as defined in the electronic control unit
¢ page 163, PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light .
Always remember, a chi ld seat or inf ant ca rri
e r i nsta lled on the front seat may be struck
and knocked out of position by the rapidly in
flating passenger's airbag in a frontal colli
sion. The airbag could greatly red uce the ef
fectiveness of the child restraint and even se riously injure the child during inflat ion.
F or this reason, and because the back seat is
the safest p lace for children -when properly
restra ined accord ing to their age and si ze -we
strongly recommend that children always sit
in the back seat¢
page 176, Child Safety.
A WARNING
A child in a rearward-facing child seat in
stalled on the front passenger seat will be
ser iously injured and can be killed if the
front airbag inflates -even with an Ad
vanced Airbag System .
- The inflating a irbag w ill hit the child seat
or infant carrier w ith great force and w ill
smash the ch ild seat and child against
the backrest, center armrest, door or
roof .
- Always install rear -facing child seats on
the rear seat .
- If you mus t install a rearward facing
child seat on the front passenge r seat
because of exceptiona l circumstances
and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, immedi
ately install the rear-facing chi ld seat in a
rear seating position and have the airbag
system inspected by your Aud i deale r.
- Forward-fac ing ch ild seats installed on
the front passenger's seat may interfere
with the deployment of the airbag and cause serious pe rsonal injury to the
child.
A WARNING
If, in exceptional c ircumstances, you mus t
install a forwa rd-facing child restra int on
the front passenger's seat:
A irbag system 15 5
-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 s ide a irbag.
- Never put the forward-facing child re
straint up against or very near the instru ment panel.
- Always move the passenger seat into its
rearmost position in the seat's fore and
aft adjustment range, as fa r away from
the airbag as possible before installing
the forward-fa cing ch ild restra int. The
backrest mus t be ad justed to an upright
posi tion.
- Ma ke sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
li ght comes on and stays on all the
time wheneve r the ignit ion is swi tched
on.
A WARNING
To reduce the risk of serious injury, make
sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light will be displayed whenever a child re
straint is installed on the front passenger
seat and the ignition is sw itched on.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not stay on, perform the checks de
scribed ¢
page 163, Monitoring the Ad
vanced Airbag System .
-Take t he 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
light does not stay on.
- Have the airbag system inspected by
your Aud i dea le r i mmediately.
- Always carefully follow instructions from
child restraint manufacture rs when in
stalling ch ild restra ints.
A WARNING
If, in except iona l circumstances, you must
ins tall a forward o r rearwa rd-facing child
restra int on the front passenger's se at:
- Imp roper install ation of ch ild restrai nts
can reduce their effec tiveness o r even
preven t them from providing any protec
tion. •
•
that deployment under these special
conditions is impossible in all conceiva
ble 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 .
T he 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 airbag 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.
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 very small adults on
the driver side. The low risk deployment crite-
Airbag system 157
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
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 178, 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 178,
-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
11-
•
•
158 Airb ag sys te m
an impact that meets the conditions stored in
its memory .
I f the total weight on the front passenger
seat is more than that of a typical 1 year-o ld,
but less than the weight of a small adu lt, the
front airbag on the passenger side may deploy (the
PASSENGER AIR B AG OFF light does not
come on).
For exa mple , the airbag ma y depl oy if :
- a small child that is heavier than a typical 1
year-o ld child is on the front passenger seat
(regardless of whe ther the child is in one of
the chi ld seats listed
¢ page 178),
- a ch ild who has outgrown child rest raints is
on the front passenger seat.
If the front passenger airbag is turned off, the
PA SSENGER AIR BAG OFF light in the cente r
of the instrument panel w ill come on and stay
on.
The front a irbag on the passenger side may
not deploy (the PAS SENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not illuminate and stay lit) if:
- a small adult or teenager is on the front pas
senger seat
- a passenger who is not sitt ing upright wit h
their back against a non-reclined backrest
with their feet on the veh icle floo r in front
of the seat is on the front passenger seat.
If the front passenger airbag deploys, the Federal Standard requires the a irbag to meet
the "low risk" deployment criteria to help re
d uce the risk of inju ry through interaction
with the airbag. " Low risk" deployment occurs
in those crashes that take place at lower de
celerations as defined in the electronic control un it
¢ page 163.
Alw ays re memb er: Even tho ugh you r vehicle
is equipped with Advanced Airbags, the safest
p lace for children is properly restrained on the
back seat . Please be sure to read the impor
tant information in the sect ions that follow
and be sure to heed all of the WARNINGS.
A WARNING
To reduce the risk of injury when an a irbag
i nflates, always wear safety be lts properly.
- If you are unrestra ined, leaning forward,
sitt ing s ideways or out of pos ition in any
way, your risk of injury is much h igher.
- You will a lso receive serious injuries and
could even be killed if you are up aga inst
the airbag or too close to it when it in
flates -even w ith an Advanced A irbag
¢ page 152.
A WARNING
A child in a rearward-fac ing ch ild seat in
stalled on the front passenger se at will be
se riously injured and can be killed if the
front airbag inflates -even with an Ad
vanced Airbag System.
- Altho ugh the Advanced Airbag System in
your vehicle is designed to turn off the
front airbag when a rearward-facing
child restraint has been installed on the
front passenger seat, nobody can abso
lutely guarantee that dep loyment is im
possible in all conceivable situations that
may happen dur ing the usefu l life of your
veh icle.
- The inflating airbag will h it the ch ild seat
or infant car rier with g reat force and will
smash the child seat and child against
the backrest, center armrest, door, or
roof.
- Always install rearward-facing ch ild re
s traints on the rear seat.
- I f you must ins tall a rearward fac ing
child seat on the fron t passenger seat
because of exceptional circumstances
and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, immedi
ately insta ll the rear-facing child seat in a
rear seat ing pos ition and have the airbag
system inspected by your Audi dealer.
A WARNING
If, in exceptional circumstances, you must
i nstall a forward-facing child restraint on
the front passenger's seat:
-
-Always make sure the forward-facing
seat has been des igned and certified by
its manufacturer for use on a front seat
with a passenger front and side airbag.
- Never put the forward-facing child re
straint up aga inst or very near the instru
ment panel.
- 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 insta lling
the fo rward -facing child restraint. T he
b ackres t m ust be adjus ted to an upr igh t
posit ion.
- Make su re that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on and s tays on all the
t ime whenever the ignition is switched
on .
Advanced Airbag System components
The front passenger seat in your vehicle has a
l ot of very important parts of the Advanced
Airbag System in it. These parts include the
weight-sens ing mat, sensors, wiring, brack
ets, and more . The function of the system in
the front passenger seat is checked by the
e lectronic control un it when the ign it ion is on .
The control un it mon itors the Advance d Air
bag Sys tem and turn s the a irbag i ndica tor
light on when a ma lfunction in t he system
compo nents is detected . The function of the
ai rbag indicator light is described in greater
deta il below. Because the front passenger
seat contains important parts of the Ad
va nced A irbag System, you must take care to
prevent it from being damaged . Damage to
the seat may p revent the Advanced A irbag for
the front passenger seat from doing its job in
a crash .
The front Advanced Airb ag System
consists of the following:
- Crash senso rs in the front of the veh icle that
measu re ve hicle accelera tion/decele ra ti on
to provide info rm ation to the Advanced Air
bag System abo ut the severity of the crash.
A irbag system 159
-An elect ron ic cont ro l unit, with integrated
crash sensors for front and side impacts .
The control un it "decides" whether to f ire
the front a irbags based on the informat ion
received from the crash sensors. The control
unit also "decides" whether the safety belt
prete nsione rs shou ld be act iva ted.
- An Advanced A irbag w it h gas generator and
cont ro l valve for the d river ins ide the steer
ing wheel h ub.
- An Advanced A irbag w ith gas generator and
cont ro l valve inside the instrument pa ne l for
the front passenger .
- A weight -sensing mat unde r the upho lstery
padding of the front passenge r seat cushion
that measures the to tal weight o n the seat.
The info rmat ion reg iste red is sent continu
ously to the elect ronic con trol u nit to regu
la te deployment of the front Advanced Air
bag on the passenger side .
- An airbag moni tor ing sys tem and ind icator
light in the instr ument cluster
¢ page 163.
-A sen sor in each fron t seat regis ters the dis
t ance betwee n the respec tive seat and the
steering whee l or instrument panel. The i n
formation registered is sent cont inuo usly to
the electron ic contro l unit to regulate de
ployment of the front Advanced A irbags .
- The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes
on and stays on in the center o f the instr u
ment panel¢
page 163, fig. 168 and tells
you whe n the front Advanced Airbag on the
passe nger side has been tu rned off.
- A sensor below the safety belt latch for the
front seat passenger to measure t he tension
on the safety belt. The tension o n the safety
be lt and the weight regis tered by the
weigh t-sensi ng mat he lp the cont rol uni t
"de cide" whe ther the front airbag fo r the
front passenge r seat should be turned off or
not
~ page 154, Child restraints on the
front seat -some important things to
know.
- A sensor in t he safety be lt latch fo r the d riv
er and for the front seat passenger that
senses w hethe r th at safety belt is latched or
not and transmits this information to the
electronic control unit.
•
•
160 Airbag sys te m
_& WARNING
Damage to the front passenger seat can
prevent the front airbag from working
properly.
- Improper repair or disassembly of the
front passenger and driver seat wi ll pre
vent the Advanced A irbag System from
functioning properly.
- Repairs to the front passenger seat must
be performed by q ualified 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-se nsing mat and send the
wrong info rmation to the airbag control
unit.
- Never store items under the front pas senger seat. Parts of the Advanced Ai r
bag System under the passenge r seat
c ou ld be damaged, prevent ing them and
the a irbag sys tem from working proper
ly .
- N ever place sea t covers or replacement
upholstery that have not been specifical
ly approved by A udi on the fron t seats.
- Seat covers can preven t th e Advanced
Airbag System from recognizing child re
st raints or occupants on the front pas
senger seat and prevent the side airbag
in the seat backrest from deploy ing prop
er ly.
- Never use cushions, pillows, blankets or
similar items on the front passenger seat. The add itiona 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
Advanced Airbag System from function
ing p roperly.
- If you must use a child restraint on the
front passenger seat and the child re
straint manufacturer's instructions re
qu ire the use of a towel, foam cushion or
something e lse to prope rly pos ition the
child restraint, make certain t hat the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF lig ht comes
on and stays on whenever the ch ild re
straint is installed on the front passen
ge r seat .
- If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, immedi
ately insta ll child restraint in a rear seat
ing position and have the ai rbag system
inspected by your Audi dea ler.
How the Advanced Airbag System
components work together
T he front Advanced Airbag System and the
s ide a irbags supp lem ent the p rotection of
fered by the front three-po int safety belts
with pre tensione rs and load lim iters and the
adjustable head res train ts to help redu ce the
risk of in jury in a wide ra nge of accident and
crash situations . Be s ure to read the impor
tant information about safety and heed the
WARNINGS in th is chapter.
Deployment of the Adv a need Airbag System
and t he activation of the safety belt preten
s ioners depend on the deceleration measured
by the crash sensors and registered by the
electron ic co ntrol unit. The amount of infla
t ion of t he front airbags can a lso be adapted
to the front seat pos ition, depending on the
distance between the respective front seat
and t he steer ing w heel or instrument panel as
regis tered by sensors in the seats. C rash se
verity depends on speed and dece leration as
well as the mass and st iffness of t he vehicle
or object involved in the crash .
On t he passenger side, rega rdless of sa fe ty
belt use, the airbag w ill be turned off if the
weight on the passenger seat is less than the ..,.
162 Airbag sys tem
electronic contro l uni t (the PAS SENGER AIR
BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on) .
A WARNING
Sitting in the wrong position can increase
the risk of serious injury in crashes.
- To reduce the risk of injury when the air
bags inflate, the driver and passengers
must always sit in an upright position,
must not lean against or place any part
of the ir body too close to the area where
the a irbags are located .
- Occupants who are unbelted, out of posi
t ion or too close to the airbag can be se
riously injured by an airbag as it unfolds
with great force in the blink of an eye
~page 154.
A WARNING
-
A child in a rearward -facing child sea t in
stalled on the front passenger seat will be
seriously injured and can be killed if the
front airbag inflates -even with an Ad
vanced Airbag System.
-The inflating ai rbag will hit the child seat
or infant carrier with great force and will
smash the ch ild seat and child against
the backrest , center armrest, door or
roof .
- Always install rear-facing child seats on
the rear seat.
- If you must install a rearward facing child seat on the front passenger seat
because of except iona l circumstances
and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, immedi
ately i nstall the rea r-facing chi ld seat in a
rear seating position and have the ai rbag
system inspected by your Au di dealer.
A WARNING
Objects be tween you and the a irbag will
increase the risk of in jury in a c rash by in
terfering with the way the airbag unfolds
or by being pushed into yo u as the a irbag
inf lates. -
Never hold things in you r hands o r on
your lap when the veh icle is in use.
- Never transpo rt items on or in t he a rea
of the front passenger seat. Objects
could move into the area of the front air
bags during braking or other sudden ma
neuvers and become dangero us projec
tiles that can cause ser ious personal in
jury if the a irbags inf late .
- Never p lace or attach accesso ries o r oth
er objects (such as cup hold ers, te le
phone b ra ck ets, large, heavy or bulky ob
jects) on the doors, ove r o r ne ar the are a
marked "AIRBAG" on the s teer ing whee l,
instr ument panel, sea t bac krests o r be
tween those areas and yourself. T hese
objects could ca use in jury in a crash, es
pecially when the airbags inflate.
- Never recline the front passenger 's seat
to transport objects. Items can a lso
move into the area of the s ide airbag or
the front a irbag during braki ng or in a
sudden maneuve r. Objects near the air
bags can become projectiles and cause
in jur y, partic ularly when the seat is re
clined.
A WARNING
The fine dus t create d when air bags deploy
c a n cause breathing p rob lems fo r people
wi th a history of as thma or other breath
i ng cond itions.
- T o reduce the risk of breath ing pro blems,
those with asthma or othe r respiratory
conditions s hou ld get fresh air right
away by getting o ut o f the veh icle or
open ing windows or doors .
- If you are in a collision in which airbags
deploy, wash your hands and face with
mild soap and water before eating.
- Be careful not to get the dust into your
eyes, or into any c uts or scratches.
- If the res id ue should get into your eyes,
f lush them w ith water.
Monitoring the
Advanced Airbag
System
I ( USA models) /!{ (Canada models )
Airbag monitoring indicator light
Two separate indicators monitor the function
of the Advanced Airbag System: the airbag
monitoring indicator light and the
PASSEN
GER AIR BAG OFF
light.
The Advanced Airbag System (including the
electronic control un it, sensor circuits and sys
tem wiring) is monitored continuously to
make sure that it is functioning properly
whenever the ignit ion is on. Each time you
switch on the ignition, the airbag monitoring
indicator light
I (USA models)/ m (Canada
models) will come on for a few seconds (self
diagnost ics).
The system must be inspected when the
indicator light
I (USA models)/fll
(Canada models):
-does not come on when the ignition is
switched on ,
- does not go out a few seconds after you
have switched on the ignition, or
- comes on while driving.
If an airbag system malfun ction 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
airbag on the passenger side
off, the PASSEN
GER AIR BAG OFF
light will come on and stay
on whenever the ignition is on.
A WARNING
An airbag system that is not funct ioning
properly cannot provide supplemental pro
tection in a frontal crash.
- If the airbag indicator light
c:> page 18
comes when the vehicle is be ing used,
have the system inspected imm ediately
by your autho rized Audi dealer.
It is pos-
Airbag system 163
sible that the airbag will inflate when it
is not supposed to, or will not inflate
when it should.
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
Fig. 168 Sect io n from the instrument pane l: PASSEN·
GER AIR BAG OFF light
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light is located
in the center of the instrument panel
c:>fig . 168.
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light will come
on and stay on to tell you when the front Ad
vanced Airbag on the passenger s ide has been
turned
off by the electron ic control unit. Each
time you switch on the ignition, the
PASSEN
GER AIR BAG OFF
light will flash for a few
seconds and:
- will stay on if the front passenger seat is not
occupied,
- will stay on if there is a small ch ild or child
restraint on the front passenger seat,
- w ill go out if the front passenger seat is oc·
cupied by an adult as registered by the
weight-sensing mat.
The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF l ight must
come on and stay on
if the ignition is on and
- a car bed has been installed on the front seat, or
- a rearward-facing child restraint has been
installed on the front passenger seat, or
- a forward-facing child restraint has been in·
stalled on the front passenger seat, or
164 Airbag sys te m
- the weight regis tered on the front passen
ger seat is equa l to or less tha n the com
bined weight of a ty pical 1 year-old restrain
ed 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 .
If the front passenger seat is not occupied,
the front airbag will not deploy, and the
PA S
SENGER AIR BAG OFF
li ght w ill stay on. Nev
e r i nsta ll a rearwa rd-fac ing ch ild restra int on
the front passenger seat, the safest place fo r
a child in any kin d of child restraint is at o ne
of the seat ing positions on the rear seat
¢ page 154, Child restraints on the front seat
- some important things to know
and
¢ page 176, Child Safety .
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light c om es
on
when one o f the conditions listed above is
met, be sure to check the light regularly to
make certa in that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light stays on cont inuo usly whenever the
ignit io n is on. If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF light does not appear on and does not
stay on all the time, stop as soon as it is safe
to do so and
- react ivate the system by switc hing the igni
t ion off and then switch ing it on again;
- remove and re install the child restraint.
Make sure that the child restraint is properly
installed and that the safety be lt fo r the
front passenger seat has been correct ly
r o uted throug h the child rest raint as descri
bed in the chi ld restrai nt ma nufactu rer's i n
stru ct ions;
- make su re that the convertible locking fea
t u re on the sa fe ty be lt for the front p assen
ger seat has been activated and that the
safety belt has been pulled tight . The belt
must not be loose or have loops of slack so
that the sensor below the safety be lt latch
on the seat can do its job
¢ page 186.
- ma ke sure that th ings that may increase the
weight of the chi ld and child seat are not be
ing transported on the front passenger seat; -
make sure that the sa fety belt tension sen
sor is not blocked. S hake the safety be lt
latch on the front passenger seatback and
forth;
- If a strap or tether is be ing used to tie the
child seat to the front passenger seat, make
sure that it is not so t ight that it causes the
weight-sensi ng mat to measure more
weight than is actually on the seat .
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light still
does not come on
and does not stay on con
t in uous ly (when the ignition is switched on),
- take the child restraint off the front passen -
ger seat and install it proper ly at one of the
rear seat positions. Have the airbag system
inspected by your Audi dealer immed iate ly.
- move the child to a rear seat position and
make sure that the child is properly restra in
ed in a ch ild restra int that is appropriate for
its s ize and age.
The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light should
NOT come on when t he ignit ion is on and an
adult is s itting in a proper seating position on
the front passenge r seat. If the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on o r
flashes fo r about 5 seconds w hile d riving, un
der these c ircumstances, make sure tha t:
- the adult on the front passenge r seat is
prope rly seated on the cente r of the sea t
cushion with his or her back up aga inst the
backrest and the backrest is not re cli ned
¢ page 135, Proper occupan t seating posi
tions,
- t he adult is not tak ing we ight off the sea t by
holding on to the passenger assis t handle
above the front passenger door or s upport
ing their weight on the armrest,
- t he sa fety belt is being properly worn and
that the re is not a lot of s lack in the safety
be lt webb ing,
- accesso ry seat covers or cushions or other
things that 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, .,..