M N
0 <.J 'SI: ,...., \!) ..,.,
,...., ..,., ,....,
U.S. Federal Standard if a child with elec
trical capac itance greater than the com
bined capacitance of a typical one-year
old infant restrained in one of the for
ward fac ing or rearward-fac ing ch ild
seats w ith which your vehicle was certi
fied is on the front passenger seat and
the other conditions for airbag deploy ment are met.
- Acc ident statist ics have shown that chil
dren are generally safer in the rea r 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 p roperly rest rained
for their age and size .
Advanced front airbag system
Your vehicle is equipped with a front Advanced
Airbag System in comp liance with Un ited
States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 as applicable at the time your vehicle was
manufactured.
The front Advanced Airbag System supple ments the safety belts to provide add it iona l
protection for the driver's and front passeng
e r's heads and upper bodies in frontal crashes.
The airbags inflate only in frontal impacts
when the vehicle dece le rat io n is high enough.
The front Advanced A irbag System for the
front seat occupants is not a substitute for
your safety belts . Rather, it is part of the over
all occupant rest raint system in your ve hicle.
A lways remember that the airbag system can
only help to pro tect you, if you are s itting up
righ t, wearing your sa fety belt and wearing it
properly. This is why you and yo ur passengers
must always be properly restrained, not just
because the law requires you to be.
The Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle h as been certified to meet the " low r isk" re
q ui rements for 3 and 6 year-o ld children on
the passenger s ide and very small adu lts on
the dr iver side. The low risk deployment crite
ria are intended to he lp reduce the risk of i n
j ury through interaction with the front airbag
A irbag system 15 1
that can occur, for examp le, by being too
close to the steering wheel and instr ument
panel when the airbag inflates .
In add ition, the system has been certified to
comply with the "s uppression" requirements
of the Safety Standard, to turn off the front
airbag for in fants 12 months o ld and younger
who are restrained on the front passenger
seat in child restraints that are listed in the
Standard
c> page 173, Child restraints and
Advanced front airbag system .
"Suppression" requires the front a irbag on the
passenger side to be turned off if:
- a child up to abo ut one year of age is re
strained on the front passenger seat in one
of the rear-fac ing or forward -facing infant
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 the chi ld restraints
that were used to certify you r vehicle's com
p lia nce w it h t he US Safety Standa rd
c>page 173,
-When a pe rson is detec ted o n the front pas
senge r seat that has an e lec trica l capa ci
tance t hat is more than the tota l electrical
capacitance of a child that is about 1 year
old restrained in one of the rear-facing or
forward-facing infant restraints (listed in Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208
w ith which the Advanced A irbag System in
your vehicle was certified), the front airbag
on the passenger side may or may not de
ploy.
The
PASSENG ER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
when the electron ic cont ro l unit detects a to
ta l elect rical capac itance on the front passen
ger seat that requi res the front a irbag to be
turned off. If the
PAS SENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does no t come on, the front airbag on
the passenger side has not been turned off by
the contro l unit and can deploy if the control
u nit senses an impact that meets the condi
tions stored in its memory.
If the total e lectr ica l capacitance registered
on the front passenger seat is more than that
ll>
•
•
152 Airbag sys te m
of a typ ica l 1 year -old, but less than the
weight of a sma ll adult, the front airbag on
the passenger side may deploy (the
PASSEN
GER AIR BAG OFF
li ght does not come on).
For exa mple , the air bag m ay depl oy if:
- a small child that is heavier than a typical 1
year-o ld child is on the front p assenger seat
(regardless of whe ther the child is in one of
the chi ld seats listed
c':> page 173),
-a ch ild who has o utgrown child rest raints is
on the front passenger seat.
If the front passenger airbag is turned off, the
PA SSENGER AIR BAG OFF light in the cente r
of the instrument 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 risk" deployment criteria to help re
duce 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 e lectronic control
un it
c':>page 157.
Alway s remember: Even tho ugh 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 i n the sect ions that follow
and be sure to heed a ll of the WARNINGS .
A WARNING
To reduce the risk of injury when an airbag
inf lates, a lways 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 in juries 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
c':> page 145.
A WARNING
A child in a rearward -facing child seat in
stalled on the front passenger seat will be seriously injured and can be killed if the
front airbag inflates - even w
ith an Ad
vanced Airbag 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 con ceivable s ituations that
may h appen dur ing the usefu l life of y our
veh icle .
- T he inflating airbag will h it the ch ild seat
or infant carrier wi th grea t force and will
smash the child seat an d child against
the backrest, center armrest, doo r, 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-facing 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
i nsta ll a forward-facing child restraint on
the front passenge r's sea t:
- Always make sure the forward-facing
seat has been designed and ce rtified by
its manufacture r fo r u se on a fron t seat
with a passenger fron t and s ide a irbag .
- Never p ut the fo rward-facing child re
straint up agains t or ve ry near the instru
ment panel.
- Always move the p assenge r seat into its
rearmost 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-facing ch ild restra int. The
backrest must be ad justed to an upright
position.
154 Airbag system
-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 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.
,8. 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 light will go out.
M N
0 I.J "". rl I.O
"' rl
"' rl
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 be lts
with pretensioners and load limiters and the
adjustable head restra ints* 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 i n this chap ter.
Dep loyment of the Advanced Airbag System
and the activat ion of the safety be lt pre ten
sioners depend on the dece lerat ion meas ured
by the c rash senso rs and registered by the
e lectronic control u nit. Cr ash severity depends
on speed and dece leration as well as the mass
and stiffness of the vehicle or object involved
in the crash.
On the passenge r side, reg ard less of safety
be lt use, the fron t passenger fronta l airbag
will be t urned off i f the electrical capacitance
measured by the capac itive passenger detec
tion system on the front passenger seat is less
than the amount programmed in the e lectron
ic control unit. The front passenger frontal air
bag will also be turned off if the capac itance
measured by the system for the front passen
ge r seat equa ls that of an infant of about one
year of age in one of the child seats that was
used to cert ify the Advanced Airbag Sys tem
u nder Fede ral Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
208 . The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
comes on and stays on to tell you when t he
front Advanced Airbag System on the passen
ger s ide has been turned off¢
page 158.
A WARNING
To reduce the risk of injury when an airbag
inf lates, a lways wear safety belts properly.
- If you are unrestrained, lean ing forward,
sitting sideways or out of position in any
way, yo ur r isk of inj ury is much hig he r.
- You w ill also receive serious injuries and
cou ld eve n be killed if you are up against
the a irbag or too close to it when it in-
A irba g sy stem 155
flates -even w it h an Advanced A irbag
¢page 145.
More important things to know about
front airbags
Fi g. 1 59 In flated front airbags
Safety be lts are important to he lp keep front
seat occupants in the proper seated position
so that airbags can unfold properly and pro
vide supplementa l protect ion in a frontal col
li s ion.
The front airbags are des igned 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,
- t he seats have been positioned so that the
occupant is properly seated as far as poss i
ble from the airbag,
- and for ad justab le head restra ints: the head
restraints have been properly adj usted .
Bec ause airbags infl ate in the bli nk of an eye
wi th great force, th ings you have on your lap
o r have p laced on the seat co uld become dan
gerous projectiles, and be p ushed into you if
the a irbag inf lates.
When an airbag deploys, fine dust is re le ased.
This is norma l and is not caused by a fi re in
the ve hicle . 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 injur ies, other
i njur ies, for example swelling, bruis ing and
minor abrasions, can also happen when air-
bags inflate. A irbags do not protect the arms .,_
158 Airbag system
& WARNING
An airbag system that is not funct ioning
properly cannot provide supplemental pro
tect ion in a frontal crash.
- If the airbag indicator light
c:> page 19
comes when the vehicle is be ing used,
hav e the system inspected immed iate ly
by you r aut ho rized Aud i dea le r.
It is pos
sible that t he a irbag will inf late when it
i s n ot s upposed to, or w ill not in flate
when it sho uld .
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
Fig . 160 Section from th e in strument panel: PASSEN
GER AIR BAG OFF ligh t
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light is located
i n the center of the instrument panel
c> fig.160 .
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light will come
on and stay on to tell you when the front Ad
vanced A irbag on t he passenger side has been
turned off by the e lectronic control unit. If the
bulb for the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
bu rns out, the a irbag ind icator light
II w ill
come on to s ignal a malfunction in the Ad
vanced A irbag System . Although the burned
ou t bu lb will no t change the way the front
passenger's frontal ai rbag wor ks, it w ill no
l onger be possib le to use the
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
light to make sure tha t 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 A udi dealer.
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light will blink
for about S se conds when:
- the ignition is switched on and
- t he capa citi ve passenger detection system,
which switc hes the front sea t 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
li ght stops b linking, a lways make sure that
the a irbag status (on or off) as shown by the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OF F light is proper for
the age, size and e lectrical capacitance of the
person occupy ing the front passenger seat.
Always make sure that the safety belt for the
front passenger seat is prope rly fastened .
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF l ight will
show the status of the front seat passenger 's
frontal Advanced Airbag a few s econds after
th e ignition i s switched on and the 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 electr ical capacitance
meas ured by the capacitive passenger de
tect ion system for th e front passenger s eat
equa ls the combined capacitance of a n in
fa nt up to abou t one ye ar of age and one o f
the rearward -facing or forw ard-f acin g ch ild
restraints listed i n 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
c>page 173.
-will go out if the fro nt passenger seat is oc
cupied by an adult as registered by the ca
pacitive passenge r 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
passe nger seat, or
- a rearward -facing child restraint has been
installed on the front passenger seat, or
- a forward-fac ing ch ild restra int has been in-
stalled on the front passenger seat, ..,_
M N
0 <.J 'SI: ,...., \!) 1.1'1 ,...., 1.1'1 ,....,
-and if the e lectr ica l capacitance registered
on the front passenger seat is equal to or l ess than the combined capacitance of a typ
ical 1 year-old infant and one of the rear
ward-facing or forward-facing child re
stra ints listed in Federal Motor Veh icle Safe
ty Standard 208 w ith which the Advanced
Airbag System in your vehicle was certified.
If the front passenger seat is not occupied,
the front airbag will not deploy, and the
PA S
SENGER AIR B AG OFF
light w ill stay on . Nev
er insta ll a rearward-fac ing ch ild restra int on
the front passenger seat, the safest place for
a child in any kind of child restraint is at one
of the seating positions on the rear seat
¢ page 147, Child restraints on the front seat
- some important things to know
and
¢ page 171, Child Safety.
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG light com es
on ...
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes
on when one of the conditions listed above is met, be sure to check the light regularly to
make certa in that the
PA SSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light stays on cont inuously whenever the
i gnit io n is on . If the
PASSENGER AIR B AG
OFF
light does not appear on and does not
stay on all the time, stop as soon as it is safe
to do so and
- react ivate the system by turning the ignition
off for more than 4 seconds and then turn
i ng it on again;
- remove and reinstall the child restraint .
Make su re that the child rest raint is prope rly
installed and that the safety be lt fo r the
fron t passenger seat has been corre ct ly
ro uted through the child restraint as descri
bed in the chi ld restraint man ufacturer's in
structions;
- make sure that the convertible locking re
tractor on the safety belt for the front pas
senger seat has been act ivated and that the
safety belt has been pulled tight.
- make sure that no electrica l device (such as
a laptop, CD player, electronic games device,
power inver ter or seat heater for child seats)
is p laced or used on the front passenger
A irbag system 159
seat if the device is connected to the 1 2-volt
socket or the cigarette lighter socket;
- make sure that no seat heater has been ret
rofitted o r otherwise added to the front pas
senger seat;
- make s ure that nothing can interfere with
the safety belt buck les and that they are not
obstructed ;
- make sure that there are no wet objects
(s uch as a wet towe l) and no water or other
liquids on the front passenger seat cushion .
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG light still
doe s not c ome on ...
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light still
does not come on and does not stay on con
tinuously (when the ignition is switched on),
- take the child rest raint off the front passen -
ger seat and install it proper ly at o ne of the
rear seat positions. Have the airbag system
inspected by your Audi dealer immed iate ly.
- move the child to a rear seat position and
make sure that the child is properly restra in
ed in a ch ild restra int that is appropriate for
its size and age.
Th e PASSENGER AIR BAG light should
NOT come on ...
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light should
NOT come on when the ignit io n is on and an
adult is s itting in a proper seating position on
the front passenge r seat . If the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on o r
flashes fo r about S seconds wh ile d riving, un
der these circumstances, make sure that:
- the adult on the front passenger seat is
prope rly seated on the cente r of the seat
cushion with his o r her back up aga inst the
backrest and the backrest is no t recli ned,
- the adult i s not tak ing weight off the seat by
holding on to the passenger assist handle
above the fron t passenger door or s upport
ing their weight on the armrest,
- the sa fe ty belt is bei ng properly wo rn and
tha t the re is not a lot o f slack in the safety
be lt webbing,
- there are no aftermar ket seat covers or
cushions or other things (s uch as blankets)
IJI>
•
•
160 Airbag sys te m
on the front passenger seat that might
cause the capacitive passenger detection
system to miscalcu late electrical capac i
tance.
Important safety instructions on
monitoring the Advanced Airbag System
_&. WARNING
- If the status of the Adv a need Airbag Sys
tem has changed while the vehicle is
moving, the
PA SSE NGER AIR BAG O FF
light blinks for about 5 seconds to catch
the driver'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
PA SSE NGER 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 positions. Have the a irbag sys
tem inspected by your authorized Audi dealer before transporting anyone on the
front passenger seat.
_&. WARNING
An airbag system that is not funct ioning
properly cannot provide supplemental pro
tect ion in a frontal crash .
- If the airbag indicator light
c:> page 19
comes when the vehicle is be ing used,
have the system inspected immediate ly
by you r autho rized Aud i dea le r.
It is pos
sible that the airbag will inflate when it
is not s upposed to, or w ill not inflate
when it should.
_&. WARNING
If the front air bag infla tes, a ch ild witho ut
a child restra int, or in a rearward -fac ing
child safety seat, o r in a forward-facing
child restraint that has not been properly
installed will be serious ly injured and can
be killed. -
Even tho ugh you r vehicle is equipped
with an Advanced A irbag System, make
certain that all children, especially 12
years and younger, always ride on the
back seat p roperly restrained for their
age and size .
- Always install forward o r rear-facing
child seats on the rear seat -even with
an Advanced A irbag System.
- If you must install a rearwa rd-facing
child seat on the front passenger seat
because of ex ceptional circumstan ces
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 position and have the airbag
system inspected by you r Audi dealer.
- If, in exceptiona l circumstances, you
m ust install a forward-facing child 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 far 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 and stays on all the time when
eve r the ignit ion is swit ched on.
_&. WARNING
=
- If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not go out when an ad ult 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 t ransporting
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 l ight will stay
on.
164 Airbag system
Fully inflated airbags in combination with
properly worn safety belts slow down and lim
it the occupant's forward movement and help
to reduce the risk of injury.
Important safety instructions on the
knee airbag system
Appl ies to vehicles: with knee airbags
Airbags are only supplemental restraints. Al
ways wear safety belts correctly and ride in a
proper seating position.
There is a lot that you and your passengers
must know and do to help the safety belts and
a irbags to provide supplemental protection .
A WARNING
An inflating knee airbag can cause serious
injury. Wearing safety belts incorrectly and
improper seating positions increase the
r isk of serious personal injury and death
whenever a vehicle is being used.
- The knee airbag system cannot protect
you properly if you are seated too close
to any of the airbag locations. When ad
justing their seat positions, it is impor tant that both the driver and the front
passenger keep their upper bodies and
knees at the following minimum safe
distances:
- at least 10 inches (25 cm) between the
chest and the steering wheel/instru
ment panel.
- at least 4 inches (10 cm) between the
knees and the lower part of the instru
ment panel.
- The risk of personal injury increases if
you lean forward or to the side, or if the
seat is improperly positioned and you are
not wearing your safety belt. The risk in
creases even more should the airbag de
ploy.
-Always make sure that the knee airbag
can inflate without interference. Objects between you and the airbag can increase
the risk of injury in an accident by inter
fering with the way the airbag deploys or by being pushed
into you as the airbag
deploys.
- Never let anybody, especially children
or animals ride in the footwell in front
of the passenger seat. If the airbag de
ploys, this can result in serious or fatal
injuries.
- Never carry objects of any kind in the
footwell area in front of the driver's or
passenger's seat. Bulky objects (shop
ping bags, for example) can interfere
with or prevent proper deployment of
the airbag. Small objects can be
thrown through the vehicle if the air bag deploys and injure you or your pas
sengers.
- Make sure there are no cracks, deep
scratches or other damage in the area of
the instrument panel where the knee air
bags are located.
- If children are incorrectly seated, their
risk of injury increases in a collision
~page 171, Child Safety.
Side airbags
Description of side airbags
The airbag system can provide supplemental
protection to properly restrained occupants.
Fig. 163 S ide a irbag location in the driver's seat
The side airbags are located in the sides of the
front seat backrests
¢ fig. 163 and the rear
backrest facing the doors. They are identified
by the word "AIRBAG ".
The side airbags installed for the front seating
positions have been designed and certified to
help reduce the risk of injury that can be .,_