
Airb ag syst em
Front airbags
Description of front airbags
The airbag system can provide supplemental
protection to properly restrained front seat occu
pants .
Fig. 165 Location of driver airbag : in steering whee l
Fig. 166 Location of front passenger's airbag: in the instru
ment panel
Your vehicle is equ ipped with an "Advanced Air
bag System" in compliance with Un ited States
Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
(FMVSS) 208 as applicab le at the time your veh i
cle was manufactured. The safety belts for the
seats have "pretensioners" that help to take s lack
out of the belt system . The pretensioners are also
activated by the electronic control unit for the
airbag system .
The front safety belts a lso have load limiters to
help reduce the forces applied to the body in a
crash.
The airbag for the driver is in the steer ing wheel
hub ¢
fig. 165 and the airbag for the front pas
senger is in the instrument panel¢
fig. 166. The
general location of the airbags is marked "AIR
BAG".
156
There is a lot you need to know about the airbags
in your vehicle . We urge you to read the detailed
i nformation about airbags, safety belts and child
safety in this and the other chapters that make
up the owner's literature. Please be sure to heed
the WARNINGS -they are extremely important
for your safety and the safety of your passengers, especially infants and small children .
,&_ WARNING -
Never rely on airbags alone for protection.
- Even when they deploy, airbags provide only supp lemental p rotection.
- Airbag work most effectively when used with properly worn safety belts .
- Therefore, always wear your safety be lts and
make sure that everybody in your vehicle is
prope rly restrained.
,&_ WARNING
A person on the front passenger seat, espe
cially infants and small ch ild ren, will rece ive
serious i njur ies and can even be killed by be
ing too close to the airbag when it inf lates .
- Although the Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle is designed to turn off the front passenger airbag if an infant or a sma ll child
is on the front passenger seat, nobody can
absolutely guarantee that dep loyment un
der these special condit ions is impossible in
all conceivable situations that may happen
during the useful life of your vehicle .
- The Advanced Airbag System can dep loy in
accordance with the "low risk" option under
the U .S. Federal Standard if a chi ld that is
heav ier than the typical one-year old child is
on the front passenger seat and the other
conditions for airbag deployment are met.
- Accident statistics have shown that ch ildren
are generally safer in the rear seat area than
in the front seating position .
- F or their own safety, all ch ildren, especially
12 years and younger, sho uld a lways ride in
the back properly restrained for their age
and size .
-

M N
co
a:
co
,...., \!) 1.1'1
N 1.1'1 ,....,
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

M N
co
a:
co
,...., \!) 1.1'1
N 1.1'1 ,....,
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
0
M ~ ..!,
~
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, .,._

M N
co
a:
co
,...., \!) ..,.,
N ..,., ,....,
-and the head restraints have been p roperly ad -
justed.
Because airbags inflate in the blink of an eye w ith
great force, things you have on yo ur lap o r have
p laced on the seat cou ld become dangerous p ro
jectiles, and be pushed into yo u if the airbag in
flates.
When an a irbag deploys, fine dust is released.
This is normal and is not caused by a fire in the
vehicle. This dust is made up mostly of a powder
used to lubricate the airbags as they dep loy. It
could irr itate skin.
It is important to remember that whi le the sup
p lemental airbag system is designed to reduce
the likelihood of serious in juries, other injur ies,
for example swell ing, bruising and minor abra
sions, can also happen when a irbags inf late. Air
bags do not protect the arms or the lower parts
of the body. Front airbags o nly supplement the
three point safety belts in some frontal col lisions
i n which the veh icle deceleration is high enough
to deploy the airbags.
F ront airbags will not deploy:
- if the ign it io n is switched off when a crash oc -
curs,
- in s ide collisions,
- in rear-end collisions,
- in ro llovers,
- when the crash deceleration measured by the airbag system is less than the minimum thresh
o ld needed for airbag deployment as registered
by the electronic control un it.
Th e front pa ssenger airbag will al so not
depl oy:
-when the front passenger seat is not occupied,
- when the weight on the front passenger seat as
sensed by the Advanced Airbag System indi
cates that the front airbag on the passenger
s ide has to be turned off by the electronic con
trol unit (the
PA SSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
comes on and stays on) .
A WARNING
Sitting in the wrong position can increase the
risk of se rious injury in crashes .
Airbag syste m
- To reduce the risk of injury when the airbags
inflate, the driver and passengers must al
ways sit in an upright pos ition, must not
lean aga inst or place any part of the ir body
too close to the area where the a irbags are
located.
- Occupants who are unbelted, out of position
or too close to the airbag can be seriously
in ju red by an a irbag as it unfo lds with great
for ce in the blink ofan eye
Qpage 153.
A WARNING
A child in a rearward-fac ing ch ild safety sea t
i nsta lled on the front passenger seat w ill be
se riously inju red and can be killed if the front
a irbag inflates - even with an Advanced Airbag
System .
- The inflating airbag will hit the child safety
seat o r infant carrier with great force and
will smash the child safety seat and child
aga inst the backrest, center armrest, door
or roof.
- Always install rear-fac ing ch ild safety seats
on the rear seat.
- If you must install a rearwa rd fac ing child
safety seat on the front passenger seat be
cause of except ional circumstances and the
PASS ENG ER AIR BAG OFF light does not
come on and stay on, immediately install
the rear-facing child safety seat in a rear
seating posi tion and have the airbag system
inspected by your authori zed Audi dealer .
A WARNING
Objects between you and the airbag will in
crease the risk of injury in a crash by interfe r
ing 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 vehicle is in use .
- Never transpo rt items on or in the a rea of
the front passenger seat. Objects could move into the area of the front airbags dur
ing brak ing or other sudden maneuver and
become dangerous project iles that can
cause serious persona l injury if the a irbags
inflate.
161

Airbag syste m
his or her back up against the backrest and the
backrest is not reclined
r::!>page 136, Correct
passenger seating positions,
- the adu lt 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 belt is being properly worn and that
there is not a lot of slack in the safety belt web
bing,
- accessory seat covers or cushions or other
things that may cause an incorrect reading or impression on the weight-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
P ASS ENGER AIR BA G OF F
light in the center of the instrument panel, the
message
PASSE NGER A IR BAG OFF or PASSEN
GER AIR BAG ON
will briefly appear in the instru
ment cluster display . Thi s is to inform the driver
of the current front passenger airbag status.
Important safety instructions on
monitoring the Advanced Airbag System
A WARNING
An airbag system that is not funct ion ing prop
erly cannot prov ide supplementa l protect ion
in a frontal crash.
- If the airbag indicator light
r:!> page 16
comes when the vehicle is being used, have
the system inspected immediate ly by your
authorized Aud i 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 in flates, a chi ld 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 ildren, especially 12 yea rs and
164
younger, a lways ride on the back seat prop
erly restrained for their age and size.
- Always install forward or rear-facing child
safety seats on the rear seat -even with an
Advanced A irbag System.
- If you must install a rearward-facing child
safety seat on the front passenger seat be
cause of exceptiona l circumstances and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not
appear and stay on, immediately insta ll 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 t ight tether or other s trap on a rea rward
facing chi ld restraint attached to the front
p assenger sea t can put too much pressure
on the weight-sens ing mat in the seat and
reg ister more weight than is actually on the
seat. The heavier weight registered can make the system work as though an adult
were on the seat and deploy the Advanced Airbag when it must be suppressed caus ing
serious 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 i ts 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 backrest
m ust 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 ignit ion is switched on.
A WARNING
- If the PASS ENGER AIR BAG OF F 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
prope rly seated and restra ined 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 t he fro nt passenger seat.

M N
co
a:
co
,...., \!) 1.1"1
N 1.1"1 ,....,
@ Tips
If the weight-sensing mat in the front passen
ger seat detects an empty seat, the front air
bag on the passenger side will be turned off,
and
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF will stay on.
Repair, care and disposal of the airbags
Parts of the airbag system are installed at many
different places on your Audi. Installing, remov ing , servicing or repairing a part in an area of the
vehicle can damage a part of an airbag system and prevent that system from working properly in a collision.
There are some important things you have to know to make sure that the effectiveness of the
system will not be impaired and that discarded
components do not cause injury or pollute the
environment.
A WARNING
-
Improper care, servicing and repair proce
dures can increase the risk of personal injury
and death by preventing an airbag from de
ploying when needed or deploying an airbag
unexpectedly:
- Never cover, obstruct, or change the steer
ing wheel horn pad or airbag cover or the in
strument panel or modify them in any way .
- Never attach any objects such as cup holders
or telephone mountings to the surfaces cov
ering the airbag units .
- For cleaning the horn pad or instrument panel, use only a soft, dry cloth or one mois
tened with plain water. Solvents or cleaners could damage the airbag cover or change
the stiffness or strength of the material so
that the airbag cannot deploy and protect
properly.
- Never repair, adjust, or change any parts of
the airbag system.
- All work on the steering wheel, instrument
panel, front seats or electrical system (in
cluding the installation of audio equipment,
cellular telephones and CB radios, etc.)
must be performed by a qualified technician
Airbag system
who has the training and special equipment
necessary.
- For any work on the airbag system, we
strongly recommend that you see your au
thorized Audi dealer or qualified workshop.
- Never modify the front bumper or parts of
the vehicle body.
- Always make sure that the side airbag can
inflate without interference:
- Never install seat covers or replacement
upholstery over the front seatbacks that
have not been specifically approved by
Audi .
- Never use additional seat cushions that
cover the areas where the side airbags in
flate.
- Damage to the original seat covers or to
the seam in the area of the side airbag
module must always be repaired immedi
ately by an authorized Audi dealer.
- The airbag system can be activated only
once. After an airbag has inflated, it must
be replaced by an authorized Audi dealer or
qualified technician who has the technical
information, training and special equipment
necessary.
- The airbag system can be deployed only
once . After an airbag has been deployed, it
must be replaced with new replacement
parts designed and approved especially for
your Audi model version. Replacement of complete airbag systems or airbag components must be performed by qualified work
shops only. Make sure that any airbag serv
ice action is entered in your Audi Warranty
&
Maintenance booklet under AIRBAG RE
PLACEMENT RECORD.
- In accidents when an airbag is deployed, the
vehicle battery separates the alternator and
the starter from the vehicle electrical sys tem for safety reasons with a pyrotechnic
circuit interrupter .
- Work on the pyrotechnic circuit interrupt
er must only be performed by a qualified
dealer -risk of an accident!
- If the vehicle or the circuit interrupter is
scrapped, all applicable safety precautions
must be followed.
165

Child safety
Child safety
Important information
Introduction
The rear seat is generally the safest place in a
collision .
The physical principles of what happens when
your vehicle is in a crash apply also to children
¢ page 145, What happens to occupants not
wearing safety belts? .
But unlike adults and
teenagers, the ir muscles and bones are not fully
developed. In many respects children are at
g reater risk of serious injury in crashes than
adults.
Because children's bod ies are not fully deve loped,
they requ ire restra int systems especially de
signed for their size, weight, and body structure.
Many countr ies and all states of the United
States and provinces of Canada have laws requir
ing the use of approved c hild restraint systems
for infants and small children.
I n a fronta l crash at a speed of 20-35 mph
(30 -56 km/h) the forces acting on a 13 -pound
(6 kg) infant wi ll be more than 20 times the
weight of the child. This means the weight of the child would suddenly be more than 260 pounds
(120 kg). Under these conditions, only an appro
priate child restra int properly used can reduce
the r isk of serious injury . Ch ild restraints, like
adu lt safety be lts, must be used properly to be
effective. Used improperly, they can inc rease the
risk of serious injury in an accident.
Consult the child safety seat manufacturer's in
structions in order to be sure the seat is r ight for
your child's size¢
page 175, Important safety
instructions for using child safety seats .
Please
be sure to read and heed all of the important in
formation and WARNINGS about ch ild safety, Ad
vanced Airbags, and the installation of child re
straints in this chapter.
There is a lot you need to know about the Ad
vanced Airbags in your vehicle and how they work
when infants and children in child restraints are
on the front passenger seat. Because of the large
amount of important information, we cannot re-
172
peat it all here. We urge you to read the detailed
information in this owner's manua l about airbags
and the Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle and the very important information about trans
porting children on the front passenger seat.
Please be sure to heed the WARNINGS -they are
extremely important for your safety and the safe
ty of your passengers, especially infants and
small chi ld ren.
.&_ WARNING
- Accident statistics have shown that children
are generally safer in the rear seat area than
in the front seating position. Always restrain
any child age 12 and under in the rear.
- All vehicle occupants and especially children
m ust be restrained properly whenever riding
in a vehicle. An unrestrained or improperly restrained ch ild could be injured by striking
the inter ior or by be ing ejected from the ve
hicle dur ing a sudden maneuver or impact .
An unrestra ined or improperly restrained
child is a lso at greater risk of injury or death
through contact with an inflating airbag.
- A suitable ch ild restraint properly installed
and used at one of the rear seating posit ions
provides the highest degree of pro tect ion
for infants and small children in most acci
dent sit uations.
.&_ WARNING
Children on the front seat of any car even with
Advanced Airbags can be seriously injured or
even killed when an airbag inflates. A child in
a rearward-facing child safety seat installed
on the front passenger seat will be serious ly
injured and can be killed if the front airbag in
flates.
- The inflating airbag will h it the ch ild safety
seat or infant carr ier with great force and
w ill smash the child safety seat and child
aga inst the back rest, center armrest, or
door.
- Always install rear-fac ing ch ild safety seats
on the rear seat.
- If you must install a rearward fac ing ch ild
safety seat on the front passenger seat in