2013 AUDI A7 warning light

166 Airbag system
experience, informat ion and specia l
too ls necessary to perform the work
safely.
- If the vehicle or the c ircuit interrupter
is scrapped, all applicable safety pre­
cautions must be followed.
@ For the sake of the environment
Undeployed a irbag modu les and preten­
sioners might be classified as Perchlorate Material - special handling may apply, see
www.dtsc.ca.gov/haza rdo uswaste/per­
chlorate. When the vehicle or parts of the
restraint system including airbag modules
and safety bel ts w it h pretens ioners are
s crapped, a ll applicable laws and regula­
tions mus t be observed. Your au thori zed
Aud i dea le r i s familiar with these requ ire­
ments an d we recommend that you have
your dea ler perfo rm this se rv ice for you.
Other things that can affect Advanced
Airbag performance
Changing the vehicle's suspension system can
change the way that the Advanced A irbag Sys­
tem pe rforms in a crash. For example, us ing
tire-r im combina tions not app roved by Aud i,
lowe ring the vehicle, ch anging the stiffness o f
the suspension, incl uding the springs, s uspen ­
sion struts, shock absorbers etc. can change
the forces that are measured by the a irbag
sensors and sent to the electronic control
un it. Some suspension changes can, for exam­
p le, increase the force levels measured by the
sensors a nd make the airbag system deploy in
crashes in w hich it would not dep loy if the
changes had not been made . Other kinds of
ch an ges may reduce the force levels meas ­
u re d by the sensors and prevent the airbag
from deploying when it sho uld .
The senso rs in the safety belt buckle fo r th e
d river a nd front p asse nger sea t tell the elec ­
tronic control module if the safety belt is
l atched or not .
If the safety belt is being used,
the front airbag will dep loy at a slightly high­
er rate of vehicle deceleration than if the safe­
ty belt is not being used. Therefore, in a par- t
icu lar collisio n, it is possible that an airbag
will not dep loy at a seat ing position where the
safety belt is be ing used b ut w ill inflate at the
pos ition where the safety belt is not be ing
used. It is important that nothing interfere
with t he safety be lt buckles so that the sen ­
sors can send the correct info rmation about
safety belt use to the electronic control un it .
_&. WARNING
Changi ng the vehicle's suspension includ ­
i ng use of unapp roved tire-rim combin a­
tions can change Advanced Airbag per­
formance an d increase the risk of serious
pe rsonal injury in a crash .
- Never install s uspension components
that do not have the same pe rformance
characteristics as the components o rigi­
na lly installed on your vehicle.
- Never use tire-rim combinations that
have not been approved by Audi.
Knee airbags
Description of knee airbags
App lies to vehicles : wi th knee airbags
The knee airbag system can provide supple­
mental protection to properly restrained
front seat occupants .
Fig. 1 64 Driver 's knee a irbag
T he dr iver knee airbag is in the ins trument
pane l underneath the steering wheel
~ fig. 164, the airbag for the passenger is at
about the same height in the instrument pan-
el underneat h the glove compartment. .,.

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 159, 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 140, 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 167
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 t he 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 159.
- 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 175, Child Safety .
Side airbags
Description of side airbags
The airbag system can provide supplemental
protection to properly restrained occupants .
Fig . 166 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 . 166 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 169
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 140, Airbag system
c>page 149, Chi ld safety c> page 175.
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 171, 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,

1 7 0 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. Th is
is another reason why you should a lways wear
your safety belts, not just because the law re­ qu ires you to do so
Q page 140, General
notes.
It is important to remember that while the
supplemental side a irbag system is designed
to reduce the like lihood of serious injur ies,
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 be lts 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 llis ions, 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 air bags are not supposed to
deploy or when they have already deployed .
The side airbag system will not deploy:
- when the ign ition is switched off
- in s id e collisions when the acce leration
measured by the sensor is too low
- in front-end col lisions
- 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 whe n occ upants
are in t he proper seating posit ion
Q page 171.
- 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. 167 In flated s ide a ir b ags o n left s ide of ve hicle ,
r ear s ide a irbag
When the system is triggered, the a irbag 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 io nal prote ction, the side airbag
mus t in flate with in a fra ction of a second at
very h igh speed and with great force. The sup­
pleme nta 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 ch ildren
Q page 175 , Child Safe­
ty .
Supplemental side airbags inflate between
the occupant and the door panel on the s ide
of the veh icl e th at is str uck in certa in side col­
li sion
9 fig. 167 .
Although they are not a soft pillow, they can
" cushion" the impact and in this way they can
h elp to r educ 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 171
- 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 175, 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 5 2, 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 . 169 Illustra tion of princip le: In flated side cur ta in
airbags on t he left s ide
.
A irba g sy stem 173
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 . 169.
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 175 .
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.
-

174 Airbag system
-Always make sure that the side curtain
airbags can inflate without 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 visors over to the side windows if things such as pens, ga­
rage door openers, hands-free speakers,
etc. are attached to the sun visors. They
could come loose and cause serious in­
jury if the side curtain airbag inflates.
- A deploying airbag inflates in a fraction
of a second and with great force.
- Never attach objects to the cover or in
the deployment zone of a side curtain
airbag.
- The airbag deployment zones must be
kept clear at all times. Make sure there
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 authorized
Audi dealer or qualified workshop.
- Always have work involving the side cur­
tain airbag system, removal and installa­
tion of the airbag components, or other
repairs performed by a qualified dealer­
ship. Otherwise the airbag system may
not work correctly.
- Never attempt to modify any compo­
nents of the airbag system in any way.

176 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 140, Safety belts,
¢ page 149, Airbag system and ~