2012 AUDI A6 ignition

If the fron t passenger airbag is turned off, the
PA SSENGER AIR BA G OF F light comes on in
the instrument cluster and stays on.
If the front passenger airbag deploys, the
F ederal Standard requires the airbag to meet
the " low risk" deployment criteria to reduce
the r isk of injury through interaction with the
airbag. "Low risk" deployment occurs in those
crashes that take place at lower decelerations
as defined in the electronic control un it
c::> page 155, PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light.
Always remember, a child seat or infant carri ­
er installed on the front seat may be struck
and knocked out of position by the rap idly in ­
flating passenger's a irbag i n a frontal colli­
sion . The airbag could greatly reduce the ef­
fectiveness of t he ch ild restraint and even se­
r io usly inju re the child d uring inflat io n.
For this reason, and because the back seat is
the safest place for chi ldren - when properly
restra ined accord ing to their age and size - we
strongly recommend that children always sit in the back seat
c::> page 168, Child Safety .
A WARNING
-
A child in a rearward-facing child seat in­
stalled on the front passenger seat will be
ser iously injured and can be killed if the
front airbag inflates - even with an Ad­
vanced Airbag System.
- The inflating airbag w ill hit the child seat
or infant carrier w ith great force and w ill
smash the ch ild seat and child against
the backrest, center armrest, door or roof.
- Always install rear-facing child seats on
the rear seat.
- If you must install a rearward facing
child seat on the front passenge r seat
because of exceptiona l circumstances
and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does no t come on an d stay on, immedi­
at ely install the rear-facing chi ld seat in a
rear seating position and have the airbag
system inspected by your Audi dealer.
A irbag system 145
-Forwa rd-facing child seats installed on
the front passenger's seat may interfere
with the dep loyment of the airbag and
cause serious persona l injury to the
child.
A WARNING
If, in except ional circumstances, you must
install a forward-facing child restraint on
the front passenge r's seat:
- Always make sure the forward-facing
seat has been designed and certified by its manufacture r for use on a front seat
wit h a passenger fron t and s ide a irbag.
- Never put the fo rward-facing child re­
s tra int up agains t or ve ry near the instru­
men t panel.
- Always move the passenge r seat into its
rea rmost pos ition in the se at's fore and
aft ad justment range, as fa r away from
the airbag as possible before installing
the forward-fac ing ch ild restra int . The
backrest must be adj usted to an upright
position.
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
li ght comes on and stays on all the
time whenever the ignition is switched on .
A WARNING
To reduce the risk of ser ious injury, make
sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light w ill be displayed whenev er a child re­
straint is insta lled on the fro nt passenge r
se at and the ignition is sw itched on.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not s tay on, perform the checks de­
scribed
c::> page 154, Monitoring the Ad­
vanced Airbag System.
- T ake the chi ld restraint off t he fron t pas­
senger sea t and install it prope rly at one
of the rear seat positions i f the
PASS EN·
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not stay on.
- Have the airbag system inspected by
your Aud i dea ler immediately.
•
•

150 Airbag sys te m
backrest must be adjusted to an uprigh t
posit ion.
- Always make sure that there is nothing
on the front passenger seat that will
cause the capacitive passenger detection
system in the seat to s ignal to the A irbag
System that the seat is occupied by a
person when it is not, or to signal that it
is occupied by someone who is heavier
than the pe rson actually s itting on t he
seat. The presence of additiona l objects
cou ld cause the passenger front airbag
to be t urned on w hen it sho uld be off, or
cou ld cause the airbag to work in a way
that is different from the way it wou ld
have worked without the object on the
seat.
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BA G
OFF
light comes on and stays on all the
t ime w henever the ignition is switched
on.
Advanced Airbag System components
The front passenger seat in you r veh icle has a
l ot of very important pa rts of the Advanced
A irbag System in it . These parts include the
capacitive passenge r de tect ion sys tem, wir­
ing, brac kets, and more . The cont ro l uni t
monitors the system on the front passenger
seat when the ignition is switc hed on and
turns the airbag indicato r light on when a
malfunction in the one of the system compo­
nents is detected
c::;, page 155 . Because the
fro nt passenge r seat contains important pa rts
of the Advanced Airbag System , you must
take ca re to p revent it from being damaged.
Da mage to the seat may preven t the Ad­
vanced A irb ag System for the fron t passenger
seat from doing i ts job in a c rash .
The front Advanced Airbag System
consists of the following:
-Crash sensors in the front o f the veh icle tha t
measure veh icle acceleration/dece le ration
to provide information to the Advanced Air­ bag System about the severity of the crash. -
An elect ronic contro l unit, with integrated
crash sensors for front and sid e impacts .
T he control un it "decides" whether to fire
the front a irbags based on the inform at ion
received from the crash sensors. The control
unit also "decides" whether the safety belt prete nsioners shou ld be act ivated .
- An Advanced A irbag w ith gas generator and
contro l valve for the driver inside the steer­
ing wheel hub .
- An Advanced A irbag w ith gas generator and
contro l valve inside the inst rument panel for
the front passenger .
- A capacit ive passenger detection system u n­
de rneath the front passenger seat cover .
This system measures the elec trical capac i­
t ance of the perso n in t he seat. The informa ­
t ion regis tered is se nt cont inuo usly to the
electronic con trol un it to regu late deploy­
ment of the front Advanced Airbag on the
passenger side.
- An airbag monitoring system and indicator
light in the instr ument cluster
c::;, page 154.
- A senso r in each front seat regis ters the dis­
tance between the respective seat and the
steering whee l or instrument panel. The in ­
formation registered is sent cont inuo usly to
the electron ic contro l uni t to regulate de­
ployment of the front Adv a need A irbags .
- The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes
on and stays on in the center of the instr u­
ment panel
c::;, page 155, fig . 147 and tells
you when the front Advanced Airbag on the
passenger side has been t urned off.
- A sensor in the safety belt latch for the driv­
er and fo r the front seat passenger that
senses w hether t hat safety belt is latched or
no t and transmi ts this information to t he
elec tronic con trol un it.
A WARNING
D amage to the fron t passenger seat can
prevent the front airbag from working
p roperly.
- Imp roper repai r or disassembly of the
front passenge r and dr iver seat will pre­
vent the Advanced Airbag System from
functioning properly .
-

154 Airbag sys te m
- Never place or attach accessories or o th­
er objects (such as cup holders, tele­
phone brackets, large, heavy or bulky ob­
jects) on the doors, over or near the area marked "AIRBAG" on the stee ring wheel,
instrument panel, seat backrests or be­
tween those a reas and yourself. These
objects co uld cause injury in a crash, es­
pecially when the airbags inflate .
- Never recline the front passenger's seat
to transport objec ts. Items can also
move into the area o f the side airbag or
the front airbag during braking or in a sudden maneuver . Objects near the air­
bags can become project iles and cause
injury, part icularly when the seat is re­
cl ined .
- Never place or transport ob jects on the
front passenger seat. Objects on the
front passenger seat could cause the ca­ pacitive senso r in the seat to s ignal to
airbag system that the seat is occupied
by a person whe n it in fa ct is not, o r that
the person on the se at is heavie r than he
or she actually is. The change in electric
capacitance because of such objects can
cause the passenger front airbag to be
t u rned on when it sho uld be
off, or can
cause the airbag to work in a way that is
different from the way it wou ld have
wor ked w ithout ob jects on the seat .
- Always make sure that there is nothing
on the front passenger seat that will
cause the capacitive passenge r detection
system in the s eat to s ignal to the A irbag
System that the seat is occupied by a
person when it is not, or to signa l th at it
is occupied by someone who is heavier
than the pe rson actually s itting on the
seat . The prese nce of an object co uld
cause the passenger front a irbag to be
t ur ned on when it sho uld be
off, or co uld
cause the airbag to work in a way t hat is
different from the way it wou ld have
worked w ithout the object on the seat.
A WARNING
The fine dust created when airbags deploy
ca n cause breathing p rob lems for people
with a history of asthma or ot her breath­
i ng cond itions .
- To reduce the risk of breath ing problems ,
those wi th asthma o r othe r respiratory
conditions s hou ld get fresh air right
away by getting o ut of th e veh icle or
open ing windows or do ors .
- If you are i n a collision in which airbags
de ploy, was h your h ands and face wi th
mild soap and wate r before eating.
- Be ca reful not to get the dust into your
eyes, o r into any c uts or sc ratches.
- If the res id ue should get into your eyes,
fl ush them w ith wate r.
Monitoring the
Advanced Airbag System
t~i Airbag monitoring indicator light
Two separate indicators monitor the function
of the Advan ced Airbag Sy stem: the airbag
moni toring indicator light and the
PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG O FF
light.
The Adva nced A irbag Sys tem ( incl uding the
ele ct ron ic cont ro l u nit , sensor circu its and sys­
tem wir ing) is monitored con tinuously to
make sure that it is functioning properly
whenever the ignition is on. Eac h time you
switch on the ignition, the airbag monitor ing
indicator light
m will come on for a few sec­
onds (self diagnostics) .
The sy stem mu st be in spected when the
indicator light
rl:
- 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 driv ing .
If an airbag system malfunc tion is detec ted,
the i ndicator lig ht w ill first sta rt flashing to
catch the drive r's attention and then stay on .,..

continuously to serve as a constant reminder
to have the system inspected immediately.
I f a malfunction occurs that turns the front
a irbag on the passenger side
off, t he PA SSEN­
GER AIR BAG OFF
li ght wi ll come on and stay
on whenever the ignition is on.
A 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 there may be someth ing
wrong with the Advanced Airbag System.
It is possible that the airbag will inflate
when it is not supposed to, or wi ll not in­
flate when it should.
- Have the airbag system inspected imme­
diately by your Aud i dealer .
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
Fig . 1 47 Sect ion from the inst rumen t pa nel: PASS EN­
GER AIR BAG OFF light
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light is located
i n the cen ter of the instrument panel
¢fig. 147 .
The PA SSENGER 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 the e lectronic control unit. If the
bu lb for the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
bu rns out, the airbag indicator light
fl will
come on to signal a malfunction in the Ad ­
vanced A irbag System. Although the burned­
out bulb will not change the way the front
passenger's frontal airbag works, it w ill no
longer be possible to use the
PASSENGER AIR
A irba g sy stem 155
BAG OFF light to make s ure that the airbag
on/off status is correct for the occ upant on
the front passenger seat . Have the airbag sys ­
tem inspected immediately by your author­
ized Audi dealer.
T he PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF l ight will bl ink
for about 5 seconds when:
- t he ignition is switched on and
- the capacit ive passenger detection system,
whi ch swi tches the front seat passenger's
frontal Advanced Airbag on and
off, detects
a change in the status of the front passen­
ger seat.
As soon as the
PA SSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light stops blink ing, a lways make sure tha t
the airbag stat us (on or off) as shown by the
PASSENGER AIR BAG O FF light is proper fo r
the age, size and electrical capacitance of the person occupy ing the front passenger seat.
Always make sure that the safety belt for the
front passenger seat is properly fastened .
Th e PA SSENGER AIR BAG OFF light will
show the status of the fron t se at p assenge r's
frontal Advanced Ai rbag a few seconds after
the ignition i s swit c h ed on and th e airbag in ­
dicator light go es off . The PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF light :
-will stay on if the front passenger seat is not
occupied;
- will stay on if the electrical capacitance
measured by the capacitive passenger de­
tect ion system for the front passenger seat
equa ls the combined capacitance of an in­
fant up to about one year of age and one of
the rearward-facing or forward-facing ch ild
restraints listed in Federal Motor Vehicle
Safety Standard 208 with which the Ad­
vanced Airbag System in your vehicle was certified; For a listing of the child restraints
that were used to certify your vehicle's com­
pliance with the U.S. Safety Standard
i:::;, page 170 .
-will go out if the front passenger seat is oc­
cupied by an adult as registered by the ca­
pacitive passenger detect ion system.

156 Airbag system
-The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light must
come on and stay on if the ignition is on
and .. .
- a car bed has been installed on the front
passenger seat, or
- a rearward-facing chi ld restraint has been
installed on the front passenger seat , or
- a forward-facing child restraint has been in­
stalled on the front passenger seat,
- and if the e lectr ica l capacitance registered
on the front passenger seat is equal to or
less than the combined capacitance of a typ­
ica l 1 year -old infant and one of the rear­
ward-f acing or forward -facing child re ­
straints listed in Federal Motor Vehicle Safe­
ty Standard 208 w ith which the Advanced
Airbag System in your vehicle was certified .
If the front passenger seat is not occupied,
the front airb ag will no t deploy, and the
PAS ­
SENGER AIR BAG OFF
light will stay on. Nev­
er install a rearward-facing child restra int on
the front passenger seat, the safest place for
a child in any kind of child restraint is at o ne
of the seating positions on the rear seat
¢ page 144, Child restraints on the front seat
- some important things to know
and
~ page 168, Child Safety.
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG light comes
on ...
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes
on when one of the conditions listed above is
met, be sure to check the light regularly to
make certa in that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light stays on cont inuous ly whenever the
ignition is on. If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
l ight does not appear on and does not
stay on all the time, stop as soon as it is safe
to do so and
- reactivate the system by turning the ignition
off for more than 4 seconds and then turn­
i ng it on again;
- remove and reinstall the ch ild restraint .
Make sure that the child restraint is properly
installed and that the safety be lt fo r the
fron t passenger seat has been correctly
routed through the child restraint as descri-bed in
the child restraint manufacturer's in­
structions;
- ma ke sure that the convertible locking fea­
ture on the safety belt for the front passen­
ger seat has been activated and that the
safety belt has been pulled tight.
- make sure that no electrical device (such as
a laptop, CD player, electronic games device
or power inverter) is placed or used on the
front passenger seat if the device is connect­
ed to the 12-volt socket or the cigarette
lighter socket;
- make sure that no seat heater has been ret­
rofitted or otherwise added to the front pas ­
senger seat;
- make sure that nothing can interfere with
the safety belt buckles and that they are not
obstructed;
- make sure that there are no wet objects
(such as a wet towel) and no water or other
liquids on the front passenger seat cushion.
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG light still
does not come on ...
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light still
does not come on and does not stay on con­
t inu ous ly (when the ignition is switched on),
- take the child restraint off the front passen-
ge r seat and install it properly at one of the
rear seat positions . Have the airbag system
inspected by your Audi dealer immed iately.
- move the child to a rear seat position and
make sure that the c hild is prope rly restrain­
ed in a ch ild restra int that is appropriate for
its si ze and age.
The PASSENGER AIR BAG light should
NOT come on ...
T he PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light should
NOT come on when the ignition is on and an
adult is s itting in a proper seating position on
the front passenger seat . If the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on or
flashes for about S seconds wh ile driving, un­
der these circumstances, make sure that:
- the adult on the front passenger seat is
properly seated on the center of the seat

166 Airbag system
-The side curtain ai rbags above the front and
rear s ide windows
- The airbag indicator light in the instrument
panel
The airbag system is monitored electron ica lly
to make certain it is f unct io ning properly at a ll
times. Each time you switch on the ignition,
the airbag system indicator light will come on
for a few seconds (self diagnostics).
The side curtain airbag is not activated:
- if the ignit io n is switched off,
- in s ide coll isions when the accelerat ion
measured by the sensor is too low,
- in rear-end collisions .
A WARNING
-Safety belts and the a irbag system w ill
only p rov ide protection whe n oc cupants
are in t he p roper sea ting posit ion
¢ page 50, General recommendations.
- If the airbag indica tor ligh t comes on
when the veh icle is being used, have the
system inspected immediately by your
authorized Audi dealer. The side curtain
airbag may not work properly even when
the vehicle acceleration in a side coll is ion
is h igh enough to activate the airbag .
How side curtain airbags work
Side curtain airbags can work togeth er with
side airbags to help reduce the risk of head and upper torso injurie s for occupants who
are properly res trained.
Fi g. 153 Ill ust ration o f principl e: In flat ed side cur tain
airbags o n th e left s ide
T he side curtain airbags inf late between the
occupant and the w indows on the sid e of the
vehicle that is struck in a side coll is ion
¢ fig . 153.
When the system is triggered, the side curtain
airbag is filled with prope llant gas and breaks
through a seam above the front and rear side
windows identified by the AIRBAG label. In or­
der to he lp provide this additional protec tion,
the side curta in a irbag must inflate within the
blink of an eye at ve ry high speed and with
great fo rce . The side curta in a irbag could in­
jure you if your seating posit ion is not prope r
o r u pright or if items are located in the area
where the supplemen tal side curta in airbag
inflates . This applies especially to chi ldren
c> page 168.
Althoug h they are not a so ft pillow, side cur­
ta in airbags can "cushion" the impact and in
th is way they can help to reduce the risk of in­
j u ry to the head and the upper part of the
body .
A f ine d ust may deve lop when the airbag de­
ploys . This is qui te normal and does not mean
there is a fire in the veh icle .
Important safety instructions on the
side curtain airbag system
Airbags are only supplemental restraints . Al­
ways properly wear safe ty bel ts and ride in a
proper seating po sition .
There is a lot that yo u and your passengers
must know and do to he lp the safety belts and
airbags do their job to provide supp lemental
protection .
A WARNING
'"' Improperly wea ring safety belts and im­
p roper seating pos it ions increase the risk
of ser ious personal in ju ry and death when ­
ever a vehicle is being use d.
- Never let occupants place any pa rts of
t heir bod ies in the area from whi ch the
-
side curta in a irbag inf la te. .,..

-Never install rear-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, center
armrest, door or roof.
- Always install rear-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 .
- Never place or use any electrical device
(such as a laptop, CD player, electronic
games device or power inverter) on the
front passenger seat if the device is
Child Safety 173
connected to the 12-volt socket or the
cigarette lighter socket.
- If a seat heater has been retrofitted or
otherwise added to the front passen­
ger seat, never install any child re­
straint system on this seat.
- Make sure that there are no wet objects
(such as a wet towel) and no water or
other liquids on the front passenger
seat cushion .
- Never place objects on the seat (such
as a laptop, CD player, electronic
games device or power inverter). These
may influence the electrical capaci­
tance measured by the capacitive pas­
senger detection system and can also
fly around in an accident and cause se­
rious personal injury.
- 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 ave­ hicle is being used
¢ page 133, Safety
belts,
¢ page 142, Airbag system and
¢ page 168, Child Safety.
A 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 pas­
senger seat and the ignition is switched
on.
- 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.
- Have the airbag system inspected by
your authorized Audi dealer immediate­
ly.
A WARNING ,--
A child in a child restraint installed with
the LATCH lower anchorages or with the •
•

-Never place or use any electrical devic e
(such as a laptop, CD player, electron ic
games device or power inverter) on the
front passenger seat i f the device is con­
nected to the 12-volt sock et or the ciga­
rette lighte r socket .
- If a seat heater has been retrofitted or
otherwise added to the front passenger
seat, never ins tall any child restraint sys­
tem on this seat.
- Make sure that there are no wet objects (such as a wet towel) and no water or
other liquid s on the front passenger seat
c u shion.
- Never place objects on the seat (such as
a la ptop , CD player, elect ronic games de­
vice or power inverter) . These may influ ­
ence the e lectrical capacitance measured
by the capacitive passenger detect ion
system and can a lso fly around in an acci­
dent and cause serious personal injury.
- Make sure that the
PA SSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on and stays on all the
t ime whenever the ignition is switched
on .
-If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, immedi­
ately install the forwa rd -facing child seat
at a seating posit ion on the rear seat and
have the a irbag system inspected by your
au thori zed Audi dealer .
- Take the child rest raint off the front pas­
senger seat and install it properly at one
of the re ar seat posi tions if the
PASSEN ­
G ER AIR BAG OFF
light does not s tay on
whenever the ignition is switched on .
A WARNING
A child in a child rest raint insta lled with
the LATCH lower universal anchorages or
w ith the standard safety belt on the rear
seat may play with unused rear seat safety
belts and become entangled resulting in
ser ious personal injury and even death .
- Always secure unused rear seat safety
belts out of reach of chi ld ren in ch ild
seats such as by properly routing them
-
Child S afety 177
around the head restraint for the seat ing
position where the child restraint is in­
stalled.
- Never activate the switchable lock ing re­
tractor when routing the safety be lts
around the head restraints.
-A child restrained in the chi ld safety seat
on the rear bench can be fatally injured
when playing with unused lockab le safe­
ty belts.
Booster seats and safety belts
Properl y used boos ter sea ts con help pro tect
children weighing be tween about 40 lb s. and
80 lbs . (1 8 kg and 36 kg) who ore less than 4
ft. 9 in. (57 inches/1.45 meters) toll .
"' ...
"' 0 :i: ;lli
Fig . 1 57 Rea r seat : chil d pr oper ly restr ained in a boo s­
ter seat
The vehicle's s afe ty belt s alone will not fit
most children until they are at lea st 4
ft . 9 in .
(57 inches/1.45 meters) tall and weigh about
80 lbs . (36 kg) . Booster seats raise these chi l­
dren up so tha t the safety belt w ill pass prop­
erly over the stronge r parts of the ir bodies
and the safety be lt can he lp protect them i n a
crash .
"' Do not use the convert ible loc king ret ractor
when using the veh icle's safety be lt to re­
s train a ch ild on a booster seat.
.. Always position the shoulder portion of the
safety belt m idway ov er th e ch ild's sho ulder.
If you must transport an o lder child in a
booster seat on th e fron t passenger seat,
yo u ca n use the sa fety be lt heigh t adjust­
ment to he lp adju st the shoulder portion
properly .