do-it-yourself service Technical data
-Airbag system
----
--=----:o- --------------
defined in the elect ronic contro l unit~ page 221, "PASSE NGER AIR
BA G OFF l ight ".
Always r emembe r, a c hild safety seat o r infa nt ca rr ie r i nsta lled on th e
fro nt seat may be struc k and k noc ke d out of position by t he ra pidly
i nflat ing pass enge r's air ba g in a fr ontal c oll ision. Th e airba g could
g reat ly re duce the effectiveness o f th e ch ild restraint an d even seri
ousl y injur e th e child d uring inf lation .
For this r easo n, and b eca use the back seat is th e sa fest plac e for chil
dre n -whe n pro per ly restra ined acc ordin g to their age and size -we
s tr ong ly r ecommen d that childr en a lways sit in the back s eat
~ pa ge 23 1, "Child S afety".
& 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 armrest, 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
authorized 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:
& 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 220 , "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 authorized Audi
dealer immediately.
• 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:
& WARNIN G (con tinued )
• Imprope r in stall ation of child re straints can redu ce their effec·
tiveness or even prevent them from providing any protection.
• An improperl y installed child restraint c an interfere with the
airbag a s it deploy s and seriously injure or even kill the child - even
with an Advanced Airbag Sy stem.
• Always carefully follow the manufacturer 's instruct ions
provided with the child safety seat or carrier.
• Never place additional items on the seat that can increase the
total weight regi stered by the weight-sen sing mat and can cause
injury in a crash .•
Front airbags
Description of front airbags
T he airbag system can p rovide supplemental protection
to properly r estrained front se at oc cupants .
Safety first
Fig . 19 8 Locatio n of
drive r airb ag : in
s tee ring whee l
Vehicle OP-eration
(
C
Airbag system
Fig. 199 Locati on of
fr on t pass enge r's
a ir bag: in the instru
me nt pa nel
Yo ur vehicle is equi pped with an "Advanced A irbag Syst em" in compli ·
ance with United States Fe dera l Moto r Vehicle Safety Sta ndard
(FMVSS) 2 08 as a pplicable at t he time your vehi cle was manufac
t u red . The safety belts for the seats have "pretensione rs" that help to
take slac k out of the belt sys tem. Th e prete nsion ers are a lso activ ate d
by the e lectron ic cont rol un it for the airbag system.
Th e front sa fe ty bel ts also have lo ad limi ters to help red uce the fo rces
applied to the body in a crash.
Th e airbag for the driver is in t he steering whee l hub ~ fig.
198 and
t h e airbag for th e front pass enger is i n the inst rum ent pa nel
~ fig. 199 . The general locat ion of the airbags is marked "AIRBAG".
Th ere is a lo t you nee d to know abo ut the air bags in your vehicle. We
urge yo u to read the detai led information about airbags, safety be lts
and c hild s afety in this and the other chap ters that make up the
own er's literature. Please be sure to heed the WAR NIN GS· they are
extremely importan t for your safety an d the sa fe ty of your p asse n
gers, es pecially infants a nd sma ll ch ildre n.
& WARNING
Never rely on airbags alone for protection.
• Even when they deploy, airbags provide only supplemental
protection.
Vehicle care Do-it-yourselt service iTechnical data
----------------------------------------------~A....::..:.... ir:....: b.::..:;; a..::g ~ s~y -=s:....: t:...: e:...: m...:....:.. __ lffll
• A se nsor in the safety belt latch for the d river a nd fo r th e front
sea t passenge r that senses w heth er that sa fe ty bel t is la tched or no t
and tra nsmits this information to t he e lectron ic co ntrol un it.
& WARNING
Damage to the front passenger seat can prevent the front airbag
from working properly.
• Imprope r repair or disassembly of the front passenger and
driver seat will prevent the Advan ced Airbag System from func
tioning properly.
• Repairs to the front passenger seat must be performed by qual
ified and properly trained workshop personnel.
• Never remove the front passenger or driver seat from the
vehicle.
• Never remove the upholstery from the front passenger seat.
• Never disassemble or remove parts from the seat or disconnect
wires from it .
• Never carry sharp objects in your pockets or place them on the
seat. If the weight-sensing mat in the passenger seat is punctured
it cannot work properly .
• Never carry th ings on your lap or carry objects on the passenger
seat . Such items can increase the weight regi stered by the weight
sensing mat and send the wrong information to the airbag control
unit.
• Never store items under the front passenger seat. Parts of the
Advanced Airbag System under the passenger seat could be damaged, preventing them and the airbag system from working
properly.
• Never place seat covers or replacement upholstery that have
not been specifically approved by Audi on the front seats .
• Seat covers can prevent the Advanced Airbag System from
recognizing child restraint s or occupants on the front passenger
seat and prevent the side airbag in the seat backrest from
deploying properly .
Controls and equip ment Safety first Vehicle operation
& WARNING
(co ntinued )
• Never use cushions , pillows, blankets or similar items on the
front passenger seat . The additional padding will prevent the
weight-sensing mat in the seat from accurately registering the
c hild restraint or person on the seat and prevent the Advanced
Airbag System from functioning prope rly.
• If you must use a child restraint on the front passenger seat
and the child restraint manufacturer's instructions require the use
of a towel, foam cushion or something else to properly pos ition
the child restraint, make certain that the PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF light come s on and stays on whenever the child re straint is
installed on the front passenger seat.
• If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not come on and
stay on, immediately install child restraint in a rear seating posi
tion and have the airbag system inspe cted by your authorized Audi
dealer. •
How the Advanced Airbag System
components work together
T he front Advanced A irbag System and the side airbags sup plement
t he p ro tect io n offered by the front three-po int safety belts w ith
pretens io ners and load limiters and t he adjustable head restra ints to
help red uce the risk of injury in a w ide range of acci den t and cras h
sit uat ions. Be sure to read the important informat ion about safety
and hee d the WAR NINGS in this ch ap ter.
Deployme nt of the Adva nced A irbag System and the act ivation of t he
safety belt pretens ione rs depen d on the dece le ration measure d by
the crash sensors a nd reg istered by the e lectro nic contro l un it . Crash
sever ity depends on speed and decele ration as well as the mass and
st iff ness of t he ve hicle or object invo lved in the cras h.
Whe n the electronic contro l unit registers a low sever ity crash and
t he safety be lt is being used , the air ba g w ill not dep loy . If the safety
~
Vehicle care Do-it-yourself service Technical data
___ A_ i_ r_b _ a_ g=- s_, y"-- s_t _e _m ______________________________________________ _
belt is not being used, t he first stage dep loys, followed by the second
stage a fter a mu ch later time in the c rash seq uence .
If the electronic control un it reg isters a crash of medium severity, the
first stage of the airbag deploys fo llowed by the second stage at a
much la ter t ime in the crash sequence -regard less of whethe r th e
safety belt is being used or not. In higher sever ity crashes as regis
t ere d by t he elect ronic con tro l u ni t, both the first and second stages
dep loy almost at the same time.
On the passenger side, regardless of safety be lt use, the a irbag will
be turned off if the we ight on the passenger seat is less than the
amount prog rammed in the electronic contro l unit. The front airbag
on the passenge r side w ill a lso be turned off if one of the ch ild safety
seats that has been certified under Federa l Moto r Vehicle Safety
Standar d 208 has bee n recognized o n th e seat. The
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF light comes on and stays on to tell you w hen the front
Advanced Airbag o n the passenger side has been tu rned off
~ page 211, "Ch ild restraints on the front seat -some important
t hings to know" .
& WARNING
To reduce the risk of injury when an airbag inflate s, always wear
safety belts properly .
• If you are unrestrained, leaning forward, sitting sidewa ys or
out of position in any way , you r risk of inju ry is mu ch 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 209. •
More important things to know about front
airbags
Fig. 2 00 Inflate d
front a irb ags
Safety belts are important to he lp keep front seat occupants in the
pro per seated pos ition so that a irbags can unfold prope rly and
prov ide supp lemental protect ion in a frontal collision.
Th e front airbags are designed to provide add itio na l protec tion for
the c hest and face of the driver and the front sea t passenge r when:
• safety belts are worn properly
• the seats have been posit ioned so that the occupant is prope rly
seated as far as possible from the airbag
• and the head restraints have been properly adjusted
Because air bags inflate in the b link of a n eye w it h great force, things
you have on your lap o r have place d on the seat cou ld become
dangerous projectiles, and be pushed into you if the a irbag inf lates.
When a n airbag dep loys, fine dust is released. This is normal and is
not caused by a fire in the vehicle. This dust is made up mostly of a
powder used to l ubricate the ai rbags as they deploy.
It could irritate
skin .
It is important to remember that while the supp lemental airbag
system is desig ned to reduce the li ke lihood of serious injur ies, other
injuries, for example swelling, b ruising and m inor abras ions, can also
happen when airbags infl ate. Airbags do not p rotect the arms or the ..,_
Airbag system --------------------------------------------- -=---=----
lower parts of the body . Front a irbags s upplement the t hree-poi nt
sa fety belts o nly in some fro ntal collis ions in which the vehicle decel
eration is high enough to dep loy the a irbags .
Front airbags will not deploy:
• if the ignition is switched off when a crash occ urs
• in s ide collis ions
• in rea r-end collisions
• in rollovers
• when the crash decelerat io n me asured by the a irbag system is less
than the min imum threshold needed for a irbag deployment as reg is
tered by the e lectron ic con trol un it
The front passenger airbag also will not deploy:
• when t he fron t passenger sea t is no t oc cupied
• when the weight on the front passenger seat as sensed by the
Advanced Ai rbag System in dicates that the front airbag o n the
passenger side has to be turned off by the e lectronic control unit (the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF li ght comes on and stays on)
& WARNING
Sitting in the wrong position can increase the ri sk of ser iou s injury
in crashes.
• To redu ce the risk of injury when the airbags inflate, the driver
and pas sengers mu st always sit in an upright position , mu st not
lean against or place any part of th eir body too close to the area
where the airbags are lo cated.
• Occupants who are unbelted, out of position or too close to the
airbag can be seriou sly injured by an airbag a s it unfolds with
great force in th e blink of an eye =>
page 211 .
Controls and equip
ment Safety first Vehicle operation
& WARNING
A child in a rearward-facing child
safety se at installed on the front
pas senger seat will be seriously injured and can be killed if the
front airbag inflates - ev en with an Ad vanced Airbag System.
• The inflating airbag will hit the child safety seat or infant
c arrier with great force and will smash the child safety s eat and
c hild against the backre st, center armre st, d oor or roof .
• Always install rear -facing child safet y seats on the rear seat.
• If you must install a rearward-facing child safety seat on the
front passenger se at because of e xceptional circumstances and
the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light do es not come on and stay on ,
immediately install the rear -facing child s afety seat in a rear
s eating po sition and h ave the airbag system inspe cted by your
authoriz ed Audi d ealer.
& WARNING
Object s between you and the airbag will increase the r isk of inju ry
in a cra sh by int erfering with the way the airb ag unfold s or by
being pushed into you as the airbag inflates.
• Never hold things in your hand s or on your lap when the vehicle
i s in use.
• Never tran sport items on o r in the are a of the fr ont pa ssenger
seat. Obje ct s c ould move into the area of the front ai rbag s during
braking or other sudden maneu ver s and become dang erous
projectiles that can c au se se rious per sonal injury if the ai rbags
infl ate.
• Never pla ce o r attach accessories or othe r objects (such a s
cupholders, telephone brac kets, large , heavy or bulky object s) on
the doo rs, over o r near the are a marked
"AIRBAG " on the stee ring
wheel, in strum ent panel , se at ba ckre sts or between th ose area s
and yourself . These objects could cause injur y in a crash , especially
when the airbags infl ate .
9"'
Vehicle care Do-it-yourself service Technical data