196 Airbag sys te m
- a car bed has been insta lled on the front
seat, or
- a rearward-facing chi ld restraint has been
installed on the front passenger seat, or
- a fo rward -facing child restraint has been in
sta lled on the front passenger seat, or
- the weight registered on the front passen
ger seat is equa l to or less than the com
bined weight of a typical 1 year -old restrain
ed in one of the rear-facing or forward-fac
ing infant restraints listed in Federal Motor
Vehicle Safety Standard 208 with which the
Advanced Airbag System in your veh icle was
certified.
If the front passenger seat is not occupied,
the front airbag will not deploy, and the
PAS
SENGER AIR BAG OFF
li ght will stay on. Nev
er install a rearward-fac ing c hild restra int on
the front passenger seat, the safest place fo r
a child in any kind of child restraint is at one
of the seat ing positions on the rea r seat
~ page 186, Child restraints on the front seat
- some important things to know
and
~ page 205, Child Safety.
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light c om es
on
when one of the conditions listed above is
met, be sure to check the light regularly to
make certain that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OF F
light stays on cont inuo usly whenever the
ignit ion is on. If the
PA SSENGER 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 turning the ignition
off and then turning it on again;
- remove and re insta ll the chi ld restraint .
Make sure that the child restraint is properly
installed and that the safety be lt for the
front passenger seat has been correct ly
routed through the child restra int as descri
bed in the chi ld restrai nt manufacturer's in
stru ct ions;
- make sure that the convert ible locking fea
tu re on the safety belt fo r the front passen
ger seat has been a ctivated and that the
sa fe ty belt has been pulled tight. The belt
must not be loose or have loops of slack so that the sensor be
low the sa fe ty belt latch
on the seat can do its job~
page 215.
-ma ke sure that things tha t may increase the
weight of the ch ild and chi ld safety seat a re
not being t ransported on the front passen
ger seat;
- make sure that the safety belt tension sen
sor is not blocked. S hake the safety belt
latch on the front passenger seatback and
forth;
- If a strap or tether is be ing used to tie the
child safety seat to the front passenger
seat, make sure that it is not so tight that it
causes the weight-sensing mat to measure more weight than is act ually on the seat .
If the PAS SENGER 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 properly at one of the
rear seat positions. Have the airbag system
inspected by your authorized Aud i dealer
immed iately.
- move the child to a rear seat position and
make sure that the ch ild is properly restra in
ed in a ch ild restra int that is app rop riate for
its s ize and age.
The
PASSENGER A IR BAG OFF light should
NOT come on when the ignit ion is on and an
adult is s itting in a proper seating position on
t h e front passenge r seat. If the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and s tays on o r
f lashes fo r about 5 seconds w hile d riving, un
der these ci rcumstances, 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 wi th his or her back up aga inst the
backrest and the backrest is not recl ined
~ page 166 , Proper occupant seating posi
tions,
- the adult is not taking weight off the seat by
holding on to the passenger assist handle
above the front passenger door or support-
ing their weight on the armrest, .,.
-the safety belt is being p roperly worn and
that there is not a lot of slack in the safety
belt webbing,
- accessory seat covers or c ushions or other
things that may cause an incorrect reading
or impression on the weight-sensing mat under the upholstery of the seat have been
removed from the front passenger seat,
- a safety be lt extender has not been left in
the safety belt latch for the front passenger
seat .
In addition to the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light in the center of the instrument panel,
the message
PASSENGER AIR BA G OFF or
PA SS ENGER AIR BA G ON will briefly appear
i n the instrument cluste r display . Th is is to in
form the driver of the current front passenger
ai rbag status .
Important safety instructions on
monitoring the Advanced Airbag System
A WARNING
An airbag system that is not funct ioning
prope rly cannot provide supplemental p ro
tection in a frontal crash.
- If the airbag indicato r light comes on, it
means that the re may be someth ing
wrong with the Advanced Ai rbag System .
It is possible that the airbag will inflate
when it is not s upposed to, or w ill not in
flate when it should.
- Have the airbag system inspected imme
diately by your author ized Audi dealer .
A WARNING
If the front airbag inflates, a ch ild without
a child restraint, or in a rearward-fac ing
child safety seat, o r in a forward-facing
child restraint that has not been properly
installed will be serio usly injured and can
be killed.
- Even though your veh icle is equipped
with an Advanced Airbag System, make
certain that a ll children, especially 12
years and younge r, a lways ride on the
A irbag sys tem 197
back seat properly rest rained for their
age and size.
- Always install forward or rear-facing
child safety seats on the rear seat -even
with an Advanced A irbag System.
- If you must install a rearwa rd-facing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat because of exceptional c ircumstan
ces and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not appear and stay on, imme
diate ly install the rear-facing child safety
seat in a rea r seat ing pos ition and have
the air bag sys tem inspected by y our au
thori zed A udi dealer.
- A t ight tether or other strap on a rea r
ward-facing child rest raint attached to
the front passenger seat can p ut too
m uch p ressu re on the weight-sensing
mat in the seat and register more weight
than is actually on the seat. The heavier
weight registered can make the system
work as though an adult were on the seat and deploy the Advanced Airbag when it
must be suppressed causing ser ious or
even fata l injury to the ch ild.
- If, in exceptiona l circumstances, you
m ust install a forward-fac ing ch ild re
straint on the front passenger seat, al
ways move the sea t into its rearmos t po
sition in the seat's fore and aft adjust
ment range, as far away from the a irbag
as poss ible . The backrest must be ad just
ed to an upright pos ition. Make sure that
the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
comes on and stays on all the time when
eve r the ignit ion is switched on.
A WARNING
-
- If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not go out when an ad ult is sitting
on the front passenger sea t after taking
the steps described above, make su re the
a du lt is properly seate d and restra ined at
one o f the rea r seat ing pos itions.
- Have the airbag sy stem inspe cted by
your author ized Audi dealer befo re trans
port ing anyone on the front passenger
seat.
•
•
198 Airbag system
(D Tips
If the weight-sensing mat in the front pas
senger seat detects an empty seat, the
front airbag on the passenger side will be turned off, and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light will stay on.
Repair, care and disposal of the airbags
Parts of the airbag system are installed at
many different places on your Audi . Installing,
removing, servicing or repairing a part in an
area of the vehicle can damage a part of an
airbag system and prevent that system from
working p roperly in a collision.
There are some important things you have to know to make sure that the effectiveness of
the system will not be impaired and that dis
carded components do not cause injury or pol
lute the environment.
A WARNING
Improper care, servicing and repair proce
dures can increase the risk of personal in
jury and death by preventing an airbag from deploying when needed or deploying
an airbag unexpectedly:
- Never cover, obstruct, or change the steering wheel horn pad or airbag cover
or the instrument panel or modify them
in any way .
- Never attach any objects such as cu
pholders or telephone mountings to the
surfaces covering the airbag units.
- For cleaning the horn pad or instrument
panel, use only a soft, dry cloth or one
moistened with plain water. Solvents or
cleaners could damage the airbag cover
or change the stiffness or strength of the material so that the airbag cannot de
ploy and protect properly.
- Never repair , adjust, or change any parts
of the airbag system.
- All work on the steering wheel, instru
ment panel, front seats or electrical sys
tem (including the installation of audio
equipment, cellular telephones and CB radios, etc.) must be performed by a
qualified technician who has the training
and special equipment necessary.
- For any work on the airbag system, we
strongly recommend that you see your
authorized Audi dealer or qualified work
shop.
- Never modify the front bumper or parts
of the vehicle body.
- 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
inflate.
- 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. - The airbag system can be activated only
once. After an airbag has inflated, it
must be replaced by an authorized Audi
dealer or qualified technician who has
the technical information, training and
special equipment necessary.
- The airbag system can be deployed only once . After an airbag has been deployed,
it must be replaced with new replace
ment parts designed and approved espe
cially for your Audi model version . Re
placement of complete airbag systems
or airbag components must be per
formed by qualified workshops only. Make sure that any airbag service action
is entered in your Audi Warranty
& Main
tenance booklet under
AIRBAG REPLACE
MENT RECORD .
-For safety reasons in severe accidents,
the alternator and starter are separated
from the vehicle battery with a pyrotech
nic circuit interrupter.
- Work on the pyrotechnic circuit inter
rupter must only be performed by a
qualified dealer - risk of an accident!
204 Airbag system
vehicle that is struck in a side collision
~fig. 216.
When the system is triggered , the side curtain
airbag is filled with propellant gas and breaks
through a seam above the front and rear side
windows identified by the AIRBAG label. In or
der to help provide this additional protection,
the side curtain airbag must inflate within the
blink of an eye at very high speed and with
great force. The side curtain airbag could in
jure you if your seating position is not proper
or upright or if items are located in the area
where the supplemental side curtain airbag
inflates . This applies especially to children
~ page 205.
Although they are not a soft pillow, side cur
tain airbags can "cushion" the impact and in
this way they can help to reduce the risk of in
jury to the head and the upper part of the
body.
A fine dust may develop when the airbag de ploys. This is quite normal 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 safety 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 their job to provide supplemental
protection.
A WARNING
Improperly wearing safety belts and im
proper seating positions increase the risk
of serious personal injury and death when
ever a vehicle is being used .
- Never let occupants place any parts of
their bodies in the area from which the side curtain airbags inflate.
-Always make sure that the side curtain
airbags can inflate without interference .
Unsuitable accessories fitted inside the expansion range of a side curtain airbag
can dangerously interfere with its func
tion. A deploying head airbag develops
enough force to catapult any piece of
add-on component out of its path of
in
flation and into the passenger compart
ment. An occupant hit by such a projec
tile can suffer serious injury or death
~ page 328, Technical Modifications.
-Do not swivel the sun visors to the side if
you have any objects clipped onto them
(for example pens). If the airbag should
deploy, you could be injured by these ob
jects.
- 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 an acci
dent.
- Never use hangers to hang clothing from
the hooks.
- Only use factory-installed sun shades or,
in the case of shades installed after the
vehicle leaves the factory, only Audi roll up sunscreens may be used
~ page 32 7,
Additional accessories and parts re
placement.
-Always sit in proper seating position and
wear safety belts while traveling so that the side curtain airbags can help provide
protection.
- The airbag system can only be triggered
once .
If the airbag has been triggered,
the system must be replaced by an au
thorized Audi dealer or qualified work
shop.
- Always have work involving the side cur
tain airbag system, removal and installa
tion of the airbag components, or other repairs performed by an authorized Audi
dealer or qualified workshop . Otherwise
the airbag system may not work correct ly .
- Never attempt to modify any compo
nents of the airbag system in any way .
Child Safety
Important things to know
Introduction
The rear seat is generally the safest place in a
collision .
The physical principles of what happens when
your veh icle is in a crash app ly also to chi ldren
~ page 177, What happens to occupants not
wearing safety belts? .
But unlike adults and
teenagers, their muscles and bones are not
fu lly developed. In many respects children are
at greater risk of serious injury in crashes than
adu lts.
Because children's bod ies are not fully deve l
oped, they require restraint systems especial ly designed for their size, weight, and body
structure. Many countries and all states of the
United States and provinces of Canada have
laws requiring the use of approved child re
straint systems for infants and small children .
In a fronta l crash at a speed of 20 -35 mph
(30-56 km/h) the forces acting on a 13-pound
(6 kg) infant w ill be more than 20 t imes the
weight of the child . This means the weight of
the child would suddenly be more than
260 pounds (120 kg). Under these conditions,
on ly an appropriate chi ld restraint properly
used can reduce the risk of ser ious injury .
Child restraints, like adult safety belts, must
be used properly to be effective. Used improp
erly, they can increase the risk of serious in
jury in an accident.
Consult the child safety seat manufacturer's
instructions in order to be sure the seat is
right for your chi ld's size ~
page 208 , Impor
tant safety instructions for using child safety
seats.
Please be sure to read and heed all of
the important information and WARNINGS
about ch ild safety, Advanced A irbags, and the
installation of child restraints in this chapter.
There is a lot you need to know about the Ad
vanced Airbags in your vehicle and how they work when infants and children in child re-
Child Sa fet y 205
straints are on the front passenger seat . Be
cause of the large amount of important infor
mation, we cannot repeat it a ll here . We urge
you to read the detailed information in this owner's manual about airbags and the Ad
vanced Airbag System in your vehicle and the
very important information about transport
ing children on the front passenger seat .
Please be sure to heed the WARNINGS -they
are extremely important for your safety and
the safety of your passengers, especially in
fants and small chi ldren .
.A, WARNING
-Accident statistics have shown that chil
dren are generally safer in the rear seat
area than in the front seating position.
Always restrain any child age 12 and un der in the rear.
- All vehicle occupants and especially chil
dren must be restrained properly when
ever riding in a vehicle . An unrestrained
or improperly restrained chi ld could be
injured by str ikin g the interior or by be
ing ejected from the vehicle during a
sudden maneuver or impact. An un re
strained or improper ly restrained chi ld is
also at greater risk of injury or death
through contact with an inflating airbag.
- A suitable chi ld restraint properly instal
led and used at one of the rear seating
positions provides the highest degree of
protection for infants and small children
in most accident situations.
A WARNING
Children on the front seat of any car even
with Advanced Airbags can be ser iously in
jured or even killed when an a irbag in
flates. A child in a rearward-fac ing ch ild
safety seat installed on the front passen
ger seat will be ser iously injured and can
be killed if the front airbag inflates .
- The inflating airbag will h it the child
safety seat or infant carrier with great
force and will smash the child safety seat
and child against the backrest, center
armrest, or door.
•
•
206 Child Saf ety
- Always install rear-facing child safety
seats on the rear seat.
- If you must install a rearward facing
ch ild safety seat on the front passenger
seat in exceptiona l circumstances and
the
PAS SENGER AIR BA G OFF light does
not come on and stay on, immed iately
install the rear-facing child safety seat in
a rear seating posit ion and have the air
bag system inspec ted immediately by
yo ur Audi dealer.
_& WARNING
If, in exceptional c ircumstances, you mus t
install a forward -facing child restra int on
the front passenger's seat:
- Always make su re the forward-fac ing
seat has been designed and certified by
its manufacturer for use on a front seat
with a passenger front and side airbag.
- Always follow the man ufacturer's in
struct ions provided with the child safety
seat or carrier.
- Always move t he 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 installing
the ch ild restraint. The backrest must be
adjusted to an upr ight position .
- Always make sure that the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays
on all the time whenever the ignition is
switched on.
(D Tips
Always rep lace child rest raints that were
installed in a vehicle during a crash. Dam
age to a child rest raint that is not visible
could cause i t to fail i n another collisio n
si tua tion.
Advanced front airbag system and
children
Your veh icle is equipped with an "Advanced
A irbag System" in compliance w ith United
States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 208 as applicable at the time you
r
vehicle was manufacture d.
T he Adv anced Airbag system in yo ur vehicle
has been certified to mee t the "low-risk" re
quirements for 3-and 6-year old children on
the passenger side and sma ll adults on the
drive r side. The low r is k dep loyment cr iteria
are intended to red uce the risk of in jury
through interact ion w it h the airbag that can
occur, for example, by being too close to the
steering wheel and instrument panel when
the a irbag inflates . In addition, the syst em
has been ce rtified to comply wit h the "sup
pression" re quirements o f th e Safety Sta nd
ard, to t urn off the fron t airbag for infan ts up
to 12 months who are res trained on the front
passenger seat in child restraints that a re list
ed in the Standard.
E ven though your veh icle is eq uipped wit h an
Advanced Airbag system , a ll children, espe
cia lly those 12 years and yo unger, should a l
ways ride in the back seat properly restrained
for their age and size. The airbag on the pas
senger side makes the front seat a potentially
dangerous place for a ch ild to ride . The front
seat is not the safest p lace for a ch ild in a for
ward-fac ing ch ild safety seat. It can be a ve ry
dange rous place fo r an infan t or a large r child
i n a rea rward-f acing se at.
Advanced Airbags and the weight
sensing mat in the front seat
The Advanced A irbag System in your vehicle
detects the presence of an infant or child in a
c h ild restra int on the front passenge r seat us
i ng the weig ht-sens ing mat in the seat cush
ion and the sensor be low th e safe ty belt latch
o n the front passenge r seat that measures t he
tens ion on the s afety be lt.
T he we ight -sensi ng mat measures total
we ight of t he chi ld and the ch ild safety seat
and a c hild b la nk et on the front passenger
seat. The we igh t on the fron t pa sse nger se at
is re late d t o the desig n of the ch ild res trai nt
and its "f ootprint", the s ize and shape o f the
bottom of the chi ld restraint as it sits on the .,..
seat. The weight of a child restraint and its
"footprint" vary for different kinds of child re
straints and for the different models of the
same kind of child restraint offered by child restra int manufacturers.
The weight ranges for the individual types, makes and mode ls of ch ild restra ints that the
NHTSA has specified in the Safety Standard
together with the we ight ranges of typical in
fants and typical 1 year -old child have been
stored in the control unit of the Advanced A ir
bag System . When a chi ld restraint is being
used on the front passenge r seat with a typi
cal 1 year -old ch ild, the Advanced Airbag Sys
tem compares the we ight measured by the
weight sensing mat with the information stor
ed in the electronic control unit.
The electron ic contro l unit al so registers the
tension on the front passenger safety be lt.
The tension on the safety be lt for the front
passenger seat will be different for an adult
who is properly using the safety belt as com
pared to the tension on the be lt when it is
used to attach a child restraint to the seat.
T he sensor below the latch for the safety belt
for the front seat passenger measures the
tension on the belt . T he input from this sen
sor is t hen used w ith the we ight to "decide",
whether there is a ch ild restraint with a typ ica l
1 year-o ld child on the front passenger seat
and whether or not the airbag must be turned
off .
Child restraints and Advanced Airbags
Regard less of the child restraint that you use,
make sure that it has been certified to meet
United States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standards and has been certified by its manu
facturer for use with an airbag . Always be sure
that the chi ld restraint is p roperly instal led at
one of the rear seat ing pos itions . If in excep
tional ci rcumstances you must use it on the
front passenger seat, carefu lly read all of the
information on child safety and Advanced Air
bags and heed a ll of the app licable WARN
INGS. Make certain that the child restraint is
correctly recognized by the weight-sensing
Child Sa fet y 207
mat inside the front passenger seat, that the
front passenger airbag is turned off and that
the a irbag status is always correct ly signaled
by the
PAS SENGE R AIR BAG OFF light.
Many types and models of child restraints
have been available over t he years, new mod
els are introduced regu larly incorporating new
and improved des igns and o lder models are
taken out of product ion. Ch ild restraints are
not standard ized . Child restraints of the same
type typ ically have d ifferent weights and sizes
and different 'footpr ints,' the size and shape
of the bottom of the ch ild restrai nt that sits
o n the seat, when they a re insta lled on a veh i
cle seat. These diffe rences make it v irtually
impossible to certify compliance with the re
quirements for advanced airbags with each
and every ch ild restraint that has ever been
sold in the past or will be sold over the course
of the useful life of your veh icle.
For this reason, the United States National
Highway Traffic Safety Adm inistrat ion has
published a list of spec ific type, makes and
models of child restraints that must be used
to certify comp liance of the Advanced Airbag
System in your veh icle with the suppression
requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standa rd 208. These chi ld restraints are :
Subpart A - Car bed child restraints
Model
Angel Guard Angel Ride AA 2403FOF
Manufactured on or
after
September 25, 2007
Subpart B - Rear-facing child restraints
Model Manufactured on or
after
Century SmartF it December 1, 1999
4543
Cosco Arriva September 25, 2007
22-013PAW and base
22-999WHO
Evenf lo Discovery Ad- December 1, 1999
just Right 212
I
j
•
•
....
208 Child Safety
-Model Manufactured on or
after
Evenflo First Choice December 1, 1999
204
Graco Infant 8457 December 1, 1999
Graco Snugride September 25, 2007
Peg Perego Primo Vi-September 25, 2007
aggio SIP IMUN00US
Subpart C -Forward-facing and
convertible child restraints
Model Manufactured on or
after
Britax Roundabout September 25, 2007
E9L02xx
Cosco Touriva 02519 December 1, 1999
Cosco Summit Deluxe September 25, 2007
High Back Booster
22-262
Cosco High Back September 25, 2007
l sooster 22-209
Evenflo Tribute V September 25, 2007
379xxxx
Evenflo Medallion December 1, 1999
1 254
Evenflo Generations September 25, 2007
352xxxx
Graco ComfortSport September 25, 2007
Graco Toddler Safety September 25, 2007
Seat Step 2
Graco Platinum Cargo
A WARNING
To reduce the risk of serious injury, make
sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on whenever a
child restraint is installed on the front pas
senger seat and the ignition is switched
on .
- Take the child restraint off the 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 authorized Audi dealer immed iate
ly .
@ Tips
The child seats listed in categories A to C
have been statically tested by Audi only for
the Advanced A irbag function.
Important safety instructions for using
child safety seats
Correct use of child safety seats substantially
reduces the risk of injury in an accident!
As the driver, you are responsib le for the safe
ty of everybody in the veh icle, especially chil
dren:
... Always use the right chi ld safety seat for
each child and always use it properly
c::;,page 211.
.,. Always carefully follow the child safety seat
manufacturer's instruct ions on how to route
the safety belt properly through the child
safety seat .
.,. When using the vehicle safety belt to install
a child safety seat, you must first activate
the convertible locking retractor on the
safety belt to prevent the child safety seat
from moving
¢ page 215 .
.,. Push the ch ild safety seat down with your
full weight to get the safety belt really tight
so that the seat cannot move forward or
sideways more than one inch (2 .5 cm) .
.,. If a strap or tether is be ing used to tie the
child safety seat to the front passenger
seat , make sure that it is not so tight that it
causes the weight-sensing mat to measure
more weight than is actually on the seat.
... Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
c::;, page 210.
Always remember: Even though your vehicle is
equipped with an Advanced Airbag system, all
children, especially those 12 years and young
er, shou ld always ride in the back seat proper-
ly restrained for their age and size . .,.