
-Never transport objects larger than
those fitting completely into the luggage
area because the rear lid cannot be fully
closed.
- If you absolutely must drive with the rear
lid open, observe the following notes to
reduce the risk of poisoning:
- Close all windows,
- Close the sunroof,
- Open all air outlets in the instrument
panel,
- Switch off the air recirculation,
- Set the fresh air fan to the highest
speed .
A WARNING
Always make sure that the doors, all win
dows, the sunroof and the rear lid are se
curely closed and locked to reduce the risk
of injury when the vehicle is not being
used.
- After closing the rear lid, always make
sure that it is properly closed and locked.
- Never leave your vehicle unattended es
pecially with the rear lid left open. A
child could crawl into the vehicle through
the luggage compartment and close the
rear lid becoming trapped and unable to
get out. Being trapped in a vehicle can
lead to serious personal injury.
- Never let children play in or around the
vehicle.
- Never let passengers ride in the luggage
compartment . Vehicle occupants must
always be properly restrained in one of
the vehicle's seating positions.
@ Tips
- Air circulation helps to reduce window fogging. Stale air escapes to the outside
through vents in the trim panel. Be sure
to keep these slots free and open.
- The tire pressure must correspond to the
load. The tire pressure is shown on the
tire pressure label. The tire pressure la bel is located on the driver's side B-pillar.
The tire pressure label lists the recom-
-
Driving Safely 131
mended cold tire inflation pressures for
the vehicle at its maximum capacity
weight and the tires that were on your
vehicle at the time it was manufactured.
For recommended tire pressures for nor
mal load conditions, please see chapter
r::> page235 .
Tie-downs
The luggage compartmen t is equipped with
four tie -downs to secure luggage and other
items .
Use the tie-downs to secure your cargo prop
erly
r::> page 130, Loading the luggage com
partment .
In a collision, the laws of physics mean that
even smaller items that are loose in the vehi
cle will become heavy missiles that can cause
serious injury. Items in the vehicle possess en
ergy which vary with vehicle speed and the
weight of the item. Vehicle speed is the most
significant factor.
For example, in a frontal collision at a speed
of 30 mph (48 km/h), the forces acting on a
10-lb (4.5 kg) object are about 20 times the
normal weight of the item . This means that
the weight of the item would suddenly be about 200 lbs . (90 kg). You can imagine the
injuries that a 200 lbs. (90 kg) item flying
freely through the passenger compartment
could cause in a collision like this.
A WARNING
Weak, damaged or improper straps used
to secure items to tie-downs can fail dur
ing hard braking or in a collision and cause
serious personal injury.
-Always use suitable mounting straps and
properly secure items to the tie-downs in
the luggage compartment to help pre
vent items from shifting or flying for
ward as dangerous missiles.
- When the rear seat backrest is folded
down , always use suitable mounting
straps and properly secure items to the
tie-downs in the luggage compartment
•
•

Why safety belts?
Frontal collisions and the law of physics
Frontal crashes create very strong forces for
people riding in vehicles .
Fig. 131 U nbe lted occupa nts in a ve hicle hea ding for a
wall
F ig. 1 32 The ve hicle c ras hes into t he wall
The physical principles are simp le. Both the
ve hicle and the passengers possess energy
which varies w ith vehicle speed and body
weight . Enginee rs call this energy "kinetic en
e rgy ."
The higher the speed of the vehicle and the greater the vehicle 's weight, the more energy
that has to be "absorbed" i n the crash .
Vehicle speed is the most sign ificant factor . If
the speed doubles from 15 to 30 mph (25 to
50 km/h) , the energy inc reases 4 t imes !
Because t he passengers of t his ve hicle are not
using safety belts
r::;, fig . 131, they w ill keep
moving at the same speed the vehicle was
mov ing just before the crash, unt il something
stops them -here, the wall
c:> fig . 132 .
The same pr inc iples apply to peop le sitting in
a vehicle that is involved in a frontal co llision .
Even at city speeds of 20 to 30 mph (30 to
50 km/h) , the forces act ing on the body can Safety belts
135
reach one ton (2,000 lbs . or 1,000 kg) or
more . At greater speeds, these forces are
even
higher .
People who do not use sa fe ty belts are also
not attached to their vehicle. In a frontal coll i
sio n they wi ll also keep moving forward at the
speed their veh icle was t ravell ing just before
the crash. Of co urse, the laws of physics don't
just app ly to frontal collisions, they determine
what happens in all kinds of acc idents and col
lis ions .
What happens to occupants not wearing
safety belts?
In crashes unbelt ed o ccupants cannot stop
themselves from flying forward and being in
jured or killed. Always wear your safety belts!
Fig. 133 A driver not wear ing a safety belt is vi ole ntl y
thrown forwa rd
Fig. 1 34 A rear passeng er not w ear ing a safety be lt
w ill fly forwar d and s trike the d river
Unbelted occ upants a re not able to resist the
tremendous forces of impact by holdi ng tight
or bracing themselves . Without the benefit of
safe ty restra in t systems, the unrestrained oc
cupan t w ill slam violen tly i nto the s teer ing
whee l, instr ument pane l, w indshield, o r what
ever else is in the way ¢ fig. 133. This impact Ill-

144 Airbag sys tem
Even tho ugh your vehicle is equip ped with an
Advanced Airbag System , make certain that
a ll c hildren, especially those 12 years and
younge r, a lways ride in the back seat properly
restra ined for their age and size. The airbag
on the passenger side makes the front seat a potentially dangerous place for a ch ild to r ide.
The front seat is not the safest place for a
child in a fo rward-facing ch ild safety seat. It
can be a very dangerous place for a n infant or
a child in a rea rward-facing seat.
The Advanced Airbag System i n your veh icle
has been certified to comp ly with the Requ ire
men ts of Uni ted Sta tes Federa l Mo tor Veh icle
Safety Standard 208 as applicable at the time
your veh icle was manufactured.
The Standard requires the front a irbag on t he
passenger side to be turned off ("sup
pressed") if a ch ild up to about one year of
age restrained in one of the rear -facing o r for
ward -facing infant restraints listed i n Federal
Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 with which
the Advanced A irbag System in your vehicle
was certified has been installed o n the front
passenger seat . For a listing of the child re
strai nts t hat we re used to certify compliance
with the US Safety Standard
r=v page 168.
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light in the in
strument panel te lls you when the front Ad
vanced A irbag on the passenger side has been
turned off by the e lectronic control unit.
Each t ime you turn on the ignition, the
PAS
SENGER AIR BA G OFF
light will come on for a
few seconds a nd:
- will stay on if the front passenger seat is not
occupied,
- wi ll stay on if there is a small child or child
restraint on the front passenger seat,
- wi ll go off if the front passenger seat is oc
cupied by an adult as registered by the
weight-sensing mat
r=v page 153, Monitor
ing the Advanced Airbag System .
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
when the control un it detects a total weight
on the front passenger seat that requ ires the
fro nt airbag to be turned off.
If the total weight on the front passenge r
seat is more than that of a typica l 1 year -old
c hil d but less than the weight o f a small
adult, the front airbag on the passenger side
can deploy (the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
li ght does not come on). If the PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on , the
front a irbag on the passeng er side has not
been turned off by the elec troni c con trol unit
and can deploy if the control uni t se nses an
impact that meets the cond itions stored in its
memo ry .
For example, the airbag may deploy if:
- a small ch ild that is heav ier t han a typical 1
year-old ch ild is on the front passenger seat
( r egard less of whethe r the child is i n one of
t he child safety seats listed
r=v page 168), or
- a child who has outgrown ch ild restraints is
on t he front passenge r seat.
If the front passenger airbag is turned off, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on in
the instr ument cluster and stays on.
The front airbag on the passenger s ide may
not deploy (the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
li gh t does not illum inate and stay lit) even if a
small adult o r teenager, or a passenger who is
not sitt ing up rig ht w ith their back against a
non- recl ined ba ck res t w it h thei r feet on the
vehicle f loor i n front of the sea t is on the front
passenger seat
r=v page 125 , Proper seating
position for the driver.
If t he fron t passenger a irbag dep loys, the
F ede ra l Standard req uires the airbag to meet
t h e "low risk" dep loyment criteria to red uce
t h e risk of injury t hrough interactio n wit h the
airbag. "Low risk" dep loyment occ urs in those
crashes that take place at lower dece lerat ions
as defined in the electronic control unit
r=v page 153, PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light .
Always remember, a child safety seat or infant
carr ier installed on the front seat may be
struck and knocked out of posit ion by the rap
idly inflat ing passenger 's airbag in a fronta l
collision . T he a irbag could great ly reduce the
effectiveness of the ch ild restra int and even
seriously injure t he ch ild dur ing inflation .

146 Airbag system
-Never place additional items on the seat
that can increase the total weight regis
tered by the weight-sensing mat and can
cause injury in a crash .
Front airbags
Description of front airbags
The airbag system can provide supplemental
protection to properly restrained front seat
occupants.
Fig. 140 Location of dr iver airbag: in stee ring wh eel
Fig. 141 Location of front pass enger's a irbag: in the in
strument panel
Your veh icle is equipped with an "Advanced
Airbag System" in compliance with United
States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 208 as applicable at the time your
vehicle was manufactured . The system senses
the position of the front seats and controls
front airbag inflation with a valve, depend ing
on the distance between the respective seat
and the steering wheel or instrument panel.
The safety belts for the seats have "preten
sioners" that help to take slack out of the belt
system. The pretensioners are also activated by the electronic control unit for the airbag
system. The
front safety belts also have load limiters
to help reduce the forces applied to the body
in a crash.
The airbag for the driver is in the steering
wheel hub ¢
fig. 140 and the airbag for the
front passenger is in the instrument panel
~ fig. 141 . The general location of the airbags
i s marked "AIRBAG".
There is a lot you need to know about the air
bags in your vehicle . We urge you to read the
detailed information about airbags, safety
belts and child safety in this and the other
ch apters that make up the owner 's literature.
Please be sure to heed the WARNINGS -they
are extremely important for your safety and
the safety of your passengers, especially in
fants and small children.
_&. WARNING
Never rely on airbags alone for protection.
- Even when they deploy, airbags provide
only supplemental protection.
-Airbag work most effectively when used
with properly worn safety belts.
- Therefore, always wear your safety belts
and make sure that everybody in your ve
hicle is properly restrained.
_&. WARNING
A person on the front passenger seat, es
pecially infants and small children, will re
ceive serious injuries and can even be kil
led by being too close to the airbag when
it inflates .
- Although the Advanced Airbag System in
your vehicle is designed to turn off the
front passenger airbag if an infant or a
small child is on the front passenger
seat, nobody can absolutely guarantee
that deployment under these special
conditions is impossible in all conceiva
b le situations that may happen during
the useful life of your vehicle .
- The Advanced Airbag System can deploy
in accordance with the "low risk" option
under the U.S. Federal Standard if a child
that is heavier than the typical one-year
-
.

old child is on the front passenger seat
and the other conditions for airbag de
ployment are met.
- Accident statistics have shown that chil
dren are generally safer in the rear seat
area than in the front seating position.
- For their own safety, all children, espe cially 12 years and younger, should al
ways ride in the back properly restrained
for their age and size.
Advanced front airbag system
Your vehicle is equipped with a front Advanced
Airbag System in compliance with United
States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
208 as applicable at the time your vehicle was
manufactured.
The front Advanced Airbag System supple ments the safety belts to provide additional
protection for the driver's and front passeng
er's heads and upper bodies in frontal crashes.
The airbags inflate only in frontal impacts
when the vehicle deceleration is high enough.
The front Advanced Airbag System for the
front seat occupants is not a substitute for
your safety belts. Rather, it is part of the over
all occupant restraint system in your vehicle.
Always remember that the ai rbag system can
only help to protect you, if you are sitting up right, wearing your safety belt and wearing it
properly . This is why you and your passengers
must always be properly restrained, not just
because the law requires you to be.
T he Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle
has been certified to meet the "low risk" re
quirements for 3 and 6 year-old children on
the passenger side and very small adults on
the driver side. The low risk deployment crite
ria are intended to help reduce the risk of in
jury through interaction with the front airbag
that can occur , for example , by being too
close to the steering wheel and instrument panel when the airbag inflates.
In addition, the system has been certified to
comply with the "suppression" requirements
Airbag system 147
of the Safety Standard, to turn off the front
airbag for infants 12 months old and younger
who are restrained on the front passenger
seat in child restraints that are listed in the
Standard
¢ page 168 , Child restraints and
Advanced Airbags .
"Suppression" requires the front airbag on the
passenger side to be turned off if:
- a child up to about one year of age is re
strained on the front passenger seat in one
of the rear-facing or forward-facing infant restraints listed in Federal Motor Vehicle
Safety Standard 208 with which the Ad
vanced Airbag System in your vehicle was
certified . For a listing of the child restraints
that were used to certify your vehicle's com pliance with the US Safety Standard
¢page 168,
-weight less than a threshold level stored in
the control unit is detected on the front pas
senger seat.
When a person is detected on the front pas
senger seat, weighing more than the total
weight of a child that is about 1 year old re
strained in one of the rear-facing or forward
facing infant restraints (listed in Federal Mo
tor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 with which
the Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle
was certified), the front airbag on the passen ger side may or may not deploy.
The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
when the electronic control unit detects a to
tal weight on the front passenger seat that re
quires the front airbag to be turned off. If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not
come on, the front airbag on the passenger
side has not been turned off by the control unit and can deploy if the control unit senses
an impact that meets the conditions stored in
its memory.
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
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not
come on). ..,. •
•

-Always move the passenger seat into its
rearmost position in the seat's fore and
aft adjustment range, as far away from
the a irbag as poss ible, before installing
the forward-facing child restraint. The backrest must be adjusted to an upr ight
posit ion.
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on and stays on all the
t ime w henever the ignition is sw itched
on.
Advanced Airbag System components
The fron t passenger seat in your vehicle has a
lot of very important parts of the Advanced
Airbag System in it. These parts include the
weight-sensing mat, sensors, wiring, brack
ets, and more. The function of the system in
the front passenger seat is checked by the
e lectronic control u nit when the ignit ion is on .
The control un it mon itors the Advanced Air
bag System and turns the airbag indicator
l ight on whe n a ma lfunction in t he sys tem
components is de tected. The function of the
airbag indicator light is described in greater
detai l below . Because the front passenger
seat contains important parts of the Ad
vanced A irbag System, you m ust take care to
prevent it from being damaged. Damage to
the seat may prevent the Advanced Airbag for
the front passenger seat from doing its job in
a crash .
The front Advanced Airb ag Sy stem
consists of the following:
- Crash sensors in the front of the veh icle that
measure veh icle acceleration/decele ration
to provide information to the Advanced Air
bag System about the seve rity of the crash.
- An electronic co ntrol unit, with integrated
c rash se nsors for front and side impacts .
T he cont ro l unit " decides " whethe r to fire
the front airbags based on the inform ation
received from the crash senso rs . The contro l
unit a lso "decides" whether the safety belt
pretensioners should be activated .
Airbag system 149
-An Advanced A irbag w ith gas gene rator and
contro l valve fo r the driver ins ide the steer
ing wheel h ub.
- An Advanced Airbag w ith gas gene rator and
contro l valve inside the instrument pane l for
the front passenger.
- A weight-sensing mat under the upholstery
padding of the front passenger seat cushion
that measures the total weight on the seat.
The informat ion reg istered is sent continu
ously to the electronic control unit to regu
late deployment of the front Advanced Air
bag on the passenger side.
- An airbag monitor ing system and ind icator
light in the instrument cluster
q page 153 .
-A sensor in each front seat registers the dis
tance between the respective seat and the
steer ing whee l o r inst rument panel. The in
forma tion registered is sent cont inuo usly to
t he elect ron ic cont ro l uni t to regula te de
ployment o f the front Advance d Airbags .
- The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF ligh t comes
on and st ays on in the cen ter o f th e instr u
ment panel
<:!;> page 153, fig . 143 and tells
you whe n the front Advanced Airbag on the
passenger side has been tu rned
off .
-A sensor below the safety be lt latch fo r the
front seat passenger to measure the tension on the safety be lt . The tension on the safety
be lt and the weight registered by the
weight-sensi ng mat he lp the control unit
"decide" whether the front a irbag for the
front passenge r seat should be turned
off or
not
r:!;> pag e 143, Child restraints on the
front seat -some important things to
know.
- A senso r in the safety belt latch fo r the d riv
er a nd fo r the fro nt sea t passenger tha t
senses w hethe r that safe ty belt is latched or
no t and transmi ts this informa tion to the
electronic control unit.
_&. WARNING
Damage to the front passenger seat can
prevent the front airbag from work ing
properly.
-
•
•

150 Airbag sys te m
- Improper repair or disassembly of the
front passenger and driver seat will pre
vent the Advanced Airbag System from
functioning properly.
- Repairs to the front passenger seat must
be performed by qualified and properly
trained workshop personnel.
- Never remove the front passenger or
dr iver seat from the veh icle .
- Never remove the upholstery from the
front passenger seat.
- Never disassemble or remove parts from the seat or disconnect wires from it.
- Never carry sharp objects in your pockets
or place them on the seat. If the weight
sensing mat in the passenger seat is punctured it cannot work properly.
- Never carry things on your lap or carry
objects on the passenger seat. Such
items can increase the weight registered
by the weight-sens ing ma t and send the
wrong info rmation to the airbag control
uni t.
- Never sto re items under the front pas·
senger seat. Parts of the Advanced Ai r
b ag System under the p assenge r seat
cou ld be damaged, prevent ing them and
the airbag system from wo rking proper
ly .
- Never place seat covers or replacement
upholste ry that have not been specifical
ly approved by A udi on the front seats.
- Seat covers can prevent the A dvanced
Air bag System from recognizing child re
straints or occupants on the front pas
senger seat and prevent the side airbag in the seat backrest from deploy ing prop
erly.
- Never use c ush ions, pillows, blankets or
similar items on the front passenger
seat. The add it iona l padd ing will prevent
the weight-sensing mat in the seat from
accu rately reg iste ring the c hild restra int
or person on the seat and prevent the
Adva nce d Airb ag System from func tion
ing properly .
-If you mus t use a child restra int on the
front passenger seat and the ch ild re- straint manufacture
r's instructions re
qu ire the use of a towel, foam cushion or
something e lse to properly pos ition the
child restraint, make certain that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes
on and stays on whenever the ch ild re·
s t raint is installed on the front passen
ge r seat.
- If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on a nd stay on, immed i
a tely insta ll child restrain t in a rear se at
ing position and have the ai rbag system
inspected by your authorized A udi dealer.
How the Advanced Airbag System
components work together
The front Advanced Airbag System and the
s ide airbags supp lement the protection of
fered by the front three-poi nt safety belts
with pretensioners and load limiters a nd the
adjustable head rest raints to help redu ce the
risk of inj ury in a wide range of accident and
c rash situations. Be s ure to read the impor
tant information about safety and heed the
WARNINGS in this chapter.
Deployment of the Adv a need A irba g System
and t he activation of the safety belt preten
sioners depend on the deceleration measured
by the crash sensors and registered by the
electron ic control unit. The amount of infla
tion of the front airbags can a lso be adapted
to the front sea t pos ition, depending on the
distance between the respect ive front seat
and the steer ing w heel or instrument panel as
registered by sensors in the seats. Crash se·
verity depends on speed and decelerat ion as
well as the mass and st iffness of t he vehicle
o r object involved in the crash .
On the passenger side, regardless of safety
belt use, the ai rbag w ill be tu rned off if the
we ight on the passenger seat is less than the
amount programmed in the e lectron ic control
u nit. The front airbag on the passenger side
will a lso be turned off if one of the child safe -
ty seats that has been certified under Federal
Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 has been
recogni zed on the seat . The
PAS SENGER AIR .,..

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 143, 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, yo ur 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 142.
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 151
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·
tern 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