-Never put the forward-facing child re
straint up against or very near the instru
ment panel.
- Always move the passenger seat into its
rearmost position in the seat's fore and
aft adjustment range, as 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.
Advanced Airbag System components
The front passenger seat in your vehicle has a
lo t of very important parts of the Advanced
Airbag System in it. These parts include the
weight-sens ing mat, sensors, wiring, brack
ets, and more. The function of the system in
the front passenger seat is checked by the
electronic control unit when the ignition is on.
The control unit monitors the Advanced Air
bag System and turns the airbag indicator
light on when a malfunction in the system
components is detected. The function of the
airbag indicator light is described in greater
detail below. Because the front passenger
seat contains important parts of the Ad
vanced Airbag System, you must take care to
prevent it from being damaged. Damage to
the seat may prevent the Advanced Airbag for
the front passenger seat from doing its job in
a crash .
The front Advanced Airbag System
consists of the following:
- Crash sensors in the front of the vehicle that
measure vehicle acceleration/deceleration
to provide information to the Advanced Air
bag System about the severity of the crash.
-An electronic control unit, with integrated
crash sensors for front and side impacts .
The control unit "decides" whether to fire
the front airbags based on the information
r eceived from the crash sensors. The control
Airbag system 115
unit also "decides" whether the safety belt
pretensioners should be activated.
- An Advanced Airbag with gas generator for
the driver inside the steering wheel hub.
- An Advanced Airbag with gas generator in
side the instrument panel for the front pas
senger.
- A weight-sensing mat under the upholstery
padding of the front passenger seat cushion
that measures the total weight on the seat.
The inform ation registered is sent continu
ously to the electronic control unit to regu
late deployment of the front Advanced Air
bag on the passenger side.
- An airbag monitoring system and indicator
light in the instrument cluster
c:;. page 119.
-The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes
on and stays on in the center of the instru
ment panel
c:;. page 119, fig. 107 and tells
you when the front Advanced Airbag on the
passenger side has been turned off.
- A sensor below the safety belt latch for the
front seat passenger to measure the tension
on the safety belt. The tension on the safety
belt and the weight registered by the
weight-sensing mat help the control unit
"decide" whether the front airbag for the
front passenger seat should be turned off or
not
c:;. page 110, Child restraints on the
front seat -some important things to
know.
- A sensor in the safety belt latch for the driv
er and for the front seat passenger that
senses whether that safety belt is latched or
not and transmits this information to the
electronic control unit .
.&_ WARNING
Damage to the front passenger seat can
prevent the front airbag from working
properly.
- Improper repair or disassembly of the
front passenger and driver seat will pre
vent the Advanced Airbag System from
functioning properly.
- Repairs to the front passenger seat must
be performed by qualified and properly
-
trained workshop personnel. 111>
•
•
116 Airbag system
-Never remove the front passenger or
driver seat from the vehicle.
- Never remove the upholstery from the
front passenger seat.
- Never disassemble or remove parts from
the seat or disconnect wires from it.
- Never carry sharp objects in your pockets
or place them on the seat. If the weight
sensing mat in the passenger seat is
punctured it cannot work properly.
- Never carry things on your lap or carry
objects on the passenger seat. Such
items can increase the weight registered
by the weight-sensing mat and send the
wrong information to the airbag control unit.
- Never store items under the front pas
senger seat. Parts of the Advanced Air bag System under the passenger seat
could be damaged, preventing them and
the airbag system from working proper
ly.
- Never place seat covers or replacement
upholstery that have not been specifical
ly approved by Audi on the front seats.
- Seat covers can prevent the Advanced
Airbag System from recognizing child re
straints or occupants on the front pas
senger seat and prevent the side airbag
in the seat backrest from deploying prop
erly.
- Never use cushions, pillows, blankets or
similar items on the front passenger
seat. The additional padding will prevent
the weight-sensing mat in the seat from
accurately registering the child restraint
or person on the seat and prevent the
Advanced Airbag System from function
ing properly.
- If you must use a child restraint on the
front passenger seat and the child re
straint manufacturer's instructions re
quire the use of a towel, foam cushion or
something else to properly position the
child restraint, make certain that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes
on and stays on whenever the child re- straint is installed on the front passen
ger seat.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, immedi
ately install child restraint in a rear seat
ing position and have the airbag system
inspected by your Audi dealer.
How the Advanced Airbag System
components work together
The front Advanced Airbag System and the
side airbags supplement the protection of
fer ed by the front three-point safety belts
with pretensioners and load limiters and the
adjustable head restraints to help reduce the
risk of injury in a wide range of accident and
crash situations. Be sure to read the impor
tant information about safety and heed the
WARNINGS in this chapter.
Deployment of the Adv a need Airbag System
and the activation of the safety belt preten
s ioners depend on the deceleration measured
by the crash sensors and registered by the
electronic control unit. Crash severity depends
on speed and deceleration as well as the mass
and stiffness of the vehicle or object involved
in the crash.
When the electronic control unit registers a low severity crash and the safety belt is being
used , the airbag will not deploy.
If the safety
belt is not being used, the first stage deploys,
follow ed by the second stage after a much lat
er time in t he crash sequence.
If the electronic control unit registers a crash
of medium severity, the first stage of the air
bag deploys followed by the second stage at a
much later time in the crash sequence -re
gardless of whether the safety belt is being
u sed or not . In higher severity crashes as reg
istered by the electronic control unit, both the
first and second stages deploy almost at the
same time.
On the passenger side, regardless of safety
belt use, the airbag will be turned off if the
weight on the passenger seat is less than the
amount programmed in the electronic control
Ill-
unit. The front airbag on the passenger side
will also be turned off if one of the child safe
ty seats that has been certified under Federal
Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 has been
recogn ized on the seat. The
P A SSEN GER AIR
BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on to tell
you when the front Advanced Airbag on the passenger side has been turned off
~ page 110, Child restraints on the front seat
- some important things to know.
A WARNING
To reduce the risk of injury when an airbag
inflates, a lways wear safety belts properly.
- If you are unrestrained, lean ing forward,
sitting sideways or out of position in any
way, yo ur risk of in jury is much highe r.
- You w il l also rece ive serio us in ju ries and
cou ld even be killed if you are up against
the airbag or too close to it when it in
flates -even with an Advanced Airbag
~ page 108.
More important things to know about
front airbags
F ig . 10 6 Inflated fron t airbags
Safety belts are important to help keep front
seat occupants in the proper seated position
so that airbags can unfo ld properly and pro
vide supp lemental protection in a frontal col
lision.
The front a irbags are designed to provide ad
d itional protection for the chest and face of
the dr iver and the front seat passenger when:
- safety belts are worn properly,
A irba g sy stem 11 7
- the seats have been positioned so that the
occupant is properly seated as far as possi
ble from the airbag,
- and the head restraints have been properly
adjusted .
Because ai rb ags inflate in the bli nk of an eye
wi th great force, th ings you have on your lap
or have p laced on the seat co uld become dan
gerous projectiles, and be pushed into you if
the a irbag inflates.
When an airbag deploys, fine dust is re leased .
T his is norma l and is not ca used by a fi re in
the ve hicle . This dust is made up mostly of a
powder used to lubricate the airbags as they
deploy. It could irr itate skin.
It is important to remember that while the
supplementa l airbag system is designed to re
duce the like lihood of serious injuries , other
injuries, for example swelling, bru is ing and
minor abrasions, can also happen when air
bags i nflate . A irbags do not protect the arms
or the lower parts of the body . Front a irbags
o nl y supp lement the three point safety be lts
i n some fronta l co llisions in which the vehicle
deceleration is high e nough to deploy the air
bags .
Front airbags will not deploy :
-if the ignition is sw itched off when a crash
o ccur s,
- in side co llisions,
- in rear-end coll isions,
- in rollovers,
- when the crash deceleration measu red by
the airbag system is less than the minimum
threshold needed for a irbag deployment as
reg istered by the electro nic contro l unit .
The front pass enger airbag will also not
deploy:
- when the front passenger seat is not occu
pied,
- when the weight on the front passenger seat as sensed by the Advanced Airbag Sys
tem ind icates that the front a irbag on the
passenger side has to be turned
off by the II>
-If the residue should get into your eyes,
flush them with water.
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
P ASS EN
GER AIR BA G OFF
light .
The Advanced Airbag System (including the
electronic control un it, sensor circuits and sys
tem wiring) is monitored continuously to make sure that it is functioni ng properly
whenever the ignit ion is on . Each time you
turn on the ignition , the airbag monitoring in
d icator light
I will come on fo r a few seconds
(self diagnos tics) .
The system mu st be inspect ed when the
indicator light
I :
- does not come on when the ignit ion is
switched on,
- does not go out a few seconds after you
have switched on the ignition, o r
- comes on wh ile 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 tur ns the front
a irbag on the passenger side off, the
P A SSEN
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 lemental pro
tection in a frontal crash .
- If the airbag indica tor light comes on, it
means that there may be someth ing
wrong wit h the Advanced Ai rbag System.
-
A irba g sy stem 119
It is possible that the airbag wi ll inflate
when it is not supposed to, or will not in
flate when it should.
- Have the airbag system inspected imme
diate ly by your Audi dealer.
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
F ig . 107 Sect io n fro m t he in str ument pa nel: PASSEN
GER AIR BAG O FF lig ht
The PAS SENGER AIR BAG OFF light is located
in the center of the instrument panel
~ fig . 107 .
The PASS ENGER AIR BAG OFF light will come
on and stay on to tell you when the front Ad
vanced Airbag on the passenger s ide has been
turned off by the electron ic control unit . Each
t ime you turn on the ignit ion , the
PA SS EN
GER A IR BAG OFF
light will f lash for a few
seco nds and:
- will stay on if the front passenger seat is not
occup ied,
- w ill stay on if the re is a small ch ild or child
restrai nt on the front passenger seat,
- will go out if the front passenger seat is oc
cupied by an adult as registered by the
we ight-sensing mat .
The
PAS SENGER AIR BAG OFF l ight must
come on and sta y on
if the ignition is on and
- a car bed has been installed on the front
seat, or
- a rearward-facing child restraint has been
installed on the front passenger seat, or
- a forward-facing chi ld restraint has been in-
stalled on the front passenger seat, or ..,.
120 Airbag system
- 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
light will stay on. Nev
er insta ll a rearward-facing child restra int on
the front passenger seat, the safest place for
a child in any kind of child restraint is at one
of the seat ing positions on the rear seat
¢ page 110, Child restraints on the front seat
- some important things to know
and
¢ page 130, Child Safety .
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes
on
when one of the conditions listed above is
met, be sure to check the light regularly to
make certa in that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light stays on cont inuous ly whenever the
ignition is on. If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF light does not appear and 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 install the child restraint.
Make sure that the child restraint is properly
installed and that the safety belt for the
front passenger seat has been correct ly
r outed a round the child restraint as descri
bed in the chi ld restrai nt manufacturer's in
struct ions;
- make sure that the convertible locking fea
ture on the safety belt for the front passen
ger seat has been activated and that the
safety belt has been pulled tight . The belt
must not be loose or have loops of slack so
that the sensor below the safety be lt latch
on the seat can do its job
¢ page 140.
-make sure that th ings that may increase the
weight of the chi ld and child safety seat are
not being transported on the front passen
ger seat; -
make sure that the safety belt tension sen
sor is not blocked. Shake the safety belt
latch on the front passenger seat back and
forth;
- If a strap or tether is being 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 .
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light still
does not come on
and does not stay on con
t inu ously (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 Audi dealer immediately.
- move the child to a rear seat position and make sure that the child is properly restra in
ed in a ch ild restraint that is appropriate for
its s ize and age.
The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light should
NOT come on when the ignition is on and an
adult is s itting in a proper seating position on
the front passenge r seat. If the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on or
flashes for about 5 seconds w hile d riving, un
der these circumstances, make sure that:
- the adult on the front passenge r seat is
properly seated on the cente r of the sea t
cushion with his or her back up aga inst the
backrest and the backrest is not recl ined
¢ page 91, Proper occupant seating posi
tions,
- the adult is not tak ing we ight off the seat by
holding on to the passenger assist handle
abovethefrontpassengerdooG
- t he sa fe ty belt is being properly worn and
t hat there is not a lot o f sla ck in the safety
be lt webbing,
- accessory seat covers or cushions or other
things that may cause an incorrect reading
or impression on the weight-sensing mat
under the upho lstery of the seat have been
removed from the front passenger seat, .,.
-a safety be lt extender has not been left in
the safety belt latch for the front passenger
seat .
I n addition to the
P ASS ENGER AIR B AG OFF
light in the center of the instrument panel,
the message
PA SSENGE R AIR BAG OFF or
PASSENGER AI R BAG ON will briefly appear
in the instrument cluster display. Th is 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 comes on, it
means that there may be someth ing
wrong with the Advanced Airbag System .
It is possible that the airbag will inflate
when it is not supposed to, or w ill not in
flate when it should.
- Have the airbag system inspected imme
diately by your Aud i dealer.
A WARNING
If the front airbag inflates, a ch ild without
a child restra int, in a rearward-facing child
safety seat or in a forward-facing chi ld re
straint that has not been properly insta lled
wi ll be seriously injured and can be ki lled .
- 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 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
PAS SENG ER AIR BAG OFF
light does not appear and stay on, imme-
A irbag system 12 1
diately install the rear- facing child safety
seat in a rear seat ing pos ition and have
the airbag system inspected by your Audi
deale r.
- A t ight tether or other strap on a rear
ward-facing child restraint attached to
the front passenger seat can put too much p ressu re on the weight-sensing
mat in the seat and reg ister more weight
than is a ctually on the seat. The heavier
weight regis tered can make the system
wo rk as tho ugh an adult we re on the seat
and deploy the Advanced Airbag when it
m ust be suppressed causing serious 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 seat into its rearmost po
sition in the seat's fore and aft adjust
ment range, as fa r 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
ever the ignition 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 seat after taking
the steps described above, make sure the adu lt is properly seated and restra ined at
one of the rear seat ing pos itions.
- Have the airbag system inspected by
your Aud i dea ler before transporting
anyone on the front passenger seat.
(l) Tips
If the weight-sensing mat in the front pas
senger seat detects an empty seat, the
front airbag on the passe nger side will be
turned off, and
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
will stay on.
•
•
How knee airbags work
The risk of injury to the leg area con be re
duced by fully inflated knee airbags.
Fig. 109 Inflated airbags protecting in a fro ntal coll i
sio n
The knee airbag system has been designed so
that the airbags for the driver and front pas
senger deploy in certain but not all frontal
collisions .
If the front airbags deploy, the knee airbags
also deploy in frontal collisions when the de
ployment threshold stored in the control unit
is met .
When the system deploys, the airbags fill
with a propellant gas, and inflate between the
lower part of the instrument panel and the
driver and the lower part of the instrument
panel and the front passenger~
page 117,
fig . 106.
Although they are not a soft pillow, they can
"cush ion" the impact and in this way they can
help to reduce the risk of injury to the lower
extremities.
All of this takes place in the blink of an eye, so
fast that many people don't even realize that
the airbags have deployed . The airbags also
inflate with a great deal of force and it is im
portant for occupant safety that nothing
should be in their way when they deploy.
Fully inflated airbags in combination with
properly worn safety belts slow down and lim
it the occupant's forward movement and help
to reduce the risk of injury.
Airbag system 125
Important safety instructions on the
knee airbag system
Airbags ore only supplemental restraints . Al
ways wear safety belts correctly 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 to provide supplemental protection.
_& WARNING
An inflating knee airbag can cause serious injury. Wearing safety belts incorrectly and
improper seating positions increase the
risk of serious personal injury and death
whenever a vehicle is being used.
- The knee airbag system cannot protect
you properly if you a re seated too close
to any of the airbag locations. When ad
justing their seat positions, it is impor
tant that both the driver and the front
passenger keep their upper bodies and
knees at the following minimum safe
distances:
- at least 10 inches (25 cm) between the
chest and the steering wheel/instru
ment panel.
- at least 4 inches (10 cm) between the
knees and the lower part of the instru
ment panel.
- The risk of personal injury increases if
you lean forward or to the side, or if the
seat is improperly positioned and you are not wearing your safety belt. The risk in
creases even more should the airbag de ploy.
- Always make sure that the knee airbag
can inflate without interference. Objects
between you and the airbag can increase
the risk of injury in an accident by inter
fering with the way the airbag deploys or
by being pushed into you as the airbag
deploys.
- Never let anybody, especially children
or animals ride in the footwell in front
126 Airbag system
of the passenger seat. If the airbag de
ploys, this can resu lt in serious or fata l
injuries.
- Never carry objects of any kind in the
footwell area in front of the driver's or
passenger's seat. Bulky objects (shop
p ing bags, for examp le) can interfere
with or p revent proper dep loyment of
the airbag . Small objects can be
thrown through the vehicle i f the a ir
bag deploys and injure you or yo ur pas
sengers.
- Make sure there are no cra ck s, deep
scratches or ot her damage in the area of
the instrument pane l where the knee air
bags are located .
- If children are incorrect ly sea ted, their
risk of inj ury i ncreases in a collision
c:> page 130, Child Safety .
Side airbags
Description of side airbags
The airbag system can provide supplemental
protection to properly restrained front seat occupants.
F ig. 110 Side a irbag locatio n in the dr iver 's seat
The s ide airbags are lo cated in the sides of the
front seat backrests
c:> fig. 110 facing the
doors. They are identified by the word "A IR
BAG" .
The sid e airbag sy stem b asically con sist s of :
-the e lectronic control module and external
s ide impact senso rs
- t he two side airbags located in the sides of
the front backrests -
the airbag warning light in the ins trument
cl uster .
T he airbag system is mo nitored e lec tronically
to make certain tha t it is f unctioning p roperly
at all times. Each time you t urn on the igni
tion, the airbag system indicator light will
come on for a few seconds (se lf diagnostics) .
T he side airbag system supplements 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 and head on the side of the veh icle
that is struck in a side collision. The airbag de
ploys in side impacts and only when the vehi
cle acceleration registered by the control unit
i s h igh enough . If this rate is below the refer
ence value prog rammed into the control unit,
the side ai rbags will not be triggered, even
t h ough the car may be bad ly damaged as a re
s ul t of the co llision. It is no t possib le to de
fine an airbag triggering range that will cover every possib le ang le of impact, since the cir
cumstances will vary cons iderably between
one collis ion and another. Important factors
include, for example, the nature (hard or soft)
of the impacting object, the angle of impact,
vehicle speed, etc.
c:> page 128 , Important
safety instructions on the side airbag system .
Aside from their normal safety function, safe
ty be lts wo rk to help keep the driver or front
passenge r in position in t he event of a side
collision so that the side airbags can provide
protection .
The airbag system is
not a substitute for your
safety belt . Rather, it is part of t he overa ll oc
c u pant restraint system in you r vehicle. A l
ways remember that the side ai rbag sys tem
c a n only help to pro tect you if you are wearing
your sa fety be lt and wearing it p roperly. This
is another reason why you should always wear
your safety belts, not just because the law re
quires yo u to do soc:>
page 100, General
notes.
It is important to remembe r that w hile the
supplementa l side airbag system is designed
to reduce the likelihood of ser ious injuries,
other injur ies, for example, swelling, bruis ing , ..,.