2015 AUDI A7 warning light

154 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 b ag m ay depl oy if:
- a small child that is heavier than a typical 1
year-o ld child is on the front passenger seat
(regardless of whe ther the child is in one of
the chi ld seats listed
c':> page 175),
-a ch ild who has outgrown 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 159.
Alwa ys rememb er: 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 147.
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 and child against
the backrest, center armrest, door, or
roof.
- Always install rearward-facing chi ld re­
straints on the rear seat.
- If you must install a rearward fac ing
child seat on the front passenger seat
because of exceptional circumstances
and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, immed i­
ately insta ll the rear-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.

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-Always make sure that there is nothing
on the front passenger seat that will
cause the capacitive passenger detection
system in the seat to s ignal to the A irbag
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 s itting on the
seat . The presence of additiona l objects
cou ld cause the passenger front airbag
to be t urned on when it sho uld be off, or
cou ld cause the airbag to work in a way
that is different from the way it wou ld
have worked without the object on the
seat .
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
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
Ai rbag System in it. These parts incl ude the
capacitive passenger detection system, wir ­
i n g, brackets, and more . The control unit
monitors the system o n the front passenger
seat when the ign ition is switched on and
turns the airbag indicator light on when a
malfunct ion in the one of the system compo­
nents is detected ¢
page 160. Because the
front passenger seat contains important parts
of the Advanced Airbag System, you must
t ake care to p reven t it from being damaged.
D amage to the seat may preven t the Ad­
vanced A irbag 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 o f the veh icle that
measure vehicle acceleration/dece leration
to provide information to the Advanced Air­
bag System about the severity of the crash .
- An electronic co ntrol unit, with integrated
crash sensors for front and side impacts .
The contro l unit "decides" whether to fire
A irbag system 15 5
the front airbags based on the in format ion
received from the crash sensors. The contro l
unit also "decides" whether the safety be lt
pretens ioners sho uld be activated .
- An Advanced Airbag with gas generator and
contro l valve for the driver ins ide the steer­
ing wheel hub.
- An Advanced Airbag with gas gene rator and
contro l valve inside the instrument pane l for
the front passenger.
- A capacitive passenger detection system un­
derneath the front passenger seat cover.
This system measures the electrical capac i­
tance of the person in the seat. The informa­
tion registered is se nt cont inuously to the
el ectr onic contro l un it to regu late deploy­
ment of the front Advan ced A irbag on the
passenger side .
- An airbag monitoring system and ind icator
light in the instr ument cluster ¢
page 159.
-A sensor in each front seat registers the dis­
tance be twee n the respec tive seat a nd the
s teer ing whee l or inst rument p anel. The i n­
forma tion regis tered is sent cont inuo usly to
the electronic contro l unit to regulate de­
p loyment of the front Adv a need Airbags.
- The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes
on and stays on in the center of the instr u­
ment panel ¢
page 160, fig. 164 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 un it .
.&_ WARNING
D amage to the front passe nger seat can
p revent the front air bag from wor king
properly.
- I mp roper repa ir or d isassembly of the
fro nt pa ssenge r and dr iver seat will pre­
vent the Advanced Airbag System from
functioning p roperly.
- Repair s to t he front passenge r seat m ust
be pe rformed by qualified and p roperly
-
trained workshop person ne l. 111>
•
•

156 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.

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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 160.
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 15 7
flates -even w it h an Advanced A irbag
¢page 147.
More important things to know about
front airbags
Fi g. 16 3 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 Airb ag sys te m
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 not d eplo y:
-if the ignition is switched off when a crash
occurs,
- in side collisions,
- in rear-end collisions,
- in ro llovers,
- when the crash deceleration measured by
the a irbag system is less than the minimum
t h reshold needed for airbag deployment as
registered by the electron ic control unit.
The f ront pa ssenger airbag also 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 fronta l airbag must be
switched off by the e lectronic control unit
(the
PA SSENGE R AIR B AG OFF light
c> page 160 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 position,
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 un folds
with great force in the blin k of an eye
i=>page
149.
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.
- 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
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 seating pos ition and have the airbag
system inspected by yo ur Audi dealer.
A WARNING
c'-----
Objects between you and the airbag will
increase the r isk of injury in a crash by in­
terfering with the way the airbag unfolds
or by be ing p ushed into you as the airbag
inflates.
- Never hold things in yo ur 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 perso nal 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 brac kets, large, heavy or bulky ob­
jects) on the doors, over o r near the area
marked "AIRBAG" on the steering whee l,
instr ument panel, seat bac krests or be­
tween those areas and yourself. These
objects could cause in jury 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 airbag or
the front airbag during braking or in a

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sudden maneuver . Objects near the
airbags can become projectiles and cause
injury, particularly when the s eat is re­
cl ined .
- Never place or transport objects on the
front passenger seat. Objects on the
front passenger seat could cause the ca­
pacitive senso r in the seat to s ignal to
airbag system that the seat is occupied
by a person whe n it in fact is not, o r that
the person on the sea t is heavier than he
o r she actually is. The change in electric
capacitance beca use of such objects can
cause the passenger front airbag to be
turned 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 passenger seat that will
cause the capacitive passenge r detection
system in the seat to s ignal to the A irbag
System that t he seat is occupied by a
pers on when it is not, or to sign al tha t it
is occupied by someone who is heavier
than the pe rson actually sitting on the
seat . The presence of an o bject co uld
cause the passenger front a irbag to be
turned on when it sho uld be off, or co uld
cause the airbag to work in a way that is
different from the way it wou ld have
wor ked w ithout the object on the sea t.
A WARNING
The fine dust created when a irbags dep loy
c an cause b reathing problems for peop le
w ith a his to ry o f asthma o r other brea th­
ing condi tion s.
- T o reduce the r is k of brea thing prob lems,
those w it h a sthma or o ther resp iratory
condit ions should ge t fresh a ir right
away by getting out of the vehicle o r
opening windows or doo rs .
- If you are in a coll is ion in which a irbags
deploy, wash yo ur hands and face with
mild soap and water befo re eating.
A irbag system 159
-Be ca reful not to get the d ust into your
eyes, or into any c uts o r scratches .
- If the resi due should get into your eyes,
f lush them w ith water.
Monitoring the
Advanced Airbag
System
tli Airbag monitoring indicator light
Two seporate indicators monitor the function
of the Advanced Airbag System: the airbag
monitoring indicator light and the
PASSEN ­
GER AIR BAG OFF light.
The Advanced Ai rbag System (incl uding the
electronic control unit, sensor circu its and sys­
tem wir ing) is mo nitored continuously to
make sure that it is funct io ni ng properly
whenever the ignition is on . Each time you
switch on the ignition, the ai rbag mon itor ing
i ndica to r li ght
fl will come on for a few sec­
onds (self diagnos tic s).
The system must be inspected when the
indicator light
ffl:
- does not come on when the ignition is
sw itched on,
- does not go out a few seconds after you
have sw itched on the ignit io n, or
- comes on whil e dr iv ing .
If an airbag system malfunction is detected,
the indicator lig ht w ill first sta rt flash ing to
catch the driver's attent io n and then stay on
continuously to serve as a co nstant rem inder
to have the system inspected immediately.
If a malfu nction occurs that turns the front
airbag on the passenger s ide off, the
PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG OFF light will come on and stay
o n wheneve r th e ignit io n is on.
A WARNING
An ai rbag system t hat is not functioning
p roperly cannot p rovi de sup plemental pro-
-
tec tion in a frontal c rash . .,..
•
•

162 Airbag sys tem
system to miscalcu late electrical capac i­
tance .
Important safety instructions on
monitoring the Advanced Airbag System
.8_ WARNING
-If the s tatus of the Adv a need A irbag Sys­
tem has changed while the vehicle is moving, the
PASSENGER AI R BAG OFF
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
PASSEN GER 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
abov e, make sure the adult is properly
sea ted and rest rained at one of the rear
sea ting po sitions. Have the a irbag sys­
tem inspected by your authorized Audi
dealer before transporting anyone on the
front passenger seat.
.8_ WARNING
An air bag system that is not funct io ning
properly cannot provide supplemental pro­
tect ion in a frontal crash.
- If the airbag indicator light ¢
page 19
comes when the vehicle is be ing used,
have the system inspected immediate ly
by you r aut horized Aud i dea ler. It is pos­
sible that the airbag will inflate when it
is not s upposed to, or w ill not i nflate
w hen it should.
.8_ WARNING
If the front airbag inflates, a c hild witho ut
a child restra int, or in a rearw ard-fa cing
child sa fe ty seat, or in a forward- facing
child restrain t that has not been prope rly
installed will be serious ly inj ured and can
be killed.
- Even though your vehi cle is equipped
with an Advanced Airbag System, make certain that a ll children, especially 12 years and younger, always
ride on the
back seat properly 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 .
- If you must install a rearward-facing
child seat on the front passenger seat because of exceptional circumstances
and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not appear and stay on, immediate­ ly install the rear-facing child seat in a
rea r seat ing pos ition and h ave the airb ag
sys tem inspec ted by yo ur Audi de aler.
- If , in exceptiona l circumstances, you
m ust ins tall a forw ard -fac ing ch ild re­
s t raint 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 ad just­
ed to an upright pos ition. Make sure that
the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
comes on and stays on all the time when­
eve r the ignit ion is switched on .
.8_ WARNING
-
- I f the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not go o ut when an a dult is sit ting
on the fron t passenger se at aft er taking
the steps described above, make su re the
a dul t is prope rly seate d and restrained at
one of the rea r seating positions.
- Have the airbag system inspected by
your Audi dea le r before t ransporting
anyone on the front passenger seat.
(D Tips
If the capac itive passenger detec tion sys­
tem determ ines that the front passenger
seat is empty, the fronta l airbag on the
passenger side wi ll be t urned off, and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light will stay
on.

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Remember too, airbags will deploy only once
and only in certain kinds of accidents -your
safety belts are a lways there to offer protec ­
tion in those acc idents in which airbags are
not supposed to deploy or when they have al­
ready deployed, for example when your vehi ­
cle str ikes or is struck by another afte r the
fi rst coll is ion.
This is just one of the reasons why an a irbag is
not a substitute for the safety belt . The airbag
system works most effectively when used with
the safety belts . Therefore, always wear your
safety bel ts correctly .
It is important to remember that while the
supplemental knee a irbag system is des igned
to reduce the like lihood of serious injur ies,
o ther in juries, fo r example, swel ling , bruising
and minor abras io ns and frict ion bu rns ca n al ­
so occur when an airbag inflates.
The knee airbag system basically consists
of :
-The elec tronic control mod ule
- T wo inf latab le airbags (airbag and gas gen-
erato r), one for the driver and one for the
front passenger
- T he airbag ind icator light in the instrument
pane l
The knee airbag system will not deploy:
-when the ign ition is switc hed off
- in frontal collisions w hen the decelerat ion
measured by the control unit is too low
- in s ide collisions
- in rear-end collisions
- in ro llovers
- in the event of a system malfunct io n (wa rn -
i ng/indicator ligh t is on)
r::!>page 19.
& WARNING
- Safety belts and the airbag system can
only p rov ide protection when occ upants
are in the proper seating posit ion
c::>page 157.
-If the airbag indicator light c::> page 19
comes when the vehicle is be ing used,
have the system inspected immediately
A irba g sy stem 165
by your authorized A udi dealer. It is pos­
sib le that the airbag will inflate when it
is not supposed to , or will not inflate
when it should .
How knee airbags work
Applies to vehicles: with knee airbags
The risk of injury to the leg area can be re ­
duced by fully inflated knee airbags.
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i::....---ali
Fi g. 166 In flated a irbags protect ing in a fronta l coll i·
s ion
The knee airbag system has been designed so
that the airbags for the driver and front pas­
senger deploy in certain but not all frontal
collisions.
If the front airbags dep loy, the knee airbags
also dep loy in fronta l collisions when the de­
ployment th resho ld stored in the control unit
is met.
When the system deploys, the ai rbags fill
with a propellant gas, and inflate between the l ower part of the instrument pane l and the
driver and t he lower part of the instrument
panel and the front passenger
c::> page 157,
fig . 163 .
Although they are not a soft pi llow, they can
"cushion" the impact and in th is way they can
help to reduce the risk of injury to the lower
extremit ies .
A ll of th is takes place in the blink o f an eye, so
fast that many people don't even realize that
the a irbags have deployed. The airbags a lso
i nfla te with a g reat dea l of fo rce and i t is im­
po rtant for occupant safety t hat nothing
sho uld be in their way whe n they deploy. ..,.