-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.
- Never remove the front passenger or
dr iver seat from the veh icle .
- 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-sens ing mat and send the
wrong info rmation to the airbag control
uni t.
- Never store items under the front pas
senger seat. Parts of the Advanced Ai r
bag System under the passenge r seat
cou ld be damaged, prevent ing them and
the a irbag system from working proper
ly .
- Never place seat covers or replacement
upholste ry that have not been specifical
ly approved by A udi on the front seats.
- Seat covers can prevent the A dvanced
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 deploy ing prop
erly.
- Never use cush ions, pillows, blankets or
similar items on the front passenger
seat . The add itiona l padd ing will prevent
the weight-sens ing mat in the seat from
accu rately reg iste ring the ch ild restra int
o r person on the se at and prevent the
Advance d Airbag System from func tion
ing properly .
-If you mus t use a child restra int on the
front passenger seat and the ch ild re-
A irbag system 19 1
straint manufacture r's instructions re
quire the use of a towel, foam cushion or
something e lse to properly position the
child restraint, make certain that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes
on and stays on whenever the ch ild re
s t raint is installed on the front passen
ge r seat.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, immed i
a tely insta ll child rest raint in a rear seat
ing position and have the ai rbag system
inspected by your authorized Audi dealer .
How the Advanced Airbag System
components work together
The front Advanced Airbag System and the
s ide airbags supp lement the protection of
fered by the front three-poi nt safety belts
with pretensioners and load limiters and the
adjustable head res traints to help reduce the
r isk of inj ury in a wide range of ac ciden t and
c rash situations. Be s ure to read the impor
tant information about safety and heed the
WARNINGS in this chapter.
Deployment of the Adv a need A irbag System
and t he activation of the safe ty belt preten
sioners depend on the deceleration measured
by the crash sensors and registered by the
electronic contro l unit. Crash severity depends
on speed and dece leration as we ll as the mass
and stiffness of the veh icle or object involved
in the crash .
When the e lectronic control unit registers a
l ow 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,
followed by the second stage after a much lat er t ime in the crash sequence.
If the electron ic 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
gard less of whether the safety belt is be ing
u sed or not . In highe r sever ity crashes as reg
iste red by the electronic con trol unit, both the
II>
•
•
196 Airbag sys te m
- accessory seat covers or cushions or other
things that may cause an incorrect reading
or impress ion on the weight-sens ing mat
under the upholstery of the seat have been
removed from the front passenger seat,
- a safety belt extender has not been left in
the safety belt latch for the front passenger
seat.
In addition to the
PA SSENGER AIR B AG OFF
light in the center of the instrument panel,
the message
PASS ENGER AIR B AG O FF or
PASS ENGER AIR B AG O N will briefly appear
in the instrument cluster display . T his is to in
form the driver of the current front passenger
a irbag status .
Important safety instructions on
monitoring the Advanced Airbag System
_&. WARNING
An airbag system that is not functioning
prope rly cannot provide supplemental pro
tect ion in a frontal crash.
- If the airbag indicator light
c::> page 16
comes when the vehicle is be ing used,
have the system inspected immediately
by you r authorized Aud i 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 .
_&. WARNING
If the front airbag inflates, a child witho ut
a child restraint, or in a rearward-facing
child safety seat, or in a forward-facing
child restraint that has not been properly
installed will be seriously injured and can
be killed .
- Even though your veh icle is equipped
with an Advanced Airbag System, make certain that all children, especially 12
years and younger, a lways ride on the
back seat properly restrained for their
age and size.
- Always install forwa rd 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 c ircumstan
ces and the
PA SS ENGER AIR BA G OFF
light does not appear and stay on, imme
diate ly install the rear-facing child safety
seat in a rear seat ing pos ition and have
the airbag system inspected by your au
thorized A udi dealer.
- A tight tether or other strap on a rear ward-facing child restraint attached to the front passenger seat can p ut too
m uch 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 ser ious or
even fata l injury to the ch ild.
- If, in exceptional circumstances, you
must install a forward-fac ing ch ild re
straint on the front passenger seat, al
ways move the seat into its rearmos t 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
PASSEN GER AIR BAG OFF light
comes on and stays on all the time when
ever the ignit ion is switched on .
_&. WARNING
r-
- 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
adu lt is properly seated and restra ined at
one of the rea r seat ing pos itions.
- Have the airbag system inspected by
your author ized Audi dealer befo re trans
port ing anyone on the front passenger
seat.
('D Tips
If t he weight-sensing mat in the front pas
senger seat de tects an empty seat, the
front airbag on the passenger side wi ll be
jll,,
212 Child Safety
to the backrest on the vehicle seat. Ad
just or remove the rear seat head restraint if it is difficult to install the
child seat with the head restraint in place
<=> page 78 . Install the head restraint
again immediately once the child seat is
removed. Driving without head restraints
or with head restraints that are not prop erly adjusted increases the risk of serious
or fatal neck injury dramatically.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child restrained in ave
hicle is being used<=>
page 174, Safety
belts,
<=> page 183, Airbag system and
i=> page 204, 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.
-A lways 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 194, 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.
"' ....
"' 0 ±
o5
Fig. 219 Rear seat: c hild properly restrained in a boos
te r seat
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 must lie flat and snug on the upper
body. It must never lie across the throat or
neck . The lap be lt 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 .
.,. If you must transport an older child in a
booster seat on the front passenger seat,
you can use the safety belt height adjust
ment to help adjust the shoulder portion
properly.
~ Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
¢ page 209.
Children up to at least 8 years old (over 40
lbs. or 18 kg) are best protected in child safe
ty seats designed for their age and weight. Ex perts say that the skeletal structure, particu
larly the pelvis, of these children is not fully
developed, and they must not use the vehicle
safety belts without a suitable child restraint .
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 requires 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
Child Safety 213
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 inflate com
pletely and provide supplemental protection
in certain frontal collisions .
_&. 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 174.
- The rear side of the child safety seat
should be positioned as close as possible
to the backrest on the vehicle seat. Ad
just or remove the rear seat head re straint if it is difficult to install the child
seat with the head restraint in place
¢ page 78. Install the head restraint
again immediately once the child seat is
removed . Driving without head restraints
or with head restraints that are not prop
erly adjusted increases the risk of serious
-
or fatal neck injury dramatically. ~
•
•
218 Child Safety
-Always follow the instructions provided
by the manufacturer of the ch ild re
straint you intend to install in your veh i
cle.
- Never install a child restraint without a
properly attached top tether strap if the
child restraint manufacturer's instruc
t ions requ ire the top tether strap to be
used.
- Improper use of child restra int LATCH
lower anchorage points can lead to injury
in a collision. The LATCH lower anchorage
points are designed to withstand only
those loads imposed by correctly fitted
child restraints.
- Never mount two child restraint systems
on one LATCH lower anchorage point.
- Never secure or attach any lu gg age or
other item to the LATCH lo wer anchorag
es .
(j) Tips
-In Canada , the terms "top tether" with
"lowe r universal anchorages " (or " lower
un iversa l anchorage bars") are used to
describe the system.
- In other countries, the term "ISOFIX" is
u sed to describe the lower anchorages.
Location
Fig. 220 Schematic overview: LATCH an ch orage point
locations
The illustration shows the seating locations in
your vehicle which are equipped with the low er anchorages system.
Description
The lower anchorage positions are marked
for quick locating.
Fig. 221 Second row of seats : lower ancho rage bracket
loc ations
Fig. 222 Thir d row of seats: locator butto ns for lower
anchorages
Attachment locator markers for lower
anchorages
T he lower anchorage locations in the second
row of seats are indicated by the attachment
locator markers of the lower anchorage brack
ets¢
fig. 221. Remove the covers to access
the lower anchorage brackets. Circular locator
buttons on the third row of seats* indicate the
lower anchorage locations on the third row of
seats
¢fig. 222.
Lower anchorages
The lower anchorage attachment po ints are
located between the rear seatback and rear
seat cushion
9 fig. 221 or¢ fig. 222.
Lower anchorages secure the chi ld restraint in
the seat without using the vehicle's safety
belts. Anchorages provide a secure and easy
to-use attachment and minimize the possib ili-
ty of improper child restra int installation.
II>
All child restraints manufactured after Sep
tember 1, 2002, must have lower anchorage
attachments for the
LATCH system.
Remembe r that the lower anchorage points
are only intended for installation and attach
ment of child restraints specifically certified
for use w ith
LATCH l ower anchorages. Child
restraints that are not equipped with the low
er anchorage attachments can still be instal
led in compliance with the child restra int
manufacturer's inst ruct ions on us ing vehicle
safety belts .
A WARNING
Improper use of LATCH lower anchorages
can cause serio us personal injury i n an ac
cident.
- Alway s ca refully fo llow the child re
straints manufac turer's instru ct ions for
proper installation of the child restra int
and proper use of the lowe r anchorages
or safety belts in your vehicle .
- Never secure or attach any l uggage or
other items to t he
LATCH lower ancho
rages.
- Always read and heed the important in
format ion about child restra ints in this
chapter and WARNINGS
¢ page 204,
Child Safety.
Guidance fixtures for lower anchorages
App lies to vehicles: with third row seating
Special guidance fixtures increase the conven
ience of the lower anchorages and ore availa
ble from your authorized Audi dealer.
Fig. 223 Th ird row of seats: installi ng the gu idance fix
tures
Child S afety 219
'
0
Fig. 224 Close-up: fitt ing the guidance fixture over the
l ower anchorage bracket
The lower anchorage attachment points are
located on the third row of seats between the
seatback and the seat cushion. Special guid
ance fixtures increase the convenience of the
lower anchorages and help protect the seat
mater ial from possible damage when instal
ling ch ild restraints .
Installing the guidance fi xtur es
... Push down on the seat cu shion so that the
lower anchorages are visible.
.,. Hold the guidance fixture with the part
number facing downward and push it in the
direction of the arrow onto the anchorage
¢fig. 224.
.,. Make sure that each of the two guidance fix
t ures per seat snaps into place.
Removing the gu idance fixtures
... Remove the child restraint according the
child restraint manufacturer's instructions .
.,. Push down on the seat cushion so that the
lower an cho rages are visible.
.,. Pull off t he gui dance fixtures from the lower
anchorages.
... Always remove the guidance fixtures and
keep them in a safe place when not in use .
You may find it easier to install child re
straints equipped with hooks attached to
straps without the guidance fixtures in place.
If this is the case, remove the guidance fix
tures by pulling them off the anchorages.
However, the guidance fixtures can help you
to locate the
LATCH anchorages. .,..
220 Child Safe ty
& WARNING
Improper use of tether anchorages or low
er anchorages can cause serious personal
injury in a crash.
- Always carefully follow the ch ild re
straint manufacturer's instructions for proper installation and use of child re
st raint systems .
- Never use the
LATCH or tethe r anchorag
es to attach safety belts or other kinds of
occupant restraints.
- Child restraint tether attachments and
lower attachments are only des igned to
se cu re a child res traint that has been
equipped to use these anchorages.
- T ether anchorages and lower an chorages
are designed to withstand only those loads imposed by correct ly fitted ch ild
res traints . Under no circumstances can
they be used safe ly for adu lt or chi ld
safety belts or harnesses.
- Never mount more than one chi ld re
st raint to a sing le tether or to a lower an
chorage point. Attac hing two chi ld re
straints to a sing le anchorage poi nt can
cause the anchorage to fail and cause se
rious personal injury in a crash.
(D Note
- Remove the guidance f ixtures before
fo ld ing the rear seatback to prevent
damaging the seat cushion.
- If you leave the guidance fixtures instal
l ed for several days, they could leave a
mark on the upho lstery on the seat cush
i o n and backrest in the area that the
guidance fixtures were insta lled. The up
ho lstery would also be permanently
stretched around the guid ance fixt ures.
This applies especially to leather seats.
Installing a child restraint with LATCH
lower anchorages
Whenever you install a child restraint always
follow the child restraint manufacturer's in
structions.
F ig . 225 Lower a ncho rages: proper mount ing
Mo unting
.,. Make s ure the seatback of the rear seat
benc h is in the upright position and securely
latched in place.
.,. Attach both hook-on connectors with the
spring catch release on the child safety seat
onto the LATCH lower anchorage so that the
connectors lock into place ~
fig. 225 .
.,. Pull on the connector attachments to ma ke
sure they are properly attac hed to the LATC H
lower ancho rage .
.,. Pull straps tight fo llow ing the child res traint
manufacturer's instruct ions.
Releasing
.,. Loose n the tension on the straps fo llowing
t he child restra int manufac turer's inst ruc
tions .
.. Depress the spring catches to release the
anchorage hooks from t he lower anchorag
es.
Remember: Use tether straps to help keep the
c h ild restraint firmly in place .
A WARNING
'-
Improper use of the LATCH system can in-
crease the risk of serious personal in jury
and death in an accident.
222 Child Safe ty
- Improper use o f child restraint anchors
(including tether anchors) can lead to in
jury in a collision. The anchors are de signed to withstand only those loads im
posed by correctly fitted ch ild restraints.
- Never mount two chi ld restraint systems
on one LATCH lower anchor point.
- Never attach two child restraint systems
to one tether strap or tether anchorage.
- Never attach a tether strap to a tie-down
hook in the luggage compartment.
- Never use child restraint tether ancho
rages to secure safety belts or other
kinds of occupant restra ints.
- Never secure or attach any luggage or
other items to the LATCH lower ancho
rages o r to the tether anchors .
-If a tether or other strap is used to at
tach a child restraint to the front passen
ger seat, make sure that it is not so
t ight, that it causes the weight-sensing
mat to measu re more weight than is ac
t u ally on the seat .
- The heav ier weight reg iste red can make
the Advanced Airbag System work as
t hough an ad ult were on the seat and de
ploy the Advance d Airbag when it must
be s uppressed causing serious or even
fatal injury to the child.
- If you must install a rearward facing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat because of exceptional circ umstan
ces and the
PAS SENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on and stay on, im
med iately install the rear-facing child
safety seat in a rear seating position and
have the a irbag system inspected by your
Audi dealer.
Installing the upper tether strap on the
anchorage
Fig. 228 T et her st rap: prope r rou ting and mou ntin g
Fi g. 229 Tet her st rap fo r seco nd row seats: prope r
rou ting a nd moun ting
Installing the tether strap
.,. Release or deploy the tether st rap on the
child res traint a ccording to the child re
straint manufacture r's instruc tions .
.,. Guide the upper tether strap
under the rear
head restra int and into the rear cargo area
(raise the head restra int if necessary).
.,. For the second row o f seats: Pull the floor
ing back, in order to reach the anchor brack
et
r=:> fig. 229.
.,. Fo r the third row of seats:* Remove the
plastic cover cap w ith a screw driver, in orde r
to reac h the anchor bracket ¢
page 221,
fig. 227.
.,. Slide the tether strap hook over the anchor
bracket .
.,. Pull on the tether strap hook so that the
spring catch of the hook engages .
.,. Tighten the tether strap firmly following the
child restraint manufacturer's instructions .
.,. For the s econd row of seat s: Push the floor-
ing forwa rd into place again . .,._