150 Airbag system
in the instrument cluster display. This is to in
form the driver of the current front passenger
airbag status.
Important safety instructions on
monitoring the Advanced Airbag System
A WARNING
An airbag system that is not functioning properly cannot provide supplemental pro
tection in a frontal crash.
- If the airbag indicator light¢
page 20
comes when the vehicle is being used,
have the system inspected immediately
by your authori zed Audi dealer. It is pos
sible that the airbag will inflate when it
is not supposed to, or will not inflate
when it should .
A WARNING
If the front airbag inflates, a child without
a child restraint, in a rearward-facing child
safety seat or in a forward-facing child re
straint that has not been properly installed
will be seriously injured and can be killed.
- Even though your vehicle is equipped
with an Advanced Airbag System, make certain that all children, especially 12
years and younger, always ride on the back seat properly restrained for their
age and size.
- Always install forward or rear-facing
child safety seats on the rear seat -even
with an Advanced Airbag System.
- If you must install a rearward-facing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat because of exceptional circumstan
ces and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not appear and stay on, imme
diately install the rear-facing child safety
seat in a rear seating position and have
the airbag system inspected by your au
thorized Audi dealer.
- A tight tether or other strap on a rear
ward-facing child restraint attached to
the front passenger seat can put too
much pressure 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 serious or
even fatal injury to the child.
- If, in exceptional circumstances, you
must install a forward-facing child re
straint on the front passenger seat, al
ways move the seat into its rearmost po
sition in the seat's fore and aft adjust
ment range, as far away from the airbag
as possible. The backrest must be adjust
ed to an upright position. Make sure that
the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
comes on and stays on all the time when
ever the ignition is switched on .
A WARNING
-
-
-If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not go out when an adult is sitting
on the front passenger seat after taking
the steps described above, make sure the
adult is properly seated and restrained at
one of the rear seating positions.
- Have the airbag system inspected by
your authorized Audi dealer before trans
porting anyone on the front passenger
seat.
(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
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
will stay on.
Repair , care and disposal of the airbags
Par ts of the airb ag system are ins talled 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 properly in a collision. .,..
is met c::> page 146, More important things to
know about front airbags .
In addition to their normal safety function,
safety belts help keep the driver or front pas
senger in position in a frontal collision so that
the airbags can provide supplemental protec
tion.
The airbag system is not a subst itute for your
safety belt. Rather, it is part of the overall oc
cupant restraint system in your vehicle. Al
ways remember that the airbag system can
only help to protect you if you are wearing
your safety belt and wearing it properly. This
is why you shou ld always wear your safety
belt, not just because the law requires you to
do soc::>
page 129, General notes .
The safety belt buckle for the driver and front
seat passenger have switches that tell the a ir
bag control module if the safety belt is being
used or not . If the safety belt is being used,
the knee airbag will deploy at a slightly higher
ra te of deceleration than if the belt is not be
ing used . Therefore, in a particu lar collision, it
is possible that an airbag will not deploy at a
seating position where the safety belt is being
used but will inflate at the position where 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 accidents in which airbags are
not supposed to deploy or when they have al
ready deployed, for example when your vehi
cle strikes or is struck by another after the
f ir st coll is ion.
This is just one of the reasons why an airbag is
not a substitute for the safety belt . The airbag
system works most effectively when used with
the safety belts. Therefore, always wear your
safety belts correctly .
It is important to remember that while the
supplemental knee air bag system is des igned
to reduce the like lihood of serious injuries,
other injuries, for example, swelling, bruising,
and minor abras ions and frict ion burns can al
so occur when an airbag inflates.
Airbag system 153
The knee airbag system basically consists
of:
-The electronic control module
- Two inflatable airbags (airbag and gas gen- erator), one for the driver and one for the
front passenger
- The airbag indicator light in the instrument
panel
The knee airbag system will not deploy:
-when the ignition is turned off
- in frontal collisions when the deceleration
measured by the control unit is too low
- in side collisions
- in rear-end collisions
- in rollovers
- in the event of a system malfunction (warn-
ing/indicator light is on) c::>
page 20.
A WARNING
-Safety belts and the airbag system can
only provide protection when occupants
are in the proper seating position
c::>
page 146.
-If the airbag indicator light c::> page 20
comes when the vehicle is being used,
have the system inspected immediately
by your authorized Audi dealer.
It is pos
sible that the airbag will inflate when it
is not supposed to, or will not inflate
when it should.
How knee airbags work
Appl ies to vehicles: wit h knee airbags
The risk of injury to the leg area can be re
duced by fully deployed knee airbags.
Fig. 157 Inflated air bags protecting in a frontal colli
s ion
-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 rearward-facing child safety
seat in a rear seating position and have
the airbag system inspected immediately by your authorized Audi dealer.
,& WARNING
If, in exceptional circumstances, you must
install a forward-facing child restraint on
the front passenger's seat:
- 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.
- Always follow the manufacturer's in
structions provided with the child safety
seat or carrier.
- 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 child restraint. The backrest must be adjusted to an upright 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.
@ Tips
Always replace child restraints that were
installed in a vehicle during a crash. Dam
age to a child restraint that is not visible
could cause it to fail in another collision
situation.
Advanced front airbag system and children
Your vehicle is equipped with a front "Ad
vanced Airbag System" in compliance with
United States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standard (FMVSS) 208 as applicable at the
time your vehicle was manufactured .
Child Safety 159
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 small adults on the driver side. The low risk deployment criteria
are intended to reduce the risk of injury
through interaction with the 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 "sup
pression" requirements of the Safety Stand
ard, to turn off the front airbag for infants up
to 12 months who are restrained on the front passenger seat in child restraints that are list
ed in the Standard.
Even though your vehicle is equipped with an
Advanced Airbag system, all children, espe
cially those 12 years and younger, should al
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 child to ride . The front
seat is not the safest place for a child in a for
ward-facing child safety seat. It can be a very
dangerous place for an infant or a larger child
in a rearward-facing seat.
Advanced Airbags and the weight
sensing mat in the front seat
The Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle
detects the presence of an infant or child in a
child restraint on the front passenger seat us
ing the weight-sensing mat in the seat cush
ion and the sensor below the safety belt latch
on the front passenger seat that measures the
tension on the safety belt.
The weight-sensing mat measures total
weight of the child and the child safety seat
and a child blanket on the front passenger
seat. The weight on the front passenger seat
is related to the design of the child restraint
and its "footprint", the size and shape of the
bottom of the child 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 ..,. •
•
-Model Manufactured on or
after
Graco Snugride September 25, 2007
Peg Perego Primo V i- September 25, 200 7
aggio SIP IMUN00US
Subpart C -Forward-facing and
con vertible child r estra ints
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
Booster 22-209
Evenflo Tribute V September 25, 2007
379xxxx
Evenflo Medallion December 1, 1999
254
Evenflo Generations September 25, 200 7
352xxxx
Graco ComfortSport September 25, 2007
Graco Toddler Safety September 25, 2007
Seat Step 2
Graco Platinum Cargo September 25, 2007
A WARNING
T o reduce the risk of serious injury, make
sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG O FF
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 fro nt pas
senger seat and install it properly at one of the rea r seat positions if the
PASSEN
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not stay on.
- Have the airbag system inspected by
your authorized Aud i dealer immediate
ly.
Child Sa fet y 161
'
(D Tips
The child seats listed in categories A to C
have been statically tested by A udi on ly 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 dr iver, you are responsib le for the safe
ty of everybody in the vehicle, especially ch il
dren:
... Always use the right ch ild safety seat for
each child and always use it properly
¢page 164 .
... 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 veh icle safe ty belt to install
a child safety se at, you m ust first activate
the convertib le locking retractor on the
safety belt to prevent the child safety seat
from moving
¢ page 168.
... Push the ch ild safety seat down with yo ur
full weight to get the safety be lt really tight
so that the seat cannot move forwa rd or
sideways mo re than one inch (2 .5 cm) .
... If a strap or tethe r is be ing used to tie the
child safety seat to the front passenger
s eat , make sure tha t it is not so tight that it
causes the weight-sensing mat to measure
more weight than is act ually on the seat.
... Sec ure unused safety be lts on the rear seat
¢ page 163.
Always remember : Even tho ugh yo ur vehicle is
equipped with an Advanced Airbag system, all c h il dren, especially those 12 years and young
er, shou ld always r ide in the back seat proper -
ly restra ined for the ir age and size. .,_ •
•
range, and as far away from the a irbag
as poss ible before instal ling the child
restraint.
- Always make sure that nothing pre
vents the front passenger's seat from
be ing moved to the rearmost position
i n its fore and aft adjustment range.
- Always make sure that the backrest is
in the upr ight position.
- Always buckle the child safety seat firmly
in place even i f a child is not sitting in it.
A loose ch ild safety seat can fly around
dur ing a sudden stop or in a coll is ion .
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child restrained in ave
hicle is being used
c:::;,page 129, Safety
belts,
c:::;, page 137, Airbag system and
¢ page 158, Child Safety.
.8, WARNING
To reduce the risk of serious injury, make
sure tha t t he
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on whenever a
child rest raint 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 proper ly 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 Aud i dealer immediate
ly.
Secure unused safety belts on the rear
seat
F ig. 160 Schematic overview: kee p un used safety be lts
away from chil dren in child safe ty seats. @-oute r rear
safety be lt
.
Child S afety 163
If a child safety seat is used on the rea r bench,
especially with LATCH universal lower ancho
rages, the unused safety belts
must be se
cured so that the child in the child restraint
cannot reach them
c:::;, &,.
-Guide the safety belt webbing @behind the
head restra int of the seat where the child re
straint is installed¢
fig. 160. When doing
so, do not engage the switchable locking re
tractor ! You should not hear a "clicking"
sound when wind ing up the safety belt.
- Let the belt retractor wind up the safety belt
webbing.
.8, WARNING
A child in a chi ld safety seat installed with
the LA TCH lower a nc ho rages or with the
stan dard safety be lt or a child in a boos ter
se at o n the rea r seat co uld play with un
used rea r seat safety belts and become en
tang led . This cou ld cause t he chi ld ser ious
personal injury and even death.
-A lways secure unused rear seat sa fe ty
be lts out of reach of children in child
seats such as by proper ly rout ing them
around the head restraint of the seat
where the ch ild restraint is installed.
- Never activate the switchable locking re
tracto r when routing the safety belts
around the head restraints.
166 Child Safety
belts, ¢page 137, Airbag system and
c:> page 158, Important things to know.
A WARNING
If exceptional circumstances require the
use of a forward-facing child restraint on
the front passenger's seat, the child's safe
ty and well-being require that the follow ing special precautions be taken :
- Make sure the forward -facing seat has
been designed and certified by its manu
facturer for use on a front seat with a
passenger front and side airbag.
-Always follow the manufacturer's in
structions provided with the child safety
seat or infant carrier.
- Always move the front passenger seat in
to the rearmost position of the passen
ger seat's fore and aft adjustment range,
and as far away from the airbag as possi
ble before installing the child restraint .
- Always make sure that nothing prevents
the front passenger's seat from being
moved to the rearmost position in its
fore and aft adjustment range.
- Always make sure the backrest is in 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 .
- If the light does not stay on, perform the
checks ¢
page 148, Monitoring the Ad ·
vanced 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 .
Booster seats and safety belts
Properly used booster seats can help protect
children weighing between about 40 lbs . and
80 lbs . (18 kg and 36 kg) who are
less than 4
ft. 9 in. (57 inches/1.45 meters) tall.
Fig. 164 Rea r seat : child p rop erly r estrained in a boo s
te r se at
The vehicle's safety belts alone will not fit
most children until they are at least 4
ft . 9 in .
(57 inches/1.45 meters) tall and weigh about
80 lbs.
(36 kg). Booster seats raise these chil
dren up so that the safety belt will pass prop
erly over the stronger parts of their bodies
and the safety belt can help protect them in a
crash.
.. Do not use the convertible locking retractor
when using the vehicle's safety belt to re strain a child on a booster seat.
.. The shoulder belt must lie as close to the
center of the child 's collar bone as possible
and mu st lie flat and snug on the upper
body.
It must never lie across the throat or
neck . The lap belt must lie across the pelvis
and never across the stomach or abdomen .
Make sure the belt lies flat and snug . Pull on
the belt to tighten if necessary .
.. Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
c::>page 163.
Children up to about 40 lbs. (18 kg) are best
protected in child safety seats designed for
their age and weight. Experts say that the
skeletal structure, particularly the pelvis, of
these children is not fully developed, and they must not use the vehicle safety belts without
a suitable child res traint.
...
It is usually best to put these children in ap
propriate booster seats. Be sure the booster
seat meets all applicable safety standards.
Booster seats raise the seating position of the
child and reposition both the lap and shoulder
parts of the safety belt so that they pass
across the child 's body in the right places. The
routing of the belt over the child's body is very
important for the child's protection, whether
or not a booster seat is used. Children age 12
and under must always ride in the rear seat.
Children who are at least 4
ft. 9 in. (57 in
ches/1.45 meters) tall can generally use the
vehicle's three point lap and shoulder belts.
Never use the lap belt portion of the vehicle's
safety belt alone to restrain any child, regard less of how big the child is. Always remember
that children do not have the pronounced pel
vic structure required for the proper function
of lap belt portion of the vehicle's three point
lap and shoulder belts. The child's safety ab
solutely req uires that a lap belt portion of the
safety belt be fastened snugly and as low as
possible around the pelvis. Never let the lap
belt portion of the safety belt pass over the
child's stomach or abdomen.
In a crash, airbags must inflate within a blink
of an eye and with considerable force. In order
to do its job, the airbag needs room to inflate
so that it will be there to protect the occupant
as the occupant moves forward into the air bag.
A vehicle occupant who is out of position and
too close to the airbag gets in the way of an
inflating airbag. When an occupant is too
close, he or she will be struck violently and
will receive serious or possibly even fatal in
jury.
In order for the airbag to offer protection, it is
important that all vehicle occupants, especial
ly any children, who must be in the front seat
because of exceptional circumstances, be
properly restrained and as far away from the
airbag as possible. By keeping room between
the child's body and the front of the passen
ger compartment, the airbag can infla te com-
Child Safety 167
pletely and provide supplemental protection
in certain frontal collisions.
A WARNING
Not using a booster seat, using the boos
ter seat improperly, incorrectly installing a
booster seat or using the vehicle safety
belt improperly increases the risk of seri
ous personal injury and death in a collision
or other emergency situation. To help re
duce the risk of serious personal injury
and/or death:
- The shoulder belt must lie as close to the
center of the child's collar bone as possi ble and must lie flat and snug on the up
per body. It must never lie across the
throat or neck. The lap belt must lie
across the pelvis and never across the
stomach or abdomen. Make sure the belt
lies flat and snug. Pull on the belt to
tighten if necessary .
- Failure to properly route safety belts
over a child's body will cause severe inju
ries in an accident or other emergency
situation
~page 129.
- The rear side of the child safety seat
should be positioned as close as possible
to the backrest on the vehicle seat .
- 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 .
- Never let a child stand or kneel on any
seat .
- Never let a child ride in the cargo area of
your vehicle.
- Always remember that a child leaning
forward, sitting sideways or out of posi
tion in any way during an accident can be
struck by a deploying airbag. This will re
sult in serious personal injury or death .
- If you must install a booster seat on the
front passenger seat because of excep
tional circumstances the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light must come on and
stay on, whenever the ignition is switch
ed on. •
•
-
168 Child Saf ety
- If the PASS ENGER AIR BAG O FF li ght
does not come on and stay on, perform
the checks described
c:> page 148, 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.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS whenever using a child rest rained in ave
hicle is being used
c:> page 129, Safety
belts, c:>page
137, Airbag sy st em and
<:?v page 158, Important things to know.
Installing a child safety
seat
Securing a child safety seat using a
safety belt
Safety belts for the rear seats and the front
pas senger 's seat can be locked with the con
vertible locking retractor to properly secure
child safety seats.
The safe ty belts eme rgency lock ing re tractors
fo r the re ar seats safe ty belts and for the
fro nt passenger's seat safety belt have a con
vertible locking retracto r fo r child restraints.
The safety belt must be locked so that belt
webbing cannot unree l. The retractor can be
activated to lock the safety be lt and prevent
the safety belt webbing from loosening up
during normal driving . A child safety seat can
only be properly installed when the safety belt
i s locked so that the child and child safety
seat will stay in place.
A lways remember: Even thoug h your veh icle is
eq uipped w it h an Advanced A irbag system, all
ch ildren , espec ia lly those 12 yea rs and yo ung
e r, should always ride in the ba ck seat proper
l y res traine d for thei r age and weig ht.
_& WARNING
Imprope rly insta lled child sa fe ty seats in
crease the risk of ser ious personal inju ry
and death in a collision. -
Always make sure that the safety belt re
tractor is locked when insta lling a child
safety seat. An unlocked safety belt re
tractor cannot hold the child safety seat in place dur ing no rma l dr iving o r in a
crash .
- Always buckle the child safety seat firmly in place even if a ch ild is not sitt ing in it .
A loose child safety seat can fly aroun d
du ring a s udden st op or in a colli sion.
- I f the backrest is not securely la tched,
the child and the child restraint will be
throw n forward toge ther with t he ba ck
rest and will strike par ts of the vehicle
interior. The child can be se riously in
jured or killed.
- Never inst all rearward-facing child safety
seats or infant ca rr iers on the front pas
senger seat . A child will be serious ly in
jured and can be killed when the passen
ger airbag i nflates.
- The inflating airbag will h it the ch ild
safety seat or infant carrier with great
force and will smash the child safety seat
and child aga inst the back rest , center
armrest, doo r or roof.
- Always install rearward-facing ch ild safe
ty seats or infa nt carriers on the rea r
seat .
- Forwa rd-facing child safety seats or in
fant car riers installed on the front pas
senger's seat may interfere with t he de
p loyment of t he a irbag and cause serious
i njur y to the child .
-It is safer to ins tall a forward-facing
child safety seat on the rear seat.
- Always read and heed all WAR NIN GS
whe neve r using a child restrai ned in ave
h icle i s being u sed
c:> page 158. Special
p reca utions apply when ins tal ling a child
safety seat on the fron t passenger seat
c:> page 138, Child restraints on the front
seat -some important things to know.
_& WARNING
--
Always take specia l precautions if you
must install a forwa rd or rearward-facing