Page 153 of 296

old chi ld is on the front passenger seat
and the other cond itions for airbag de
ployment are met.
- Accident statistics have shown that chil
dren are generally safer in the rear seat
area than in the front seating posit ion.
- For their own safety, all children, espe cially 12 years and younger, should al
ways ride in the back properly restrained
for their age and size .
Advanced front airbag system
Your vehicle is equipped w ith a front Advanced
Airbag System in compliance with Un ited
States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
208 as app licable at the time yo ur vehicle was
manufactured .
The front Advanced Airbag System supple ments the safety belts to provide add it io na l
protection fo r the d river's and fron t passeng
e r' s heads and upper bodies in fronta l crashes.
The airbags inflate only in frontal impacts
when th e vehicle dece le rat ion is high enough .
The front Advanced Airbag Sys tem for the
front seat occupants is not a substit ute for
your safety belts. Rather, it is part of the over
all occupant restraint system in your vehicle.
A lways remember that the ai rbag system can
only help to protect you, if you are sitting up
right, wearing you r safety belt and wearing it
properly . This is why you and you r passengers
must always be properly restrained, not just
because the law requires you to be.
T he Advanced Airbag System in your veh icle
has been cert ified to meet the "low risk " re
qu irements for 3 and 6 year-o ld children on
the passenge r side and very small adu lts on
the dr iver side . The low risk dep loymen t crite
ria are intended to he lp red uce the risk of i n
jury through interaction with the front airbag
that can occ ur, for example , by being too
close to the steer ing whee l and instrument
panel when the airbag inflates.
I n addition, the system has been certif ied to
comp ly with the "suppression" requirements
A irbag system 15 1
of the Safe ty Standa rd, to turn off the front
airbag for infants 12 months old and younger
who are restrained on the front passenger
seat in child restraints that are listed in the Standa rd
¢ page 169 , Child restraints and
Advanced Airbags .
"Suppression" requires the front a irbag on the
passenger side to be turned off if:
- a child up to abo ut one year o f age is re
strained on the front passenger seat i n one
of the rear-fac ing or forward-facing infant
restraints listed in Federal Motor Vehicle
Safety Standard 208 with which the Ad
vanced Airbag System in your ve hicle was
cert ified . Fo r a listing o f the child restraints
that were used to certify your vehicle's com plia nce w ith the US Safety Standa rd
¢ page 169,
-weight less than a thres ho ld level stored in
t he control uni t is de te cted on the fron t pas
senge r seat.
When a person is detected on the front pas
senger seat, weighing more than the total
weight of a ch ild tha t is abou t 1 year old re
stra ined in one of the rear -faci ng or forward
f acing infa nt res traints ( listed in Fede ral Mo
tor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 w it h which
the Advanced Airbag System in yo ur vehicle
was certified), the front airbag on the passen ger side may or may not deploy.
The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
when the elect ronic contro l unit detects a to
ta l we ight on the front passenger seat that re
quires the front airbag to be tu rned off. If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not
come on, the front ai rbag on the passenger
s ide has not been turned off by the cont ro l
unit and ca n dep loy if t he control un it senses
an impact that meets the cond itions stored i n
its memory.
If the total weig ht on the front passenge r
seat is more than that of a typical 1 yea r-o ld ,
bu t less than the we igh t of a small ad ult, t he
fron t airbag on the passenger side may dep loy
(the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not
come on). ..,. •
•
Page 154 of 296

152 Airbag sys te m
For exa mpl e, the air b ag ma y 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 whe ther the child is in one of
the chi ld safety seats listed
¢ page 169),
-a ch ild who has outgrown child rest raints is
on the front passenger seat.
If the front passenger airbag is turned off, the
PA SSENGER AIR BAG OFF light in the cente r
of the instrument panel w ill come on and stay
on.
The front a irbag on the passenger side may
not deploy (the PAS SENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not illuminate and stay lit) if:
- a small adult or teenager is on the front pas
senger seat
- a passenger who is not sitt ing upright wit h
their back against a non-reclined backrest
with their feet on the veh icle floo r in front
of the seat is on the front passenger seat.
If the front passenger airbag deploys, the Federal Standard requires the airbag to meet
the "low risk" deployment criteria to help re
d uce the risk of inju ry through interaction
with the airbag. " Low risk" deployment occurs
in those crashes that take place at lower de
celerations as defined in the e lectronic control
un it.
¢ page 156
Alw ays remember : Even though you r vehicle
is equipped with Advanced Airbags, the safest
p lace 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 all of the WARNINGS.
A WARNING
To reduce the risk of injury when an airbag
inf lates, always wear safety belts properly.
- If you are unrestrained, lean ing forward,
sitting sideways or out of position in any
way, your risk of in jury is much higher.
- You w ill also receive serious injuries and
cou ld even be killed if you are up against
the a irbag or too close to it when it in- f
lates - even with an Advanced A irbag
¢page 146.
A WARNING
-A child in a rearward-fac ing ch ild safety
seat installed on the front passenger seat
will be serious ly injured and can be killed if
the front airbag inflates - even with 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 restraint has been instal led on the
front passenger seat, nobody can abso
lutely g uarantee that dep loyment is im
possible in all conceivable situations that
may happen during the usefu l life of your
veh icle.
- The inflating airbag will hit the child
safety seat or infant carrier with great
force and will smash the child safety seat
and child aga inst the backrest, center
armrest, door, or roof.
-Always install rearward -facing ch ild re
straints in the back seat.
- If you must install a rearward fac ing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat because of exceptiona l circumstan
ces and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on and stay on, im
mediately insta ll th e rear-fac ing ch ild
safety seat in a rear seating position and
have the airbag system inspected by your
authorized Audi dealer .
A WARNING
If, in exceptional circumstances, you m ust
insta ll 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 p ut the forward-facing child re
straint up against or very near the instru- ment panel.
~
Page 155 of 296

-Always move the passenger seat into its
rearmost position in the seat's fore and
aft adjustment range, as far away from
the a irbag as poss ible, before insta lling
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 w henever the ignition is sw itched
o n.
Advanced Airbag System components
The fron t passenger seat in your vehicle has a
lot of very important parts of the Advanced
Airbag System in it. These parts include the
weight-sens ing mat, sensors, wiring, brack
ets, and more. The function of the system in
the front passenger seat is checked by the
e lectronic control u nit when the ignit ion is on .
The control un it mon itors the Advanced Air
bag System and turns the airbag indicator
l ight on whe n a ma lfunction in t he sys tem
components is de tected. The function of the
airbag indicator light is described in greater
detai l below . Because the front passenger
seat contains important parts of the Ad
vanced A irbag System, you m ust 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 Airb ag Sy stem
consists of the following:
- Crash sensors in the front of the veh icle that
measure veh icle acceleration/decele ration
to provide information to the Advanced Air
bag System about the seve rity of the crash.
- An electronic co ntrol unit, with integrated
c rash se nsors for front and side impacts .
T he cont ro l unit " decides " whethe r to fire
the front airbags based on the inform ation
received from the crash senso rs . The contro l
unit a lso "decides" whether the safety belt
pretensioners should be activated .
Airbag system 153
-An Advanced A irbag w ith gas gene rator and
contro l valve fo r the driver ins ide the steer
ing wheel h ub.
- An Advanced Airbag w ith gas gene rator and
contro l valve inside the instrument pane l for
the front passenger.
- A weight-sensing mat under the upholstery
padding of the front passenger seat cushion
that measures the total weight on the seat.
The informat ion reg istered 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 monitor ing system and ind icator
light in the instrument cluster
q page 156 .
-A sensor in each front seat registers the dis
tance between the respective seat and the
steer ing whee l o r inst rument panel. The in
forma tion registered is sent cont inuo usly to
t he elect ron ic cont ro l uni t to regula te de
ployment o f the front Advance d Airbags .
- The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF ligh t comes
on and st ays on in the cen ter o f th e instr u
ment panel
<:!;> page 157, fig . 156 and tells
you whe n the front Advanced Airbag on the
passenger side has been tu rned
off .
-A sensor below the safety be lt latch fo r the
front seat passenger to measure the tension on the safety be lt . The tension on the safety
be lt and the weight registered by the
weight-sensi ng mat he lp the control unit
"decide" whether the front a irbag for the
front passenge r seat should be turned
off or
not
<=;> pag e 147, Child restraints on the
front seat -some important things to
know.
- A senso r in the safety belt latch fo r the d riv
er a nd fo r the fro nt sea t passenger tha t
senses w hethe r that safe ty belt is latched or
no t and transmi ts this informa tion to the
electronic control unit.
_&. WARNING
Damage to the front passenger seat can
prevent the front airbag from work ing
properly.
-
•
•
Page 156 of 296

154 Airbag sys te m
- 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 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
unit.
- Never store items under the front pas·
senger seat. Parts of the Advanced Ai r
bag System under the passenger seat
cou ld 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 deploy ing prop
erly.
- Never use cush ions, pillows, blankets or
similar items on the front passenger
seat. The add itional padd ing will prevent
the weight-sensing mat in the seat from
accurately reg iste ring the ch ild restra int
or person on the seat and prevent the
Advanced Airbag System from function ing properly .
-If you must use a child restra int on the
front passenger seat and the chi ld re- straint manufacturer's instructions
re
qu ire the use of a towel, foam cushion or
something e lse to properly pos ition the
child restraint, make certain that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes
on and stays on whenever the ch ild re·
straint is installed on the front passen
ger seat.
- If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, immed i
ately insta ll child restraint in a rear seat
ing position and have the airbag system
inspected by your authorized Audi dealer.
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 belts
with pretensioners and load limiters and the
adjustable head restraints to help reduce the
risk of injury in a wide range of accident and
crash situations. Be 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 the activation of the safety belt preten
sioners depend on the deceleration measured
by the crash sensors and registered by the
electron ic control unit. Crash severity depends
on speed and deceleration as well as the mass
and stiffness of the vehicle or object involved
in the crash .
On the passenger side, regardless of safety
belt use, the airbag will be turned off if the
weight on the passenger seat is less than the
amount programmed in the electronic control
unit . 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 Moto r Veh icle Safety Standard 208 has been
recognized on the seat. The
PAS SENGER AIR
BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on to tell
you when the front Advanced Airbag on the
passenger side has been turned off
¢ page 147, Child restraints on the front seat
- some important things to know. ...,.
Page 157 of 296

A WARNING
To reduce the risk of injury when an airbag
inflates, always wear safety belts properly.
- If you are unrestrained, lean ing forward,
sitting sideways or out of position in any
way, your risk of injury is much higher.
- You w ill also receive serious injuries and
could even be killed if you are up against
the a irbag or too close to it when it in
fla tes - even with an Advanced Airbag
~page 146.
More important things to know about
front airbags
Fig. 155 Inf lated front a irbags
Safety belts are impo rtant to help keep front
seat occupants in the p roper seated pos ition
so that airbags can unfo ld properly and pro
v ide supp lemental protection in a fronta l col
lision.
The front a irbags are designed to provide ad
d itiona l protection for the chest and face of
the dr iver and the front seat passenge r when:
- safety belts are worn prope rly,
- the seats have been posit ioned so that the
occupant is properly seated as far as possi
ble from the a irbag,
- and the head restraints have been properly adjusted .
Because airbags i nflate in the blink of an eye
with great force, things you have on your lap
or have placed on the seat could become dan
ge ro us projectiles, and be pushed into you if
the airbag inflates.
When an a irbag deploys, fine dust is released.
This is normal and is not caused by a fire in
A irba g sy stem 155
the vehicle . This dust is made up mostly of a
powder used to lubricate the airbags as they
deploy. It could irr itate skin.
It is important to remembe r that wh ile the
supplementa l airbag system is designed to re
duce the like lihood of serious injuries, other
injur ies, for example swelling, br uis ing and
minor abrasions, can also happen when air
bags inflate. Airbags do not protect the arms
or the lower parts of the body . Front a irbags
o nly supplement the three point safe ty belts
in some fronta l co llisions in which the vehicle
decelera tion is h igh enough to deploy the air
bags.
Front airbags will not deploy :
- if the ignition is sw itched off when a crash
occu rs,
- in side co llisions,
- in rear-end collisions,
- in rollovers,
-when the crash deceleration measured by the airbag system is less than the minimum
threshold needed for airbag dep loyment as
reg istered by the electronic contro l unit .
The front pa ssenger ai rbag will also not
deploy:
- when the front passenger seat is not occu
pied,
- when the weight on the front passenger
seat as sensed by the Advanced Airbag Sys
tem ind icates that the front airbag on the
passe nger side has to be turned off by the
electronic control unit (the
PASSENGER AIR
BA G OFF
light comes on and stays o n).
A WARNING
-S itting in the wrong pos ition can in crease
the r is k of se rious inj ury i n crashes.
- To reduce the risk of injury when the air
bags inflate, the drive r and passenge rs
m ust always s it in an upr igh t positi on,
m ust not lean against or pla ce any part
of their body too close to the area whe re
the airbags a re located. .,.
Page 158 of 296

156 Airbag sys te m
- Occupants who are unbelted, out of posi
t ion or too close to the airbag can be
seriously injured by an airbag as it un
folds with great force in the blink of an eye
~ page 147 .
A 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 inflates -even with an Ad
vanced Airbag System.
- T he inflating a irbag will hit the child
safety seat or infant carrier with g reat
force and wi ll smash the chi ld safety seat
and child against the backrest , center
armrest, door or roof .
- 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 because of exceptional circ umstan
ces and the
PAS SENG ER A IR 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
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
yo ur lap when the vehicle is in use.
- Never transport items on or in the area
of the front passenger seat . Objects
cou ld move into the area of the front air
bags during braking or other s udden ma
neuver and become dangerous projec
t iles that can cause serious personal in
jury if the airbags inflate .
- Never place or attach accessories or oth
er objects (such as cupholders, te le
phone brackets, large, heavy or bu lky ob -
-
jects) on the doors, over or near the area
marked "AIRBAG" on the steer ing whee l,
instrument panel, seat backrests or be
tween those areas and yourself . These
objects could cause inju ry in a crash, es
pecia lly when the airbags inflate .
- Never recline the front passenger's seat to transport objects . Items can a lso
move into the area of the s ide airbag or
the front a irbag du ring bra kin g or in a
sudden maneuver. Objects nea r the air
bags can become projectiles and cause
inj ury, 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 i ng cond itions .
- To reduce the risk of breath ing problems,
those with asthma or other respiratory conditions shou ld get fresh air right
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, wash your hands and face with
mild soap and wate r before eating.
- Be ca reful not to get the dust into your
eyes, o r into any c uts or sc ratches .
- If the res idue should get into your eyes ,
f lush them w ith wate r.
Monitoring the
Advanced Airbag
System
Airbag monitoring indicator light
T wo separate indicators monitor the function
of the Advanced Airbag System: the airbag
monitoring indicator light and the
PASSEN·
GER AIR BAG OFF
light.
The Advanced A irbag System (including the
electron ic cont ro l unit , sensor circu its and sys
tem wiring) is monitored continuously to make su re that it is funct io ni ng properly
Page 159 of 296

whenever the ignition is on. Each time yo u
turn on the ignition, the
fl airbag monitoring
indicator light w ill come on for a few seconds
(self diagnostics) .
The system mu st be in spected wh en the
II indicat or light:
- does not come on w hen the ignit ion is
switched on,
- does not go out a few seconds after you
have switched on the ignition, or
- comes on whi le driving .
I f an a irbag system malf unct ion is de tected,
the ind icator light will firs t start flashing to
catch the driver's attention and then stay on
continuously to serve as a constant reminder
to have the system inspected immediately .
If a malfunc tion oc curs that turns the fron t
ai rbag on the passenger side off, the
PAS SEN
GER AIR BAG OFF
li ght wi ll 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¢
page 20
comes when the vehicle is be ing used,
have the system inspected immediately
by yo ur authorized Aud i dea le r. It is pos
sible that the a irbag will inf late when it
is not s upposed to, or w ill not inflate
when it sho uld.
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
Fig. 156 Sect ion fro m the instr umen t pane l: PASSEN
GER AIR BAG O FF light
-
A irba g sy stem 15 7
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light is located
in the center of the instrument pa ne l
¢ fig. 156 .
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light will come
on and stay on to tell you when the front Ad
vanced Airbag on the passenger side has been
turned off by the electron ic contro l unit. Each
time you turn on the ignit ion, the
PASSEN
GER AIR BAG OFF
light will flash for a few
seconds and:
- will stay on i f the front passenger seat is not
occupied,
- will stay on if there is a small chi ld or child
restraint on the front passenger seat,
- will go out if the front passenger seat is oc
cupied by an adult as registered by the
weight-sensing mat.
T he
PA SSENGER AIR BAG OFF light must
come on and sta y on
if the ignition is on and
- a car bed has been installed on the fron t
se at, or
- a rearwa rd-facing child restra in t has been
installed o n the front passenger seat, o r
- a forward-fac ing c hild restra int has been in
s talled on the fron t passenger seat, or
- t he we ight reg istered on the front passen
ge r seat is equal to or less t han the com
bi ned weight o f a typic al 1 year-o ld restr ain
ed in one of the rear -facing or forwa rd-fac
ing infant restraints listed in Federal Motor
Vehicle Safety Standard 208 with which the
Advanced A irbag 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 O FF
light will stay on. Nev
er install a rearward-facing child restraint on
the front passenger seat, the safest p lace for
a child in any k ind of child restrai nt is at one
of the seating posit ions on the rear seat
¢ page 147, Child restraints on the front seat
- some important things to know
and
¢ page 167, Child Safety.
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes
on
when one of the cond itions listed above is
met, be sure to check the light regu larly to
IJi,,-
Page 160 of 296

158 Airbag sys te m
make certain that the PA SSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
li ght stays on continuous ly whenever the
ignit ion is on. If the
PASS ENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light does not appear and not stay on all
the time, stop as soon as it is safe to do so
and
- react ivate the system by turning the ignition
off and then turning it on again;
- remove and reinstall the child restraint.
Make sure that the child restraint is properly
installed and that the safety belt for the
front passenger seat has been correctly
routed around the child restraint as descr i
bed in the child restraint manufacturer's in
structions;
- make sure that the convertible locking fea
ture on the safety belt for the front passen
ger seat has been activated and that t he
safety belt has been pulled tight. The belt
must not be loose o r have loops of slack so
that the sensor below the safety be lt latch
on the seat can do its job
c::> page 177 .
-make su re that th ings that may increase the
weight of the chi ld and child safety seat are
not being transported on the front passen
ger seat;
- make sure that the safety be lt tension sen
sor is not b locked. Shake the safety belt
latch on the front passenger seat back and
forth;
- If a strap or tether is being used to tie the child safety seat to the front passenger
seat, make sure that it is not so tight that it
causes the we ight-sensing mat to measure
more we ight than is actua lly on the seat.
If the PASSEN GER AIR BAG OFF light still
doe s not come on
and does not stay on con
tinuously (when the ignition is switched on),
- take the chi ld restraint off the front passen -
ger seat and install it properly at one of the
rear seat pos itions . Have the a irbag system
inspected by your authorized Audi dealer
immediately .
- move the ch ild to a rear seat pos it io n and
make sure that the child is properly restrain
ed in a child restraint that is appropriate for
i ts size and age. The
PA
SSENGER AIR BAG OFF light sho uld
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
PAS SENGER
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 aga inst the
backrest and the backrest is not recl ined
c::> page 129, Proper occupant seating posi
tions,
- the adult is not tak ing weight off the seat by
holding on to the passenger assist handle
above the fron t passenger door or support
ing thei r weig ht on the armrest,
- t he safety belt is being properly wo rn and
t hat there is not a lot o f slack in the safety
be lt webb ing,
- accesso ry seat covers or cushions o r othe r
t hings tha t may c ause 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 sa fety belt extender has not bee n left in
the safety belt latch for the front passenger
seat.
In add ition to the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
li ght in the center o f the instrument panel,
t h e message
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF or
PASSENGER AIR BAG ON wi ll briefly appear
in the instrument cluster disp lay. This is to in
form the dr iver of the current front passenger
airbag status.
Important safety instructions on
monitoring the Advanced Airbag System
A WARNING
An a irbag system that is not functioning
properly cannot provide supplemental pro
tection in a frontal c rash.
- If the airbag ind icator light
c::> page 20
comes when the veh icle is being used,
have the system inspected immediately
by your au thorized A udi dealer .
It is
-