2013 AUDI A4 SEDAN light

BAG OFF light comes on and stays on to tell
you when the front Advanced Airbag on the
passenger side has been turned
off
c:> page 145, Child restraints on the front seat
- some important things to know.
A WARNING
To reduce the risk of injury whe n an airbag
inflates, always wear safety belts properly .
- If you are unrestrained, lean ing forward,
sitting sideways or out of position in any
way, your risk of injury is much highe r.
- You w ill also receive serious injuries and
could 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
c:> page 144.
More important things to know about
front airbags
Fi g. 1 42 Inflated front a irbags
Safety belts are important to help keep front
seat occupants in the proper sea ted pos ition
so that airbags c an u nfo ld properly and pro­
vide supp lemental protection in a fronta l co l­
lision.
The front a irbags are designed to provide ad­
d itiona l protection for the chest and face of
the dr iver and the front seat passenge r when:
- safety belts are worn properly,
- the seats have been posit io ned so that the
occupant is p roperly seated as far as possi­
ble from the a irbag,
- and the head restraints have been properly
adjusted.
Because airbags inflate in the blink of an eye
with great force, things you have on your lap
A irba g sy stem 153
or have p laced on the seat co uld become dan ­
gerous projectiles, and be p ushed into you if
the a irbag inf lates.
When an airbag deploys, fine dust is re leased.
T his is norma l and is not caused by a fi re in
the ve hicle . This dust is made up mostly of a
powder used to lubricate the airbags as they
deploy. It could irr itate skin .
It is important to remembe r that wh ile the
supplementa l airbag system is designed to re­
duce the like lihood of serious injur ies, other
injuries, for example swelling, bruis ing and
minor abrasions, can also happen when air­
bags inflate . A irbags do not protect the arms
o r the lower parts of the body. Front a irbags
on ly supp lement the three point safety belts
in some fronta l co llisions in which the vehicle
decelera tion is high e no ugh to deploy the air­
bags .
Front airbags will not deploy :
-if the ignition is sw itched off when a crash
occu rs,
- in side collisions,
- in rear-end collisions,
- in rollovers,
- when the crash deceleration measured by
the airbag system is less than the minimum
threshold needed for a irbag deployment as
reg istered by the electronic control unit .
The front pa sse n ger ai rbag will also not
deplo y:
- when the front passenger seat is not occu­
pied,
- when the weight on the front passenger seat as sensed by the Advanced Airbag Sys­
tem ind icates that the front airbag on the
passe nger side has to be turned off by the
electronic control unit (the
PAS SENGER A IR
BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on) .
A WARNING
Sitting in the wrong position can increase
the r is k of se rious inj ury in crashes.
- To reduce the risk of injury when the air ­
bags inflate, the drive r and passenge rs

154 Airbag system
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
~page 145.
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.
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
neuver 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.
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
conditions should get fresh air right
away by getting out of the vehicle or
opening windows or doors.
- If you are in a collision in which airbags
deploy, wash your hands and face with
mild soap and water before eating.
- Be careful not to get the dust into your
eyes, or into any cuts or scratches.
- If the residue should get into your eyes,
flush them with water.

Monitoring the
Advanced Airbag
System
Airbag monitoring indicator light
Two separate indicators monitor the function
of the Advanced Airbag System: the airbag
monitoring indicator light and the
PAS SEN ­
G ER AIR B AG
OFF light.
The Advanced Airbag System (including the
e lectronic control unit, sensor circuits and sys­
tem wiring) is monitored continuously to
make sure that it is functioning properly
whenever the ignit ion is on . Each t ime you
turn on the ignition, the
I airbag monitoring
i ndicator light w ill come on for a few seconds
(self diagnostics) .
The system mu st be in spected when the
I indicator l ight:
- does not come on when the ignit ion is
switched on,
- does not go out a few seconds after yo u
have switched on the ignition, o r
- comes on while driving .
If an airbag system malfunction is detected,
the indicator light will first start flashing to
catch the driver's attention and then stay on
continuously to serve as a constant reminder
to have the system inspected immediately.
If a malfunction occurs that turns the front
airbag on the passenger side off, the
PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG
OFF li ght will come on and stay
on whenever the ignition is on.
_& WARNING
An airbag system that is not funct ioning
properly cannot provide supp lemen tal p ro­
tection in a frontal crash.
- If the airbag indicator l ight c::> page 20
comes when the vehicle is be ing used,
have the system inspected immediately
by your authorized Audi dea ler .
It is pos­
sible that the airbag will inflate when it is not supposed to, or w ill not inflate
when it should.
-
A irba g sy stem 155
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
Fig. 143 Sect io n fro m the instrument panel: PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG OFF light
The PAS SENG ER AIR BAG OFF light is located
in the center of the instrument pa ne l
¢ fig. 143 .
The PAS SENG ER AIR BA G OFF light will come
on and stay on to tell you when the front Ad­
vanced Airbag on the passenger s ide has been
tu rned off by the electronic cont rol unit. Each
time you turn on the ignition, the
PASSEN­
GE R AIR BA G OFF
light will flash for a few
seconds and:
- wi ll stay on if the front passenger seat is not
occupied,
-w il l stay on if there is a small ch ild or child
restraint on the front passenger seat,
- w ill go out if the front passenger seat is oc­
cupied by an adult as registered by the
weight-sensing mat .
The
PAS SEN GER AIR BAG OFF li ght mu st
co m e on and st ay o n if the ignition is on and
- a car bed has been installed on the front
seat, or
- a rearward -facing child restraint has been
installed o n the front passenger seat, or
- a forward-fac ing child restraint has been in­
stalled on the front passenger seat , or
- the weight registered on the front passen­
ger seat is equal to or less than the com­
bined weight of a typical 1 year-old restra in­
ed in one of the rear-facing or forward-fac­
ing infan t restra ints listed in Federal Motor
Veh icle Safety Standard 208 wi th which the
Advanced A irbag System in your vehicle was
certified.
111-

156 Airbag sys te m
If the front passenger seat is not occupied,
the front airbag will not deploy, and the
PAS­
SENGER AIR BAG OF F
light wi ll stay on. Nev­
er install a rearward-fac ing ch ild restra int on
the front passenger seat, the safest place fo r
a child in any kind of child restraint is at one
of the seat ing positions on the rear seat
¢ page 145, Child restraints on the front seat
- some important things to know
and
¢ page 165, Child Safety.
If th e PA SSEN GER AI R BAG OFF light c ome s
on
when one of the conditions listed above is
met, be sure to check the light regular ly to
make certa in that the
PAS SENGER AIR BA G
O FF
light stays on cont inuous ly whenever the
ignition is on. If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
li ght does not appear and 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 and then turning it on again;
- remove and re install the child restraint.
Make sure that the child restraint is properly
installed and that the safety belt for the
front passenger seat has been correctly routed around the child restraint as descr i­
bed in the child restraint manufacturer's i n­
structions;
- make 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. The belt
must not be loose o r have loops of slack so
that the senso r below the safety be lt latch
on the seat can do its job
¢ page 175 .
-make su re that th ings that may increase the
weight of the ch ild and child safety seat are
not being transpo rted on the front passen ­
ger seat;
- make su re that the safety belt tension sen ­
sor is not b locked. Shake the safety be lt
l atch on the front passenger seat back and
forth;
- If a strap or tether is being used to tie the
child safety seat to the front passenger
seat, make sure that it is not so tight that it causes the weight
-sensing mat to measure
more weight than is act ually on the seat.
If th e PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF lig ht still
does not come on
and does not s tay on con­
t in uous 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
rea r seat posi tions. Have the airbag system
inspected by your authorized Audi dealer
immediate ly .
- move the child to a rear seat position and
make sure t hat the c hild is properly restrain ­
ed in a c hild restraint that is appropriate for
its size and age.
T he
PAS SENGER AIR BAG OFF light should
NOT come on when t he ignition is on and an
adult is sitting in a proper seating position on
the front passenger seat. If the
PA SSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on or
flashes for about 5 seconds wh ile driving, un­
der these c ircumstances, make sure that:
- the adult on the front passenger seat is properly seated on the center of the seat
cushion with his or her back up aga inst the
backrest and the backrest is not recl ined
¢ page 12 7, Proper occupant seating posi­
tions,
- the adult is not tak ing weight off the seat by
holding on to the passenger assist handle
above the front passenger door or support­
ing their weight on the armrest,
- the safety belt is being properly wo rn and
t ha t the re is no t a lot of s lack in the safety
be lt webb ing ,
- accesso ry seat covers or cushions or other
t hings tha t may cause an incorrect reading
or impression on the weight-sensing mat
under the upho lstery of the seat have been
removed from the front passenger seat,
- a safety belt extender has not been left in
the safety belt latch for the front passenger
seat.
In add ition to the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light in the center o f the instrument panel,
t h e message
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF or
PASSENGER AIR BAG ON wi ll briefly appear ..,.

in the instrument cluster display. This is to in ­
form the driver of the current front passenger
airbag status.
Important safety instructions on
monitoring the Advanced Airbag System
A WARNING t a=
An airbag system that is not functioning
properly cannot provide supplemental p ro­
tection in a frontal crash .
- If the airbag indicator light¢
page 20
comes when the vehicle is be ing used,
have the system inspected immediately
by your authorized Aud i dea ler. It is pos­
sible that the a irbag will inflate when it
is not supposed to, or w ill not inflate
when it sho uld.
A WARNING
If the front airbag inflates, a ch ild without
a child restra int, in a rearwa rd-facing child
safety seat or in a forward-facing chi ld re­
st raint th at has not been properly insta lled
w ill be seriously injured and can be k illed .
- Even though your veh icle is equipped
with an Advanced Airbag System, make certain that a ll children, especially 12
years and younger, a lways ride on the
back seat properly restrained for their
age and size.
- Always install forward or rea r-facing
child safety seats on the rear seat -even
with an Advanced Airbag System.
- If you must install a rearward-facing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat because of exceptional circ umstan­
ces and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not appear and s tay on , imme­
diately install the rear-fac ing ch ild safety
seat i n a rear seating position and have
the a irbag system inspected by yo ur au­
thori ze d Au di dea ler.
- A tig ht tether or other st rap on a rear­
wa rd-fa cing child res trai nt at ta che d to
the front passenger sea t can put too
much pressure on the weight -sens ing
-
A irbag system 157
mat in the seat and reg ister more weight
than is actually on the seat. The heavier
weight registered can make the system
work as though an adult were on the seat and deploy the Advanced Airbag when it
must be suppressed causing ser ious or
even fata l injury to the ch ild.
- If, in exceptiona l circumstances, you
must install a forward-fac ing ch ild re­
s traint o n the front pas senger seat, al­
ways move the sea t into its re armos t po­
sition in the seat's fore and aft adjust ­
ment range, as far away from the a irbag
as poss ible . The backrest must be ad just­
ed to an upright pos ition. Make sure that
the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
comes on and stays on all the time when­
eve r the ignit ion is switched on.
A WARNING
- If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not go out when an a dult is sitting
on t he front passe nger sea t after taking
the steps described above, make su re the
ad ult is prope rly seated and restr ained at
one o f the rea r seat ing pos itions.
- Have the airbag system inspe cted by
your author ized Audi dealer befo re trans­
port ing anyone on the front passenger
seat.
(D Tips
If t h e weight-sensing mat in the front p as­
senger seat detects an empty sea t, the
front airbag on the passenger side wi ll be
turned off, and
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
will stay on.
Repair , care and disposal of the airbags
Parts of the airbag system are installed at
many different places o n your Aud i. Insta lling,
removi ng, servicing or repa iring a par t in an
ar ea of the veh icle can damage a part of an
a irbag system and p reven t that system from
wor kin g p ro perly in a coll is io n. .,,.
•
•

dealer is familiar with these requi rements
and we recommend that you have your
dea ler perform this serv ice for you.
Other things that can affect Advanced
Airbag performance
Changing the vehicle's suspension system can
change the way that the Advanced A irbag Sys­
tem performs in a crash. For example, us ing
tire-r im combinations not app roved by Aud i,
l owering the vehicle, changing the stiffness o f
the suspension, incl uding the sp rings, s uspen­
sion struts, shock absorbers etc. can change
the forces that are measured by the airbag sensors and sent to the electronic control
un it. Some suspension changes can, for exam­
ple, increase the force levels measured by the
sensors and make the airbag system deploy in
crashes in wh ic h it would not dep loy if the
changes had not been made. Other k inds of
changes may reduce the force levels meas ­
u red by the sensors and prevent the a irbag
from deploying when it shou ld .
The senso rs in the safety belt buckle fo r the
d river and front passenger sea t tell the elec ­
tronic control module if the safety belt is
l atched or not . If the safety belt is being used,
the front airbag will dep loy at a slightly high­
er rate of vehicle deceleration than if the safe­
ty belt is not being used. Therefore, in a par­
ticular co llision, it is poss ible that an airbag
will not deploy at a seating position where the
safety belt is being use d but will inflate at the
position whe re the safety belt is not being
used. It is important tha t nothing i nterfe re
w it h the safety belt buckles so t hat the sen ­
sors can send t he correct information abo ut
safety belt use to the electronic contro l unit.
.&_ WARNING
Changing the vehicle 's s uspension includ­
ing use of unapproved tire-rim c ombina­
tions can change Advanced Airbag pe r­
formance and increase the risk of ser ious
personal i njury in a crash.
- Never install suspens ion components
that do not have the same performance
A irba g sy stem 159
characteristics as the components o rigi­
na lly installed on your vehicle.
- Never use tire-rim com binations that
have not been approved by Audi.
.&_ WARNING
= -
Items stored between the safety be lt
b uckle and the center console can cause
the sens ors in t he buckle to send the
wrong information to the e lectronic con­
trol module and prevent the Advanced Air­ bag Syst em from wo rking properly.
- Always make s ure that nothing can in ter-
fe re with the safety b elt buckles and that
they are no t obstructed.
Side airbags
Description of side airbags
The airbag system can provide supplemental
protection to properly restrained occupants.
Fi g. 144 Side airbag location in t he drive r's seat
The side airbags are located in the sides of the
front seat backrests¢
fig. 144 and the rea r
backrest faci ng the doors. They are ident ified
by the word "AIRBAG".
The side airbag system basically consists of :
-the electronic control modu le and external
side impact sensors
- the two a irbags located in the sides of the
front backrests and the two a irbags* located
in the rear backrest
- the airbag warn ing light in the instrument
cl uster .
T he airbag system is mo nitored e lec tronically
t o make ce rtain tha t it is f unction ing p ro perly
Ill-

160 Airbag sys te m
at all times . Each time you turn on the igni­
tion, the airbag system indicato r light will
c o me on for a few seconds (self diagnostics).
T he s ide airbag sys tem supp lemen ts the safe­
ty belts and can help to reduce the risk of in ­
jury to the driver's and front passenger's up­ per torso on the side of the vehicle that is
struck in a side col lision. The airbag deploys
only in s ide impacts and only when the veh icle
acceleration registered by the control un it is
h igh enough .
If this rate is below the refer­
ence va lue programmed i nto the control u nit,
the side airbags will not be t riggered, even
though the car may be badly damaged as a re ­
sult of the collision . It is not possible to de­
fine an a irbag tr iggering range that will cover
every possible angle of impact, since the cir­
cumstances wi ll vary considerably between
one co llision and another. Important factors
include, for examp le, the nature (hard or soft)
of the impacting object, the ang le of impact,
ve hicle speed, etc. ¢
page 161, Important
safety instructions on the side airbag system.
Aside from the ir normal safety function, safe­
ty belts work to he lp keep the driver or front
passenger in posit ion in the event of a side
coll is io n so that the side a irbags can provide
p rotection.
The airbag system is
not a substitute for your
safety bel t. Rathe r, it is pa rt of the overall oc­
cupa nt restraint system in your ve hicle. Al­
ways remember tha t the side airbag system
can only help to protect yo u if you are wear ing
your safety be lt and wear ing it prope rly. This
is another reason w hy you sho uld always wear
your safety be lts, not just beca use the law re­
q ui res you to do so¢
page 136, General
notes.
It is important to remember that whi le the
supp lemental side airbag system is designed
to reduce the like lihood of serious injur ies,
other inj uries, for example, swell ing, bruising,
and minor abras ions can also be associated
with deployed s ide a irbags . Remember too,
side a irbags w ill deploy on ly once and on ly in
certain kinds of accidents -your safety belts
a re a lways there to offer pro tec tion. Vehicle damage,
repair costs o r even the lack
of ve hicle damage are not necessarily a n in di­
cation o f ove r-sensitive or failed airbag act iva ­
t ion. In some coll is ions, both front and side
airbags may inflate. Remember too, that air­
bags will deploy only once a nd only in ce rtain
k inds of col lisions -you r sa fety belts are al­
ways there to offe r protection in those acc i­
den ts in which a irbags a re not supposed to
deploy or when they have a lready deployed .
The side airbag system will not deploy:
- when the ignit io n is t urned off
- in side co llisions when the acceleration
measured by the sensor is too low
- in front-end collisions
- in rear-end co llisions
- in rollove rs .
In some types of accidents t he fro nt airbags,
s ide cu rtain air bags and s ide a irb ags may be
t rigge red togethe r.
A WARNING ~
- Safety belts an d the air bag system will
only provide protection when occupants
are in the proper seating position
¢page 161.
-If the ai rbag ind icator light ¢ page 20
comes when the veh icle is being used,
have the system inspected immediately
by your authorized A udi dealer. It is pos­
sible that the airbag will inflate when it
is not suppos ed to, or will not infla te
when it should.

162 Airbag system
-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 immedia tely by an au­
thorized Audi dealer .
- If children are seated improperly, their
risk of injury increases in the case of an
accident
q page 165, 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 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 openings 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 cur tain airbag system can provide
supplemental protection to properly restrain ­
ed occupants.
Fig. 146 S ide curta in sy stem , driver's s ide: sid e cur tain
airb ag loc ation
The side cur tain airbags are located on both
sides of the interior above the front and rear
side windows
q fig . 146 . They are identified
by the word "AIRBAG " on the windshield
frame and the center roof pillar .
T he 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 ..,.