90 Audi pre sense
Audi pre sense
Introduction
Applies to vehicles: with Audi pre sense basic or Audi pre
sense front
Within the limits of the system, pre sense ba
sic and pre sense front can initiate steps to
protect vehicle occupants in certain danger
ous situations.
Critical driving situations can be recognized by
the pre sense front via a network of different
vehicle systems and can take steps to prepare
the vehicle occupants for a potential collision.
The pre sense front works with a radar sensor
and a video camera*.
It also functions within
the limits of the system when adaptive cruise
control* is switched
off.
General information
General information
App lies to vehicles: with Audi pre sense front or Audi
adaptive cruise control
A WARNING
Also follow the general information found
on
~ page 82, General information.
Audi pre sense basic
Descript ion
Applies to vehicles: with Audi pre sense basic
The function of the pre sense basic is activat
ed at a speed of 10 mph (30 km/h) or higher.
The following functions can be triggered un
der certain conditions within the limits of the
system:
- Tensioning of the safety belts (for example,
during heavy braking) : The front safety belts
have reversible belt pretensioners. If a colli
sion does not occur, the safety belts loosen
slightly and are ready to trigger again .
- Closing the windows and the sunroof* (for
example, when over- or understeering): The
windows and the sunroof" close until there is only a small gap open. Audi drive select:
The deployment time is
adapted in dynamic mode.
A WARNING
-The pre sense basic cannot overcome natu- ral physical laws.
It is a system designed to
assist and it cannot prevent a collision. Do not let the increased safety provided
tempt you into taking risks. This could in
crease your risk of a collision.
- The system can deploy incorrectly due to system-specific limits .
(D Tips
-Certain pre sense basic functions switch
off when ESC is switched off (sport
mode) or when driving in reverse .
- The pre sense basic functions may not be
available if there is a malfunction in the
ESC system or the airbag control mod
ule .
- Note that with pre sense basic, the rever
sible safety belt pretensioner on the
front passenger's side deactivates when
the front passenger's a irbag is deactivat
ed.
Audi pre sense front
Description
Applies to vehicles: with Audi pre sense front or Audi
adapt ive cru ise control
Pre sense front informs you if the distance to
the vehicle ahead falls below the safe distance
for an extended period of time. It can warn of a possible collision and initiate braking ma
neuvers, within the limits of the system .
When detected in time, the system can assess
dangerous situations where an object ahead
brakes suddenly or if your own vehicle is trav
eling at a high speed and approaching an ob
ject that is moving more slow ly . If detection is
not possible, then pre sense front does not re
act.
128 Driving safety
-Place heavy objects as far forward in
the luggage compartment as possible.
- Never exceed the Gross Axle Weight Rat
ing or the Gross Vehicle Weight Rating
specified on the safety compliance stick
er on the left door jamb. Exceeding per
missible weight standards can cause the
vehicle to slide and handle differently .
- Please observe information on safe driv
ing
~ page 121.
A WARNING
To help prevent poisonous exhaust gas
from being drawn into the vehicle, always
keep the rear lid closed while driving.
- Never transport objects larger than
those fitting completely into the luggage
area because the rear lid cannot be fully
closed.
- If you absolutely must drive with the rear
lid open, observe the following notes to
reduce the risk of poisoning:
- Close all windows,
- Close the power roof",
- Open all air outlets in the instrument
panel,
- Switch off the air recirculation,
- Set the fresh air fan to the highest
speed.
A WARNING
Always make sure that the doors, all win
dows, the power roof* and the rear lid are
securely closed and locked to reduce the
risk of injury when the vehicle is not being
used.
- After closing the rear lid, always make
sure that it is properly closed and locked.
- Never leave your vehicle unattended, es
pecially with the luggage compartment
lid left open. A child could crawl into the
vehicle through the luggage compart
ment and close the rear lid becoming
trapped and unable to get out. Being
trapped in a vehicle can lead to serious
personal injury.
-
'
- Never let children play in or around the
vehicle.
- Never let passengers ride in the luggage
compartment. Vehicle occupants must
always be properly restrained in one of
the vehicle's seating positions .
(D Tips
-Air circulation helps to reduce window
fogging. Stale air escapes to the outside
through vents in the trim panel. Be sure
to keep these slots free and open.
- The tire pressure must correspond to the load. The tire pressure is shown on the
tire pressure label. The tire pressure la
bel is located on the driver's side B-pillar.
The tire pressure label lists the recom
mended cold tire inflation pressures for
the vehicle at its maximum capacity
weight and the tires that were on your
vehicle at the time it was manufactured.
For recommended tire pressures for nor
mal load conditions, please see chapter
~ page 229.
Tie-downs
The luggage compartment is equipped with
four tie-downs to secure luggage and other
items.
Use the tie-downs to secure your cargo prop
erly ~
page 12 7, Loading th e luggage com
par tment.
In a collision, the laws of physics mean that
even smaller items that are loose in the vehi
cle will become heavy missiles that can cause
serious injury. Items in the vehicle possess en
ergy which vary with vehicle speed and the
weight of the item . Vehicle speed is the most
significant factor.
For example, in a frontal collision at a speed
of 30 mph (48 km/h), the forces acting on a 10-lb (4 .S kg) object are about 20 times the
normal weight of the item . This means that
the weight of the item would suddenly be about 200 lbs. (90 kg). You can imagine the
injuries that a 200 lbs. (90 kg) item flying ..,_
Fo r exa mple, the a irbag may depl oy if:
-a small child that is heavier than a typical 1
year-o ld child is on the front passe nger seat
(regardless of whether the child is in one of
the chi ld seats listed
page 168), or
- a ch ild who has outgrown child rest raints is
on the front passenger seat.
If the front passenger airbag is turned off, the
P ASS ENGER AIR B AG OFF light comes on in
the instrument cluster and stays on.
If the front passenger airbag deploys, the
Federal Standard requires the airbag to meet
the "low risk" deployment criter ia to reduce
the r isk of injury through interaction with the
airbag. "Low risk" deployment occurs in those
crashes that take place at lower decelerations
as defined in the electronic control unit
r::> page 153, PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light.
Always remember, a chi ld seat or infant carri
er insta lled on the front seat may be struck
and knocked out of position by the rapidly in
flating passenger's airbag in a frontal colli
sion. The airbag could greatly reduce the ef
fectiveness of the child restraint and even se
riously injure the child during inflat ion.
For this reason, and because the back seat is
the safest place for children - when properly
restrained according to their age and size - we
strongly recommend that children always sit
in the back seat
r::> page 166, Child Safety .
A WARNING
A child in a rearward-facing child seat in
stalled on the front passenger seat will be
ser iously injured and can be killed if the
front airbag inflates -even with an Ad
vanced Airbag System .
- T he inflating airbag will hit the child seat
or infant carrier with great force and wi ll
smash the child seat and child against
the backrest, center armrest, door or roof.
- Always install rear-facing child seats on
the rear seat.
- If you must install a rearward facing
child seat on the front passenger seat
-
A irbag system 143
because of exceptional circumstances
and the
PAS SENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, immed i
ately install the rear-fac ing child seat in a
rear seat ing pos ition and have the airbag
system inspected by your A udi dealer.
- Forward-facing child seats installed on the front passenger's seat may interfere
with the dep loyment of the a irbag and
cause serious persona l injury to the
child.
A WARNING
If, in except iona l circumstances, you must
install a forward -facing child restraint on
the front passenger's seat:
- Always ma ke s ure 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 passenge r seat into its
rea rmost pos ition in the seat's fore and
aft ad justment range, as far away from
the airbag as possible before installing
the forward-fac ing ch ild restra int. The
backrest must be adjusted to an upright
position.
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
l ight comes on and stays on all the
time wheneve r the ig nit ion is switched
on.
A WARNING
To reduce the ri sk of ser ious injury, ma ke
sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light w ill be displayed whenever a child re
straint is insta lled on the front passenger
seat and the ignition is switched on.
- If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OF F light
does not stay on, perform the checks de
scribed
¢ page 152, Monitoring the Ad-
vanced Airbag System.
~
•
•
•
of a typical 1 year-old, but less than the
weight of a small adult, the front airbag on
the passenger s ide may deploy (the
P A SSEN·
GER AIR BA G OFF
light does not come on).
For example, the a irbag may 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 168),
-a ch ild who has outgrown child rest raints is
on the front passenger seat.
I f the front passenger airbag is turned off, the
PA SSENGER AIR BAG OFF light in the center
of the inst rument panel w ill come on and stay
on.
If the front passenger airbag deploys, the
Federal Standard requires the a irbag to meet
the " low ris k" 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
r:::> page 152.
Alw ays remember : Even though your 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
inflates, always wear safety belts prope rly.
- 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
cou ld 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 140 .
A WARNING ,~
A child in a rearward -facing child seat in -
stalled on the front passenger seat will be
-
A irbag system 147
seriously injured and can be killed if the
front airbag inflates - even w ith an Ad
vanced A irbag System.
- Altho ugh the Advanced Airbag System in
your veh icle is designed to turn off the
front airbag when a rearward-facing child restraint has been installed on the
front passenge r seat, nobody can abso
lutely guarantee that dep loyment is im
possible in all conceivable s ituations that
may happen dur ing the usefu l life of your
veh icle.
- The infla ting airbag will h it the ch ild seat
or infant carrier with g reat 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 insta ll the rear-fac ing child seat in a
rea r seat ing pos ition and have the airbag
system inspected by you r Audi dealer .
A WARNING
If, in except iona l circumstances, you must
install a forward-facing child restraint on
the front passenge r's seat:
- Always ma ke sure the forward-facing
seat has been designed and cer tified by
its manufacture r for use on a front se at
with a passenger fron t and s ide a irbag .
- Never put the fo rward-facing child re
straint up against or ve ry near the instru
ment panel.
- Always move the passenge r seat into its
rea rmost pos ition in the seat's fore and
aft ad justment range, as fa r away from
the airbag as possible, before installing
the forward-fac ing chi ld restraint. The
backrest must be adjusted to an upright
position .
...
•
•
•
or the lower parts of the body. Front airbags
supp lement the three-point safety belts only
in some frontal collisions in which the vehicle
dece leration is high enough to deploy the air
bags.
F ront airbag s will no t deplo y:
- if the ignition is switched off when a crash
occurs,
- in side collisions,
- in rear-end collisions,
- in rollovers,
- when the crash deceleration measured by
the a irbag system is less than the m inimum
threshold needed for airbag deployment as
registered by the electronic control unit.
The f ront pas seng er airbag al so will n ot
deploy:
- when the front passenger seat is not occu
pied,
- when the electrical capac itance measured by
the capacitive passenger detect io n system
for the front passenger seat indicates that
the passenger side frontal airbag must be switched off by the electronic control unit
(the
P AS SENGER A IR BA G OFF light
c:> page 153 and how they work 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 of injury when the air
bags inflate, the driver and passengers
must always sit in an upright posit ion,
must not lean against or place any part
of the ir body too close to the area where
the a irbags are located.
- Occupants who a re unbelted, out of posi
t ion 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
c:> page
142 .
A WARNING
A child in a rearward-facing child seat in
stalled on the front passenger seat will be
-
A irbag system 15 1
seriously injured and can be killed if the
front airbag inflates -even w ith an Ad
vanced A irbag System.
- The inflating airbag will hit 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 rear-fac ing ch ild 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
P A SSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, immed i
ately insta ll the rear-fac ing child seat in a
rear seating position and have the airbag
system inspected by your A udi dealer.
A WARNING
r---------
O b j e cts between you and the airbag will
increase the risk of injury in a crash by in
terfering with the way the airbag unfolds
or by be ing pushed into you as the airbag
inflates.
- Never hold things in your hands or on
your lap when the veh icle is in use.
- Never transport items on or in the area
of the front passenger seat. Objects
could move into the area of the front air bags during braking or other sudden ma
neuvers and become dangerous projec
tiles that can cause ser ious personal in
jury if the a irbags inflate.
- Never p lace or attach accesso ries o r oth
er objects (such as cup holders, te le
phone b rac kets, large, heavy or bulky ob
jects) on the doors, over o r near the area
marked "AIRBAG" on the steering wheel,
instrument panel, seat backrests or be
tween those areas and yourself . These
objects could cause injury in a crash, es pecially when the airbags inflate.
- Never recline the front passenger's seat
to transport objects. Items can also
move into the area of the s ide a irbag or
the front a irbag during braking or in a
•
•
Side curtain airbags
Description of side curtain airbags
The side curtain airbag system can provide
supplemental protection to properly restrain
ed occupants .
Fig. 130 Side cu rt ain airbags , d ri ver 's side : side curtain
air bag lo cat ion
The s ide cur tain airbags a re located on both
sides of the inte rior above the front and rear
side w indows ¢
fig. 130. They are ident ified
by the word "AIRBAG" on t he windshie ld
frame and the center roof pi llar.
The s ide cur tain airbags contain features that
prov ide e jection m itigation to he lp prevent ve
h icle occupants or parts of their bodies from
being completely or partially ejected from the
ve hicle interior in certain side impacts and ve
h icle rollovers.
The side curtain airbag system supp lements
the safety belts and can help to reduce the risk of injury for occupants ' heads and upper
t orso on the side of the vehicle that is struck
in a side collision . The side curta in a irbag in
flates in s ide impacts and on ly when the veh i
cle acce le rat ion reg istered by the contro l uni t
i s hig h enoug h. If th is rate is below the refe r
e n ce value programmed into the con trol un it,
the side c urtain airbag will not be triggered,
even though the car may be badly damaged as
a result of the collision . It is not possible to
define an airbag triggering range that will
cover every possible angle of impact, since the
circumstances will vary considerably betwee n
one collision and another . Important factors
include, for examp le, the nature (hard or soft)
of the impacting object, the angle of impact ,
Airba g sy stem 163
vehicle speed, etc. ¢ page 164, How side cur
tain airbags work.
As ide from their normal safe ty fun ction, safe
ty be lts wo rk to help keep the driver o r fron t
passenger in position in the event o f a colli
sion so that the side curtain airbags can pro
vide protection .
T he airbag system is no t a subs tit ute for your
sa fety belt. Rather, it is part of the overa ll oc
cupant restraint system in your veh icle . A l
ways remember that the a irbag system can
o nl y 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
you r safety be lts, not just because t he law re
quires you to do so ¢
page 131, General
notes.
It is important to remember that w hile the
s ide curtain airbag system is designed to help
r educ e the likelihood of ser ious injuries, othe r
injur ies, for example, swelling, bru is ing, fric
t ion burns and minor ab ras ions c an also be as
sociated w ith these airbags upo n deploymen t.
Remember too, these air bags will deploy only
once and only in ce rtain kinds of accidents -
your safety be lts are a lways there to offer pro
tection .
The side curtain airbag system basically
consist s of:
- The e lectronic control module and external
side impact sensors
- The side curtain airbags above the front and
rear side windows w ith ejection mitigation
features
- The a irbag indicator light in the instrument
panel
The a irbag system is monitored e lec tronically
to make certain it is functioning properly at all
times. Each time you sw itch on the ign ition,
the airbag system indicator light will come on
for a few seconds (self diagnostics) .
The si de curtain airbag i s not activated:
- if the ignition is sw itched off,
- in side co llisions whe n the a cceleration
meas ured by the sensor is too low ,
-The child and the passenger can also
injure each other in an accident .
- Never install rear-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
armrest, door or roof.
- Always install rear-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
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.
- Never place or use any electrical device
(such as a laptop, CD player, electronic
games device, power inverter or seat
Child Safety 1 71
heater for child seats) on the front pas
senger seat if the device is connected
to the 12-volt socket or the cigarette lighter socket.
- If a seat heater has been retrofitted or
otherwise added to the front passen
ger seat, never install any child re
straint system on this seat.
- Make sure that there are no wet objects
(such as a wet towel) and no water or
other liquids on the front passenger
seat cushion .
- Never place objects on the seat (such
as a laptop, CD player, electronic games device, power inverter or seat
heater for child seats). These may in
fluence the electrical capacitance
measured by the capacitive passenger
detection system and can also fly
around in an accident and cause serious
personal injury.
- 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 131, Safety
belts,
¢ page 140, Airbag system and
¢ page 166, 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.
- Take the child restraint off the front pas senger seat and install it properly at one
of the rear seat positions if the
PASSEN
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not stay on.
- Have the airbag system inspected by
your authorized Audi dealer immediate
ly . •
•
•
It is a very dangerous place for an infant or a
la rger child in a rearward-facing seat.
A WARNING
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 in a
crash.
- Never install rear-facing child safety
seats or infant carriers on the front pas
senger seat -even with an Advanced Air
bag System. A child will be seriously in
jured and can be killed when the inflat
ing airbag hits the child safety seat or in
fant carrier with great force and smashes
the child safety seat and child against
the backrest, center armrest, door or
roof
c::> page 142, Child restraints on the
front seat -some important things to
know.
- Always install rear-facing child safety
seats or infant carriers on the rear seat.
- Never install a rear-facing child restraint
in the forward-facing direction. Such re
straints are designed for the special
needs of infants and very small children
and cannot protect them properly if the
seat is forward-facing .
-If you must install a rearward facing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat because of exceptional circumstan
ces and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on and stay on, im
mediately install the rear-facing child
safety seat in a rear seating position and have the airbag system inspected by your
Audi dealer.
- 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.
- If a seat heater has been retrofitted or
otherwise added to the front passenger
Child Safety 173
seat, never install any child restraint sys
tem on this seat.
- Make sure that there are no wet objects
(such as a wet towel) and no water or
other liquids on the front passenger seat
cushion.
- Never place objects on the seat (such as
a laptop, CD player, electronic games de
vice, power inverter or seat heater for
child seats). These may influence the
electrical capacitance measured by the
capacitive passenger detection system
and can also fly around in an accident
and cause serious personal injury.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child restrained in ave
hicle is being used
c::> page 131, Safety
belts,
c::> page 140, Airbag system and
c::> page 166, 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. 134 Schematic overview: installat ion of the at
tac hme nts applicab le to a LA T CH seat
Fig. 135 Sc hemat ic overv iew : installatio n of the seat
using the vehicle 's safety belt syste m
I),,