2013 AUDI A5 COUPE page 76

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 ­
GER 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 o n 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 d riving .
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
a irbag 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 whe n the vehicle is be ing used,
have the system inspected immediately
by yo ur 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 153
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
Fig. 143 Sect io n fro m the instrume nt panel: PASSEN ­
GER AIR BAG OFF light
The PAS SENGER AIR BAG OFF light is located
in the center of the inst rument pa ne l
¢ fig. 143 .
The PAS SENG ER AIR BAG OFF light w ill 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 th e ignit ion, the
PAS SEN­
GER AIR BAG OFF
light will flash for a few
seconds and:
- wi ll stay on if t he front passenge r seat is not
occup ied,
- w il l stay on i f there is a small c hild or child
restraint on the front passenger seat,
- w ill go out if the front passenger sea t is oc­
cupied by an adult as registered by the
we ight -sensing mat .
T he
PAS SENGER AIR BAG OFF light mu st
com e on and sta y o n
if the igni tion 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, o r
- 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 forwa rd-fac­
ing infan t restra ints listed i n Federal Motor
Ve hicle Safety Standard 208 wi th which the
Advanced A irbag System in you r vehicle was
cert ified.
111-

154 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 143, Child restraints on the front seat
- some important things to know
and
¢ page 166, Child Safety.
If th e PASSEN 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 176 .
-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. H ave the airbag system
inspected by yo ur 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 125, 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 drive r 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 pro­
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 should.
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 that 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
PAS SENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not appear and stay on, imme­
diately install the rear-fac ing ch ild safety
seat in a rear seating position and have
the a irbag system inspected by yo ur au­
thori zed Aud i dea ler.
- A tight tether or other st rap on a rear­
ward-fa cing child restr aint at ta ched to
the front passenger sea t can put too
much pressure on the weight -sens ing
-
A irbag system 15 5
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 passenger seat, al­
ways move the sea t into its rearmos t po­
sition in the seat's fore and aft adjust ­
ment range, as far away from the airbag
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 ad ult is sitting
on t he front passenger sea t after taking
the steps described above, make su re the
ad ult is prope rly seated and restra ined 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 seat, 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. .,,.
•
•

158 Airbag system
is met c'> page 151, More important things to
know about front airbags.
I n addition to their normal safety function,
safety bel ts he lp keep t he d river or front pas­
senger in position in a frontal coll is ion so that
the airbags can provide supplemental protec­
tion.
The airbag system is not a s ubst itute for yo ur
safety be lt . Rathe r, it is part of the overall oc ­
cupant restraint system in you r vehicle. Al­
ways remember that the airbag system can
only help to protect you if you are wearing
you r safety belt and wear ing it properly . This
is why you shou ld always wear your safety
belt, not just because the law requires you to
do so
c:'> page 134, General notes .
The safety belt buck le for the driver and front
seat passenge r have switches that tell the a ir ­
bag control module if the safety belt is being
used or not . If the safety belt is being used,
the knee airbag will deploy at a sligh tly higher
rate of decelera tion than if the belt is not be­
ing used . Therefore, in a par tic ul ar collision, it
i s possible that an airbag will not deploy at a
seating position where the safety belt is being
used but will inflate at the pos ition where the
safety belt is not be ing used.
Remember too, airbags will deploy only once
and on ly in certain k inds of accidents -your
safety be lts are a lways there to offer protec­
tion in those accidents in which airbags are
not supposed to deploy or when they have a l­
ready deployed, fo r example whe n your veh i­
cle strikes or is struck by another after the
fi rst coll is ion.
This is just one of the reasons why an a irbag is
not a substitute for the safety belt . The airbag
system works most effective ly when used with
the safety belts. Therefore, always wea r your
safe ty be lts correctly .
It is importan t to remember that while the
supplemental knee a irbag system is designed
to reduce the like lihood of serious injur ies,
o ther inj uries, fo r example , swel ling , bruising,
a nd minor abras ions and fri ct io n burns c an al ­
so occur when an airbag inflates.
The knee airbag system basically consists
of:
- The e lectronic control module
- Two inflatable ai rbags (a irbag a nd gas gen -
erator), one for the driver and one for the
front passenger
- The a irbag indicator light in the instr ument
panel
The knee airbag system will not deploy:
- when the ig nit ion is t urned off
- in frontal collisions when the deceleration
meas ured by the control unit is too low
- in side collisions
- in rear-end collisions
- in rollovers
- in the event of a system malfunction (warn-
ing/ind icato r light is on)
c'> page 20.
A WARNING
--
- Safety belts and the airbag system can
only provide protection w hen occupants
are in the proper seating position
c:'> page 151.
-If the airbag ind icator light c:'> page 20
comes when the veh icle is being used,
have the system inspected immediately
by your au thori zed A udi dealer .
It is pos ­
sible tha t t he airbag will infla te when i t
is not supposed to, o r will not in fla te
when it should .
How knee airbags work
Applies to vehicles : w ith knee airbags
The risk of injury to the leg area can be re­
du ced by f ully deployed knee airbags.
Fi g. 14 5 In flated airbag s pr otec ting in a fro ntal co lli-
s io n
II--

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 collis ions 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 fron t passenger
c> page 151 ,
fig . 14 2.
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 reali ze that
t he airbags have deployed . The airbags also
inflate w it h a great deal of force and it is im ­
portant for occ upant safety that not hing
should be in the ir way when they dep loy .
Fully infla ted 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
Applies 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 passenge rs
must know and do to help the safety be lts a nd
ai rbags to provide supp lemen tal protection .
_.6 WARNING
An inflating knee airbag can cause ser ious
injury. Wear ing safety belts incorrectly and
improper seating positions increase the
r isk of serious personal injury and death
whenever a veh icle is being used.
A irbag system 159
-The knee a irbag system cannot p rotect
you proper ly if you a re seated too close
to any of the airbag 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
distances :
- 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 accident 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 166, Child Safety .
•
•

160 Airbag system
Side airbags
Description of side airbags
The airbag system can provide supplemental
protection to properly restrained occupants .
Fig. 146 Side a irbag locat ion in the d river 's seat
The s ide airbags are located in the sides of the
front sea t backrests
~ fig. 146. They are iden­
tified by the word "AIRBAG" .
The s ide a irbag system basicall y con sists o f:
- the electronic control module and external
side impact sensors
- the two side airbags located in the sides of
the front backrests
- the airbag warning light in the instrument
cluster.
The airbag system is monitored electronically
to make certain that it is functioning properly at all times. Each time you turn on the igni­
tion, the airbag system indicator light will
come on for a few seconds (self diagnostics) .
The s ide airbag system supplements 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
on ly in side impacts and on ly when the veh icle
acceleration registered by the control unit is h igh eno ugh . If this rate is below the refer­
ence value programmed into the control un it,
the side airbags will not be triggered,
even
though the car may be badly damaged as a re ­
sult of the collision. It is not possible to de ­
fine an airbag trigger ing range that will
cover
every
possible angle of impact, since the cir­
cumstances w ill
vary considerably between one collision and another. Important factors
include, for example, the nature (hard or soft)
of the impacting object, the angle of impact,
vehicle speed, etc .
Q page 161, Important
safety instructions on the side airbag system .
Aside from their normal safety function, safe­
ty belts work to help keep the driver or front
passenger in position in the event of a side
collision so that the side airbags can provide
protection .
The airbag system is
not a substitute for your
safety belt . Rather, it is part of the overa ll oc­
cupant restraint system in your vehicle . Al­
ways remember that the side airbag system
can only help to protect you if you are wea ring
your safety belt and wearing it properly . This
is anothe r reason why you should always wear
yo ur safety be lts, not j ust because the law re­
quires you to do so~
page 134, General
notes .
It is important to remembe r that w hile the
s u pplementa l side airbag system is designed
to reduce the likelihood of serious injuries,
other injuries, for example, swelling, bruising ,
and minor abrasions can also be associated
with deployed side airbags. Remember too,
s ide airbags will deploy only once and only in
certain kinds of accidents -your safety belts
are always there to offer protection .
Vehicle damage, repair costs or even the lack
of vehicle damage are not necessarily an indi­
cation of over-sensitive or failed airbag activa­
t ion . In some coll is ions, both front and side
airbags may inflate . Remember too, that air­
bags will deploy only once and only in ce rtain
ki nds of collisions -your safety belts a re a l­
ways there to offer protection in those acc i­
dents in which airbags are not supposed to
deploy or when they have a lready deployed.
Th e side airbag system will not deploy:
-when the ignit ion is turned off
- in side collisions when the acceleration measured by the sensor is too low
- in front -end collisions
- in rear-end collisions

- in rollovers. In some types of accidents the front airbags,
side curtain airbags and side airbags may be
trigger ed together.
& WARNING
- Safety belts and the airbag system will
only provide protection when occupants
are in the proper seating position
r:::;, page 161.
-If the airbag indicator light c:::> page 20
comes when the vehicle is being used,
have the system inspected immediately
by your authorized Audi dealer. It is pos­
sible that the airbag will inflate when it
is not supposed to, or will not inflate
when it should.
How supplemental side airbags work
-
Side airbags deploy instantly and can help re­
duce the risk of upper torso injuries for occu­
pants who are properly restrained .
Fig. 147 Inflated sid e airbags on left s ide of vehicle
When the system is triggered, the airbag is
f ill ed with propellant gas and breaks through
a seam in the seat surface area marked "AIR­
BAG".
It expands between the side trim panel
and the passenger . In order to help provide
this additional protection, the side airbag
must inflate within a fraction of a second at
very high speed and with great force . The sup­
plemental side airbag could injure you if your
seating position is not proper or upright or if
items are Located in the area where the sup­
plemental side airbag expand s. This applies
especially to children
c:::> page 166, Child Safe­
ty.
Supplemental side airbags inflate between
Airbag system 161
the occupant and the door panel on the side
of the vehicle th at is struck in certain side col­
li sion
c:::> fig. 147.
Although they are not a soft pillow, they can
"cushion" the impact 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 . This is normal and does not 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 ride in a
proper seating position.
There is a lot that you and your passengers
must know and act accordingly to help the
safety belts and airbags do their job to pro­
vide supplementa l protection.
& WARNING ...
An inflating side airbag can cause serious
or fatal injury. Improperly wearing safety
belts and improper seating positions in­
crease the risk of serious personal injury
and death whenever a vehicle is being
used.
- In order to reduce the risk of injury when
the supplemental side airbag inflates:
- Always sit in an upright position and
never lean against the area where the
supplemental side airbag is located.
- Never Let a child or anyone else rest
their head against the side trim panel
in the area where the supplemental
side airbag inflates .
-Always make sure that safety belts are worn correctly,
- Do not let anyone sitting in the front
seat put their hand or any other parts
of their body out of the window .
-Always make sure that the side airbag can inflate without interference.

162 Airbag system
-Never insta ll seat covers or replace­
ment upho lstery over the front
seatbacks that have not been specifi­
cally approved by Audi.
- Never use add itional 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 repa ired
immed iately by an authorized Audi
dealer.
- Objects between you and the airbag can
increase the risk of injury in an acc ident
by interfering with the way the airbag
unfolds or by being pushed into you as
the airbag inflates.
- Never place or attac h accessories or
other objects (such as cupholders, tele­
phone b rackets, or even large, bulky
objects) on the doors, over o r near the
a rea marked "AIRBAG" on the seat
backrests.
- Such objects and accessories can be­
come dangerous p rojectiles and cause
i n ju ry when t he supplemental s ide air­
bag deploys.
- N ever ca rry any objects or pets in the
deployment space between them and
the airbags or a llow children or other
passengers to travel in th is posit ion .
- Always use the built-in coat hooks only
for lightwe igh t 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 a irbags 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 a irbag has been triggered,
the system m ust be replaced by an au­
thorized Aud i deale rship.
- Damage (c rac ks, deep scratches etc.) to
the original seat covers or to the seam in
the area of the side airbag module must always be repa
ired immediately by an au­
thorized Audi dealer.
- If children are seated improperly, their
risk of injury increases in the case of an
accident
c:> page 166, 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 a ir pressure in­
side the doo rs whe n air escapes through
large r, unclosed openings in the door
panel.
- Never dr ive with inte rior door trim pan ­
els removed.
- Never dr ive when par ts h ave bee n re­
moved from the inside door pane l and
the ope nings they leave have not been
proper ly closed .
- Never dr ive 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 add it iona l speakers
o r other equipment is installed in the
inside door panels.
- Always have work o n the doors done by
an authorized Audi dea ler or q ualified
workshop .
Side curtain airbags
Description of side curtain airbags
The side curtain airbag system can provide
supplemental protection to properly restrain­
ed occupants.
Fig. 14 8 Side curtain system, d river 's s ide: s ide curta in
a irbag locat io n
II>-