....,
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rl I.O
"' ....,
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_& WARNING
Never unfasten safety belt while the vehi
cle is movi ng . Doing so will increase your
r isk of being injured or killed .
Adjusting the safety belt latch tongue
Fig. 127 Safety be lt: la tc h ton gue clip (exa mple)
.. Slide the cl ip so that you can easi ly reach the
belt latch when putt ing the safety belt on.
Adjusting safety belt height
With the aid of the safety belt height adjust
ment , the three point safety belt strap rout
ing can be fitted to the shoulder area, accord
ing to body size.
Fi g. 12 8 Safety be lt heig ht ad justment fo r th e fro nt
seats -loop -arou nd fitt ings
;g 0 0 6
" m
The sho ulder belt should lie as close to the
center of the collar bone as possib le and
should fit well on t he body
c::> A in Safety belt
position on page 140 .
.. Push
the loop-a round fittings up c::> fig . 128
@ , or
.. squee ze together the (D button, and push
the loop-around fitt ings down @.
Safety belts 141
.. Pull the belt to make sure that the uppe r at
tachment is proper ly engaged .
A WARNING
Always read and heed all WARNI NGS and
other important information
c::> page 138 .
{I) Tips
With the front seats, the height a djust
ment of the seat can also be used to ad just
the position of the sa fety belts.
Improperly worn safety belts
Incorrectly positioned safety belts can cause
severe injuries.
Wea ring sa fety belts improper ly can cause se
rious injury or deat h. Safety belts can o nly
wor k when they are correctly positioned on
the body. Imprope r seating positions reduce
the effectiveness of safety be lts and will even
increase t he risk of injury and death by mov
ing the safety be lt to crit ica l areas of the
body . Improper seating positions also in
cr ease the r is k of se rio us injury a nd death
whe n an airbag dep loys and st rikes an occu
pan t who is no t in the co rrec t seating posi
t ion . A driver is respons ible for the safety of
all vehicle occupants and especially for chil
dren. Therefore :
.. Never perm it anyone to assume an incor re ct
sitt ing pos ition in the vehicle while trave ling
c::> A .
A WARNING
Im properly worn safety be lts i ncrease the
risk of serious persona l injury and death
wheneve r a ve hicle is being used.
- Always make s ure t hat all vehicle occ u
pa nts are co rrectly restra ined and stay in
a co rrect seati ng position whenever the
veh icle is being us ed .
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS a nd
other impo rtant informat ion
c::> page 138.
144 Airbag sys tem
Airbag system
Important things to know
Importance of wearing safety belts and
sitting properly
Airbags are only supplemental restraints. For
airbags to do their job , occupants must 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, a lways:
• Adjust the driver's seat and steering wheel
properly ¢
page 126,
• adjust the front passenger's seat properly
¢ page 57,
• Wear safety be lts properly ¢ page 138,
• Always properly use the proper child re-
stra int to protect children¢
page 170.
In a collision, airbags must inflate within the
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 . Therefore in order to he lp the
a ir bag to do its job, it is important, both as a
d river and as a passenge r to sit prope rly at all
times.
By keeping room between your body and the
steering wheel and the front of the passenge r
compartment, the airbag ca n inflate fully and
comp letely and provide supp lemental protec
tion in ce rtain frontal collisions¢
page 126,
Proper occupant seating positions .
For detai ls
on the operation of the seat adjustment con
t rols ¢
page 57.
It's especially important that children a re
properly restrained ¢
page 170.
There is a lot that the driver and the passen
gers can and must do to help the individua l
safety features installed in your A udi work to
gether as a system.
P rope r seat ing pos ition is important so that
the front airbag on the drive r side can do its
job. If yo u have a physical impa irment or con- dition that prevents yo
u from sitting properly
o n the driver seat with the safety belt properly
fastened and reaching the pedals , or if you
have concerns with regard to the function or
operation of the Advanced Airbag System ,
please contact your author ized Audi dealer or
qualified workshop, o r call Audi Customer Re
lations at 1-800-822-2834 fo r poss ible modi
fica tions to your ve hicle.
When the airbag system deploys, a gas gener
ator will f il l the a irbags, break open t he pad
ded cove rs, and inflate between the steering
whee l and the dr iver and between the instru
ment pane l and the fron t passenger. The a ir
bags will deflate immediately after dep loy
ment so tha t the front occupants can see
t hr ough the windshie ld again witho ut inter
ruption .
All of th is takes p lace in the b link o f an eye, so
fast that many peop le don't even realize tha t
the airbags have deployed. The airbags a lso
inflate with a great dea l of force and nothing
shou ld be in their w ay when they deploy.
Front a irbags in combination with properly
wor n safety belts slow down and lim it the oc
cupant's forward movement . T ogether they
help to prevent the drive r and front seat pas
senger from hitting pa rts of the inside of t he
vehicle while reducing the forces acting on the
occupant dur ing the crash . In this way they
help to reduce the risk of injury to the head
and upper body in the crash. A irbags do not
protect the arms or the lower parts of the
body.
Both front airbags wi ll not inflate in all fronta l
collisions . The triggering of the airbag system
depends on the vehicle dece lerat ion rate
ca used by the co llision and registered by the
electron ic control unit. If th is rate is below
the reference value programmed into the con
t rol unit , the airbags will not be trigge red,
even though the car may be badly damaged as
a res ult of the co llision . Ve hicl e damage, re
pair costs o r even the lack of ve hicle damage
is not necessari ly an indication of whe ther an
airbag shou ld inflate or not .
IJll-
Airbag system 145
Since the circumstances will vary considerab ly
also at greater risk of injury or death
between on e collision and another , it is not
through contact with an inflating airbag .
possible to define a range of veh icle speeds
-If you are unrestrained, leaning forward,
that will cover every possible k ind and angle
sitting sideways or out of position in any
of impact that will always trigger the a irbags .
way, your risk of injury is much higher.
Important factors include, for example, the -You will a lso receive serious injuries and
nature (hard or soft) of the object which the could even be killed if you are up against
•
car h its, the ang le of impact, vehicle speed ,
• the airbag or too close to it when it in-
etc. The front airbags will a lso not inflate in
flates - even with an Advanced A irbag.
side or rea r collisions, or in ro ll-overs .
-To reduce the risk of injury when an air-
Alwa ys re memb er: Airbags will deploy only bag inflates, always wear safety belts
once, and only in certa in kinds of co llisions. properly
c::;, page 138, Safety belts
.
Your safety belts are always there to offe r pro- -
Always make certain that ch ildren age 12
tection in those s ituations in which airbags or younger always ride in the rear seat. If
are not s upposed to deploy , or when they have children a
re not properly restrained , they
already deployed ; for example , when your ve- may be severe
ly inju red or killed when an
hide strikes or is struck by another vehicle af- airbag inf
lates.
ter the first collision . -
Never let ch ildren ride un restra ined o r
This is just one of the reasons why an a irbag is improperly restrained
in the vehicle . Ad-
just the front sea ts prope rly.
a supp lementary restraint and is not a s ubsti -
-Never ride with the back rest reclined .
tute for a safety belt . The airbag system
-Always sit as far as possible from the
works most effect ively when used with the
steering whee l or the instrument panel
safety belts. Therefore, always properly wear
c::;, page 126 . your safety belts c::;, page 135 .
- Always sit upright with your back against
A WARNING the backrest of yo ur seat.
- Never p lace your feet on the instrument
Sitting too close to the steer ing whee l or
panel or on the seat . Always keep both
instrument panel will dec rease the effec-
feet on the floor in front of the seat to
tiveness of the airbags and will inc rease
help prevent serious in ju ries to the legs
the risk of pe rsonal injury in a co llision.
and hips if the airbag deploys.
- Never si t closer than 10 inches (2S cm)
-Never recline the front passenger's sea t
to the stee ring wheel or instr ument pan-
to transport objects. Items can a lso
el. move into the area of the s ide a irb ag or
- If you cannot si t mo re than 10 inches
the front airbag during bra king or in a
( 2 5 cm) from the steer ing whee l, investi-
sudden maneuver. Objects near the air-
ga te whethe r adap tive equipmen t may
bags can become projectiles and cause
be available to help you reach the pedals injury when an airbag inflates.
and increase your seating distance from
the steering wheel.
A WARNING
- All veh icle occupants and especia lly chil -
dren m ust be restrained properly when- A
irbags that have deployed in a crash must
ever riding in a vehicle . An unrestra ined be replaced.
or improperly restrained child could be -
Use on ly orig inal equipment airbags ap-
M injured by striking the inter ior or by be- proved by Audi and installed by a trained • N technician who has the necessary too
ls ~ 0 ing ejected from the vehicle during a > co sudden maneuver or impact . An unre-,...., \!) ..,., strained or imp roperly rest rained child is M ..,., ,....,
146 Airbag sys te m
and dia gnostic equipmen t to pro perly re
place any a irbag in y our vehicle and
assure system eff ectiveness in a crash.
- Never permit salvaged or recycle d air
bags to be installed in your veh icle.
Child restraints on the front seat - some
important things to know
~ Be sure to read the important informat ion
and heed the WARNINGS for important de
ta ils about ch ild ren and Advanced Airbags
Qpage 170.
Even though your vehicle is equ ipped with an
Advanced Airbag System, make certain that
all c hildren, especially those 12 years and
younger, a lways ride in the back seat properly
restrained for their age and size . The airbag
on the passenger side makes the front seat a potentially dangerous place for a child to ride.
The front seat is not the safest place for a
child in a forward-facing child seat. It can be a
ve ry dangerous place for an infant or a ch ild in
a rearward-facing seat.
The Advanced Airbag System in your veh icle
has been certified to comply with the require
ments of United States Federal Motor Veh icle
Safety Standard 208 as applicable at the time
your ve hicle was manufactured.
The Standard requires the front a irbag on the
passenger side to be turned off ("sup
p ressed") if a ch ild up to about one year of
age restra ined in one of the rear-facing o r fo r
ward-facing infan t restra ints listed in Federal
M otor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 with w hich
the Advanced A irbag System in your vehicle
was certified has been installed on the front
passenger seat. Fo r a listing of the child re
straints that were used to certify compliance
with the US Safety Standard
Q page 172.
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light in the in
strument panel te lls you when the front Ad
vanced Airbag on the passenger side has been turned off by the e lectronic control unit. E
ach time you switch on the ignition, the
PAS
SENGER AIR BAG O FF
light will come on for a
few seconds and :
- w ill stay on if the front passenge r seat is not
occupied,
- w ill stay on if the e lec trica l ca pa citance
meas ured by the capacitive passenger de
tection system for the front passenger seat equa ls the combined capacitance of an in
fant up to about one year of age and one of
the rearward-facing or forward-fac ing ch ild
restraints listed in Federal Motor Vehicle
Safety Standard 208 with wh ich the Ad
vanced Airbag System in your vehicle was
cert ified . For a listing of the chi ld restraints
tha t were used to certify you r vehi cle's com
p lia nce w it h t he U.S. Safety Standard
Q page 172.
-w ill stay on i f there is a small ch ild or child
restraint on the front passenge r seat,
- will go off if the front passenger seat is oc
cupied by an adult as registered by the ca
pacitive passenger de tection system
c::> page 156, Monitoring the Advanced Air·
bag System.
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
when e lectrica l capacitance registered on the
front passenger seat is eq ua l to or less tha n
the comb ined capacitance of a typica l 1 year
o ld infant and one of the rearward-facing or
forward-facing chi ld restraints listed in Feder
al Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 with
wh ich the Advanced Airbag System in your ve
hicle was certified.
If the total electr ica l capacitance registered
on the front passenger seat is more than that
of a typical 1 year -o ld child but less than the
weight of a small adult , the front airbag on
t h e passenger side can deploy (the
PASSEN
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on).
If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not come on, the front airbag on the passen
ger side has not been turned off by t he e lec
t ro ni c cont ro l unit and can deploy if the con
t ro l uni t se nses an impact tha t mee ts the con-
di tions stored in its memory .
1J1>
M N
0 > co ,...., \!) ..,.,
M ..,., ,....,
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
•
•
•
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
ll-
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.
-
156 Airbag sys te m
the front airbag during braking or in a
sudden maneuver. Objects near the air
bags can become project iles and cause
injury, part icularly when the seat is re
cl ined.
- Never place or transport objects on the
front passenger seat . Objects on the
front passenger seat could cause the ca pacitive sensor in the seat to s ignal to
airbag system that t he seat is occupied
by a person when it in fa ct is not, o r that
the person on the seat is heavie r than he
or she actually is. The change in electric
capacitance because of such objects can
cause the passenger front a irbag to be
turned on when it sho uld be off, or can
cause the airbag to work in a way that is
different from the way it wou ld have
worked w ithout ob jects on the seat.
- Always make sure that there is nothing
on the front passenge r seat that will
cause the capacitive passenge r detection
sys tem in the seat to s ignal to t he A irbag
System th at the se at i s oc cupied by a
person when i t is not, or to signa l that it
is occupied by someone who is heavier
than the person actually sitting on t he
seat. The presence of an object co uld
cause the passenger front a irbag to be
turned on when it sho uld be off, or could
cause the airbag to work in a way that is
differe nt from the way it wou ld have
wor ked w ithout the object on the seat.
A WARNING
Th e fine dust created when a irbags dep loy
c an ca u se b reathing problems for peop le
w ith a his to ry o f asthma o r othe r bre at h
ing conditions .
- T o reduce the r is k of b reathing prob lems ,
those wit h asthma or o ther resp iratory
conditions should ge t fresh a ir r ight
away by gett ing out of the vehicle o r
opening windows or doo rs .
- If you are in a coll is ion in which ai rbags
deploy, wash your hands and face w ith
mild soap and water befo re eat ing. -
Be ca reful not to get the dust into your
eyes, or into any c uts or scratches.
- If the resid ue s hould get into your eyes,
f lush them w ith wate r.
Monitoring the
Advanced Airbag
System
tli Airbag monitor ing indicator light
Two separate indicators monitor the function
of the Advanced Airbag System: the airbag
monitoring indicator light and the
PASSEN
GER AIR BAG OFF
light.
The Advanced Airbag System as well as the
s ide airbags and side curta in a irbags w ith
eject ion mit igat ion features (including the
electron ic contro l unit, se nsors a nd system
wiring) are all mon itored continuously to
make su re that they are functioning p roperly
whenever the ignition is on. Eve ry time you
tu rn o n the ignition, the a irbag sys tem indica
tor light
II w ill come on fo r a few seconds
(funct ion check) .
The system must be inspected when the
indicator light
II:
- does not come on when the igni tion is
sw itched on,
- does not go out a few seconds after you
have switched on the ignit ion, or
- comes on while driv ing.
If an airbag system malfunction is detected,
the indicator lig ht w ill first sta rt flashing to
catch t he d rive r's attent io n and the n stay on
conti nuously to serve as a constant rem inder
to have the sys tem inspected immed iate ly.
If a malfunction occurs that tu rns the front
airbag on the passenge r side off, the
PASSEN
GER AIR BAG OFF
light will come on and stay
o n wheneve r th e ign it io n is on. .,..