2015 AUDI RS5 CABRIOLET Owners Manual

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-Never place additional items on the seat
that can increase the total weight regis­
tered by the weight-sensing mat and can
cause injury in a crash.
Front airbags
Description of front airbags
The airbag system can provide supplemental
protection to properly restrained front seat
o ccupan ts.
F ig . 149 Location of driver airbag: in steering wheel
Fig. 150 Location of front passenger's airbag: in the in ­
st rument panel
Your veh icle is equipped w ith an "Advanced
Ai rbag System" in compliance with United
States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (F MVSS) 208 as app licab le at the time your
ve hicle w as manufac tured. The safety be lts
for the seats have "pretensione rs" that help
to take slack out of the belt system . The pre­
tensioners are a lso activated by the electronic
contro l 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 fo r the driver is in the s teer ing
wheel hub
~ fig. 149 and the airbag for the
A irba g sy stem 135
front passenger is in the instr ument panel
~ fig. 150 . The general location of the airbags
is marked "AIRBAG".
T he re is a lot you need to know about t he a ir­
bags in your vehicle . We urge you to read the
detailed information 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 o f your passengers, especially in­
fants and small children .
.&_ WARNING
Neve r rely on airbags alone for p rotec tion.
- Even w hen they deploy, airbags provide
only suppleme nta l protect ion.
- Airbag work most effectively w hen used
with p roperly worn safety belts.
- Therefore, always wear your safety belts and make sure that eve rybody in your ve­
hicle is p rope rly r est rained .
.&_ WARNING
A person on the front passenger seat, es­
pe cially infants and sma ll children, w ill re­
ceive ser io us i njuries and can even be kil­
led by being too close to the airbag when it inflates .
- Altho ugh the Advan ced A irbag Sys tem in
your veh icle is designed to turn off the
fro nt passenge r airbag if a n infant or a
sma ll child is on the front passenger
seat , nobody can absolutely gua rantee
that deployment under these special conditions is impossible i n all conceiva­
ble sit uat ions that may happen during
the useful life of your vehicl e.
- The Advanced Airbag System can dep loy
in acco rdance with the "low risk" option
un der the U.S . Fede ral S tanda rd if a child
that is heavie r th an the typical one-yea r
old child is on the front passenge r seat
a nd the ot her condit ions for a irbag de ­
ployment are met .
-

136 Airbag sys te m
- Accident statistics have shown that chi l­
dren are generally safer in the rear seat
area than in the front seating posit ion.
- For their own safety, all children, espe­
cially 12 years and younger, should al­
ways ride in the back properly restrained
for their age and size.
Advanced front airbag system
Your veh icle is equipped with a front Advanced
A irbag System in compl iance with Un ited
States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety S tandard
208 as applicable a t the t ime yo ur vehicle was
manufactured .
The front Advanced Airbag System supple­ ments the safety belts to provide addit ional
protection fo r the driver's and front passeng­
er 's heads and upper bodies in fronta l crashes.
The airbags inflate only in fronta l impacts
when the vehicle dece leration 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 over ­
all occupant restraint system in your vehicle .
A lways remember that the airbag system can
only help to protect you, if you are s itting up­
right, wear ing you r safety belt and wearing it
properly . This is why you and your passenge rs
must always be properly restra ined, not just
because the law requires you to be .
The Advanced Airbag System in your veh icle
has been certified to meet the " low r isk" re ­
qu irements for 3 and 6 year-o ld children on
the passenge r side and very small adu lts on
the dr iver side. The low ris k deploymen t crite­
ria are intended to he lp red uce the risk of in ­
ju ry through interaction with the front airbag
that can occur, for example , by being too
close to the steering whee l and instrument
panel when the airbag inflates.
I n addition, the system has been certif ied to
comp ly w ith the "suppression" requi rements
of the Safety Standard, to turn
off the front
a irbag for infants 12 months old and yo unger
who are restra ined on the front passenger seat in child restrain
ts that are listed in the
Standard
¢ page 154, Child restraints and
Advanced Airbags.
"Suppress ion" requires the fron t airbag on the
passenger side to be turned
off if :
- a child up to about one year of age is re­
s trained on the front p assenger sea t in one
of the rear -fac ing or fo rward -facing infan t
restraints listed in Federal Motor Vehicle
Safety Standard 208 with which the Ad­
vanced Airbag System in your veh icle was
cert ified. For a listing of the child restraints
that were used to certify your vehicle's com­
plia nce w ith the US Safety Standard
¢page 154,
-weight less than a thresho ld level stored in
the control unit is detected on the front pas ­
senger seat .
When a person is detected on the front pas­
senger seat, weighing more than the total
we ight of a ch ild that is about
1 year old re­
stra ined in one of the rear-facing o r forward­
facing infant restraints ( listed in Fede ral Mo­
tor Vehicle Sa fety Standa rd 208 w it h which
t h e Advan ced Airbag Sys tem in yo ur vehicle
was certif ied), the front airbag on the passen­
ger side may or may not deploy .
T he
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
when the electro nic contro l unit de tects a to­
ta l we ight on the front passenger seat that re ­
quires the front airbag to be t urned
off . If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not
come on, the front a irbag on the passenger
s ide has not been t urned
off by the contro l
unit and ca n dep loy if the control u nit senses
an impact that meets the cond itions 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 we ight of a small adult, the
front a irbag on the passenger side may dep loy
(the
PAS SENG ER AIR BAG OFF light does not
come on) .
For example, the airbag may deploy if: ..,_

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-a small child that is heavier than a typical 1
year-o ld child is on the front passenger seat
(regardless of whether the c hild is in one of
t h e chi ld safety seats listed
¢ page 154),
-a chi ld who has outgrown child restraints is
on the front passenger seat.
I f the front passenger airbag is turned off, the
PA SSENGER AIR BAG OF F light in the center
of the instrument pane l w ill come on and stay
on.
The front ai rbag on the passenger side may
not deploy (the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not illuminate and stay lit) if:
- a small ad ult or teenager is o n the front pas ­
senger seat
- a passenger who is not sitt ing upright w ith
their back against a non -reclined backrest
with their feet on the vehicle floo r in front
of the seat is on the front passenger seat .
I f the front passenger airbag deploys, the
F ederal Standard requires the airbag to meet
the " low risk" deployment criteria to help re ­
d uce the risk of inj ury through interaction
with the airbag. " Low risk" deployment occurs
in those crashes that take place at lower de­
celerations as defined in the electronic co ntrol
u ni t.
¢ page 141
Always remember: Even tho ugh you r 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.
.8, WARNING
To redu ce the risk of injury whe n an airbag
in flates, always wear safety belts prope rly.
- If you are unres trained, lean ing fo rward,
sitting sideways or out of position in any
way, your risk of in jury is much higher.
- You w ill also receive serio us inju ries and
c ou 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
Q page 131 .
Airbag system 137
.8, WARNING
-
A child in a rearward-fac ing ch ild safety
seat installed on the front passenger seat
will be ser iously injured and can be killed if
the front airbag inflates -even with an Ad­
vanced A irbag System .
- Al tho ugh the A dvanced Airbag Sys tem in
your veh icle is designed to tur n off the
fro nt airbag whe n a rea rward-facing
child res tra int has been insta lled on the
front passenger seat, nobody can abso ­
lutely g uarantee that dep loyment is im­
possible in all conceivable situations that
may happen dur ing the usefu l life of your
veh icle.
- The in flating airbag will h it the ch ild
safety seat or infant carrier with great
force and will smash the child safety seat
and chi ld against the backrest , center
armrest, doo r, or roof.
- Always install rearward-facing chi ld re­
straints in the back seat .
- If you must install a rearward fac ing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat because of exceptiona l circumstan­
c e s and t he
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
lig ht does not come o n and stay on, im­
media tely insta ll the rear -fa cing ch ild
safety sea t in a rear seating position and
have the airbag system inspected by your
authorized Audi dealer .
A WARNING
-=
If, in e xceptiona l circumstances, you must
i nstall 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 manufacturer for use on a front seat
with a passenger front and s ide a irbag.
- Never put the forward-facing child re­
straint up against or very near the instru­
ment panel.
- Always move the passenger 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 install ing •
•

138 Airbag sys te m
the forward-facing child restraint. The
backrest must be adjusted to an upr ight
position.
- Make sure that the
PASSENG ER AIR BA G
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
A irbag System in it. These parts include the
weight-sens ing mat , sensors, w iring, brack­
ets, and more. The function of the sys tem in
the front passenger seat is checked by the
e lectronic control unit when the ignition is on .
T he control unit mon itors the Advanced Air ­
bag System and turns the airbag indicator
light on when a malfunction in the system
components is detected . The function of the
a irbag ind icator light is described in greater
deta il be low . Because the front passenge r
seat conta ins important parts of the Ad­
v a nce d Airbag System, you m ust ta ke care to
prevent it from be ing dam aged. Damage to
the seat may prevent the Advanced Airbag for
the front passenger seat from doing its job in
a crash .
The front Advanced Airbag System
consis ts o f the following :
-Crash sensors in the front of the veh icle that
measure veh icle acceleration/dece leration
to provide information to the Advanced Air­
bag System about the severity of the crash .
- An electronic control unit, with integrated crash sensors for front and side impacts.
The contro l unit "decides" whether to fire
the front airbags based on the information
received from the crash senso rs. The co ntro l
u nit a lso "dec ides " whet he r the safety be lt
pre tensione rs should be a ctivated.
- An Advanced Airbag with gas generator and
control valve for the d river inside the s teer­
i ng w hee l hub . -
An Advanced A irbag w ith gas generator and
cont ro l valve inside the instrument pane l for
the front passenger .
- A we ight -sensing mat under t he up ho lstery
padding of the front passenger seat cushion
that measures the total weight on the seat.
The informat io n registered is sent continu­
ously to the electronic control unit to regu­
late deployment of the front Advanced Air­
bag on the passenger side .
- An airbag monitoring system and indicator
light in the instr ument cluster
q page 141.
- A sensor in each front seat registers the dis­
tance betwee n the respective seat a nd the
s teer ing whee l o r i nstrument panel. The in­
formation registered is sent cont inuous ly to
t he ele ct ro nic c ontro l uni t to regula te de­
p loyment o f the front Adv anced A irbags .
- The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes
on and stays on in the cen ter o f the instr u­
ment panel
q page 142, fig. 152 and tells
you when the fron t Advanced Airbag on the
passenger side has been tu rned off .
- A senso r below the safety be lt latch for the
front seat passenger to meas ure t he tension
on t he safety be lt . T he tension on the safety
be lt and the weight registered by the
weight-sens ing mat he lp the control unit
"decide" whether the front airbag for the
front passenger seat should be turned off or no t
q page 132, Child restraints on the
front s eat -some important things to
k now.
- A senso r in the safety be lt latch fo r th e d riv­
er and fo r the front seat passenger tha t
s enses w het he r th at safety bel t is latche d or
no t and transmi ts this information to t he
elect ronic con trol un it.
A_ WARNING
D amage to the front passenger seat can
prevent the front airbag from work ing
properly.
- Imp roper repai r or d isassembly of the
front passenge r and dr iver seat will pre­
vent the Advanced Airbag System from
functioning properly .
-

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-Repairs to the front passenger seat must
be performed by qualified and properly
trained workshop personnel.
- 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 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-sensing mat and send the
wrong information 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.
- 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
accurately registering the child restraint
or person on the seat and prevent the
Advanced Airbag System from function­
ing properly.
- 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
Airbag system 139
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 authorized Audi dealer.
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 belts
with pretensioners and load limiters and the
adjustable head restraints to help reduce the
risk of injury in a wide range of accident and
crash situations. Be sure to read the impor­
tant information about safety and heed the
WARNINGS in this chapter.
Deployment of the Adva need Airbag System
and the activation of the safety belt preten­ sioners depend on the deceleration measured
by the crash sensors and registered by the
electronic 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.
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 programmed in the electronic control
un it. The front airbag on the passenger side
will also be turned off if one of the child safe­
ty seats that has been certified under Federal
Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 has been
recogni zed 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 132, Child restraints on the front seat
- some important things to know. .,.
•
•

140 Airbag system
& 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, your risk of injury is much hig her .
- You w ill also receive serio us 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
~ page 131.
More important things to know about
front airbags
F ig . 1 51 Inflated front a irbags
Safety belts are impo rtant to help keep front
seat occupants in the proper seated pos ition
so that airbags can unfo ld prope rly and pro­
vide supp lement al protection in a front al col­
lision.
Th e front a irbags are designed to provide ad­
d itiona l prote ct io n for the chest a nd face of
the dr iver and the fr ont seat passenge r whe n:
- safety belts are worn properly,
- the seats have been posit ioned so that the
occupant is properly seated as far as possi­
ble from t he a irbag,
- and the head rest raints have been properly
adjusted .
Because airbags inflate in the blink of an eye
with great force, things you have on your lap
or have placed on the seat could become dan ­
ge ro us projectiles, an d be pushed into yo u if
the airbag inflates.
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
powde r used to lubricate the airbags as they
deploy.
It could irr itate sk in.
It is impo rtant to remember th at w hile the
s u pplementa l airbag system is designed to re­
duce the like lihood of serious injuries, other
i njur ies, for examp le swelling, br uis ing and
minor abrasions, can a lso happen when air­
bags inflate. A irbags do not protect the arms
o r the lowe r parts of the body . Front a irbags
o nly supp lement the three point safe ty belts
in some fronta l collisions in wh ich the vehicle
deceleration is h igh enough to deploy the air ­
bags.
Front airbags will not deploy:
- if the ignition is sw itched off whe n a crash
occ urs,
- in side co llisions,
- in rear-end co llisions,
- in rollovers,
- when t he crash decelerat ion meas ured by
the airbag system is less than the min imum
threshold needed for a irbag deployment as
reg istered by the electronic contro l unit .
The front passenger airbag will also not
deploy:
- when the front passenger seat is not occ u­
pied,
- when the weight on the front passenger
seat as sensed by the Advanced Airbag Sys­
tem indicates that the fr ont a irbag on the
passe nger side has to be turned off by the
elect ronic control un it (the
PA SSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
li ght comes on and stays o n).
& WARNING
-
Sitting in the wrong pos ition can incr ease
t he r isk of se rio us i njury in crashes.
- To r educe t he risk of inju ry w he n the air ­
bags i nflate, the drive r and passenge rs
m ust alw ays sit in an upr igh t position,
m ust not lea n aga ins t or place any part
of their body too close to the area whe re
the airbags a re located .
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-Occ upants who are unbelted, out of posi­
t ion or too close to the airbag can be
seriously injured by an airbag as it un­
folds with great force in the blink of an
eye
¢ page 132.
A WARNING
-
A child in a rearward-facing child safety
seat insta lled on the front passenger seat
w ill be seriously injured and can be k illed if
the front a irbag in flates - even with an Ad­
vanced Airbag System .
- The inflating a irbag w il l hit the child
sa fety sea t or infant carrier w ith g reat
f orce and w ill smash the ch ild safety seat
and child against the backrest , cente r
armrest, door or roof .
- Always install rear -facing child sa fety
seats on the rear seat .
- If you mus t 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 position a nd
have the a irbag system inspected by you r
authori zed Au di dealer .
A WARNING
Objects betwee n you and t he a irbag will
increase the risk of in jury in a crash by in­
t erfering wi th the way the air bag un folds
or by being pushed into you as the a irbag
inflates.
- Never hold th ings in your hands or on
yo ur lap when the vehicle is in use.
- Never transport i tems on or in the area
of the front passenge r seat . Objects
cou ld move into the area of the front air­
bags dur ing braking or other s udden ma­
neuver and become dangerous projec­
t il es that can cause serious personal in­
jury if the airbags inflate .
- Never place or attach accessories or oth­
er objects (such as cupholders, te le­
phone brackets, large, heavy or b ulky ob -
-
Airbag system 141
jects) on the doors, ove r o r near the area
marked "AIRBAG" on the steering wheel,
instrument panel, seat backrests or be­
tween those areas and yourself . These
objects could cause in ju ry in a c rash , es ­
pecia lly when the airbags infla te .
- Never recline the front passenger 's sea t
to transport objects. Items can a lso
move into the area of the s ide a irbag or
the front a irbag du ring bra king or in a
sudden maneuve r. O bje cts ne ar the air­
bags can become projec tiles and cause
in jur y, partic ula rly when the seat is re ­
clined .
A WARNING
The fine dust create d when air bags deploy
can cause breathing prob lems for people
with a history of asthma or other breath­ ing cond itions .
- To reduce the risk of breath ing problems,
those with asthma or other respiratory conditions shou ld get fresh air r ight
away by getting o ut o f the veh icle or
open ing windows or doors.
- If you are in a collision in which airbags
deploy, was h your hands and face with
mild soap and wate r before ea ting.
- Be ca reful not to get the dust into your
eyes, o r into any c uts or sc ratches .
- If the resid ue should get into your eyes,
f lush them w ith wate r.
Monitoring the
Advanced Airbag
System
Airbag monitoring indicator light
T wo separate indicators monitor the function
of the Advanced Airbag System: the airbag
monitoring indicator light and the
PASSEN·
GER AIR BAG OFF
light.
T he Advanced A irbag System ( incl uding the
electron ic co ntro l unit , se nsor circu its and sys­
tem wir ing) is mo nitore d continuously to
m ake su re that it i s fu nc tioni ng properly •
•

142 Airbag system
whenever the ignit ion is on. Each t ime yo u
turn on the ignition, the
II airbag monitoring
indicator light will come on for a few seconds
(self diagnostics) .
The sy stem must be in spect ed wh en the
fl ind icator light :
-does not come on when the ignit ion is
switched on,
- does not go out a few seconds after you
have switched on the ignition, or
- comes on while driving .
If an airbag system malf unct ion is dete cted,
the ind icator light will firs t start flash ing to
catch the driver's attention and then stay on
continuously to serve as a constant reminder
to have the system inspected immediately.
If a mal func tion occurs that turns the fron t
airbag on the passenger side off, the
PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG OFF
l ight will come on and stay
on whenever the ignition is on.
.&_ WARNING
An airbag system that is not funct ion ing
properly cannot provide supplemental pro­
tect ion in a frontal crash.
- If the airbag indicator light
c:> page 19
comes when the vehicle is be ing used,
have the system inspected immed iate ly
by you r autho rized Aud i dea le r. It is pos­
sible that the airbag will inf late when it
is not s upposed to, or w ill not inflate
when it sho uld.
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
Fig. 152 Sect ion from the inst rumen t pa nel: PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG O FF ligh t
-
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light is located
in the center of the instrument pane l
c:>fig. 152.
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light wi ll come
on and stay on to tell you when the front Ad­
vanced Airbag on the passenger side has been
turned off by the electron ic contro l unit. Each
t ime you turn on the ignition , the
PASSEN ­
GER AIR BAG OFF
light will flash for a few
seconds and:
- will stay on i f the front passenger seat is not
occ upied,
- will stay on if there is a small ch ild or child
restraint on the front passenger seat,
- will go out if the front passenge r seat is oc­
cupied by an adult as registered by the
weight-sensing mat.
T he
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light mu st
come on and stay on
if the ignition is on and
- a ca r bed has been installed on the fron t
seat, o r
- a rearward-facing child rest rain t has bee n
installed o n the front passenger seat, or
- a forwa rd-fac ing ch ild restra int has been in­
stalled on the front passenger sea t, or
- the weight reg iste red on the front passen­
ge r seat is equal to or less t han t he com­
bined weight o f a typical 1 year -ol d restra in ­
ed in one of the rea r-facing or forwa rd-fac­
ing infant restraints listed in Federal Motor
Veh icle Safety Standard 208 with which the
Advanced A irbag System in your vehicle was
certified .
If the front passenger seat is not occupied,
t h e front airbag will not deploy, and the
PAS·
SENGER AIR BAG O FF
light will stay on. Nev­
er install a rearward-facing child restraint on
t h e front passenger seat, the safest p lace for
a ch ild in any k ind of ch ild restraint is at one
of the seating posit ions on the rear sea t
c:> page 132, Child restraints on the front seat
- some important things to know
and
c:> page 152, Child Safety.
If th e PASSENGER A IR BAG OFF light come s
o n
w hen o ne of the cond itions listed above is
met, be su re to check t he light regu larly to
II>-