2015 AUDI S3 steering wheel

148 Airbag system
-Take the child restraint off the front pas­
senger seat and install it properly at one
of the rear seat positions if the
PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not stay on .
- Have the airbag system inspected by
your Audi dealer immediately.
- Always carefully follow instructions from
child restraint manufacturers when in­
stalling child restraints .
A WARNING ,.
If, in exceptional circumstances, you must
install a forward or rearward-facing child
restraint on the front passenger's seat:
- Improper installation of child restraints
can reduce their effectiveness or even
prevent them from providing any protec­
tion.
- An improperly installed child restraint
can interfere with the airbag as it de­
ploys and seriously injure or even kill the
child -even with an Advanced Airbag
System.
- Always carefully follow the manufactur­
er's instructions provided with the child
safety seat or carrier.
- Always make sure that there is nothing
on the front passenger seat that will
cause the capacitive passenger detection
system in the seat to signal to the Airbag
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 sitting on the
seat. The presence of additional objects
could cause the passenger front airbag
to be turned on when it should be off, or
could cause the airbag to work in a way
that is different from the way it would have worked without the object on the
seat.
Front airbags
Description of front airbags
The airbag system can provide supplemental
protection to properly restrained front seat occupants .
Fig. 129 Loc atio n of drive r ai rb a g : i n steering wheel
Fig. 130 Loc atio n of fro nt passe nge r's airbag: in the in­
st rumen t panel
Your vehicle is equipped with an "Advanced
Airbag System" in compliance with United
States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
(FMVSS) 208 as applicable at the time your
vehicle was manufactured . The safety belts
for the seats have "pretensioners" that help to take slack out of the belt system. The pre­
tensioners are also activated by the electronic control unit for the airbag system.
The front safety belts also have load limiters to help reduce the forces applied to the body
in a crash.
The airbag for the driver is in the steering
wheel hub
c:> fig. 129 and the airbag for the
front passenger is in the instrument panel
c::;, fig. 130. The general location of the airbags
is marked "AIRBAG".
There is a lot you need to know about the air­
bags in your vehicle. We urge you to read the
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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 ex tremely important for your safety and
the safety of your passengers, especially in ­
fants and small children .
A WARNING
Never rely on airbags alone for protection.
- Even when they deploy, airbags provide only supplemental protection .
- Airbag work most effectively when used
with properly worn safety belts .
- Therefore, always wear your safety belts
and make sure that everybody in your ve ­
hicle is properly restrained .
- Always hold the steering wheel with both
hands on the outside of the steering
wheel rim at the 9:00 o'clock and 3:00
o'clock positions to help reduce the risk
of personal injury if the driver's airbag in­
flates.
- Never hold the steering wheel at the 12
o'clock position or with your hands any­
where inside the steering wheel or on the
steering wheel hub. Holding the steering
wheel the wrong way increases the risk of severe injury to the arms, hands, and
head if the driver airbag deploys .
A WARNING
Objects between you and the airbag will
increase the risk of injury in a crash by in­
terfering with the way the airbag unfolds
and/or by being pushed into you as the air­
bag inflates.
- Always make sure nothing is in the front
airbag deployment zone that could be
struck by the airbag when it inflates.
- Objects in the zone of a deploying airbag
can become projectiles when the airbag
deploys and cause serious personal in­
jury.
- Never hold things in your hands or on
your lap when the vehicle is in use .
-
Airbag system 149
-Never place accessories or other objects
(such as cup holders, telephone brackets,
note pads, navigation systems, or things
that are large, heavy, or bulky) on the
doors; never attach then to the doors or
the windshield; never place them over or
near or attach them to the area marked
,,AIRBAG " on the steering wheel, instru­
ment panel or the seat backrests; never
place them between these areas and you
or any other person in the vehicle.
- Never attach objects to the windshield
above the passenger front airbag, such
as accessory GPS navigation units or mu­
sic players. Such objects could cause seri­
ous injury in a collision, especially when
the airbags inflate.
- Never recline the front passenger seat to transport objects. Items can also move
into the deployment area of the side air ­
bags or the front airbag during breaking
or in a sudden maneuver . Objects near
the airbags can fly dangerously through
the passenger compartment and cause
injury, particularly when the seat is re­
clined and the airbags inflate.
A WARNING
-=
A person on the front passenger seat , es-
pecially infants and small children, will re­
ceive serious injuries and can even be kil­
led by being too close to the airbag when
it inflates.
- Although the Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle is designed to turn
off the
front passenger airbag if an infant or a
small child is on the front passenger
seat, nobody can absolutely guarantee
that deployment under these special conditions is impossible in all conceiva­
ble situations that may happen during
the useful life of your vehicle.
- The Advanced Airbag System can deploy
in accordance with the ,,low risk" option
for 3-and 6-year-old children under the
•
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•

150 Airbag sys te m
U.S. Federal Standard if a chi ld 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 with 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 rear seat
area than in the front seating posit ion .
- For their own safety, all chi ldren, espe­
ci ally 12 years and younger, sho uld a l­
ways ride in the back properly rest rained
for their age and size .
Advanced front airbag system
Your vehicle is equipped with a front Advanced
Airbag System in compliance with United
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 addit ional
protection for the driver's and front passeng­
er'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 enoug h.
The front Advanced Airbag System for the
fro nt seat occupants is not a substitute for
your safety belts . Rather, it is part of the over­
a ll occupa nt restraint system in your veh icle.
A lways remember that the airbag system ca n
on ly help to pro tect you, if you are s itting up ­
right, wearing yo ur safety belt and wearing it
properly. This is why you and yo ur passengers
must always be properly restrained, not just
beca use the law requires you to be.
The Advanced Airbag System in your veh icle
has been certified to meet the " low risk" re­
qu irements for 3 and 6 year-o ld children on
the passenger side 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 in­
jury through interaction with the front airbag that can occur, for example, by being too
close to the steering wheel and instr ument
panel when the airbag inflates .
In add ition, the system has been cer tified to
comply with the "s uppression" requirements
of the Safety Standard, to turn off the front
airbag for infants up to 12 months who are re ­
stra ined on the front passenger seat in child
restraints that are listed in the Standard.
"Suppression" requires the front airbag on the
passenger side to be turned off if:
- a child up to abo ut one year o f age is re ­
st rained on the front passenger seat in one
of the rear -facing or fo rward -facing infant
restraints listed in Federal Motor Vehicle
Safety Standard 208 with which the Ad­
vanced Airbag System in your vehicle was
cert ified . Fo r a listing of the chi ld restraints
that were used to certify you r vehicle's com­
plia nce w ith the US Saf ety Standard
r::) page 172,
- When a person is detected on the front pas­
senger seat that has an electrical capaci­
tance that is more than the tota l elect rical
capacitance o f a child tha t is about 1 year
old rest rained 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 veh icle was certified), the front airbag
on the passenger side may or may not de­ ploy.
The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
when the electro nic control unit detects a to­
ta l electrical capac itance on the front passen­
ger seat that requ ires the front airbag to be
tu rned off. If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on, the fro nt airbag o n
t h e passenger side has not been turned off by
the con trol un it and can deploy if the cont ro l
u nit senses an impact that meets the condi ­
tions stored in its memo ry .
If the total e lectr ic al c apaci tance regis tered
o n t he fron t passenge r se at is more than that
of a typical 1 year -o ld, but less than the
weight of a small adu lt, the front airbag on
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152 Airbag sys te m
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 additional 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
PA SSENGER 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
lot of very important parts of the Advanced
A irbag System in it . These parts include the
capacitive passenger de tect ion system, wir­
ing, b ra ck ets, and more. The cont ro l unit
monitors the system on the front passenger
seat when the ign ition is switched on and
turns the airbag indicato r light on when a
malfunction in the one of the system compo­
nents is detected¢
page 157 . Because the
fro nt passenger seat contains important parts
of the Advanced Airbag System, you must
take care to prevent it from being damaged .
Damage to the seat may prevent the Ad­
vanced A irbag System for the front passenger
se at from doing i ts job in a c rash.
The front Advanced Airbag System
consists of the following:
- Crash sensors in the fro nt of the ve hicle that
m easure ve hicle accelera tion/de celera tion
to provide info rmation to the Advanced Air­
bag System abo ut the seve rity of the crash.
- An electronic cont ro l u nit, with integrated
c rash sensors for front and side impacts.
The cont ro l unit "decides" whether to fire
the front airbags based on the information received from the crash sensors. The contro l unit also "decides" whether the sa
fety belt
pretensioners sho uld be activated.
- An Advanced A irbag w ith gas generato r for
the driver inside the steering wheel h ub.
- An Advance d Airbag w ith g as generato r in­
side the inst rument panel for the front pas ­
senger.
- A capacit ive passenger detection system un­
de rneath the front passenger seat cover .
This system meas ures the electrical capac i­
tance of the person in the seat. The informa ­
tion registered is sent cont inuo usly to the
electronic control un it to regu late deploy­
ment of the front Advanced A irbag on the
passe nger side .
- An airbag monitor ing system and indicator
light in the instrument cluster¢
page 156 .
-A sensor in each front seat registers the dis­
tance betwee n the respective seat and the
steer ing whee l o r inst rument panel. The in­
formation registered is sent cont inuous ly to
t he ele ct ron ic contro l unit to regula te de­
p loyment of the front Adva nced A irb ags .
- The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes
on and stays on in the center of t he instr u­
ment p anel ¢
page 217 and t ells yo u when
the fron t Advanced Airbag on the passenge r
side has been turned off.
- A sensor in the safety be lt latch for the driv ­
er and for the front seat passenger that
senses whether t hat safety belt is latched or
not and transmits this information to the
electronic control un it.
A WARNING
Damage to the front passenger seat can
prevent the front airbag from wor king
p roperly.
- Improper repair or d isassembly of the
front passenge r and dr iver sea t will pre­
vent the Advanced Airbag System from
functioning p roperly.
- Repairs to the front passenge r seat must
be pe rformed by qualified and p roperly
trained workshop personnel.
- Never remov e the front passenger o r
d river seat from the vehicle.
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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 no t deplo y:
- if the ignition is switched off when a crash
occurs,
- in side collisions,
- in rear-end collisions,
- in rollovers,
- when the crash deceleration measured by
the a irbag system is less than the m inimum
threshold needed for airbag deployment as
registered by the electronic control unit.
The f ront pas seng er airbag al so will n ot
deploy:
- when the front passenger seat is not occu­
pied,
- when the electrical capac itance measured by
the capacitive passenger detect io n system
for the front passenger seat indicates that
the passenger side frontal airbag must be
switched off by the electronic control unit
(the
P AS SENGER A IR BA G OFF light
Q page 157 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 posit ion,
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 unfolds
with great force in the blink of an eye
Qpage 146 .
A WARNING
A child in a rearward-facing child seat in­
stalled on the front passenger seat will be
-
A irbag system 15 5
seriously injured and can be killed if the
front airbag inflates -even w ith an Ad­
vanced A irbag System.
- The inflating airbag will hit 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 safety seat on the front passenger
seat because of exceptional c ircumstan­
ces and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on and s tay on, im­
mediately install the rearward-fac ing
child safety seat in a rear seating posi­
tion and have the airbag system inspect­
ed by your authorized Audi dealer.
A WARNING
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 pushed into you as the airbag
inflates.
- Never hold things in your 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 dangerous projec­
tiles that can cause ser ious personal in­
jury i f the a irbags inflate.
- Never p lace or a ttach accesso ries o r oth­
er objects (such as cup holders, te le­
phone brackets, large, heavy or bulky ob­
jects) on the doors, over or near the area marked "AIRBAG" on the steering wheel,
instrument panel, seat backrests or be­
tween those areas and yourself. These objects could cause injury 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 area of the s ide a irbag or
-
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160 Airbag system
Repair, care and disposal of the airbags
Parts of the airbag system are installed at
many different places on your Audi. Installing,
removing, servicing or repairing a part in an
area of the vehicle can damage a part of an
airbag system and prevent that system from
working properly in a collision.
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 pol­ lute the environment.
A WARNING
Improper care, servicing and repair proce­
dures can increase the risk of personal in­
jury and death by preventing an airbag from deploying when needed or deploying
an airbag unexpectedly:
- Never cover, obstruct, or change the
steering wheel horn pad or airbag cover
or the instrument panel or modify them
in any way.
- Never attach any objects such as cup
holders or telephone mountings to the
surfaces covering the airbag units.
- For cleaning the horn pad or instrument
panel, use only a soft, dry cloth or one
moistened with plain water. Solvents or
cleaners could 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 steering wheel, instru­
ment panel, front seats or electrical sys­
tem (including the installation of audio
equipment, cellular telephones and CB
radios, etc .) must be performed by a
qualified technician who has the training
and special equipment necessary.
- For any work on the airbag system, we
strongly recommend that you see your
authorized Audi dealer or qualified work­
shop. -
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 upholstery over the front seat­
backs that have not been specifically
approved by Audi.
- Never use additional seat cushions that
cover the areas where the side airbags
inflate.
- Damage to the original seat covers or
to the seam in the area of the side air­
bag module must always be repaired
immediately by an authorized Audi
dealer.
- The airbag system can deploy only once.
After an airbag has been deployed, it must be replaced with new replacement
parts designed and approved especially
for your Audi model version. Replace­
ment of complete airbag systems or air­
bag components must be performed by
qualified workshops only . Make sure that
any airbag service action is entered in
your Audi Warranty
& Maintenance book­
let under
AIRBAG REPLACEMENT RE­
CORD.
- For safety reasons in severe accidents,
the alternator and starter are separated
from the vehicle battery with a pyrotech­ nic circuit interrupter.
- Work on the pyrotechnic circuit inter­
rupter must only be performed by a
qualified technicians who have the ex­ perience, information and special tools
necessary to perform the work safely.
- If the vehicle or the circuit interrupter
is scrapped, all applicable safety pre­
cautions must be followed.
@) For the sake of the environment
Undeployed airbag modules and preten­
sioners might be classified as Perchlorate
Material -special handling may apply, see

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www.dtsc.ca.gov/hazardouswaste/per­chlorate. When the vehicle or parts of the
restraint system includ ing 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 serv ice 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-r im 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 electron ic 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 insta lled on your vehicle.
- Never use tire-rim combinations that
have not been approved by Audi.
Airbag system 161
Knee airbags
Description of knee airbags
Applies to vehicles: wi th knee airbags
The knee airbag system can provide supple­
mental protection to properly restrained
front seat occupants.
Fig. 133 Driver's kn ee airbag
The dr iver knee airbag is in the instrument
panel underneath the steering wheel
¢
fig. 133, 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 154, 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 be lt 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 135, General notes. ..,_

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Fully inflated airbags in combination with
properly worn safety belts slow down and lim­
it the occupant's forward movement and help
to reduce the risk of injury.
Important safety instructions on the
knee airbag system
A ppl ies to vehicles: with Knee airbags
Airbags are only supplemen tal restraints. 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
airbags to provide supplemental protection .
A WARNING
An inflating knee airbag can cause serious
injury. Wearing safety belts incorrectly and
improper seating positions increase the
risk 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.
- 4 inches (10 cm) between the knees
and the lower part of the instrument
panel.
- The 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
Airbag system 163
by being pushed into you as the airbag
deploys.
- Never let anybody, especially children
or animals 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 driver'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 children are incorrectly seated, their
risk of injury increases in a collision
~ page 170, Child Safety .
Side airbags
Description of side airbags
The airbag system can provide supplemental
protection to properly restrained occupants.
Fig. 135 S ide a irbag locatio n in the driver's seat
The side airbags are located in the sides of the
front seat backrests~
fig. 135 and the rear
backrest facing the doors.
The side airbags installed for the front seating
positions have been designed and certified to
help reduce the risk of injury that can be
IJJJ,