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 al
ways properly wear their safety belts and be
in a proper seating position.
For your safety and the safety of your passen
gers, before driving off, always:
""Adjust the driver's seat and steering wheel
properly ¢
page 99,
"" Adjust the front passenger's seat properly
¢page 67 ,
""Wear safety be lts properly r::::> page 109,
""Always properly use the proper child re-
straint to protect children
r::::> page 136.
In a collision airbags must inflate within the
blink of an eye and with considerable force.
The supplemental airbags can cause injuries if
the driver or the front seat passenger are not
seated properly . Therefore in order to help the
airbag to do its job, it is important, both as a
driver and as a passenger to s it properly at all
times.
By keeping room between your body and the
steering whee l and the front of the passenger
compartment, the airbag can inflate fully and
comp letely and provide supplemental protec
tion in certain frontal collisions
r::::> page 99,
Proper occupant seating positions. For details
on the operation of the seat adjustment con
trols ¢
page 67 and ¢ page 68.
It's especially important that children are
properly restrained
r::::> page 136.
There is a lot that the driver and the passen
ger can and must do to help the individua l
safety features installed in your Audi work to
gether as a system.
Proper seating pos ition is important so that
the front airbag on the driver side can do its
job. If you have a physical impairment or con-
Airbag system 115
dition 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 dealer or
qualified workshop, or call Audi Customer
CARE at 1-800-822-2834 for possible modifi
cations to your vehicle .
When the airbag system dep loys, a gas gener
ator will fill the a irbags, break open the pad
ded covers, and inflate between the steer ing
wheel and the driver and between the instru
ment panel and the front passenger. The air
bags will deflate immediately after deploy
ment so that the front occupants can see
through the windshield again without inter
ruption.
All of this takes place in the blink of an eye, so
fast that many people don't even realize that
the airbags have deployed. The airbags a lso
inflate with a great dea l of force and nothing
should be in their way when they deploy.
Front airbags in combination with properly
worn safety belts slow down and limit the oc
cupant's forward movement. Together they
help to prevent the driver and passenger from
hitting parts of the inside the vehicle while re
ducing the forces acting on the occupant dur
ing 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 wi ll not inflate in all fronta l
collisions . The triggering of the airbag system
depends on the vehicle dece leration rate
caused by the co llision and registered by the
electronic control unit. If this rate is below
the reference value programmed into the con
trol unit, the airbags will not be triggered,
even though the car may be badly damaged as
a result of the collision . Veh icle damage, re
pair costs or even the lack of veh icle damage
is not necessarily an indication of whether an
airbag should inf late o r not.
It is not possib le to define a range of vehicle
speeds that w ill cover every possible kind and ..,. •
•
116 Airbag sys te m
angle of im pact that will always trig ger the
airbags, since the circumstances wi ll vary con
siderably between one collision and another.
Important factors include, for example, the
nature (hard or soft) of the object which the
car h its, the angle of impact, vehicle speed,
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 certa in kinds of collisions.
Your safety belts are always there to offe r pro
tection in those s ituations in which airbags
a re not supposed to deploy, or when they have
a lready deployed; for example, when yo ur ve
h icle strikes or is st ruck by another after the
first collision .
This is just one of the reaso ns why an a irbag is
a supplementary restra in t and is no t a s ubst i
tute for a safety be lt. The airbag system
works most effective ly when used with the
safety be lts. Therefore, always properly wear
your safety belts¢
page 107.
A WARNING
Sitting too close to the steer ing wheel or
instrument panel will decrease the effec
tiveness of the airbags and will increase
the risk of pe rsonal injury in a collision .
- Never sit closer than 10 inches (25 cm)
to the stee ring wheel or instr ument pan
el.
- If you cannot sit more than 10 inches
(25 cm) from the steer ing wheel, investi
gate whethe r adaptive equipment may
be available to held you reach the pedals
and incre ase your sea ting dis tance from
the steering wheel.
- If you are unrestrained, lean ing fo rward,
sitting sideways or out of posi tion in any
way, your risk of injury is much higher.
- Yo u w il l a lso receive serio us in juries and
co uld even be killed if you are up against
the airbag or too close to it when it in
flates -even with an Advanced Airbag.
- To reduce the r is k of i njury when an air
bag inf lates, a lways wear safety belts
properly
c::> page 110, Safety belts .
-If ch ildren are not properly restra ined,
they may be severely injured or killed
when an airbag inflates.
- Never let ch ildren ride unrestrained or
improperly restrained in the vehicle. Ad
just the fro nt seats properly.
- Always sit as far as possible from the steer ing whee l or the instrument pane l
¢ page 99, Proper occupant seating po
sitions.
- Always sit uprig ht with your back against
the backrest of your seat.
- Never p lace your feet on the instrument
panel or on the seat. Always keep both
feet on the f loor in front of the seat to
he lp prevent serio us in ju ries to the legs
a nd h ips if the airbag inflates.
A WARNING
A irbags that have deployed i n a crash must
b e repla ced.
- Use on ly or ig inal equipment airbags ap
p roved by Aud i and installed by a trained
technici an who has the necessa ry too ls
an d diagnost ic equipment to properly re
p lace any airbag in your vehicle an d as
sure system effectiveness in a crash.
- Never permit salvaged or recycled air
bags to be installed in yo ur vehicle.
Child restraints on the front seat - some
important things to know
.. Be sure to read the important information
and head the WARNINGS for important de
tails about children and Advanced A irbags
¢page 136.
The airbag on the passenger side makes the
front seat a potentia lly dange rous place fo r a
c hi ld to ride. The front seat is not the safest
place fo r a child in a fo rward-facing child safe
ty seat.
It can be a very d angerous p lace for a n
infant or a chi ld in a rearw ard-f acing seat.
T he Advanced A irbag System in you r vehicle
has been ce rtified to comply wit h the Require
ments of Un ited States Fede ral Motor Vehicle .,.
Safety Standard 208 as applicable at the time
your vehicle was manufactured.
The Standard requires the front a irbag on the
passenger side to be t urned off ("sup
pressed") if a child up to about one year of
age restrained in one of the rear -facing or for
ward -facing infant restra ints listed in Federal
Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 with wh ich
the Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle
was certified has been installed o n the front
passenger seat. Fo r a listing of the child re
straints that were used to certify compliance
with the US Safety Standard
q page 138.
The PASSENG ER AIR BAG OFF light in the in
strument panel tells you when the front Ad
vanced A irbag on the passenger side has bee n
turned off by the e lectronic control u nit.
Each t ime you turn on the ignition, the
PAS
SENGER AIR BAG OFF
l ight w ill come on for a
few seco nds and:
- will stay on if the front passenger seat is not
occupied,
- will stay on if there is a small child or ch ild
restraint on the front passenger seat,
- wi ll go off if the front passenger seat is oc
cupied by an adult as registered by the
weight-sensing mat
q page 125, Monitor
ing the Advanced Airbag System.
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
when the control un it detects a total weight
on the front passenger seat that requires the
front airbag to be tu rned off .
If the total weight on the front passenger
seat is more than that of a typical 1 year-old
chi ld but less than the weight of a sma ll
ad ult, the front airbag on the passenge r side
can dep loy (the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come o n). If the PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
l igh t does not come on, the
front airbag on the passenger side has not
been turned off by the electronic control unit
and can dep loy if the control u nit senses an
impact that meets the conditions stored in its
memory.
For example , the airbag may deploy if :
Airbag system 117
- a small ch ild that is heav ie r th an a typical 1
year -old chi ld is o n the front passenger seat
(regard less o f whether the child is in one o f
the child safety seats listed
q page 138), or
- a child who has outgrown child restraints is
on the front passenger seat.
I f the front passenger ai rbag is turned off, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on in
the instr ument cluster and stays on .
T he front airbag on the passenge r side may
not deploy (t he PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not illuminate a nd stay lit) even if a
small ad ult o r teenager, or a passenger who is
not sitting upright with their back against a
non-recl ined backrest w ith their feet on the
vehicle floor in front of the seat is on the front
passenger seat ¢
page 99, Proper seating po
sition for the driver.
If the front passenger airbag dep loys, the
Federa l Standard requ ires the airbag to meet
t h e "low risk" dep loyment criteria to reduce
t h e risk of injury th rough inte ract ion w ith the
airbag. "Low risk" deployment occurs in those
crashes that ta ke pla ce at lower dece le rat io ns
as de fined in the e lectronic co ntrol unit
¢ page 1 26, PASSENG ER AIR BAG O FF light.
Always remember, a c hild safety seat o r in fant
car rie r in st alled on the fron t seat may be
stru ck and kno cked ou t of po sitio n by the rap
i dly i nflat ing passenger 's airbag in a fronta l
collision. The ai rbag co uld great ly red uce the
effectiveness of the chi ld restraint and even
seriously in jure the child during inflation.
For t his reason, and because the back seat is
the safest place for c hildren - when proper ly
rest rained according to their age and size -we
strong ly recommend that chi ldren a lways sit
i n the back seat¢
page 136, Child Safety .
A WARNING
-
A child in a rearward-facing ch ild safety
seat ins talled on the fron t passenger seat
will be ser io us ly injure d and can be killed if
the front airbag inflates -even with an Ad-
v anc ed Airbag System . ..,_
•
•
118 Airbag sys te m
- The inflati ng airba g will hit the child
safety seat or infant carrier w ith great
force and w ill smash the ch ild safety seat
and child against the backr est, door or
ro of.
- If you must install a rearwar d facing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat b ecause of exceptional circ umstan
ces and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on and stay on, im
med iately install the rea r-facing child
safety seat in a rear seating position and
have the a irbag system inspected by your
Audi dealer .
- Forward -fac ing ch ild safety seats instal
led on the front passenger's seat may in
terfere with the deployment of the air
bag and cause serious personal injury to
the ch ild.
A WARNING
If, in exceptional c ircumstances, you must
install a forward-facing child restra int on
the front passenger's seat
- Always make sure the forward-fac ing
seat has been des igned and certified by
its manufacturer for use on a front seat
with a passenger front and side airbag.
- Never put the forward-facing child re
straint up aga inst or very near the inst ru
me nt pane l.
- Always move the passenger seat into its
rearmost position in the seat 's fore and
aft adjustment range, as far away from
the a irb ag as poss ible be fore instal ling
the fo rward-facing child restraint. T he
backrest must be adjusted to an upright
position .
- Make su re that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on and stays on all the
t ime whenever the ignition is switched
on.
A WARNING
To reduce the risk of serious injury, make
sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light will be d isplayed whenever a ch ild re- straint is
insta lled on the front passenger
seat and the ignition is sw itched on.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not stay on, per form the checks de
scribed ¢
page 125, Monitoring the Ad
vanced Airbag System.
- Ta ke the chi ld restraint off the front pas
senger seat and install it properly at one
of the rear seat positions if the
PASSEN
GER AIR BAG OFF
l ight does not s tay on.
- Have the airbag system inspected by
your Aud i dea le r i mmediately .
- Always carefully follow instructions from
child restraint manufacture rs when in
stalling child restra ints.
A WARNING
=
If, in except ional circumstances, you m ust
i nsta ll a forward o r rearwa rd-facing child
r estra int on t he front passe nger's seat:
- Imp rope r installation of ch ild restra ints
can reduce their effectiv eness o r even
p reven t them from providing any protec
tion.
- An improperly installed ch ild restra int
can inter fere with the airbag as i t de
p loys and seriously inj ure o r even k ill the
child -even with an Advanced Airbag
System.
- Always carefu lly follow the manu fact ur
er 's instructions p rov ided with the chi ld
safety seat or carrier .
- Never p lace add itiona l items on the seat
that can increase the total weight reg is
tered by the weight-sensing mat and can
cause injury in a crash.
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 ~