
162 Airbag sys tem
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.
F or your safety and the safety of your passen
gers, before driving off, a lways:
• Adjust the dr iver's seat and steering wheel
properly ¢
page 145,
• Adjust the front passenger's seat properly
¢page 62,
• Wear safety be lts properly ¢ page 15 7,
• Always properly use the proper child re-
stra int to protect children¢
page 186.
In a collision airbags must inflate within the
blink of an eye and with considerable force .
The supplementa l airbags can cause injuries if
the dr iver or the front seat passenger is not
seated properly . Therefore in order to he lp the
a irbag to do its job, it is important, both as a
d river and as a passenge r to sit properly at all
times.
By keeping room between your body and the
steering wheel and the front of the passenger
compartment, the airbag ca n inflate fully and
comp letely and provide supp lemental p rotec
tion in ce rtain frontal collisions¢
page 145,
Proper occupant seating positions .
For detai ls
on the operat ion of the seat adjustment con
trols ¢
page 63.
It's especially important that children a re
properly restrained ¢
page 186.
There is a lot that the driver and the passen
gers can and must do to help the individua l
safety features ins talled in your A udi work to
gether as a system.
Prope r seat ing pos ition is important so that
the front airbag on the driver s ide can do i ts
job. If yo u have a physical impa irment or con- dition that prevents you from sitting properly
on the driver seat with the safety belt properly
fastened and reaching the peda ls , spec ial
modifications to your vehicle may be necessa
ry.
Contact your a uthorized Audi dea ler, or call
Audi C ustomer Re lations at 1-800-822-2834 .
When the airbag system dep loys, a gas gener
ator will f ill the ai rbags, break open the pad
ded covers, and inf late between the steering
whee l and the dr iver and between the instru
ment pane l and the front passenger. The air
bags will deflate immediately after dep loy
ment so that the front occupants can see
th rough the w indshield aga in without inter
ruption .
All of th is take s place in the blink of an eye, so
fast that many people don't even realize that
the a irbags have dep loyed . The airbags also
inflate with a g reat dea l of force and nothing
shou ld be in their way when they deploy.
F ront a irbags in combination with properly
worn safety bel ts slow down and lim it the oc
c u pant's forward movement. Together they
help to prevent the drive r and front seat pas
senger from hitting parts of the inside the ve
hicle while reducing 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 uppe r body i n the c rash . A irbags do not
protect the a rms or the lower parts of the
body.
Both front a irbags w ill not i nflate in all fronta l
collisions . The t rigge ring of the a irbag system
depends on the vehicle dece lerat ion rate
c aused by the co llision and reg istered by the
elect ron ic cont ro l u nit. If t his rate is below
the re ference value programmed into the con
trol unit, the airbags will not be trigge red ,
even though the car may be bad ly damaged as
a res ult of the collision . Veh icle damage, re
pair costs or even the lack of veh icle damage
is no t necessarily an indication of whether an
airbag should inflate or not .
It is not possib le to define a range of vehicle
speeds that w ill cover every possib le kind and .,.

-Always move the passenger seat into its
rearmost position in the seat's fore and
aft adjustment range, as far away from
the a irbag as poss ible, before installing
the forward-facing child restraint. The backrest must be adjusted to an upr ight
posit ion.
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on and stays on all the
t ime w henever the ignition is sw itched
on.
Advanced Airbag System components
The fron t passenger seat in your vehicle has a
lot of very important parts of the Advanced
Airbag System in it. These parts include the
weight-sensing mat, sensors, wiring, brack
ets, and more. The function of the system in
the front passenger seat is checked by the
e lectronic control u nit when the ignit ion is on .
The control un it mon itors the Advanced Air
bag System and turns the airbag indicator
l ight on whe n a ma lfunction in t he sys tem
components is de tected. The function of the
airbag indicator light is described in greater
detai l below . Because the front passenger
seat contains important parts of the Ad
vanced A irbag System, you m ust take care to
prevent it from being damaged. Damage to
the seat may prevent the Advanced Airbag for
the front passenger seat from doing its job in
a crash .
The front Advanced Airb ag Sy stem
consists of the following:
- Crash sensors in the front of the veh icle that
measure veh icle acceleration/decele ration
to provide information to the Advanced Air
bag System about the seve rity of the crash.
- An electronic co ntrol unit, with integrated
c rash se nsors for front and side impacts .
T he cont ro l unit " decides " whethe r to fire
the front airbags based on the inform ation
received from the crash senso rs . The contro l
unit a lso "decides" whether the safety belt
pretensioners should be activated .
Airbag system 169
-An Advanced A irbag w ith gas gene rator and
contro l valve fo r the driver ins ide the steer
ing wheel h ub.
- An Advanced Airbag w ith gas gene rator and
contro l valve inside the instrument pane l for
the front passenger.
- A weight-sensing mat under the upholstery
padding of the front passenger seat cushion
that measures the total weight on the seat.
The informat ion reg istered is sent continu
ously to the electronic control unit to regu
late deployment of the front Advanced Air
bag on the passenger side.
- An airbag monitor ing system and ind icator
light in the instrument cluster
q page 173 .
-A sensor in each front seat registers the dis
tance between the respective seat and the
steer ing whee l o r inst rument panel. The in
forma tion registered is sent cont inuo usly to
t he elect ron ic cont ro l uni t to regula te de
ployment o f the front Advance d Airbags .
- The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF ligh t comes
on and st ays on in the cen ter o f th e instr u
ment panel
q page 1 73, fig . 178 and tells
you whe n the front Advanced Airbag on the
passenger side has been tu rned
off .
-A sensor below the safety be lt latch fo r the
front seat passenger to measure the tension on the safety be lt . 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 a irbag for the
front passenge r seat should be turned
off or
not
~ pag e 163, Child restraints on the
front seat -some important things to
know.
- A senso r in the safety belt latch fo r the d riv
er a nd fo r the fro nt sea t passenger tha t
senses w hethe r that safe ty belt is latched or
no t and transmi ts this informa tion to the
electronic control unit.
_&. WARNING
Damage to the front passenger seat can
prevent the front airbag from work ing
properly.
-
•
•

-If you must install a rearward facing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat in 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 immediately by your authorized Audi dealer.
,& WARNING
If, in exceptional 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 for use on a front seat
with a passenger front and side airbag.
- Always follow the manufacturer's in
structions provided with the child safety
seat or carrier.
- 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 child restraint. The backrest 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.
@ Tips
Always replace child restraints that were
installed in a vehicle during a crash. Dam
age to a child restraint that is not visible
could cause it to fail in another collision
situation.
Advanced front airbag system and children
Your vehicle is equipped with a front "Ad
vanced Airbag System" in compliance with
United States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standard (FMVSS) 208 as applicable at the
time your vehicle was manufactured .
Child Safety 187
The Advanced Airbag system in your vehicle
has been certified to meet the "low-risk" re
quirements for 3- and 6-year old children on
the passenger side and small adults on the driver side. The low risk deployment criteria
are intended to reduce the risk of injury
through interaction with the airbag that can
occur, for example, by being too close to the
steering wheel and instrument panel when
the airbag inflates. In addition, the system
has been certified to comply with the "sup
pression" requirements of the Safety Stand
ard, to turn off the front airbag for infants up
to 12 months who are restrained on the front passenger seat in child restraints that are list
ed in the Standard.
Even though your vehicle is equipped with an
Advanced Airbag system, all children, espe
cially those 12 years and younger, should al
ways ride in the back seat properly restrained
for their age and size . The airbag on the pas
senger side makes the front seat a potentially
dangerous place for a child to ride . The front
seat is not the safest place for a child in a for
ward-facing child safety seat. It can be a very
dangerous place for an infant or a larger child
in a rearward-facing seat.
Advanced Airbags and the weight
sensing mat in the front seat
The Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle
detects the presence of an infant or child in a
child restraint on the front passenger seat us
ing the weight-sensing mat in the seat cush
ion and the sensor below the safety belt latch
on the front passenger seat that measures the
tension on the safety belt.
The weight-sensing mat measures total
weight of the child and the child safety seat
and a child blanket on the front passenger
seat. The weight on the front passenger seat
is related to the design of the child restraint
and its "footprint", the size and shape of the
bottom of the child restraint as it sits on the
seat. The weight of a child restraint and its "footprint" vary for different kinds of child re -
straints and for the different models of the ..,. •
•

190 Child Safety
-All vehicle occupants and especially chil
dren must always be restrained properly
whenever riding in a vehicle.
- An unrestrained or improperly restrain
ed child can be injured or killed by be
ing thrown against the inside of the ve
hicle or by being ejected from it during
a sudden maneuver or impact.
- An unrestrained or improperly restrain
ed child is at much greater risk of injury
or death by being struck by an inflating
airbag.
- Commercially available child safety seats
are required to comply with U.S. Federal
Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS)
213 (in Canada CMVSS 213).
- When buying a child restraint, select
one that fits your child and the vehicle.
- Only use child restraint systems that
fully contact the flat portion of the
seat cushion. The child restraint must not tip or lean to either side. Audi does
not recommend using child safety
seats that rest on legs or tube-like
frames. They do not provide adequate
contact with the seat.
- Always heed all legal requirements per
taining to the installation and use of
child safety seats and carefully follow
the instructions provided by the manu
facturer of the seat you are using .
- Never allow children under 57 inches
(1.45 meters) to wear a normal safety
belt. They must always be restrained by a
proper child restraint system. Otherwise,
they could sustain injuries to the abdo
men and neck areas during sudden brak
ing maneuvers or accidents.
- Never let more than one child occupy a
child safety seat.
- Never let babies or older children ride in
a vehicle while sitting on the lap of an
other passenger.
- Holding a child in your arms is never a
substitute for a child restraint system.
- The strongest person could not hold
the child with the forces that exist in
an accident . The child will strike the in- terior of the vehicle and can also be
struck by the passenger.
- The child and the passenger can also
injure each other in an accident.
- Never install rearward-facing child safety
seats or infant carriers on the front pas
senger seat. A child will be seriously in
jured and can be killed when the passen
ger airbag inflates -even with an Ad
vanced 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,
door or roof.
- Always install rearward-facing child
safety seats or infant carriers on the
rear seat .
- Forward-facing child safety seats instal
led on the front passenger's seat can in
terfere with the airbag when it inflates
and cause serious injury to the child. Al
ways install forward-facing child safety
seats on the rear seat .
-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 certified by its man
ufacturer for use on a front seat with a
passenger front and side airbag .
- Always carefully follow the manufac
turer's instructions provided with the
child safety seat or carrier.
- Always move the front passenger seat
into the rearmost position of the pas
senger 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 pre
vents 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 position.

than 20 lbs. (9 kg) up to 40 lbs. (18 kg) must
always be properly restrained in a child safety
seat certified for their size and weight
¢
fig. 186 and¢ fig. 187.
The airbag on the passenger side makes the
front seat a potentially dangerous place for a
child to ride. The front seat is not the safest
place for a child in a forward-facing child safe
ty seat.
It is a very dangerous place for an in
fant or a larger child in a rearward -facing seat .
_A WARNING
Not using a child safety seat, using the
wrong child safety seat or improperly in
stalling a child restraint increases the risk
of serious personal injury and death in a
collision or other emergency situation.
- Children on the front seat of any car,
even with Advanced Airbags, can be seri
ously injured or even killed when an air
bag inflates. 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 in
flates -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 rearward-facing child safe
ty seats on the rear seat .
-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 not come on and stay on, im
mediately install the rearward-facing
child safety seat in a rear seating posi
tion and have the airbag system inspect
ed by your authorized Audi dealer.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child restrained in ave
hicle is being used¢
page 154, Safety
belts,¢ page 162, Airbag system
and
¢ page 186, Important things to know.
Child Safety 193
_A WARNING
If exceptional circumstances require the
use of a forward-facing child restraint on
the front passenger's seat, the child's safe
ty and well-being require that the follow
ing special precautions be taken:
- Make sure the forward-facing seat has
been designed and certified by its manu
facturer for use on a front seat with a
passenger front and side airbag.
- Always follow the manufacturer's in
structions provided with the child safety
seat or infant carrier.
- Always move the front passenger seat in
to the rearmost position of the passen
ger seat's fore and aft adjustment range,
and as far away from the airbag as possi
ble 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.
- 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 173, Monitoring the Ad
vanced Airbag System.
- Take the child 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
light does not stay on
whenever the ignition is switched on. •
-
•

-Never place additional items on the seat
that can increase the total weight regis
tered by the weight-sensing mat and can
cause injury in a crash .
_&. WARNING
Forward-facing child restraints:
- 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 re
straint up, against or very near the in
strument 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
Rearward-facing child restraints:
- 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 be especially careful if you must
install a rearward facing child safety seat
on the front passenger seat in exception
al circumstances.
-A tight tether strap on a rearward-facing
child restraint attached to the front pas
senger seat can put too much pressure
on the weight-mat in the seat and regis
ter a heavier weight in the Advanced Air-
Child Safety 197
bag System. The heavier weight regis
tered can make the system work as
though an adult were on the seat and de ploy the Advanced Airbag when it must
be suppressed causing serious or even
fatal injury to the child.
- 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
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, immedi
ately install the rearward-facing child
safety seat in a rear seating position and
have the airbag system inspected by your
authorized Audi dealer.
Activating the convertible locking
retractor
Use the convertible locking retractor to se
cure a child restraint.
Always heed the child safety seat manufactur er 's instructions when installing a child re
straint in your vehicle. To activate the conver
tible locking retractor:
.. Place the child restraint on a seat, prefera
bly on the rear seat.
.. Slowly pull the belt
all the way out.
.. Route it around or through the child re
straint belt path
c:> ,&. .
.. Push the child safety seat down with your
full weight to get the safety belt really tight.
.. Insert the belt tongue into the buckle for
that seating position .
.. Guide the safety belt back into the retractor
until the belt lies flat and snug on the child
safety seat.
.. You should hear a "clicking" noise as the
belt winds back into the inertia reel. Test the
convertible locking retractor by pulling on
the belt. You should no longer be able to
pull the belt out of the retractor. The con
vertible locking retractor is now activated .
.. Make sure that the red release button is fac
ing away from the child restraint so that it
can be unbuckled quickly. .,. •
•

Energy management
Starting ability is optimized
Energy management controls the distribution
of electrical energy and thus optimizes the
availability of electrical energy for starting the engine .
If a vehicle with a conventional energy system
is not driven for a long period of time , the bat
tery is discharged by idling current consumers
(e.g. immobilizer). In ce rtain c ircumstances it
can result in there being insuff icient ene rgy
avai lab le to start the engine .
Intell igent energy management in your vehi
cle hand les the d istribution of electrical ener
gy. Starting ab il ity is markedly improved and
the life of the battery is extended.
Basically, energy management consists of
batt ery di ag nosis, idlin g current man ag e
m ent
and dyn ami c en ergy manage ment .
Batter y diagnosis
Battery diagnosis continuously determines
the state of the battery . Sensors determ ine
battery vo ltage, battery current and battery
temperature. This determ ines the current
state of charge and the powe r of the battery.
Idling curr ent man agement
Idling current management reduces ene rgy
consumption while the vehicle is stand ing .
W ith the ignition switched off, it cont ro ls the
energy supply to the va rious electr ical compo
nents . Data from battery diagnosis is consid
ered.
Depending on the battery's state of charge,
i nd ividua l consumers are gradual ly t urned off
to prevent excess ive d ischarge of the bat tery
and thus maintain starting capability .
Dynam ic en ergy management
While the vehicle is being driven, dynamic en
e rgy management dist ributes the energy gen
e rated according to the needs of the individu
a l components.
It reg ulates cons umption, so
that more electrical energy is not being used
Int ellig ent technolog y 211
than is being generated and ensures an opti
mal state of charge for the battery.
(0 Tips
- But even energy management canno t
negate the limits of physics . Consider
that the power and life of a battery are
limited .
- If starting ability is threatened, you are
informed by a warning
r:!) page 212,
Driver notification in the instrument
cluster display.
What you should know
The highest priority is given to maintaining
starting capability.
The battery is severe ly taxed in short -distance
driving, in city traffic and during the cold time
of year. Abundant electrical energy is re quired, but only a little is generated .
It is also
critical if the engine is not running and electri
cal components are turned on . In this in
stance energy is be ing consumed but none is
being generated.
It is in precisely these situations that you will
notice energy management actively regulat
ing the d istribution of energy .
Vehicle stands for an e xtended peri od
If you do not drive your vehicle over a period
of several days or weeks, e lectr ical compo
nents are gradually cut back or switched off.
This reduces energy consumption and ma in
ta ins start ing capability over a longer period .
Some of the convenience functions may not
operate, such as the interior lights or the power seat adjustment . The convenience
funct ions w ill be available again when you
tu rn o n the ign ition and start the engine.
With the eng ine tu rned off
If you listen to the radio, for examp le, w ith
the engine turned off or use other MMI func -
tions, the battery is be ing discharged.
IJJ,-
•
•

302 Index
Efficiency program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Fuel economy messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Memory leve ls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Other equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Shift indicator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Electrical seat adjustment
refer to Seat adjustment ........... . . 63
E lectromechan ical park ing brake
E mergency braking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Malfunction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Parking .... ................ ..... .. 97
Releasing and closing ............. . . 96
Starting assist ........... .. .. .. .. .. 98
Starting from rest .......... .. .... .. 98
Starting off with a trailer . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Warning/ indicator lights .... ..... .. .. 17
Electronic differential lock (EDL) How the system works ....... .. .... . 205
Warning/indicator lights ... .. .. .. .. . . 16
Electronic immobilizer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Electronic power control
(EPC) warn ing/ indicator light ... .. .. . . 15
Electronic stabili zation program (ESP)
How the sys tem works ....... .. .. .. . 204
Warning/indicator lights ....... .. .. .. 15
Emergency braking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
E mergency flasher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Warn ing/ indicator lights ..... .. .. .. . . 16
Emergency key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 7
Start ing engine ........... ... .. ... . 39
Emergency locking of the doors ..... .. .. 44
E mergency release
Selector lever ............ .. .. .... . 132
E mergency starting ......... ... .. .. . 284
Emergency towing .......... ... .... . 286
E mergency unlocking
I gnition key ........... .. .. .. .. .. .. 39
Energy management ..... .. .... .. .. . 211
Battery power ............... .. ... 212
Driver notification . ......... .. .. .. . 212
E ngine
Compartment . ........... .. .. .... . 239
Coolant .. .. ............... .. .... . 244
H ood .. .. .. ................ ... .. . 237
Starting ... ... .... ...... .. .. .. .. .. 92 Starting
with jumper cables ....... .. 284
Stopping . ..... .. .. .............. .. 94
Engine compartment Safety instructions ............. .. .. 23 7
Working the engine compartment .... 237
Engine coolant system ............ ... 244
Adding coolant . .. ................ . 245
Checking coolant level ............ .. 244
Checking the engine coolant level ..... 244
Malfunction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Radiator fan ..... ................ . 246
Engine coolant temperature
T emperature gauge . ........... .. .. . 10
Engine data . .... .. ............. .... 292
Engine hood
Closing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 7
How to release the hood . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 7
Engine oil ...... .. ............. .... 239
Adding . .. .. .. .. ............. .. .. 242
Additives . ... .. .. .. .............. . 242
Changing ..... .. .. .............. . 243
Check oil level ... ............. .... 242
Consumption .. .. ............. .. .. 242
Oil consumption .. ... .......... .. .. 241
Oil grades . .... ................... 239
Specification and viscosity ........ ... 239
Engine oil level .... ................ .. 36
Engine oil pressure
Malfunction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Engine oil sensor defective . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Engine speed limitation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Environment Break-in period . .. ............. .... 213
Catalytic converter ............. .... 214
Disposing of your vehicle battery ..... 251
Driving at high speeds .............. 215
Driving to minimize pollution and noise 215
Fuel .. .. .. .. .. .. ............. .. .. 234
Fuel economy .. .. ... .......... .. .. 215
Leaks under your vehicle .......... .. 23 7
Letting the vehicle stand and warm up. 216
Proper d isposal of drained brake fluid . 247
Proper disposal of drained engine cool-
ant .. .. .. .... .. ............. .... 245
Proper disposal of drained engine
oi l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242, 243
Recycling used engine oil ............ 242