190 Airbag sys te m
- Improper repair or disassembly of the
front passenger and driver seat will pre
vent the Advanced A irbag System from
functioning properly.
- Repairs to the front passenger seat must
be performed by qualified and properly
trained workshop personnel.
- Never remove the front passenger or
dr iver seat from the veh icle .
- 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 place them on the seat. If the weight
sensing mat in the passenger seat is
punctured it cannot work properly.
- Never carry things on your lap or carry
objects on the passenger seat. Such
items can increase the weight registered
by the weight-sens ing mat and send the
wrong info rmation to the airbag control
unit.
- Never store items under the front pas·
senger seat. Parts of the Advanced Ai r
bag System under the passenge r seat
cou ld be damaged, prevent ing them and
the airbag system from wo rking proper
ly .
- Never place seat covers or replacement upholstery that have not been specifical
ly approved by A udi 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 deploy ing prop
erly.
- Never use cush ions, pillows, blankets or
similar items on the front passenger
seat. The add itiona l padd ing will prevent
the weight-sensing mat in the seat from
accu rately reg iste ring the ch ild restra int
or person on the seat and prevent the
Advanced Airbag System from function ing properly .
-If you must use a child restra int on the
front passenger seat and the ch ild re- straint manufacturer's instructions
re
qu ire the use of a towel, foam cushion or
something e lse to properly pos ition the
child restraint, make certain that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes
on and stays on whenever the ch ild re·
straint is installed on the front passen
ger seat.
- If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, immed i
ately insta ll child restrain t in a rear seat
ing 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
s ide airbags supplement the protection of
fered by the front three-point safety belts
with pretensioners and load limiters and the
adjustable head restraints to help reduce the
risk of inju ry in a wide range of accident and
crash situations. Be s ure to read the impor
tant information about safety and heed the
WARNINGS in this chapter.
Deployment of the Adv a need A irbag System
and the activation of the safety belt preten
sioners depend on the deceleration measured
by the crash sensors and registered by the
electron ic control unit. Crash severity depends
on speed and deceleration as well as the mass
and stiffness of the vehicle or object involved
in the crash .
When the electronic control unit registers a low severity crash and the safety belt is being
used, the airbag will not deploy. If the safety
belt is not being used, the first stage deploys,
followed by the second stage after a much lat· er t ime in the crash sequence.
If the electron ic control unit registers a crash
of medium severity, the first stage of the air ·
bag deploys followed by the second stage at a
much later time in the crash sequence· re·
gard less of whether the safety belt is being
u sed o r not . In higher sever ity crashes as reg
iste red by the electronic control unit, both the ..,.
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,...., ..,., ,....,
-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 belt extender has not been left in
the safety belt latch for the front passenger
seat.
In addition to the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light in the center of the instrument panel,
the message
PASS ENGER AIR BA G OFF or
PAS SENGER AIR B AG ON will briefly appear
in the instrument cluster display . Th is is to in
form the driver of the current front passenger
a ir bag status .
Important safety instructions on
monitoring the Advanced Airbag System
A WARNING
An airbag system that is not funct ioning
properly cannot provide supplemental pro
tection in a frontal crash .
- If the airbag indicator l ight
c> page 16
comes when the vehicle is be ing used,
have the system inspected immediately
by you r autho rized Aud i dea ler. It is pos
sible that the a irbag will inflate when it
is not supposed to, or w ill not inflate
when it sho uld .
A WARNING
If the front airbag inflates , a ch ild without
a child restraint, or in a rearward-facing
child safety seat, or in a forward-facing
child restraint that has not been properly
installed will be serious ly inju red and can
be killed.
- Even though your veh icle is equipped
with an Advanced Airbag System, make certain that al l children, especially 12
years and younge r, a lways rid e on the
back seat properly restr ained fo r their
age and size.
- Always install forward or rea r-facing
c hild safety seats on the rear se at - even
with an Advanced Airbag System.
A irbag sys tem 195
-If you must install a rearward-facing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat because of exceptional circumstan
ces and the
PASS ENG ER AIR BAG OFF
light does not appear and stay on, imme
diate ly install the rear-facing child safety
seat in a rea r seat ing pos ition and have
the airbag system inspe cted by your au
thorized A udi dealer.
- A t ight tether or other strap on a rea r
ward- facing child rest raint attached to
the front passenger seat can p ut too
m uch pressure on the weight-sensing
mat in the seat and registe r 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 causing ser ious or
even fata l injury to the ch ild.
- If, in exceptiona l circumstances, you
must install a forward-fac ing ch ild re
straint on the front passenger seat, al
ways move the sea t into its rearmost po
sition in the seat's fore and aft adjust
ment range, as far away from the airbag
as possible . The backrest must be adjust
ed to an upright pos ition. Make sure that
the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
comes on and stays on all the time when
ever the ignit ion is switched on.
A WARNING
...---
- If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not go out when an adult is sitting
on the front passenger sea t after taking
the steps described above, make su re the
adu lt is prope rly seated and restr ained at
one o f the rear seat ing pos itions.
- Have the airbag system inspe cted by
your author ized Audi dealer befo re trans
porting anyone on the front passenger
seat.
(D Tips
If the weight-sensing mat in the front pas
senger seat detects an empty sea t, the
front airbag on the passenger side wi ll be ..,.
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to the backrest on the vehicle seat. Ad
just or remove the rear seat head restraint if it is difficult to inst all the
child seat with the head restraint in place
¢ page 80. Install the head restraint
again immediately once the child seat is
removed. Driving without head restraints
or with head restraints that are not prop
erly adjusted increases the risk of serious
or fatal neck injury dramatically.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child restrained in ave
hicle is being used
¢page 173, Safety
belts,¢ page 182, Airbag system
and
¢ page 203, Important things to know.
A WARNING
If exceptional circumstances require the
use of a forward-facing child restraint on
the front passenger's seat, the child's safe
ty and well-being require that the follow
ing special precautions be taken:
- Make sure the forward-facing seat has been designed and certified by its manu
facturer for use on a front seat with a passenger front and side airbag.
-Always follow the manufacturer's in
structions provided with the child safety
seat or infant carrier.
- Always move the front passenger seat in
to the rearmost position of the passen
ger seat's fore and aft adjustment range,
and as far away from the airbag as possi
ble before installing the child restraint.
- Always make sure that nothing prevents
the front passenger's seat from being
moved to the rearmost position in its
fore and aft adjustment range.
- Always make sure the backrest is in 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.
- If the light does not stay on, perform the
checks¢
page 193, Monitoring the Ad
vanced Airbag System.
-
Child Safety 211
- Ta ke the child restraint off the front pas
senger seat and install it properly at one
of the rear seat positions if the
PASSEN
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not stay on
whenever the ignition is switched on.
Booster seats and safety belts
Properly used booster seats con help protect
children weighing between about 40 lbs. and
80 lbs. (18 kg and 36 kg) who are less than 4
ft. 9 in . (57 inches/1.45 meters) tall.
In .... N 0 ±
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Fig. 220 Rear seat: c hild properly res trained in a boos
ter seat
The vehicle's safety belts alone will not fit
most children until they are at least 4
ft. 9 in .
(57 inches/1.45 meters) tall and weigh about
80 lbs. (36 kg). Booster seats raise these chil
dren up so that the safety belt will pass prop
erly over the stronger parts of their bodies
and the safety belt can help protect them in a
crash.
.,. Do not use the convertible locking retractor
when using the vehicle's safety belt to re
strain a child on a booster seat.
... The shoulder belt must lie as close to the
center of the child's collar bone as possible
and must lie flat and snug on the upper
body. It must never lie across the throat or
neck . The lap belt must lie across the pelvis
and never across the stomac h or abdomen .
Make sure the belt lies flat and snug . Pull on
the belt to tighten if necessary.
.,. If you must transport an older child in a
booster seat on the front passenger seat,
you can use the safety belt height adjust
ment to help adjust the shoulder portion
properly.
212 Child Saf ety
• Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
9page 208.
Ch ildren up to at least 8 years old (over 40
l bs. or 18 kg) are best protected in chi ld safe
ty seats designed for their age and weight. Ex perts say that the ske leta l structure, particu
larly the pelvis, of these chi ldren is not fully
developed, and they must not use the vehicle
safety belts w ithout a su itable child restraint.
It is us ually best to put these children in ap
propriate booster seats. Be sure the booster
seat meets all applicab le safety standards.
Booster seats raise the seating position of the
child and reposition both the lap and shoulder
parts of the safety belt so that they pass
across the child's body in the right places. The
routing of the belt over the child's body is very
important for the ch ild's protection, whether
or not a booster seat is used . Children age 12
and under must always ride in the rear seat.
Ch ildren who are at least 4
ft. 9 in. (S7 in
ches/1.4S meters) tall can generally use the
vehicle's three po int lap and shoulder belts.
Neve r use the lap belt portion of the veh icle's
safety belt a lone to restrain any child, regard
l ess of how b ig the child is. Always remembe r
that c hildren do not have the pronounced pe l
vic structure required for the proper function
of lap belt portion of the vehicle's three point
lap and shoulder be lts. The child's safety ab
solutely requires that a lap be lt portion of the
safety belt be fastened snugly and as low as
possible around the pelvis . Never let the lap
be lt portion of the safety belt pass over the
chi ld's stomach or abdomen.
In a crash, airbags must inflate within a blink
of an eye and with cons iderable force . In order
to do its job, the airbag needs room to inflate
so that it will be there to protect the occupant
as the occupant moves forward into the air bag.
A vehicle occupant who is out of position and
too close to the airbag gets in the way of an
i n flat ing airbag. When an occupant is too
close, he or she wi ll be struck violen tly and will
receive serious or possib ly even fatal in
jury .
In order fo r the ai rbag to offer protect ion, i t is
i mportant that a ll vehicle occupants, espec ial
ly any children, who m ust be in the front seat
because of exceptiona l circumstances, be
proper ly restrained and as far away from the
airbag as possible. By keeping room between
the child's body and the front of the passen
ger compartment, the airbag can inflate com
pletely and prov ide supplemental protection
in certain frontal collisions.
.&, WARNING
No t using a booste r seat, using the boos
ter seat improperly, inco rrectly installing a
booster seat or using the vehicle safety
belt improperly increases the risk of seri
ous persona l injury and death in a collision
or other emergency situat ion. To he lp re
duce the risk of serious personal injury
and/or death:
- The shou lder belt must lie as close to the
center of the ch ild's collar bone as possi
b le and must lie flat and snug on the up
per body. It must neve r lie across the
throat or neck. The lap belt must lie
across the pe lvis and neve r ac ross t he
stomach o r abdomen. Make sure the belt
liesflat andsnug.Pullon thebeltto
tighten if necessary.
- Failure to p roperly ro ute s afety belts
over a child's body wi ll ca use seve re inj u
ries in an accident or other emergency
situation
¢page 173 .
- The rear side o f the child safety seat
should be pos itioned as close as possib le
to the backrest on the vehicle seat. Ad
just or remove the rear seat head re straint if it is difficu lt to install the ch ild
seat with the head restraint in p lace
c::> page 80. Install the head restraint
aga in immediately once the ch ild seat is
removed. D riving without head restraints
or w ith head restra ints that a re not prop
erly ad justed increases the risk of serious
.
or fatal neck inj ury dramatically . ""
-Always follow the instructions provided
by the manufacturer of the child re
straint you intend to install in your vehi
cle .
- Never install a child restraint without a
properly attached top tether strap if the
child restraint manufacturer's instruc
t ions req uire the top tether strap to be
used.
- Improper use of child restra int LATCH
lower anchorage po ints can lead to injury
in a collis ion. The LA TCH lower anchorage
poin ts are des igned to w ithstand only
those loads imposed by correct ly fit ted
child restraints.
- Never mount two chi ld restraint systems
on one LA TCH lower anchorage point .
- Never secure o r attach any l uggage or
other i tem to the LATC H lower anchorag
es .
{i) Tips
-In Canada, the terms "top tether" with
"lowe r universa l anchorages" (or "lower
universa l anchorage bars") are used to
desc ribe the system .
- In ot her countries, the term "ISOFIX" is
u sed to describe the lower anchorages.
Location
F ig. 22 1 Schematic overview : LATCH anc horage point
locations
The ill ustration shows the seating locations in
your vehicle which are equipped with the low-
M "' er anchorages system. 0 ..J
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Child S afety 21 7
Description
The lower anchorage positions are marked
for quick locating .
Fig . 222 Second row of seats: lower anchorage bracket
locat ions
F ig . 223 Thir d row of seats: locator buttons for lower
a nch orages
Attachment locato r markers for lower
anchorages
T he lower anchorage locations in the second
row of seats are indicated by the attachment
locator marke rs of the lower anchorage brack
ets¢
fig. 222. Remove the covers to access
the lower anchorage brackets. Circular locator
buttons on the third row of seats" indicate the
lower anchorage locations on the third row of
seats
¢ fig . 223.
L o w er anch orag es
The lower anc horage attachment points are
located between the rear seatback and rear
seat cushion ¢
fig. 222 or¢ fig. 223.
Lower anchorages secure the child restraint in
the seat without using the vehicle's safety
belts. Anchorages provide a secure and easy
to-use attachment and minimize the possibili-
ty of improper child restra int installation. .,..
218 Child S afe ty
A ll child restraints manufactured after Sep
tember 1, 2002, must have lower anchorage
attachments for the
LATCH system.
Remember that the lower anchorage points
are on ly intended for installation and attach
ment of child restraints specifically certified
for use w ith
LATCH l ower anchorages . Child
restra ints that are not equipped with the tow
er anchorage attachments can still be instal led in compliance with the ch ild restra int
manufacturer's instruct ions on using vehicle
safety belts.
A WARNING
Improper use of LATCH lower anchorages
can ca use serio us pe rsonal injury in an ac
cident.
- Always carefully follow the ch ild re
strain ts manufac turer's instruct io ns for
proper installation of the child restraint
and proper use of the lower anchorages
or safety belts in your vehicle .
- Never secure o r attach any l uggage or
ot her items to the
LATCH lower ancho
rages.
- Always read and heed the important in
formation about child restraints in this
chapter and WARNINGS
¢ page 203,
Child Safety.
Guidance fixtures for lower anchorages
Applies to vehicles: with third row seating
Special guidance fixtures increase the conven
ience of the lower anchorages and are availa
ble from your authorized Audi dealer.
F ig . 224 T hir d row of seats: install ing the gu idance fix ·
tures
0
Fig. 225 Close-up: fitting the guidance fixture over the
l ower anchorage bracket
T he lower ancho rage attachment points are
located on the third row of seats between the
seatback and the seat cushion. Special guid
ance fixtures increase the conven ience of the
lower anchorages and help protect the seat
mater ial from possib le damage when instal
ling ch ild restra ints .
Installing the guid anc e fixture s
.,. Push down on the seat cushion so that the
tower anchorages are v is ible.
.,. Hold the guidance fixture with the part
number facing downward and push it in the
d irection of the arrow onto the anchorage
¢fig. 225.
.,. Ma ke sure that each of the two guidance fix
t ures per sea t snaps into place.
Removing the guidance fixtures
.,. Remove the ch ild restra int according the
child restraint manufacture r's instructions .
.,. Push dow n on the seat cushion so that the
lowe r ancho rages are v is ible.
.,. Pull off the gu idance fixtures from the lower
anchorages.
.,. Always remove the guidance f ixt ures and
keep them in a safe p lace when not in use .
You may find it easier to install chi ld re
straints equipped with hooks attached to
straps witho ut the g uidance fixtures in place.
If this is the case, remove the guidance fix
tures by pulling them off the anchorages. However, the guidance fixtures can help you
to locate the
LATCH anchorages . ..,.
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_& WARNING
Improper use of tether anchorages or low
er anchorages can cause serious personal
injury in a crash.
- Always ca refully follow the child re
straint manufacturer's instruct ions for
proper installation and use of child re
st raint systems.
- Never use the
LATCH or tether anchorag
es to attach safety belts or othe r kinds of
occupant restraints.
- Child restraint tether attachments a nd
lower attachments are only des igned to
se cur e a child res tra int t hat has been
equipped to use these anchorages.
- T ether anc horages and lower an chorages
are desig ned to withstand o nly those
loads imposed by corre ctly fi tted ch ild
res traints . Under no circumstances can
they be used safe ly for adu lt or child
safety belts or harnesses.
- Never mount more than one chi ld re
st raint to a sing le tether or to a lower an
chorage point. Attac hing two child re
straints to a single anchorage point can cause the anchorage to fail and cause se
rious persona l injury in a crash.
(D Note
- Remove the guidance fixtures before
fo ld ing the rear seatback to prevent
damag ing the seat c ushion.
- If you leave the guidance fixtures instal
l ed for several days, they could leave a
mark on the upho lstery on the seat cush
i on and backrest in the area that the
guidance fixtures wer e insta lled. The up
ho ls tery would a lso be permanently
stretched around the guid ance fixtures.
This applies especially to leat her seats.
Child S afety 219
Installing a child restra int with LATCH
lower anchorages
Whenever you install a child restraint always
f o llo w t he child res traint manufa cturer's i n
structions.
F ig . 2 2 6 Lower an cho rages: proper mount ing
Mounting
.. Make s ure the seatback of the rear seat
bench is in the upright pos ition and securely
latched in p lace.
.. Attach both hook-on connectors with the
spring catch release on the child safety seat
onto the LATCH lower anchorage so that the
connecto rs lock into place ¢
fig. 226.
.. Pull on the con nector atta chme nts to ma ke
sure they are properly a ttac hed to the LA T CH
lower ancho rage .
.. Pull straps tight fo llowing the child restraint
manufact ure r's instruct ions .
Releasing
.. loose n the tension on the straps following
t he ch ild restraint manufac turer's instruc
tions .
.. Depress the spring catches to release the
anchorage hooks from t he lower anchorag
es.
Remember: Use te ther s traps to help keep the
chi ld restraint f irmly in place .
A WARNING '-
Imp roper use of the LATCH system can in-
crease the risk of serious personal injury
and death in an accident.
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-Improper use of child restra int anchors
(incl uding tether anchors) can lead to in
jury in a co llision. The anchors are de
signed to withstand only those loads im
posed by correctly fitted ch ild restraints .
- Never mount two child restraint systems
on one LATCH lower anchor po int.
- Never attach two child restraint systems
to one tether strap or tether anchorage.
- Never attach a tether strap to a tie-down
hook in the luggage compartment.
- Never use ch ild restra int tether ancho
rages to secure safety belts or other
kinds of occupant restra ints.
- Never secure or attach any luggage or
other items to t he LATCH lower ancho
rages or to the tether anchors.
- If a tether or other strap is used to at
tac h a child restraint to the fro nt passen
ger seat, make sure that it is not so
t ight, that it causes the we ight-sensing
mat to measu re mo re weight than is ac
t ual ly on the seat.
- T he heav ier we ight reg iste red can make
the Advanced Airbag System wo rk as
though an adult were on the seat and de ploy the Adva nced Ai rbag when it must
be s uppressed causing serious or even
fatal injury to the child.
- If you must install a rearward facing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat because of exceptional circ umstan
ces and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on and stay on, im
med iately install the rear-facing child
safety seat in a rear seating posi tion and
have the a irbag system inspected by you r
Audi dealer.
Child S afety 221
Installing the upper tether strap on the
anchorage
Fig . 229 Tet her st rap: prope r rout ing a nd mounti ng
Fi g. 23 0 Tet her st rap fo r seco nd row sea ts: prope r
rou ting and moun tin g
Installing the tether strap
... Release or deploy the tet her strap on the
child res traint accord ing to the child re
st raint manufacture r's ins tructions .
... Guide the upper tether strap
unde r the rear
head restraint and into the rear ca rgo area
(raise the head restraint if necessary).
... Fo r the second row o f seats: Pull the floor
ing back, in order to reach the anchor brack
et
c:::> fig. 230 .
... For the third row of seats:* Remove the
plastic cover cap with a screw drive r, in orde r
to reach the anchor bracket
c:::> page 220,
fig . 228.
.,. Slide the tether strap hook over the anchor
bracket .
... Pull on the tether strap hook so that the
spring catch of the hook engages .
.,. Tighten the tether strap firmly follow ing the
child restraint manufacturer's instructions .
.,. For the se cond r ow of seat s: Push the floor-
ing forward into place again .
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