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U.S. Federal Standard if a child with elec
trical capac itance greater than the com
bined capacitance of a typical one-year
old infant restra ined in one of the for
ward fac ing or rearward-fac ing ch ild
seats w ith which your vehicle was certi
fied is on the front passenger seat and
the other conditions for airbag deploy ment are met.
- Acc ident statist ics have shown that chil
dren are generally safer in the rea r seat
area than in the front seating posit ion .
- For their own safety, all children, espe
c ially 12 years and younger, sho uld al
ways ride in the back p roperly rest rained
for their age an d size .
Advanced front airbag system
Your veh icle is equipped w ith a front Advanced
Airbag System in comp liance with Un ited
States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 as applicable at the time your vehicle was
manufactured.
The front Advanced Airbag System supple ments the safety belts to provide add it iona l
protection for the driver's and front passeng
e r's heads and upper bodies in frontal crashes.
The airbags inflate only in frontal impacts
when the vehicle dece le rat io n is high enough.
The front Advanced A irbag System for the
fro nt seat occupants is not a substitute for
your safety belts . Rather, it is part of the over
all occupant rest raint system in your ve hicle.
A lways remember that the airbag system can
only help to pro tect you, if you are s itting up
righ t, wearing yo ur sa fety belt and wearing it
properly. This is why you and yo ur passengers
must always be properly restrained, not just
because the law requires you to be.
The Advanced Airbag System in your veh icle
h as been certified to meet the " low r isk" re
q uir ements for 3 and 6 year-o ld children on
the passenger s ide and very small adu lts on
the dr iver side. The low risk deployment crite
ria are intended to he lp reduce the risk of i n
j ury through interaction with the front airbag
A irbag system 145
that can occur, for examp le, by being too
close to the steering wheel and instr ument
panel when the airbag inflates .
In add ition, the system has been cert ified to
comply with the "s uppression" requirements
of the Safety Standard, to turn off the front
airbag for in fants 12 months o ld and younger
who are rest rained on the front passenger
seat in child restraints that are listed in the
Standa rd
c> page 167, Child restraints and
Advanced front airbag system .
"Suppression" requires the front a irbag on the
passenger side to be turned off if:
- a child up to abo ut one year of age is re
strained on the front passenger seat in one
of the rear-fac ing or forward -facing infant
restraints listed in Federal Motor Vehicle
Safety Standard 208 with which the Ad
vanced Airbag System in your ve hicle was
cert ified . Fo r a listing of the chi ld restraints
that were used to certify you r vehicle's com
p lia nce w it h t he US Safe ty Stand ard
c>page 167,
-When a pe rson is detec ted o n the front pas
senge r seat that has an e lec trica l capa ci
tance t hat is more than the tota l elect rical
capacitance of a child that is about 1 year
old restrained in one of the rear-facing or
forward-facing infant restraints (listed in Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208
w ith which the Advanced A irbag System in
your vehicle was certified), the front airbag
on t he passenger side may or may not de
ploy.
The
PASSENG ER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
when the electron ic cont ro l unit de tects a to
ta l elect rical capac itance on the front passen
ger seat that requi res the front a irbag to be
turned off. If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
li gh t does no t come on, the front airbag on
the passenger side has not been turned off by
the contro l unit and can deploy if the control
u nit senses an impact that meets the condi
tions stored in its memory.
If the total e lectr ica l capacitance registered
on the front passenger seat is more than that
ll>
•
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-Always make sure that there is nothing
on the front passenger seat that will
cause the capacitive passenger detection
system in the seat to s ignal to the A irbag
System that the seat is occupied by a person when it is not, or to signal that it
is occupied by someone who is heavier
than the person actually s itting on the
seat . The presence of additiona l objects
cou ld cause the passenger front airbag
to be t urned on when it sho uld be off, or
cou ld cause the airbag to work in a way
that is different from the way it wou ld
have worked without the object on the
seat .
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
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
Ai rbag System in it. These parts incl ude the
capacitive passenger detect ion system, wir
i n g, brackets, and more . The control unit
monitors the system o n the front passenger
seat when the ign ition is switched on and
turns the airbag indicator light on when a
malfunct ion in the one of the system compo
nents is detected ¢ page
152 . Because the
fro nt passenger seat contains important parts
of the Advanced Airbag System, you must
t ake care to p reven t it from being damaged.
D amage to the seat may preven t the Ad
vanced A irbag System for the front passenger
seat from doing its job in a crash .
The front Advanced Airbag System
consists of the following:
-Crash sensors in the front o f the veh icle that
measure vehicle acceleration/dece leration
to provide information to the Advanced Air
bag System about the severity of the crash .
- An electronic co ntrol unit, with integrated
crash sensors for front and side impacts .
The contro l unit "decides" whether to fire
A irbag system 147
the front a irbags based on the in format ion
received from the crash sensors. The contro l
unit also "decides" whether the safety be lt
pretens ioners sho uld be activated .
- An Advanced Airbag with gas generator and
contro l valve for the driver ins ide the steer
ing wheel hub.
- An Advanced Airbag with gas gene rator and
cont ro l valve inside the instrument pane l for
the front passenger.
- A capacitive passenger detection system un
derneath the front passenger seat cover.
This system measures the electrical capac i
tance of the person in the seat. The informa
tion registered is se nt cont inuously to the
el ectr onic contro l un it to regu late deploy
ment of the front Advan ced A irbag on the
passenger side .
- An airbag monitoring system and ind icator
light in the instr ument cluster ¢page
151 .
-A sensor in each front seat registers the dis
tance be twee n the respec tive seat a nd the
s teer ing whee l or inst rument p anel. The i n
forma tion regis tered is sent cont inuo usly to
the electronic cont ro l unit to regulate de
p loyment of the front Adv a need Airbags.
- The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes
on and stays on in the center of the instr u
ment panel ¢ pag e
152, fig. 162 and tells
you when the front Advanced Airbag on the passenger side has been turned off.
- A sensor in the safety belt latch for the driv
er and for the front seat passenger that
senses whether that safe ty belt is latched or
not and transmits this information to the
electronic control un it .
.&_ WARNING
D amage to the front passe nger seat can
p revent the front air bag from wor king
properly.
- I mp roper repa ir or d isassembly of the
fro nt pa ssenge r and dr iver seat will pre
vent the Advanced Airbag System from
functioning p roperly.
- Repair s to t he front passenge r seat m ust
be pe rformed by qualified and p roperly
-
trained workshop person ne l. 111>
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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
•
•
156 Airbag system
www.dtsc.ca.gov/hazardouswaste/per
chlorate. When the vehicle or parts of the
restraint system including airbag modules
and safety belts with pretensioners are
scrapped, all applicable laws and regula
tions must be observed. Your authorized
Audi dealer is familiar with these require
ments and we recommend that you have
your dealer perform this service for you.
Other things that can affect Advanced
Airbag performance
Changing the vehicle's suspension system can
change the way that the Advanced Airbag Sys
tem performs in a crash. For example, using
tire-rim combinations not approved by Audi,
lowering the vehicle, changing the stiffness of
the suspension, including the springs, suspen
sion struts, shock absorbers etc. can change
the forces that are measured by the airbag sensors and sent to the electronic control
unit. Some suspension changes can, for exam
ple, increase the force levels measured by the
sensors and make the airbag system deploy in
crashes in which it would not deploy if the
changes had not been made . Other kinds of
changes may reduce the force levels meas ured by the sensors and prevent the airbag
from deploying when it should.
A WARNING
Changing the vehicle's suspension includ
ing use of unapproved tire-rim combina
tions can change Advanced Airbag per
formance and increase the risk of serious
personal injury in a crash.
- Never install suspension components
that do not have the same performance characteristics as the components origi
nally installed on your vehicle.
- Never use tire-rim combinations that
have not been approved by Audi.
Knee airbags
Description of knee airbags
Applies to vehicles: with knee airbags
The knee airbag system can provide supple
mental protection to properly restrained
front seat occupants .
Fig. 163 Driver 's knee airbag
The driver knee airbag is in the instrument
panel underneath the steering wheel
¢ fig. 163, the airbag for the passenger is at
about the same height in the instrument pan
el underneath the glove compartment.
The knee airbag offers additional protection
to the driver 's and passenger's knees and up
per and lower thigh areas and supplements
the protection provided by the safety belts.
If the front airbags deploy, the knee airbags
also dep loy in frontal collisions when the de
ployment threshold stored in the control unit
is met
<=> page 149, More important things to
know about front airbags .
In addition to their normal safety function,
safety belts help keep the driver or front pas
senger in position in a frontal collision so that
the airbags can provide supplemental protec
tion.
The airbag system is not a substitute for your
safety belt . Rather, it is part of the overall oc
cupant restraint system in your vehicle. Al
ways remember that the airbag system can
only help to protect you if you are wearing
your safety belt and wearing it properly. This
is why you should always wear your safety
belt, not just because the law requires you to
do so
¢ page 130 , General notes. ..,.
158 Airbag system
Fully inflated airbags in combination w ith
properly worn safety belts slow down and lim
it the occupant's fo rward movement and help
to reduce the risk of injury.
Important safety instructions on the
knee airbag system
Applies to vehicles: with knee airbags
Airbags are only supplemen tal res traints. Al
ways wear safety belts correctly and ride in a
proper seating position .
There is a lot that you and your passengers
must know and do to help the safety belts and
a irbags to provide supplemental protection .
A WARNING
An inflating knee airbag can cause serious
injury. Wearing safety belts incorrectly and
improper seating positions increase the
r isk of serious personal injury and death
whenever a vehicle is being used.
- The knee airbag system cannot protect
you properly if you are seated too close
to any of the airbag locations. When ad
justing their seat positions, it is impor tant that both the driver and the front
passenger keep their upper bodies and
knees at the following minimum safe
distances:
- at least 10 inches (25 cm) between the
chest and the steering wheel/instru
ment panel.
- at least 4 inches (10 cm) between the
knees and the lower part of the instru
ment panel.
- T he risk of personal injury increases if
you lean forward or to the side, or if the
seat is improperly positioned and you are
not wearing your safety belt. The risk in
creases even more should the airbag de
ploy.
-Always make sure that the knee airbag
can inflate without interference. Objects
between you and the airbag can increase
the risk of injury in an accident by inter
fering with the way the airbag deploys or by being pushed
into you as the airbag
deploys .
- Never let anybody, especially children
o r anima ls ride in the footwell in front
of the passenger seat. If the airbag de
ploys, this can result in serious or fatal
injuries.
- Never carry objects of any kind in the
footwell area in front of the dr iver's or
passenger's seat. Bulky objects (shop
ping bags, for example) can interfere
with or prevent proper deployment of
the airbag. Small objects can be
thrown through the vehicle if the air bag deploys and injure you or your pas
sengers .
- Make sure there are no cracks, deep
scratches or other damage in the area of
the instrument panel where the knee air
bags are located.
- If ch ildren are incorrectly seated, their
risk of injury increases in a collision
~ page 165, Child Safety.
Side airbags
Description of side airbags
The airbag system can provide supplemental
protection to properly restrained occupants.
Fig. 165 Sid e air bag locat io n in the driver's seat
The side airbags are located in the sides of the
front seat backrests
¢ fig . 165 and the rear
backrest facing the doors. They are identified
by the word "AIRBAG".
The side airbags installed for the fron t seating
positions have been designed and certified to
help reduce the risk of injury that can be .,_
184 Audi pre sense
Audi pre sense
Preventative passenger
protection
A pp lies to veh icles: with Audi pre se nse
Audi pre sense can initiate steps to help pro
tect vehicle occupants in certain situations.
The functions described depend on equ ipment
installed in your vehicle:
Audi pre sense basic*
The following functions can be triggered in
certain driving situations:
- Tightening of the safety belts (for example,
during heavy braking) : the front safety belts
have reversible belt pretensioners. If a colli
sion does not occur, the safety belts loosen
slightly and are ready to be tightened again.
- Closing the windows and the sunroof*: the
windows and the sunroof* close leaving a
small open gap.
Audi pre sense basic functions can be trig
gered at speeds above 20 mph (30 km/h).
Vehicles with Aud i drive select*: the deploy
ment time is adapted in
Dynamic mode.
Audi pre sense front (vehicles with
adaptive cruise control*)
Audi pre sense front includes the functions in
Audi pre sense basic. In addition, within the
limits of the system, the likelihood of a colli
sion with the vehicle immediately ahead is al
so calculated . If the system senses an immi
nent collision the following functions can be
tr iggered :
- Braking guard c::>poge
87
-Tightening the safety be lts
- Closing the windows and the sunroof* (leav -
ing a small open gap)
Audi pre sense rear (vehicles with Audi
side assist*)
Audi pre sense rear includes the functions in
Audi pre sense basic. In addition, the likeli
hood of a rear-end collision with the vehicle
coming from behind is also calcu lated.
If the risk
of a co llision is detected, the following
functions can be triggered:
- Tig htening the safety belts
- Closing the windows and the sunroof* (leav-
ing a small open gap)
Audi pre sense plus*
Audi pre sense plus includes the functions in
Audi pre sense front and Audi pre sense rear.
Error message
Audi pre sense: not available
Preventative passenger protection is not avail
able. See your authorized Audi dealer immedi
ately to have the malfunction corrected.
_& WARNING
-=
Audi pre sense cannot overcome the laws
of physics. It cannot prevent a collision. Do
not let the increased safety provided
tempt you to take risks. This will increase
the r isk of a collis ion and serious personal
in juries .
- The sensors cannot always detect all ob
jects. This increases the risk of a colli
s10n.
-Aud i pre sense does not detect people or
an im als or objects that are crossing the
veh icle's path c::> page
81.
-The radar sensor's vis ion can be reduced
by heavy rain, ice, snow, heavy road sp ray
and reflections from guard rails, tunnel
entrances, etc. These and similar condi
tions can prevent vehicles from being ac
curately detected and in some cases they
may not be detected at all.
(D Note
The sensors can be displaced by impacts or
damage to the bumper, wheel housing and
underbody. This can affect the function of
the Audi pre sense system. Have your au
thorized Audi dealer check to make sure
that the system is working properly.
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@ Tips
Your vehicle may be equipped with Audi
connect. Your use of certain Aud i connect
features req uires wireless serv ices that are
provided by a third party wireless telecom
municat ions provider. For details regard
ing how information obtained through
Aud i connect is collected, processed,
transmitted, used, and shared, please see
your contra ct w ith the wire less telecom
municat ions provider and the "About A udi
connect" tab in your vehicle's MMI:
!MENU !
button > Audi connect > About Audi con·
nect .
Electronic Stabilization
Control (ESC)
Description
ESC helps to improve road holding and vehicle
dynamics to help reduce the probability of
skidd ing and loss of veh icle control. It works
only when the eng ine is running. ESC detects
certain difficult driv ing s ituations, including
when the vehicle is beginning to spin (yaw)
out of cont ro l and helps you to get the vehicle
back under control by select ively brak ing the
wheels, and/or red ucing engine powe r and
p roviding steering assistance to help hold the
ve hicle on the driver's intended course . The in
dicator light
m in the instrument cluster
blinks when ESC is taking action to help you
control the vehicle.
ESC has limitations.
It is important to remem
ber that ESC cannot overcome the laws of
phys ics. It will not a lways be able to help out
under all conditions you may come up against.
For example, ESC may not always be able to
h elp you master situat ions where there is a
sudden change in the coefficient of fr iction of
the road surface. When there is a sect io n of
d ry road that is s udden ly cove red with water,
slush o r snow, ESC canno t perform the same
way it would on the dry su rface.
If the vehicle
hydroplanes (rides on a c ush ion of wate r in
stead of the road surface), ESC wi ll not be
ab le to he lp you steer the veh icle because con-
Int ellig ent technolog y 187
tact with the pavement has been interrupted
and the vehicle cannot be braked or steered .
D uring fast corner ing, particular ly on wind ing
roads, ESC cannot always deal as effectively
with difficult dr iv ing s ituations than at lower
speeds.
A lways adjust your speed and driving style to
road, traffic and weather condit ions. ESC can
not override the vehicle's physical lim its, in
crease the availab le tract ion, or keep a veh icle
o n the road if road departu re is a result of
drive r inattent io n. Instead, ESC imp roves the
poss ibility of keep ing the vehicle unde r con
trol and on the road dur ing extreme maneu
vers by using the driver's steering inp uts to
help keep the vehicle going in the intended di
rection . If you are traveling at a speed that
causes you to run off the road before ESC can
provide any assistance, you may not experi
ence the benefits of ESC.
ESC is switc hed on all the time . In certain sit
uat ions when you need less traction, yo u can
switch off ASR by pressing the button
[&I
c::> page 189, fig. 180. Be sure to switch ASR
o n again when you no longer need less t rac
t ion.
The following systems are integrated in the
ESC:
Anti-lock bra king sy stem (ABS )
ABS prevents the whee ls from locking up
whe n brak ing. The vehicle can sti ll be stee red
even dur ing hard braking. App ly steady pres
s u re to the brake pedal. Do not pump the ped
al. A pulsing in the brake pedal indicates that
the system is helping you to brake the vehicle.
Brake as sist sy stem
The brake assist system can decrease braking
distance. It increases brak ing power when the
driver presses the brake peda l quickly in emer
gency s ituations. You must press and hold the
brake pedal until the situation is over. In
vehicles with adapt ive c ruise control*, the
brake assist system is more sensitive if the
distance detected to the vehicle ahead is too
small.
•
•
188 Intelligent technology
Anti-slip regulation (ASR )
ASR reduces engine power when the drive
wheels begin to spin and adapts the force to
the road conditions. This makes it easier to
start, accelerat e and drive up hills .
Electronic differential lock (EDL )
The ED L brakes wheels that are spinn ing and
transfers the drive powe r to the o ther wheels.
This function is not availab le at higher speeds.
I n extreme cases , ED L automat ica lly switches
off to help keep the brake on the braked whee l
from ove rheating. EDL wi ll sw itch on aga in au
tomatically when conditions have returned to
norma l.
Steering recommendation
The ESC helps to stabilize the ve hicle by
changing the steering to rque.
In vehicles with dynam ic steering*, ESC also
he lps to stabilize the stee ring in critical s itua
tions.
Selective wheel torque control
Selective wheel torque control is used when
driving on curves . The front wheel on the in
side of the curve o r both wheels on the inside
of the curve are braked selective ly as needed.
This a llows more prec ise driving in curves. The
appl icable system may no t activ ate when driv
ing in wet or snowy condi tions .
A WARNING
- The ESC and its integrated systems can
not overcome the lim its posed by natural
physical laws. This is especia lly impor- tant on slippery or wet roads
. If the sys
tems beg in acting to stabilize your vehi
cle, you should immediately change your
speed to match the road and traffic con
ditions . Do not let the increased safety
provided by these systems tempt you to
take risks. Do ing so will increase the risk
of a loss of veh icle contro l, collision and
serio us pe rsonal inj uries.
- Always ad apt your speed to road, traffic
a nd wea ther conditions. The risk of los
ing con trol of the vehicle increases when
driving too fast, especially through
curves and on slippe ry or wet roads, and
when dr iv ing too close to vehicles up
ahead . The ESC and its integrated sys
tems cannot a lways prevent collisions -
there is still a risk of acc idents!
- Always accelerate with special care on
even, smooth su rfaces such as those that
are wet or covered with ice and snow.
The drive wheels can spin even w ith
these assistan ce sys tems that cannot al
ways he lp to re duce the risk of loss of ve
h icle control.
(D Tips
- ABS and ASR o nly wo rk correctly when
all four wheel s are equipped with identi
c al tires . D iffe ren t tire sizes can lead to a
reduction in engine power.
- Yo u may hear noises when the systems
descr ibed are working.
- If the ind icator lig ht
BJ or rJlll (USA
mode ls)/ l§J (Can ada models) appears,
t here may be a malfunction ¢
page 18,
r:!>page 18.