2014 AUDI RS7 SPORTBACK warning light

experience, informat ion a nd specia l
too ls necessary to perform the work
safely.
- If the veh icle or the circuit interrupter
is scrapped, all applicable safety pre­
cautions must be followed.
@ For the sake of the environment
Undep loyed airbag modu les and preten­
sioners might be classified as Perchlorate Material - special handling may apply, see
www.dtsc.ca .gov/hazardouswaste/per­
chlorate. When the vehicle or parts of the
restraint system including airbag modules
and safety belts w ith pretens ioners are
scrapped, all applicable laws and regula­
tions must be observed. Your author ized
Aud i dea ler is familiar with these requi re­
ments an d we recommend that yo u have
your dea ler perform this se rvice 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 pe rforms in a crash. For example, us ing
tire -r im combinations not app rove d by Aud i,
l owering the vehicle, changing the stiffness o f
the suspension, incl uding the springs, s uspen ­
sion struts, shock absorbers etc. can change
the forces that a re measured by the airbag
sensors and sent to the elect ronic control
u ni t. Some suspension changes can, for exam­
p le, increase the force levels measured by the
se nsors and make the airbag system deploy in
crashes in wh ich it would not dep loy if the
changes had not been made . Ot her k inds of
change s may reduce the force levels meas ­
u red by the sensors and prevent the a irbag
from deploying when it shou ld .
The sensors 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 be ing 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 pa r-
A irba g sy stem 159
ticular coll is io n, it is possible t hat an airbag
w ill not deploy at a seating position where the
safety belt is be ing used b ut w ill inflate at the
position where the safety belt is not be ing
used . It is important that nothing interfere
with the safety be lt buckles so that the sen ­
sors can send the cor rect info rmation about
safe ty be lt use to the electronic control un it .
A WARNING .
Changing the vehicle's suspension includ­
i ng use of unapp roved tire-r im combin a­
tions can cha nge Advanced Airbag per­
formance and increase the risk of se rious
personal injury in a crash.
- Never install s uspension componen ts
that do not have the same performance characteristics as the components origi ­
na lly installed on your vehicle.
- Never use tire -rim combinations that
have not been approved by Audi .
Knee airbags
Description of knee airbags
Applies to vehicles: wit h knee airbags
The knee airbag system can provide supple­
mental protection to properly restrained
front seat occupants .
Fig. 1 63 Driver 's k nee airbag
T he driver knee airbag is in the ins trumen t
pane l underneath the steering wheel
r:::> fig. 163, the airbag for t he passenger is at
about the same height in the instrument pan-
el underneath the glove compartment. ..,.

160 Airbag sys te m
The knee airbag offers additiona l protect ion
to the driver's and passenger's knees and up­ per and lower thigh areas and supp lements
the protect ion provided by the safety belts.
I f the front airbags deploy, the knee airbags
a lso deploy in frontal co llisions when the de ­
p loyment threshold stored in the contro l unit
is met
c:> page 152, More important things to
know about front airbags.
In addition to their normal safety function,
safety belts he lp keep the driver or front pas­
senger in posit ion in a frontal collis ion so that
the airbags can prov ide supplemental protec­
tion .
The airbag system is not a subst itute for your
safety belt. Rather, it is part of the overall oc­
cupant restraint system in your veh icle. Al­
ways remember that the airbag system can
only help to protect you if you are wearing
your safety be lt and wear ing it properly . Th is
is why you shou ld always wear your safety
be lt, not just because the law requires yo u to
do so
<:> page 133, General notes.
The safety belt buck le for the dr iver and front
seat passenge r have switches that te ll t he a ir­
bag control mod ule if the safe ty belt is being
used or no t. If the safety be lt is being used,
the knee airbag will deploy at a slightly higher rate of deceleration than if the belt is not be­
ing used. Therefore, in a partic ular collision, it
is possible that an airbag will not deploy at a
seating position where the safety belt is being used but will inflate at the position where the
safety belt is not be ing used.
Remember too, airbags will deploy only once
and only in certain kinds of accidents -your
safety be lts are always there to offer protec ­
tion in those acc idents in which a irbags a re
not supposed to deploy or when they have a l­
r eady deployed, fo r example whe n your veh i­
cle strikes or is str uck by another after the
first coll is ion .
This is just one of the reasons why an a irbag is
n ot a substitute for the safety belt. The airbag
sys tem works mos t effective ly when used wi th the safety be
lts. Therefore, always wear yo ur
safety be lts correct ly .
It is important to remembe r that w hile the
s u pplement al knee airbag system is designed
to reduce the likelihood of ser ious inju ries,
other injuries, for example, swelling, bruising
and minor abrasions and friction b urns can a l­
so occur when an airbag inflates.
Th e knee airbag system basically consist s
of:
-The e lectronic control module
- Two inflatable ai rbags (airbag and gas gen -
erator), one for the driver and one for the
front passenger
- The airbag indicator lig ht in the instrument
pane l
The knee airbag system will not deploy:
-when the ignit ion is swit ched off
- in frontal collisions when the deceleration
measured by t he control un it is too low
- in side co llisions
- in rear-end col lisions
- in rollovers
- in the event of a system malfunction (warn-
ing/ind icator light is on)
<:> page 18.
A WARNING
-Safety belts and the airbag system can
only provide protection when occupants
are in the proper seating position
<:>pag e 152 .
- If t he airbag ind icator light c:> page 18
comes when the veh icle is being used,
have the system inspected i mmediately
by you r au thori zed A udi dealer.
It is pos ­
sib le tha t the airbag will infla te when i t
is not supposed to, or will no t inflate
when it should.
-

162 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
<=> page 168, Child Safety.
Side airbags
Description of side airbags
The airbag system can provide supplemental
protection to properly restrained occupants.
Fi g. 165 Side a irbag loca tion in the dr iver 's seat
The s ide airbags are lo cated i n the sides of the
front seat ba ckrests
<=> fig . 165 and the rear
backrest facing the doors. They are identified
by the word "AIRBAG" .
The s ide airbags installed for the front seating
positions have been designed a nd cer tified to
he lp reduce the risk of injury that can be
caused by airbags when they inflate, particu ­
larly when the occupant sitting next to it is
not seated properly. The side airbag for the
front passenger seat can be used with proper- ly installed child restraints. Please be sure to
read the important information and warnings
whenever using a child restraint in a vehicle:
Safety be lts <=>
page 133, Airbag system
<=>page 142, Child safety <=> page 168.
The side airbag system ba sicall y consi st s o f:
- t he ele ctron ic cont ro l modu le and external
side impact sensors
- t he two a irbags located in the s ides of the
front backrests and the two a irbags* located
in the rear backrest
- the airbag warning light in the ins trument
cl uster.
The airbag system is mon itored electronically
to make ce rtain that it is functioning p roperly
at all times. Each time you switch on the ign i­
t io n, the airbag system ind icator light will
come on for a few seconds (se lf diagnostics) .
The side airbag system supplements the safe­
ty be lts and can he lp to red uce the risk of in­
j u ry to the driver's, front and rear passenger's
u pper torso on the side of the veh icle that is
struck in a side collision. The airbag dep loys
only in side impacts and only when the vehicle
acce lerat ion reg istered by the control unit is
high enough. If this rate is be low the refer­
ence value programmed into the control unit,
the side airbags will not be triggered, even
though the car may be badly damaged as a re­ su lt of the collision .
It is not possib le to de­
fine an airbag triggering range th at will cover
every possib le ang le of impact, s ince the cir ­
cumstances will vary cons iderably between
one collision and another. Important factors
include, for example, the nature (hard or soft)
of the impacting object, the angle of impact,
vehicle speed, etc.
<=> page 164 , Important
safety instructions on the side airbag system .
Aside from their normal safety function, safe­
ty belts work to help keep the driver or front
passenger in position in the 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 the overall oc-
cupant restra int system in your vehicle . .,,.

Always remember that the side airbag system
can only help to protect you if you are wearing
your safety belt and wear ing it properly. This
is another reason why you should always wear
your safety belts, not just because the law re­
qu ires you to do soc>
page 133, General
notes.
It is important to remember that while the
supp lemental s ide airbag system is designed
to reduce the like lihood of serious injur ies,
other i njuries, for example, swel ling, b ruising,
frict ion bu rns and minor ab rasions can also be
assoc ia ted with deployed side airbags. Re­
member too, side airbags will deploy only
once and only in certain kinds of accidents -
your safety belts are always there to offer pro­
tection.
Vehicle damage, repa ir costs or even the lack
of vehicle damage are not necessar ily an indi­
cation of over-sensitive or failed airbag activa ­
tion. In some co llisions, both front and side
airbags may inflate. Remember too, that air­
bags will dep loy only once and only in certain
kinds of collisions -your safety belts are al­
ways there to offer protection in those acci­ dents in wh ic h airbags are not supposed to
deploy or when they have already deployed.
The side airbag sy stem will not deploy :
-when the ign ition is switched off
- in s ide collisions when the acceleration
measured by the sensor is too low
- in front-end collisions
- in rear -end collisions
- in ro llovers.
In some types of acc idents the front airbags,
side curta in a irbags and side airbags may b e
tr iggered toge ther.
_& WARNING
- Saf ety belts and the a irbag system will
only prov ide protection when occ upan ts
are in the proper seating posit ion
c>page 164.
- If the airbag indicator light c> page 18
comes when the vehicle is being used,
-
Airba g sy stem 163
have the system inspected immediately
by your authorized Audi dealer.
It i s pos­
sible that the airbag will inflate when it
is not supposed to, or will not inflate
when it should.
How supplemental s ide airbags work
Side airbags deploy instantly and can help re­
duce the risk of upper torso injuries for occu­
pants who are properly restrained .
Fig. 16 6 In flated side airbags on left side of vehicle,
rear side airbag
When the system is triggered, the airbag is
filled with propellant gas and breaks through
a seam in the seat surface area ma rked "AIR­
BAG". It expands between the side trim panel
and the passenger. In orde r to help provide
th is add it io na l prote ction, the side airbag
mus t inflate within a fraction of a second a t
very h igh speed and with great force. The sup­
plementa l side air bag could injure you if your
seating pos ition is not proper or up right o r if
items are located in the area where the sup­
plemental side airbag expands. This applies
especially to children
c> page 168, Child Safe­
ty .
Supplementa l side airbags i nflate be­
tween the occupant and the door panel on the
s id e of th e vehicle th at is str uck in certain side
collision
c> fig. 166.
Although they are not a soft pillow, they can
"cushion" the impact and in this way they can
h elp to reduc e the risk of injury to the upper
part o f the body.
A f ine dust may develop w hen the airbag de­
ploys . This is normal and does not mean there
is a fire in th e vehicle.

164 Airbag system
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.
& 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. -
Objects between you and the airbag can
increase the risk of injury in an accident
by interfering with the way the airbag
unfolds or by being pushed into you as
the airbag inflates.
- Never place or attach accessories or
other objects (such as cup holders, tel­
ephone brackets, or even large, bulky
objects) on the doors, over or near the
area marked "AIRBAG" on the seat backrests.
- Such objects and accessories can be­ come dangerous projectiles and cause
injury when the supplemental side air­
bag deploys.
- Never carry any objects or pets in the
deployment space between them and
the airbags or allow children or other passengers to travel in this position.
-Always use the built-in coat hooks only for lightweight clothing. Never leave any
heavy or sharp-edged objects in the
pockets that may interfere with side air­
bag deployment and can cause personal
injury in an accident.
- Always prevent the side airbags from be­
ing damaged by heavy objects knocking
against or hitting the sides of the seat­
backs.
- The airbag system can only be triggered
once. If the airbag has been triggered,
the system must be replaced by an au­
thorized Audi dealership.
- Damage (cracks, deep scratches etc.) to
the original seat covers or to the seam in
the area of the side airbag module must always be repaired immediately by an au­
thorized Audi dealer.
- If children are seated improperly, their
risk of injury increases in the case of an
accident
~ page 168, Child Safety .
-Never attempt to modify any compo­
nents of the airbag system in any way .
- In a side collision, side airbags will not
function properly if sensors cannot cor­ rectly measure increasing air pressure in-
side the doors when air escapes through ..,.

166 Airbag system
-The side curtain ai rbags above the front and
rear side windows
- The airbag indicator light in the instrument
panel
The airbag system is monitored electron ica lly
to make certain it is f unct io ning properly at a ll
times. Each time you switch on the ignition,
the airbag system indicator light will come on
for a few seconds (self diagnostics).
The side curtain airbag is not activated:
- if the ignit io n is switched off,
- in s ide coll isions when the accelerat ion
measured by the sensor is too low,
- in rear-end collisions.
A WARNING
- Safety belts and the a irbag system w ill
only p rov ide protection whe n oc cupants
are in t he p roper sea ting posit ion
¢ page 53, General recommendations.
- If the airbag indica tor ligh t¢ page 18
comes when the vehicle is be ing used,
have t he system inspected immediate ly
by you r aut horized Audi dea ler . It is pos­
sible that the airbag will inf late when it
is not supposed to, or w ill not inflate
when it should.
How side curtain airbags work
Side curtain airbags can work together with
side airbags to help reduce the risk of head
and upper torso injuries for occupants who
are properly restrained.
Fi g. 168 Ill ustrat io n of p rincipl e: Inflated side curtain
airbags on t he left s ide
T he side curtain airbags inf late between the
occupant and the windows on the side of the
vehicle that is struck in a side coll is ion
¢ fig . 168.
When the system is triggered, the side curtain
airbag is filled with prope llant gas and breaks
through a seam above the front and rear side
windows identified by the AIRBAG label. In or­
der to he lp provide this additional protection,
the side curta in a irbag must inflate within the
blink of an eye at ve ry high speed and with
great fo rce . The side curta in a irbag could in­
jure you if your seating posit ion is not prope r
o r u pright or if items are located in t he area
where the supplemen tal side curta in airbag
inflates . This applies especially to chi ldren
c> page 168.
Althoug h they are not a so ft pillow, side cur­
ta in airbags can "cushion" the impact and in
th is way they can help to reduce the risk of in­
j u ry to the head and the upper part of the
body .
A f ine d ust may deve lop when the airbag de­
ploys . This is qui te 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 yo u and your passengers
must know and do to he lp the safety belts and
airbags do their job to provide supp lemental
protection .
A WARNING
'"' Improperly wea ring safety belts and im­
p roper seating pos it ions increase the risk
of ser ious personal in ju ry and death when ­
ever a vehicle is being use d.
- Never let occupants place any pa rts of
t heir bod ies in the area from whi ch the
-
side curta in a irbag inf la te. .,..

-Always make sure that the side curtain
airbags can inflate without interference .
- 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 a colli­
sion.
- Never use hangers to hang clothes on
the hooks.
- Only use factory-installed sun shades or,
if shades installed after the vehicle
leaves the factory, use only genuine Audi
sun shades.
- Never swing the sun visors over to the
side windows if things such as pens, ga­
rage door openers, hands-free speakers,
etc. are attached to the sun visors. They
could come loose and cause serious in­
jury if the side curtain airbag inflates.
- A deploying airbag inflates in a fraction
of a second and with great force.
- Never attach objects to the cover or in
the deployment zone of a side curtain
airbag.
- The airbag deployment zones must be
kept clear at all times. Make sure there
are no objects, pets, or other persons in
the space between any vehicle occupant
and any airbag at any time.
- Do not attach any accessories to the
doors.
A WARNING
-The airbag system can deploy only once.
If the airbag has been triggered, the sys­
tem must be replaced by an authorized
Audi dealer or qualified workshop.
- Always have work involving the side cur­
tain airbag system, removal and installa­
tion of the airbag components, or other
repairs performed by a qualified dealer­
ship. Otherwise the airbag system may
not work correctly .
- Never attempt to modify any compo­
nents of the airbag system in any way.
Airbag system 167
•
•

-Always install rear-facing child safety
seats on the rear seat.
-If you must install a rearward facing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat in exceptional circumstances and
the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not come on and stay on, immediately
install the rear-facing child safety seat in
a rear seating position and have the air­
bag system inspected immediately by
your Audi dealer.
_& WARNING
- Forward-facing child seats installed on
the front passenger seat may interfere
with the deployment of the airbag and
cause serious personal injury to the
child.
- If exceptional circumstances require the
use of a forward-facing child restraint on
the front passenger's seat, the child's
safety and well-being require the follow­
ing special precautions to be taken:
- Always make sure that the forward-fac­
ing seat has been designed and certi­
fied by its manufacturer for use on a
front passenger seat with a front and side airbag.
- Always carefully follow the manufac­
turer's instructions provided with the
child seat or infant carrier.
- Never install a child restraint without a
properly attached top tether strap if
the child restraint manufacturer's in­
structions require the top tether strap
to be used.
- Never put the forward-facing child re­
straint up against or very near the in­
strument panel.
- Always set the safety belt upper an­
chorage to the adjustment position
that permits proper installation in ac­
cordance with the child restraint manu­
facturer's instructions.
- Always move the passenger seat into
its rearmost position in the seat's fore
and aft adjustment range, as far away
.
Child Safety 169
from the airbag as possible before in­
stalling the child restraint. The back­
rest must be adjusted to an upright po­
sition.
- Always make sure that nothing pre­
vents the front passenger's seat from being moved to the rearmost position
in its fore and aft adjustment range.
- Never place objects on the seat (such
as a laptop, CD player, electronic
games device, power inverter or seat
heater for child seats). These may in­
fluence the electrical capacitance
measured by the capacitive passenger
detection system and can also fly
around in an accident and cause serious personal injury.
- Never place or use any electrical device
(such as a laptop, CD player, electronic
games device, power inverter or seat
heater for child seats) on the front pas­
senger seat if the device is connected
to the 12-volt socket or the cigarette
lighter socket.
- If a seat heater has been retrofitted or
otherwise added to the front passen­ ger seat, never install any child re­
straint system on this seat.
- Make sure that there are no wet objects
(such as a wet towel) and no water or
other liquids on the front passenger
seat cushion.
- Always 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 PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, immedi­
ately install the forward-facing child
seat in a rear seating position and have
the airbag system inspected by your
authorized Audi dealer.
- Always buckle the child seat firmly in
place even if a child is not sitting in it.
A loose child seat can fly around during
a sudden stop or in a collision.
~
•
•