130 Safety belts
The safety be lt pretensioner can only be
activated once .
- In m inor frontal and side coll isions in
'
rear-end collisions and in accidents in-
vo lving very little impact force, the safe
ty belt pretensioner are not activated .
- When the safety be lt pretensioners are
activated, a fine dust is released. This is
norma l and is not caused by a f ire in the
vehicle.
- The relevant safety requirements must
be observed when the vehicle or compo
nents of the system are scrapped . An au
thorized Audi dealer or qualified wor k
shop is fam iliar with these regulations
and will be p leased to pass on the infor
mation to you.
- Be sure to observe all safety, environ
mental and other regulations if the vehi
cle or indiv id ual parts of the system , par
ticularly the sa fety belt o r airbag, are to
be disposed. We recommend you have
your a uthorized Audi dea ler perform this
serv ice for you .
Service and disposal of safety belt
pretension er
The safety belt pretensioners are parts of the
safety belts on yo ur Audi . Installing, remov
ing , servicing or repa iring of belt prete nsion
e rs can damage the safety be lt system and
prevent it from working correct ly in a colli
sion.
There are some impo rtant things you have to
know to make sure that the effectiveness of
the system will not be impaired and that dis
carded components do not cause injury or po l
lute the environment.
A WARNING
Improper care, servicing and repair proce
dures can increase the risk of personal in
jury and death by preventing a safety belt pretens ion e r from act ivat ing when needed
or act ivat ing it unexpectedly: -
The belt pretensioner system can be acti
vated only once. If be lt pretensioners
have been activated, the system must be
replaced .
- Never repair, adjust, or change any parts
of the safety be lt system.
- Safety belt systems incl uding safety belt
pretens ioners cannot be repaired. Spe
cial procedures are required for removal, installation and disposa l of th is system.
- For any work on the safety belt system,
we strongly recommend that you see
your author ized Audi dealer or qualif ied
technician who has an Audi approved re pa ir manua l, train ing and spe cial eq uip
men t necess ary.
@ For the sake of the environment
Undeployed airbag modules and p reten
s ioners might be classif ied as Perchlorate
Materia l - specia l hand ling may apply, see
www .dtsc.ca.gov/h azardouswaste/per
ch lorate. When the veh icle or parts o f the
restraint system including airbag modu les
safety be lts with pretensioners are scrap
ped, all applicab le laws and regulations
must be observed. Your author ized Audi
dealer is familiar with these requirements
and we recommend that you have your
dealer perform th is service for you.
M N
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Airbag system Important things to know
Importance of wearing safety belts and
sitting properly
Airbags are only supplemental restrain ts . For
airbags to do their job , occupants m ust al
ways properly wear their safety belts and be
in a proper seating position.
F or your safety and the safety of your passen
gers, before driving off, always:
"" Adjust the dr iver's sea t and steeri ng wheel
p roperly
¢ page 113,
"" Adjust the front passenger's seat properly
¢ page 61,
""Wear safety be lts properly ¢ page 126,
"" Always properly use the proper child re-
stra int to protect ch ildren
r::::> page 152.
In a collision airbags must inflat e within th e
blink of an eye and with considerable force .
The supplementa l airbags can cause injuries if
the dr iver or the front seat passenger is not
seated properly . T herefore in order to help the
a irbag to do its job, it is important, both as a
driver and as a passenge r to s it properly at all
times.
By keep ing room between your body and the
steer ing whee l and the front of the passenge r
compartment, the airbag can inflate fully and
comp lete ly and provide supp lemen tal protec
tion in ce rtain frontal collisions
r::::> page 113,
Proper occupant seating positions .
For deta ils
on the operation of the seat adjustment con
trols
¢ page 61.
It's espe cially important that children a re
p roperly restrained
r::::> page 15 2.
There is a lot that the d river and the passen
gers ca n and must do to help the individua l
safety features ins talled in your A ud i work to
gether as a system.
P rope r seat ing pos ition is important so that
the front airbag on the dr iver s ide ca n do its
job. If yo u have a physical impa irment or con-
A irbag system 13 1
dition that prevents yo u from sitting properly
o n the driver seat with the safety belt properly
fastened and reach ing the peda ls, spec ial
modifications to yo ur vehicle may be necessa
ry.
Contact your a uthorized Audi dea ler, or call
Audi C ustome r Re lations at 1-800 -822-2834 .
When the airbag system dep loys, a gas gene r
ator will fi ll the ai rbags, break open the pad
ded covers, and inf late between t he steering
whee l and the dr iver and between the instru
ment panel and the front passenger. The air
bags will deflate immediately after deploy
ment so that the front occupa nts can see
t hr ough the w indshield aga in witho ut inter
ruption .
All of th is takes place in the blink of an eye, so
fast that many people don't even realize that
the a irbags have deployed . The airbags also
inflate wi th a g reat dea l of force and noth ing
shou ld be in their way when they deploy.
Fron t airbags in combin ation wi th properly
worn safety belts slow down and lim it the oc
cupan t's forward movement. Together they
help to prevent the driver and front seat pas
senger from hitting parts of the inside the ve hicle while reducing the forces acting on the
occupant dur ing the crash. In this way they
help to reduce t he risk of injury to the head
and upper body i n the c rash . A irbags do not
protect the a rms o r the lower parts of the
body .
Both front a irbags w ill not inflate in all fronta l
collisions . The t riggering of the a irbag system
depends on the vehicle dece le rat ion rate
ca used by the co llision and registered by the
ele ctron ic co ntro l unit. If thi s rate is below
t he reference value programmed into the con
trol unit, the airbags will not be trigge red,
even though the car may be bad ly damaged as
a resu lt of the co llision . Veh icle damage, re
pair costs or even the lack of ve hicle damage
is no t necessarily an indication of whether an
airbag s hou ld inflate o r not .
It is not possib le to define a range of vehicle
speeds that w ill cover every possib le kind and ..,.
•
•
132 Airbag sys te m
angle of im pact that will always trig ger the
airbags, since the circumstances wi ll vary con
siderably between one collision and another.
Important factors include, for example, the
nature (hard or s oft) of the object which the
car h its, the angle of impact, vehicle speed,
etc. The front airbags will also not inflate in
side or re ar collisions, or in roll-overs .
Always remember : Airbags will deploy only
once, and only in certa in kinds of collisions .
Your safety belts are always there to offe r pro
tection in those s ituations in which airbags
a re not supposed to deploy , or when they have
a lready deployed; for example , when yo ur ve
h icle strikes or is st ruck by another after the
first collision .
This is just one of the reaso ns why an a irbag is
a supplementary restra int and is not a s ubst i
tute for a safety be lt. The airbag system
works most effective ly when used with the
safety be lts. Therefore, always properly wear
you r safety belts ¢
page 123 .
A WARNING
Sitting too close to the steer ing wheel or
instrument panel will decrease the effec
tiveness of the airbags and will increase
the risk of pe rsonal injury in a collision .
- Never sit closer than 10 inches (25 cm)
to the stee ring wheel or instr ument pan
el.
- If you cannot sit more than 10 inches
(25 cm) from t he steer ing wheel, investi
gate whethe r adaptive equipment may
be available to help you reach the pedals
and incre ase your sea ting dis tance from
the steering wheel.
- If you are unrestr ained, lean ing fo rward,
s itting sideways or out of posi tion in any
way, your risk of injury is much higher.
- Yo u w il l a lso receive serio us in juries and
co uld even be killed if you are up against
the airbag or too close to it when it in
flates -even with an Advanced Airbag.
- To reduce the r is k of i njury when an air
bag inf lates, a lways wear safety belts
properly
c::> page 126, Safety belts .
-Always make certain that ch ild ren age 12
or younger always ride in the rear seat. If
children are not properly restrained, they
may be severe ly injured or killed when an
airbag inflates .
- Never let c hildren ride unrestrained or
improperly restrained in the vehicle . Ad
just the front seats prope rly .
- Never ride with the back rest reclined.
- Always sit as far as possible from the
steer ing whee l or the instrument pane l
¢page 113.
-Always sit upright with your back against
the backrest of your seat.
- Never p lace your feet on the instrument
panel or on the seat. Always keep both
feet on the floor in front of the seat to
he lp prevent serious in ju ries to the legs
and h ips if the airbag inflates .
- Never recline the front passenger 's seat
to transport objects . Items can a lso
move i nto the a rea of the s ide airbag or
the front a irbag d uring br akin g or in a
sudden maneuve r. Obje cts ne ar the air
bags can become projec tiles and cause
inj ury when an airbag inflates.
.&, WARNING
A irbags that have deployed in a crash must
be replaced.
- Use on ly original eq uipment airbags ap
proved by Audi and installed by a trained
technician who has the necessary too ls
and d iagnost ic equipment to properly re
p lace any airbag in your vehicle and as
sure system effectiveness i n a crash .
- Never permit salvaged or recycled air
bags to be installed in your vehicle .
Child restraints on the front seat - some
important things to know
.,. Be s ure to read the importa nt information
and head the WAR NINGS for important de
t ails about children and Advanced A irbags
c::> page 152. ..,.
"' N
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rl I.O
"' rl
"' rl
-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 •
•
M N
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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 .
II>