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
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 ..,.
The side curtain airbags are located on both
sides of the interior above the front and rear
side windows ¢
fig. 148. They are ident ified
by the word "AIRBAG" on the windshie ld
frame and the center roof pillar.
The side curtain airbag system supp lements
the safety belts and can help to reduce the
risk of inju ry for occupants ' heads and upper
t orso on the side of the vehicle that is struck
in a side collision . The side curta in a irbag in
flates in s ide impacts and only when the veh i
cle acce le rat ion reg istered by the contro l unit
i s high enoug h.
If th is rate is below the refer
ence va lue 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
f ine an a irbag triggering range that will cover
every possible angle of impact, since the cir
cumstances will vary considerably between
one co llision and another . Important factors
in clude, for examp le, the nature (hard o r soft)
of the impacting object, the ang le of impact ,
ve hicl e speed, et c. ¢
page 164, How side cur
tain airbags work.
Aside from the ir normal safety function, safe
ty belts work to he lp keep the driver or front
passenger in posit ion i n the event of a co lli
sion so that the side curtai n ai rbags can pro
vide p rotection.
The airbag system is not a subst itute for your
safety belt. Rathe r, it is pa rt of the overall oc
cupa nt restraint system in your veh icle. Al
ways remember that the airbag system can
only help to protect you if you are wearing
your safety belt and wearing it properly. This
is another reason why you shou ld a lways wear
your safety belts, not just because the law re
qu ires you to do so ¢
page 134, General
notes .
It is important to remember that while the
side curta in a irbag system is designed to he lp
reduce the likelihood of serious injuries, other
i njuries, for example, swelling, bruising, and
minor abrasions can also be associated w ith
these airbags. Remembe r too, these a irbags
will dep loy only once and only in certain kinds
A irbag system 163
of accidents -your safety belts are always
there to offer protection.
The side curtain airbag system basically
con sists of:
-The e lectronic control module and external
side impact sensors
- The side curtain airbags above the front and
rear side windows
- The a irbag in dic ator light in t he in str ument
panel
T he airbag system is mon itored e lectronically
to make ce rtain it is functioning prope rly at all
times. Each time yo u turn on the ignit ion, the
airbag system ind icator light will come on for
a few seconds (self diagnostics) .
The side curtain airbag is not activated :
-if the ignition is turned off ,
- in side collisions whe n the acceleration
measured by the sensor is too low,
- in rear-end collisions,
- in rollovers.
A WARNING
-Safety belts and the airbag system will
only provide protection when occupants
are in the proper seating position
¢ page 53, Seats and s torage .
-If the ai rbag ind icator light ¢ 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 the airbag will inflate when it
is not supposed to, or will not inflate
when it should. •
•
-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.
@ 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 .
Child Safety 167
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 ..,. •
•
-Model Manufactured on or
after
Graco Snugride September 25, 2007
Peg Perego Primo V i- September 25, 200 7
aggio SIP I MUN00US
Subpart C -Forward-facing and
con vertible child r estra ints
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
A WARNING
T o reduce the risk of serious injury, make
sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG O FF
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 fro nt pas
senger seat and install it properly at one of the rea r seat positions if the
PASSEN
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not stay on.
- Have the airbag system inspected by
your authorized Aud i dealer immediate
ly.
Child Sa fet y 169
'
(D Tips
The child seats listed in categories A to C
have been statically tested by A udi 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 dr iver, you are responsib le for the safe
ty of everybody in the vehicle, especially ch il
dren:
... Always use the right chi ld safety seat for
each child and always use it properly
¢page 172 .
... 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 usi ng the veh icle safety belt to ins tall
a child safety se at, you m ust first activate
the convertib le locking retractor on the
safety belt to prevent the child safety seat
from moving
¢ page 176.
... 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 tethe r is be ing used to tie the
child safety seat to the fron t passenger
s eat , make sure tha t it is not so tight that it
causes the weight-sensing mat to measure
more weight than is act ually on the seat.
... Sec ure unused safety belts on the rear seat
¢ page 171.
Always remember : Even tho ugh yo ur vehicle is
equipped with an Advanced Airbag system, all c h il dren, especially those 12 years and young
er, shou ld always r ide in the back seat proper -
ly restra ined for the ir age and size. .,_ •
•
range, and as far away from the a irbag
as poss ible before instal ling the child
restraint.
- Always make sure that nothing pre
vents the front passenger's seat from be ing moved to the rearmost position
i n its fore and aft adjustment range.
- Always make sure that the backrest is
in the upr ight position.
- Always buckle the child safety seat firmly
in place even if a child is not sitting in it.
A loose ch ild safety seat can fly around
dur ing a sudden stop or in a coll is ion .
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child restrained in ave
hicle is being used
c:::;,page 134, Safety
belts,
c:::;, page 142, Airbag system and
¢ page 166, Child Safety.
.8, WARNING
To reduce the risk of serious injury, make
sure tha t the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on whenever a
child rest raint 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 proper ly at one
of the rear seat positions if the
PASSEN
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not stay on.
- Have the airbag system inspected by
your authorized Aud i dealer immediate
ly.
Secure unused safety belts on the rear
seat
F ig. 150 Schematic overview: kee p un used safety be lts
away from chil dren in child safe ty seats. @-oute r rear
safety be lt
.
Child S afety 1 71
If a child safety seat is used on the rea r bench,
especially with LATCH universal lower ancho
rages, the unused safety belts
must be se
cured so that the child in the child restraint
cannot reach them
c:::;, &,.
- Guide the safety belt webbing behind the
head restra int of the seat where the child re
straint is installed ¢
fig. 150. When doing
so, do not engage the switchable locking re
tractor ! You should not hear a "clicking"
sound when wind ing up the safety belt.
- Let the belt retractor wind up the safety belt
webbing.
.8, WARNING
A child in a chi ld safety seat installed with
the LA TCH lower anc horages or with the
standa rd safety be lt or a child in a booster
se at o n the rea r seat co uld play with un
used rear seat safety belts and become en
tang led . This cou ld cause t he chi ld ser ious
personal injury and even death.
-A lways secure unused rear seat sa fe ty
be lts out of reach of children in child
seats such as by proper ly rout ing them
around the head restraint of the seat
where the ch ild restraint is installed.
- Never activate the switchable locking re
tracto r when routing the safety belts
around the head restraints.
174 Child Safety
to the backrest on the vehicle seat. Ad
just or remove the rear seat head restraint if it is difficult to install the
child seat with the head restraint in place
<=>page 57. Install the head restraint
again immediately once the child seat is
removed. Driving without head restraints
or with head restraints that are not prop
erly adjusted increases the risk of serious
or fatal neck injury dramatically.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child restrained in ave
hicle is being used
<=> page 134, Safety
belts,<=> page 142, Airbag system
and
t::> page 166, Important things to know.
A WARNING
If exceptional circumstances require the
use of a forward-facing child restraint on
the front passenger's seat, the child's safe
ty and well-being require that the follow
ing special precautions be taken:
- Make sure the forward-facing seat has been designed and certified by its manu
facturer for use on a front seat with a passenger front and side airbag.
-Always follow the manufacturer's in
structions provided with the child safety
seat or infant carrier.
- Always move the front passenger seat in
to the rearmost position of the passen
ger seat's fore and aft adjustment range,
and as far away from the airbag as possi
ble before installing the child restraint.
- Always make sure that nothing prevents
the front passenger's seat from being
moved to the rearmost position in its
fore and aft adjustment range.
- Always make sure the backrest is in an
upright position.
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on and stays on all the
time whenever the ignition is switched
on.
- If the light does not stay on, perform the
checks
<=> page 153, Monitoring the Ad
vanced Airbag System.
-
- Take the child restraint off the front pas
senger seat and install it properly at one
of the rear seat positions if the
PASSEN
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not stay on
whenever the ignition is switched on.
Booster seats and safety belts
Properly used booster seats can help protect
children weighing between about 40 lbs. and
80 lbs. (18 kg and 36 kg) who are less than 4
ft. 9 in . (57 inches/1 .45 meters) tall.
"' .....
"' 0 ±
o5
Fig. 154 Rear seat: child properly restrained in a boos
ter seat
The vehicle 's safety belts alone will not fit
most children until they are at least 4 ft . 9 in .
(57 inches/1.45 meters) tall and weigh about
80 lbs.
(36 kg). Booster seats raise these chil
dren up so that the safety belt will pass prop
erly over the stronger parts of their bodies
and the safety belt can help protect them in a
crash.
.,. Do not use the convertible locking retractor
when using the vehicle's safety belt to re
strain a child on a booster seat.
.. The shoulder belt must lie as close to the
center of the child's collar bone as possible
and must lie flat and snug on the upper
body. It must never lie across the throat or
neck . The lap belt must lie across the pelvis
and never across the stomach or abdomen .
Make sure the belt lies flat and snug. Pull on
the belt to tighten if necessary .
.,. Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
<=>page 171.
Children up to about 40 lbs. (18 kg) are best
protected in child safety seats designed for
their age and weight. Experts say that the