Airbag syste m
detail below . Because the front passenger seat
contains important parts of the Advanced Airbag
System, you must take care to prevent it from be ing damaged. Damage to the seat may prevent
the Advanced Airbag for the front passenger seat
from doing its job in a crash .
The front Ad vanced Airb ag System con sis ts
of the follow ing :
-Crash sensors in the front of the veh icle that
measure veh icle acceleration/decelerat ion to
provide information to the Advanced Airbag
System about the severity of the crash .
- An electronic control unit, with integrated crash sensors for front and side impacts. The
control un it "decides" whether to fire the front
airbags based on the informa tion rece ived from
the crash sensors. The con trol un it also "de
cides" whether the safety be lt pretensioners
shou ld be activated.
- An Advanced Airbag wi th gas generator and
control valve for the driver inside the steering
whee l hub.
- An Advanced Airbag with gas generator and
control va lve inside the instrument panel for
the front passenger.
- A weight -sensing mat under the upholste ry
padding of the front passenger seat cushion
that measures the total weight on the seat. The information registered is sent continuously to
the electronic control un it to regu late dep loy
ment of the front Advanced Airbag on the pas
senger side.
- An airbag monitoring system and indicator
light in the instrument cluster
r=> page 139.
-A sensor in each front seat registers the dis
tance between the respect ive seat and the
steering wheel or instrument panel. The infor
mation registered is sent cont inuously to the
electron ic co ntro l unit to regulate deployment
of the front Advanced Airbags.
- T he
PA SSENGER AIR B AG OFF light comes on
and stays on in the center of the instrument
pane l
c>page 139, fig . 135 and tells you when
the front Advanced A irbag on the passenger
side has been turned off.
- A sensor below the safety belt la tch for the
front seat passenge r to measure the tension on
136 the safety belt
. The tension on the safety be lt
and the weight registered by the weight-sens
ing mat help the control unit "decide" whether
the front a irbag for the front passenger seat
should be turned
off or not c> page 130, Child
restraints on the front seat -some important
things to know.
- A sensor in the safety belt latch for the driver
and for the front seat passenger that senses
whether that safety belt is latched or not and transm its this info rmat ion to the elect ro ni c
cont ro l unit .
_&. WARNING
Damage to the fron t passenger seat can pre
vent the front a irbag from working properly.
- I mproper repa ir or d isassembly of the front
passenger and driver seat will p revent the
Advanced Airbag System from functioning properly.
- Repairs to the front passenge r seat must be
performed by qualified and properly trained
wo rkshop personne l.
- Never remove the front passenger o r driver
seat from the vehicle .
- Never remove the upho lstery from the front
passenger seat.
- Never d isassemble o r remove par ts from the
seat or disconnect w ires from it.
- Never carry sharp obje cts in yo ur pocke ts or
place them on the seat. If the weight-sens
ing mat in the passenger seat is p unctured
it cannot work properly.
- Never carry things on you r lap or carry ob
jects on the passenger seat. S uch items can
increase the weight registe red by the
weight-sensing mat and send the wrong in formation to the airbag contro l unit.
- Never store items under the front passenger
seat. Parts of the Advanced Airbag System
under the passenger seat could be dam
aged, preventing them and the airbag sys
tem from wo rking prope rly.
- Never p lace seat covers or rep lacement up
holstery that have not been specifically ap
proved by Audi on the front seats.
- Seat covers can prevent the Advanced Air bag System from recogniz ing ch ild
M N
i? co ,...., \!) 1.1'1
N 1.1'1 ,....,
his or her back up against the backrest and the
backrest is not reclined
~ page 113, Correct
passenger seating positions,
- the ad ult is not taking weight off the seat by
holding on to the passenger assist handle
above the front passenger door or supporting
their weight on the armrest,
- the safety be lt is being proper ly worn and that
there is not a lot of slack in the safety be lt web
bing,
- accessory seat covers or cushions or other
th ings that may cause an incorrect read ing or
impression on the weig ht-sens ing mat under
the upholstery of the seat have been removed
from the front passenger seat,
- a safety be lt extender has not been left in the
safety belt latch for the front passenger seat .
In addition to the
PA SSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light in t he center of the instrument panel, the
message
PASS ENG ER AIR BAG OFF or PAS SEN
GER AIR BAG ON
will br iefly appear in the instru
ment cluster display . Th is is to inform the driver
of the current front passenger ai rbag status.
Important safety instructions on
monitoring the Advanced Airbag System
A WARNING
An airbag system that is not funct ioning prop
erly cannot provide supplementa l protect ion
in a frontal crash.
- If the airbag indicato r light ~ page 19
comes when the vehicle is be ing used, have
the system inspected immed iate ly by your
authorized Audi dealer . It is possible that
the a irbag will inflate when it is not s up
posed to, or wi ll not inflate when it should.
A WARNING
If the front airbag inflates, a ch ild without a
child restraint, in a rearward-facing child safe
ty seat or in a forward-facing child restraint that has not been proper ly installed will be
ser iously injured and can be killed.
- Even though your veh icle is equipped with
an Advanced Airbag System, make certa in
that all ch ild ren, especially 12 years and
Airbag syste m
younger, a lways ride on the back seat prop
erly restra ined for their age and size.
- Always install forward o r rear-facing child
safety seats on the rear seat -even with an
Advanced Airbag System.
- If you must install a rearward-facing child
safety seat on the front passenger seat be
cause of except iona l circumstances and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not
appear and stay on, immediately install the
rea r-facing chi ld safety seat in a rear seating
position and have the airbag system inspect
ed by your authori zed Audi dealer .
- A tight tether or o ther s trap on a rea rward
facing ch ild restraint attached to the front
p assenger 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 registe red can
make the system work as though an adult
were on the seat and deploy the Advanced
Airbag when it must be suppressed causing
serio us or even fatal injury to the child.
- If, in exceptiona l circumstances, you must
install a forward-facing child restraint on
the front passenger seat, always move the seat into its rearmost pos ition in the seat's
fore and aft ad justmen t range, as fa r away
from the airbag as possib le. The b ackrest
m ust be adjus ted to an upr ight position.
Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
li ght comes on and stays on all the time
whenever the ignit ion is switched on.
A WARNING
--
- If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not go out when an adult is s itting on the
front passenger seat after tak ing the steps
described above, make sure the adult is
p roperly seated and restrained at one of the
rea r seat ing pos itions.
- Have the airbag system inspected by your
author ized Audi dealer befo re transpo rting
anyone on the front passenger seat.
141
Child safety
Toddlers and children who are older than one
year up to about 4 years old and weigh more than
20 lbs. (9 kg) up to 40 lbs. (18 kg) must always
be properly restrained in a child safety seat certi
fied for their size and weight¢
fig. 144 and
¢ fig. 145.
The airbag on the passenger side makes the front
seat a potentially dangerous place for a child to
ride. The front seat is not the safest place for a
child in a forward -facing child safety seat .
It is a
very dangerous place for an infant or a larger
child in a rearward-facing seat .
A WARNING
Not using a child safety seat, using the wrong
child safety seat or improperly installing a
child restraint increases the risk of serious
personal injury and death in a collision or oth
er emergency situation.
- Children on the front seat of any car, even with Advanced Airbags, can be seriously in
jured or even killed when an airbag inflates. A child in a rearward-facing child safety seat
installed on the front passenger seat will be
seriously injured and can be killed if the
front 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 rearward-facing child safety
seats on the rear seat.
- If you must install a rearward facing child
safety seat on the front passenger seat be
cause of exceptional circumstances and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not
come on and stay on, immediately install
the rearward-facing child safety seat in a rear seating position and have the airbag
system inspected by your authorized Audi
dealer.
- The rear side of the child safety seat should be positioned as close as possible to the
backrest on the vehicle seat . Adjust or re
move the rear seat head restraint if it is dif-
158
ficult to install the child seat with the head
restraint in place¢
page 58. Install the
head restraint again immediately once the
child seat is removed . Driving without head
restraints or with head restraints that are
not properly adjusted increases the risk of
serious or fatal neck injury dramatically.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS when
ever using a child restrained in a vehicle is
being used
¢page 121, Safety belts,
¢page 129, Airbag system
and
¢ page 151, Important information.
A WARNING
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 pre
cautions be taken :
- Make sure the forward-facing seat has been
designed and certified by its manufacturer
for use on a front seat with a passenger
front and side airbag .
-Always follow the manufacturer's instruc
tions provided with the child safety seat or
infant carrier.
- Always move the front passenger seat into
the rearmost position of the passenger
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 prevents the
front passenger's seat from being moved to
the rearmost position in its fore and aft ad
justment range.
- Always make sure the backrest is in an up
right position .
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on and stays on all the time
whenever the ignition is switched on.
- If the light does not stay on, perform the
checks ¢
page 139, Monitoring the Ad
vanced Airbag System.
- Take the child restraint off the front passen
ger seat and install it properly at one of the
rear seat positions if the
PASSENGER AIR ~
Child safety
body and the front of the passenger compart
ment, the airbag can inflate completely and pro
vide supplemental protection in certain frontal
collisions .
.,&. WARNING
Not using a booster seat, using the booster
seat improperly, incorrectly installing a boos
ter seat or using the vehicle safety belt im
properly increases the risk of serious personal
injury and death in a collision or other emer
gency situation. To help reduce the risk of se
rious personal injury and/or death:
- The shoulder belt must lie as close to the
center of the child's collar bone as possible
and must lie flat 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. Pull on
the belt to tighten if necessary.
- Failure to properly route safety belts over a
child's body will cause severe injuries in an
accident or other emergency situation
c::> page 121 .
-The rear side of the child safety seat should
be positioned as close as possible to the
backrest on the vehicle seat . Adjust or re
move the rear seat head restraint if it is dif
ficult to install the child seat with the head
restraint in place
c::>page 58. Install the
head restraint again immediately once the
child seat is removed. Driving without head
restraints or with head restraints that are
not properly adjusted increases the risk of
serious or fatal neck injury dramatically .
- Children on the front seat of any car, even
with Advanced Airbags, can be seriously in
jured or even killed when an airbag inflates.
- Never let a child stand or kneel on any seat.
- Never let a child ride in the cargo area of
your vehicle.
- Always remember that a child leaning for
ward, sitting sideways or out of position in
any way during an accident can be struck by
a deploying airbag. This will result in serious
personal injury or death .
160
-If you must install a booster seat on the
front passenger seat because of exceptional
circumstances the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light must come on and stay on, when
ever the ignition is switched on .
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not come on and stay on, perform the
checks described
c::, page 139, Monitoring
the Advanced Airbag System.
- Take the child restraint off the front passen
ger seat and install it properly at one of the rear seat positions if the
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
light does not stay on whenever
the ignition is switched on.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS when
ever using a child restrained in a vehicle is
being used
<=> page 121, Safety belts,
<=>page 129, Airbag system
and
c::> page 151, Important information.
Securing child seats
' Securing a child safety seat using a safety
I _!>elt
Safety belts for the rear seats and the front pas
senger's seat con be locked with the convertible
locking retractor to properly secure child safety
seats.
The safety belts emergency locking retractors for
the rear seats safety belts and for the front pas
senger's seat safety belt have a convertible lock
ing retractor for child restraints. The safety belt
must be locked so that belt webbing cannot un
reel. The retractor can be activated to lock the
safety belt and prevent the safety belt webbing
from loosening up during normal driving. A child
safety seat can only be properly installed when
the safety belt is locked so that the child and child safety seat will stay in place.
Always remember: Even though your vehicle is equipped with an Advanced Airbag system, all
children, especially those 12 years and younger,
should always ride in the back seat properly re-
strained for their age and weight . ..,_