2015 AUDI S3 warning light

Airbag system 153
-Never remove the upholstery from the senger seat if the device is connected to
front passenger seat . the 12-volt socket or the cigarette light-
- Never disassemble or remove parts from er socket. Such devices can influence the
the seat or disconnect wires from it. capacitance registered by the capacitive
- Never carry sharp objects in your pockets passenger detection system, so that
in-
or put them on the seat. The capacitive correct information is provided to the air-
passenger detection mat in the front bag control unit
.
•
-If you must use a child restraint on the • passenger seat will not function properly
if it is punctured . front passenger seat and the child
re-
- Never carry things on your lap or carry straint manufacturer's instructions
re-
objects on the front passenger seat. quire the use of a
towel, foam cushion or
Such objects can influence the capaci -something else
to properly position the
tance registered by the capacitive pas- child restraint, make certain that the
senger detection system, so that incor-
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes
rect information is provided to the airbag on and stays on whenever the child re-
control unit. straint is installed on the front passen-
- Never store items under the front pas- ger seat.
senger seat. Parts of the Advanced Air- -
If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
bag System under the passenger seat does not come on and stay on, immedi-
could be damaged, preventing them and ately
install child restraint in a rear seat -
the airbag system from working proper- ing position and have the airbag system
ly. inspected by your Audi dealer
.
- Never place seat covers or replacement
A WARNING upholstery that have not been specifical-
ly approved by Audi on the front seats.
If the front passenger seat gets wet, dry it
- Seat covers can prevent the Advanced
immediately.
Airbag System from recognizing child re- -If liquid soaks into the front passenger
straints or occupants on the front pas-
seat, this can keep the airbag system
senger seat and prevent the side airbag from working properly and may, for in-
in the seat backrest from deploying prop- stance, deactivate the passenger frontal
erly .
airbag. If this happens, the
PASSENGER
-If a seat heater has been retrofitted or AIR BAG OFF light will come on and stay
otherwise added to the front passenger on together with the airbag indicator
seat, never install any child restraint sys-
light
fl in the instrument cluster.
tern on this seat. -If liquid is pooled on the seat, but has
- Never use cushions, pillows, blankets, or
not soaked in, this may also keep the air-
similar items on the front passenger bag system from working properly and
seat. The additional layers prevent the cause the passenger frontal airbag to be
capacitive passenger detection system
enabled (turned on), even though there
from accurately measuring the capaci-
is a properly installed child restraint sys-
tance of the child safety seat and/or the
tern on the seat. Wet towels or other wet
person on the seat and thus keep the Ad- things on the seat cushion can have the
vanced Airbag System from working same effect.
If the front passenger fron-
properly. tal airbag is turned on, the
PASSENGER
M -Never place or use any electrical device AIR BAG OFF light will go out. • N
0 > (such as a laptop, CD player, electronic co ,...., games device, power inverter or seat \!) 1.1"1
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heater for child seats) on the front pas-1.1"1 ,....,

154 Airbag system
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 saf ety be lts
with pretensioners and load limiters and the
adjus table head restr aints* 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 in this chapter .
Deployment of the Advanced Airbag System
and the activat ion of the safety belt preten­
sioners depend on the decelerat ion measured
by the crash senso rs and regis tered by the
e lectronic control u nit. Crash sever ity depends
on speed and deceleration as well as the mass
and stiffness of the vehicle or object involved
in the crash.
On the passenger side, regard less of safety
be lt use, the front passenger fronta l airbag
will be turned off i f the e lectrical capac itance
measured by the capacitive passenger detec­
tion system on the front passenge r seat is less
than the amount programmed in the electron­ ic control unit. The front passenger frontal air­
bag will also be turned off if the capacitance
measured by the system for the front passen­
ge r seat equa ls that of an infant of abo ut one
yea r of age i n one of the child sea ts that was
used to cer tify the Advanced Airbag System
under Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
208 . The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OF F light
comes on and stays on to tell you when the
front Advanced A irbag System on the passen­
ger s ide has been turned off¢
page 157.
A WARNING
To reduce the risk of injury when a n airbag
inflates, a lways wear safety belts properly .
- If you are unrestrained, leaning forward,
sitting sideways or out of position in any
way, your risk of inj ury is much higher.
- You wi ll also receive serious injuries and
could even be killed if you are up against
the a irbag or too close to it when it in- flates
-even w ith an Advanced A irbag
¢ page 144.
More important things to know about
front airbags
Fi g. 1 31 Inflated f ro nt a irba gs
-...
q :r:
iZ
Safety be lts are important to he lp keep front
seat occupants in the proper seated position
so that a irbags can unfold proper ly and pro­
vide supplemental protect ion in a frontal col­
lis ion .
The front airbags are designed 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,
- the seats have been positioned so that the
occupant is properly seated as far as poss i­
b le from the airbag ,
- and for ad justab le head restraints : the head
restraints have been properly adj usted .
Bec ause airbags inflate in the bli nk of an eye
with great force, th ings you have on your lap
or have p laced on the seat co uld become dan ­
gerous pro jecti les, and be p ushed into you if
the a irbag inf lates .
When an airbag deploys, fine dust is re leased.
T his is no rma l and is not caused by a fi re in
the vehicle . 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 while the
supplementa l airbag system is designed to re­
duce the like lihood of serious injur ies, other
injur ies, for examp le swelling, bruising and
minor abrasions, can also happen when air-
bags inflate . A irbags do not protect the arms
IIJI,

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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
-
•
•

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. .,..

_& WARNING
An airbag system that is not functioning
properly cannot provide supplemental pro­
tection in a frontal crash.
- If the airbag indicator light¢
page 21
turns on when the vehicle is being used,
have the system inspected immediately
by you r auth o riz ed Aud i dea le r. It is pos­
sible that the airb ag will inf late when it
is not s upposed to, or w ill not inflate
when it sho uld .
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
Fig. 13 2 Center console: passenger a irbag off warnin g
light
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OF F light is located
in the center of the instrument panel
¢fig. 132.
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light will come
on and stay on to tell yo u when the front Ad­
vanced A irbag on t he passenger side has been
turned off by the e lectronic control unit. If the
bulb for the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
burns out, the a irbag indicator light
fl w ill
come on to signal a malfunction in the Ad­
vanced A irbag System . Although the bur ned­
out b ulb will not cha nge the way the front
passenger's frontal airbag wor ks, it w ill no
l onge r be possib le to use the
PASSENGER AIR
BAG
OFF light to make sure that the airbag
on/off stat us is correct for the occupant on
the front passenger seat. Have the airbag sys­
tem inspected immed iate ly by your author-
~ ized Audi dealer.
0
iii The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light will blink rl
:5: for about 5 seconds when :
M l/1 rl
Airba g sy stem 15 7
- the ignition is sw itched on and
- t he capaci tive passenger detec tion system,
which switches the front seat passenger's
frontal Advanced Airbag on and off, detects a change in the status of the front passen­
ger seat.
As soon as the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light stops blink ing, a lways make sure that
the ai rbag status (on or off) as shown by the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light is proper for
the age, size and electrical capacitance of the
person occupying the front passenger seat.
Always make sure that the safety belt for the
front passenger seat is properly fastened.
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF l ight will
show the status of the front sea t passenger 's
fronta l Advan ced Airbag a fe w se conds after
th e ignition i s sw itched on and th e airbag in­
dicator light goes off. The PASSENGER AIR
BAG
OFF light :
- will stay on if the front passenger seat is not
occupied;
- will stay on if the electrical capacitance
meas ured by the capacitive passenge r de­
tect io n system for the fron t passenger s eat
equa ls the comb ined capacitance of an in­
fa nt up to about one year of age and one of
t he rearwa rd- facing or forward-fa cing ch ild
restraints listed in Fede ral Motor Vehicle
Safety Standard 208 with which the Ad­
vanced Airbag System in your vehicle was
cert ified; For a listing of the child restraints
that were used to certify your vehicle's com­
pliance w ith the U.S. Safety Standard
~page 172 .
-will go out if the fro nt passenge r seat is oc­
cupied by an adult as registered by the ca­
pacitive passenger detection system .
- The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light must
come on and stay on if the ignition is on
and ...
- a car bed has been installed on the front passenger seat, or
- a rearwa rd-facing child rest ra int has been
installed on the front passenger seat, or
- a forward-facing child restrai nt has been in-
stalled on the front passenger seat, .,,.

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on the front passenger seat that might cause the capa citive passenger detecti on
system to miscalcu late electrical capac i­
tance.
Important safety instructions on
monitoring the Advanced Airbag System
A WARNING
- If the status of the Adv a need Airb ag Sys­
tem has changed while the vehicle is
moving, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light b links for about S 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
PASSENGER AIR 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
seated and restrained at one of the rear seating pos it ions. Have the a irbag sys­
tem inspected by your authorized Audi
dealer before transporting anyone on the
front passenger seat .
A WARNING
An airbag system that is not funct ioning
properly cannot provide supplemental pro­
tection in a frontal crash.
- If the airbag indicator light
c> page 21
comes when the vehicle is be ing used,
have the system inspected immediately
by you r autho rized Aud i dea le r. It is pos­
sible that the a irbag will inf late when it
is not s upposed to, or w ill not inflate
when it sho uld.
A WARNING
If the front airbag infla tes, a ch ild witho ut
a child restraint, or in a rearward -facing
child safety seat, or in a forward-facing
child rest raint that has not been properly
installed will be serio usly injured and can
be killed.
-
A irbag system 159
-Even tho ugh you r vehicle is equipped
with an Advanced A irbag System, make
certa in that all children, espec ia lly 12
yea rs and younger, always ride on the
back seat prope rly rest rained for their
age and size .
- Always install forward o r rear-facing
child seats on the rear seat -even with
an Advan ced A irbag System.
- I f you must install a rearwa rd fac ing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat because of exceptional circumstan­
ces and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does no t come on an d stay on, im­
mediately insta ll 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 .
- If, in exceptiona l circumstances, you
m ust install a forward-fac ing ch ild re­
straint on the front passenger seat, al­
ways move the seat into its rearmost po­
sition in the seat's fore and aft adjust­
ment rang e, as fa r away from the a irbag
as poss ible. The backrest must be ad just­
ed to an upright pos ition. Make su re that
the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
comes on and stays on all the time when ­
eve r the ignit ion is switched on .
A\_ WARNING
-
-If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not go out when an a dult is sitting
on the front passenger seat after taking
the steps described above, make sure the adu lt is properly seated and restra ined at
one of the rea r seat ing pos itions .
- Have the airbag system inspected by
your Aud i dea le r before transporting
a nyone on the front passenger sea t.
(D Tips
If the capacitive passenger detection sys ­
tem determ ines 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 ligh t will s tay
on. •
•
•

162 Airbag system
Remember too, airbags will deploy only once
and on ly in certain k inds of accidents -your
safety belts are always there to offer protec­
tion in those accidents in which airbags are
not supposed to deploy or when they have al­
ready deployed, for example when your veh i­
cle strikes or is struck by another after the
first coll is ion .
This is just one of the reasons why an airbag is
not a substitute for the safety belt . The airbag
system works most effectively when used with
the safety belts . Therefore, always wear your
safety be lts correctly .
It is important to remember that while the
supplemental knee airbag system is designed
to reduce the likelihood of serious injuries,
other injuries , for example , swell ing, bruising
and minor abrasions and friction burns can al­
so occur when an airbag inflates.
The knee airbag system basically consists
of:
- The elec tronic con trol module
- T wo inflatab le airbags (airbag and gas gen-
erator), one fo r the driver and one for the
front passenger
- T he airbag indicator light in the instrument
panel
The knee airbag system will not deploy:
-when the ign ition is switched off
- in frontal collisions when the deceleration
measured by the control unit is too low
- in side collisions
- in rear-end collisions
- in rollovers
- i n the event of a system malfunction (warn-
i ng/indicator light is on)
Q page 21.
.8, WARNING
-Safety belts and the airbag system can
only provide protection when occupants
are in the proper seating posit ion
Q page 154.
-If the airbag indicator light¢ page 21
comes when the vehicle is be ing used,
have the system inspected immediately
-
by your authorized Audi dealer. It is pos­
sible that the airbag will inflate when it
is not supposed to, or will not inflate
when it should .
How knee airbags work
Applies to vehicles: wi th knee airbags
The risk of injury to the leg area can be re ­
duced by fully inflated knee airbags.
Fig . 134 Inflated a irbags protecting in a fronta l co lli­
sion
The knee airbag system has been designed so
that the airbags for the driver and front pas ­
senger deploy in certa in but not all frontal
collisions.
If the front airbags dep loy, the knee airbags
also dep loy in frontal collisions when the de­
ployment threshold stored in the control unit
is met.
When the system deploys, the airbags fill
with a compressed propellant gas, and inf late
between the lower part of the instrument
panel and the driver and the lower part of the
instrument panel and the front passenger
Qpage 154, fig. 131 .
Although they are not a soft pillow, they can
"cushion" the impact and in th is way they can
help to reduce the risk of injury to the lower
extremit ies .
All of th is takes place in the blink of an eye, so
fast that many people don't even realize that
the a irbags have deployed . The airbags also
i nflate with a great deal of force and it is im­
portant for occupant safety that nothing
shou ld be in their way when they deploy. ..,.

164 Airbag sys te m
caused by airbags when they inflate, particu ­
l ar ly when the occupant sitting next to it is
not seated proper ly. The s ide a irbag for the
front passenger seat can be used with proper­ ly installed child restraints. Please be sure to
read the important information and warnings
wheneve r us ing a ch ild restrai nt in a vehicle:
Safety belts~
page 135, Airbag system
~ page 144, Child safety ~ page 170.
The si de ai rbag system ba sically con sists of:
- the e lectronic control module and external
s ide impact sensors
- the two airbags located in the sides of the
front backrests and the two airbags* located
in the rear backrest
- the airbag warning light in the instrument
cluster.
The airbag system is monitored elect ronica lly
to make certain that it is functioning properly
at all times . Each time you switch on the igni­
tion, the airbag system indicator light will
come on for a few seconds (self diagnostics).
T he side airbag system supplements the safe­
ty belts and can help to reduce t he risk of in­
jury to the driver's, front and rear passenger 's
upper torso on the side of the vehicle that is
struck in a side collision . The airbag deploys
only in s ide impacts and o nly when the veh icle
acceleration registered by the control un it is
h igh enough . If this rate is below the refer­
ence va lue programmed into the control u nit,
the side airbags will not be triggered , even
though the ca r may be badly damaged as a re ­
sult of the collision . It is not possible to de­
f ine an a irbag tr igger ing range that will cover
every possible angle of impact, since the cir­
cumstances will vary considerably between
one co llision and another . Important factors
include, for examp le, the nature (hard or soft)
of the impacting object, the ang le of impact ,
ve hicl e speed, etc.
~ page 165, Impor tant
safety instructions on the side airbag system.
Aside from the ir normal safety function, safe­
ty belts work to he lp keep the driver or front
passenger in position in the event of a side collision so that the side airbags can provide
protection.
T he airbag system is
not a substi tute for you r
sa fety belt . Rather, it is part o f the overa ll oc­
c u pant restra int system in you r vehicle . A l­
ways remember that the side airbag system can only help to protect you if you are wearing
your safety belt and wearing it proper ly. This
is another reason why you should always wear
your safety belts, not just because the law re ­
quires you to do so~
page 135, General
notes.
I t is important to remember that w hile the
supplementa l side airbag system is designed
to reduce the likelihood of ser ious inju ries,
other injur ies, for example, swelling, bru is ing ,
fr iction burns and m ino r abrasions can a lso be
associated w ith dep loyed side airbags. Re­
member too, side a irbags w ill dep loy on ly
once and on ly in ce rtain kinds of accidents -
your safety belts a re always the re to offer pro­
tection .
Vehicle damage , repair costs or even the lack
of ve hicle damage are not necessarily an indi ­
cation of over-sensitive or failed airbag activa­
t ion. In some coll is ions, both front and side
airbags may inflate. Remember too, that air­
bags will deploy only once and only in certain
k inds of collisions -your safety belts are a l­
ways the re to offer p rotection in those acc i­
dents in which airbags are not supposed to
deploy or when they have a lready deployed .
The side airbag system will not deploy:
-when the ignit ion is switched off
- in side co llisions when the acceleration
measured by t he senso r is too low
- in front-end collisions
- in rear-end co llisions
- in rollove rs .
In some types of accidents the front airbags,
s ide cu rtain airbags and s ide a irbags may be
t rigge red togethe r.
Iii>