2015 AUDI Q5 light

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- Failure to pay attention to the warning light
that come on, could lead to personal injury.
Why use safety belts?
Frontal collisions and the law of physics
Frontal crashes create very strong forces for peo­
ple riding in vehicles .
Fig. 155 Unbelted occupants in a vehicle heading for a wall
Fig. 156 The vehicle crashes into the wall
The physical principles are simp le. Both the vehi­
cle and the passengers possess energy wh ich var­
ies with vehicle speed and body weight. Engi­
neers call this energy "kinetic energy."
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 signif icant factor. If the
speed doubles from 15 to 30 mph (25 to SO km/
h), the energy increases 4 times!
Because the passengers of this vehicle are not us­
ing safety belts¢
fig. 155, they will keep moving
at the same speed the vehicle was moving just
before the crash, until something stops them -
here, the wall¢
fig. 156.
Safety belts
The same principles apply to people sitting in a
vehicle that is invo lved 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 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 collision
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 co llisions.
What happens to occupants not wea ring
safety belts?
In crashes unbelted occupants cannot stop
themselves from flying forward and being in­
jured or killed. Always wear your safety belts!
Fig. 157 A driver no t wearing a safety belt is violen tly
thrown forward
Fig. 158 A rear passenger not wearing a safety belt will fly
forward and strike the dr iver
Unbelted occupants are not able to resist the tre­
mendous forces of impact by holding tight or
bracing themselves. Without the benefit of safe­
ty restraint systems, the unrestrained occupant
will slam violently into the steering wheel, ..,_
145

Safety belts
Autom atic safet y belt retractors
Every safety belt is eq uipped w ith an automatic
be lt retractor on the shou lder belt. This feature
locks the belt when the be lt is pulled o ut fast,
during hard brak ing and in an accident . The belt
may also lock when you drive up or down a steep
hill or through a sharp curve. During normal driv­
ing the belt lets you move freely.
S afety belt pre te n sioners
The safety be lts are equipped with a belt preten­
sioner that helps to t ighten the safety belt and
remove s lack when the pretensioner is activated .
The function of the pretensioner is monitored by
a warning light
r:::') page 16.
Swi tchable lo cking feature
Every safety belt except the one on the driver
seat is equipped w ith a switchable locking fea­
ture that
must be used when the safety belt is
used to attach a child safety seat. Be sure to read
the important informat ion about th is feature
r=;, page 181 .
.&_ WARNING
Improperly positioned safety belts can cause
ser ious injury in an accident¢
page 148,
Safe ty belt position.
- Safety belts offer optimum protection only
when the seatback is upright and belts are
properly positioned on the body.
- Always make sure that the rea r seat back­
rest to which t he center rear safety belt is
attached is securely latched whenever the
rear center safety belt is being used . If the
backrest is not securely latched, the passen ­
ger will move forward with the backrest dur­
ing sudden braking, in a sudden maneuver
and especially in a crash.
- Never attach the safety belt to the buck le
for another seat. Attaching the belt to the
wrong buckle will reduce safety be lt effec­
t iveness and can cause serious persona l in­
jury .
- A passenger who is not properly restrained
can be se riously in ju red by the safety belt it­
self when it moves from the stronger parts
148
of the body into critical areas like the abdo­
men.
- Always lock the convertible locking retractor
when you are secur ing a child safety seat in
the vehicle
r=;, page 183.
Safety belt position
Correct belt position is the key to getting maxi­
mum protection from safety belts .
Fig. 161 Safety belt posit ion
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Standard features o n your veh icle help you adjust
the position of the safety belt to match your body
s ize .
- belt he ight adjustment fo r the front seats,
- height-adjustable front seats.
.&_ WARNING
Imp roperly posit ioned safety be lts can cause
serious pe rsonal injury i n an accident.
- The shou lder belt should lie as close to the
center of the collar bone as possib le and
should fit well on the body . Ho ld the belt
above the latch to ngue and pull it evenly
across the chest so that it sit s as low as pos­
sib le on the pe lvis and there is no pressure
on the abdomen . The belt should always fit
snug ly ¢
fig. 161. Pull on the belt to tighten
if necessary.
- The lap be lt po rtion of the safety belt must
be positioned as low as possi ble across pel­
vis and never over the abdomen. Make sure
the belt lies flat and snug
¢fig. 161. Pull on
the belt to tighten if necessary.
- A loose-fitting safety belt can ca use serious
in juries by sh ifting its position on your body
~

Airbag system
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 ce rtified to comp ly w ith the Requirements
of United States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standard 208 as applicable at the time your vehi ­
cle was manufactured.
The Standard requires the front airbag on the
passenger side to be turned off ("suppressed") if
a child up to about one year of age restrained in
one of the rear-fac ing or forward-facing infant re­
straints listed in Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standard 208 w ith which the Advanced A irbag
System in your vehicle was certified has been in ­
stalled on the front passenger seat. Fo r a listing
of the ch ild restraints that were used to certify
comp liance with the US Safety Standard
¢page 174.
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light in the instru­
ment panel tells you when the front Advanced
Ai rbag on the passenger side has been turned off
by the electron ic control unit.
E ach t ime you turn on the ignition, the
PASSEN­
GER 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 re­
stra int on the front passenger seat,
- will go off if the front passenger seat is occu­
pied by an adult as registered by the weight­
sensing mat¢
page 162, Monitoring the Ad­
vanced 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 requ ires the front
ai rbag to be turned off.
If the tota l weight on the front passenger seat is
more than that of a typical 1 year -old child but
less than the we ight of a small adult, the front
ai rbag 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
154
control unit and can dep loy if the control unit
senses an impact that meets the conditions stor­
ed in its memory .
For example, the airbag may deploy if:
-a small ch ild that is heavier than a typical 1
year-old chi ld is on the front passenger seat (re­
ga rdl ess of whethe r the child is in one of the
child safe ty seats listed¢
page 174), or
- a child who has outgrow n chi ld 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
instr ument cluster and stays on.
The front airbag on the passenger side may
not
deploy (the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not illuminate and stay lit) even if a sma ll adult
o r teenager, or a passenger who is not sitt ing up­
r ight w ith their back against a non-reclined back­
rest with their feet on the vehicle floor in front of
the seat is on the front passenger seat
¢ page 136, Proper seating position for the driv­
er .
If the front passenger airbag deploys, the Federal
Standard requires the airbag to meet the "low
risk" deployment criteria to reduce the risk of in­
ju ry through interaction with the airbag. "Low
risk" deployment occurs in those crashes that
take place at lower decelerations as defined in
the electronic control unit ¢
page 162, PASSEN­
GER 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 position by the rapidly inflat­
i ng passenger's airbag in a frontal collision . The
airbag could greatly reduce the effectiveness of
the child restraint and even seriously injure the
child during inflation.
For th is reason, and because the back seat is the
safest place for children - when prope rly restra in­
ed accord ing to their age and size -we strong ly
recommend that children always sit in the back
seat ¢
page 172, Child safety. ..,.

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A WARNING ,~
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 Advanced 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 rear-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 rear-facing child safety seat in a rear
seating position and have the airbag system inspected by your authorized Audi dealer.
- Forward-facing child safety seats installed
on the front passenger's seat may interfere
with the deployment of the airbag and cause serious personal injury to the child .
A WARNING
If, in exceptional circumstances, you must in­
stall a forward-facing child restraint on the
front passenger's seat:
-Always make sure the forward-facing seat
has been designed and certified by its man­
ufacturer for use on a front seat with a pas­
senger front and side airbag.
- Never put the forward-facing child restraint
up against or very near the instrument pan­
el.
- Always move the passenger seat into its
rearmost position in the seat's fore and aft
adjustment range, as far away from the air­
bag as possible before installing the for­
ward-facing child restraint. The backrest must be adjusted to an upright position.
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on and stays on all the time
whenever the ignition is switched on.
Airbag system
A WARNING
To reduce the risk of serious injury, make sure
that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light will
be displayed whenever a child restraint is in­
stalled on the front passenger seat and the ignition is switched on .
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not stay on, perform the checks described
~ page 162, Monitoring the Advanced Air­
bag 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.
- Have the airbag system inspected by your
authorized Audi dealer immediately.
-Always carefully follow instructions from
child restraint manufacturers when instal­
ling child restraints.
A WARNING
If, in exceptional circumstances, you must in­
stall a forward or rearward-facing child re­
straint on the front passenger's seat:
- Improper installation of child restraints can
reduce their effectiveness or even prevent
them from providing any protection.
- An improperly installed child restraint can
interfere with the airbag as it deploys and
seriously injure or even kill the child -even
with an Advanced Airbag System.
-Always carefully follow the manufacturer's
instructions provided with the child safety
seat or carrier.
- Never place additional items on the seat that can increase the total weight registered by the weight-sensing mat and can cause in­
jury in a crash.
155

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Advanced front airbag system
Your vehicle is equipped w ith a front Advanced
Airbag System in compliance with United States
F ederal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 asap ­
plicab le at the time your vehicle was manufac­
tured.
The front Advanced Airbag System supp lements
the safety belts to provide additiona l protection
for the driver's and front passenger's heads and
upper bodies in frontal crashes. The airbags in­
flate only in frontal impacts when the vehicle de­
celeration is high enough.
The front Advanced Airbag System for the front
seat occupants is not a substitute for your safety
be lts. Rather, it is part of the overall occupant re­
straint system in your vehicle. Always remember
that the airbag system can only help to protect
you, if you are sitt ing upright, wearing your safe ­
ty belt and wearing it properly . This is why you
and your passengers must always be properly re­
strained, not just because the law requires you to
be.
The Advanced Airbag System in your veh icle has
been certified to meet the "low risk" require­
ments for 3 and 6 year-old children on the pas­
senger side and very small adults on the driver
side . The low risk deployment criter ia are intend­
ed to help reduce the risk of injury through inter ­
action with the front airbag that can occur, for
examp le, by being too close to the steering whee l
and instrument panel when the airbag inflates.
I n addition, the system has been certified 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 seat in child re­
straints that are listed in the Standard
c::> page 174, Child restraints and Advanced Air­
bags.
"Suppression" requires the front airbag on the passenger side to be turned
off if:
- a ch ild up to about one year of age is restrained
on the front passenger seat in one of the rear­
facing or forward-fac ing infant restraints listed
in Federa l Motor Veh icle Safety Standard 208
Airbag system
with which the Advanced Airbag System in your
vehicle was certified. For a listing of the child
restraints that were used to certify your veh i­
cle's compliance with the US Safety Standard
c::>page 174,
- weight less than a thresho ld level stored in the
control unit is detected on the front passenger
seat.
When a person is detected on the front passen ­
ger seat, weighing more than the tota l weight of
a child that is about 1 year old restrained in one
of the rear-facing or forward-facing infant re­
stra ints (listed in Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standard 208 with which the Advanced Airbag
System in your veh icle was certified), the front
airbag on the passenge r side may or may not de­
ploy.
The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
whe n the electronic contro l unit detects a total
weight on the front passenger seat that requires
the front airbag to be turned
off. If the PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on, the
front airbag on the passenger side has not been
turned
off by the control unit and can deploy if
the control un it senses an impact that meets the
condit ions stored in its memory.
If the total weight on the front passenger seat is
more than that of a typical 1 year-old, but less
than the weight of a small adult, the front airbag on the passenger s ide may deploy (the
PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on).
For example , the airbag may deploy if:
- a small child that is heav ier than a typical 1
yea r-old chi ld is on the front passenger seat (re ­
gardless of whether the chi ld is in one of the
child safety seats listed
c::> page 174),
- a child who has outgrown child restraints is on
the front passenger seat.
If the front passenger airbag is turned off, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light in the center of
the instrument panel wi ll come on and stay on.
T he front airbag on the passenge r sid e may
not
deploy (the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not illuminate and stay lit) if: .,..
157

Airbag syste m
-a small adu lt or teenager is on the front pas ­
senger seat
- a passenger who is not sitting 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.
I f the front passenger airbag deploys, the Federal
Standard req uires the airbag to meet the " low
risk" deployment criteria to help reduce the risk
of injury through interaction with the airbag .
"Low risk" deployment occurs in those crashes
that take place at lower decelerations as defined in the electron ic control unit . ¢ page
162
Alw ays re member: Even though your vehicle is
equ ipped w ith Advanced Airbags, the safest place
for children is properly restrained on the back
seat . Please be sure to read the important infor ­
mat ion in the sections that follow and be sure to
heed a ll of the WARNINGS.
_& WARNING
To reduce the ris k of injury when an airbag in­
fla tes, always wear safety belts proper ly.
- If you are unrestrained, leaning fo rward, s it­
t ing s ideways or out of position in any way,
your risk of injury is much higher .
- You w ill also receive serious inju ries and
could even be killed if you are up against the
airbag or too close to it when it inflates -
even with an Advanced Airbag ¢page
152.
_& WARNING
A child in a rearward-facing child safety seat
installed on the front passenger seat will be
ser iously injured and can be killed if the front
airbag inflates - even w ith an Advanced Airbag
System.
- Although the Advanced Airbag System in
your vehicle is designed to turn off the front
airbag when a rearward -facing child re­
straint has been installed on the front pas­
senger seat, nobody can absolutely guaran­
tee that deployment is impossible in al l con­
ceivable s ituations that may happen dur ing
the usef ul life o f your vehicle .
- The inflating a irbag w il l hit the child safety
seat or infant carrier wi th great force and
158
w ill smash the child safety seat and child
aga inst the backrest, center armrest, door,
or roof.
- Always install rearward-facing chi ld re­
straints in the back seat.
- If you must insta ll a rearward fac ing ch ild
safety seat on the front passenger seat be­
cause of exceptional circumstances and the
PAS SENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not
come on and stay on, immediately install
the rear-facing child safety seat in a rear
seating position and have the airbag system
inspected by your au thorized Aud i dealer .
_& WARNING
If, in exceptiona l circumstances, you must in­
stall a forwa rd-facing child restra int on the
front passenger's seat:
- Always ma ke sure the forward-facing sea t
has been des igned and certif ied by its man ­
ufacturer for use on a front seat with a pas­
senger front and s ide a irbag .
- Never p ut the fo rward-facing child restraint
up against or very near the instrument pan ­
el.
-Always move the passenger seat into its
rearmost position in the seat's fore and aft
ad justment range, as far away from the a ir­
bag as poss ible, before insta lling the for­
ward-facing child restraint. The backrest
must be adjusted 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 ign it ion is switched on.
Advanced Airbag System components
The front passenger seat in your vehicle has a lot
of ve ry impo rtant parts of the Advanced A irbag
System in it. These pa rts include the we ight ­
sensing mat, senso rs, w iring, bracke ts, and more.
The function of the system in the front passenge r
seat is checked by the e lectronic control unit
when the ignition is on. The control unit mon itors
the Advanced Airbag System and turns the airbag i ndicator light on when a malfunct io n in the sys­
tem components is detected. The function of the
a irbag indicator light is described in greate r

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detail below . Because the front passenger seat
contains important parts of the Advanced Airbag
System, yo u 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 do ing its job in a crash .
The front Ad vanced Airb ag S ystem con sis ts
of the following :
-Crash sensors in the front of the veh icle that
measure veh icle acceleration/deceleration 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 unit "decides" whether to fire the front
airbags based on the information received from
the crash sensors . T he control un it also "de­
cides" whether the safety be lt pretensioners
sho uld be activated.
- An Advanced Airbag with gas generator and
control valve for the driver inside the steering
whee l hub.
- An Advanced Airbag with gas generator and
control valve inside the instrument panel for
t h e front passenger.
- A weig ht-sensing mat under the upholstery
padding of the front passenger seat cushion
that meas ures the tota l weight on the seat. The
information registered is sent cont in uous ly to
the e lectronic control unit to regulate dep loy­
ment of the front Advanced Airbag on the pas­
senger side.
- An airbag monitoring system and indicator
light in the instrument cluster
¢ page 162.
-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
elect ron ic cont ro l unit to regulate deployment
of the front Advanced Airbags.
- T he
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
and stays on in the center of the i nstrument
pane l¢
page 162, fig . 168 and tells you when
the front Advanced Ai rbag on the passenger
side has been turned
off .
-A sensor below the safety belt la tch fo r the
front seat passenge r to measure the tension on
Airbag syste m
the sa fe ty belt. The tens ion on the safety be lt
and the weight registe red 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¢ page 153, 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 informat ion to the elect ro nic
cont ro l unit.
A WARNING
D amage to the fron t passenger seat can pre­
vent the fron t air bag from working prope rly.
- Imp roper repai r or d isassembly of the front
passenger and driver sea t will prevent the
Advanced Airbag System from functioning properly .
- Repairs to the front passenge r seat must be
performed by qualified and p roperly trained
workshop personne l.
- Never remove the front passenger or 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 sh arp objects in yo ur po ckets or
p la ce them on t he seat.
If the weight-sens­
ing mat in the passenger seat is punctu red
it cannot work properly .
- Never carry things on yo ur lap or carry ob ­
jects on the passenger seat. S uch items can
increase the we ight registe red by the
weight-sensing mat and send the wrong in­
formation to the a irbag control unit.
- Never store items under the front passenger
seat . Parts of the Advanced Airbag System
under the passenger seat could be dam­
aged, p reventing 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
p roved by Aud i on the front seats.
- Seat covers can prevent the Advanced Air­ bag System from recognizing child
159

Airbag system
restraints or occupants on the front passen­
ger seat and prevent the side airbag in the
seat backrest from deploying properly.
- 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 accu­ rately registering the child restraint or per­
son on the seat and prevent the Advanced
Airbag System from functioning properly.
- If you must use a child restraint on the front
passenger seat and the child restraint man­
ufacturer's instructions require 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 restraint is installed on the front pas­
senger seat.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not come on and stay on, immediately in­
stall child restraint in a rear seating 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 offered by the
front three-point safety belts with pretensioners and load limiters and the adjustable head re­
straints to help reduce the risk of injury in a wide
range of accident and crash situations. Be sure to
read the important information about safety and
heed the WARNINGS in this chapter.
Deployment of the Advanced Airbag System and
the activation of the safety belt pretensioners de­
pend on the deceleration measured by the crash
sensors and registered by the electronic control
unit . Crash severity depends on speed and decel­
eration 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 pro­
grammed in the electronic control unit . The front
160
airbag on the passenger side will also be turned
off if one of the child safety 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 153, Child restraints on the front seat ­
some important things to know .
.&_ WARNING
To reduce the risk of injury when an airbag in­
flates, always wear safety belts properly.
- If you are unrestrained, leaning forward, sit­
ting sideways or out of position in any way,
your risk of injury is much higher.
- You
will also receive serious injuries and
could even be killed if you are up against the
airbag or too close to it when it inflates -
even with an Advanced Airbag
r::!;> page 152.
More important things to know about front
airbags
Fig. 167 Inflated front airbags
0
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Safety belts are important to help keep front seat
occupants in the proper seated position so that
airbags can unfold properly and provide supple­
mental protection in a frontal collision.
The front airbags are designed to provide addi­
tiona l protection for the chest and face of the
driver and the front seat passenger when:
- safety belts are worn properly,
- the seats have been positioned so that the oc-
cupant is properly seated as far as possible
from the airbag, .,._