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0 ::.,: co ,...., \!) ..,.,
,...., ..,., ,....,
A WARNING
Always make sure that the doors, all windows, the sunroof and the rear lid are se
curely 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 rear lid left open . A
child could crawl into the vehicle through
the luggage compartment 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
c:>poge234.
Driving Safely 133
Tie-downs
App lies to veh icles : w ith tie -d owns
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
c:> page 132 , Loading the luggage com
partment .
In a collision, the laws of physics mean that
even smaller i tems 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 (4.5 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
freely through the passenger compartment could cause in a collision like this.
A WARNING
----Weak, damaged or improper straps used
to secure items to tie-downs can fail dur
ing hard braking or in a collision and cause
serious personal injury.
- Always use suitable mounting straps and
properly secure items to the tie-downs in
the luggage compartment to help pre
vent items from shifting or flying for
ward as dangerous missiles.
- When the rear seat backrest is folded
down, always use suitable mounting
straps and properly secure items to the
tie-downs in the luggage compartment
to help prevent items from flying for
ward as dangerous missiles into the pas
senger compartment .
- Never attach a child safety seat tether
strap to a tie-down . •
•
M N
~ co
rl I.O
"' rl
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Why safety belts?
Frontal collisions and the law of physics
Frontal crashes create very strong forces for
people riding in vehicles .
Fig. 143 Unbelted occupant s in a ve hicle heading for a
wall
Fig. 144 The vehicle c ras hes into the wall
The physical principles are simple. Both the
vehicle and the passengers possess energy
which varies with vehicle speed and body
weight . Engineers call this energy "kinetic en
ergy ."
The higher the speed of the vehicle and the greater the vehicle's weight, the more energy
that has to be "absorbed" in the crash .
Vehicle speed is the most significant factor . If
the speed doubles from 15 to 30 mph (25 to
50 km/h) , the energy increases 4 times!
Because the passengers of this vehicle are not
using safety belts
r::;, fig. 143, they will keep
moving at the same speed the vehicle was
moving just before the crash, until something
stops them -here, the wall
c:> fig . 144.
The same principles apply to people sitting in
a vehicle that is involved in a frontal collision .
Even at city speeds of 20 to 30 mph (30 to
50 km/h) , the forces acting on the body can Safety belts
13 7
reach one ton (2,000 lbs. or 1,000 kg) or
more . At greater speeds, these forces are
even
higher.
People who do not use safety belts are also
not attached to their vehicle. In a frontal colli
sion they will also keep moving forward at the
speed their vehicle was travelling just before
the crash. Of course, the laws of physics don't
just apply to frontal collisions, they determine what happens in all kinds of accidents and col
lisions .
What happens to occupants not wearing
safety belts?
In crashes unbelted occupants cannot stop
themselves from flying forward and being in
jured or killed. Always wear your safety belts!
Fig. 145 A driver not wear ing a safety belt is vio lently
thrown forward
Fig.
146 A rear passeng er not wearing a safety belt
w ill fly forward and strike the driver
Unbelted occupants are not able to resist the
tremendous forces of impact by holding tight
or bracing themselves . Without the benefit of
safety restraint systems, the unrestrained oc
cupant will slam violently into the steer ing
wheel, instrument panel, windshield, or what
ever else is in the way ¢ fig. 145 . This impact Ill-
146 Airbag system
Even though your vehicle is equipped with an
Advanced Airbag System, make certain that
all chi ldren, especially those 12 years and
younger, a lways ride in the back seat properly
restrained for their age and size. The airbag
on the passenger side makes the front seat a potentially dangerous place for a ch ild to ride.
The front seat is not the safest place for a
child in a forward-facing child safety seat. It
can be a very dangerous place for an infant or
a child in a rearward-facing seat.
The Advanced Airbag System in your veh icle
has been certified to comply with the Requ ire
ments of United States Federal Motor Vehicle
Safety Standard 208 as applicable at the time
your vehicle was manufactured.
The Standard requires the front a irbag on the
passenger side to be turned off ("sup
pressed") if a child up to about one year of
age restrained in one of the rear-facing or for
ward -facing infant restraints listed in Federal
Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 with which
the Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle
was certified has been installed on the front passenger seat . For a listing of the child re
strai nts that we re used to certify compliance
with the US Safety Standard
r=v page 167.
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light in the in
strument panel te lls you when the front Ad
vanced A irbag on the passenger side has been
turned off by the e lectronic control unit.
Each t ime you turn on the ignition, the
PAS
SENGER AIR BAG OFF
light will come on for a
few seconds and:
- will stay on if the front passenger seat is not
occupied,
- will stay on if there is a small child or child restraint on the front passenger seat,
- wi ll go off if the front passenger seat is oc
cupied by an adult as registered by the
weight-sensing mat
r=v page 154, Monitor
ing the Advanced Airbag System .
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
when the control un it detects a total weight
on the front passenger seat that requires the
front airbag to be turned off.
If the total weight on the front passenge r
seat is more than that of a typica l 1 year -old
chi ld but less than the weight of a small
adult, the front airbag on the passenger side
can deploy (the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on). If the PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on, the
front airbag on the passenger side has not
been turned off by the electronic con trol unit
and can deploy if the control unit senses an
impact that meets the cond itions stored in its
memory .
For example, the airbag may deploy if:
-a small ch ild that is heav ier than a typical 1
year-old ch ild is on the front passenger seat
( re gard less of whether the child is in one of
the child safety seats listed
r=v page 167), or
- a child who has outgrown ch ild restraints is
on the front passenger seat.
If the front passenger airbag is turned off, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on in
the instrument cluster and stays on.
The front airbag on the passenger s ide may
not deploy (the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not illum inate and stay lit) even if a
small adult or teenager, or a passenger who is
not sitt ing upright with their back against a
non-reclined backrest with their feet on the
vehicle floor in front of the seat is on the front
passenger seat
r=v page 12 7, Proper seating
position for the driver.
If the front passenger airbag deploys, the
Federal Standard requires the airbag to meet
the "low risk" deployment criteria to reduce
the risk of injury t hroug h interaction with the
airbag. "Low risk" deployment occurs in those
crashes that take place at lower dece lerat ions
as defined in the electronic control unit
r=v page 155, PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light .
Always remember, a child safety seat or infant
carr ier installed on the front seat may be
struck and knocked out of posit ion by the rap
idly inflat ing passenger's airbag in a frontal
collision . The air bag could greatly reduce the
effectiveness of the ch ild restraint and even
seriously injure the child during inflation .
148 Airbag system
-Never place additional items on the seat
that can increase the total weight regis
tered by the weight-sensing mat and can
cause injury in a crash.
Front airbags
Description of front airbags
The airbag system can provide supplemental
protection to properly restrained front seat
occupants.
Fig. 153 L ocation of driver airbag: in steer ing wheel
Fig. 154 Locatio n of fro nt passenger's airbag: in the in
st rument panel
Your veh icle is equipped with an "Advanced
Airbag System" in compliance with United
States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 208 as applicable at the time your
vehicle was manufactured. The safety belts
for the seats have "pretensioners" that help
to take slack out of the belt system. The pre
tensioners are also activated by the electronic
control unit for the airbag system.
The front safety belts also have load limiters
to help reduce the forces applied to the body
in a crash.
The airbag for the driver is in the steering wheel hub
¢ fig. 153 and the airbag for the front
passenger is in the instrument panel
¢ fig. 154 . The general location of the airbags
is marked "AIRBAG".
There is a lot you need to know about the air
bags in your vehicle . We urge you to read the
detailed information about airbags, safety
belts and child safety in this and the other
c h apters that make up the owner's literature.
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.
_&. WARNING
Never rely on airbags alone for protection.
- Even when they deploy, airbags provide
only supplemental protect ion.
-Airbag work most effectively when used
with properly worn safety belts.
- Therefore, always wear your safety belts
and make sure that everybody in your ve
h icle is properly restrained.
_&. WARNING
-A pe rson on the front passenger seat, es-
pecially infants and sma ll children, will re
ceive serious injuries and can even be kil
led by being too close to the airbag when
it inflates .
- Although the Advanced Airbag System in
your vehicle is designed to turn off the
front passenger airbag if an infant or a
small child is on the front passenger
seat, nobody can absolutely guarantee
that deployment under these special conditions is imposs ible in all conceiva
ble situat ions that may happen during
the useful life of your vehicle.
- The Advanced Airbag System can deploy
in accordance with the "low risk" option
under the U.S. Federal Standard if a child
that is heavier than the typical one-year
old child is on the front passenger seat
and the other conditions for airbag de
p loyment are met .
-Accident statistics have shown that chil
dren are generally safer in the rear seat
area than in the front seating posit ion.
- For their own safety, all children, espe
cially 12 years and younger, sho uld al
ways ride in the back properly restrained
for their age and size.
Advanced front airbag system
Your veh icle is equipped w ith a front Advanced
A irbag System in compliance with Un ited
States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety S tanda rd
208 as applicab le a t the time your vehicle was
manufac tured .
The front Advanced Airbag System supple ments the safety belts to provide add it iona l
p rotection fo r the driver's and fron t passeng
e r' s heads and upper bodies in fronta l crashes.
The airbags inflate only in frontal impacts
when the vehicle dece leration is high enough .
The fron t Advanced A irbag Sys tem for the
front seat occ upants is no t a substi tute for
your safety bel ts. Rather, it is part of the over
a ll occupa nt restraint system in your vehicle.
A lways remember that the airbag system can
only help to protect you, if you are s itting up
right, wearing your safety belt and wearing it
properly . This is w hy you and your passenge rs
must always be properly restrai ned, not just
because the law requires you to be .
The Advanced Airbag System i n your veh icle
has been certified to meet the " low r isk" re
qu irements for 3 and 6 year-o ld childre n on
the passenger s ide and very small adu lts on
the dr iver side. The low ris k dep loymen t cr ite
ria are intended to he lp red uce the risk of i n
j ury thro ugh in teraction with the front airbag
that can occ ur, fo r example, by being too
close to the steering whee l and instrument
panel when the airbag inflates.
I n addition, the sys tem has been certif ied to
comp ly with the "suppression" requirements
of the Safety Standard, to turn off the front
airbag for infants 12 months old and younger
who are restra ined on the front passenger
A irbag system 149
seat in child rest raints that are listed in the
Standard
~ page 167, Child restraints and
Advanced Airbags.
"Supp ress ion" requires the fron t airbag on the
passenger side to be turned off if :
- a child up to about one year of age is re
s trained on t he front passenger sea t in one
o f the rear -fac ing or fo rward -facing infan t
restraints listed in Federal Motor Vehicle
Safety Standard 208 with which the Ad
vanced Airbag System in your ve hicle was
cert ified. For a listing of t he chi ld restraints
that were used to certify your veh icle's com
plia nce w ith the US Safety Standard
~ page 167,
-weight less than a thres hold level stored in
the control unit is detected on the front pas
senge r seat.
When a person is detected on the front pas
senger seat, weighing more than t he total
weight of a chi ld that is about 1 year old re
stra ined in one of the rear-fac ing o r fo rward
facing infant restraints (listed in Federal Mo
tor Vehicle Safety S tanda rd 208 w it h whi ch
t h e A dvan ced Airbag Sys tem in yo ur vehicle
was certified), the front airbag on the passen
ger side may or may not deploy .
T he
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
whe n the ele ct ro ni c cont ro l uni t detects a to
ta l we igh t on the front passenger sea t that re
quires the front airbag to be t urned off . If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not
come on, the front airbag on the passenger
s ide has not been turned off by the contro l
unit and ca n dep loy if the control un it senses
an impact that meets the cond itions stored i n
i ts memory .
If the total weig ht on the front passenger
seat is more than that of a typical 1 year-old, but less than the we ight of a small adult, the
front a irbag on the passenger side may dep loy
(the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not
come on) .
For example, the airbag may deploy if: I),
•
•
"' N
0 ::.,: co ,...., \!) ..,.,
,...., ..,., ,....,
th e forward-facing child res traint. The
backrest must be adjusted to an upr ight
posit ion.
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AI R BA G
OFF
light comes on and stays on all the
t ime whenever the ignition is switched
on.
Advanced Airbag System components
The front passenger seat in your vehicle has a
l ot of very important parts of the Advanced
Airbag System in it. These parts include the
weight-sens ing ma t, sensors, wiring, brack
ets, and more. The function of the system in
the front passenger seat is checked by the
e lectronic control unit when the ignition is on .
The control unit monitors the Advanced Air bag System and turns the airbag indicator
light on when a malfunction in the system
components is detected. The function of the
airbag ind icator light is described in greater
deta il below. Because the front passenger
seat contains impo rtant parts of the Ad
vanced A irbag System, you m ust take care to
p revent it from being damaged. Damage to
the seat may prevent the Advanced Airbag for
the front passenger seat from doing its job in
a crash.
The front Advanc ed Airbag Syst em
con sis ts o f th e 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 contro l unit "decides" whether to fire
the front airbags based on the information
r eceived from the c rash sensors. The control
unit a lso "dec ides" whet her the safety be lt
pretensione rs should be activated.
- An Advanced Airbag with gas generator and
control valve for the driver inside the steer
i ng wheel hub.
A irbag system 15 1
- An Advanced Ai rbag with gas gene rator and
contro l valve inside the instrument pane l for
the front passenger .
- A weight-sensing mat under the upholstery
padding of the front passenger seat cushion
that measures the total weight on the seat.
The informat ion reg istered is sent continu
ously to the electronic control unit to regu
late deployment of the front Advanced Air
bag on the passenger side.
- An airbag monitoring system and ind icator
light in the i nstr ument cluster ~
page 154 .
-A sensor in each front seat registers the dis
tance betwee n the respective seat and the
steer ing whee l or inst rument panel. The i n
formation register ed is sent cont inuous ly to
the ele ct ron ic cont ro l uni t to regulate de
ployment o f the front Advanced A irbags .
- The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes
on and stays on in the center o f th e instr u
ment panel
~page 155, fig. 156 and tells
you when the front Advanced Airbag on the
passenger side has been turned off .
- A sensor below the safety be lt latch for the
front seat passenger to meas ure t he tension
on the safety be lt . T he tension o n the safety
be lt and the weight registered by the
weight-sensing mat help the control unit
"decide" whether the front airbag for the
front passenge r seat should be turned off or
not~
page 145, Child restraints on the
front seat -some important things to
know.
- A sensor in the safety belt latch fo r the driv
er and fo r the front sea t passe nger that
senses w hethe r that s afety belt is latched or
no t and transmi ts this information to the
electronic control unit.
A WARNING
Damage to the front passenger seat can
p revent the front airbag from work ing
properly.
- Improper repair or disassembly of the
front passenge r and dr iver seat will pre
vent the Advanced Airbag System from
functioning p roperly .
-
•
•
152 Airbag system
-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 place them on the seat. If the weight
sensing mat in the passenger seat is
punctured it cannot work properly.
- Never carry things on your lap or carry
objects on the passenger seat. Such
items can increase the weight registered
by the weight-sensing mat and send the
wrong information 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.
- Never use cushions, pillows, blankets or
similar items on the front passenger seat. The additional padding will prevent
the weight-sensing mat in the seat from
accurately registering the child restraint
or person on the seat and prevent the
Advanced Airbag System from function
ing properly.
- 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 authorized Audi dealer.
How the Advanced Airbag System
components work together
The front Advanced Airbag System and the
side airbags supplement the protection of
fered by the front three-point safety belts
with pretensioners and load limiters and the
adjustable head restraints to help reduce the
risk of injury in a wide range of accident and
crash situations. Be sure to read the impor
tant information about safety and heed the
WARNINGS in this chapter.
Deployment of the Adva need Airbag System
and the activation of the safety belt preten sioners depend on the deceleration measured
by the crash sensors and registered by the
electronic control unit. Crash severity depends
on speed and deceleration as well as the mass
and stiffness of the vehicle or object involved
in the crash.
On the passenger side, regardless of safety
belt use, the airbag will be turned off if the
weight on the passenger seat is less than the amount programmed in the electronic control
unit. The front airbag on the passenger side
will also 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
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on to tell
you when the front Advanced Airbag on the passenger side has been turned off
~ page 145, Child restraints on the front seat
- some important things to know.
1111>
_& WARNING
To reduce the risk of injury when an airbag
inflates, a lways wear safety belts properly.
- If you are unrestrained, lean ing forward,
sitting sideways or out of position in any
way, your risk of injury is much higher .
- You w ill also receive serious injuries and
could even be killed if you are up against
the a irbag or too close to it when it in
fla tes - even with an Advanced Airbag
~ page 144.
More important things to know about
front airbags
Fig. 155 I nf lated front a irba gs
Safety belts are impo rtant to help keep front
seat occupants in the p roper seated pos ition
so that airbags can unfo ld properly and pro
v ide supp lemental protection in a fronta l col
lision.
The front a irbags are designed to provide ad
d itiona l prote ction for the chest and face of
the dr iver and the front seat passenge r when:
- safety belts are worn prope rly,
- the seats have been posit ioned so that the
occupant is proper ly 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 -
~ gero us projectiles, and be pushed into you if
~ the airbag inflates.
rl
:5: When an a irbag deploys, fine dust is released.
rl ~ This is normal and is not caused by a fire in
A irba g sy stem 153
the vehi cle. This dust is made up mostly of a
powder used to lubricate the airbags as they
deploy. It could irr itate skin.
It is important to remembe r that wh ile the
supplementa l airbag system is designed to re
duce the like lihood of serious injuries, other
injur ies, for example swelling, br uis ing and
minor abrasions, can also happen when air
bags inflate. Airbags do not protect the arms
or the lower parts of the body . Front a irbags
o nly supp lement the three point safe ty belts
in some fronta l co llisions in which the vehicle
decelera tion is h igh enough to deploy the air
bags.
Front airbags will not deploy :
- if the ignition is sw itched off when a crash
occu rs,
- in side co llisions,
- in rear-end collisions,
- in rollovers,
-when the crash deceleration measured by the airbag system is less than the minimum
threshold needed for airbag dep loyment as
reg istered by the electronic contro l unit .
The front pa ssenger ai rbag will also not
deploy:
- when the front passenger seat is not occu
pied ,
- when the weight on the front passenger
seat as sensed by the Advanced Airbag Sys
tem ind icates that the front airbag on the
passe nger side has to be turned off by the
electronic control unit (the
PASSENGER AIR
BA G OFF
light comes on and stays o n).
_& WARNING
-S itting in the wrong pos ition can in creas e
the r is k of se rious inj ury i n crashes.
- To reduce the risk of injury when the air
bags inflate, the drive r and passenge rs
m ust always s it in an upr igh t positi on,
m ust not lean against or pla ce any part
of their body too close to the area whe re
the airbags a re located. .,.