2014 AUDI RS7 SPORTBACK child seat

If the total electrical capacitance registered
on the front passenger seat is more than that
of a typ ica l 1 year-old, but less than the
weight of a small adult, the front airbag on the passenger side may deploy (the
PA SSEN ­
G ER AIR BA G OFF
light does not come on) .
For example, th e air bag m ay depl oy if :
-a small child that is heavier than a typical 1
year-o ld child is on the front passenger seat
(regardless of whether the child is in one of
the chi ld seats listed
¢ page 170),
-a chi ld who has outgrown child restraints is
on the front passenger seat.
I f the front passenger airbag is turned
off, the
PA SSENGER AIR BA G OFF light in the center
of the instrument panel wi ll come on and stay
on.
If the front passenger airbag deploys, the
F ederal Standard requires the a irbag to meet
the " low risk" deployment criteria to help re­
d uce 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 electronic control
un it
o page 154 .
Alwa ys rem ember: Even though your vehicle
is equipped with Advanced Airbags, the safest
place for children is properly restrained on the
back seat. Please be sure to read the impor ­
tant information in the sect ions that follow
and be sure to heed a ll of the WARNINGS.
A WARNING
To reduce the risk of injury when an airbag
inf lates, a lways wear safety belts properly.
- If you are unres trained, lean ing fo rward,
sitting sideways or out of position in any
way, your risk of inj ury is much highe r.
- You w ill also receive serio us inju ries and
cou ld even be killed if you are up against
the a irbag or too close to it when it in ­
flates -even with an Advanced Airbag
¢ page 142 .
Airbag system 149
A WARNING
A child in a rearward-fac ing ch ild seat in­
stalled on the front passenger seat will be
seriously inju red and can be killed if the
front airbag inflates -even w ith an Ad­
vanced A irbag System .
- Although the Advanced Airbag System in
your veh icle is designed to turn
off the
front airbag when a rearward-facing child res traint has been installe d on the
front passenger seat, nobody can abso ­
lutely guarantee that dep loyment is im­
possible in all conceivable situations that
may happen dur ing the usefu l life of your
veh icle.
- The inflating airbag will h it the ch ild seat
or infant carrier with great force and will
smash the child seat and child against
the backrest, center armrest, door, or roof.
- Always install rearward-facing chi ld re­
straints on the rear seat .
- If you must install a rearward fac ing
child seat on the front passenger seat because of exceptional circumstances
and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, immed i­
ately in sta ll the rear-fa cing child seat in a
rea r seat ing pos ition and have the airbag
system inspected by your Audi dealer.
A WARNING ,-
If, 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 rearmost position in the seat's fore and
aft adjustment range, as far away from
the airbag as possible, before installing
the forward-fac ing ch ild restra int . Th e •
-
•

-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 put them on the seat. The capacitive
passenger detection mat in the front
passenger seat will not function properly
if it is punctured .
- Never carry things on your lap or carry
objects on the front passenger seat.
Such objects can influence the capaci ­
tance registered by the capacitive pas­ senger detection system, so that incor­
rect information is provided 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 .
- If a seat heater has been retrofitted or
otherwise added to the front passenger
seat, never install any child restraint sys­
tem on this seat.
- Never use cushions, pillows, blankets, or
similar items on the front passenger
seat. The additional layers prevent the capacitive passenger detection system
from accurately measuring the capaci­
tance of the child safety seat and/or the
person on the seat and thus keep the Ad-
Airbag system 151
vanced Airbag System from working
properly .
- 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 light­ er socket. Such devices can influence the
capacitance registered by the capacitive
passenger detection system, so that in­
correct information is provided to the air­
bag control unit.
- 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.
_& WARNING ~
If the front passenger seat gets wet, dry it
immediately.
- If liquid soaks into the front passenger
seat, this can keep the airbag system
from working properly and may, for in­
stance, deactivate the passenger frontal
airbag. If this happens, the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light will come on and stay
on together with the airbag indicator
light
fl in the instrument cluster .
- If liquid is pooled on the seat, but has
not soaked in, this may also keep the air ­
bag system from working properly and
cause the passenger frontal airbag to be
enabled (turned on), even though there
is a properly installed child restraint sys-
tem on the seat. Wet towels or other wet .,..
•
•

152 Airbag system
things on the sea t cushion can have the
same effect. If the front passenger fron­ tal airbag is turned on, the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light light will go out .
How the Advanced Airbag System
components work together
The front Advanced Airbag System and the
side airbags supplement the protection of­
fered by the front three -point safety be lts
with pretensioners and load limiters and the
adj ustab le head restraints* to help reduce the
risk of inju ry in a wide range of accident and
crash situa tions. Be sure to re ad the impor­
tan t information abou t safe ty and heed the
WARNINGS in this chapter .
Dep loyment of the Advanced Airbag System
and the activat ion of the safety bel t preten­
sioners depend on the decelera tion measured
by the crash sensors and registered by the
e lectronic control un it . The amount of i nfla­
tion of the front airbags can also be adapted to the front sea t position , depend ing on the
d istance between t he respective front seat
and the steering wheel o r instrument pa nel as
registered by sensors in the seats. Crash se­
ver ity depends on speed and dec elerat ion as
well as the mass and st iffness of the vehicle
or objec t invo lved in the crash .
On the passenge r side, regard less of safety
be lt use, the front passenger fronta l a irbag
will be turned off if the e lectrical capacitance
measured by the capac itive passenger de tec­
tion system on the front passenger seat is less
than the amount programmed in the electron ­
i c co ntrol unit . The front passenger frontal air­
bag will a lso be turned off if the capa cita nce
measured by the system for the front passen­
ge r seat eq ua ls tha t of an infant of abo ut one
yea r of age in one o f the child sea ts that was
used to cert ify the Advanced Airbag System
under Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
208. The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF li ght
comes on and stays on to tell you when the
front Advanced A irbag System on the passen­
ge r side has been turned off~
page 155 .
A WARNING
-To reduce the risk of injury w hen an a irbag
in flates, always wear safety be lts p roperly.
- If you are unrestra ined, leaning fo rward,
sitt ing s ideways or out of pos ition in any
way, your risk of injury is much h igher .
- You will a lso receive se rious injuries and
could even be killed if you a re up aga inst
the airbag o r too close to it when it in­
flates - even w ith an Advanced A irb ag
r:::> page 1 4 2 .
More important things to know about
front airbags
Fig . 1 61 In flated fro nt a irbags
Safety belts a re important to he lp keep front
seat o ccupants in the proper seated position
so that a irbags can unfold properly and pro­
v ide s upplementa l pro te cti on in a fron tal col­
li sion .
T he front airbags are des igned to provide ad­
di tional p rotection fo r the ches t and face of
the driver a nd the front seat passenger w hen:
- safety belts are worn properly,
- the seats have bee n positioned so that the
occupant is properly seated as far as poss i­
b le from the airbag ,
- and for ad justab le head restra ints: the head
restrai nts have been properly ad justed.
Beca use airbags inflate in the blink of an eye
with great force, th ings you have on your lap
or have p laced on the seat cou ld become dan ­
gerous projecti les, and be p ushed in to you if
t h e a irbag inflates .
When an airbag deploy s, fine dust is re leased.
This is norma l and is not caused by a f ire in ..,.

the vehicle. This dust is made up most ly of a
powder used to lubricate the airbags as they
deploy . It cou ld irritate skin .
It is importan t to remember that while the
supplemental airbag system is designed to re­
duce the likelihood of serious injuries , other
in ju ries, for example swell ing, bruising and
minor abrasions, can also happen when air­
bags inflate. Airbags do not protect the arms
or the lower parts of the body . Front airbags
supplement the three-poi nt safety belts only
i n some frontal collisions in which the vehicle
decelerat ion is high enough to deploy the air­
bags.
Front airbags will not deploy:
- if the ignit ion is switched off when a crash
occurs,
- in s ide collisions,
- in rear-end collisions,
- in ro llovers,
- when the crash deceleration measured by
the airbag system is less than the minimum
threshold needed for airbag deployment as
registered by the electronic control unit.
Th e front pa sseng er airbag al so will not
d e plo y:
-when the front passenger seat is not occu ­
pied,
- when the electrical capacitance measured by
the capacitive passenger detect ion system
for the front passenger seat indicates that
the passenger side frontal airbag must be
switched off by the electronic control unit (the
P ASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
¢ page 155 and how they wo rk comes on
and stays on).
A WARNING
Sitting in the wrong position can increase
the risk of serious injury in crashes .
- To reduce the r isk o f injury when the air ­
bags inflate, the driver and passengers
must a lways sit in an upright position,
must not lean against or place any part
A irbag system 153
of their body too close to the area where
the airbags are located.
- Occupants who are unbelted, out of posi­
tion or too close to the airbag can be se­
riously injured by an airbag as it unfolds
with great force in the blink of an eye
¢page 144.
A WARNING
A child in a rearward-fac ing ch ild seat in­
stalled on the front passenger seat will be
se riously injured and can be killed if the
front airbag inflates - even w ith an Ad­
vanced A irbag System.
- The inflating airbag will h it the ch ild seat
or infant carrier with great fo rce and will
smash the child seat and child against
the backrest, center armrest, doo r or
roof.
- Always install rear -facing chi ld seats on
the rear seat.
- If you must install a rearward fac ing
child seat on the front passenger seat
because of exceptional circumstances
and the PASS ENG ER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, immed i­
ately insta ll the rear-facing child seat in a
rea r seat ing pos ition and have the airbag
system inspected by your Audi dealer .
A WARNING
Objects between you and the airbag will
increase the r isk of injury in a crash by in­
terfering with the way the ai rbag unfolds
or by be ing p ushed into you as the airbag
inflates.
- Neve r hold things in yo ur hands o r on
your lap when the veh icle is in use.
- Never transpo rt items on or in the a rea
of the front passenger seat. Objects
co uld move into the area of the front air ­
bags during braking or other sudden ma ­
neuvers and become dangero us projec­
tiles that can cause ser ious personal in­
jury if the a irbags inf late.
•
•
-
-

continu ously to serve as a constant reminder
to have the system inspected immediately.
I f a malfunction occurs that turns the front
airbag on the passenger side
off, the PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG OFF
lig ht wi ll come on and stay
on whenever the ignition is on.
A WARNING
An airbag system that is not functioning properly cannot provide supplemental pro­
tection in a frontal crash.
- If the airbag indicator light
c::> page 18
comes when the vehicle is being used,
have the system inspected immediately
by your authorized Audi dealer . It is pos­
sible that the airbag will inflate when it
is no t supposed to, or will not inflate
when it sho uld.
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
Fig. 162 Sect ion fr om the inst ru ment pa ne l: PASSEN­
G ER AIR BAG OFF l ight
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light is locat ed
in the center o f the instrument panel
c::>fig . 162 .
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light will come
on and sta y on to te ll you when the front Ad­
vanced Airbag on the passenger side has been
turned
off by the e lectronic control unit. If the
bu lb for the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
burns out, the a irbag indicator light
fl will
come on to signal a malfunction in the Ad­
vanced A irbag System . Al though the burned­
out bulb will not change the way the front
passenger's frontal airbag works, it w ill no
longer be possible to use the
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
l ight to make sure that the airbag
Airbag system 155
on/off status is correct fo r the occupant on
the front passenger seat. Have the a irbag sys­
tem inspected immediately by your author ­
i z ed Audi dealer.
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light will blink
for about 5 seconds when:
- the ignition is switched on and
- the capacit ive passenger detection system,
wh ich switches the front seat passenger's
frontal Advanced Airbag on and
off, detects
a change in the status of the front passen­
ger seat.
As soon as the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light stops blinking, always make sure that
the airbag status (on or off) as shown by the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light is proper for
the age, size and electrical capacitance of the
person occupy ing the front passenger seat.
Always make sure that the safe ty belt for the
front passenger sea t is properly fastened .
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light will
show the status of the front seat passenger's
frontal Advanced Airbag a few seconds after
the ignition is switched on and the airbag in­
dicator light goes off . The PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF light:
- will stay on if the front passenger seat is not
occupied;
- w ill stay on if the e lectrical capacitance
measured by the capacitive passenger de­
tect ion system for the front passenger seat
equals the comb ined capacitance of an in­
fant up to about one year of age and one of
the rearward-facing or forward-facing child
restraints listed in Federal Motor Vehicle
Safety Standard 208 with which the Ad­
vanced Airbag System in your vehicle was
certified; For a listing of the child restraints
that were used to certify your vehicle's com ­
pliance w ith the U.S. Safety Standard
c::> page 170.
- will go out if the front passenger seat is oc­
cupied by an adult as registered by the ca­
pacitive passenger detection system.

156 Airbag system
-The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light must
come on and stay on if the ignition is on
and ...
- a car bed has been installed on the front
passenger seat, or
- a rearward-facing chi ld restraint has been
installed on the front passenger seat, or
- a forward-facing child restraint has been in­
stalled on the front passenger seat,
- and if the e lectr ica l capacitance registered
on the front passenger seat is equal to or
less than the combined capacitance of a typ­
ica l 1 year -old infant and one of the rear­
ward-fac ing or forward-facing child re ­
straints listed in Federal Motor Vehicle Safe­
ty Standard 208 w ith which the Advanced
Airbag System in your vehicle 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 install 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 o ne
of the seating positions on the rear seat
¢ page 144, Child restraints on the front seat
- some important things to know
and
~ page 168, Child Safety .
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG light comes
on ...
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
l ight does not appear on and does not
stay on all the time, stop as soon as it is safe
to do so and
- reactivate the system by turning the ignition
off for more than 4 seconds and then turn­
i ng it on again;
- remove and reinstall the ch ild restraint .
Make sure that the child restraint is properly
installed and that the safety be lt fo r the
front passenger seat has been correctly routed through the child restraint as descri- bed in
the child restraint manufacturer's in­
structions;
- ma ke 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.
- make sure that no electrica l device (such as
a laptop, CD p layer, e lectronic games device,
power inverter or seat heater for chi ld seats)
is placed or used on the front passenger
seat if the dev ice is connected to the 12-volt
socket or the cigarette lighter socket;
- make sure that no seat heater has been ret­
rofitted or othe rwise added to the front pas­
senger seat;
- make sure that nothing can interfere with
the safety belt buckles and that they are not
obstructed;
- 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.
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG light still
does not come on ...
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light still
does not come on and does not stay on con­
tinuously (when the ignition is switched on),
- take the child restraint off the front passen-
ge r seat and install it properly at one of the
rear seat positions. Have the airbag system
inspected by your Audi dealer immed iately.
- move the child to a rear seat position and
make sure that the child is prope rly restrain­
ed in a child restra int that is appropriate for
its si ze and age.
The PASSENGER AIR BAG light should
NOT come on ...
T he 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 passenger seat . If the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on or
flashes for about 5 seconds wh ile driving, un­
der these c ircumstances, make sure that:
- the adult on the front passenger seat is
properly seated on the center of the seat

cushion with his or her back up against the
backrest and the backrest is not reclined,
- the adult is not taking weight off the seat by
holding on to the passenger assist handle
above the front passenger door or support­
ing their we ight on the armrest,
- the safety be lt is being properly worn and
that there is not a lot of slack in the safety
belt webbing,
- there are no aftermarket seat covers or
cushions or other things (such as blankets)
on the front passenger seat that might
cause the capacitive passenger detection
system to miscalculate electrical capac i­
tance.
Important safety instructions on
monitoring the Advanced Airbag System
A WARNING
- If the status of the Adva need A irbag Sys­
tem has changed wh ile the vehicle is
moving, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light b links for about 5 seconds to catch
the driver's attent ion. If this happens, al­
ways stop as soon as it is safe to do so
and check the steps described above.
- If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not go off when an adu lt who is not
very small is sitting on the front passen ­
ger seat after taking the steps described
above, make sure the adult is properly
seated and restrained at one of the rear
seating pos it ions. Have the airbag sys­
tem inspected by your authorized Audi
dealer before transpo rting anyone on the
front passenger seat.
A WARNING
An airbag system that is not funct ioning
prope rly cannot provide supplemental p ro­
t e ction in a fron tal crash.
- If the airbag indicato r light ~page 18
comes when the vehicle is be ing used,
h ave the system inspected immedi ately
by you r autho rized Aud i dea ler . It is pos­
sible that the airba g will inflate when it
A irbag system 157
is not supposed to, or will not inflate
when it should.
A WARNING
If the front airbag inflates, a child without
a child restraint, or in a rearward-facing
chi ld safety seat, or in a forward-facing
chi ld restraint that has not been proper ly
install ed w ill be seriou sly injur ed and can
be killed.
- Even tho ugh yo ur vehicle is equipped
wit h an Advanced A irbag System, make
certain that all children, espec ial ly 12
ye ars and younger, always ride on the
back seat properly rest rained for their
age an d size .
- Always install forward o r rear-facing
child seats on the rear sea t - even with
an Advanced Ai rba g System.
- If you must install a rearwa rd -fa cing
child seat on the front passenger seat because of exceptional circumstances
and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not appear and stay on, immediate ­
ly install the rear-facing child seat in a
rear seat ing pos itio n and have the airbag
system inspected by you r Audi dealer.
- If, in exceptiona l circumstances, you
must ins tall a forward-fac ing ch ild re­
s traint on the front passenger seat, al­
ways move the sea t into its rearmos t po­
sition in the seat 's fore and aft adjust­
men t range, as fa r away from the a irbag
as possi ble . The backrest must be adjust ­
ed to an upright pos ition. Make su re that
the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
comes on and stays on all the time when­
ever the ignit ion is switched on.
A WARNING
-
- If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not go out w hen an ad ult is sitting
on the front passenger seat after taking
the steps described above, make su re the
adu lt is prope rly seated and restra ined at
one o f the rea r seat ing pos itions. .,.
•
•

How knee airbags work
Applies to vehicles: with knee airb ags
The risk of injury to the leg area can be re­
duced by fully inflated knee airbags.
Fig. 164 Inflated airbags protecting in a frontal 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 152,
fig. 161.
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 161
Important safety instructions on the
knee airbag system
Applies to vehicles: wit h knee airbags
Airbags are 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
imprope r 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