q fig. 145. 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
detailed information about airbags, safety
belts 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 supplemental protection .
- 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 .
- Always hold the steering wheel with both
hands on the outside of the steering
wheel rim at the 9:00 o'clock and 3:00 o'clock positions to help reduce the risk
of personal injury if the driver's airbag in
flates.
- Never hold the steering wheel at the 12
o'clock position or with your hands any
where inside the steering wheel or on the
steering wheel hub. Holding the steering
wheel the wrong way increases the risk
of severe injury to the arms, hands, and
head if the driver airbag deploys .
A WARNING
Objects between you and the airbag will
increase the risk of injury in a crash by in
terfering with the way the airbag unfolds
and/or by being pushed into you as the air
bag inflates.
- Always make sure nothing is in the front
airbag deployment zone that could be
struck by the airbag when it inflates.
- Objects in the zone of a deploying airbag
can become projectiles when the airbag
Airbag system 147
deploys and cause serious personal in
Jury.
- Never hold things in your hands or on
your lap when the vehicle is in use.
- Never place accessories or other objects
(such as cup holders, telephone brackets,
note pads, navigation systems, or things
that are large, heavy, or bulky) on the
doors; never attach then to the doors or
the windshield; never place them over or
near or attach them to the area marked
,,AIRBAG" on the steering wheel, instru
ment panel or the seat backrests; never
place them between these areas and you
or any other person in the vehicle.
- Never attach objects to the windshield
above the passenger front airbag, such
as accessory GPS navigation units or mu
sic players. Such objects could cause seri
ous injury in a collision, especially when
the airbags inflate.
- Never recline the front passenger seat to
transport objects. Items can also move
into the deployment area of the side air
bags or the front airbag during breaking
or in a sudden maneuver. Objects near
the airbags can fly dangerously through
the passenger compartment and cause injury, particularly when the seat is re
clined and the airbags inflate.
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.
- Although the Advanced Airbag System in
your vehicle 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 impossible in all conceiva
ble situations that may happen during
the useful life of your vehicle . .,.
•
•
-Repairs to the front passenger seat must
be performed by qualified and properly
trained workshop personnel.
- Never remove the front passenger or
driver seat from the vehicle.
- Never remove the upholstery from the
front passenger seat.
- Never disassemble or remove parts from
the seat or disconnect wires from it.
- Never carry sharp objects in your pockets
or put them on the seat. The capacitive
passenger detection mat in the front
passenger seat will not function properly
if it is punctured .
- Never carry things on your lap or carry
objects on the front passenger seat.
Such objects can influence the capaci
tance registered by the capacitive pas senger detection system, so that incor
rect information is provided to the airbag
control unit.
- Never store items under the front pas
senger seat. Parts of the Advanced Air
bag System under the passenger seat
could be damaged, preventing them and
the airbag system from working proper
ly.
- 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 .
- If a seat heater has been retrofitted or
otherwise added to the front passenger
seat , never install any child restraint sys
tem on this seat.
- Never use cushions, pillows, blankets, or
similar items on the front passenger
seat. The additional layers prevent the
capacitive passenger detection system
from accurately measuring the capaci
tance of the child safety seat and/or the
person on the seat and thus keep the Ad-
Airbag system 151
vanced Airbag System from working
properly .
- 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 con
nected to the 12-volt socket or the ciga
rette lighter socket. Such devices can in
fluence the capacitance registered by the
capacitive passenger detection system,
so that incorrect information is provided
to the airbag control unit.
- 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, immedi
ately install child restraint in a rear seat
ing position and have the airbag system
inspected by your Audi dealer.
A WARNING
If the front passenger seat gets wet, dry it
immediately.
- If liquid soaks into the front passenger
seat, this can keep the airbag system
from working properly and may, for in stance, deactivate the passenger frontal
airbag. If this happens, the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light will come on and stay
on together with the airbag indicator light
rl in the instrument cluster .
- If liquid is pooled on the seat, but has
not soaked in, this may also keep the air
bag system from working properly and
cause the passenger frontal airbag to be
enabled (turned on), even though there is a properly installed child restraint sys
tem on the seat . Wet towels or other wet
things on the seat cushion can have the
•
•
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
-Always install rear-facing child safety
seats on the rear seat.
- If you must i nstall a rearward facing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat in exceptional c ircumstances and
the
PASSENGER AIR BA G OFF light does
not come on and stay o n, immed iately
install the r ear-facing child safety seat in
a rear seating posit ion and have the air
bag system inspected immediately by
yo ur Audi dealer.
_& WARNING
- F orward-fac ing ch ild seats insta lled on
the front passenger seat may interfere
with the deployment of the airbag and
cause serious pe rsonal injury to the
child.
- If exceptiona l circumstances require the
use of a forward-fac ing chi ld restraint on
the front passenger's seat, the chi ld's
safety and well-being requ ire the follow
ing special precaut ions to be taken:
- Always make sure that the forward-fac
ing seat has been designed and ce rti
fied by its manufacturer fo r use on a
f ront passenger seat with a front and
side airbag.
- Always carefu lly follow the manufac
turer 's instructions provided with the
child seat or infant carrier.
- Never install a chi ld restraint without a
properly attached top tether strap if
the child restraint manufacturer 's in
structions require the top tether strap
to be used.
- Never p ut the forward-facing chi ld re
straint up against or ve ry near the in
strument panel.
- Always set the safety belt upper an
chorage to the adjustment position
that permits prope r installation in ac
cordance w ith th e child restra int manu
facture r's ins truc tions.
- Always move the passenge r seat into
its rearmost posit ion in the seat's fore
an d aft a djustment range, a s far away
.
Child Sa fet y 169
from the a irba g as poss ible be fore in
stalling the child restra int. The back
r est m ust be adjusted to an upright po
s ition.
- Always make sure that nothing pre
vents the front passenger's seat from
being moved to the rearmost position
i n its fore and aft adjustment range .
- Never place objects on the seat (such
as a laptop, CD playe r, e lectronic
games device or powe r inverte r) . These
may influence t he e lectr ica l capaci
t an ce measured by the cap acitive pas
senger detection sys tem and can also
fly around in an accident and cause se
rious personal injury .
- Never place or use any elect rical device
(such as a laptop, CD player, electronic
games device or power inverte r) on the
front passenger seat if the dev ice is
connected to the 12-volt socket or the
c igarette lighter socket.
- If a seat heater has been ret rofitted or
otherwise added to the front passen
ger seat, never install any child re
stra int system on th is seat.
- Make sure that there are no wet objects
(such as a wet towel) and no wate r or
othe r liquids on the front passenger
seat cushion.
- Always make sure tha t the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays
on all the time wheneve r the ignit ion is
swi tched on.
-If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, immedi
ate ly install the forwa rd-fa cing child
seat in a rear seating posi tion and have
the ai rbag system inspected by your
autho rized Aud i dea le r.
- Always b uckle the ch ild seat firmly in
place even if a child is not s itting in it .
A loose chi ld seat can f ly around during
a sudden stop or in a col lis ion.
- Always read and heed all WAR NINGS
whenever using a child restraint in ave
hicle
¢ page 133, Safety belts,
¢ page 142, Airbag system and 11--
•
•
-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 •
•
light does not come on and stay on, im
mediately install the rear-facing child
safety seat in a rear seating position and
have the airbag system inspected by your
Audi dealer.
- 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 con nected to the 12-volt socket or the ciga
rette lighter socket.
- If a seat heater has been retrofitted or
otherwise added to the front passenger
seat, never install 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 liquids on the front passenger seat
cushion.
- Never place objects on the seat (such as
a laptop, CD player, electronic games de
vice or power inverter). These may influ
ence the electrical capacitance measured
by the capacitive passenger detection
system and can also fly around in an acci
dent and cause serious personal injury.
- 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, Important things to know.
_& WARNING
A child in a child restraint installed with
the LATCH lower universal anchorages or
with the standard safety belt on the rear
seat may play with unused rear seat safety
belts and become entangled resulting in
serious personal injury and even death.
- Always secure unused rear seat safety
belts out of reach of children in chi ld
seats such as by properly routing them
around the head restraint for the seating
position where the child restraint is in
stalled.
-
Child Safety 175
- Never activate the switchable locking re
tractor when routing the safety belts
around the head restraints.
- Never let anyone sit at the center rear
seating position if the center rear safety
belt has been routed around a rear head
restraint.
- A child restrained in the child safety seat
on the rear bench can be fatally injured
when playing with unused lockable safe
ty belts .
- Always secure unused lockable safety belts on the rear bench.
Convertible child safety seats
Properly used convertible child safety seats
can help protect toddlers and children over
age one who weigh between 20 and 40 lbs. (9
and 18 kg) in a crash .
Fig. 155 Schemat ic overv iew : installat ion of the at·
tac hments applicable to a LATCH seat
Fig. 156 Schemat ic overview : instal lation of the seat
using the vehicl e's safety be lt system
.,. When using the vehicle safety belt to install
a child safety seat, you must first activate
the convertible locking feature on the safety
belt to prevent the child safety seat from
moving ¢
page 179 or install the seat using
the LATCH attachments.
IJ>-
-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 .