restraints or occupants on the front pas
senger seat and prevent the side airbag
in the seat backrest from deploying prop
erly.
- Never use cushions, pillows, blankets or
similar items on the front passenger
seat. The add itional padd ing will prevent
the weight-sens ing mat in the seat from
accurately reg istering the ch ild restra int
or person on the seat and preve nt the
Advanced Airbag System from func tion
ing properly .
- If you must use a child restra int on the
front passenger seat and the ch ild re
straint manufacturer's instructions re
quire the use of a towel, foam cush ion or
something else to properly position the
child restraint, make certa in that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes
on and stays on whenever the child re
st ra int is installed on the front passen
ger seat .
- If the
PAS SENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, have the
airbag system inspected by your Audi dealer.
How the Advanced Airbag System
components work together
The front Advanced Airbag System and the side airbags s upplement the protection of
fered by the front three-point safety be lts
with pretensioners and load limiters and the
adjustab le head restra ints to he lp reduce the
risk of injury in a wide range of acc ident and
crash situat ions . Be sure to read the impor
tant information about safety and heed the
WARNINGS i n this chapter .
Deployment of the Advanced Airbag System
and the act ivat ion of the safety be lt preten
sioners depend on the dece le rat ion measured
by the c rash sensors and registered by the
e lectronic control un it . Crash severity depends
on speed and dece leration as well as the mass
and stiffness of the vehicle or object involved in the crash .
Airbag system 117
When the electronic control unit registers a
low severity cras h and the safety belt is being
used, the airbag will not dep loy. If the safety
belt is not being used, the first stage deploys,
followed by the second stage after a much lat er t ime in the crash sequence.
If the electron ic control unit registers a crash
of medium severity, the first stage of the air bag deploys followed by the second stage at a
much later time in the crash sequence -re
gardless of whether the safety belt is be ing
used or not . In higher sever ity crashes as reg
iste red by the elect roni c cont rol unit, bot h the
first and se cond s tages deploy almost at the
same t ime.
On the passenger side, regardless of safety
belt use, the airbag w ill be tu rned off if the
weight on the passenger sea t is less than the
amount programmed in the electronic control
u nit . The front airbag on the passenger side
will a lso be turned off if one of the child safe
ty seats that has been certified under Federal
Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 has been
recognized on the seat. The
PASS ENGER A IR
BAG OFF light comes on and stays on to te ll
you when the front Adva nced A irbag on the
passenger side has been turned off
¢ page 110, Child restraints on the front seat
- some important things to know .
_&. WARNING ~
To reduce the risk of inj ury when an a irbag
inflates, always wear safety be lts properly.
- If you are unrestrained, leaning forward,
sitting sideways or o ut o f position in any
way, your risk of injury is m uch higher.
- You will a lso receive serious injur ies and
could even be killed if yo u are up against
the airbag or too close to it when it in
f lates -even with an Advanced A irbag
¢page 109.
•
•
118 Airbag system
More important things to know about
front airbags
F ig. 114 Inflated fro nt airbags
Safety belts are impo rtant to help keep fro nt
seat occupants in the p roper seated pos it io n
so that airbags can unfo ld prope rly and pro
vide supplemental protection in a fronta l co l
lision .
The front a irbags are designed to provide ad
d itiona l protect ion for the chest and face of
the dr iver and the front seat passenger when:
- safety belts are worn properly,
- the seats have been positioned 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 inflate in the blink of an eye
with great force, things you have on your lap or have placed on the seat could become dan
gerous 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
the vehicle . This dust is made up mostly of a
powder used to lubricate the airbags as they
deploy. It cou ld irritate ski n.
It is important to remember that while the
supp lemental airbag system is designed to re
duce the l ikelihood of serious inj uries, other
i n juries, fo r example swelling, bruisi ng and
m inor abrasions, ca n also happe n when air
bags in flate. Airbags do not protect the a rms
or the lower pa rts of the body. Front airbags
only supplement the t hree point safety belts
in some frontal collisions in which the vehicle deceleration
is high eno ugh to deploy the air
bags .
Front airbags will not deploy:
- if the ignition is sw itched off when a crash
occurs,
- in side co llisions,
- in rear-end co llisions,
- in rollovers,
-when the crash deceleration measured by the airbag system is less than the min imum
threshold needed for a irbag deployment as
reg istered by the electronic control unit .
The front pass enge r airbag will al so not
deploy:
- when the front passenger seat is not occu
p ied,
- when the weight on the front passenger
seat as sensed by the Advanced Airbag Sys
tem indicates that the front ai rbag on the
passenger side has to be turned off by the
elec troni c control un it (the
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
li ght comes on and stays o n).
_&. WARNING ~
Si tting in the wrong position can increase
the r isk of se rious injury in crashes.
- To reduce the risk of inju ry w he n t he air
bags inflate, the drive r and passengers
must always sit in an upr ight position,
m ust not lean aga inst or place any part
of their b ody too close to the area where
the airbags a re located .
- Occupants who are unbelted, out of posi
tion or too close to the a irbag can be se
rio usly injured by a n airbag as it unfolds
wit h great force in the blink of an eye
¢page 110 .
_&. WARNING ~ -
A child in a rearward-fac ing c hild safety
seat installed on the front passenger seat
will be serio usly injured and ca n be killed if
the front airbag in fla tes -even with an Ad
vanced A irbag System.
122 Airbag sys te m
- If you must install a rearward facing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat because of exceptional circumstan ces and the
PA SSEN GE R AIR BA G OFF
light does not appear and stay on have
the a irbag system inspected by your Audi
dealer.
- A tight tether or other strap on a rear
ward-fac ing child restra int attached to
the front passenger seat can put too much pressure on the weight-sens ing
mat in the seat and register more weight
than is actually on the seat. The heavier
weight registered can make the system
work as though an adu lt were on the seat
and deploy the Advanced Airbag when it
must be suppressed caus ing serious or
even fatal injury to the child.
- If, in exceptional circumstances, you
must install a forward-facing child re
straint on the front passenger seat, al
ways move the seat into its rearmost po sit ion in the seat's fo re and aft adjust
ment range, as far away from the airbag
as possib le . The backrest m ust be adjust
ed to an upright position. Make sure that
the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
comes on and stays on all the t ime when
ever the ignition is switched on.
A WARNING
- If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not go out when an adult is sitting
on the front passenger seat after taking
the steps described above, have the air bag system inspec ted by your Audi deal
er before transporting anyone on the
front passenger seat.
(D Tips
If the weight-sensing mat in the front pas
senger seat detects an empty seat, the
front airbag on the passenge r side will be
turned off, and
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
w ill stay on.
Repair, care and disposal of the airbags
Pa rts of the airbag system are i nstalled at
many diffe rent p laces o n your Aud i. Insta llin g,
removi ng, servicing or repa iring a part in an
area of the veh icle can damage a part of an
airbag system and prevent that system from
working properly in a coll is ion.
T he re a re some important t hings you have to
k now to make sure that the effectiveness o f
t h e system wi ll not be impaired and that dis
carded components do not cause injury or pol
l ute the environment.
A WARNING
Improper care, serv ic ing and repair proce
dures can increase the risk of personal in
j u ry and death by prevent ing an a irbag
from deploying when needed or dep loying
an a irbag unexpec tedly:
- Never cover, obst ruct, or change the
steer ing whee l horn pad or ai rbag cover
or the in st rument panel or mod ify them
in any way .
- Never attach any obje cts s uch as c up
holders or telephone mountings to the
sur faces covering the a irbag un its.
- For cle aning the horn pad or instr ument
panel, use only a soft, dry clo th or one
moistened with pla in water. Solvents o r
cleaners could damage the airbag cover
or change the st iffness or strength of the
material so that the airbag cannot de
p loy and protect properly.
- Never repair, adjust, or change any parts
of the a irbag system.
- All work on the steering wheel, instru
ment panel, front seats or e lectr ica l sys
tem (including the installation of audio
equ ipment, cellu lar telep hones and CB
radios, etc.) must be performed by a
qualified technic ian who has the training
and specia l equipment ne cessary.
- For any wo rk on the airbag system, we
strongly recommend that you see your
author ized Audi dealer or qualified work-
shop. ..,.
130 Child Safety
Child Safety
Important things to know
Introduction
The physical principles of what happens when
your vehicle is in a crash apply also to children
c::> page 102, What happens to occupants not
wearing safety belts? .
But unlike adults and
teenagers, 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
ly designed for their size, weight, and body
structure . Many countries and all states of the
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. This means the weight of
the child would suddenly be more than 260 pounds (120 kg). Under these conditions,
only an appropriate child restraint properly used can reduce the risk of serious injury.
Child restraints, like adult safety belts, must
be used properly to be effective. Used improp
erly, they can increase the risk of serious in
jury in an accident.
Consult the child safety seat manufacturer's instructions in order to be sure the seat is
right for your child's size
c::> page 133, Impor
tant safety instructions for using child safety
seats.
Please be sure to read and heed all of
the important information and WARNINGS
about child safety, Advanced Airbags, and the
installation of child restraints in this chapter.
There 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- 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
-
All vehicle occupants and especially chil
dren must be restrained properly whenev
er riding in a vehicle. An unrestrained or
improperly restrained child could be in
jured by striking the interior or by being
ejected from the vehicle during a sudden maneuver or impact. An unrestrained or
improperly restrained child is also at great
er risk of injury or death through contact
with an inflating airbag.
_& WARNING
Children on the front seat of any car even
with Advanced Airbags can be seriously in
jured or even killed when an airbag in
flates. A child in a rearward-facing child
safety seat installed on the front passen
ger seat will be seriously injured and can
be killed if the front airbag inflates.
- 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, door or roof.
- Never install a rearward facing child
safety seat on the front passenger seat
unless the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on. If the PAS·
SENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not
come on and stay on, have the airbag
system inspected immediately by your
Audi dealer.
.
Model Manufactured on or
after
Cosco Summit Deluxe September 25, 2007
High Back Booster
22-262
Cosco High 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 Sa fety September 25, 2007
Seat Step 2
Graco Platinum Cargo September 25, 2007
_& WARNING
To 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.
- Never install a rearward facing child
safety seat on the front passenger seat
unless the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on. If the PAS
SENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not
come on and stay on the inflating airbag
will hit the child safety seat o r infant car
rie r wi th great force and will smash the
child safety seat and child against the
backrest, door or roof . Have the airbag
system inspected immediately by your
Audi dealer.
@ Tips
The ch ild seats listed in categories A to C
have been statically tested by Audi only for
the Advanced Airbag function.
Child Sa fet y 133
Important safety instructions for us ing
child safety seats
Correct use of child safety seats substantially
reduces the risk of injury in an accident!
As the dr iver, you are responsible for the safe
ty of everybody in the veh icle, especially ch il
dren:
.. Always use the right child safety seat for
each child and always use it properly
r=;, page 135.
.. Always carefully fo llow the child safe ty seat
manufact urer's inst ruct ions on how to ro ute
the sa fe ty belt properly through the c hild
safety seat .
.. When using the vehicle safety belt to install
a child safety seat, you must first activate
the convertible locking retractor on the
safety belt to prevent the child safety seat
from mov ing
¢ page 138.
.. Push the ch ild safety seat down with your
full weight to get the safety be lt really tight
so that the seat cannot move fo rward o r
sideways more th an one inch
(2.5 cm).
Always remember: Even tho ugh your vehicle is
equipped with an Advan ced Airbag system, a
ch ild should always ride in the sea t properly
restrained for its age and s ize .
_& WARNING ,-= ~
Not using a child safety seat, using the
wrong child safety seat or improperly in
stalling a ch ild restraint increases the risk
of ser ious personal injury and death.
- All vehicle occupants and especially chil
dren must always be restrained properly
whenever riding i n a vehicle.
- An unrest rained or imp roper ly restrain
ed ch ild ca n be injured or killed by be
i ng th rown against the ins ide of the ve
hicle or by being e jected from it during
a sudden maneuve r or impact.
- An unrest rained or improper ly res train
ed ch ild is at much greater risk of inj ury
or death by being struck by an inflating
airbag.
•
•
134 Child Safety
-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 let more than one child occupy a child safety seat .
- 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 another in an accident.
- Never install a rearward facing child
safety seat on the front passenger seat
unless the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on . If the PAS
SENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not
come on and stay on the inflating airbag
will hit the child safety seat or infant car
rier with great force and will smash the
child safety seat and child against the
backrest, door or roof. Have the airbag
system inspected immediately by your
Audi dealer.
- 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.
- 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
range, and as far away from the airbag
as possible before installing the child
restraint .
- 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 .
-Always make sure that the backrest is
in the upright position .
- Always buckle the child safety seat firmly
in place even if a child is not sitting in it.
A loose child safety seat can fly around
during a sudden stop or in a collision.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child restrained in ave
hicle is being used
¢ page 101, Safety
belts,
¢ page 109, Airbag system and
¢ page 130, Child Safety.
A WARNING
-To 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.
- Never install a rearward facing child
safety seat on the front passenger seat
unless the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on. If the PAS
S EN GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not
come on and stay on the inflating airbag
will hit the child safety seat or infant car
rier with great force and will smash the
child safety seat and child against the
backrest, door or roof. Have the airbag
system inspected immediately by your
Audi dealer.
Child safety seats
Infant seats
Babies and infants up to about one year old
and 20 lbs. or 9 kg need special rearward-fac
ing child restraints that support the back,
neck and head in a crash.
I
Fig. 120 Rea rward-faci ng infant seat. properly instal·
led on the passe nger seat
.. When using the vehicle safety belt to install
a child safety seat, you must first activate
the convertible locking retractor on the
safety belt to prevent the child safety seat
from moving
¢ page 138.
.. Push the child safety seat down with your
full weight to get the safety belt rea lly tight
so tha t the seat cannot move forwa rd or
s ideways more than one inch (2.5 cm).
I nfants up to about one year (20 lbs. or 9 kg)
are best protected in special infant carriers
and chi ld safety seats designed for their age
group. Many experts believe that infants and
small children should ride only in special re
straints in which the child faces the back of
the vehicle . These infant seats support the ba
by's back, neck and head in a crash
¢ fig. 120.
Child S afety 13 5
A WARNING
Not using a child safety seat, using th e
wrong child safety seat or improperly in
stall ing a ch ild restraint increases the risk
of ser ious personal injury and death in a
crash.
- Never install a rear-fac ing ch ild restraint
in the forward-fac ing d irect ion. Such re
straints are designed for the special
needs of infants and very small ch ildren
and cannot protect them properly if the
seat is forward-facing.
- Never install a rearward faci ng child
safety seat on the front passenger seat
un less the
PA SSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on. If the PA S
SENGER AIR BA G OF F
light does not
come on and stay on the inflating a irbag
will hit the child safety seat or infant car·
rier w ith great force and w ill smash the
child safety seat and child against the
backrest, door or roof. Have t he airbag
sys tem inspected immedi ately by your
Aud i dea le r.
- Always read and heed al l WARNI NGS
whenever using a child restrained in ave
hicle is being used
¢ page 101, Safety
belts, ¢ page 109, Airbag system
and
¢ page 130, Important things to know .
Convertible child safety seats
Properly used convertible child safety seats
can help protect toddlers and children over
age one who weigh between 20 and 40 lbs . (9
and 18 kg) in a crash.
Fig. 12 1 Sc hematic overv iew: instal lation of the seat
using the vehicle's safety belt system
Booster seats and safety belts
Properly used booster seats can help protect
children weighing between about 40 lbs. and
80 lbs. (18 kg and 36 kg) who are less than 4
ft. 9 in . (57 inches/1 .45 meters) tall.
F ig . 122 Passen ger seat : child p roper ly rest ra in ed in a
booster sea t
The vehicle's safety belts alone will not fit
most children until they are at least 4
ft . 9 in .
(57 inches/1.45 meters) tall and weigh about
80 lbs .
(36 kg). Booster sea ts ra ise these chil
dren up so that the safety belt will pass prop
erly over the stronger parts of their bodies
and the safety belt can help protect them in a
crash.
.,. Do no t use the convertible locking retr actor
when using the vehicle's safety belt to re strain a child on a booster seat .
.. The shoulder be lt must lie as close to the
center of the child 's collar bone as possible
and must lie and snug on the upper body. It must never lie across the throat or neck . The
lap belt must lie across the pelvis and never
across the stomach or abdomen . Make sure
the belt lies flat and snug . P ull on the be lt
to t ighten if necessary.
Ch ildren up to at least 8 years old (over 40
lbs . or 18 kg) are best protected in child safe
ty seats designed for the ir age and we ight. Ex
perts say that the ske letal structu re, pa rticu
l arly the pelvis, of these ch ildren is not fully
developed, and they m ust not use the vehicle
safety belts without a suitab le child restraint.
It is us ually best to put these childre n in ap
propriate booster seats. Be sure the booster
seat meets all app licab le safety standards. Child S
afety 13 7
Booster seats ra ise the seating pos ition o f the
child and reposition both the lap and shoulder
parts of the safety belt so that they pass
across the ch ild's body in the right p laces. The
routing of the belt over the ch ild's body is very
important for the child's protect ion, whether
o r not a booster seat is used.
Children who are at least 4
ft. 9 in. (57 in
ches/1.45 meters) tall can generally use the
vehicle's three point lap and shoulder belts .
Never use the lap belt port io n of the vehicle's
safety be lt alone to restra in any chi ld, regard
less of how big the ch ild is. Always remember
that children do not have the prono unced pel
vic struc ture required for the proper funct ion
of lap belt portion of the vehicle's three point
lap and shou lder belts. The child 's safety ab
solutely requires that a lap belt portion of the
safety belt be fastened snugly and as low as poss ible around the pelvis. Never let the lap
belt portion of the safety belt pass over the
c hi ld 's stomach or abdomen.
In a crash , a irbags must inflate within a blink
of an eye and with considerable force. In order
to do its job, the a irbag needs room to i nflate
so that it will be the re to protect the occupant
as the occupant moves forward into the a ir
bag .
A vehicle occupant who is out of posit ion and
too close to the a irbag gets in the way of an
inflating airbag . When an occupant is too
close, he or she will be st ruck violently and
will receive se rious or possibly even fat al in-
J LI ry .
In order for the airbag to offer protection, it is
importan t that all veh icle occupants, espec ial
ly any children, who m ust be in t he front sea t
because of exceptional c ircumstances, be
properly restrained and as far away from the
airbag as possible. By keeping room between
the child's body and the front of the passen ger compartment, the a irbag can inflate com
pletely and provide supplemental protection
in ce rtain frontal collisions .