2013 AUDI S4 SEDAN warning

Monitoring the
Advanced Airbag
System
Airbag monitoring indicator light
Two separate indicators monitor the function
of the Advanced Airbag System: the airbag
monitoring indicator light and the
PAS SEN ­
G ER AIR B AG
OFF light.
The Advanced Airbag System (including the
e lectronic control unit, sensor circuits and sys­
tem wiring) is monitored continuously to
make sure that it is functioning properly
whenever the ignit ion is on . Each t ime you
turn on the ignition, the
I airbag monitoring
i ndicator light w ill come on for a few seconds
(self diagnostics) .
The system mu st be in spected when the
I indicator l ight:
- does not come on when the ignit ion is
switched on,
- does not go out a few seconds after yo u
have switched on the ignition, o r
- comes on while driving .
If an airbag system malfunction 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 li ght will come on and stay
on whenever the ignition is on.
_& WARNING
An airbag system that is not funct ioning
properly cannot provide supp lemen tal p ro­
tection in a frontal crash.
- If the airbag indicator l ight c::> page 20
comes when the vehicle is be ing used,
have the system inspected immediately
by your authorized Audi dea ler .
It is pos­
sible that the airbag will inflate when it is not supposed to, or w ill not inflate
when it should.
-
A irba g sy stem 155
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
Fig. 143 Sect io n fro m the instrument panel: PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG OFF light
The PAS SENG ER AIR BAG OFF light is located
in the center of the instrument pa ne l
¢ fig. 143 .
The PAS SENG ER AIR BA G OFF light will come
on and stay on to tell you when the front Ad­
vanced Airbag on the passenger s ide has been
tu rned off by the electronic cont rol unit. Each
time you turn on the ignition, the
PASSEN­
GE R AIR BA G OFF
light will flash for a few
seconds and:
- wi ll stay on if the front passenger seat is not
occupied,
-w il l 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
PAS SEN GER AIR BAG OFF li ght mu st
co m e on and st ay o n 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 o n the front passenger seat, or
- a forward-fac ing child restraint has been in­
stalled on the front passenger seat , or
- the weight registered on the front passen­
ger seat is equal to or less than the com­
bined weight of a typical 1 year-old restra in­
ed in one of the rear-facing or forward-fac­
ing infan t restra ints listed in Federal Motor
Veh icle Safety Standard 208 wi th which the
Advanced A irbag System in your vehicle was
certified.
111-

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 t a=
An airbag system that is not functioning
properly cannot provide supplemental p ro­
tection in a frontal crash .
- If the airbag indicator light¢
page 20
comes when the vehicle is be ing used,
have the system inspected immediately
by your authorized Aud i dea ler. It is pos­
sible that the a irbag will inflate when it
is not supposed to, or w ill not inflate
when it sho uld.
A WARNING
If the front airbag inflates, a ch ild without
a child restra int, in a rearwa rd-facing child
safety seat or in a forward-facing chi ld re­
st raint th at has not been properly insta lled
w ill be seriously injured and can be k illed .
- Even though your veh icle is equipped
with an Advanced Airbag System, make certain that a ll children, especially 12
years and younger, a lways ride on the
back seat properly restrained for their
age and size.
- Always install forward or rea r-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 circ umstan­
ces and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not appear and s tay on , imme­
diately install the rear-fac ing ch ild safety
seat i n a rear seating position and have
the a irbag system inspected by yo ur au­
thori ze d Au di dea ler.
- A tig ht tether or other st rap on a rear­
wa rd-fa cing child res trai nt at ta che d to
the front passenger sea t can put too
much pressure on the weight -sens ing
-
A irbag system 157
mat in the seat and reg ister 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
must install a forward-fac ing ch ild re­
s traint o n the front pas senger seat, al­
ways move the sea t into its re armos 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 a dult is sitting
on t he front passe nger sea t after taking
the steps described above, make su re the
ad ult is prope rly seated and restr ained at
one o f the rea r seat ing pos itions.
- Have the airbag system inspe cted by
your author ized Audi dealer befo re trans­
port ing anyone on the front passenger
seat.
(D Tips
If t h e weight-sensing mat in the front p as­
senger seat detects an empty sea t, the
front airbag on the passenger side wi ll be
turned off, and
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
will stay on.
Repair , care and disposal of the airbags
Parts of the airbag system are installed at
many different places o n your Aud i. Insta lling,
removi ng, servicing or repa iring a par t in an
ar ea of the veh icle can damage a part of an
a irbag system and p reven t that system from
wor kin g p ro perly in a coll is io n. .,,.
•
•

158 Airb ag sys te m
There are some impor tant things you have to
know to make sure that the effectiveness of
the system will not be impa ired and t hat dis­
carded components do not cause injury or pol ­
l ute t he e nvironm ent.
A WARNING
Improp er care, s ervicing a nd r epair proce­
dures can increase t he risk of personal in­
jury and death by preventing an airbag
from deploy ing when needed o r deploying
an airbag unexpectedly:
- Never cover, obstruct, or change the
steering wheel ho rn pad or airbag cover
or the instrument pane l or modify them
in any way.
- Never attach any objects such as cu­
pholders or telephone mountings to the
surfaces covering the airbag units .
- F or cleaning the horn pad or instrumen t
pane l, use only a soft, dry cloth or one
moistened with plain water. Solvents or
cleaners co uld damage the airbag cover
or change the stiffness or strength of the
material so that the airbag cannot de­
ploy and protect proper ly.
- Never repa ir, adjust, or change any parts
of the airbag system .
- All work on the steering wheel, instru­
ment pane l, front seats or electrical sys­
tem (including the installation of audio
equipment, cellular telephones and CB
radios, etc .) must be performed by a
qualified tech nician who has the t raining
and special equipment necessary.
- For any wor k on the ai rbag system, we
st rongly recommend that you see you r
au thori zed Audi dealer or qualified wo rk­
shop .
- Never mod ify the front bumper or parts
of the veh icle body.
- Always make su re that the side airbag
can infla te wi tho ut interferen ce:
- Never insta ll seat covers or replace­
ment upho lstery over the front seat­
backs that have not been spec ifically
approved by Audi . -
Never use additional seat c ushions that
cover the areas where the side a irbags
inflate.
- Damage to the orig inal seat covers or
to the seam in the area of the side a ir­
bag module must a lways be repaired
immediately by an author ized Audi
dealer .
- The airbag system can be activated only
once. After an airbag has inflated, it
m ust be replaced by an autho rized Aud i
dea le r o r qualified technician who has
the techni cal info rmation, training and
specia l equipment necessary.
- T he airbag system can be deployed only
once . After an airbag has been deployed,
it mus t be replaced with new replace­
ment parts designed an d approved espe­
cially fo r your A udi model version. Re­
p lacement of complete airbag systems
or airbag components must be per­
formed by qualified workshops on ly.
Make sure that any airbag serv ice action
is entered in your Audi Warranty
& Main­
tenance booklet unde r
AIRBAG REPLAC E­
M ENT RECORD .
-In accidents when an airbag is dep loyed,
the vehicle batte ry separates the alterna­
tor and the star ter from the vehicle elec­
tr ica l system fo r safe ty reasons w ith a
py rotechn ic circuit inte rrupter.
- Work on the pyrotechnic c ircuit inter­
rupter must only be performed by a
qualified dea le r - risk of an accident!
- If the vehicle or the circuit interr upter
is scrapped, all applicable safety pre ­
cautions must be fo llowed.
@ For the sake of the environment
Undeployed airbag modules and preten­
s ione rs might be classif ied as Perchlorate
Ma teria l -special handling may app ly, see
www.dtsc.ca .gov/hazardouswaste/per­
ch lorate. W hen the veh icle or parts o f th e
r est rain t sys tem including airb ag modu les
s a fety be lts wi th pre tensioners are scrap­
ped, all applicab le laws and regulations
must be observed. Your authorized Audi
1J1-

dealer is familiar with these requi rements
and we recommend that you have your
dea ler perform this serv ice for you.
Other things that can affect Advanced
Airbag performance
Changing the vehicle's suspension system can
change the way that the Advanced A irbag Sys­
tem performs in a crash. For example, us ing
tire-r im combinations not app roved by Aud i,
l owering the vehicle, changing the stiffness o f
the suspension, incl uding the sp rings, s uspen­
sion struts, shock absorbers etc. can change
the forces that are measured by the airbag sensors and sent to the electronic control
un it. Some suspension changes can, for exam­
ple, increase the force levels measured by the
sensors and make the airbag system deploy in
crashes in wh ic h it would not dep loy if the
changes had not been made. Other k inds of
changes may reduce the force levels meas ­
u red by the sensors and prevent the a irbag
from deploying when it shou ld .
The senso rs in the safety belt buckle fo r the
d river and front passenger sea t tell the elec ­
tronic control module if the safety belt is
l atched or not . If the safety belt is being used,
the front airbag will dep loy at a slightly high­
er rate of vehicle deceleration than if the safe­
ty belt is not being used. Therefore, in a par­
ticular co llision, it is poss ible that an airbag
will not deploy at a seating position where the
safety belt is being use d but will inflate at the
position whe re the safety belt is not being
used. It is important tha t nothing i nterfe re
w it h the safety belt buckles so t hat the sen ­
sors can send t he correct information abo ut
safety belt use to the electronic contro l unit.
.&_ WARNING
Changing the vehicle 's s uspension includ­
ing use of unapproved tire-rim c ombina­
tions can change Advanced Airbag pe r­
formance and increase the risk of ser ious
personal i njury in a crash.
- Never install suspens ion components
that do not have the same performance
A irba g sy stem 159
characteristics as the components o rigi­
na lly installed on your vehicle.
- Never use tire-rim com binations that
have not been approved by Audi.
.&_ WARNING
= -
Items stored between the safety be lt
b uckle and the center console can cause
the sens ors in t he buckle to send the
wrong information to the e lectronic con­
trol module and prevent the Advanced Air­ bag Syst em from wo rking properly.
- Always make s ure that nothing can in ter-
fe re with the safety b elt buckles and that
they are no t obstructed.
Side airbags
Description of side airbags
The airbag system can provide supplemental
protection to properly restrained occupants.
Fi g. 144 Side airbag location in t he drive r's seat
The side airbags are located in the sides of the
front seat backrests¢
fig. 144 and the rea r
backrest faci ng the doors. They are ident ified
by the word "AIRBAG".
The side airbag system basically consists of :
-the electronic control modu le and external
side impact sensors
- the two a irbags located in the sides of the
front backrests and the two a irbags* located
in the rear backrest
- the airbag warn ing light in the instrument
cl uster .
T he airbag system is mo nitored e lec tronically
t o make ce rtain tha t it is f unction ing p ro perly
Ill-

160 Airbag sys te m
at all times . Each time you turn on the igni­
tion, the airbag system indicato r light will
c o me on for a few seconds (self diagnostics).
T he s ide airbag sys tem supp lemen ts the safe­
ty belts and can help to reduce the risk of in ­
jury to the driver's and front passenger's up­ per torso on the side of the vehicle that is
struck in a side col lision. The airbag deploys
only in s ide impacts and only when the veh icle
acceleration registered by the control un it is
h igh enough .
If this rate is below the refer­
ence va lue programmed i nto the control u nit,
the side airbags will not be t riggered, even
though the car may be badly damaged as a re ­
sult of the collision . It is not possible to de­
fine an a irbag tr iggering range that will cover
every possible angle of impact, since the cir­
cumstances wi ll vary considerably between
one co llision and another. Important factors
include, for examp le, the nature (hard or soft)
of the impacting object, the ang le of impact,
ve hicle speed, etc. ¢
page 161, Important
safety instructions on the side airbag system.
Aside from the ir normal safety function, safe­
ty belts work to he lp keep the driver or front
passenger in posit ion in the event of a side
coll is io n so that the side a irbags can provide
p rotection.
The airbag system is
not a substitute for your
safety bel t. Rathe r, it is pa rt of the overall oc­
cupa nt restraint system in your ve hicle. Al­
ways remember tha t the side airbag system
can only help to protect yo u if you are wear ing
your safety be lt and wear ing it prope rly. This
is another reason w hy you sho uld always wear
your safety be lts, not just beca use the law re­
q ui res you to do so¢
page 136, General
notes.
It is important to remember that whi le the
supp lemental side airbag system is designed
to reduce the like lihood of serious injur ies,
other inj uries, for example, swell ing, bruising,
and minor abras ions can also be associated
with deployed s ide a irbags . Remember too,
side a irbags w ill deploy on ly once and on ly in
certain kinds of accidents -your safety belts
a re a lways there to offer pro tec tion. Vehicle damage,
repair costs o r even the lack
of ve hicle damage are not necessarily a n in di­
cation o f ove r-sensitive or failed airbag act iva ­
t ion. In some coll is ions, both front and side
airbags may inflate. Remember too, that air­
bags will deploy only once a nd only in ce rtain
k inds of col lisions -you r sa fety belts are al­
ways there to offe r protection in those acc i­
den ts in which a irbags a re not supposed to
deploy or when they have a lready deployed .
The side airbag system will not deploy:
- when the ignit io n is t urned off
- in side co llisions when the acceleration
measured by the sensor is too low
- in front-end collisions
- in rear-end co llisions
- in rollove rs .
In some types of accidents t he fro nt airbags,
s ide cu rtain air bags and s ide a irb ags may be
t rigge red togethe r.
A WARNING ~
- Safety belts an d the air bag system will
only provide protection when occupants
are in the proper seating position
¢page 161.
-If the ai rbag ind icator light ¢ page 20
comes when the veh icle is being used,
have the system inspected immediately
by your authorized A udi dealer. It is pos­
sible that the airbag will inflate when it
is not suppos ed to, or will not infla te
when it should.

How supplemental side airbags work
Side airbags deploy instantly and can help re­duce the risk of upper torso injuries for occu­
pants who are properly restrained.
Fig. 145 Inflated s ide airbags on left side of veh icle
When the system is triggered, the airbag is
filled with propellant gas and breaks through
a seam in the seat surface area marked "AIR­
BAG". It expands between the side trim panel
and the passenger . In order to help provide
this additional protection, the side airbag
must inflate within a fraction of a second at
very high speed and with great force. The sup­ plemental side airbag could injure you if your
seating position is not proper or upright or if
items are located in the area where the sup­
plemental side airbag expands. This applies
espec ially to children
c::> page 165, Child Safe­
ty.
Supplemental side airbags inflate between
the occupant and the door panel on the side
of the vehicle that is struck in certain side col­
lision
c> fig . 145.
Although they are not a soft pillow, they can
"cushion" the impact and in this way they can
help to reduce the risk of injury to the upper
part of the body .
A fine dust may develop when the airbag de­
ploys. This is normal and does not mean there
is a fire in the ve hicle.
Airbag system 161
Important safety instructions on the
side airbag system
Airbags are only supplemental restraints. Al­
ways properly wear safety belts and ride in a
proper seating position.
There is a lot that you and your passengers
must know and act accordingly to help the
safety belts and airbags do their job to pro­
vide supplemental protection.
A WARNING
An inflating side airbag can cause serious
or fatal injury. Improperly wearing safety
belts and improper seating positions in­
crease the risk of serious personal injury
and death whenever a vehicle is being
used.
- In order to reduce the risk of injury when
the supplemental side airbag inflates:
- Always sit in an upright position and
never lean against the area where the
supplemental side airbag is located.
- Never let a child or anyone else rest
their head against the side trim panel
in the area where the supplemental
side airbag inflates.
- Always make sure that safety belts are
worn correctly,
- Do not let anyone sitting in the front
seat put their hand or any other parts
of their body out of the window.
-Always make sure that the side airbag can inflate without interference.
- Never install seat covers or replace­
ment upholstery over the front seat­
backs that have not been specifically
approved by Audi.
- Never use additional seat cushions that
cover the areas where the side airbags deploy.
- Damage to the original seat covers or
to the seam in the area of the side air­
bag module must always be repaired
immediately by an authorized Audi
dealer.

in a side collision. The side curtain a irbag in ­
f lates in side impacts and on ly when the vehi­
cle acce lerat ion reg istered by the contro l unit
is high enough. If this rate is be low the refer­
ence value programmed into the control un it,
the side airbags will not be triggered, even
though the car may be badly damaged as a re­ sult of the collision . It is not possible to de­
f ine an a irbag tr igger ing range that will cover
every possible angle of impac t, since the ci r­
cumstances wi ll vary conside rably between
one co llision and another . Important factors
include, for examp le, the nat ure ( hard o r soft)
of the impacting object, the ang le of impact,
veh icle speed, etc.
c:> page 163, How side cur­
tain airbags work.
Aside from thei r normal safety function, safe­
ty belts work to he lp keep the driver or front
passenger in position in the event of a co lli­
sion so that the side curtain airbags can pro­
vide protection.
The airbag system is not a s ubst itute for your
safety belt. Rather, it is part of the overall oc­
cupant restraint system in your veh icle. Al­
ways remember that the airbag system can
only help to protect yo u if you are wea ring
your safety belt and wear ing it prope rly. This
i s ano ther reason w hy you sho uld a lways wear
your safety bel ts, not jus t be ca u se the law re­
qu ires you to do soc:>
page 136, General
notes.
It
is impor tant to remember tha t while the
side curt ain airbag sys tem is designed to he lp
red uce the likelihood o f serious injuries, othe r
i nj uries, for example, swell ing, bruising, and
minor abrasions can a lso be associated wit h
these airbags. Remember too, these a irbags
will deploy only once and only in certain kinds
of accidents - your safety belts are always
there to offer protection .
The side curtain airbag system basically
consists of:
- The electronic control modu le and externa l
s ide impact sensors
- The side curtai n airbags above the front and
rear side w indows
A irba g system 163
- The a irbag indicator light in the instrument
panel
T he airbag syste m is mon itored e lec troni cally
to make ce rtain i t is func tioning prope rly at all
times . Each time you turn on the ignit ion, the
airbag system indicator light will come on for
a few seconds (sel f diagnostics).
The side curtain airbag is not activated :
-if the ignition is tur ned off,
- in side co llisions whe n the accele ration
meas ured by the sensor is too low,
- in rea r-end collisions,
- in rollovers.
A WARNING
- Safety belts and the airbag system will
only provide protection w hen occupants
a re in the proper seating position
c:> page 54, Seats and s torage.
- I f the air bag ind icator lig ht c:> page 20
comes w hen the veh icle is being used,
have the system ins pect ed imme diately
by your authorized A udi dealer.
It is pos ­
sible that the air bag will inflate when it
is not supposed to, or will not inflate
when it should .
How side curtain airbags work
Side curtain airbags c an work together with
side airbags to help reduce the risk of head
and upper torso injuries for occupants who
are properly restrained.
Fi g. 147 Illustrat io n o f pri nc iple: I nflated s ide curtai n
a irbags on the left sid e
The side c urtai n airbags inflate betwee n the
occupant and the windows on the s ide of the ..,.

164 Airbag system
vehicle that is struck in a side collision
~fig. 147.
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 165.
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
a irbag s do their job to provide suppl ementa l
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.
-A lways make sure that the side curtain
airbags can inflate without interference .
Unsuitable accessories fitted inside the expansion range of a head airbag can
dangerously interfere with its function. A
deploying head
airbag develops enough
force to catapult any piece of add-on
component out of its path of inflation
and into the passenger compartment. An
occupant hit by such a projectile can suf­
fer serious injury or death~
page 275,
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 2 74,
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 .