2013 AUDI A6 warning light

The knee airbag offers additional protect ion
to the driver's and passenger's knees and up­
per and lower thigh areas and supp lements
the protect ion provided by the safety belts.
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 c>
page 155, More important things to
know about front airbags.
In addition to their normal safety function,
safety be lts he lp keep the driver or front pas ­
senger in posit ion in a frontal coll is ion so that
the airbags can prov ide supplemental protec­
tion .
The airbag system is not a subst itute for yo ur
safety be lt. Rather, it is part of the overall oc­
cupant restraint system in your veh icle. Al­
ways remember that the airbag system can
only help to protect you if you are wea ring
your safety belt and wear ing it prope rly . Th is
i s why you shou ld always wear you r safety
be lt, not just because the law requires yo u to
do soc>
page 136, General notes.
The safety belt buck le for the dr iver and front
seat passenge r have switc hes that tell the a ir­
bag con trol mod ule if the safety belt is be ing
used or not . If the safety belt is being used,
the knee airbag will deploy at a slightly higher rate of deceleration than if the belt is not be ­
ing used. Therefore, in a particu lar collision, it
is poss ible that an airbag will not deploy at a
seating position where the safety belt is being
used but will inflate at the position whe re the
safety belt is not be ing used.
Remember too, airbags will deploy only once
and only in certain kinds of accidents -your
safety belts are always there to offer protec ­
tion in those acc idents in which a irbags a re
not supposed to deploy or when they have a l­
r eady deployed, fo r example whe n your veh i­
cle strikes or is s truck by another afte r the
fi rst coll is ion .
This is just one of the reasons why an a irbag is
n ot a substi tute fo r the safety belt. The airbag
sys tem works most effective ly when used with
A irbag system 163
the safety belts. Therefore, always wear yo ur
safety belts correct ly .
I t i s important to remembe r that w hile the
s u pplementa l knee airbag system is designed
to reduce the likelihood of ser ious injuries,
other injuries, for example, swelling, bruising
and minor abrasions and friction b urns can a l­
so occur when an airbag inflates.
The knee airbag system basically consists
of:
- The e lectronic control module
- Two inflatable ai rbags (airbag and gas gen -
erator), one for the driver and one for the
front passenger
- The ai rbag indicator lig ht in the instrument
pane l
The knee airbag system will not deploy:
-when the ignit io n is switched off
- in frontal collisions when the deceleration
meas ured by the con trol un it is too low
- in side co llisions
- in rear-end collisions
- in rollovers
- in the event of a system malfunction (warn-
ing/ind icator light is on)
i=> page 19.
A WARNING
-Safety belts and the airbag system can
only provide protection when occupa nts
are in the proper seating position
i=>page 155.
- If the airbag ind icator light i=> page 19
comes when the veh icle is being used,
have the system inspe cted immediately
by your au thori zed A udi dealer.
It is pos­
sib le tha t the airbag will infla te when i t
is not supposed to, or will not infla te
when it should .
-
•
•

of the passenger seat. If the airbag de­
p loys, this can resu lt in serious or fata l
injuries.
- Never carry objects of any kind in the
footwell area in front of the driver's or passenger's seat. Bulky objects (shop­
p ing bags, for e xample) ca n interfere
with or prevent proper dep loyment of
the airbag . Small objects can be
thrown throug h the vehicle if the ai r­
b ag deploys and injure you o r yo ur pas­
sengers.
- Make su re there are no crac ks, deep
scratches or other damage in the area of
the instrument pane l where the knee air­
bags are located.
- If children are incorrect ly sea ted, their
risk of i njury increases in a collision
¢ page 171, Child Safety .
Side airbags
Description of side airbags
The airbag system can provide supplemental
protection to properly restrained occupants .
Fig . 162 Side a irbag loca tion in t he d river 's s eat
The side a irbags a re located i n the sides of the
front seat ba ckrests
¢fig . 162 a nd the rear
backrest facing the doors . They are identified
bytheword "AIRBAG" .
The s ide a irbags installed for the front seating
positions have been designed and cer tified to
he lp red uce the risk of i nju ry that can be
caused by airbags when they inflate, particu ­
l arly when the occupant sitting next to it is
not seated proper ly . The side airbag for the
front passenger seat can be used with proper-
A irba g sy stem 165
ly installed child restra ints . Please be sure to
read the important informat ion and warnings
whenever using a child restra int in a vehicle:
Safety belts ¢
page 136, Airbag system
c>page 145, Chi ld safety c> page 171.
The side airbag sy stem basically consi st s of:
- t he electro nic cont ro l modu le and external
side impact sensors
- t he two a irbags located in the s ides of the
front backrests and the two a irbags* loc ated
in the rear backrest
- t he airbag warning light in the ins trumen t
cl uste r.
T he airbag system is mon itored e lec tronically
to make ce rtain that it is f unction ing p roperly
at all times. Each time you sw itch o n the igni­
tion, the airbag system ind icator light will
come on for a few seconds (self diagnostics) .
T he side airbag system supplements the safe ­
t y bel ts a nd can help to red uce the risk of in­
j u ry to the dr iver's, fron t and re ar passenger's
u pper torso on the side of the veh icle t hat is
str uck in a side collision . The airbag dep loys
only in side impacts and only when the vehicle
acce lerat ion reg istered by the control unit is
high enough. If this rate is below the refer­
ence value programmed into the co ntrol unit,
the side airbags w ill not be triggered, even
though the car may be bad ly damaged as a re­
su lt of the co llision .
It is not possib le to de ­
fine an airbag triggering range that will cover every possib le ang le of impact, s ince the cir­
cumstances will vary considerably be tween
one collisio n and another . Important factors
include, for example , the nature (hard or soft)
of the impacting objec t, the angle of impact,
vehicle speed, etc .
¢ page 167, Impor tan t
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
no t a substitute for your
safety belt. Ra ther, it is part of the overall oc-
cupant restra int system in your vehicle .
IIJJ,

166 Airbag system
Always remember that the side airbag system
can only help to protect you if you are wearing
your safety belt and wear ing it properly. This
is another reason why you should always wear
your safety belts, not just because the law re­
qu ires you to do so
Q page 136, General
notes.
It is important to remember that while the
supplemental side a irbag system is designed
to reduce the likelihood of serious injuries,
other inju ries, for example, swell ing, b ruising,
friction burns and minor abrasions can also be
associa ted with deployed side airbags. Re ­
member too, side airbags will deploy only
once and only in certain k inds of accidents -
your safety belts are always there to offer pro­
tection .
Vehicle damage, repa ir costs or even the lack
of vehicle damage are not necessar ily an indi­
cation of over-sensitive or failed airbag activa­
tion. In some co llisions, both front and side
a irbags may inflate. Remember too, that air­
bags will dep loy only once and only in certain
kinds of collisions -your safety belts are al­
ways there to offer protection in those acci ­
dents in wh ic h airbags are not supposed to
deploy or when they have already deployed.
The side airbag s yst em will not deploy:
- when the ign ition is switched off
- in s ide collisions when the acceleration
measured by the sensor is too low
- in front-end collisions
- in rear-end collisions
- in ro llovers.
In some types of acc idents the front airbags,
side curta in a irbags and side airbags may be
tr iggered together.
.&_ WARNING
- Sa fety belts and t he ai rbag sys tem w ill
only prov ide p rotec tion when occ upants
are in t he proper seating posit ion
Qpoge 167.
-If the airbag indicator light Q page 19
comes when the vehicle is being used,
-
have the system inspected immediately
by your authorized A udi dealer. It is pos­
sible that the airbag will inflate when it
is not 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. 163 In flated side airbags o n left s ide of vehicle,
r ear side a irbag
When the system is triggered, the airbag is
filled with propellant gas and breaks through
a seam in the seat su rface area marked "AIR­
BAG".
It expands between the side trim panel
and the passenger. In order to help provide
t hi s addit ional protect ion, the side airbag
mus t inflate with in a fra ction of a second a t
very h igh speed and with great force. The sup­
plementa l side airbag could injure you if your
seat ing position is not proper or up right or if
items are located in the area where the sup­
plementa l side airbag expands. This applies
especially to children
Q page 171, Child Safe­
ty .
Supplemental side airbags inflate between
the occupant and the door panel on the side
of the veh icle that is str uck in certa in side col­
li sion
9 fig. 163 .
Although they are not a soft pillow, they can
"cushion" the impact and in this way they can
help to reduc e the risk of inju ry to the upp er
part of the body.
A fine dust may deve lop when the airbag de­
ploys . This is normal and does not mean there
is a fi re in th e 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 supplemental protection .
A 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.
- 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.
Airbag system 167
- 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 cup holders, tel­
ephone brackets, or even large, bulky
objects) on the doors, over or near the
area marked "AIRBAG" on the seat backrests .
- Such objects and accessories can be­ come dangerous projectiles and cause
injury when the supplemental side air­
bag deploys.
- Never carry any objects or pets in the
deployment space between them and
the airbags or allow children or other passengers to travel in this position .
- Always use the built -in coat hooks only
for lightweight clothing . Never leave any
heavy or sharp-edged objects in the
pockets that may interfere with side air­
bag deployment and can cause personal
injury in an accident.
- Always prevent the side airbags from be­
ing damaged by heavy objects knocking
against or hitting the sides of the seat­
backs.
- The airbag system can only be triggered
once. If the airbag has been triggered,
the system must be replaced by an au­
thorized Audi dealership.
- Damage (cracks, deep scratches etc .) to
the original seat covers or to the seam in
the area of the side airbag module must always be repaired immediately by an au­
thorized Audi dealer .
- If children are seated improperly, their
risk of injury increases in the case of an
accident
~ page 171, 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 .,.. •
•

-The side curtain airbags above the front and
rear side windows
- The airbag ind icator light in the instrument
pane l
The a irbag system is monitored elect ro nic ally
to make certain it is f unct io ni ng proper ly a t all
times. Eac h time you switch on the ignition,
the airbag system indicator light wi ll come on
for a few seconds (se lf diagnost ics) .
The side curtain airbag is not activated:
-if the ign ition is swit ched off,
- i n s ide coll isions when the accelerat ion
measured by the sensor is too low,
- in rear-end collisions .
_& WARNING
-Sa fety belts and t he a irbag system w ill
only p rov ide p rotection whe n occu pan ts
are in the proper sea ting posit ion
¢ page SO, General recommendations.
- If the airbag indicator light ¢ page 19
comes when the vehicle is be ing used,
have the system inspected immediate ly
by you r aut ho rized Audi dea ler . It is pos ­
sible that the airbag will inflate when it
is not s upposed to, or w ill not inflate
when it sho uld.
How side curtain airbags work
Side curtain airbags can work together with
side airbags to help reduce the risk of head
and upper torso injuries for occupants who
are properly restrained .
Fig . 1 65 Ill ustra tion of princip le: In flated side cur ta in
airbags on t he left s ide
.
A irba g sy stem 169
The side c urtain airbags infla te between the
occupant and the windows on the side of the
vehicle that is struck in a side coll is ion
¢ fig . 165.
When the system is trigge red, t he side curta in
airbag is filled with propellant gas and breaks
th ro ugh a seam above the front and rear side
windows identified by the AIRBAG labe l. In or­
der to he lp provide this additional protection,
the side curta in a irbag must inflate withi n the
blink of an eye at ve ry hig h speed and with
great fo rce . T he side curta in a irbag could in­
j u re yo u if your sea ting posit io n is not proper
o r u pright or if items are loca ted in t he a rea
where the supplemental side curta in a irbag
in flates . This applies especially to chi ld ren
~ page 171 .
Although they are no t a soft pillow, side cur­
ta in a irbags can "cushion" the impact and in
this way they can help to reduce the risk of in­
j u ry to the head and the uppe r part of the
body .
A fine dust may deve lop when the airbag de­
ploys . This is qui te no rma l and does not mean
there is a fire in the vehicle .
Important safety instructions on the
side curtain airbag system
Airbags are only supplemental restraints . Al­
ways properly wear safe ty belts and ride in a
proper seating position.
There is a lot that you and your passengers
must know and do to help the safety belts and
airbags do t heir job to provide supplemental
protection .
_& WARNING ...__
Improperly wea ring safety belts and im­
p roper seating posit ions increase the risk
of ser ious perso nal inj ury and death when­
ever a vehicle is being used.
- Never let occupa nts pla ce any pa rts of
thei r bo dies in t he area fro m whi ch the
side curt ain air bag inf late.
-

1 70 Airbag sys tem
-Always make sure that the side curtain
airbags can inflate w ithout interference .
- Use the built-in coat hooks only for light­
weight clothing . Never leave any heavy or
sharp-edged objects in the pockets that
may interfere with airbag deployment
and can cause personal injury in a colli­
sion .
- Never use hangers to hang clothes on
the hooks .
- Only use factory-installed sun shades or,
if shades installed after the vehicle
leaves the factory, use only genuine Audi
sun shades.
- Never swing the sun viso rs ove r to the
side windows if things such as pens, ga­
rage door openers, hands-free speake rs,
etc. are a ttached to the sun visors. They
cou ld come loose and cause se rious in­
jury if the side c urtain airbag inflates .
- A deploying air bag infla tes in a fr action
of a second and with great force.
- Never a tta ch objects to the cover or in
the deploymen t zone of a side curtain
airbag .
- T he ai rbag dep loymen t zones m ust be
kept clear a t all t imes . Make sure t here
are no objects, pets, or other persons in
the space between any vehicle occupant and any airbag at any time.
- Do not attach any accessories to the
doors .
A WARNING
-The airbag system can deploy only once .
If the airbag has been triggered, the sys­
tem must be replaced by an author ized
Audi dealer or qualified workshop.
- Always have work involving the side cur­
tain airbag system, removal and installa­
tion of the a irbag components, o r other
repa irs perfo rme d by a qualified dealer­
ship. Othe rwise the airbag system may
not wo rk cor re ctly .
- Never attempt to modify any compo­
nents of the airbag system i n any way.

172 Child Safety
-Always install rear-facing child safety
seats on the rear seat.
- If you must install a rearward facing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat in exceptional circumstances and
the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not come on and stay on, immediately
install the rear-facing child safety seat in
a rear seating position and have the air­
bag system inspected immediately by
your Audi dealer.
_&, WARNING
- Forward-facing child seats installed on
the front passenger seat may interfere
with the deployment of the airbag and
cause serious personal injury to the
child.
- If exceptional circumstances require the
use of a forward-facing child restraint on
the front passenger 's seat, the child's
safety and well-being require the follow­ ing special precautions to be taken:
- Always make sure that the forward-fac­
ing seat has been designed and certi­
fied by its manufacturer for use on a
front passenger seat with a front and
side airbag.
- Always carefully follow the manufac­
turer's instructions provided with the
child seat or infant carrier.
- Never install a child restraint without a
properly attached top tether strap if
the child restraint manufacturer's in­
structions require the top tether strap
to be used.
- Never put the forward-facing child re­
straint up against or very near the in­
strument panel.
- Always set the safety belt upper an­
chorage to the adjustment position
that permits proper installation in ac­
cordance with the child restraint manu­
facturer's instructions.
-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 in­
stalling the child restraint. The back­
rest must be adjusted to an upright po­
sition .
- Always make sure that nothing pre­
vents the front passenger's seat from
being moved to the rearmost position
in its fore and aft adjustment range.
- Never place objects on the seat (such
as a laptop, CD player, electronic
games device or power inverter). These
may influence the electrical capaci­
tance measured by the capacitive pas­
senger detection system and can also
fly around in an accident and cause se­
rious personal injury.
- Never place or use any electrical device
(such as a laptop, CD player, electronic
games device or power inverter) on the
front passenger seat if the device is
connected to the 12-volt socket or the
cigarette lighter socket.
- If a seat heater has been retrofitted or
otherwise added to the front passen­
ger seat, never install any child re­
straint system on this seat.
- Make sure that there are no wet objects
(such as a wet towel) and no water or
other liquids on the front passenger
seat cushion .
- Always 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
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, immedi­
ately install the forward-facing child
seat in a rear seating position and have
the airbag system inspected by your
authorized Audi dealer.
- Always buckle the child seat firmly in
place even if a child is not sitting in it.
A loose child seat can fly around during
a sudden stop or in a collision.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child restraint in ave­
hicle
¢ page 136, Safety belts,
¢ page 145 , Airbag system and ~

174 Child Saf ety
always correctly signaled by the PA SSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light .
M any types and models of ch ild restra ints
have been ava ilable over the years, new mod­
e ls are introduced regularly incorporating new
and improved designs and older models are
taken out of production. Child restraints are not standardized. Ch ild restra ints of the same
type typically have different weights and s izes
and d ifferent "footprints", the size and shape
of the bottom of the child restraint that sits
on the seat, when they are installed on a veh i­
cle sea t. These differences ma ke it vi rtually
i mposs ible to ce rtify comp lia nce w it h the re ­
q ui rements for advanced a irbags w ith each
and every child restraint that has ever been
sold in the past or will be sold over the course
of the useful life of your vehicle.
F or this reason, the United States Nat ional
Highway Traffic Safety Administration has
published a list of specific type, makes and
models of child restraints that must be used
to certify compliance of the Advanced Airbag
System in your vehicle with the suppress ion
requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standa rd 208 . These child rest raints are :
Subpart A -Car bed child rest ra int s
Model
Ange l Guard Ange l
Ride AA2403FOF
Manufactured on or
after
September 25, 2007
Subpart B -Rear-facing child restraints
Model Manufactured on or
after
Century SmartFit December 1, 1999
4543
Cosco Arriva September 25, 2007
22-0 13PAW and base
l 22-999WHO
Evenflo Discovery Ad-December 1, 1999
just Right 212
Evenflo First Choice December 1, 1999
1 20 4
Graco Infant 8457 December 1, 1999
-Model
Graco Snug ride
Manufactured on or
after
September 25, 2007
P eg Perego Primo Vi- September 25, 2007
aggio SIP IMU NOOUS
Subpart C -Forward -facing and
convertible child restraints
Model Manufactured on or
after
Br itax Roundabout September 25, 2007
E9L02xx
December 1, 1999
Cosco Summit Deluxe September 25, 2007 H igh Back Booster
22-262
Cosco High Back September 25, 2007 Booster 22-209
E venf lo Tribute V September 25, 200 7
379xxxx
Evenflo Medallion December
1, 1999
254
E venflo Generations Se ptember 25, 20 07
352xxxx
Graco ComfortSport September 25, 2007
Graco Toddler Safety September 25, 2007
Seat Step 2
Graco Platinum Cargo Septembe r 25, 2007
.&_ WARNING ~
To reduce the risk of serious inju ry, ma ke
sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on whenever a
chi ld restraint is insta lled on the front pas ­
senger seat and the ignit ion is switched
on.
- Ta ke the chi ld 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
li ght does not s tay on .
- Have the airbag system inspected by
your author ized Audi dealer immed iate­
ly .