2011 AUDI TT ROADSTER Owners Manual

Front airbags
Description of front airbags
The airbag system can provide supplemental
protection to properly restrained front seat
occupants .
Fig. 119 Lo cation of dri ver airbag: in steering whee l
Fig. 120 Loca tion of front passe nger's ai rb ag : in the in­
strument panel
Your vehicle is equipped with an "Advanced
Airbag System" in compliance with United
States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
(FMVSS) 208 as applicable at the time your
vehicle was manufactured . The safety belts
for the front seats have "pretensioners" that
help to take slack out of the belt system. The
pretensioners are also activated by the elec­
tronic control unit for the airbag system.
The front safety belts also have load limiters
to help reduce the forces applied to the body
in a crash .
The airbag for the driver is in the steer ing
wheel hub¢
fig. 119 and the airbag for the
front passenger is in the instrument panel
¢
fig. 120. The general location of the airbags
is marked "AIRBAG".
There is a lot you need to know about the air­
bags in your vehicle . We urge you to read the
Airbag system 119
detailed information about airbags, safety
b elts and child safety in this and the other
chapters that make up the owner's literature .
Please be sure to heed the WARNINGS - they
are extremely important for your safety and
the safety of your passengers, especially in­
fants and small children.
A WARNING ,.;;
Never rely on airbags alone for protection .
- Even when they deploy, airbags provide
only supplementa l protect ion.
- Airbag work most effectively when used
with properly worn safety belts.
- Therefore, always wear your safety belts
and make sure that everybody in your ve­
hicle is properly restrained.
A WARNING
A person on the front passenger seat, es­
pecially infants and small children, will re­
ceive serious injuries and can even be kil­
led by being too close to the airbag when
it inflates .
- Altho ugh the Advanced Airbag System in
your veh icle 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 imposs ible in all conceiva­
ble situations that may happen during
the useful life of your vehicle .
- The Advanced Airbag System can deploy
in accordance with the "low risk" option
under the U .S. Federal Standard if a child
that is heavie r than the typical one-year
old child is on the front passenger seat
and the other conditions for airbag de­
ployment are met .
- Accident statistics have shown that chil ­
dren are generally safer in the rear seat
area than in the front seating position.
- For its own safety, a child should always
ride properly restrained for its age and
size.
-

120 Airbag sys te m
Advanced front airbag system
Yo ur veh icle is equippe d with a fro nt Advanced
A ir b ag System in com pliance with Un ited
States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 as applicab le at the time your vehicle was
manufactured.
The front Advanced Airbag Sys tem supp le­
ments the safety belts to provide addit ional
protection for the driver's and front passeng­
er's heads and upper bodies in frontal crashes.
The airbags inflate only in fronta l impacts
when the vehicle dece lerat ion 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 over ­
all occupant restraint system in your veh icle.
Always remember that the airbag system can
only help to protect you, if you are s itting up­
right, wear ing you r safety belt and wearing it
properly. This is why you and your passenge rs
must always be properly restra ined, not just
beca use the law requires you to be.
The Advanced Airbag System in your veh icle
has been cert ified to meet the "low risk" re­
qu irements for
3 and 6 year-o ld childre n on
the passenger side and very small adu lts on
the dr iver side. The low risk deployment cri te ­
ria are intended to he lp red uce the risk of in ­
jury through interaction with the front airbag
that can occ ur, for example, by be ing too
close to the steer ing wheel and instrument
panel when the airbag i nflates.
I n addition, the system has been certif ied to
comp ly with the "suppression" requirements
of the Safety Standard, to turn off the front
a irbag for infants
12 months old and younger
who are restra ined on the front passenger
seat in ch ild restra ints that are listed in the
Standard
~ page 138, Child restraints and
Advan ced Airbags.
"Suppression" requires the front airbag on the
passenger side to be tur ned off if:
- a ch ild up to about one year of age is re­
stra ined on the front passenger seat in one
of the rear -facing or forwa rd -facing infant restraints listed in Federal
Motor Vehicle
Safety Standard 208 with which the Ad­
vanced Airbag System in your veh icle was
cert ified. For a listing of the child restraints
that were used to certify your vehicle's com­
pliance w ith the US Safety Standard
~page 138,
-weight less than a threshold level stored in
the control unit is detected on the front pas­ senger seat .
When a person is detected on the front pas­
senger seat, weighing more than the total
we ight of a chi ld that is about
1 year old re ­
stra ined in one of the rear-facing o r forward­
facing infa nt restraints ( listed in Fede ral Mo­
tor Vehicle Safety Standa rd 208 w it h which
t h e Advan ced Airbag Sys tem in yo ur vehicle
was certif ied), the front air bag on the passen­
ger side may or may not deploy .
T he
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
whe n the elec tro nic con tro l unit detects a to­
ta l we ight on the fron t passenger seat that re ­
quires the front airbag to be t urned off . If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not
come on, the front a irbag on the passenger
s ide has not been t urned off by the contro l
unit and ca n dep loy if the control u nit senses
an impact that meets the cond itions stored in
its memory.
If the total weight on the front passenger
seat is more than that of a typical
1 year-old,
but less than the we ight of a small adult, the
front a irbag on the passenger side may dep loy
(the
PASSENG ER AIR BAG OFF light does not
come on).
For example, the airbag may deploy if:
- a small ch ild that is heav ier than a typical 1
year-old ch ild is on the front passenger seat
(regard less of whether the child is i n one of
the child safe ty seats listed
~ page 138),
-a child who has outgrown child restraints is
on the front passenger seat .
If the front passenger airbag is turned off, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light in the center
of the instrument panel will come on and stay o n . ..,.

The front airbag on the passenger side may
not dep loy (the PA SSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not illuminate and stay lit) if:
- a small adu lt or teenager is on the fron t pas ­
senger seat
- a passenger who is not sitt ing upright w ith
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 .
I f the front passenger airbag deploys, the
F ederal Standard requires the a irbag to meet
the " low risk" deployment criteria to help re­
duce the risk of injury through interaction
with the airbag. "Low risk" deployment occurs in those crashes that take place at lower de­
celerations as defined in the electronic co ntrol
un it
o page 125 .
Alway s rem ember : Please be sure to read the
important information in the sections that
follow and be sure to heed all of the WARN­
INGS.
8, WARNING
To reduce the risk of injury when an airbag
inflates, a lways wear safety belts prope rly.
- If you are unrestrained, lean ing forward,
sitting sideways or out of position in any
way, your risk of injury is much higher.
- You w ill also receive serio us injuries and
cou ld even be killed if you are up against
the a irbag or too close to it when it in­
fla tes - even with an Advanced Airbag
opage 115 .
A WARNING ,~
A child in a rearward -facing child sa fety
seat insta lled on the front passenger seat
wi ll be seriously injured and can be ki lled if
the front a irbag inflates - even with an Ad­
vanced Airbag System.
- Although the Advanced Airbag System in
yo ur vehicle is designed to turn
off the
front a irbag when a rearward-fac ing
child restraint has been installed on the
front passenger seat, nobody can abso­ lute ly guarantee that deployment is im-
A irbag system 12 1
possible in all conceivable situations that
may happen dur ing the usefu l life of your
veh icle.
- The inflating airbag will h it the ch ild
safety seat or infant carrier with great
force and will smash the child safety seat and child against the backrest, door, or roof.
- If you must install a rearward fac ing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat because of exceptional c ircumstan­
ces and t he
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on and s tay on, im­
media tely ins ta ll the rear-fac ing ch ild
safety seat in a rear seating position and
have the airbag system inspected by your
Aud i dea le r.
A WARNING
If, in except iona l circumstances, you must
install a forward-facing child restraint on
the front passenger's seat:
- Always make sure the forward-facing seat has been designed and certified
by
its manufacturer fo r use on a front seat
wit h a passenger front and s ide a irbag.
- Never put the forward-facing child re­
straint up against or very near the instru­
ment panel.
- Always move the passenger seat into its
rearmost pos ition in the seat's fore and
aft ad justment range, as fa r away from
the airbag as possible, before install ing
the forwa rd-fa cing ch ild restra int. The
bac krest mus t be adju sted to a n up right
posi tion.
- Ma ke su re that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
li ght comes on and stays on all the
time whenever the ignition is switched on.
Advanced Airbag System components
T he front passenger seat in yo ur vehicle has a
lot of very important parts of the Advanced
Airbag System in it. These parts include the
weight-sensing mat, sensors, w iri ng, brack-
ets, and more . The funct ion of the system in ..,.
•
•

122 Airbag sys te m
the front passenger seat is checked by t he
e lectronic control unit when the i gnition is on .
The control unit mon itors the Advanced Air ­
bag System and turns the airbag indicator
light on when a malfunction in the system
components is detected. The function of the
a irbag ind icator light is described in greater
deta il be low. Because the front passenger
seat conta ins impo rtant parts of t he Ad­
v a nce d Airb ag System, you m ust ta ke ca re to
prevent it from be ing damaged. Damage to
the seat may prevent the Advanced Airbag for
the front passenger seat from doing its job in
a crash.
The f ront Advanced Airbag System
consi sts o f th e following :
-Crash sensors in the front of the veh icle that
measure veh icle acceleration/dece leration
to provide information to the Advanced Air­
bag System about the severity of the crash.
- An electronic contro l unit, with integrated
crash sensors for front and side impacts.
The contro l unit "decides" whether to fire
the front airbags based on the information received from the crash sensors. The contro l
unit a lso "dec ides" w hethe r th e safety be lt
pretensioners should be a ctivated.
- An Advanced Airbag with gas generator for
th e d river ins ide the steer ing whee l hub.
- An Advanced Airbag with gas generator in­
s ide the instrument pane l for the front pas­
senger.
- A weig ht-sens ing mat under the upholste ry
padd ing of the front passenger seat cush io n
t h at meas ure s the tot al we igh t on the seat.
T he information registered is sen t con tinu­
o usly to the electron ic cont ro l u nit to regu­
l ate dep loyment of the front A dvanced Air­
bag on the passenger side.
- An airbag monito ring system and indicator
li ght in the instrument cluster
¢ page 125.
- The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes
on and stays on in the center of the instru­
ment pane l¢
page 126, fig. 122 and tells
yo u when the front Advanced A irbag on the
passenger s ide has been turned off. -
A sensor below the safety be lt latch for the
front seat passenger to measure the tension on the safety belt . The tension on the safety
be lt and the weight registered by the
weight-sensing mat he lp the control unit
"decide" whether the front airbag for the
front passenge r seat should be turned off or
not
¢ page 116, Child restraints on the
front seat -some important things to
know.
- A senso r in the safety belt latch fo r th e d riv­
er and fo r the fro nt sea t passenger tha t
senses whet her t hat safety bel t is latche d or
not and transmi ts this information to t he
electronic control unit.
A WARNING
Damage to the front passenger seat can
p revent the front airbag from work ing
properly.
- Improper repair or d isassembly of the
front passenge r and dr iver seat will pre­
vent the Advanced Airbag System from
fu nctioning properly.
- Repairs to the front passenge r seat must
be pe rformed by qualified and p roperly
trained workshop personnel.
- Never rem ove t he front passenger or
driver seat from t he vehicle.
- Never
remove th e upho lstery from the
front passenge r seat.
- Never d isassemble or remove parts from
the seat or disconnect wires from it.
- Never carry sharp objects in yo ur poc kets
or place them on the seat. If the weight­
sensing mat in the passenge r seat is
punctured it cannot work properly .
- Never carry things on you r lap or carry
objects on the passenger seat. Such items can increase the weight registered
by the weight-sensing mat and send the
wrong in formation to the airbag co ntrol
un it.
- Never store items under the front pas­
senger sea t. Parts of the Advan ced Air­
b ag Sys tem unde r the p assenger se at
-
could be damaged, p reven ting t hem and ~

the airbag system from working proper­ly.
- Never place seat covers or replacement
upholstery that have not been specifical­
ly approved by Audi on the front seats.
- Seat covers can prevent the Advanced
Airbag System from recognizing child re­
straints or occupants on the front pas­
senger seat and prevent the side airbag
in the seat backrest from deploying prop ­
erly .
- 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 child restraint
or person on the seat and prevent the
Advanced Airbag System from function ­
ing properly.
- If you must use a child restraint on the
front passenger seat and the child re­
straint manufacturer's instructions re­
quire the use of a towel, foam cushion or
something else to properly position the
child restraint, make certain that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes
on and stays on whenever the child re­
straint is installed on the front passen­
ger seat .
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, have the
airbag system inspected by your Audi
dealer.
How the Advanced Airbag System
components work together
The front Advanced Airbag System and the
side airbags supplement the protection of­
fered by the front three-point safety belts
with pretensioners and load limiters and the adjustable head restraints to help reduce the
risk of injury in a wide range of accident and
crash situations . Be sure to read the impor­
tant information about safety and heed the
WARNINGS in this chapter.
Deployment of the Advanced Airbag System
and the activation of the safety belt preten-
Airbag system 123
sioners depend on the deceleration measured
by the crash sensors and registered by the
electronic control unit. Crash severity depends
on speed and deceleration as well as the mass
and stiffness of the vehicle or object involved
in the crash .
When the electronic control unit registers a
low severity crash and the safety belt is being
used, the airbag will not deploy. I f the safety
belt is not being used, the first stage deploys,
followed by the second stage after a much lat­
er time in the crash sequence.
If the electronic control unit registers a crash
of medium severity , the first stage of the air ­
bag deploys followed by the second stage at a
much later time in the crash sequence -re­
gardless of whether the safety belt is being
used or not . In higher severity crashes as reg­
istered by the electronic control unit, both the
first and second stages deploy almost at the
same time.
On the passenger side, regardless of safety
belt use, the airbag will be turned off if the
weight on the passenger seat is less than the
amount programmed in the electronic control
unit. The front airbag on the passenger side
will also be turned off if one of the child safe­
ty seats that has been certified under Federal
Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 has been
recognized on the seat. The
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on to tell
you when the front Advanced Airbag on the passenger side has been turned off
¢ page 116, Child r estraints on the front s eat
- some important things to know.
_&, WARNING
To reduce the risk of injury when an airbag
inflates, always wear safety belts properly .
- If you are unrestrained , leaning forward,
sitting sideways or out of position in any
way, your risk of injury is much higher.
- You will also receive serious injuries and
could even be killed if you are up against
the airbag or too close to it when it in­
flates -even with an Advanced Airbag
¢ page 115.
•
•

124 Airbag system
More important things to know about
front airbags
F ig. 121 Inflated fro nt airbags
Safety belts are impo rtant to help keep fro nt
seat occupants in the p roper seated pos it io n
so that airbags can unfo ld prope rly and pro­
vide supp lemental protection in a fronta l co l­
lision .
The front a irbags are designed to provide ad­
d itiona l protect ion for the chest a nd face of
the dr iver and the front seat passenger when:
- safety belts are worn properly,
- the seats have been positioned so that the
occupant is properly seated as far as possi­
ble from the a irbag,
- and the head restraints have been proper ly
adjusted .
Because airbags inflate in the blink of an eye
with great force, things you have on your lap or have placed on the seat could become dan­
ge rous projectiles, and be pushed into you if
the airbag inflates .
When an a irbag deploys, fine dust is released.
This is normal and is not caused by a fire in
the vehicle . This d ust is made up mostly of a
powder used to lubricate the airbags as they
deploy. It cou ld irritate s kin .
It is important to remember that while the
supp lemental airbag system is designed to re­
d uce the l ikelihood of serious in juries, other
in juries, fo r example swelling, bruisi ng and
m inor abras ions, ca n also happe n when air­
bags in flate. Airbags do not protect the a rms
or the lower pa rts of the body. Front airbags
only s upplement the t hree point safety belts
in some frontal collisions in which the vehicle deceleration
is high eno ugh to deploy the air ­
bags .
Front airbags will not deploy:
- if the ignition is sw itched off when a c rash
occu rs,
- in side co llisions,
- in rear-end co llisions,
- in rollovers,
-when the crash dece leration measured by
the airbag system is less than the min imum
threshold needed for a irbag deployment as
reg istered by the electronic control unit .
The front passenge r airbag will al so not
deploy:
- when the front passenger seat is not occu­
p ied,
- when t he weight on the front passenger
seat as sensed by the Advanced Airbag Sys ­
tem ind icates that the front ai rbag on the
passenger side has to be turned off by the
elec troni c con trol un it (the
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
li ght comes on and st ays on) .
_&. WARNING ~
Sitting in the wrong position can increase
the r isk o f se rious injury i n crashes.
- To reduce the risk of inju ry w he n t he air ­
bags i nflate, the drive r and passengers
m ust always sit in an upr ight position,
m ust not lean aga inst or place any part
of their b ody too close to the area where
the airbags a re located .
- Occupants who are unbelted, out of posi­
tion or too close to the a irbag can be se­
rio usly injured by a n airbag as it unfolds
wit h great force i n the blink of an eye
¢page 116 .
_&. WARNING ~ -
A child in a rearward-fac ing c hild safety
seat in stalle d on the fron t passe nger s eat
will be serio usly inju re d and ca n be killed if
the front air bag in fla tes -even with an Ad­
vanced A irbag Sys tem.

-The inflating airbag will hit the child
safety seat or infant carrier with great
force and w ill smash the ch ild 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 circumstan­ ces and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does no t come on and stay on, im­
med iately 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 in jury in a crash by in­
terfering with the way the airbag unfolds or by being pushed into you as the a irbag
inflates.
- Never hold th ings 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 air­
bags dur ing braking or other sudden ma­
neuver and become dange rous projec­
t il es that can cause serious personal in­
jury if the airbags inflate.
- Never place o r attach accessories or oth­
er objects (such as cup ho lders, tele­
phone brackets, large, heavy or b ulky ob­
jects) on the doors, over or near the area
marked "AIRBAG" on the steering wheel,
instrument panel, seat backrests or be­
tween those areas and yourself. These
objects could cause injury in a crash, es­
pecially 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 dur ing braking or in a
sudden maneuver. Objects near the air­
bags can be come project iles and cause
injury, part icularly when the seat is re­
cl ined.
-
A irbag sys tem 125
&_ WARNING
The fine dust created when airbags deploy
can cause breathing prob lems fo r people
with a history of as thma or other breath­
ing cond itions.
- To reduce the risk of breath ing problems,
those with asthma o r other respiratory
conditions s hou ld get fresh air r ight
away by getting o ut of the veh icle or
open ing windows or doors.
- If you are in a collision in which airbags
deploy, wash your hands and fa ce with
mild soap and wate r before eating.
- Be ca reful not to get the dust in to your
eyes, o r into any c uts or sc ratches.
- If the residue should get into your eyes,
f lush them w ith wate r.
Monitoring the
Advanced Airbag System
fl~ Airbag monitoring indicator light
Two separate indicators monitor the function
of the Advanced Airbag System: the airbag
monitoring indicator light and the
PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG O FF
light.
T he Advanced A irbag System (includ ing the
electron ic co ntro l unit, sensor circu its and sys­
tem wiring) is monitored continuously to
make sure that it is function ing properly
whenever the ignition is on. Each time you
turn on the ignition, the airbag mon itoring in­
dicator light
I will come on for a few seconds
(self diagnostics).
Th e syste m mu st b e in spected when the
indicator light
I :
- does not come on when the ignition is
sw itched on,
- does not go out a few seconds after you
have switched on the ignit ion, or
- comes on while driving.
If an airbag system malfunction is detected,
the indicator light wi ll first start flashing to
catch the driver's attention and then stay on
llo-
•
•

126 Airbag system
con tinuously to serve as a constant remin der
to have the system inspected immed iately.
I f a malfu nction occurs that turns the front
a ir bag on the passenger side off, the
PAS SEN­
GER AIR BAG OFF
li ght will come on and stay
on whenever the ignition is on .
.&_ WARNING
An airbag system that is not functioning
properly cannot provide supplemental pro­
tection in a frontal crash.
- If the airbag indicator light comes on, it
means that the re may be somet hing
wrong with the Advanced Airbag System.
It is possible that the airbag will inflate
when it is not s upposed to, or w ill not in­
flate when it should.
- Have the airbag system inspected imme­
diat ely by your Au di dealer .
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
Fig. 122 Sect ion from the instr um ent pa nel: PASS EN ­
GER AIR BA G OFF light
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF Light is Located
in the cen ter of the instr ument panel
~ fig. 122 .
The PAS SENGE R AIR BAG OFF Light will come
on and stay on to tell you when the front Ad·
vanced A irbag on the passenger side has been
turned off by t he e lectronic control unit. Each
time you tu rn on the ig nition, the
PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG OFF
li ght will flash for a few
seconds and:
- wi ll stay on if the fron t passenger seat is not
occupied,
- will stay on if there is a small child or ch ild
rest raint on the front passenger seat, -
will go out i f the front passenge r seat is oc­
cup ied by an adult as registered by the
weight -sensing mat .
T he
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light mu st
come on and stay on
if the ignition is on and
- a ca r bed has been installed on the front
seat , or
- a r earward-facing child rest raint has been
installed o n the front passenger seat, or
- a forward-fac ing ch ild restra int has b een in·
stalled on the front passenger seat , o r
- the weight reg iste red on the front passen­
ger seat is equal to o r less than the com·
b in ed weight o f a typical 1 year-old restra in­
ed in one of the rear-facing or forwa rd-fac ­
ing infant restraints Listed in Federal Motor
Ve hicle Safety Standard 208 with which the
Advanced A irbag System in you r vehicle was
certified .
If the front passenger seat is not occupied,
t h e front airbag wi ll not deploy, and the
PAS­
SENGER AIR BAG OFF
Light will stay on . Nev ­
er install a rea rward -facing child restraint on
t h e front passenger seat, the safest p lace for
a chi ld in any kind of ch ild restraint is at one
of the seating posit io ns on t he rear seat
~ page 116, Child restraints on the front seat
- some important things to know
and
~ page 136, Child Safety.
If the PA SSENGER AIR BAG OFF light come s
on
when one of the cond itions Listed above is
met, be sure to check the Light regu larly to
make ce rtain tha t t he
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
Light stays on con tinuously wheneve r th e
ignition is on . If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
Light does not appear and not stay on a ll
the time, stop as soon as it is safe to do so a nd
- reactivate the system by t urning the ign ition
off and then turning it on again;
- remove and reins tall the ch ild res tra int.
Make s ure that the ch ild restra int is properly
installed and that the safety belt for the
front passenger seat has been correctly .,.