146 Airbag sys te m
of a typ ica l 1 year -old, but less than the
weight of a sma ll adult, the front airbag on
the passenger side may deploy (the
PASSEN
GER AIR BAG OFF
li ght does not come on).
For exa mple , the air b ag m ay depl oy if:
- a small child that is heavier than a typical 1
year-o ld child is on the front passenger seat
(regardless of whe ther the child is in one of
the chi ld seats listed
c':> page 167),
-a ch ild who has outgrown child rest raints is
on the front passenger seat.
If the front passenger airbag is turned off, the
PA SSENGER AIR BAG OFF light in the cente r
of the instrument panel w ill come on and stay
on.
If the front passenger airbag deploys, the Federal Standard requires the a irbag to meet
the "low risk" deployment criteria to help re
duce the risk of injury through interaction
with the airbag. " Low risk" deployment occurs
in those crashes that take place at lower de
celerations as defined in the e lectronic control
un it
c':>page 151.
Alwa ys rememb er: Even tho ugh your 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 .
A WARNING
To reduce the risk of injury when an airbag
inf lates, a lways wear safety belts prope rly.
- If you are unrestrained, lean ing forward,
sitting sideways or out of position in any
way, your risk of injury is much higher.
- You w ill also receive serious 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
c':>page 139.
A WARNING
A child in a rearward -facing child seat in
stalled on the front passenger seat will be seriously injured and can be killed
if the
front airbag inflates - even w ith an Ad
vanced Airbag System.
- Altho ugh the Advanced Airbag System in
your veh icle is designed to turn off the
front airbag when a rearward-facing
child restraint has been installed on the
front passenge r seat, nobody can abso
lutely guarantee that dep loyment is im
possible in all con ceivable s ituations that
may h appen dur ing the usefu l life of y our
veh icle .
- T he inflating airbag will h it the ch ild seat
or infant carrier wi th grea t force and will
smash the child seat and child against
the backrest, center armrest, door, or
roof.
- Always install rearward-facing chi ld re
straints on the rear seat.
- If you must install a rearward fac ing
child seat on the front passenger seat
because of exceptional circumstances
and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, immed i
ately insta ll the rear-facing child seat in a
rea r seat ing pos ition and have the airbag
system inspected by you r Audi dealer.
A WARNING
If, in except iona l circumstances, you must
i nsta ll a forward-facing child restraint on
the front passenge r's sea t:
- Always make sure the forward-facing
seat has been designed and ce rtified by
its manufacture r fo r u se on a fron t seat
with a passenger fron t and s ide a irbag .
- Never p ut the fo rward-facing child re
straint up agains t or ve ry near the instru
ment panel.
- Always move the p assenge r 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 installing
the forward-facing ch ild restra int. The
backrest must be ad justed to an upright
position.
148 Airbag system
-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 put them on the seat. The capacitive
passenger detection mat in the front
passenger seat will not function properly
if it is punctured .
- Never carry things on your lap or carry objects on the front passenger seat.
Such objects can influence the capaci
tance registered by the capacitive pas
senger detection system, so that incor
rect information is provided 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.
- If a seat heater has been retrofitted or
otherwise added to the front passenger
seat, never install any child restraint sys
tem on this seat .
- Never use cushions, pillows, blankets, or similar items on the front passenger
seat. The additional layers prevent the
capacitive passenger detection system
from accurately measuring the capaci
tance of the child safety seat and/or the
person on the seat and thus keep the Ad
vanced Airbag System from working properly.
- Never place or use any electrical device
(such as a laptop, CD player, electronic games device, power inverter or seat
heater for child seats) on the front pas
senger seat if the device is connected to
the 12-volt socket or the cigarette light
er socket . Such devices can influence the
capacitance registered by the capacitive passenger detection system, so that in
correct information is provided to the air
bag control unit.
- 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
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 Audi dealer.
,8. WARNING
If the front passenger seat gets wet, dry it
immediately.
- If liquid soaks into the front passenger
seat, this can keep the airbag system
from working properly and may, for in
stance, deactivate the passenger frontal
airbag. If this happens, the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light will come on and stay
on together with the airbag indicator light
fl in the instrument cluster .
- If liquid is pooled on the seat, but has
not soaked in, this may also keep the air
bag system from working properly and
cause the passenger frontal airbag to be
enabled (turned on), even though there is a properly installed child restraint sys
tem on the seat . Wet towels or other wet
things on the seat cushion can have the
same effect. If the front passenger fron
tal airbag is turned on, the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light light will go out.
"' N
a:: I.J "". rl I.O
"' rl
"' rl
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 be lts
with pretensioners and load limiters and the
adjustable head restra ints* to help reduce the
risk of injury in a wide range of acc ident and
crash situat ions. Be sure to read the impor
tant information about safety and heed the
WARNINGS i n this chap ter.
Dep loyment of the Advanced Airbag System
and the activat ion of the safety be lt pre ten
sioners depend on the dece lerat ion meas ured
by the c rash senso rs and registered by the
e lectronic control u nit. Cr ash severity depends
on speed and dece leration as well as the mass
and stiffness of the vehicle or object involved
in the crash.
On the passenge r side, reg ard less of safety
be lt use, the fron t passenger fronta l airbag
will be t urned off i f the electrical capacitance
measured by the capac itive passenger detec
tion system on the front passenger seat is less
than the amount programmed in the e lectron
ic control unit. The front passenger frontal air
bag will also be turned off if the capac itance
measured by the system for the front passen
ge r seat equa ls that of an infant of about one
year of age in one of the child seats that was
used to cert ify the Advanced Airbag Sys tem
u nder Fede ral Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
208 . The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
comes on and stays on to tell you when t he
front Advanced Airbag System on the passen
ger s ide has been turned off
r:=:, page 152.
A 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, yo ur r isk of inj ury is much hig he r.
- You w ill also receive serious injuries and
cou ld eve n be killed if you are up against
the a irbag or too close to it when it in-
A irba g sy stem 149
flates -even w it h an Advanced A irbag
c=:, page 139.
More important things to know about
front airbags
Fi g. 16 1 In flated front airbags
Safety be lts are important to he lp keep front
seat occupants in the proper seated position
so that airbags can unfold properly and pro
vide supplementa l protect ion in a frontal col
li s ion.
The front airbags are des igned to provide ad
ditional protection for the chest and face of
the driver and the front seat passenger when:
- safety belts are worn proper ly,
- t he seats have been positioned so that the
occupant is properly seated as far as poss i
ble from the airbag,
- and for ad justab le head restra ints: the head
restraints have been properly adj usted .
Bec ause airbags infl ate in the bli nk of an eye
wi th great force, th ings you have on your lap
o r have p laced on the seat co uld become dan
gerous projectiles, and be p ushed into you if
the a irbag inf lates.
When an airbag deploys, fine dust is re le ased.
This is norma l and is not caused by a fi re in
the ve hicle . This dust is made up mostly of a
powder used to lubricate the airbags as they
deploy. It could irr itate skin.
It is important to remembe r that wh ile the
supplementa l airbag system is designed to re
duce the like lihood of serious injur ies, other
i njur ies, for example swelling, bruis ing and
minor abrasions, can also happen when air-
bags inflate. A irbags do not protect the arms .,_
150 Airbag sys te m
or the lower parts of the body. Front airbags
supp lement the three-point safety belts only
in some frontal collisions in which the vehicle
dece leration is high enough to deploy the air
bags.
F ront airbag s will not d eplo y:
-if the ignition is switched off when a crash
occurs,
- in side collisions,
- in rear-end collisions,
- in ro llovers,
- when the crash deceleration measured by
the a irbag system is less than the minimum
t h reshold needed for airbag deployment as
registered by the electron ic control uni t.
The f ront pas senger airbag also will not
deploy:
- when the front passenger seat is not occu
pied,
- when the electrical capac itance measured by
the capacitive passenger detect io n sys tem
for the front passenger seat indicates that
the passenger side fronta l airbag must be
switched off by the e lectronic control unit
(the
PA SSENGER AIR BA G OFF light
c> page 152 and how they work comes on
and stays on).
A WARNING
Sitting in the wrong position can increase
the risk of serious injury in crashes.
- To reduce the r isk of injury when the air
bags inflate, the driver and passengers
must always sit in an upright position,
must not lean against or place any part
of the ir body too close to the area where
the a irbags are located.
- Occupants who a re unbelted, out of posi
t ion or too close to the airbag can be se
riously injured by an airbag as it un folds
with great force in the blin k of an eye
i=>page
141.
A WARNING
A child in a rearward-facing child seat in
stalled on the front passenger seat will be
-
seriously injured and can be killed if the
front airbag inflates -even w ith an Ad
vanced Airbag System.
- The inflating airbag will h it the ch ild seat
or infant carrier with great force and will
smash the child seat and child against
the backrest, center armrest, door or
roof.
- Always install rear-fac ing ch ild seats on
the rear seat .
- If you must install a rearward fac ing
child seat on the front passenger seat because of exceptional circumstances
and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, immed i
ately insta ll the rear-facing child seat in a
rea r seat ing pos ition and have the airbag
system inspected by yo ur Audi dealer.
A WARNING
c'-----
Objects between you and the airbag will
increase the r isk of injury in a crash by in
terfering 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 veh icle is in use.
-
- Never transport items on or in the area
of the front passenger seat. Objects
could move into the area of the front air bags during braking or other sudden ma
neuvers and become dangero us projec
tiles that can cause ser ious perso nal in
jury if the a irbags inflate.
- Never p lace or attach accesso ries o r oth
er objects (such as cup holders, te le
p hone bra ckets, large, heavy or bulky ob
jects) on the doors, over o r near the area
marked "AIRBAG" on the steering whee l,
instr ument panel, seat bac krests o r be
tween those areas and yourself. These
objects could ca use in jury in a crash, es
pecially when the airbags inflate.
- Never recline the front passenger 's seat
to transport objects. Items can a lso
move into the a rea of the s ide airbag or
the front airbag during braking or in a
M N
0:: <.J 'SI: ,...., \!) 1.1"1 ,...., 1.1"1 ,....,
rearward-facing or forward-facing chi ld re
straints listed in Federa l Motor Vehicle Safe
ty Standard 208 w ith which the Advanced
Airbag System in your vehicle was certif ied.
I f the front passenger seat is not occupied,
the front airbag will not deploy, and the PAS
SENGER AIR BAG OF F light w ill stay on. Nev
er insta ll a rearward-fac ing ch ild restra int on
the front passenger seat, the safest place for
a child in any kind of child restraint is at o ne
of the seating positions on the rear seat
¢ page 141, Child restraints on the front seat
- some important things to know
and
¢ page 165, Child Safety .
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG light comes
on ...
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes
on when one of the cond itions l isted above is
met, be sure to check the light regularly to
make certain that the PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF light stays on continuo usly whenever the
ignition is on.
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF light does not appear on and does not
stay on all the time, stop as soon as it is safe
to do so and
- reactivate the system by turning the ignition
off for more than 4 seconds and then turn ing it on again;
- remove and reinstall the chi ld restraint .
Make sure that the child restraint is properly
installed and that the safety belt for the
front passenger seat has been correct ly
routed through the child restraint as descri
bed in the chi ld restraint manufactu rer's in
structions;
- make sure that the convert ible locking re
t ractor on t he safety be lt for the front pas
senger seat has been act ivate d and that the
sa fety belt has been pulled tight .
- make su re that no electr ica l device (such as
a laptop, CD player, elect ro nic games devi ce,
power inverter or seat heater for chi ld seats)
is p laced or used on the front passenge r
seat if the device is connected to the 12-volt
socket or the c igarette lighter socket;
A irbag system 153
- make sure that no seat heater has been ret
rofitted o r otherwise added to the front pas
senge r seat;
- make sure that nothing can interfere with
the safety belt buck les and that they are not
obstructed;
- make sure t hat there are no wet objects
(s uch as a wet towe l) and no water or other
liquids on the front passenger seat cushion .
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG light still
do es not c ome on ...
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light still
does not come on and does not stay on con
ti nu ously (when the ignition is switched on),
- take the child restraint off the front passen -
ger seat and install it proper ly at one of the
rear seat positions. Have the airbag system
inspected by your Audi dealer immed iate ly.
- move the child to a rear seat position and
make sure that the c hild is properly restra in
ed in a ch ild restra int that is appropriate for
its size and age.
Th e PASSENGER AIR BAG light should
NOT come on .. .
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light should
NOT come on when the ignit io n is on and an
adult is s itting in a proper seating posit ion on
the front passenge r seat. If the PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF light comes on and stays on o r
fla shes for about S seconds wh ile d riving, un
der these c ircumstances, make sure that:
- the adult on the front passenge r seat is
p rope rly seated on the ce nte r of the sea t
cushion with his or her back u p ag ainst the
backrest and the backrest is not re clined,
- t he adult i s not tak ing we ight off the sea t by
holding on to the passenger assis t handle
above the fron t passenger door or s upport
ing their weight on the armrest,
- the sa fe ty belt is being proper ly wo rn and
that the re is not a lot of s lack in the safety
be lt webbing,
- t here are no aftermar ket seat covers o r
cushions or other things (s uch as blankets)
on the front passenger seat that might
cause the capacitive passenger detect ion
•
•
154 Airbag sys te m
system to miscalcu late electrical capac i
tance .
Important safety instructions on
monitoring the Advanced Airbag System
.8_ WARNING
-If the s tatus of the Adv a need A irbag Sys
tem has changed while the vehicle is moving, the
PASSENGE R AI R BAG OFF
light blinks for about 5 seconds to catch
the driver's attent ion. If this happens, al
ways stop as soon as it is safe to do so
and check the steps described above.
- If the
PASSEN GER AI R BAG OFF light
does not go off when an adult who is not
very small is sitting on the front passen ger seat after taking the steps descr ibed
above, make sure the adult is properly
sea ted and rest rained at one of the rear
sea ting pos it ions. Have the a irbag sys
tem inspected by your authorized Audi
dealer before transporting anyone on the
front passenger seat.
.8_ WARNING
An air bag system that is not funct io ning
properly cannot provide supplemental pro
tect ion in a frontal crash.
- If the airbag indicator light ¢
page 18
comes when the vehicle is be ing used,
have the system inspected immediate ly
by your authorized Aud i dea ler. It is pos
sible that the airbag will inflate when it
is not s upposed to, or w ill not i nflate
w hen it should.
.8_ WARNING
If the front airbag inflates, a c hild witho ut
a child restra int, or in a rearw ard-fa cing
child sa fe ty seat, or in a forward- facing
child restrain t that has not been properly
installed will be serious ly inj ured and can
be killed.
- Even though your vehi cle is equipped
with an Advanced Airbag System, make certain that a ll children, especially 12 years and younger, always
ride on the
back seat properly restrained for their
age and size.
- Always install forward or rear-facing
child seats on the rear seat -even with
an Advanced A irbag System .
- If you must install a rearward-facing
child seat on the front passenger seat
because of exceptional circumstances
and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not appear and stay on, immediate ly install the rear-facing child seat in a
rea r seat ing pos ition and h ave the airb ag
sys tem inspec ted by yo ur Audi dealer.
- If , in exceptiona l circumstances, you
m ust ins tall a forwar d-fac ing ch ild re
s t raint on the front passenger seat, al
ways move the seat into its rearmost po
sition in the seat's fore and aft adjust
ment range, as far away from the a irbag
as poss ible. The backrest must be ad just
ed to an upright pos ition. Make sure that
the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
comes on and stays on all the time when
eve r the ignit ion is switched on .
.8_ WARNING
-
- I f the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not go o ut when an ad ult is sit ting
on the front passenger se at aft er taking
the steps described above, make sure the
a dul t is prope rly seate d and restrained at
one of the rea r seating positions.
- Have the airbag system inspected by
your Audi dea le r before t ransporting
anyone on the front passenger seat.
(D Tips
If the capac itive passenger detec tion sys
tem determines that the front passenger
seat is empty, the fronta l airbag on the
passenger side will be t urned off, and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light will stay
on.
M N
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Repair, care and disposal of the airbags
Parts of the airbag sys tem are installed at
many different pla ces on your Audi. Installing,
removing, servicing or repairing a part in an
area of the vehicle can damage a part o f an
airbag system and prevent that system from
working properly in a co llision.
There are some important 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 env ironment.
A WARNING
Improper care, servicing and repair proce
dures can increase the risk of personal in
jury and death by preventing an airbag from deploy ing when needed or deploying
an airbag unexpected ly:
- Never cover, obstr uct, or change the
steering wheel horn pad or airbag cover
o r the instr ument pane l or modify them
in any way.
- Never attach any objects such as cup
holders or telephone mountings to the
su rfaces covering the airbag uni ts .
- For cleaning the ho rn pad or ins trumen t
pane l, use only a soft, dry cloth or one
moistened w ith plain water . Solvents or
cleaners co uld damage the airbag cover
or change the stiffness or strength of the
material so that the airbag cannot de
ploy and protect properly.
- Never repair, adjust, or change any parts
of the airbag system.
- All work on the stee ring wheel, instru
ment pane l, front seats or electrical sys
tem (including the installation of aud io
equipment, cellular telephones and CB
radios, etc.) must be performed by a
qualified technician who has the training
and special equipment necessa ry.
- For any wor k on the ai rbag system, we
st rongly recommend that you see you r
au thori zed Aud i dealer o r qualified wo rk
s hop.
A irbag system 15 5
-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 replace
ment upholste ry over the front seat
backs that have not been specifically
approved by Audi.
- Never use additional seat c ushions that
cover the areas where the side a irbags
i nfla te.
- Damage to the orig inal seat cove rs or
to the seam in the area of the si de a ir
bag module mus t always be repaired
immediately by an authorized Audi
dealer.
- The airbag system can deploy on ly once.
After an ai rbag has been deployed, it
m ust be replaced with new replacement
parts des igned and app roved espec ially
for your Aud i model version. Replace
ment of complete airbag systems or air
bag components must be performed by
qua lified workshops only . Make sure that
any airbag servi ce action is ente red in
your Aud i Warran ty
& M aintenance book
le t under
AIRBAG REP LAC EMENT RE
CORD .
-For safety re aso ns in severe a cci den ts,
the alte rnator and starter a re sepa rated
from the veh icle battery with a pyrotech
nic circuit inte rrupte r.
- Work on the pyrotechnic ci rcuit inte r
r upter m ust only be pe rformed by a
qualified te chnicians who have t he ex
per ien ce, info rmation an d speci al tool s
ne cessary to perform the work sa fely.
- If the vehicle or the circuit interr upter
i s scr apped, all applicable saf ety pre
cautions must be fo llowe d.
@) For the sake of the environment
Undeployed airbag modules and p reten
sione rs might be classified as Per chlorate
Ma teri al - specia l h and ling may apply, see
•
•
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Child Safety
Important things to know
Introduction
The rear seat is generally the safest place in a
collision .
The physical principles of what happens when
your veh icle is in a crash app ly also to chi ldren
~ page 131, What happens to occupants not
wearing safety belts? .
But unlike adults and
teenag ers, their muscles and bones are not
fu lly developed. In many respects children are
at greater risk of serious injury in crashes than
adu lts.
Because children's bodies are not fully deve l
oped, they require restraint systems especial ly designed for their size, weight, and body
structure. Many countries and all states of the
United States and provinces of Canada have
laws requiring the use of approved child re
straint systems for infants and small children .
In 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 w ill be more than 20 t imes the
weight of the child . This means the weight of
the child would suddenly be more than
260 pounds (120 kg). Under these conditions,
on ly an appropriate chi ld restraint properly
used can reduce the risk of ser ious injury .
Child restra ints, like adult safety belts, must
be used properly to be effective. Used improp
erly, they can increase the risk of serious in
jury in an accident.
Consult the child safety seat manufacturer's
instructions in order to be sure the seat is
right for your chi ld's size ~
page 169 , Impor
tant safety instructions for using child safety
seats.
Please be sure to read and heed all of
the important information and WARNINGS
about ch ild safety, Advanced A irbags, and the
installation of child restraints 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 re-
Child Sa fet y 165
straints are on the front passenger seat . Be
cause of the large amount of important infor
mation, we cannot repeat it a ll here . We urge
you to read the detailed information in this owner's manual about airbags and the Ad
vanced Airbag System in your vehicle and the
very important information about transport
ing children on the front passenger seat .
Please be sure to heed the WARNINGS -they
are extremely important for your safety and
the safety of your passengers, especially in
fants and small chi ldren .
.A, WARNING
-Accident statistics have shown that chil
dren are generally safer in the rear seat
area than in the front seating position.
Always restrain any child age 12 and un der in the rear.
- All vehicle occupants and especially chil
dren must be restrained properly when
ever riding in a vehicle . An unrestrained
or improperly restrained chi ld could be
injured by str ikin g the interior or by be
ing ejected from the vehicle during a
sudden maneuver or impact. An un re
strained or improper ly restrained chi ld is
also at greater risk of injury or death
through contact with an inflating airbag.
- A suitable chi ld restraint properly instal
led and used at one of the rear seating
positions provides the highest degree of
protection for infants and small children
in most accident situations.
A WARNING
Children on the front seat of any car even
with Advanced Airbags can be ser iously in
jured or even killed when an a irbag in
flates. A child in a rearward-facing child
safety seat installed on the front passen
ger seat will be ser iously injured and can
be killed if the front airbag inflates .
- The inflating airbag will h it the child
safety seat or infant carrier with great
force and will smash the child safety seat
and child against the backrest, center
armrest, or door.
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