child to ride. The front seat is not the safest
p lace for a child in a forward-facing child safe
ty seat . It can be a very dangerous place for an
infant or a child in a rearward-facing seat.
The Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle has been certified to comply with the Require
ments of United States Federa l Motor Veh icle
Safety Standard 208 as applicable at the time
your veh icle was manufactured.
The Standard requires the front airbag on the passenger side to be turned off ("sup
pressed") if a ch ild up to about one year of
age restra ined in one of the rear-facing or for
ward-facing infant restra ints listed in Federal
Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 with w hich
the Advanced Ai rbag System in your vehicle
was certified has been installed o n the front
passenger seat. For a list ing of the child re
straints that were used to certify compliance
with the US Safety Standard
r::tv page 134 .
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light in the in
s trument panel te lls you when the front Ad
vanced Airbag on the passenger side has bee n
turned off by the e lectronic control unit .
E ach t ime yo u tur n on the ignition, the
PAS
SENGER AIR BAG OFF
li ght w ill come on for a
few seconds and :
- will stay on if the front passenger seat is not
occup ied,
- will stay on if there is a small child o r child
rest raint on the front passenger seat,
- will go off if the front passenger seat is oc
cup ied by an adult as registe red by the
weight-sensing mat
r::tv page 121, Monitor
ing the Advanced Airbag System.
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
when the control un it detects a total weight
on the front passenger sea t that requires the
fr ont airbag to be tu rned off.
If the total we ight on the front passenger
seat is mo re than that of a typical 1 year-o ld
child but less than the weight of a sma ll
ad ult, the front airbag o n the passenge r side
can dep loy (the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
lig ht does not come on). If the PASSENGER
A irbag system 113
AIR BAG OFF light does not come on, the
front airbag on the passenger side has not been t urned off by the elect ronic contro l un it
and can deploy if the control unit senses an
impact that meets the cond itions stored in its
memory .
For example , the airb ag may deplo y if:
-a small ch ild tha t is heav ier t han a typical 1
year -old chi ld is on the fron t passenger seat
(regard less of whether the child is i n one of
the child safety seats listed
r:!> page 134), or
- a child who has outgrown chi ld restraints is
on the front passenger seat .
If the fron t passenger a irbag is turned off, the
PA SS ENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on in
the instr ument pane l and stays on.
T he front airbag on the passenge r side may
not deploy (the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not illum ina te a nd stay lit) even i f a
small ad ult o r teenager, or a passenger who is
not sitting uprig ht with their back against a
non-recl ined backrest w ith their feet on the
vehicle floor in front of the seat is on the front
passenger seat
r:!> page 94, Proper seating po
sition for the driver .
If the front passenger airbag dep loys, the
Federa l Standard requ ires the airbag to meet
the "low risk" dep loyment criteria to reduce
the risk of injury th rough interact ion w ith the
a irbag . "Low risk" dep loymen t occ urs in those
c rashes that ta ke place at lower dece le rat ions
as defined in the e lectronic control unit
r::tv page 1 22, PASSENGER AIR BAG O FF ligh t.
Always remember, a c hild safety seat or infant
ca rr ie r installed on the front seat may be
stru ck and knoc ked ou t of po sit io n by the rap
idly i nflat ing passenger 's airbag in a front al
collision. The ai rbag co uld g reat ly reduce the
effectiveness of the chi ld restrai nt and even
seriously injure the child during inflation.
A WARNING
A child in a rearward-fac ing ch ild safety
seat installed on the front passenger seat
-
will be ser ious ly injured and can be killed if .,.. •
•
114 Airbag sys te m
the front airbag inf lates -even with an Ad
vanced Airbag System.
- The inflating airbag will hit the child
safety seat or infant carrier with great
force and w ill smash the ch ild safety seat
and child against the backrest, door or
roof.
- Never install a rearward facing child
safety seat on the front passenge r seat
unless the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on . If the PAS
SENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not
come on and stay on the infla ting airbag
wi ll hi t the child safe ty seat or infant car
rie r with great force and will smash the
child safety seat and child against the
backrest, door or roof . Have the airbag
system inspected immediately by your
authorized Audi dealer .
- Forward-fac ing ch ild safety seats instal
led on the front passenger's seat may in
terfere with the deployment of the air
bag and cause serious personal injury to
the ch ild.
A WARNING
If, in exceptional c ircumstances, you must
install a forwa rd-facing child restra int on
t he fron t passenger's seat:
- Always make sure the forward-fac ing
sea t has been des igned and certified by
i t s manufac turer for use on a fro nt sea t
with a passenger front an d side airbag.
- Never put the forwa rd-f acing child re
s t rain t up aga inst or very near the inst ru
ment pane l.
- Always move t he passenger seat into i ts
rearmost position in the seat 's fore and
aft adjustment ran ge, as far away from
the a irbag as poss ible before installing
the forward-facing child restraint . The
backrest must be adjusted to an upr ight
posit ion.
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on and stays on all the
t ime whenever the ignition is switched
on .
A WARNING
To reduce the risk of serious injury, make
sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light w ill be displayed whenever a child re
straint is insta lled on the front passenger
sea t and the igni tion is sw itched on .
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not stay on, perform the checks de
s cri bed
~ page 121, Monitoring the Ad
vanced Airbag System.
- Have the airbag system inspected by
your Aud i dea le r i mmedia tely .
- Always carefu lly follow instr uctions from
child res tra in t manufacture rs whe n in
s tall ing c hild restr aints .
A WARNING
If, in except iona l circumst ances, yo u m ust
i nst all a forward or rearwa rd -f acing child
r estraint on t he front passenger's seat :
- I mp roper ins tallation o f ch ild restra ints
can reduce their effectiveness o r even
prevent them from providing any protec
tion .
- An improper ly installed c hild restra int
can interfere with the airbag as it de p loys and seriously injure or even k ill the
child -even with an Advanced Airbag
System .
- Always carefully follow the manufactur
er 's instructions prov ided with the chi ld
safety seat or carrier .
- Never p lace add itiona l items on the seat
that ca n increase the total weight reg is
tered by the weig ht-sensing mat and can
cause injury in a crash.
-a small adu lt or teenager is on the front pas
senger seat
- a passenger who is not sitting upright w ith
their back against a non-reclined backrest
with their feet on the vehicle floor in front
of the seat is on the front passenger seat.
I f the front passenger airbag deploys, the
Federal Standard requires the airbag to meet
the " low risk" deployment criteria to help re
duce the risk of injury through interaction
with the airbag. "Low risk" deployment occurs in those crashes that take place at lower de
celerations as defined in the electron ic control
un it
¢ page 121 .
Always rem emb er: Please be sure to read the
important information in the sections that
follow and be sure to heed all of the WARN
INGS.
A WARNING
T o reduce the risk of injury when an ai rbag
inflates, a lways wear safety belts prope rly.
- If you are unrestrained, lean ing forward,
sitting sideways or out of position in any
way, your risk of inj ury is much higher.
- You w ill also receive serious inju ries and
cou ld even be killed if you are up against
the a irb ag or too close to it whe n it in
flates - even with an Advanced Airbag
¢page 111 .
.&_ WARNING
-
A child in a rearward-facing child safety
seat installed on the front passenger seat
w ill be seriously injured and can be k illed if
the front a irbag inf lates - even with an Ad
vanced Airbag System.
- Although the Advanced Airbag System in
your vehicle is designed to turn off the
front a irbag when a rearward-fac ing
child restraint has been installed on the
front passenger seat, nobody can abso l u te ly guarantee that deployment is im
poss ible in al l conceivable situations th at
may happen d uring the useful life of your
vehicle.
A irbag system 117
-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 against the backrest, doo r, or
roof.
- If you must install a rearward fac ing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat because of exceptional c ircumstan
ces and t he
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on and stay on have
the airbag sys tem ins pected by your Audi
dea ler.
.&_ WARNING
I f, in except iona l 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 s ide a irbag.
- Never put the forward-facing child re
straint up against or very near the instru
ment panel.
- Always move the passenger seat into its
rea rmost pos ition in the seat's fore and
aft ad justment range, as far away from
the airbag as possible, before installing
the forward-fac ing ch ild restra int. The
backrest must be ad justed to an upright
position.
- Ma ke sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
li ght comes on and stays o n all the
time wheneve r the ig nit io n is swit ched
on.
Advanced Airbag System components
T he front passenge r seat in yo ur vehicle has a
lot of very important parts of the Advanced
Airbag System in it . These parts include the
weight-sensing mat, sensors, wiring, brack ets, and more. The funct ion of the system in
the front passenger seat is checked by the
electronic control unit when the ignition is on .
The cont rol unit monito rs the Advanced A ir
bag System and turns the airbag indicator
l igh t on when a malfunct ion in the system
•
•
118 Airbag 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 received from the crash sensors. The control
unit also "decides" whether the safety belt
pre tensioners should be activated.
- An Advanced Ai rbag with gas generator for
the driver inside the steering wheel hub.
- An Advanced Airbag with gas generator in
side the inst rument 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 information 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
¢page 121.
- The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes
on and stays on in the center of the instru
ment panel ¢
page 122, fig. 120 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
¢ page 112, 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 informa tion 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.
- 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 .,..
restraints 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 add itional padd ing will prevent
the weight-sens ing mat in the seat from
accurately reg istering the ch ild restra int
or person on the seat and preve nt the
Advanced Airbag System from func tion
ing properly .
- If you must use a child restra int on the
front passenger seat and the ch ild re
straint manufacturer's instructions re
quire the use of a towel, foam cush ion or
something else to properly position the
child restraint, make certa in that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes
on and stays on whenever the child re
st ra int is installed on the front passen
ger seat .
- If the
PA SSE NGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, 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 s upplement the protection of
fered by the front three-point safety be lts
with pretensioners and load limiters and the
adjustab le head restra ints to he lp reduce the
risk of injury in a wide range of acc ident and
crash situat ions . Be sure to read the impor
tant information about safety and heed the
WARNINGS in this chapter .
Deployment of the Advanced Airbag System
and the act ivat ion of the safety be lt preten
sioners depend on the dece le rat ion measured
by the c rash sensors and registered by the
e lectronic control un it . Crash severity depends
on speed and dece leration as well as the mass
and stiffness of the vehicle or object involved in the crash .
Airbag system 119
When the electronic control unit registers a
low severity cras h and the safety belt is being
used, the airbag will not dep loy. 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
gardless of whether the safety belt is be ing
used or not . In higher sever ity crashes as reg
iste red by the elect roni c cont rol unit, bot h the
first and se cond s tages deploy almost at the
same t ime.
On the passenger side, regardless of safety
belt use, the airbag w ill be tu rned off if the
weight on the passenger sea t is less than the
amount programmed in the electronic control
u nit . The front airbag on the passenger side
will a lso be turned off if one of the child safe
ty seats that has been certified under Federal
Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 has been
recognized on the seat. The
PASS ENGER A IR
BAG OFF light comes on and stays on to tell
you when the front Adva nced A irbag on the
passenger side has been turned off
¢ page 112, Child restraints on the front seat
- some important things to know .
_&. WARNING ~
To reduce the risk of inj ury when an a irbag
inflates, always wear safety be lts properly.
- If you are unrestrained, leaning forward,
sitting sideways or o ut o f position in any
way, your risk of injury is m uch higher.
- You will a lso receive serious injuries and
could even be killed if yo u are up against
the airbag or too close to it when it in
f lates -even with an Advanced A irbag
¢page 111.
•
•
-The inflating airba g will hit the child
safety seat or infant carrier wit h great
f o rce and w ill smash t he ch ild safety seat
and child aga inst the backrest, cente r
arm rest, d oor or roof.
- Never install a r earward facing child
sa fety seat on the front pass eng er s eat
unless the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light c omes on and stays on. If the PAS
S ENGER AIR BAG OFF
ligh t does no t
c o m e on and stay on, the inflating airbag
will hit the child safety seat or infant car
rier with great force and will smash the
child safety seat and child against the
backrest, door or roof. Have the airbag
system inspected immediately by your
authorized Audi dealer .
A WARNING
Objects between you and the a irbag will
increase the risk of injury in a crash by in
terfering with the way the airbag unfolds
or by being pushed into you as the a irbag
inflates.
- Never hold th ings in your hands or on
your lap when the vehicle is in use .
- Never transport items on or in the area
of the front passenge r seat. Objects
cou ld move into the area of the front air
bags dur ing braking or other s udden ma
neuver and become dangerous projec
ti les that can cause serious personal in
jury if the airbags inflate.
- Never place o r attach accessories or oth
er objects (such as cup ho lders, tele
phone brackets, large, heavy or b ulky ob
jects) on the doors, over or near the area
marked "AIRBAG" on the steering wheel,
instrument panel, seat backrests or be
tween those a reas and yourself. These
objects could cause injury in a crash, es
pecially when the airbags inflate.
- Never recline the front passenger's seat
to transport objects. Items can also
move in to the area of the side airbag or
the front airbag dur ing braking or in a
sudden maneuver . Objects near the air -
-
Airbag system 12 1
bags can become projectiles and cause
inju ry, partic ularly when the seat is re
clined.
A WARNING
The fine dust created when airbags deploy
can cause breathing prob lems for people
with a history of asthma or other breath
ing cond itions.
- To reduce the risk of breath ing problems,
those with asthma o r other respiratory
conditions shou ld get fresh air r ight
away by getting o ut of the veh icle or
open ing windows or doors.
- If you are in a collision in which airbags
deploy, was h your hands and fa ce with
mild soap and wate r before ea ting.
- Be ca reful not to get the dust into your
eyes, o r into any cuts or sc ratches .
- If the resid ue should get into your eyes,
f lush them w ith wate r.
Monitoring the
Advanced Airbag System
t!~ Airbag monitoring indicator light
Two separate indicators monitor the function
of the Advan ced Airbag System: the airbag
monitoring indi cator light and the
PASSEN
GER AIR BAG OFF
light.
T he Advanced A irbag System (including the
electron ic co ntro l unit, sensor circu its and sys
tem wir ing) is monitored con tinuously to
make sure that it is functioning properly
whenever the ignition is on. Each time you
turn on the ignition, the a irbag mon itoring in
dicator light
I will come on for a few seconds
(self diagnostics).
The sy stem mu st be in spected when th e
indicator light
I :
- does not come on when the ignition is
sw itched on,
- does not go out a few seconds after you
have switched on t he ignition, or
•
•
122 Airbag sys te m
- comes on while driving .
I f an airbag system malfunct ion is detected ,
the ind icator light will first start flash ing to
ca tch the d river's attention and then stay on
continuously to serve as a constant reminder
to have the system inspected immed iately.
I f a malfunction occurs that turns the front
a irbag on the passenger side off, the
PA SS EN
GER AIR BAG OFF
li ght will come on and stay
on whenever the ignition is on .
A WARNING
An airbag system that is not funct ioning
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 .
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
Fig. 120 Sect ion from t he instru men t pan el: PASS EN
G ER AIR BA G OFF ligh t
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light is located
i n the center of the instr ument panel
¢ fig. 120.
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light will come
on and stay on to tell you when the front Ad
v a nced A irbag on the passenger side has been
turned off by the e lectronic control unit. Ea ch
time you tu rn on the ig nition, the
PASSEN
GER AIR BAG OFF
li ght will flash for a few
seconds and: -
w ill s tay on i f the front passenger seat is not
occupied,
- will stay on i f there is a small ch ild or child
restrai nt on the front passenger seat,
- w ill go out i f the front passenger sea t is oc
cupied by an adult as registered by the
weight-sensing mat .
T he
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light must
come on and stay on
if the igni tion is on and
- a car bed has been installed on the front
seat, or
- a rearward-facing child rest raint has been
installed on the front passenger seat, o r
- a forward -fac ing ch ild restra int has been in
stalled on the front passenger seat, or
- the we ight reg istered on the front passen
ge r seat is equal to or less than t he com
bined weight of a typical 1 year-old restra in
ed in one of the rear-facing or forwa rd-fac
ing infan t restra ints listed in Feder al Motor
Ve hicle Safety Standa rd 208 wi th wh ich the
Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle was
certified.
If t he front passenger seat is not occupied,
the front airbag wi ll not dep loy, and t he
PAS
SENGER AIR BAG OFF
light will stay on . Nev
er install a rearward-facing child rest raint on
the front passenger seat¢
page 112, Child
restrain ts on the front sea t-some impor tan t
things to know
and ¢ page 132, Child Safe ty.
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light come s
on
when one of the cond itions listed above is
met, be sure to check the lig ht regu larly to
make certain tha t the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light stays on continuously whenever the
ignition is on .
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light does not appear and not stay on a ll
t h e time, s top as soon as i t is safe to do so
and
- reactivate the system by t urning the ig nition
off and then turning it on again;
- remove and reinstall the child restra int.
Make s ure that the ch ild restra int is proper ly
installed and that the safety belt for the
fro nt passenge r seat has been correctly
rou ted aro und the ch ild res tra int as .,.
described in the child restraint manufactur
er 's instructions;
- make sure that the convertible locking fea
ture on the safety be lt 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 belt latch
on the seat can do its job<=>
page 140 .
-make sure that th ings that may increase the
weight of the child 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 passenge r seat back and
forth;
- If a st rap or tether is being used to tie the
ch ild safety seat to the front passenger
seat, make sure t hat it is not so tigh t that it
ca uses the we ight-sensing mat to meas ure
more weight than is actua lly on the seat .
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light still
does not com e on and does not stay on con
tinuously (when the igni tion is sw itched on),
- take the ch ild restraint off the front passen·
ger seat and install it p roperly at one of the
rear seat pos itions. Have the a irbag system
i nspec ted by your A udi dealer immediately.
- move the ch ild to a rea r seat posit io n and
make su re th at the chi ld is proper ly res train
ed in a chi ld restraint that is appropriate fo r
its size and age .
The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light shou ld
NO T come on when the ign ition is on and an
ad ult is sitting in a p rope r seat ing pos ition on
the front passenger seat. If the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
li ght comes on and stays on or
flashes for about 5 seconds while driving, un
der these circumstances, make sure that:
- the ad ult on the front passenger seat is
proper ly seated on the center of the seat
cushion with his or her back up against the
backrest and the backrest is not reclined
<=> page 94, Proper occupant seating posi
tions,
A irbag system 123
- the adult is not tak ing weight off the seat by
holding on to the passenger assist handle
above the front passenger door,
- the safety be lt is being properly worn and
that there is not a lot of s lack in the safety
be lt webbing,
- accesso ry 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 belt extender has not been left in
the safety belt latch for the front passenger
seat .
In add ition to the
PASSENGER AIR BAG O FF
light in the center of the instrument panel,
the message
PASSENGER AIR BAG O FF or
PASSENGER AIR BAG ON w ill briefly appear
in the instrument cluster display. This is to in
form the dr iver of the current front passenge r
a irbag status.
Important safety instructions on
monitoring the Advanced Airbag System
A WARNING
An airbag system that is not functioning
p roperly cannot provide supplemental pro
tection in a frontal c rash.
- If the airbag ind icator light comes on, it
means that there may b e something
wrong with the Advan ced Airbag Sys tem.
It is poss ible that the air bag w ill inflate
when it is not supposed to, or will not in
f late when it sho uld .
- Have the airbag system inspe cted imme
diate ly by your Audi dealer.
A WARNING
If the front airbag inflates, a child without
a child restraint, in a rea rward-facing child
safety seat or in a forward-facing child re
straint that has not been proper ly installed
will be ser ious ly injured and can be killed.
- Even tho ugh your vehicle is equipped
with an Advanced A irbag System, make
certain that all children, espec ially 12
-
•
•