
164 Airbag system
always be repaired immediately by an au
thorized Aud i dealer.
- If children are seated improper ly, their
risk of injury increases in the case of an
acc ident¢
page 167, Child Safety.
- Never attempt to modify any compo
nents of the airbag system in any way.
- In a side co llision, side a irbags will not
function properly if sensors cannot cor
rect ly measure increasing air pressure in
side the doors when air escapes through
larger, unclosed openings in the door
panel.
- Never drive with interior door trim pan
e ls removed .
- Never drive w hen parts have been re
moved from the inside door panel and
the openings they leave
have not been
properly closed.
- Never drive when loudspeakers in the
doors have been removed unless the
speaker holes have been properly
closed.
- Always make certain that openings are
covered or filled if additional speakers
or other equ ipment is installed in the
ins ide door panels.
- Always have work on the doors done by
an author ized Audi dealer or qualified
workshop .
Side curtain airbags
Description of side curtain airbags
The side curtain airbag system can provide
supplemen tal prote ction to properly restrain
ed occupan ts.
Fig . 159 Side curtain system, dr ive r's s ide: s ide curtain
a irbag locat ion
T he side curtain airbags are located on both
sides of the interior above the front and rear
side windows ¢
fig. 159. They are identified
by the word "AIRBAG" on the windshield
frame and the center roof pillar .
T he side curtain airbag system supplements
the safety belts and can help to reduce the risk of in jury for occupants' heads and upper
torso on the side of the vehicle that is struck in a side coll ision . The side cu rtain airbag in
flates in side impacts and only when the vehi cl e acceleration registered by the control un it
is h igh eno ugh . If this rate is below the refer
ence value p rogrammed in to the co ntrol uni t,
the side ai rbags wi ll not be triggered, even
though the car may be bad ly damaged as a re
s ul t of the co llision. It is not possib le to de
fine an airbag triggering range that will cover every possib le ang le of impact, since the cir
cumstances will vary cons iderably between
one collis ion a nd another . Important factors
i nclude, fo r example, the nature (hard or soft)
of the impacting object, the angle of impact,
vehicle speed, etc. ¢
page 165, How side cur
tain airbags work .
Aside from their normal safety function, safe
ty belts work to help k eep the drive r or front
passenge r in position in t he event of a coll i
s io n so that the s ide cur tain airbags can pro
vide protection.
T he airbag system is not a substit ute for your
safety belt . Rather, it is part of the overa ll oc
c u pan t restra int system in yo ur vehicle. Al
ways remember that the a irbag system can
only he lp to protect you if you are wearing
your safety belt and wearing it properly. This is another reason why you should always wear
your safety belts, not just because the law re
quires you to do so¢
page 138, General
notes .
It is important to remember that wh ile the
side curtain airbag system is designed to help
reduce the likelihood of ser ious injuries, other
i njur ies, for example , swelling, bru is ing, and
minor abrasions can also be assoc iated with
these a irbags. Remember too, these airbags
will deploy only once and on ly in ce rtain kinds
lill>

of accidents - your safety belts are always
there to offer protection .
The side curtain airbag system basically
consi sts of :
- The electronic control mod ule and externa l
side impact sensors
- The side curtain airbags above the front and
rear side windows
- T he airbag ind icator light in the ins trument
panel
The airbag system is monitored elect ron ica lly
to make certa in it is f unct ion ing properly at a ll
times. Eac h time you t urn on the ign ition, the
ai rbag system indicator light will come on for
a few seconds (se lf diagnostics) .
The side curtain airbag is not activated:
-if the igni tion is turned off,
- in s ide collisions when the accelerat ion
measured by the sensor is too low,
- in rear -end collisions,
- in ro llovers.
_&. WARNING
- Safety belts and the a irbag system will
only p rov ide p rotection whe n occ upants
are in the p roper seating posit ion
~ page 58, Seats and storage.
- If the airbag indicato r light~ page 20
comes when the vehicle is being used,
have the sys tem inspected immediately
by your aut ho rized Aud i dea le r.
It is pos
sible that the a irbag will inflate when it
is not s upposed to, or wi ll not inflate
when it sho uld .
A irba g sy stem 165
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.
Fig. 1 60 Illus trati on of pr in cip le: Inflat ed s ide curtain
airbags o n the left side
The side curtain airbags inflate between the
occupant and the windows on the s ide of the
vehicle that is struck in a side coll is ion
~ fig . 160.
When the system is trigge red, the side curta in
airbag is filled with prope llant gas and breaks
t hr ough a seam above the front and rear side
windows iden tified by the AIRBAG labe l. In or
der to he lp prov ide this additional protection,
the side curtain ai rbag m ust inflate within the
blink of an eye at very high speed and with
great force. The side curtain a irbag co uld in
jure you if your seating position is not proper
or upright or if items are located in the area
where the supplemental side curta in a irbag
inflates . This applies especially to ch ild ren
~ page 167.
Although they are not a soft pillow, side cur
tain a irbags can "cushion " the impact and i n
th is way they can help to reduce the risk of in
jury to the head and the uppe r part of the
body .
A f ine dust may deve lop when the airbag de
ploys . T his is quite normal and does not mean
there is a fire in the vehicle.

166 Airbag sys te m
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 you and your passengers
must know and do to help the safety belts and
a irbags do the ir job to prov ide s upplement al
protection.
_&. WARNING
-
Improperly wearing safety belts and im
proper seating positions increase the risk
of serious personal injury and death when
ever a veh icle is being used.
- Never let occ upants p lace any parts of
their bodies in the area from wh ich the
side curtain airbags inflate.
- Always make sure that the side curtain
airbags can inflate w ithout interference.
Unsuitable accessories fitted inside the
expansion range of a head a irbag can
dangerously interfere w ith its function . A
deploying head a irbag develops enough
force to catapult any piece of add-on
component out of its pa th of inflation
and into the passenger compartment. An
occupant hit by such a projectile can suf
fer serio us injury or death
¢ page 2 78,
Technical Modifications.
- Do not swivel the sun visors to the side if
yo u have any objects clipped onto them
(for example pens).
If the a irbag should
deploy, you could be injured by these ob
jects.
- Use the built-in coat hooks only for light
weight cloth ing. Never leave any heavy or
sharp-edged objects in the pockets that
may interfere with airbag deployment
and can cause pe rsonal injury in an acci
dent.
- Never use hange rs to hang clothing from
the hooks.
- Only use factory-installed sun shades or,
in the case of shades installed after the
vehicle leaves the fac to ry, only Audi roll
up sunsc reens m ay be used~
page 277,
Additional accessories and parts re
placement.
-Always sit in p roper seating position and
wear safety belts wh ile traveling so that
the side curtain airbags can help prov ide
protection.
- The airbag system can only be triggered
once. If the airbag has been triggered,
the system must be replaced by an au
thor ized Audi dealer or qualified work
shop.
-Always have work involving the side cur tain airbag system, removal and installa
tion of the airbag components, or other repairs performed by an authorized Audi
deale r o r qualified workshop. O therwise
the air bag system may not work co rrec t
ly.
- Never attempt to mod ify any compo
nents o f the ai rbag system in any way.

Child Safety
Important things to know
Introduction
The rear seat is generally the safest place in a
collision .
The physical principles of what happens when
your veh icle is in a crash app ly also to chi ldren
q page 139, What happens to occupants not
wearing safety belts? .
But unlike adults their
muscles and bones are not fully developed. In
many respects children are at greater risk of
serious injury in crashes than adults.
Because children's bodies are not fully devel
oped, they require restraint systems especial
l y designed for their size, weight, and body
structure. Many countries and all states of th e
United States and provinces of Canada have
laws requiring the use of approved child re
straint systems for infants and small children .
In a frontal crash at a speed of 20 -35 mph
(30-56 km/h) the forces acting on a 13-pound
(6 kg) infant will be more than 20 times the
weight of the child . Th is means the weight of
the child would suddenly be more than 260 pounds (120 kg). Under these conditions,
only an appropriate chi ld restraint properly
used can reduce the risk of ser ious injury.
Ch ild restraints must be used properly to be
effective. Used improperly, they can increase
the risk of serious injury in an accident.
Consult the child safety seat manufacturer's
instructions to be sure the seat is right for
your chi ld's size
q page 170, Important safe
ty instructions for using child safety seats .
Please be sure to read and heed all of the im
portant information and WARNINGS about
child safety, Advanced Airbags, and the instal
lation of child restraints in this chapter.
T here is a lot you need to know about the Ad
vanced Airbags in your vehicle and how they
work when infants and children in child re
straints are on the front passenger seat . Be
cause of the large amount of important infor-
Child Sa fet y 167
mation, we cannot repeat it all here . We urge
you to read the detailed information in this
owner 's manual about airbags and the Ad
vanced Airbag System in your vehicle and the
very important information about transport ing children on the front passenger seat.
Please be sure to heed the WARNINGS -they
are extremely important for your safety and
the safety of your passengers, especially in
fants and small children.
A WARNING
-Accident statistics have shown that chil
dren are generally safer in the rear seat
area than in the front seating position.
Always restrain any child age 12 and un
der in the rear.
- All vehicle occupants and especially chil
dren must be restrained properly when
ever riding in a vehicle. An unrestrained
or improperly restrained child could be injured by str iking the interior or by be
ing ejected from the vehicle during a
sudden maneuver or impact. A n un re
strained or improperly restrained child is
a lso at greater risk of injury or death
through contact with an inflating airbag.
- A suitable child restraint properly instal
led and used at one o f the rear seating
positions provides the highest degree of
protection for infants and small children
in most accident situations.
A WARNING
Children on the front seat of any car even
with Advanced Airbags can be seriously in
jured or even killed when an a irbag in
flates. A child in a rearward-facing child
safety seat installed on the front passen
ger seat w ill be ser iously injured and can
be killed if the front airbag inflates.
- The inflating airbag will hit the ch ild
safety seat or infant carrier with great
force and will smash the child safety seat
and child against the backrest, center
armrest or door .
- Always install rearward-facing chi ld safe-
ty seats on the rear seat .
~
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168 Child Safety
-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 rearward-facing child safety
seat in a rear seating position and have
the airbag system inspected immediately
by your authorized Audi dealer.
.&, WARNING
If, in exceptional 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 side airbag.
- Always follow the manufacturer's in
structions provided with the child safety
seat or carrier.
- 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 child restraint. The backrest must be adjusted to an upright position .
- Always make sure that the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays
on all the time whenever the ignition is
switched on.
(D Tips
Always replace child restraints that were
installed in a vehicle during a crash. Dam
age to a child restraint that is not visible
could cause it to fail in another collision
situation.
Advanced front airbag system and children
Your vehicle is equipped with a front "Ad
vanced Airbag System" in compliance with
United States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standard (FMVSS) 208 as applicable at the
time your vehicle was manufactured . The
Advanced Airbag system in your vehicle
has been certified to meet the "low-risk" re
quirements for 3- and 6-year old children on
the passenger side and small adults on the driver side. The low risk deployment criteria
are intended to reduce the risk of injury
through interaction with the airbag that can
occur, for example, by being too close to the
steering wheel and instrument panel when
the airbag inflates . In addition, the system
has been certified to comply with the "sup
pression" requirements of the Safety Stand
ard, to turn off the front airbag for infants up
to 12 months who are restrained on the front
passenger seat in child restraints that are list
ed in the Standard.
Even though your vehicle is equipped with an
Advanced Airbag system, all children, espe
cially those 12 years and younger, should al
ways ride in the back seat properly restrained
for their age and size. The airbag on the pas
senger side makes the front seat a potentially
dangerous place for a child to ride . The front
seat is not the safest place for a child in a for
ward-facing child safety seat.
It can be a very
dangerous place for an infant or a larger child
in a rearward-facing seat.
Advanced Airbags and the weight
sensing mat in the front seat
The Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle detects the presence of an infant or child in a
child restraint on the front passenger seat us
ing the weight-sensing mat in the seat cush
ion and the sensor below the safety belt latch
on the front passenger seat that measures the
tension on the safety belt.
The weight-sensing mat measures total
weight of the child and the child safety seat
and a child blanket on the front passenger
seat. The weight on the front passenger seat
is related to the design of the child restraint
and its "footprint", the size and shape of the
bottom of the child restraint as it sits on the
seat. The weight of a child restraint and its "footprint" vary for different kinds of child re -
straints and for the different models of the .,.

same kind of child restraint offered by child
restraint manufacturers.
The weight ranges for the ind iv idual types,
makes and models o f ch ild restra ints that the
NHTSA has specified in the Safety Standard
together with the weight ranges of typical in
fants and typical 1 year-o ld child have been
stored in the control unit of the Advanced A ir
bag System. When a child res traint is being
used on the front passenger seat with a typi
cal 1 year-old ch ild, the Advanced Airbag Sys
tem compares the we ight measured by the
weight sens ing mat with the informat ion s to r
ed i n the electron ic cont rol unit.
The electronic control unit also registers the
tension on the front passenger safety be lt .
The tens io n on the safety be lt fo r the front
passenger seat will be d iffe rent fo r an ad ult
who is properly using the safety belt as com
pared to the tension on the be lt when it is
used to attach a child restraint to the seat.
T he sensor below the latch for the safety belt
for the front seat passenger measures the
t ension on the be lt. The input from this sen
sor is then used with the we ight to "decide",
whether there is a ch ild restrai nt with a typ ical
1 year-old child on the front passenger seat
and whether or not the airbag must be turned
off.
Child restraints and Advanced Airbags
Regard less o f the child res traint that you use,
make sure that it has been certified to meet
United States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standards and has been certified by its manu
facturer for use with an airbag. Always be sure
that the child restraint is properly installed at
one of the rear seat ing pos itions .
If in excep
tional c ircumstances you must use it on the
fro nt passenger seat, caref ully read all of the
information on ch ild safety and Adv anced A ir
bags and heed a ll of the applicable WARN
I NGS . Make certain that the child restraint is
correctly recognized by the weig ht-sensing
mat inside the front passenger seat, that the
front passenger airbag is turned off and that
Child Sa fet y 169
the ai rbag status is always cor rect ly signaled
by the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light .
Many types and models of child restraints
have been available over the years, new mod
els are introduced regu larly incorporating new
and improved designs and o lde r models are
taken o ut of product ion . Ch ild restraints are
not standa rd iz ed. Child restraints of the same
type typically have d ifferent weights and si zes
and different 'footpr ints, ' the size and shape
of the bottom of the ch ild restra int that sits
on the seat, when they a re insta lled on a vehi
cl e sea t. T hese diffe rences make it v irtually
i mpossible to certify compl iance wi th the re
quirements for advanced airbags with each
and every ch ild restraint that has ever been
sold in the past or wi ll be sold over the course
of the useful life of your veh icle.
For th is reason, the United S tates National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration has
published a list of specific type, makes and
models of child restraints that must be used
to certify comp liance of the Advanced Airbag
Sys tem in your vehicle with the suppression
requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standard 208. These child restraints are :
Subpart A - Car bed child restra ints
Model Manufactured on or
after
A ngel Guard A ngel September 25, 2007
Ride AA2403FOF
Subpart B -Rear-facing child restraints
Model Manufactured on or
after
Century Smart Fit Decembe r 1, 1999
4543
Cosco Arriva September 25, 2007 22-013PAW and base
22 -999WHO
Evenflo Discovery Ad -December 1, 1999
just Right 212
Evenflo First Choice December 1, 1999
204
Graco Infant 8457 December 1, 1999
•
•

1 70 Child Saf ety
Model Manufactured on or
a fter
Graco Snugride September 2S, 2007
Peg Perego Primo V i- September 25, 2007
aggio SIP IMUN00US
Subpart C -Forward -facing and
con vertibl e child r estra in ts
Model Manufactured on or
after
Britax Roundabout September 25, 2007
E9L02xx
Cosco Tour iva 02519 December 1, 1999
Cosco Summit Deluxe September 2S, 2007
High Back Booster
22-262
Cosco Hig h Back September 25, 2007
Booster 22-209
Evenflo Tribute V September 25, 2007
379xxxx
Evenflo Medallion December 1, 1999
254
Evenflo Generations September 25, 200
7
352xxxx
Graco ComfortSport September 25, 2007
Graco Toddler Safety September 25, 2007
Seat Step 2
Graco P latinum Ca rgo September 25, 2007
_&. WARNING
T o reduce the risk of serious injury, make
sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on whenever a
child restraint is installed on the front pas
senger seat and the ignition is switched
on.
- Take the child restraint off the front pas senger seat and install it properly at one
of the rear seat positions if the
PASSEN
G ER AIR BAG OFF
light does not stay on.
- Have the airbag system inspected by
your authorized Aud i dealer immediate
ly.
(!) Tips
The child seats listed in categories A to C have been statically tested by Audi on ly for
the Advanced A irbag function.
Important safety instructions for using
child safety seats
Correct use of child safety seats substantially
reduces the risk of injury in an accident!
As the driver, you are responsib le for the safe
ty of everybody in the veh icle, especially ch il
dren:
... Always use the right ch ild safety seat for
each child and always use it properly
¢page 173 .
... Always carefully follow the child safety seat
manufacturer's instruct ions on how to route
the safety belt properly through the child
safety seat.
... When usi ng the veh icle safety belt to install
a child safety seat, you m ust first activate
the convertib le locking retractor on the
safety belt to prevent the child safety seat
from moving
¢ page 177.
... Push the ch ild safety seat down with your
full weight to get the safety belt really tight
so that the seat cannot move forwa rd or
sideways mo re than one inch (2.5 cm) .
... If a strap or tether is be ing used to t ie the
child safety seat to the front passenger
seat, make sure tha t it i s n ot so tight th at i t
causes the weight -sensing mat to measure
more weight than is act ually on the seat.
... Sec ure unused safety belts o n the rear seat
¢ page 172.
Always remember : Even tho ugh yo ur vehicle is
equipped with an Advanced Airbag system, all
chi ldren, especially those 12 years and young
er, shou ld always r ide in the back seat proper-
ly restrained for their age and size. .,.

A WARNING 1-=
Not using a child safety seat, using the
wrong child safety seat or improperly in
stalling a child restraint increases the risk
of serious personal injury and death .
-All vehicle occupants and especially chil dren must always be restrained properly
whenever riding in a vehicle.
~
- An unrestrained or improperly restrain
ed child can be injured or killed by be
ing thrown against the inside of the ve
hicle or by being ejected from it during
a sudden maneuver or impact.
- An unrestrained or improperly restrain
ed child is at much greater risk of injury
or death by being struck by an inflating
airbag.
- Commercially available child safety seats
are required to comply with U.S . Federal
Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS)
213 (in Canada CMVSS 213).
- When buying a child restraint, select
one that fits your child and the vehicle.
- Only use child restraint systems that
fully contact the flat portion of the
seat cushion. The child restraint must
not tip or lean to either side. Audi does
not recommend using child safety
seats that rest on legs or tube-like
frames . They do not provide adequate
contact with the seat.
-Always heed all legal requirements per
taining to the installation and use of
child safety seats and carefully follow
the instructions provided by the manu
facturer of the seat you are using.
- Never allow children under 57 inches
(1.45 meters) to wear a normal safety
belt. They must always be restrained by a
proper child restraint system. Otherwise,
they could sustain injuries to the abdo
men and neck areas during sudden brak
ing maneuvers or accidents.
- Never let more than one child occupy a
child safety seat.
Child Safety 1 71
- Never let babies or older children ride in
a vehicle while sitting on the lap of an
other passenger.
- Holding a child in your arms is never a
substitute for a child restraint system .
- The strongest person could not hold
the child with the forces that exist in
an accident. The child will strike the in
terior of the vehicle and can also be
struck by the passenger.
- The child and the passenger can also
injure each other in an accident.
- Never install rearward-facing child safety
seats or infant carriers on the front pas
senger seat. A child will be seriously in
jured and can be killed when the passen
ger airbag inflates -even with an Ad
vanced Airbag System .
- The inflating airbag will hit the child
safety seat or infant carrier with great
force and will smash the child safety
seat and child against the backrest,
center arm rest, door or roof.
-Always install rearward-facing child
safety seats or infant carriers on the
rear seat.
- Forward-facing child safety seats instal
led on the front passenger's seat can in
terfere with the airbag when it inflates
and cause serious injury to the child. Al
ways install forward-facing child safety seats on the rear seat .
- 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 that the
following special precautions be taken:
- Make sure the forward-facing seat has
been designed and certified by its man
ufacturer for use on a front seat with a
passenger front and side airbag .
- Always carefully follow the manufac
turer's instructions provided with the
child safety seat or carrier.
- Always move the front passenger seat into the rearmost position of the pas-
senger seat's fore and aft adjustment
~
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