2013 AUDI A5 CABRIOLET child seat

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 153
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. .,,.
•
•

The knee airbag system has been designed so
that the airbags for the driver and front pas­
senger deploy in certain but not all frontal
collis ions.
I f the front airbags deploy, the knee airbags
also deploy in fronta l collisions when the de ­
p loyment threshold stored in the control unit
is met.
When the system dep loys, the airbags fill
with a prope llant gas, and inflate between the
l ower part of the instrument panel and the
driver and the lower part of the instrument panel and the front passenger
c> fig. 152.
Although they are not a soft pillow, they can
cushion the impact and in this way they can
he lp to reduce the r isk of injury to the lower
extremities.
All of this takes place in the blink of an eye, so
fast that many people don 't even realize that
the airbags have deployed. The airbags also inflate w ith a great deal of force and it is im­
portant for occupant safety that noth ing
should be in the ir way when they deploy .
Fu lly inflated airbags in comb ination with
properly worn safety belts slow down and lim­
it the occupant's forward movement and help
to reduce the r isk of injury.
Important safety instructions on the
knee airbag system
A ppl ies to vehicles: with knee a irbags
Airbags are only supplemental restraints. Al­
ways wear safety belts correctly and ride in a
proper seating position.
There is a lot that you and your passengers must know and do to help t he safety belts and
ai rbags to provide supp lemental p rotection .
_& WARNING
An inflating knee airbag can c ause ser ious
injury. Wear ing safety belts inco rrectly and
improper seating positions increase the
ris k of se rious personal injury and death
whenever a veh icle is being used.
A irbag system 157
-The knee a irbag system cannot p rotect
you proper ly if you a re seated too close
to any of the a irbag locat ions. When ad­
justing their seat pos itions, it is impor­
tant that both the driver and the front passenger keep the ir upper bod ies and
knees at the following m inimum safe
dist ances:
- at least 10 inches (25 cm) between the
chest and the steering wheel/instru­
ment panel.
- at least 4 inches (10 cm) between the knees and the lower part of the instru­
ment panel.
- The risk of personal in jury increases if
you lean forward or to the s ide, or if the
seat is improperly positioned and you are
not wearing yo ur safety belt . The risk i n­
creases even more should the ai rbag de­
ploy.
- Always ma ke sure that the knee a irbag
can inflate without inte rfe rence. Objects
between yo u and the airbag can inc rease
the risk of in jury in an acc ident by inte r­
fering w ith the way the a irbag deploys or
by being p ushed into you as the airbag
deploys.
- Never let anybody, especia lly children
or anima ls ride in the footwell in front
of the passenge r seat. If the airbag de­
ploys, th is can result in serious or fa tal
i njur ies.
- Never carry obje cts of any kind in the
footwe ll area in front of the dr iver' s or
passenger 's sea t. Bulky objects (shop ­
ping bags, fo r example) can interfere
with o r prevent proper deployment of
the airbag. Small objects can be
thrown through the ve hicle if the air­
bag deploys and injure you or your pas­
sengers.
- Make sure there are no cracks, deep
scratches or other damage in the area of
the instrument panel where the knee air­
bags are located.
- If ch ildren are incorrectly seated, their
risk of injury increases in a collision
c> page 161, Child Safety.
•
•

- in rollovers.
I n some types of acc idents the front airbags
and side ai rbags may be t rigge red togethe r.
A WARNING
- Safety belts and t he a irbag sys tem will
only provide protection when occupan ts
are in the p roper seating posit ion
¢ page 159.
-If the airbag indicato r light c::> page 20
comes when the vehicle is be ing used,
have the system inspected immediately
by your authori zed Aud i dea ler. It is pos­
sible that the airbag will inflate when it
is not supposed to, or w ill not inflate
when it sho uld .
How supplemental side airbags work
.
Side airbags deploy ins tan tly and can help re­
duce the risk of upper torso injuries for occu ­
pants who are properly restrained .
Fig. 15 7 Infla ted s ide a irbag s on left s ide of ve hicle
When the system is trigge red , the airbag is
fi lled w ith p ropel lant gas and breaks thro ugh
a seam in the seat surface area marked "AIR­
BAG" . It expands between the side trim panel
and the passenger. In orde r to help provide
t his additional protection, the side a irbag
must inf late within a fraction of a second at
very high speed a nd with great force . The sup ­
p lemental side a irbag could injure you if your
seating position is not p roper or upr ight or if
items are located in the area where the sup ­
p lemental side a irbag expands . T his app lies
especia lly to children
c::> page 161, Child Safe­
ty.
Supplemental side airbags inflate between
the occupant and the door pane l on the side
A irba g sy stem 159
of the vehicle that is struck in certain side col ­
lision
c::> fig . 157 .
Although they are no t a soft pillow , they can
"cushion" the impa ct and in this way they can
help to reduce the risk of injury to the upper
part of the body .
A fine dust may develop when the airbag de­
ploys . T his is normal and does no t mean there
is a fire in the vehicle.
Important safety instructions on the
side airbag system
Airbags are only supplemental restraints . Al ­
ways properly wear safety belts and r ide in a
proper sea ting position.
T here is a lot that you and your passengers
must know and act accord ingly to help the
safety belts and airbags do the ir job to pro­
vide supplemental protect ion.
A WARNING ,-
An inflat ing s ide a irbag can cause se rious
or fata l injury . Improperly wearing safety
belts and imp roper seat ing pos itions in­
crease the risk of serious pe rsonal injury
and death whenever a vehicle is being
used.
- I n o rder to red uce the risk of i nju ry when
the s upplemental side airbag inflates:
- Always sit in an upright position and never lean against the area where the
suppleme nta l side airbag is located.
- Never let a child or anyone e lse rest
their head aga inst the s ide trim pane l
i n the area where the supplementa l
s ide a irbag inflates .
- Always make sure that safety belts are
worn correctly,
- Do not let anyone s itting in the front
seat put t he ir hand or any ot her parts
of their body out of the window .
- Always make su re t hat the side a irbag
can inflate without interfe rence .

160 Airbag system
-Never install seat covers or replace­
ment upholstery over the front seat­
backs that have not been specifically
approved by Audi.
- Never use additional seat cushions that
cover the areas where the side airbags
deploy.
- Damage to the original seat covers or
to the seam in the area of the side air­ bag module must always be repaired
immediately by an authorized Audi
dealer .
- 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 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 161, 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.

Child Safety
Important things to know
Introduction
The rear seat is generally the safest place in a
collision .
The physical principles of what happens when
your veh icle is in a crash app ly also to chi ldren
q page 133, What happens to occupants not
wearing safety belts? .
But unlike adu lts thei r
muscles and bones are not fully developed. In
many respects children are at greater risk of
serio us inju ry in crashes than adults .
Because children's bod ies are not fu lly deve l­
oped, they require restraint systems especial ­
l y des igned for their size, weight, and body
structure. Many co untries and all states of th e
United States and p rovinces of Canada have
laws requ iring the u se of approved ch ild re­
straint systems for infants and small children .
In a frontal crash at a speed o f 20 -35 mph
(30-56 km/h) the forces acting on a 13-po und
(6 kg) infant w ill be more than 20 t imes the
weight of the child . Th is means the weight of
the child would suddenly be more than
260 pounds ( 120 kg). Under these conditions,
on ly an appropriate chi ld restrai nt properly
used can reduce the risk of ser ious injury.
Ch ild restr aints must be used p roperly to be
effective. Used improperly, they can inc rease
the risk of serious in jury i n an accident.
Consult the chil d safety seat manufacture r's
i nstr uctions to be s ure the seat is r igh t for
your chi ld's size
q page 164, Important safe ­
ty instructions for using child safety seats .
Please be sure to read and heed a ll of the im ­
portant informat ion and WARNINGS abo ut
child safety, Advanced Airbags, and the ins tal­
lation of child restraints in this chapter.
T here is a lot you need to know about the Ad ­
vanced A irbags in your vehicle and how they
work when infants and children in child re­
straints are on the front passenger seat . Be ­
cause of the large amount of important i nfor-
Child Sa fet y 161
mation, we cannot repeat it a ll here . We urge
you to read the detai led information in this
owner 's man ua l about airbags and the Ad ­
vanced Airbag System in your vehicle and the
very important information about transpor t­
ing ch ildren on the front passenger seat.
Please be sure to heed the WARNINGS -they
ar e extremely importa nt for your safety and
the safety of you r passenge rs, especially in­
f an ts and small chi ld ren.
A WARNING
- Accident statistics have shown that c hil­
dren are generally safer in the rear seat
area than in the front seating position.
Always restrain any child age 12 and un­
der in the rear.
- All vehicle occupants and especially chil­
dren must be restrained p roperly when­
ever riding i n a vehicle. An unrestrained
or improper ly restrained chi ld could be
in ju red by str iking the interior o r by be ­
ing ejected from the vehicle during a
sudden maneuve r or impact. A n un re­
s tra ine d or improperly restrained ch ild is
a lso at greate r risk of injury o r dea th
through contact with an inflating airbag .
- A suitable ch ild restrai nt properly inst al­
led and used a t one o f the rear seat ing
positions prov ides the highest degree of
protection for infants and small children
in most accident situations.
A WARNING
Children on the front seat of any car even
with Advanced Airbags can be ser iously in­
ju red or even killed when an a irbag i n­
flates. A child in a rearward -fac ing ch ild
safety seat installed on t he front passen­
ger seat w ill be ser iously injured and can
be killed if the front airbag infla tes.
- The infla ting airbag will h it the ch ild
s afe ty seat or i nfant carrie r wi th grea t
force and will sm ash the child safety se at
and child against the bac krest or doo r.
- Always install rearward-faci ng ch ild safe­
t y seats on the re ar seat.
•
•

162 Child Safety
-If you must install a rearward facing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat in exceptional circumstances and
the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not come on and stay on, immediately
install the rearward-facing child safety
seat in a rear seating position and have
the airbag system inspected immediately
by your authorized Audi dealer.
.&, WARNING
If, in exceptional circumstances, you must
install a forward-facing child restraint 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 side airbag.
- Always follow the manufacturer's in­
structions provided with the child safety
seat or carrier.
- Always move the passenger seat into its
rearmost position in the seat's fore and
aft adjustment range, as far away from
the airbag as possible before installing
the child restraint. The backrest must be adjusted to an upright position .
- Always make sure that the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays
on all the time whenever the ignition is
switched on.
(D Tips
Always replace child restraints that were
installed in a vehicle during a crash. Dam­
age to a child restraint that is not visible
could cause it to fail in another collision
situation.
Advanced front airbag system and children
Your vehicle is equipped with a front "Ad­
vanced Airbag System" in compliance with
United States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standard (FMVSS) 208 as applicable at the
time your vehicle was manufactured . 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 small adults on the driver side. The low risk deployment criteria
are intended to reduce the risk of injury
through interaction with the 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 "sup­
pression" requirements of the Safety Stand­
ard, to turn off the front airbag for infants up
to 12 months who are restrained on the front
passenger seat in child restraints that are list­
ed in the Standard.
Even though your vehicle is equipped with an
Advanced Airbag system, all children, espe­
cially those 12 years and younger, should al­
ways ride in the back seat properly restrained
for their age and size. The airbag on the pas ­
senger 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 for­
ward-facing child safety seat.
It can be a very
dangerous place for an infant or a larger child
in a rearward-facing seat.
Advanced Airbags and the weight­
sensing mat in the front seat
The Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle detects the presence of an infant or child in a
child restraint on the front passenger seat us­
ing the weight-sensing mat in the seat cush­
ion and the sensor below the safety belt latch
on the front passenger seat that measures the
tension on the safety belt.
The weight-sensing mat measures total
weight of the child and the child safety seat
and a child blanket on the front passenger
seat. The weight on the front passenger seat
is related to the design of the child restraint
and its "footprint", the size and shape of the
bottom of the child restraint as it sits on the
seat. The weight of a child restraint and its "footprint" vary for different kinds of child re -
straints and for the different models of the .,.

same kind of child restrain t offered by child
restraint manufacturers.
T he weight ranges for the ind iv idual types,
makes and models o f ch ild restra ints tha t the
NHTSA has specified in the Safety Standard
together with the weight ranges of typical in­
fants and typical 1 year-o ld child have been
stored in the control unit of the Advanced A ir­
bag System. When a child restraint is being
used on the front passenger seat with a typi­
cal 1 year-old ch ild, the Advanced Airbag Sys­
tem compares the we ight measured by the
weight sens ing mat with the info rmat ion s to r­
ed i n the electron ic cont rol unit.
The electron ic control unit a lso registers the
tension on the front passenger safety be lt.
The te nsio n on the safety be lt fo r the front
p assenger seat will be d iffe ren t fo r an ad ult
who is properly using the safety belt as com­
pared to the tension on the be lt when it is
used to attach a child restraint to the seat.
The sensor below the latch for the safety be lt
for the front seat passenger measures the
tension on the be lt. The input from this sen­
sor is then used with the we ight to "decide",
whether there is a ch ild restrai nt with a typ ical
1 year-o ld child on the front passenge r seat
and whether or no t the airbag must be turned
off.
Child restraints and Advanced Airbags
Regard less o f the child res traint that you use,
make sure that it has been ce rtified to meet
United States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standards and has been certified by its manu-
facturer for use with an airbag. Always be sure
that the child restraint is properly insta lled at
one of the rea r seat ing pos itions .
If in excep-
tional c ircumstances you must use it on the
fr ont passenge r seat, caref ully read all of the
i n formation on c hild safety and Adv ance d Air-
b ags an d heed a ll of the app licable WAR N-
I NGS . Ma ke certai n that the child restraint is
correctly recognized by the weig ht-sensing
mat inside the front passenger seat, that the
fro nt passenger airbag is turned off and that
Child Sa fet y 163
the a irbag s tat us is always cor rect ly signaled
by the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light .
Many types and models of child res traints
have been available over t he years, new mod ­
els are introduced regu larly incorporating new
and improved designs and o lde r models are
ta ken o ut of product ion . Ch ild restraints are
not standard ized. Child restraints of the same
type typically have d ifferent weights and sizes
and different 'footpr ints,' the size and shape
of the bottom of the ch ild restra int that sits
on the seat, when they a re insta lled on a vehi­
cl e sea t. T hese d iffe rences make i t vir tually
i mpossible to certify compl iance wi th t he re­
quiremen ts for advanced airbags with each
and every ch ild restraint that has eve r been
sold in the past or wi ll be sold over the course
of the useful life of your veh icle.
For t his reason, the United S tates Na tional
Hig hway T raffic Safety Administration has
published a list of specific type, makes and
models of child restraints that must be used
to certify comp liance of the Advanced Airbag
System in your veh icle with the suppression
requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standard 208. These child res traints are:
Subpart A - Car bed child restraints
Model
Angel Guard A ngel
Ride AA2403FOF
Manufactured on or
after
September 25, 2007
Subpart B -Rear-facing child restraints
Model Manufactured on or
after
Ce ntury SmartF it December 1, 1 999
4 54 3
Cosco Arriva September 25, 2007
22-013PAW and base
22-999W HO
Evenflo Discove ry Ad -December 1, 1999
just Right 212
Evenflo First Choice December
1, 1999
20 4
Graco Infant 8457 December 1, 1999
I
•
•

164 Child Saf ety
-Model Manufactured on or
a fter
Graco Snugride September 25, 2007
Peg Perego Primo V i- September 25, 2007
aggio SIP IMUN00US
Subpart C -Forward -facing and
con vertibl e child r estra in ts
Model Manufactured on or
after
Britax Roundabout September 25, 2007
E9L02xx
Cosco Touriva 02519 December 1, 1999
Cosco Summit Deluxe September 25, 2007
High Back Booster
22-262
Cosco High Back September 25, 2007
Booster 22-209
Evenflo Tribute V September 25, 2007
379xxxx
Evenflo Medallion December 1, 1999
254
Evenflo Generations September 25, 200 7
352xxxx
Graco ComfortSport September 25, 2007
Graco Toddler Safety September 25, 2007
Seat Step 2
Graco Platinum Cargo September 25, 2007
_&. WARNING
T o 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
G ER AIR BAG OFF
light does not stay on.
- Have the airbag system inspected by
your authorized Aud i dealer immediate­
ly.
(!) Tips
The child seats listed in categories A to C have been statically tested by Audi on ly for
the Advanced A irbag function.
Important safety instructions for using
child safety seats
Correct use of child safety seats substantially
reduces the risk of injury in an accident!
As the driver, you are responsib le for the safe­
ty of everybody in the veh icle, especially ch il­
dren:
... Always use the right chi ld safety seat for
each child and always use it properly
c::;,page 167 .
... Always carefully fo llow the child safety seat
manufacturer's instruct ions on how to route
the safety belt properly through the child
safety seat.
... When using the veh icle safety belt to install
a child safety seat, you m ust first activate
the convertib le locking retractor on the
safety belt to prevent the child safety seat
from moving
¢ page 171.
... Push the ch ild safety seat down with your
full weight to get the safety be lt really tight
so that the seat cannot move forwa rd or
sideways mo re than one inch (2.5 cm) .
... If a strap o r tether is be ing used to tie the
child safety seat to the front passenger
seat, make sure tha t it i s n ot so tight th at i t
causes the weight -sensing mat to measure
more weight than is act ually on the seat.
... Secure unused safety be lts on the rear seat
c::;, page 166 .
Always remember : Even tho ugh yo ur vehicle is
equipped with an Advanced Airbag system, all
chi ldren, especially those 12 years and young­
er, shou ld always r ide in the back seat proper-
ly restrained for their age and size. .,.