
182 Airbag sys tem
as def ined in the electronic control unit
Q page 190, PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light.
A lways remember, a ch ild safety seat or infant
carrier insta lled on the front sea t may be
struck and knocked o ut o f position by the rap
id ly inflating passeng er's airbag in a frontal
coll is ion . T he airbag cou ld greatly reduce the
effec tiveness of the child restraint and even
serious ly 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 acco rd ing to their age and si ze - we
s trongly recommend that children always sit
in the back seat
Q page 200, Child Safety .
A WARNING
A child in a rearward-facing child safety
s e at insta lled on the front passenger seat
w ill be seriously injured and can be k illed if
t he fr ont a irbag inflates - even with an Ad
vanced Airbag System.
- T he i nflating a irbag will hit the child
safety seat or infant carrier wit h great
f orce and w ill smash the ch ild safety sea t
and child against the backrest , center
armrest, door or roof.
- Always insta ll rear -facing child sa fety
seats on the rear seat.
- If you mus t install a rearward facing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat because of exceptional circ umstan
ces and the
PASSENG ER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on and stay on , im
med iately install the rea r-facing child
safety seat in a rear seating position and
hav e the a irbag system inspected by you r
authori zed Aud i dealer.
- Forward-fac ing ch ild safety seats instal
led on the front passenger's seat may i n
terfere wi th the deployment of the air
b ag and cau se serious person al injury to
the ch ild .
A WARNING
If, in exceptional c ircumstances, you must
install a forward-facing child restra int on
the front passenger's seat: -
Always make sure the forward-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 pos ition in the seat's fore a nd
aft ad justment range, as fa r away from
the airbag as possible b efore installing
the forwa rd-fa cing ch ild restra int. The
b ackrest mus t be a djusted to a n up right
position.
- Make s ure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
li ght comes on and stays o n all the
t ime wheneve r the ignition is switched
on.
A WARNING -ra----
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
Q page 190, Monitoring the Ad
vanced Airbag System .
-Take t he chi ld restraint off the front pas
senger seat and install it prope rly at one
of the rear seat positions if t he
PASSEN
GER AIR BAG OFF
li ght does not stay on.
- Have the airbag system inspected by
your author ized Audi deal er immed iate
ly .
- Always carefu lly follow instr uctions from
chi ld restraint manufacture rs when in
st all ing c hild restra ints .
A WARNING
If, in exce ptiona l circumstances, you m ust
i nsta ll a forward or rearw ard-fa cing child
r estra int on the front passenger's seat :
- Imp roper ins tallation o f child restra ints
can reduce their effec tiveness or even

If the total weight on the front passenger
seat is more than that of a typical 1 year -old,
but less than the weight of a small adult, the
front airbag on the passenger side may deploy (the
P ASS ENGER AIR B AG OFF light does not
come on).
For example, th e airbag may depl oy if:
-a small child that is heavier than a typical 1
year-o ld child is on the front passenger seat
(regardless of whether the child is in one of
the chi ld safety seats listed
<=) page 202),
-a chi ld who has outgrown child restraints is
on the front passenger seat.
I f the front passenger airbag is turned
off, the
PA SSENGER AIR B AG OFF light in the center
of the instrument panel wi ll come on and stay
on.
The front a irbag on the passenger side may
not deploy (the PA SSENG ER AIR BAG O FF
light does not ill uminate and stay lit) if:
- a small adu lt or teenager is on the front pas
senger seat
- a passenger who is not sitt ing upright w ith
their back against a non-reclined backrest
with their feet on the vehicle 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 cr iteria to help re
duce the risk of inju ry through interaction
with the airbag. "Low risk" deployment occurs in those crashes that take place at lower de
celerations as defined in the electronic control
un it.
<=) page 190
Al ways rememb er: Even tho ugh your vehicle
is equipped with Advanced Airbags, the safest
p lace for children is properly restrained on the
back seat. Please be sure to read the impor
tant information in the sect ions that follow
and be sure to heed all of the WARNINGS.
A WARNING
To reduce the risk of injury when an airbag inflates, a lways wear safety belts prope rly.
A irbag system 185
-If you are unrestrained, leaning forward,
sitt ing s ideways or out of pos ition in any
way, your risk of injury is much higher.
- 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 179.
A WARNING
-
A child in a rearward-fac ing ch ild safety
seat installed on the front passenger seat
will be ser ious ly injured and can be killed if
the front airbag inflates -even with an Ad
vanced A irbag System.
- Al tho ugh the Advanced Airbag System in
your veh icle is designed to turn
off the
front airbag when a rearward -facing
child restraint has been insta lled on the
front passenger seat, nobody can abso
lutely guarantee that dep loyment is im
possible in all conceivable s ituations that
may happen dur ing the usefu l life of your
veh icle.
- The inflating airbag will h it the ch ild
safety seat or infant carrier with great
force and will smash the child safety seat
and child against the bac krest, center
armrest, doo r, or roof.
- Always install rearward-facing chi ld re
straints on the rear seat.
- If you must install a rearwa rd fac ing
child safety seat on the fro nt passenger
seat because of exceptiona l circumstan
ces and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on and s tay on, im
mediately insta ll the rear-facing ch ild
safety seat in a rear seating position and
have the airbag system inspected by your
author ized Audi dealer.
A WARNING
If, in except iona l circumstances, you must
install a forward-facing child restraint on
the front passenger's seat:
~
•
•

-when the weight on the front passenger
seat as sensed by the Advanced Airbag Sys
tem indicates that the front airbag on the
passenger side has to be turned off by the
electronic control unit (the
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on)
A WARNING
Sitting in the wrong position can increase
the risk of serious injury in crashes.
- To reduce the risk of injury when the air
bags inflate, the driver and passengers
must always sit in an upright position,
must not lean against or place any part
of their body too close to the area where
the airbags are located.
- Occupants who are unbelted, out of posi
tion or too close to the airbag can be se
riously injured by an airbag as it unfolds
with great force in the blink of an eye
c> page 181.
A WARNING -
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 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 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 rear-facing child
safety seat in a rear seating position and
have the airbag system inspected by your
authorized Audi dealer .
Airbag system 189
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
or by being pushed into you as the airbag inflates .
- Never hold things in your hands or on
your lap when the vehicle is in use.
- Never transport items on or in the area
of the front passenger seat . Objects
could move into the area of the front air
bags during braking or other sudden ma
neuvers and become dangerous projec
tiles that can cause serious personal in
jury if the airbags inflate.
- Never place or attach accessories or oth
er objects (such as cupholders, tele
phone brackets, large, heavy or bulky ob
jects) on the doors, over or near the area marked "AIRBAG" on the steering wheel,
instrument panel, seat backrests or be
tween those areas and yourself . These
objects could cause injury in a crash, es
pecially when the airbags inflate.
- Never recline the front passenger's seat
to transport objects. Items can also
move into the area of the side airbag or
the front airbag during braking or in a sudden maneuver. Objects near the air
bags can become projectiles and cause
injury, particularly when the seat is re
clined.
- Never tilt the front passenger seat back
rest forward when the vehicle is moving.
An inflating airbag will force the back
rest backward and can injure rear seat oc
cupants.
A WARNING
The fine dust created when airbags deploy
can cause breathing problems for people
with a history of asthma or other breath ing conditions.
-
- To reduce the risk of breathing problems,
those with asthma or other respiratory
.___ c_ o_ n_ d_ it_ i_o _ ns_ sh_o_ u_ l_ d _:g:_ e_ t _f_re _s_ h_ a_ i_r _ri ..:::g :....h _t __
_J ~
•
•

-Objects between you and the airbag can
increase the risk of injury in an accident
by interfering with the way the airbag
unfolds or by being pushed into you as
the airbag inflates .
- Never place or attach accessories or
other objects (such as cupholders, tele
phone brackets, or even large, bulky
objects) on the doors, over or near the
area marked "AIRBAG" on the seat
backrests.
- Such objects and accessories can be
come dangerous projectiles and cause
injury when the supplemental side air
bag deploys .
- Never carry any objects or pets in the
deployment space between them and
the airbags or allow children or other
passengers to travel in this position .
- Always use the built -in coat hooks only
for lightweight clothing . Never leave any
heavy or sharp-edged objects in the
pockets that may interfere with side air
bag dep loyment and can cause personal
injury in an accident.
- Always prevent the side airbags from be
ing damaged by heavy objects knocking
against or hitting the sides of the seat
backs.
- The airbag system can only be triggered
once.
If the airbag has been triggered,
the system must be replaced by an au
thorized Audi dealership .
- Damage (cracks, deep scratches etc .) to
the original seat covers or to the seam in
the area of the side airbag module must
always be repaired immediately by an au
thorized Audi dealer .
- If children are seated improperly, their
risk of injury increases in the case of an
accident ~ page 200, Child Safety .
- Never attempt to modify any compo
nents of the airbag system in any way .
- In a side collision, side airbags will not
function properly if sensors cannot cor rectly measure increasing air pressure in
side the doors when air escapes through
Airbag system 197
larger, unclosed openings in the door
panel.
- Never drive with interior door trim pan
els removed .
- Never drive when parts have been re
moved from the inside door panel and
the open ings they leave have not been
properly closed.
- Never drive when loudspeakers in the
doors have been removed unless the
speaker holes have been properly
closed.
- Always make certain that openings are
covered or filled if additional speakers
or other equipment is installed in the inside door panels.
- Always have work on the doors done by
an authorized Audi dealer or qualified
workshop.
Side curtain airbags
Description of side curtain airbags
The side curtain airbags can provide supple
mental protection to properly restrained oc
cupants .
Fig. 202 Side curta in a irbags, driver's s ide: locatio n
The side c urtain airbags are located on both
sides of the interior above the front and rear
side windows ~ fig. 202 . They ar e identified
by the word "AIRBAG" on the windshield
frame and the center roof pillar .
The side curtain airbag system supplements
the safety belts and can help to reduce the risk of injury for occupants' heads and upper
torso on the side of the vehicle that is struck
in a side collision. The side cur tain airbag ..,.

204 Child Safety
&_ 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 .
-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 another in an accident.
- 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

206 Child Safe ty
& WARNING
Not using a child safety seat, using the
wrong ch ild safety seat or improperly in
stall ing a child restraint increases the risk
of serious personal injury and death in a
crash.
- Never install rear-fac ing ch ild safety
seats or infant carriers on the front pas
senger seat - even with an Advanced Air
bag System. A child will be seriously in
jured and can be killed when the inflat
ing airbag hits the child safety seat or in
fant carrier with great force and smashes
the child safety seat and child against
the backrest, center armrest, door or
roof
c:> page 181, Child restraints on the
front seat -some important things to
know.
- Always install rear-facing child safety
seats or infant carriers on the rear seat.
- Never install a rear-facing child restraint
in the forward-facing direction. Such re
st raints are des igned for the spec ial
needs of infants and very small childre n
and cannot p rotect them proper ly if the
seat is forward-fac ing.
- If you must install a rea rward facing
child safety seat on the front passenge r
seat because of exceptional circ umstan
ces and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OF F
light does not come on and stay on, im
mediately install the rear-facing child
safety seat in a rear seating position and
have th e a irbag system inspected by your
Audi dealer.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child restrained in ave
hicle is being used-:;.
page 170, Safety
belts,-:;, page 179, Airbag system
and
c:> page 200, Important things to know.
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. 205 Schemat ic overview: installat ion of t he at
tachments appl icable to a LATCH seat
Fig . 206 Schema tic overview: installat ion of the seat
us ing the vehicle 's safety belt system
.,. When using the vehicle sa fe ty belt to install
a child safety seat, you must first activate
the convertib le locking feature on the safety
be lt to prevent the child safety seat from
moving
c:> page 209 or install the seat using
the LATCH attachments.
., Push the child safety seat down with your
full weight to get the safety belt really tight
so that the seat cannot move forward o r
sideways mo re than one inch (2.5 cm)
c:> page 209 .
.,. If the child sa fe ty seat is eq uipped with a
t ether strap, attach it to the tethe r anchors
c:>page 216.
A toddler or chi ld is usua lly too large for an in
f ant restraint if it is more than one year old
and weighs more than 20 lbs. (9 kg).
T oddlers and childre n who a re older tha n one
year up to abou t 4 years old and weigh more ..,.

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
c:> fig. 205 and c:> fig. 206.
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 .
.,&. 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 rear-facing child safety
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 rear-facing child
safety seat in a rear seating position and
have the airbag system inspected by your
Audi dealer.
- The rear side of the child safety seat
should be positioned as close as possible
to the backrest on the vehicle seat. Ad
just or remove the rear seat head re straint if it is difficult to install the child
Child Safety 207
seat with the head restraint in place
c:> page 77. Install the head restraint
again immediately once the child seat is
removed . Driving without head restraints
or with head restraints that are not prop
erly adjusted increases the risk of serious
or fatal neck injury dramatically.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child restrained in ave
hicle is being used
c:> page 170, Safety
belts,
c:> page 179, Airbag system and
c:> page 200, Important things to know.
.,&. 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
c:> page 190, Monitoring the Ad
vanced Airbag System.
- Take the child restraint off the front pas-
-
senger seat and install it properly at one ~
•
•

Catalytic converter
Applies to vehicles: with gasoline engine
It is very important that your emission control system (catalytic converter) is function
ing properly to ensure that your vehicle is run
ning in an environmentally sound manner .
... Always use lead-free gasoline¢ page 250,
Gasoline .
... Never run the tank down all the way to
empty .
... Never put too much motor oil in your en-
gine ¢
page 264, Adding engine oil~-
.,. Never try to push- or tow-start your veh icle.
The catalytic converter is an eff icient "clean
up" device built into the exhaust system of
the vehicle. The catalytic converter burns
many of the poll utants in the exhaust gas be
fore they are released into the atmosphe re.
The exclusive use of unleaded fuel is cr it ically
i mportant for the life of the cata lytic convert
e r and proper fu nctioning of the engine.
A WARNING ,~
- Do not park or operate the veh icle in
areas where the hot exhaust system may
come in contact with dry grass, brush,
fuel spill or other material which can
cause a fire.
- Do not apply additional undercoating or
rustproofing on or near the exhaust
man ifold, exhaust p ipes, catalytic con
verter or heat shie lds . During driving, the
substance used for undercoating could
overheat and cause a fire.
{[) Note
-Be aware that just one tank fi lling with
le aded fuel will already seriously de
grade the performance of the catalytic
conve rter .
- Do not exceed the correct engine oil level
¢ page 264.
-Do not drive until the fuel tank becomes
completely empty. The eng ine could mis
fire . U nburned fuel could a lso get into
Dri vin g and en vironm ent 229
the exhaust system and this cou ld cause
the catalytic converter to overheat .
- Do not turn off the igni tion while the ve
hicle is moving.
- Do not con tinue to ope rate your veh icle
unde r these conditions, as othe rwise fuel
can reach the catalytic converter. This
co uld result in overheating o f the con
verter, requir ing its replacement.
- To assure efficient operation of the Emis
sion Control System:
- H ave your vehicle maintained prope rly
and in accordance w ith the se rv ice rec
ommendat ions in you r Warranty &
M ain tenance boo klet.
- L ack of prope r maintenance as we ll as
improper use of the vehi cle w il l impair
the function of the em ission contro l
system and could lead to damage .
@ For the sake of the environment
Even when the Emiss io n Control System is
operat ing properly, the exha ust gas can
have a sul fur -li ke exhaust gas smell under
some operating states . This depends on
the sulfur content of the fuel being used .
Using a different brand of fue l may help,
or f illing the tank with lead-free super
grade gasoline .
Diesel particulate filter
Applies to vehicles : with diese l eng ine
The diesel part ic u late filter filters nearly all of
the soot particles out of the exhaust . The fil
ter cleans itself automat ica lly under normal
driv ing cond itions . If the filter ca nnot clean it
self (for example, because you a re o nly dr iving
short distances), the fi lter becomes clogged
with soot and the. symbo l for the diesel
particu late filter ill uminates ¢
page 3 7.
A WARNING
- Do not park your vehicle over flammable
materia ls such as grass or leaves because
the high temperature of the diesel par-
ticulate fi lter could start a fire. ..,. •
•