
-Airbag system -
--=---=----------------
Side curtain airbags
Description of side curtain airbags
The side curtain airbag system can provide supplemental
protection to properly restrained occupants .
Fig . 18 5 Side c urta in
sys tem, drive r's side:
s ide cu rtain ai rba g
loc atio n
The side curtain airbags are located on both sides of the interio r
above the front and rear side windows=> fig. 185. They are identified
by t he word "AIRBAG" on the w indshield frame and t he center roof
pillar.
T he side curta in airbag system s upplements t he safety belts and can
help to reduce the risk of inju ry for occupa nts' heads a nd upper torso
on t he side of the vehicle th at is struck i n a sid e collision . The s ide
cu rtain airbag inflates i n side im pacts and o nly when the vehicle
acceleration reg istered by the contro l unit is high enoug h. If this rate
is below the reference va lue programmed into the cont rol unit, the
side airbags wi ll not be triggere d, even though t he car may be bad ly
damaged as a resul t of the co llis ion .
It is not possib le to define an
airbag triggering range that w ill cover every possible angle of impact,
s in ce the circumstance s will vary conside rably between one colli sion
and another. Important factors include, for example, the nature
(h ard o r soft) of t he impa cti ng obje ct, t he a ngle of impa ct, vehicle
speed, etc.=>
page 213, "H ow side curta in airbags work" . Aside from the
ir normal safety fu nction, safety belts work to he lp
keep the driver or fron t passen ger in posit io n in t he even t of a co lli
sion so that the s ide cu rta in a irbags can provide protection .
T he airbag system is not a substitute for your safety belt . Rathe r, it is
pa rt of the ove rall oc cupant rest ra int system in your veh icle. Alway s
remember that the airbag system can on ly help to protect you if yo u
a re wear ing you r safety be lt and we aring it p ro perly. Thi s is anothe r
reason why you s hou ld always wear your safety be lts, not just because
t he law requi res you to do so=>
page 181, "Gene ral no tes" .
It is important to remember that while the s ide curta in airbag system
is designed to he lp reduce the like lihood of ser io us injur ies, other
in ju ries, fo r example, swe lling, br uis ing, and minor abras ions can
also be assoc iate d with these airbags. Remember too, these a irbags
w ill deploy on ly on ce a nd on ly in ce rtain kinds of acci den ts -yo ur
safety belts are always there to offer p rotect ion .
The side curtain airbag system basically consists of:
• T he electron ic control mo dule and e xternal side impact sensors
• The sid e curtain airbags above the front and rea r side windows
• Th e air bag indic ator ligh t in the ins tru men t panel
T he a irbag system is mo nitored e lectro nica lly to make certain it is
functioning prope rly at a ll times . Each time you turn on t he ignitio n,
t he a irbag system indica to r light w ill come on for a few secon ds (self
diagnostics) .
The side curtain airbag is not activated:
• if the ignition is turned of f,
• in side co llisions when the accelerat io n measured by the sensor is
t oo low,
• in rear-end co llisions ,
• in rollovers. _,.

-Child Safety _____ ____;_..:::.:!.----------------------------
& WA RNING (conti nued)
• Alway s in stall rearwa rd-facing child safety seats on the rear
seat.
• If you must install a rearward facing child safety seat on the
front passenger seat in exceptional circumstance s and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not come on and stay on ,
immed iately install the rearward-facing child safety seat in a rear
seating position and have the airbag system inspected immedi
ately by your authorized Audi dealer .
& WARNING
If, in exceptional circumstances, you must install a forward-facing
child res traint on the front pas senger's seat:
• Always make sure the forward-facing seat has been designed
and certified by it s manufacturer for use on a front seat with a
passenger front and side airbag.
• Always follow the manufacturer 's instruction s provided with
the child safety seat or carrier.
• Always move the passenger seat into it s rearmost position in
the seat 's fore and aft adjustment range, as far away from the
airbag as possible before installing the child restraint. The back rest must be adjusted to an upright position.
• Always make sure that the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
comes on and stays on all the time whenever the ignition is
switched on .•
Advanced front airbag system and children
Your vehicle is equi pped wi th a fron t "Advanced Airbag System" in
compliance with United States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
( F MVSS) 2 08 as appli ca ble at t he time your ve hicle was manufa c
tured. The Advanced A
irbag system in yo ur vehicle has been certif ied to
mee t the "low -r is k" requiremen ts fo r 3-and 6-ye ar old ch ildre n on
t he passenger side and small adults on the dr iver side . The low risk
dep loyment criteria are inten ded to reduce the risk of injury through
interaction with the a irbag t hat can occur, for example, by being too
close to the stee ring wheel an d instr ument panel when the airbag
inflates. In addi tion, the system has been certified to comp ly with t he
"suppression" requirements of the Safety Standa rd, to t urn off the
fron t air bag for infan ts up to 1 2 months who a re res train ed on the
front passenger seat in child restrai nts that are listed in the Stan
d ar d.
Even thoug h your vehicle is equipped with an Advanced Airbag
system , a ll ch ildren, especially those 12 years and yo unger, should
always r ide in t he back seat p roperly restrained for t heir ag e and si ze .
Th e ai rbag on the passenge r si de makes the front seat a potentia lly
dange rous p lace for a child to r ide. Th e front seat is not th e safest
place fo r a child in a forward-facing c hild safety seat. It can be a very
d an ge rous p lace for a n infan t or a large r chil d i n a rea rwa rd-facing
seat. •
Advanced Airbags and the weight-sensing
mat in the front seat
Th e Advanced A irbag System i n your ve hicle de tects t he p resence o f
an infa nt o r ch ild in a child rest rai nt on the fro nt passenger sea t using
the we ight-sens ing mat in the seat cushion and the senso r be low the
saf ety belt la tch o n th e front passenge r seat tha t measur es t he
tension on the safety belt.
Th e weigh t-sens ing ma t me asures tot al we ight of the child and the
child safety seat and a child blanket on the fro nt passe nger seat . The
we ight on the fro nt passenger se at is re lated to t he design of the
child res traint and i ts "footpri nt", the size and shape of t he bottom
of the ch ild restraint as it sits o n the seat . The weight of a child
restrain t an d its "foo tpr int" vary for differe nt k inds of child res tra ints .,_

_________________________________________ _:C~ h~il ~d ~ S~a ..!.:fe =. t SYL _lffll
and for the different models of the same kind of child restraint
offered by child restraint manufacturers.
The weight ranges for the individual types, makes and models of ch ild
restraints that the NHTSA has specified in the Safety Standard
together with the weight ranges of typical infants and typical 1 year
old child have been stored in the control unit of the Advanced Airbag
System. When a child restraint is being used on the front passenger
seat with a typical 1 year-old chi ld, the Advanced Airbag System
compares the weight meas ured by the weight sensing mat with the
information stored in the electronic control unit .
The electronic contro l unit a lso registers the tension on the front
passenger safety belt. The tension on the safety belt for the front
passenger seat will be different for an adult who is properly using the
safety belt as compared to the tension on the belt when it is used to
attach a child restraint to the seat . The sensor below the latch for the
safety belt for the front seat passenger measures the tension on the
belt. The input from this sensor is then used with the weight to
"decide", whether there is a child restraint with a typical 1 year-old
child on the front passenger seat and whether or not the airbag must
be turned off .•
Child restraints and Advanced Airbags
Regardless of the child restraint that you use, ma ke sure that it has
been certified to meet United States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standards and has been ce rtified by its manufacturer for use with an
airbag . Always be sure that the child restraint is properly installed at
one of the rear seating positions. If in exceptional circumstances you
must use it on the front passenger seat, carefully read all of the infor
mation on ch ild safety and Advanced Airbags and heed all of the
app licab le WARNINGS. Make certain that the child restra int is
correctly recognized by the weight-sensing mat inside the front
passenger seat, that the front passenger airbag is turned off and that
the airbag status is always correctly signaled by the
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
light.
Controls and equip ment Safety first Vehicle operation
Many types and models of child restra
ints have been available over
t he years, new models are introduced reg ularly incorpo rating new
and improved designs and older models are taken out of product ion.
Chi ld restraints are not standardized. Child restraints of the same
type typ ically have d ifferent weights and sizes and differe nt 'foot
prints,' the size and shape of the bottom of the child restraint that
sits on the seat, when they are installed on a vehicle seat . These
differences make it virtually impossib le to certify compliance with
t he requirements for advanced airbags with each and every chil d
restra int that has ever been sold in the past or will be sold over the
course of the useful life of your vehicle.
For this reason, the United States Nationa l Highway Traffic Safety
Administration has published a list of specific type, makes and
mode ls of child restra ints that must be used to cert ify compliance of
the Advanced Airbag System in yo ur vehicle with the suppression
requirements of Federal Motor Veh icle Safety Standard 208. These
child restraints are:
Subpart A - Car bed child restraints
Model
Angel Gua rd Angel Ride
AA2403 FOF
Manufactured on or
after
September 25, 2007
Subpart B -Rear-facing child restraints
Model
Century SmartF it 4543
Cosco Ar riva 22-013PAW and
base 22-999 WHO
Evenflo D iscovery Ad just Right
21 2
Evenflo First Cho ice 204
Manufactured on or
after
December 1, 1999
September 25, 20 07
December 1, 1999
December 1, 1999
Vehicle care Do-it-yourself service Technical data

____ C_ h_ il_d _ S_a_ f_ e_ t-= y;....._ ____________________________________________ _
& WARNING (continued)
• If exceptional circumstances require the use of a forward
facing child restraint on the front passenger's seat, the child's safety and well-being require that the following special precau
tions be taken:
-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.
- Always carefully follow the manufacturer's instructions
provided with the child safety seat or carrier.
- Always move the front passenger seat into the rearmost
position of the passenger seat's fore and aft adjustment range ,
and as far away from the airbag as possible before installing
the child restraint.
- Always make sure that nothing prevents the front
passenger's seat from being moved to the rearmost position in
its fore and aft adjustment range .
-Always make sure that the backrest is in the upright posi
tion .
• Always buckle the child safety seat firmly in place even if a
child is not sitting in it. A loose child safety seat can fly around
during a sudden stop or in a collision.
• Always read and heed all WARNINGS whenever using a child
restrained in a vehicle is being used~
page 181, "Safety belts ",
~ page 190 , "Airbag system " and ~ page 215, "Child Safety".
& WARNING
To reduce the risk of serious injury, make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on and stays on whenever a
child restraint is installed on the front passenger seat and the
ignition is switched on.
& WARNING (co ntinued )
• 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.
& WARNING
• A child in a child restraint installed with the LATCH lower
anchorages or with the standard safety belt on the rear seat may
play with unused rear seat safety belts and become entangled
resulting in serious personal injury and even death.
• Always buckle unused rear seat safety belts out of reach of chil
dren in child seats and properly activate the convertible locking
retractor so that the child cannot unreel the safety belt from the
retractor. •

Child safety seats
Infant seats
Babies and inf ants up to abo ut one ye ar o ld and 2 0 lbs.
or
9 kg nee d s pec ial rea rwa rd -fac ing ch ild restraints tha t
s upport th e back, nec k and head in a crash.
F ig. 187 Schem atic
overview : re arwa rd
facing infa nt seat,
properly install ed on
the rea r seat
- Whe n u sin g the veh icle sa fety bel t to insta ll a child s afety
s e at, you mu st first acti vate the converti ble lo cking
ret ractor on th e saf ety belt to preven t th e chi ld safet y seat
fro m moving==>
page 2 25 or install t he seat usi ng t he
LAT CH attach ments .
- Pus h the child sa fety s eat d own with y our fu ll weight to
g et t he sa fety be lt really tig ht so t hat th e sea t c an not
mov e fo rwar d or sid eways mor e t han one in ch ( 2.5 cm) .
Infa nts up t o ab out one yea r (2 0 lb s. or 9 kg) are best protec ted in
special infant carr iers a nd ch ild safety seats desig ned fo r th eir age
g roup. Many e xperts believe t hat infa nts and sm all c hildr en sho uld
r ide on ly in spec ia l re stra in ts i n w hic h the child faces th e back of the
v ehicle . T hese i nfant seats support t he baby's back, neck and head in
a crash=>
page 221 , fig. 18 7.
Safety first Vehicle OP-eration
Child Safety
The airbag on the passenger side makes the fro nt seat a potentially
d ange rous place for a child to rid e. Th e front seat is not the safest
place for a ch ild in a forwa rd-faci ng child seat . It is a very da ngerous
place for an infant o r a larger child in a rearward-fac ing seat .
& WARNING
Not using a child safety seat, u sing the wrong child safety seat or
improperly installing a child restraint increases the risk of serious
personal injury and death in a cra sh .
• Never install rearward- facing child safety seats or infant
c arriers on the front passenger seat · even with an Advanced
Airbag System . A child will be seriously injured and can be killed
when the inflating airbag hits the child safety seat or infant carrier
with great force and smashes the child safety seat and child against the backrest, center armrest , door or roof=>
page 192,
"Child restraints on the front seat -some important things to
know".
• Always install rearward-facing child safety seats or infant
carriers on the rear seat .
• Never install a rearward-facing child restraint in the forward·
facing direction . Such restraints are designed for the special needs
of infants and very small children and cannot protect them prop·
erly if the seat is forward-facing .
• If you must install a rearward facing child safety seat on the
front passenger seat becau se of exceptional circumstances and
the PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF light does not come on and stay on,
immediately install the rearward-facing child safety seat in a rear
seating position and have the airbag system inspected by your
authorized Audi dealer.
• Always read and heed all WARNINGS whenever using a child
restrained in a vehicle is being used=>
page 181, "Safety belts ",
=> page 190, "Airbag system " and => page 215, "Important
things to know". •
Vehicle care Do-it-yourselt service iTechnical data

& WARNING (continued)
• Always install rearward-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 rearward-facing child safety seat in a rear
seating position and have the airbag system inspected by your
authorized Audi dealer.
• Always read and heed all WARNINGS whenever using a child
restrained in a vehicle is being used~
page 181, "Safety belts",
~ page 190, "Airbag system" and~ page 215, "Important
things to know".
& WARNING
If exceptional circumstances require the use of a forward-facing
child restraint on the front passenger's seat, the child's safety and
well-being require that the following special precautions be
taken:
• Make sure the forward-facing seat has been designed and certi
fied by its manufacturer for use on a front seat with a passenger
front and side airbag.
• Always follow the manufacturer's instructions provided with
the child safety seat or infant carrier.
• Always move the front passenger seat into the rearmost posi
tion of the passenger seat's fore and aft adjustment range, and as
far away from the airbag as possible before installing the child
restraint.
• Always make sure that nothing prevents the front passenger's
seat from being moved to the rearmost position in its fore and aft
adjustment range.
• Always make sure the backrest is in an upright position.
Safety first Vehicle OP-eration
Child Safety
& WARNING (continued)
• Make sure that the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
and stays on all the time whenever the ignition is switched on.
• If the light does not stay on, perform the checks~
page 201,
"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 whenever the ignition is switched
on.a
Booster seats and safety belts
Properly used booster seats can help protect children
weighing between about 40 lbs. and 80 lbs. (18 kg and
36 kg) who are less than 4 ft. 9 in.
(57 inches/1.45 meters) tall.
Fig. 190 Rear seat:
child properly
restrained in a booster
seat
The vehicle's safety belts alone will not fit most children until
they are at least 4 ft. 9 in. (57 inches/1.45 meters) tall and
weigh about 80 lbs. (36 kg). Booster seats raise these chil
dren up so that the safety belt will pass properly over the
stronger parts of their bodies and the safety belt can help
protect them in a crash.
~
Vehicle care Do-it-yourselt service iTechnical data

-L~C:_.!:h~ i~ld ~ S~ a:!: f~ e~ t~ y ~ ------------------------------------------
- Do not use the convertible locking retractor when using
the vehicle's safety belt to restrain a child on a booster
seat.
- Always position the shoulder portion of the safety belt midway over the child's shoulder . If you must transport an
older child in a booster seat on the front passenger seat,
you can use the safety belt height adjustment to help
adjust the shoulder port ion properly .
- Always make s ure that the shoulder por tion of the safety
belt never rests against or across the child's neck .
- Always make sure that the child can properly wear the lap portion of the belt low across the thighs or pelvis and
never over the stomach or abdomen .
Children up to about 40 lbs. (18 kg) are best protected in child safety
seats designed for their age and weight. Experts say that the skeletal
st ruct ure, particularly the pelv is, of these chi ldren is not fully deve l
oped, and they must not use the vehicle safety belts without a suit
able child rest raint .
Children who are at least 4 ft. 9 in . (57 inches/1.45 meters) tall can
generally use the vehicle's three point lap and shoulder belts . Never
use the lap belt port ion of the vehicle's safety belt alone to restra in
any child, regard less of how big the child is. Always remember that
childre n do not have the pronounced pelvic structure required for the
proper function of lap belt portion of the vehicle's three point lap and
shoulder belts. The ch ild's safety absolutely requires that a lap belt
portion of the safety belt be fastened snugly and as low as possible
around the pelvis. Neve r let the lap belt po rtion of the safety bel t
pass over the child's stomach or abdomen.
It is usua lly best to p ut these ch ildren in appropriate booster seats.
Be sure the booster seat meets all appl icable safety standards .
Booster seats raise the seating position of the child and reposition
both the lap and shoulder parts of the safety belt so that they pass across the child
's body in the right places . The rout ing of the belt over
t he c hild's body is very impo rtan t for the chi ld's p ro tect io n, whether
or not a booster seat is used. Children age 12 and under must always
ride in the rear seat .
In a crash, airbags m ust inflate with in a blink of an eye and with
considerable force. In order to do its job, the airbag needs room to
infl ate so that it w ill be t he re to protect t he oc cupan t as the occupant
moves forward into the a irbag.
A vehicle occupant who is out of position and too close to the airbag gets in the way of an inflating a irbag . When a n occupant is too close,
he or she will be struck violently and will receive serious or possibly
even fatal injury.
In order for the airbag to offer protection, it is important that all
veh icle occupants , espec ia lly any ch ild ren, who must be in the front
seat because of exceptional c ircumstances, be properly restra ined
and as far away from the airbag as possib le . By keeping room
between the child's body and the front of the passenger compart
ment, the airbag can inflate completely and provide supplemental
protection in certa in frontal collisions.
& WARNING
Not using a booste r sea t, using th e boo ste r seat improp erl y, inc or
rectl y installing a boo ste r seat or u sing the vehicle saf ety b elt
i mp roperly increa se s the risk of serio us per sonal injur y and death
i n a colli sion or oth er emergenc y situatio n. To he lp red uce the ri sk
of s eriou s pers onal injury and /or d eath:
• Alway s make su re to po sition the shoulder portion of the three
point b elt ove r the middl e of child' s sho ulder.
• Never l et the shoulder p orti on of the b elt re st again st or acro ss
th e neck, fa ce, chin , or thro at of the ch ild.
• Alwa ys make sure the lap belt portion of th e thr ee -point belt i s
worn snug and pa sses as low a s pos sible across the ch ild 's pel vis.
N ever le t th e be lt pa ss over the soft abdomen .
liJ>

__________________________________________ ___:C~ h~il ~d ~ S~a ~f ~e ~t z._y __ _
& WARNING (c on tinued )
• Failure to properly route safety belt s ov e r a child' s body will
cause severe injurie s in an accident or oth er emergency situation
~ page 181 .
• The r ear side of the booster seat should be positioned as clo se
as possible to the backrest on the vehicle seat. Adjust o r remove
the rear seat head restraint if it is difficult to install the child seat
with the head restraint in place~
page 81. Install the head
restraint again immediatel y once the child seat is removed .
Driving without head restraints or with head restraints that are
not properly adju sted increases the risk of seriou s or fatal neck
injury dramat ically.
• Children on the front seat of any car, even with Advanced
Airbags , can be seriously injured or even killed when an airbag
inflates.
• Never let a child stand or kneel on any se at.
• Never let a child ride in the cargo area of your vehicle. • Alway s remember that a child leaning forward , sitting side
ways or out of position in any way during an accident can be struck by a deploying airbag. This will result in se rious personal injury or
death .
• If you must install a booster seat on the front passenger seat
because of e xceptional circumstances the PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF light must come on and stay on, whenever the ignition is
switched on.
• If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not come on and
stay on, perform the checks described
~ page 201, " 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 whenever the ignition is sw itched
on.
• Always read and heed all WARNINGS whenever using a child
restrained in a vehicle is being used
~ page 181 , "Safety belts",
Controls and equip ment Safety first Vehicle operation
& WARNING
(co ntinued )
~ page 190, "Airbag system " and ~ page 215, "Important
things to know ".•
Installing a child safety seat
Securing a child safety seat using a safety
belt
Sa fety belts for the r ear seats and th e front passenger 's
seat c an be locked with the convertible locking retractor
t o pr operly secu re c hild safety se ats.
Th e safety bel ts emergency lock ing re trac to rs for the rear seats
safety belts and for the front passenger's seat safety belt have a
c onve rtible locking retractor for child res traints. The saf ety belt m ust
be locked so that belt webbing cannot un reel. The retractor can be
act ivate d to loc k the safety belt and prevent the safety belt webb ing
from loosening up during normal dr iv ing. A child safety seat can on ly
be pro pe rly in stall ed when the sa fety belt is locke d so th at th e child
and child safety seat will stay in place.
Always remembe r: E ven tho ugh yo ur vehicle is equippe d with an
Advanced Airbag system, all ch ild ren, espec ially those 12 yea rs and
younger, should a lways ride in t he back seat properly restrained for
their age and we ight.
& WARNING
Improperly installed child safety seats increase the risk of serious
personal injury and death in a collision.
• Always make sure that the safety belt retractor is locked when
installing a child safety seat . An unlocked safety belt retractor
cannot hold the child safety seat in place during normal driving or
in a cra sh. .,,
Vehicle care Do-it-yourself service Technical data