Page 145 of 300

Since the circumstances will vary considerably
between one collision and another , it is not
possible to define a range of veh icle speeds
that will cover every possible k ind and angle
of impact that will always trigger the airbags .
Important factors include, for example, the nature (hard or soft) of the object which the
car h its, the ang le of impact, vehicle speed,
etc. The front airbags will a lso not inflate in
side or rear collisions, or in ro ll-overs .
Alw ays rememb er: Airbags will deploy only
once, and only in certa in kinds of collisions.
Your safety belts are always there to offe r pro
tect ion in those s ituations in which airbags
are not supposed to deploy, or when they have
a lready deployed ; for example , when your ve
hicle strikes or is struck by another vehicle af
ter the first co llision .
This is just one of the reasons why an a irbag is
a supp lementary restraint and is not a s ubsti
tute for a safety belt . The airbag system
works most effectively when used with the
safety belts. Therefore, always properly wear
your safety belts¢
page 134.
A WARNING
Sitting too close to the steer ing whee l or
instrument panel will decrease the effec
tiveness of the airbags and will inc rease
the risk of pe rsonal injury in a co llision .
- Never sit closer than 10 inches (2S cm)
to the stee ring wheel or instr ument pan
el.
- If you cannot sit more than 10 inches
( 2 5 cm) from the steer ing whee l, investi
ga te whethe r adaptive equipment may
be available to help you reach the pedals
and increase your seating distance from
the steering wheel.
- If you are unrestrained, lean ing forward,
sitting sideways or out of position in any
way, yo ur risk of inj ury 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
flates -even with an Advanced Airbag.
A irbag system 143
-To reduce the risk of injury when an air
bag inflates, always wear safety belts
properly ¢
page 137, Safety belts.
-Always make certain that ch ild ren age 12
or younger a lways ride in the rear seat. If
children are not properly restrained, they may be severe ly injured or killed when an
airbag inf lates .
- Never let ch ildren ride unrestra ined or
improperly restrained in the vehicle. Ad
just the front seats prope rly .
- Never ride with the backrest reclined .
- Always sit as far as possible from the
steer ing whee l or the instrument pane l
¢page 12S.
-Always sit upright 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 preven t serio us in ju ries to the legs
and h ips if the airbag infla tes.
- Never recline the front passenger 's seat
to transport objects . Items can a lso
move into the area of the s ide a irbag or
the front a irbag du ring bra king or in a
sudden maneuve r. Obje cts near the air
bags can become projectiles and cause
in ju ry when an airbag inflates.
A WARNING
Airbags that have deployed in a crash must
be replaced.
- Use on ly original equipment airbags ap
proved by Aud i and installed by a trained
technician who has the necessary too ls
and d iagnost ic equipment to properly re
place any airbag in your vehicle and as
sure system effectiveness in a crash .
- Never perm it salvaged or recycled air
bags to be installed in your vehicle . •
•
Page 146 of 300

144 Airbag sys tem
Child restraints on the front seat - some
important things to know
• Be sure to read the impo rtant in forma tion
and heed the WARNINGS for important de
ta ils about ch ildren and Advanced Airbags
Q page 166.
Even though yo ur vehicle is equipped with an
Advanced Airbag System, make certain that
all children, especially those 12 years and
younger, a lways ride in the back seat properly
restra ined for their age and size. The airbag
on the passenger side makes the front seat a potentially dangerous place for a child to r ide .
The front seat is not the safest place fo r a
chi ld in a fo rward-faci ng chi ld sea t.
It can be a
ve ry dangerous p lace for an infant or a c hild in
a rearward -facing seat.
The Advanced Airbag System i n your veh icle
has been certified to comply with the require
men ts of Uni ted States Federa l Mo to r Veh icle
Safety Standard 208 as applicable at the time
your ve hicle was manufact ured.
The Standa rd requires the fron t air bag on t he
passenger side to be turned off ("sup
p ressed") if a c hild up to about one yea r 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 which
the Advanced A irbag System in your vehicle
was certified has been installed on the front passenger seat. For a listing of the child re
straints that we re used to certify compliance
with the US Safety Sta ndard
Q page 168.
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light in the in
strument panel te lls you when the front Ad
vanced A irbag on t he passenger side has been
turned off by t he e lectronic control unit.
Each t ime you sw itch on the ignit ion, the
PAS
SENGER AIR BAG OFF
li ght w ill come on for a
few seconds a nd:
- will stay on if the front passenger seat is not
occupied,
- will stay on if there is a small child or child
rest raint on the front passenger seat, -
w ill go off i f the front passenge r seat is oc
cupied by an adult as registere d by the
weight -sensing mat
<:!) page 153, Monitor
ing the Advanced Airbag System.
T he PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
when the contro l unit detects a tota l weight
on the front passenger seat that req uires the
front a irbag to be turned off.
If the total weight on the front passenge r
seat is more than that of a typica l 1 year -old
c hi ld b ut less than the we ight of a small
adult, the front airbag on the passenger side
can deploy (the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
li ght does not come on). If the PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on , the
front a irbag on the passenger side has not
bee n tur ned off by the elec tronic con trol unit
and can deploy if the control uni t se nses an
impact that meets the con ditions stored i n its
memo ry .
For exampl e, the airbag may deploy if:
- a small ch ild that is heav ie r th an a typical 1
year-old ch ild is on the front passenger seat
( r egard less of whethe r the child is in one of
t he child seats listed
Q page 168), or
- a child who has outgrown ch ild restraints is
on t he front passenge r seat.
If the front passenger airbag is turned off, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on in
the instr ume nt cluster and stays on.
The front airbag on the passenger side may
not deploy (the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
li gh t does not illum inate and stay lit) even if a
small ad ult o r teenager, or a passenger who is
not sitt ing up rig ht w ith their back against a
non- re cli ned ba ck res t w it h thei r feet on the
vehicle f loor in front of the sea t is on the front
passenge r seat
c::> page 125, Proper sea ting
position for the driver.
If t he front passenger a irbag dep loys, the
F ede ral Standard req uires the airbag to meet
t h e "low risk" dep loyment criteria to red uce
the risk of injury t hro ugh interactio n wit h the
airbag. "Low risk" dep loyment occ urs in those
crashes that take place at lower dece lerat ions ..,_
Page 147 of 300

as defined in the electronic control unit
¢ page 153, PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light .
Always remember, a chi ld seat or infant ca rri
e r i nsta lled on the front seat may be struck
and knocked out of position by the rapidly in
flating passenger's airbag in a frontal colli
sion. The airbag could greatly red uce the ef
fectiveness of the child restraint and even se riously injure the child during inflat ion.
F or this reason, and because the back seat is
the safest p lace for children -when properly
restra ined accord ing to their age and si ze -we
strongly recommend that children always sit
in the back seat
¢ page 166, 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 a irbag 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 mus t 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 not come on and stay on, immedi
ately install the rear-facing chi ld seat in a
rear seating position and have the airbag
system inspected by your Aud i deale r.
- Forward-fac ing ch ild seats installed on
the front passenger's seat may interfere
with the deployment of the airbag and cause serious pe rsonal injury to the
child.
A WARNING
If, in exceptional c ircumstances, you mus t
install a forwa rd-facing child restra int on
the front passenger's seat:
A irbag system 145
-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 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 position in the seat's fore and
aft adjustment range, as fa r away from
the airbag as possible before installing
the forward-fa cing ch ild restra int. The
backrest mu st be ad justed to an upright
posi tion.
- Ma ke sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
li ght comes on and stays on all the
time wheneve r the ignit ion is swi tched
on.
A WARNING
To reduce the risk of serious injury, make
sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light will be displayed whenever a child re
straint is installed on the front passenger
seat and the ignition is sw itched on.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not stay on, perform the checks de
scribed
¢ page 153, Monitoring the Ad
vanced Airbag System .
-Take t he 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
light does not stay on.
- Have the airbag system inspected by
your Aud i dea le r i mmediately.
- Always carefully follow instr uctions from
child restraint manufacture rs when in
stalling c hild restra ints.
A WARNING
If, in e xcept io na l circumstances, you must
ins tall a forward o r rearwa rd-facing child
restra int on the front passenger's se at:
- Imp roper install ation of ch ild restrai nts
can reduce their effec tiveness o r even
preven t them from providing any protec
tion. •
•
Page 148 of 300

146 Airbag system
-An improperly installed child restraint
can interfere with the airbag as it de
ploys and seriously injure or even kill the
child -even with an Advanced Airbag
System .
- Always carefully follow the manufactur
er's instructions provided with the child
seat or carrier .
- 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 .
Front airbags
Description of front airbags
The airbag system con provide supplemental
protect ion to properly restrained front seat
occupants.
Fig. 145 Location of dr iver airbag: in stee ring wheel
Fig. 146 Locat ion of front passenger's airbag: in the in
s trument panel
Your vehicle is equipped with an "Advanced
A irbag System" in compliance with United
States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
(FMVSS) 208 as applicable at the time you r
vehicle was manufactured. The system senses
the position of the front seats and controls
front airbag inflation with a valve, depending on
the distance between the respective seat
and the steering wheel or instrument panel.
The safety belts for the seats have "preten sioners" that help to take slack out of the belt
system. The pretensioners are also activated by the electronic 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 steering
wheel hub
c::;, fig. 145 and the airbag for the
front passenge r is in the instrument panel
c::;, fig . 146 . 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 you r 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 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 .
A WARNING
A person on the front passenger seat , es
pecially infants and sma ll 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 ..,.
Page 149 of 300

that deployment under these special
conditions is impossible 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 heavier 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 their own safety, all children, espe
cially 12 years and younger, should al
ways ride in the back properly restrained
for their age and size.
Advanced front airbag system
Your vehicle is equipped with a front Advanced
Airbag System in compliance with United
States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
208 as applicable at the time your vehicle was
manufactured .
T he front Advanced Airbag System supple
ments the safety belts to provide additional
protection for the driver's and front passeng
er's heads and upper bodies in frontal crashes .
The airbags inflate only in frontal impacts
when the vehicle deceleration is high enough.
The front Advanced Airbag System for the
front seat occupants is not a substitute for
your safety belts . Rather, it is part of the over
all occupant restraint system in your vehicle .
Always remember that the airbag system can
only help to protect you, if you are sitting up
right , wearing your safety belt and wearing it
properly. This is why you and your passengers
must always be properly restrained , not just
because the law requires you to be.
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 very small adults on
the driver side. The low risk deployment crite-
Airbag system 147
ria are intended to help reduce the risk of in
jury through interaction with the front 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 "suppression" requirements
of the Safety Standard, to turn off the front
airbag for infants 12 months old and younger
who are restrained on the front passenger
seat in child restraints that are listed in the
Standard
¢ page 168, Child restraints and
Advanced Airbags.
"Suppression" requires the front airbag on the
passenger side to be turned off if:
- a child up to about one year of age is re
strained on the front passenger seat in one
of the rear -facing or forward-facing infant
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 US Safety Standard
¢page 168,
-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
weight of a child that is about 1 year old re
strained in one of the rear-facing or forward
facing infant restraints (listed in Federal Mo
tor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 with which
the Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle
was certified), the front airbag on the passen
ger side may or may not deploy.
The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
when the electronic control unit detects a to
tal weight on the front passenger seat that re
quires the front airbag to be turned off. If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not
come on, the front airbag on the passenger
side has not been turned off by the control
unit and can deploy if the control unit senses
11-
•
•
Page 150 of 300

148 Airbag sys tem
an impact that meets the conditions stored in
its memory .
I f the tota l weight on the front passenger
seat is more than that of a typical 1 year-o ld,
but less than the weight of a small adu lt, the
front airbag on the passenger side may deploy (the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not
come on).
For e xample , the a irbag may depl oy if :
- a small child that is heavier than a typical 1
year-o ld child is on the front p assenger seat
(regardless of whe ther the child is in one of
the chi ld seats listed
¢ page 168),
- a ch ild who h as o utg rown child rest raints is
on the front passenger seat.
If the front passenger airbag is turned off, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF l ight in the cente r
of the inst rument panel w ill come on and stay
on.
The front a irbag on the passeng er side may
not dep loy (the PAS SENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not ill umin ate and stay lit) if:
- a small adult or teenager is o n the front pas
senger seat
- a passenger who is not sitt ing upright wit h
their back against a non-reclined backrest
with their feet on the veh icle floo r in front
of the seat is on the front passenge r seat.
If the front passenger airbag deploys, the Federal Standard requires the a irbag to meet
the " low risk" deployment criteria to help re
d uce the risk of inj ury through inter action
with the airbag. " Low r isk" deployment occurs
in those crashes that take place at lower de
celerations as defined in the e lectronic control
un it
¢ page 153.
Alwa ys remember : Even though yo ur vehicle
is equipped with Advanced Airbags, the safest
p lace for children is properly restrained on the
bac k seat . Please be sure to read the impor
tant information in the sect ions that follow
and be sure to heed a ll of the WARNINGS.
A WARNING
To reduce the risk of injury when an a irbag
i nflates, always wear safety be lts properly.
- If you are unrestra ined, leaning forward,
sitt ing s ideways or out of pos ition in any
way, your risk of injury is much h igher.
- You will a lso receive serious injuries and
could even be killed if you are up aga inst
the airbag or too close to it when it in
flates -even w ith an Advanced A irbag
¢ page 142.
A WARNING
A child in a rearward-fac ing ch ild seat in
stalled on the front pa ssenger se at will be
se riously in jured and can be killed if the
front airbag inflates -even with an Ad
vanced Airbag System.
- Al tho ugh the Advan ced Airbag Sys tem in
your veh icle is designe d to turn off the
front airbag when a rearward-facing
child restraint has been installed on the
front passenger seat, nobody can abso
lutely g uarantee that dep loyment is im
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 seat
or infant car rier with g reat force and will
smash the child seat and child against
the backrest, center armrest, door, or
roof.
- Always inst all rearward-fa cing ch ild re
s traints on the rear seat.
- I f you must ins tall a rearwa rd fa cing
child sea t on the fron t passenger seat
because of exceptional circumstan ces
an d the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, imme di
ately insta ll the rear-facing child seat in a
rear seat ing pos ition and have the airbag
system inspected by your Audi dealer.
A WARNING
If, in except ional circumstances, you must
i nstall a forward-facing child restraint on
the front passenge r's seat:
-
Page 151 of 300

-Always make sure the forward-facing
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 instru
ment panel.
- 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 insta lling
the fo rward -facing child restraint. T he
b ackres t m ust be adjus ted to an upr igh t
posit ion.
- Make su re that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on and s tays on all the
t ime whenever the ignition is switched
on .
Advanced Airbag System components
The front passenger seat in your vehicle has a
l ot of very important parts of the Advanced
Airbag System in it. These parts include the
weight-sens ing mat, sensors, wiring, brack
ets, and more . The function of the system in
the front passenger seat is checked by the
e lectronic control un it when the ign it ion is on .
The control un it mon itors the Advance d Air
bag Sys tem and turn s the a irbag i ndica tor
light on when a ma lfunction in t he system
compo nents is detected . The function of the
ai rbag indicator light is described in greater
deta il below. Because the front passenger
seat contains important parts of the Ad
va nced A irbag System, you must take care to
prevent it from being damaged . Damage to
the seat may p revent the Advanced A irbag for
the front passenger seat from doing its job in
a crash .
The front Advanced Airb ag System
consists of the following:
- Crash senso rs in the front of the veh icle that
measu re ve hicle accelera tion/decele ra ti on
to provide info rm ation to the Advanced Air
bag System abo ut the severity of the crash.
A irbag system 149
-An elect ron ic cont ro l unit, with integrated
crash sensors for front and side impacts .
The control un it "decides" whether to f ire
the front a irbags based on the informat ion
received from the crash sensors. The control
unit also "decides" whether the safety belt
prete nsione rs shou ld be act iva ted.
- An Advanced A irbag w it h gas generator and
cont ro l valve for the d river ins ide the steer
ing wheel h ub.
- An Advanced A irbag w ith gas generator and
cont ro l valve inside the instrument pa ne l for
the front passenger .
- A weight -sensing mat unde r the upho lstery
padding of the front passenge r seat cushion
that measures the to tal weight o n the seat.
The info rmat ion reg iste red is sent continu
ously to the elect ronic con trol u nit to regu
la te deployment of the front Advanced Air
bag on the passenger side .
- An airbag moni tor ing sys tem and ind icator
light in the instr ument cluster
¢ page 153.
-A sen sor in each fron t seat regis ters the dis
t ance betwee n the respec tive seat and the
steering whee l or instrument panel. The i n
formation registered is sent cont inuo usly to
the electron ic contro l unit to regulate de
ployment of the front Advanced A irbags .
- The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes
on and stays on in the center o f the instr u
ment panel¢
page 153, fig. 148 and tells
you whe n the front Advanced Airbag on the
passe nger side has been tu rned off.
- A sensor below the safety belt latch for the
front seat passenger to measure t he tension
on the safety belt. The tension o n the safety
be lt and the weight regis tered by the
weigh t-sensi ng ma t he lp the control uni t
"de cide" whe ther the front airbag fo r the
front passenge r seat should be turned off or
not ~
page 144, Child restraints on the
front seat -some important things to
know.
- A sensor in t he safety be lt latch fo r the d riv
er and for the front seat passenger that
senses w hethe r th at safety belt is latched or
not and transmits this information to the
electronic control unit.
•
•
Page 152 of 300

150 Airbag sys te m
_& WARNING
Damage to the front passenger seat can
prevent the front airbag from working
properly.
- Improper repair or disassembly of the
front passenger and driver seat wi ll pre
vent the Advanced A irbag System from
functioning properly.
- Repairs to the front passenger seat must
be performed by q ualified and properly
trained workshop personnel.
- Never remove the front passenger or
dr iver seat from the veh icle.
- 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 place them on the seat . If the weight
sensing mat in the passenger seat is
punctured it cannot work properly.
- Never carry things on your lap or carry
objects on the passenger seat. Such
items can increase the weight registered
by the weight-se nsing mat and send the
wrong info rmation to the airbag control
unit.
- Never store items under the front pas senger seat. Parts of the Advanced Ai r
bag System under the passenge r seat
c ou ld be damaged, prevent ing them and
the a irbag sys tem from working proper
ly .
- N ever place sea t covers or replacement
upholstery that have not been specifical
ly approved by A udi on the fron t seats.
- Seat covers can preven t th e Advanced
Airbag System from recognizing child re
st raints or occupants on the front pas
senger seat and prevent the side airbag
in the seat backrest from deploy ing prop
er ly.
- Never use cushions, pillows, blankets or
similar items on the front passenger seat. The add itiona l padd ing will prevent
the weight-sensing mat in the seat from
accu rately reg iste ring the c hild restra int
-
or person on the seat and prevent the
Advanced Airbag System from function
ing p roperly.
- If you must use a child restraint on the
front passenger seat and the child re
straint manufacturer's instructions re
qu ire the use of a towel, foam cushion or
something e lse to prope rly pos ition the
child restraint, make certain t hat the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF lig ht comes
on and stays on whenever the ch ild re
straint is installed on the front passen
ge r seat .
- If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, immedi
ately insta ll child restraint in a rear seat
ing position and have the ai rbag system
inspected by your Audi dea ler.
How the Advanced Airbag System
components work together
T he front Advanced Airbag System and the
s ide a irbags supp lem ent the p rotection of
fered by the front three-po int safety belts
with pre tensione rs and load lim iters and the
adjustable head res train ts to help redu ce the
risk of in jury in a wide ra nge of accident and
crash situations . Be s ure to read the impor
tant information about safety and heed the
WARNINGS in th is chapter.
Deployment of the Adv a need Airbag System
and t he activation of the safety belt preten
s ioners depend on the deceleration measured
by the crash sensors and registered by the
electron ic co ntrol unit. The amount of infla
t ion of t he front airbags can a lso be adapted
to the front seat pos ition, depending on the
distance between the respective front seat
and t he steer ing w heel or instrument panel as
regis tered by sensors in the seats. C rash se
verity depends on speed and dece leration as
well as the mass and st iffness of t he vehicle
or object involved in the crash .
On t he passenger side, rega rdless of sa fe ty
belt use, the airbag w ill be turned off if the
weight on the passenger seat is less than the ..,.