
as defined in the electronic control unit
¢ page 195, PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light .
Always remember, a chi ld safety seat or infant
carrier installed on the front seat may be
struck and knocked out of position by the rap
id ly inflating passenger's airbag in a frontal
coll is ion . The airbag cou ld greatly reduce the
effectiveness of the child restraint and even
seriously 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 205, Child Safety.
A WARNING
A child in a rearward-facing child safety
seat insta lled on the front passenger seat
w ill be seriously injured and can be k illed if
t he fron t airbag inf lates - even with an Ad
vanced Airbag System .
- The inflating a irbag w ill hit the child
sa fety seat or infant carrier w it h great
f orce and w ill smash the ch ild safety seat
and child against the backrest, center
armrest, door or roof.
- Always install rear -facing child sa fety
seats on the rear seat.
- If you mus t install a rearward facing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat because of exceptional circ umstan
ces and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG O FF
light does not come on and stay on, im
med iately install the rear-facing child
safety seat in a rear seating posit ion and
have the a irbag system inspected by you r
authori zed Aud i dealer.
- Forward-fac ing ch ild safety seats instal
led on the front passenger's seat may in
terfere with the deployment of the air
b ag and cause serious person al injury to
the ch ild .
WARNING
If, in exceptional c ir c umstances, you mus t
install a forwa rd -facing child restra int on
the front passenger's seat:
A irbag system 187
-Always ma ke 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 t he seat's fore and
aft adj ustment range, as fa r away from
the airbag as possible before installing
the forward-fa cing ch ild restra int. The
backrest mu st be a dju ste d 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 wi ll 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 195, 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
li g ht does not stay on.
- Have the airbag system inspected by
your author ized Audi dealer immed iate
ly.
- Always carefully follow instr uctions from
child r estraint manufa cture rs when in
s tall ing c hild restra ints.
A WARNING
If, in exce ptiona l circumstan ces, you must
ins tall a forward or rearw ard-facing c hild
restra int on the front passenger's seat:
- Imp roper ins tal lation o f ch ild restraints
can reduce their effec tiveness or even
•
•

190 Airbag sys tem
If the tota l 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
PA SSEN GER AIR BAG OFF light does not
come on).
For e xample , the airbag m ay deploy if :
-a small child that is heavier than a typical 1
year-o ld child is on the front passenger seat
(regardless of whether the child is in one of
the chi ld safety seats listed
¢ page 207),
-a chi ld who has outgrown child restraints is
on the front passenger seat.
If the front passenger airbag is turned off, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light in the center
of the instrument panel wi ll 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 ill uminate and stay lit) if:
- a small adu lt o r teenager is o n the front pas
senger seat
- a passenger who is not sitt ing upright w ith
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 passenge r seat .
I f the front passenge r airbag deploys, the
F ederal Standa rd requires the airbag to meet
the " low ris k'' deployment criteria to help re
duce the risk of inj ury 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 195
Alway s remember : Even though yo ur 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 airbag
inf lates, a lways wear safety belts prope rly. -
If you are unrestrained, leaning forward,
sitt ing s ideways or o ut of pos ition in any
way, your risk of injury is muc h higher.
- 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
f lates -even w it h an Advanced A irbag
¢page 184.
A WARNING "---
A child in a rearward-fac ing ch ild safety
seat installed on the front passenger seat
will be serious ly inju red and ca n be killed if
the front airbag infla tes -even with an Ad
vanced A irbag System.
- Al tho ugh t he Advanced Airbag Sys tem in
your veh icle is designed to turn off the
front airbag when a rearward -facing
child restraint has been insta lled on the
front passenger seat, nobody can abso lutely g uarantee 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
safety seat or i nfant carrier with great
force and will smash the child safety seat
a nd child aga inst the bac krest, center
armrest, doo r, or roof.
- Always install rea rward-facing ch ild re
s traints on the rear seat.
- If you must ins tall a rearwa rd fac ing
child safety seat on the fro nt passenger
seat because of exceptiona l circumstan
ces and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on and stay on, im
mediately insta ll the rear-facing chi ld
safety seat in a rear seating position and
have the airbag system inspected by your
author ized Audi dealer.
A WARNING
-If, in except ional circumstances, you must
i nstall a forward-facing child restraint on
the front passenge r's seat:
II--

194 Airbag sys te m
- when the weight on the front passenger
seat as sensed by the Advanced Airbag Sys
tem indicates that the front airbag on the
passenger side has to be turned off by the
electron ic control unit (the
PA SSEN GER 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 r isk of injury when the air
bags inflate, the driver and passengers
must always sit in an upright position,
must not lean against o r place any pa rt
of the ir body too close to the area where
the airbags are located .
- Occ upants 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 186.
A WARNING -
A child in a rearward-facing child safety
seat installed on the front passenger seat
w ill be seriously injured and can be k illed if
the front a irbag inflates -even with an Ad
vanced Airbag System.
- The inflating a irbag will hit the child
safety seat or infant carrier with great
force and w ill smash the ch ild safety seat
and child against the backrest, center
armres t, door or roof.
- Always install rear-facing child safety
seats on the rear seat.
- If you must install a rearward-fac ing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat because of excep tional circ umstan
ces and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on and stay on, im
mediately install the rear-facing child
safety seat in a rear seating position and
have the airbag system inspected by your
authorized Audi dealer.
A WARNING
Objects between you and the airbag will
i nc rease the r isk of injury in a crash by in
terfering with the way the airbag unfolds
or by be ing pushed into you as the airbag
i n flates.
- Never hold things in yo ur hands or on
your lap when the veh icle is in use.
- Never transpo rt items on or in the area
of the front passenger seat. Objects
could move into the a rea of the front air
b ags du ring bra king or other sudden ma
neuvers and become dangero us projec
tiles that can cause serious personal in
jury if the ai rbags inflate.
- Never p lace or attach accessories or oth
er objects (such as cupholde rs, tele
phone brackets, large, heavy or bulky ob
jects) on the doors, ove r or near the area
marked "AIRBAG" on the steer ing whee l,
instrument panel , seat backrests or be
tween those areas and yourself . These
objects could ca use in jury in a c rash, es
pecially when the airbags infla te.
- Never recline the front passenger 's seat
to transpo rt objects . Items can a lso
move into the a rea of the s ide airbag or
the front airb ag d uring bra king or in a
sudden maneuve r. Objects nea r the air
bags can become projectiles and cause
in ju ry, partic ularly when the seat is re
clined.
- Never tilt the front passenger seat back
rest forward when the vehicle is moving .
An inflating a irbag w ill force the back
rest backward and can injure rear seat oc
cupants.
A WARNING
The fine dust created when airbags deploy
can cause breathing prob lems for people
with a history of asthma or other breath i ng cond itions.
-
- To reduce the risk of breath ing problems,
those with asthma o r othe r respiratory
....__ c_ o_ n_ d_ it_ i_o _ ns_ s_ ho _u_ l_ d ....:g:_ e_ t_ f_re _s_ h _ a_ i_r _ri ..::g :....h _t __
_J .,.

202 Airbag system
-Objects between you a nd the airbag can
increase the risk of injury in an acc ident
by interfering wit h the way the airbag
unfolds or by be ing pushed into you as
the a irbag inflates .
- Never p lace or a ttach accessories or
other objects (such as cupholders, tele
phone 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 s ide air
bag deploys.
- Never carry any objects or pets in t he
deployment space between them and
the airbags or allow children or other
passengers to travel in this posit ion.
- Always use the built-in coat hooks only
for lightwe ight clothing . Never leave any
heavy o r sharp-edged objects in the
poc ke ts that may in terfere with side air
bag dep loyment and can cause personal
injury in an accident .
- Always prevent the side a irbags from be
ing damaged by heavy objects knoc king
against o r hitti ng the sides of the seat
backs.
- The airbag system can only be triggered
once . If the a irbag has been triggered ,
the system must be replaced by an au
thorized Audi dealership.
- Damage (cracks, deep scratches etc .) to
the origina l seat covers or to the seam in
the area of the side airbag module must always be repaired immediately by an au
thorized Aud i dealer.
- If children a re seated improperly, their
risk of injury increases in the case of an
acc ident
q page 205, Child Safety.
- Never attempt to modify any compo
nents of the airbag system in a ny way.
- In a side co llision, s ide airbags will not
f unction properly if senso rs cannot cor
rect ly measure increasing air p ressu re in
s ide the doors when air escapes t hro ugh larger, unclosed openings in the door
panel.
- Never dr ive with inte rior door t rim pan
els removed.
- Never dr ive when parts have bee n re
moved from the inside door pane l and
the ope nings they leave have not been
properly closed.
- Never dr ive when loudspe akers in the
doo rs have been removed unless the
speake r holes have been properly
closed.
- Always make certain tha t openings are
cove red or f ille d if ad dit iona l speakers
o r other equipment is insta lled in the
inside door panels .
- Always have work on the doors done by
an a uthorized Audi dea ler or q ualified
wor kshop.
Side curtain airbags
Description of side curtain airbags
The side curtain airbags can provide supple
mental protection to properly restrained oc
cupants .
Fig. 21S Side curtain a irbags, driver 's side : locat ion
T he side c urtai n airbags are located on bot h
s ides of the interior above the front and rear
s ide windows
c!;J fig . 215. They are identified
by the word "AIRBAG" on the windshield
frame and the center roof pillar .
T he side c urtain airbag system s upplements
t h e safety be lts and can he lp to red uce the
risk of in jury for occupants' heads and upper
torso on the side of the vehicle that is struck
in a side collision. The side curtain airbag ..,.

A WARNING
1
Not using a child safety seat, using the
wrong child safety seat or improperly in
stalling a child restraint increases the risk
of serious personal injury and death .
-All vehicle occupants and especially chil dren must always be restrained properly
whenever riding in a vehicle.
- An unrestrained or improperly restrain
ed child can be injured or killed by be
ing thrown against the inside of the ve
hicle or by being ejected from it during
a sudden maneuver or impact.
- An unrestrained or improperly restrain
ed child is at much greater risk of injury
or death by being struck by an inflating
airbag.
- Commercially available child safety seats
are required to comply with U.S. Federal
Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS)
213 (in Canada CMVSS 213).
- When buying a child restraint, select
one that fits your child and the vehicle.
- Only use child restraint systems that
fully contact the flat portion of the
seat cushion. The child restraint must
not tip or lean to either side. Audi does
not recommend using child safety
seats that rest on legs or tube-like
frames . They do not provide adequate
contact with the seat.
-Always heed all legal requirements per
taining to the installation and use of
child safety seats and carefully follow
the instructions provided by the manu
facturer of the seat you are using.
- Never allow children under 57 inches
(1.45 meters) to wear a normal safety
belt. They must always be restrained by a
proper child restraint system. Otherwise,
they could sustain injuries to the abdo
men and neck areas during sudden brak
ing maneuvers or accidents.
- Never let more than one child occupy a
child safety seat .
Child Safety 209
-Never let babies or older children ride in
a vehicle while sitting on the lap of an
other passenger.
- Holding a child in your arms is never a
substitute for a child restraint system .
- The strongest person could not hold
the child with the forces that exist in
an accident. The child will strike the in
terior of the vehicle and can also be
struck by the passenger.
- The child and the passenger can also
injure each another in an accident.
- Never install rear-facing child safety
seats or infant carriers on the front pas
senger seat . A child will be seriously in
jured and can be killed when the passen
ger airbag inflates -even with an Ad
vanced Airbag System .
- The inflating airbag will hit the child
safety seat or infant carrier with great
force and will smash the child safety seat
and child against the backrest, center
armrest, door or roof .
-Always install rear-facing child safety
seats or infant carriers on the rear seat .
- Forward-facing child safety seats instal
led on the front passenger's seat can in
terfere with the airbag when it inflates
and cause serious injury to the child.
Al
ways install forward-facing child safety
seats on the rear seat .
- 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 that the
following special precautions be taken:
- Make sure the forward-facing seat has
been designed and certified by its man
ufacturer for use on a front seat with a
passenger front and side airbag.
- Always carefully follow the manufac
turer's instructions provided with the
child safety seat or carrier.
- Always move the front passenger seat
into the rearmost position of the pas
senger seat's fore and aft adjustment range, and as far away from the airbag •
•
•
•

Child safety seats
Infant seats
Babies and infants up to about one year old
and 20 lbs. or 9 kg need special rearward -fac
ing child restraints that support the back,
neck and head in a crash.
Fig . 218 Sche matic overv iew: rearward-fac ing infant
seat, properly installed o n the rear seat
.,. When using the vehicle safety belt to install
a ch ild safety seat, you must first activate
the convertible locking retracto r on the
safety be lt to prevent the child safety seat
from moving
¢ page 215 or install the seat
using the LA T CH attachments.
.,. Push the child safety seat down with your
full weight to get the safety belt rea lly tight
so that the seat cannot move forward or
sideways more than one inch (2.5 cm).
.,. Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
¢page 210.
Infants up to about one year (20 lbs. or 9 kg)
are best protected in special infan t carriers
and child safety seats designed for their age
group . Many experts believe that infants and
small children should ride only in spec ial re
straints in which the ch ild faces the back of
the vehicle. These infant seats support the ba
by's back, neck and head in a crash
¢fig . 218.
The airbag on the passenger side makes the
front seat a po tentially dangerous place for a
child to r ide . The front seat is not the safest
p lace for a child in a forward -facing child seat.
It is a very dangerous p lace for an infant or a
l arger ch ild in a rearward-facing seat.
Child Safety 211
A WARNING
Not using a child safety seat, using t he
wrong child safety seat or improperly in
stall ing a ch ild restraint increases the risk
of ser ious personal injury and death in a
crash.
- Never install rear-facing child safety
seats or infant ca rr ie rs on the front pas
senger seat -even with an Advanced Air
bag Sys tem. A ch ild will be ser iously in
jured and ca n be killed when the inflat
ing airbag hits the child safety seat or in
fant carrier with great force and smashes the child safety seat and child against
the backrest, center armrest, door or
roof ¢
page 186, Child restraints on the
front seat- some important things to
know .
-Always install rear-fac ing ch ild safety
seats or infant carriers on the rear seat .
- Never install a rear-fac ing ch ild restraint
in the forward-fac ing d irect ion. Such re
straints are designed for the special needs of infants and very small ch ild ren
and cannot prote ct them properly if the
seat is forward- facing.
- If you mus t insta ll a rearward fac ing
child sa fety seat on the fro nt passenger
seat because of exceptiona l circumstan
ces and t he
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on and stay on, im
mediately insta ll the rear -fac ing ch ild
safety seat in a rear seating position and
have the airbag system inspected by your
Aud i dea ler .
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
wheneve r us ing a child restrained in ave
hicle is being used¢
page 175 , Safety
belts,
¢ page 184, Airbag system and
¢ page 205, Important things to know.

212 Child Safety
Convertible child safety seats
Properly used convertible child safety seats
can help protect toddlers and children over
age one who weigh between
20 and 40 lbs. (9
and 18 kg) in a crash.
Fig. 219 Schematic overv iew : ins tallat ion of t he at
ta chments applicable to a LATCH seat
Fig. 220 Sche matic overview: insta llation of th e sea t
us ing t he veh icle's safety be lt system
.. When using the vehicle safety belt to install
a chi ld safety seat, you must f irst activate
the convertible locking feature on the safety
belt to prevent the child safety seat from
moving ¢
page 215 or install the seat using
the LATCH attachments .
.. Push the child safety seat down with your
full weight to get the safety belt really t ight
so that the seat cannot move forward or sideways more than one inch (2.5 cm)
¢page 215.
.. If the child safety seat is equ ipped with a
tether strap, attach it to the tether anchors
¢page 222.
.. Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
¢page 210.
A toddler or child is usually too large for an in
fant restra int if it is more than one year o ld
and weighs more than 20 lbs. (9 kg). T
oddlers and children who are older than one
year up to about 4 years old and weigh more
than 20 lbs. (9 kg) up to 40 lbs. (18 kg) must
always be properly restrained in a child safety
seat certified for their size and weight
¢ fig . 219 and ¢ fig. 220 .
The airbag on the passenger side makes the
front seat a potentia lly dangerous place for a
child to ride. The front seat is not the safest
place for a child in a forward-facing child safe
ty seat . It is a very dangerous place for an in
fant or a larger child in a rearward-facing seat.
_&. WARNING
Not using a child safety seat, using the
wrong child safety seat or improp erly in
stalling a chi ld restraint increases the risk
of serious personal injury and death in a
collision or other emergency situation .
- Children on the front seat of any car,
-
even with Advanced Airbags, can be seri
ously injured or even killed when an air bag inflates . A chi ld in a rearward-facing
child safety seat installed on the front passenger seat will be serious ly injured
and can be killed if the front airbag in
f la tes -even with an Advanced Airbag
System .
- The inflating airbag will hit the child
safety seat or infant carrier with great
force and will smash the child safety seat
and child against the backrest, center
armrest, door or roof.
- 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 because of exceptiona l circumstan
ces and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on and stay on, im
mediately insta ll the rear-facing child
safety seat in a rear seating position and
have the airbag system inspected by your
Aud i dealer.
- The rear side of the child safety seat
should be pos itioned as close as possible ..,.

216 Child Safety
and child against the backrest, center
armrest, door or roof.
- Always install rear-facing child safety
seats or infant carriers on the rear seat.
- Forward-facing child safety seats or in
fant carriers installed on the front pas
senger's seat may interfere with the de
ployment of the airbag and cause serious
injury to the child.
- It is safer to install a forward-facing
child safety seat on the rear seat.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS whenever using a child restrained in ave
hicle is being used
c::> page 205 . Special
precautions apply when installing a child
safety seat on the front passenger seat
c::> page 186, Child restraints on the front
seat -some important things to know.
A WARNING
Always take special precautions if you
must install a forward or rearward-facing
child restraint on the front passenger's
seat in exceptional situations:
- Whenever a forward or rearward-facing
child restraint is installed on the front
passenger seat, the
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
light must come on and stay on
whenever the ignition is switched on.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, perform
the checks described
<=:> page 195, Moni
toring the Advanced 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.
- Improper installation of child restraints
can reduce their effectiveness or even
prevent them from providing any protec
tion.
- An improperly installed child restraint
can interfere with the airbag as it de
ploys and seriously injure or even kill the
child. -
Always carefully follow the manufactur
er's instructions provided with the child
safety seat or carrier.
- Never place additional items on the seat
that can increase the total weight regis
tered by the weight-sensing mat and can
cause injury in a crash .
A WARNING
-Forward-facing child restraints:
- 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 .
- Never put the forward-facing child re straint up, against or very near the in
strument panel.
- 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 forward-facing child restraint. The
backrest must be adjusted to 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 .
A WARNING
Rearward-facing child restraints:
- A child in a rearward-facing child safety
seat installed on the front passenger
seat will be seriously injured and can be killed if the front airbag inflates -even
with an Advanced Airbag System .
- The inflating airbag will hit the child
safety seat or infant carrier with great
force and will smash the child safety seat
and child against the backrest, center
armrest, door or roof.
- Always be especially careful if you must
install a rearward facing child safety seat
on the front passenger seat in exception-
al circumstances.
~