2015 AUDI A3 warning light

148 Airbag system
-Always make sure that there is nothing
on the front passenger seat that will
cause the capacitive passenger detection
system in the seat to signal to the Airbag
System that the seat is occupied by a
person when it is not, or to signal that it
is occupied by someone who is heavier
than the person actually sitting on the
seat. The presence of additional objects
could cause the passenger front airbag
to be turned on when it should be off, or
could cause the airbag to work in a way
that is different from the way it would have worked without the object on the
seat.
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on and stays on all the
time whenever the ignition is switched on.
Advanced Airbag System components
The front passenger seat in your vehicle has a
lot of very important parts of the Advanced
Airbag System in it. These parts include the
capacitive passenger detection system, wir­
ing, brackets, and more. The control unit
monitors the system on the front passenger
seat when the ignition is switched on and
turns the airbag indicator light on when a
malfunction in the one of the system compo­
nents is detected
¢ page 153. Because the
front passenger seat contains important parts
of the Advanced Airbag System, you must
take care to prevent it from being damaged.
Damage to the seat may prevent the Ad­
vanced Airbag System for the front passenger
seat from doing its job in a crash.
The front Advanced Airbag System
consists of the following:
- Crash sensors in the front of the vehicle that
measure vehicle acceleration/deceleration
to provide information to the Advanced Air­ bag System about the severity of the crash .
- An electronic control unit, with integrated
crash sensors for front and side impacts.
The control unit "decides" whether to fire the front
airbags based on the information
received from the crash sensors. The control
unit also "decides" whether the safety belt
pretensioners should be activated.
- An Advanced Airbag with gas generator for
the driver inside the steering wheel hub.
- An Advanced Airbag with gas generator in­
side the instrument panel for the front pas­
senger.
- A capacitive passenger detection system un­
derneath the front passenger seat cover.
This system measures the electrical capaci­ tance of the person in the seat. The informa­
tion registered is sent continuously to the
electronic control unit to regulate deploy­ ment of the front Advanced Airbag on the
passenger side.
- An airbag monitoring system and indicator
light in the instrument cluster
¢page 152 .
-A sensor in each front seat registers the dis­
tance between the respective seat and the steering wheel or instrument panel. The in­
formation registered is sent continuously to
the electronic control unit to regulate de­
ployment of the front Adv a need Airbags.
- The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes
on and stays on in the center of the instru­
ment panel
¢ page 210 and tells you when
the front Advanced Airbag on the passenger
side has been turned off.
- A sensor in the safety belt latch for the driv­
er and for the front seat passenger that
senses whether that safety belt is latched or not and transmits this information to the
electronic control unit .
A WARNING
--
Damage to the front passenger seat can
prevent the front airbag from working
properly.
- 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 vehicle.
- Never remove the upholstery from the
front passenger seat.
- Never disassemble or remove parts from
the seat or disconnect wires from it.
- Never carry sharp objects in your pockets
or put them on the seat. The capacitive passenger detection mat in the front
passenger seat will not function properly
if it is punctured .
- Never carry things on your lap or carry
objects on the front passenger seat.
Such objects can influence the capaci­
tance registered by the capacitive pas­ senger detection system, so that incor­
rect information is provided to the airbag
control unit.
- Never store items under the front pas­
senger seat. Parts of the Advanced Air­
bag System under the passenger seat
could be damaged, preventing them and
the airbag system from working proper­
ly.
- Never place seat covers or replacement
upholstery that have not been specifical­
ly approved by Audi on the front seats.
- Seat covers can prevent the Advanced
Airbag System from recognizing child re­
straints or occupants on the front pas­
senger seat and prevent the side airbag
in the seat backrest from deploying prop­
erly .
- If a seat heater has been retrofitted or
otherwise added to the front passenger
seat, never install any child restraint sys­
tem on this seat.
- Never use cushions, pillows, blankets, or
similar items on the front passenger
seat. The additional layers prevent the
capacitive passenger detection system
from accurately measuring the capaci­
tance of the child safety seat and/or the
person on the seat and thus keep the Ad­
vanced Airbag System from working properly.
- Never place or use any electrical device
(such as a laptop, CD player, electronic
Airbag system 149
games device, power inverter or seat
heater for child seats) on the front pas­
senger seat if the device is connected to
the 12-volt socket or the cigarette light­
er socket. Such devices can influence the
capacitance registered by the capacitive passenger detection system, so that in­
correct information is provided to the air­
bag control unit.
- If you must use a child restraint on the
front passenger seat and the child re­
straint manufacturer's instructions re­
quire the use of a towel, foam cushion or
something else to properly position the
child restraint, make certain that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes
on and stays on whenever the child re­
straint is installed on the front passen­
ger seat.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, immedi­
ately install child restraint in a rear seat­
ing position and have the airbag system
inspected by your Audi dealer.
.&_ WARNING
If the front passenger seat gets wet, dry it
immediately.
- If liquid soaks into the front passenger
seat, this can keep the airbag system
from working properly and may, for in­
stance, deactivate the passenger frontal
airbag. If this happens, the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light will come on and stay
on together with the airbag indicator light
fl in the instrument cluster.
- If liquid is pooled on the seat, but has
not soaked in, this may also keep the air­
bag system from working properly and
cause the passenger frontal airbag to be
enabled (turned on), even though there is a properly installed child restraint sys­
tem on the seat . Wet towels or other wet
things on the seat cushion can have the
same effect. If the front passenger fron­
tal airbag is turned on, the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light will go out .
•
•
•

150 Airbag system
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 saf ety be lts
with pretensioners and load limiters and the
adjus table head restr aints* to help 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 in this chapter .
Deployment of the Advanced Airbag System
and the activat ion of the safety belt preten­
sioners depend on the decelerat ion measured
by the crash senso rs and regis tered by the
e lectronic control u nit. Crash sever ity 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, regard less of safety
be lt use, the front passenger fronta l airbag
will be turned off i f the e lectrical capac itance
measured by the capacitive passenger detec­
tion system on the front passenge r seat is less
than the amount programmed in the electron­ ic control unit. The front passenger frontal air­
bag will also be turned off if the capacitance
measured by the system for the front passen­
ge r seat equa ls that of an infant of abo ut one
yea r of age i n one of the child sea ts that was
used to cer tify the Advanced Airbag System
under Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
208 . The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OF F light
comes on and stays on to tell you when the
front Advanced A irbag System on the passen­
ger s ide has been turned off¢
page 153.
A WARNING
To reduce the risk of injury when a n airbag
inflates, a lways wear safety belts properly .
- If you are unrestrained, leaning forward,
sitting sideways or out of position in any
way, your risk of inj ury is much higher.
- You wi ll 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- flates
-even w ith an Advanced A irbag
¢ page 140.
More important things to know about
front airbags
Fi g. 1 24 Inflated f ro nt a irba gs
-...
q :r:
iZ
Safety be lts are important to he lp keep front
seat occupants in the proper seated position
so that a irbags can unfold proper ly and pro­
vide supplemental protect ion in a frontal col­
lis ion .
The front airbags are designed to provide ad­ ditional protection for the chest and face of
the driver and the front seat passenger when :
- safety belts are worn proper ly,
- the seats have been positioned so that the
occupant is properly seated as far as poss i­
b le from the airbag ,
- and for ad justab le head restraints : the head
restraints have been properly adj usted .
Bec ause airbags inflate in the bli nk of an eye
with great force, th ings you have on your lap
or have p laced on the seat co uld become dan ­
gerous pro jecti les, and be p ushed into you if
the a irbag inf lates .
When an airbag deploys, fine dust is re leased.
T his is no rma l and is not caused by a fi re in
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 while the
supplementa l airbag system is designed to re­
duce the like lihood of serious injur ies, other
injur ies, for examp le swelling, bruising and
minor abrasions, can also happen when air-
bags inflate . A irbags do not protect the arms
IIJI,

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
•
•

152 Airbag sys te m
sudden maneuver. Objects near the
air bags can become projectiles and cause
injury, particularly when t he s eat is re­
cl in ed .
- Never place or trans port objects on the
front passenger seat. Obj ects on the
front passenger seat could cause the ca­
pacitive sensor in the seat to s ignal to
airbag system that the seat is occupied
by a person when it in fa ct is not, o r th at
the person on the sea t is he avie r than he
or she actually is. The change in electric
capacitance because of such objects can
cause the passenger front airbag to be
t u rned on when it sho uld be off, or can
cause the airbag to work in a way that is
different from the way it wou ld have
worked w ithout objects on the seat.
- Always make sure that there is nothing
on the front passenge r seat that will
cause the capaci tive passenger detection
system in the s eat to s ignal to the A irbag
System that the seat is occupied by a
person when it is not, or to sign al that it
is occupied by someone who is heavier
than the person actually sitting on the seat . The prese nce of an object co uld
cause the passenger front a irbag to be
t u rned on when it sho uld be off, or co uld
cause the airbag to work in a way that is
differe nt from the way it wou ld have
worked w it h out the object on the seat.
.&, WARNING
The fine dust created when a irbags deploy
can ca use b reathing problems for peop le
w ith a hi story of ast hma o r othe r brea th ­
ing conditions.
- T o redu ce the r is k of breathing p rob lems,
th ose w it h asthma or o ther resp iratory
condit ions shoul d ge t fresh a ir right
away by gett ing out of the vehicle o r
opening windows or doo rs .
- If you are in a coll is ion in which a irbags
dep loy, wash yo ur hands and face w ith
mild soap and water befo re eating. -
Be ca reful not to get the dust into your
eyes, or into any c uts or scratches.
- If the resid ue s hould get into your eyes,
f lush them w ith wate r.
Monitoring the
Advanced Airbag
System
tli Airbag monitor ing indicator light
Two 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 Airbag System as well as the
s ide airbags and side curta in a irbags w ith
eject ion mit igat ion features (including the
electron ic contro l unit, se nsors a nd system
wiring) are all mon itored continuously to
make su re that they are functioning p roperly
whenever the ignition is on. Eve ry time you
tu rn o n the ignition, the a irbag sys tem indica ­
tor light II will come on fo r a few seconds
(funct ion check) .
The system must be inspected when the
indicator light
II:
- does not come on when the igni tion is
sw itched on,
- does not go out a few seconds after you
have switched on the ignit ion, or
- comes on while driv ing .
If an airbag system malfunction is detected,
the indicator lig ht w ill first sta rt flashing to
catch t he d rive r's attent io n and the n stay on
conti nuously to serve as a constant rem inder
to have the sys tem inspected immed iate ly.
If a malfunction occurs that tu rns the front
airbag on the passenge r side off, the
PASSEN ­
GER AIR BAG OFF
light will come on and stay
o n wheneve r th e ign it io n is on.

_& WARNING
An airbag system that is not functioning
properly cannot provide supplemental pro­
tection in a frontal crash.
- If the airbag indicato r light¢
page 21
turns on when the vehicle is being used,
have the system inspected immediately
by you r auth o riz ed Aud i dea le r. It is pos­
sible that the airb ag 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. 125 Center console: passenger a irbag off warnin g
light
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OF F light is located
in the center of the instrument panel
¢fig. 125.
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light will come
on and stay on to tell yo u when the front Ad­
vanced A irbag on t he passenger side has bee n
turned off by the e lectronic control unit. If the
bulb for the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
burns out, the a irbag indicator light
fl w ill
come on to signal a malfunction in the Ad­
vanced A irbag System . Although the bur ned­
out b ulb will not cha nge the way the front
passenger's frontal airbag wor ks, it w ill no
l onge r be possib le to use the
PASSENGER AIR
BAG
OFF light to make sure that the airbag
on/off stat us is correct for the occupant on
the front passenger seat. Have the airbag sys­
tem inspected immed iate ly by your author­
ized Audi dealer.
The PASSENGER AIR BAG O FF light will blink
for about 5 seconds when :
Airba g sy stem 153
- the ignition is sw itched on and
- t he capaci tive passenger detec tion system,
which switches the front seat passenger's
frontal Advanced Airbag on and off, detects a change in the status of the front passen­
ger seat.
As soon as the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light stops blink ing, a lways make sure that
the ai rbag status (on or off) as shown by the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light is proper for
the age, size and electrical capacitance of the
person occupying the front passenger seat.
Always make sure that the safety belt for the
front passenger seat is properly fastened.
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF l ight will
show the status of the front sea t passenger 's
fronta l Advan ced Airbag a fe w se conds after
th e ignition i s sw itched on and th e airbag in­
dicator light goes off. The PASSENGER AIR
BAG
OFF light :
- will stay on if the front passenger seat is not
occupied;
- will stay on if the electrical capacitance
meas ured by the capacitive passenge r de­
tect io n system for the fron t passenger s eat
equa ls the comb ined capacitance of an in­
fa nt up to about one year of age and one of
t he rearwa rd- facing or forward-fa cing ch ild
restraints listed in Fede ral Motor Vehicle
Safety Standard 208 with which the Ad­
vanced Airbag System in your vehicle was
cert ified; For a listing of the child restraints
that were used to certify your vehicle's com­
pliance w ith the U.S. Safety Standard
~page 168 .
-will go out if the fro nt passenge r seat is oc­
cupied by an adult as registered by the ca­
pacitive passenger detection system .
- The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light must
come on and stay on if the ignition is on
and ...
- a car bed has been installed on the front passenger seat, or
- a rearwa rd-facing child rest ra int has been
installed on the front passenger seat, or
- a forward-facing child restrai nt has been in-
stalled on the front passenger seat, .,,.

on the front passenger seat that might cause the capa citive passenger detecti on
system to miscalcu late electrical capac i­
tance .
Important safety instructions on
monitoring the Advanced Airbag System
A WARNING
-If the status of the Adv a need Airb ag Sys­
tem has changed while the vehicle is
moving, the
PA SS ENGER AIR B AG OFF
light b links for about S seconds to catch
t h e driv er's attent ion. If this happens, al­
ways stop as soon as it is safe to do so
and check the steps described above.
- If the
PAS SENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not go off when an adult who is not
very small is sitting on the front passen­ ger seat after taking the steps descr ibed
above, make sure the adult is properly
seated and restrained at one of the rear seating pos it ions. Have the a irbag sys­
tem inspected by your authorized Audi
dealer before transporting anyone on the
front passenger seat.
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
c> page 21
turns on when the vehicle is being used,
have the system inspected immediately
by you r autho rized 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.
A WARNING
If the front airbag infla tes, a ch ild witho ut
a c hild restraint , or in a rearwar d-fac ing
child safety seat, or in a forward-facing
child rest raint that has not been properly
installed will be serio usly injured and can
be killed.
-
A irbag system 15 5
-Even tho ugh you r vehicle is equipped
with an Advanced A irbag System, make
certain that all children, espec ia lly 12
yea rs and younger, always ride on the
back seat prope rly restrained for their
age and size .
- Always install forward or rear-facing
child seats on the rear seat -even with
an Advanced A irbag System.
- I f you must install a rearwa rd-facing
child seat on the front passenger seat because of ex ceptio nal circumstances
and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not appear and s tay on, immediate­
ly install the rear -facing child seat in a
rea r seating pos ition and have the airbag
system inspected by you r Audi dealer.
- If, in exceptiona l circumstances, you
m ust install a forward-facing ch ild re­
straint on the front passenger seat, al­
ways move the seat into its rearmost po­
sition in the seat's fore and aft adjust­
ment range, as fa r away from the a irbag
as poss ible. The backrest must be adjust­
ed to an upright pos ition. Make su re that
the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
comes on a nd stays on all the time when­
eve r the ignit ion is switched on .
A WARNING
=
- If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not go out when an a dult is sitting
on the front passenger seat after taking
the steps described above, make sure the
adu lt is properly seated and restra ined at
one of the rea r seat ing pos itions.
- Have the airbag system inspected by
your Aud i dea ler before transporting
anyone on the front passenger seat.
(D Tips
If the capac itive passenger detection sys ­
tem determ ines that the front passenger
seat is empty, the fronta l airbag on the
passenger side will be turned off, and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light will stay
on.
•
•
•

158 Airbag system
on ly help to protect yo u if you are wea ring
your safety belt and wearing it properly. This
i s why you sh ou ld always wear your safety
be lt, not just because the law requires you to
do soc;,
page 131, General notes.
The safety belt buck le for the driver and front
seat passenger have switches that tell the a ir ­
bag control module if the safety belt is being
used or not.
Remember too, airbags will deploy only once
and on ly in certain kinds of accidents -your
safety belts are always there to offer protec­
tion in those acc idents in which airbags are
not supposed to deploy or when they have a l­
ready deployed, fo r example whe n your vehi­
cle strikes o r is str uck by another after the
fi rs t coll is ion.
This is just one of the reasons why an a irbag is
not a substitute for the safety belt. The airbag
sys tem works most effective ly when used with
the safety bel ts. Therefore, always wear your
safety bel ts correctly .
It is important to remember that whi le the
supp lemental knee a irbag system is designed
to redu ce the like lihood of serious injur ies,
o ther i njuries , fo r example , swell ing, bruising
and minor abras ions and frict ion burns ca n al­
so occur when an airbag inflates.
The knee airbag system basically consists
of:
- T he electronic control mod ule
- T wo inflatab le airbags (airbag and gas gen-
erato r), o ne for the dr iver an d one for the
fron t passenger
- T he airb ag ind ic a tor light in the instrument
pane l
The knee airbag system will not deploy:
-when the ign ition is switc hed off
- in frontal collis ions when the decelerat ion
measured by the control unit is too low
- in side collisions
- in rear-end collisions
- in ro llovers -
in the event of a system malfunction (warn ­
ing/indicator light is on)¢
page 21 .
.&_ WARNING
--
-Safety belts and the airbag system can
only provide protection when occupants
are in the proper seating position
c;,page 150.
-If the airbag indicator light ¢page 21
turns on when the veh icle is be ing used,
have the system inspected immediately
by your authorized A udi dealer. It is pos­
sib le that the airbag will in flate when it
is not supposed to, or will not infla te
when i t should.
How knee airbags work
App lies to vehicles: with knee airbags
The risk of injury to the l eg area can be re­
duced by fully infla ted knee airbags .
Fig. 1 27 Inf lated airbags protect ing in a frontal colli­
s io n
The knee airbag system has been des igned so
that th e airbags for the driv er and front pas­
senger deploy in certa in but not all frontal
c ollisions.
If the front a irbags dep loy, the k nee a irbags
also dep loy in frontal col lis ions when the de­
ployment th reshold stored in the control un it
is me t.
When the system deploys, the a irbags fill
with a comp ressed prop ellant gas, and inflate
betwee n the lower pa rt of the inst rument
pane l and the driver and the lowe r part of the
inst rumen t panel an d the front p assenger
c;, page 150, fig. 1 24 . IJ,-