2015 AUDI S3 SEDAN airbag off

Airbag system
Airbag system
Important information
Importance of wearing safety belts and
sitting properly
Airbags are only supplemental restraints . For
airbags to do their job, occupants must always
properly wear their safety belts and be in a prop­ er seating position.
For your safety and the safety of your passen­
gers, befo re driving off, always:
"' Adjust the driver's seat and steering wheel
properly
Q page 131,
"'Adjust the front passenger's seat properly
Qpage 54,
"'Wear safety be lts properly C? page 142,
"'Always properly use the proper child restraint
to protect children
Qpage 172.
In a coll is ion, airbags must inflate within the
blink of an eye and with considerable force. The
supp lemental airbags can cause injuries if the
driver or the front seat passenger is not seated
properly . Therefore in order to he lp the airbag to
do its job, it is important, both as a driver and as
a passenger to sit properly at all times.
By keeping room between your body and the
steering whee l and the front of the passenger
compartment, the airbag can inflate fully and
completely and provide supplemental protection
in certain frontal collisions
c> page 131, Correct
passenger seating positions.
Fo r details on the
operation of the seat adjustment controls
c>page54.
It's especially important that children are proper­
ly restrained
Qpage 172.
There is a lot that the driver and the passengers
can and must do to help the individual safety fea­
tures installed in your Audi work together as a
system .
Proper seat ing position is important so that the
front airbag on the driver side can do its job. If
you have a phys ical impairment or condition that
prevents you from sitt ing properly on the dr iver
seat with the safety be lt properly fastened and
148
reaching the pedals, or if you have concerns with
regard to the function or operation of the Ad­
vanced Airbag System, please contact your au­
thori zed Audi dea ler or qualified workshop, or
call Audi Customer Relations at 1-800-822-2834
for possible modifications to your vehicle.
When the airbag system dep loys, a gas generator
will fill the airbags, break open the padded cov­
ers, and inflate between the steering wheel and
the driver and between the instrument panel and
the front passenger . The air bags w ill deflate im­
med iate ly after deployment so that the front oc­
cupants can see through the windshield again
without interruption.
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 inf late
with a grea t deal of force and nothing should be
in their way when they dep loy. Front airbags in
combination with properly worn safety belts s low
down and limit the occupant's forward move­
ment . Together they he lp to prevent the driver
and front seat passenger from hitting parts of
the inside of the vehicle while reducing the forces
acting on the occupant during the crash . In this
way they help to reduce the risk of injury to the
head and upper body in the crash . Airbags do not
protect the a rms or the lower parts of the body.
Both front a irbags w ill not inflate in all fronta l
collisions . The triggering of the airbag system de­
pends on the veh icle deceleration rate caused by
the collis ion and registered by the electronic con ­
trol unit. If th is rate is below the reference val ue
programmed into the control unit, the airbags
will not be triggered , even though the car may be
badly damaged as a result of the collision . Vehi ­
cle damage, repair costs or even the lack of vehi­
cle damage is not necessarily an indication of
whether an a irbag should inflate or not.
Since the circumstances will vary considerably between one co llision and another, it is not possi­
ble to define a range of vehicle speeds that will
cover every possible kind and angle of impact
that w ill always trigger the airbags . Important
factors include, for example, the nature (hard or
soft) of the object wh ic h the car hits, the angle of
i mpact, vehicle speed, etc. The front airbags will .,.

M N
0 > co ,...., \!) 1.1'1
1.1'1
1.1'1
,....,
also not inflate in side or rear co llisions, or in roll­
overs .
Alwa ys rememb er: Airbag s wi ll deploy on ly once,
and on ly in cer tain kinds of collisions. Your safety
b e lts a re a lways there to offer protection in those
situations in which airbags are not supposed to
deploy, or when they have already deployed; for
examp le, when your vehicle str ikes or is struck by
another vehicle after the first collision.
This is just one of the reasons why an airbag is a
supp lementary restraint and is not a substitute
for a safety belt. The airbag system works most
effectively when used w ith the safety belts.
Therefore, always properly wear your safety belts
c::>page 140.
A WARNING
Sitting too close to the steer ing whee l o r in­
strument panel will decrease the effect ive­
ness of the airbags and will increase the risk
o f persona l injury in a coll is ion .
- Never sit closer than 10 inches (25 cm) to
the steering wheel or instrument panel.
- If you cannot sit more than 10 inches
(25 cm) from the steer ing whee l, investi­
gate whethe r adaptive equipment may be
available to help yo u reach the peda ls and
increase your seating distance from the
steering wheel.
- All veh icle occupants and especially children
must be restrained properly whenever riding
in a vehicle. An unrestrained or improperly
restrained child cou ld be injured by striking
the inte rior or by being ejected from the ve­
hicle during a sudden maneuver or impact.
An unrestrained or improperly restrained
child is also at greater risk of injury o r death
thro ugh contact wi th an infla ting airbag.
- If you are unrestrained, lean ing fo rward, sit­
t ing s ideways o r ou t of position in any way,
yo ur risk of in jury is much highe r.
- You w ill also receive serio us inju ries and
c ou ld even be killed if you are up against the
airbag or too close to it when it in flates -
even with an Advanced Ai rbag .
-
Airbag syste m
- To reduce the risk of injury when an a irbag
inflates, always wear safety belts properly
c::> page 143, Safety belts.
- Always make certain that ch ildren age 12 or
younger always ride in the rear seat. If chil­
dren a re not properly restrained, they may
be severe ly injured or killed when an a irbag
inflates.
- Never let ch ildren ride unrestrained or im­
properly rest rained in the vehicle . Ad just the
front seats p roperly .
- Never ride with the backrest reclined.
- Always sit as far as possible from the steer-
ing wheel or the instrument panel
c::> page 131.
- Always sit upright with your back against
the backrest of your seat .
- Never p lace your feet on the instrument
panel or on the seat. Always keep both feet
on the floor in front of the seat to help pre­
vent serious injur ies to the legs and hips if
the airbag inflates.
- Never recli ne the front passenger 's seat to
transport objects. Items can also move into
the area of the side airbag or the front air­
b ag during bra king or in a sudden maneu­
ver . Ob je cts near the airbags can become
p rojectiles and ca use inj ury when an airbag
inflates.
A WARNING
Airbags that have deployed i n a crash must be
replaced.
- Use on ly original equipment airbags ap­
proved by Aud i and installed by a trained
technician who has the necessary too ls and
d iagnostic equipment to properly rep lace
any airbag in your vehicle and assure system
effectiveness in a crash.
- Never permit salvaged or recycled airbags to
be installed in you r vehicle.
Child restraints on the front seat - some
important things to know
.,. Be s ure to read the importa nt information and
heed the WARNI NGS for important detai ls
149

Airbag system
about children and Advanced Airbags
¢page 172.
Even though your vehicle is equipped with an Ad­
vanced Airbag System, make certain that all chi l­
dren, especially those 12 years and younger, al­
ways 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 very dangerous place for an in­
fant or a child in a rearward-facing seat.
The Advanced Airbag System in your veh icle has
been certified to comply w ith the requirements
of United States Federal Motor Veh icle Safety
Standard
208 as applicable at the time your vehi­
cle was manufactured.
The Standard requires the front airbag on the
passenger side to be turned off ("suppressed") if
a child up to about one year of age restrained in
one of the rear-facing or forward -facing infant re­
s traints listed in Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standard 208 with which the Advanced Airbag
System in your vehicle was certified has been in ­
stalled on the front passenger seat. For a listing
of the ch ild restraints that were used to certify
compliance with the US Safety Standard
¢page 174.
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light in the instru­
ment panel tells you when the front Advanced
Airbag on the passenger side has been turned off by the electron ic control unit .
Each time yo u switch on the ignit ion, the
PAS·
SENGER AIR BAG OFF
light will come on for a
few seconds and:
- will stay on if the front passenger seat is not
occupied,
- will stay on if the electrical capacitance meas ­
ured by the capacitive passenger detection sys­
tem for the front passenger seat equals the combined capacitance of an infant up to about
one year of age and one of the rearward-facing
or forward-facing child restraints listed in Fed ­
eral Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
208 with
which the Advanced Airbag System in your vehi­
cle was cert ified. For a listing of the child re-
150
straints that were used to certify yo ur vehicle's
compliance with the U.S. Safety Standard
¢page 174.
-wi ll stay on if there is a small chi ld or child re­
straint on the front passenger seat,
- wi ll go off if the front passenger seat is occu ­
pied by an adu lt as registered by the capacitive
passenger detection system
¢ page 160, Mon­
itoring the Advanced Airbag System.
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
when electrical capacitance registered on the
front passenger seat is eq ua l to or less than the
combined capacitance of a typical
1 year-o ld in­
fant and one of the rearward-facing or forward­
facing child restraints listed in Federal Motor Ve­
hicle Safety Standard
208 with wh ich the Ad­
vanced Airbag System in your vehicle was certi­
fied.
If the total e lectr ica l capacitance registered on
the front passenger seat is more than that of a
typ ica l 1 year-old child but less than the weight
of a sma ll adult, the front airbag on the passe n­
ger side can deploy (the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light does not come on).
If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not
come on, the front airbag on the passenger side
has not been turned off by the electronic contro l
unit and can deploy if the control un it senses an
impact that meets the cond itions stored in its
memory.
For example, the airbag may deploy if:
-a small ch ild that is heavier than a typical 1
year-old chi ld is on the front passenger seat (re­
gardless of whethe r the child is in one of the
child seats listed
¢page 174), or
- a child who has outgrown chi ld restraints is on
the front passenger seat .
If the front passenger airbag is turned off, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on in the
i nst rument cluster and stays on.
If the front passenger airbag dep loys, the Federal
Standa rd requires the airbag to meet the "low
risk" deployment criteria to reduce the risk of in­
jury through interaction with the airbag. "Low
risk" deployment occurs in those crashes that

M N
0 > co ,...., \!) 1.1'1
1.1'1
1.1'1
,....,
take place at lowe r decelerations as defined in
the electronic contro l unit ¢
page 160, PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG OFF light.
Always remember, a chi ld seat or infant carrie r
installed on the front seat may be struck and
knocked out of position by the rapidly inflating
passenger's a irbag in a frontal collision . The air­
bag could greatly reduce the effectiveness of the
child restraint and even ser iously injure the ch ild
during inflation .
For this reason, and because the back seat is the
safest place for ch ildren -when properly restrain­
ed according to their age and s ize -we strongly
recommend that ch ild ren always s it in the back
seat
¢ page 172, Child safety .
A WARNING
A child in a rearward-facing child seat instal­
led on the front passenger seat w ill be seri­
ously in jured and can be killed if the front air­
bag inflates -even with an Advanced Airbag
System.
- T he inflating a irbag w ill hit the child seat or
infant carrier w ith great force and will
smash the child seat and child against the
backrest, center armrest, door or roof.
-
- Always install rear -facing child seats on the
rear seat.
- If you mus t install a rearward facing child
seat on the front passenger seat beca use of
exceptional circ umstances and the
PASSEN ·
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on
and stay on, immediately install the rear­
facing child seat in a rear seating position
and have the a irbag system inspected by
yo ur Audi dealer.
- Forward-fac ing ch ild seats installed on the
front passenger's seat may interfere with
the deployment of the airbag and cause se­ rious persona l injury to t he ch ild.
A WARNING
If, in exceptional c ircumstances, you mus t in­
stall a forward-facing ch ild restraint on the
front passenger's seat :
- Always make sure the forward-fac ing seat
h as been designed and ce rtified by i ts man-
Airbag syste m
ufacturer for use on a front seat with a pas­
senger front and s ide a irbag.
- Never put t he fo rward-facing child restraint
up aga inst or very near the instrument pan­
el.
- Always move the passenge r seat into its
rearmost pos ition in the seat's fore and aft
ad justment range, as far away from the a ir­
bag as possible before installing the for­
ward-facing child restraint. The backrest
m ust be adjusted to an upr ight position .
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
li ght comes on and stays on all the time
wheneve r the ignit ion is switched on.
A WARNING
= -To reduce the risk of serious inju ry, ma ke su re
that t he
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF ligh t will
b e d isplayed whenever a ch ild restr aint is in­
stalled on the front passenger seat and the
ignition is switched on.
- If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not stay on, pe rform the checks describe d
~ page 160, Monitoring the Advanced Air ·
bag System.
-Take the chi ld restraint off the front passen­
ge r seat and install it properly at one of the
rea r seat positions if the
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
light does not stay on.
- Have the airbag system inspected by your
Aud i dealer immediately.
- Always carefu lly follow instr uctions from
child restraint manufacturers when instal­
ling child restraints.
A WARNING
If, in except ional circumstances, you m ust in­
stall a forward or rearward-fac ing ch ild re­
straint on the front passenger's seat:
- Improper installation of ch ild restra ints can
red uce their effectiveness or even prevent
them from providing any pro tect ion.
- An improperly installed ch ild restra int can
interfere with the airbag as it deploys and
serio usly injure or even kill the child -even
with an Advanced A irbag Sys tem.
~
151

Airb ag syst em
-Always carefully follow the manufacturer's
instructions provided with the child seat or
carr ier.
- Always make sure that there is nothing on
the front passenger seat that will cause the
capacit ive 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 signa l that it is occupied by some­
one who is heav ier than the person actually
sitting on the seat. The presence of addi­
tional objects could cause the passenger
front a irbag 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 occu­
pants.
F ig. 128 Location of d river ai rbag: in steeri ng w heel
F ig. 129 Location of fro nt passenger's a irbag: in the i nstru­
m ent pane l
Your vehicle is equipped w ith an "Advanced Air­
bag System" in compliance with United States
152
Federa l Moto r Vehicle Safety Standard
(FMVSS) 208 as applicable at the time your vehi­
cle was manufactured. The safety be lts for the
seats have "pretensioners" that help to take slack
out of the belt system. The pretensioners are also
activated by the electronic control unit for the
airbag system.
The front safety belts also have load lim iters to
help reduce the forces applied to the body in a
crash .
The airbag for the driver is in the steering wheel
hub ¢
fig. 128 and the airbag for the front pas­
senger is in the instrument panel¢
fig. 129. The
genera l location of the airbags is marked ''AIR ­
BAG ".
There is a lot you need to know about the a irbags
in your vehicle. We urge you to read the detailed
information about airbags, safety belts and child
safety in this and the other chapte rs that make
up the owner's literature . Please be sure to heed
the WARN INGS - they are extremely important
for your safety and the safety of your passengers,
especially infants and small children .
A WARNING -
Never rely on airbags alone for protection.
- Even when they deploy, airbags provide only
supp lemental p rotection.
- Airbag wor k most effective ly when used
w it h properly worn safety belts.
- Therefore, alw ays wea r your safe ty belts and
ma ke sure that everybody in your vehicle is
properly rest rained.
- Always hold the s teer ing whee l w ith bo th
hands on the outside of the steer ing whee l
r im at the 9:00 o'clock and 3:00 o'clock po ­
sitions to help reduce the r isk of persona l in­
jury 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
steer ing whee l hub. Hold ing the steer ing
wheel the wrong way increases the risk of
severe in jury to the arms, hands , and head if
the dr iver airbag deploys .
ll>

M N
0 > co ...... \!) 1.1'1
1.1'1
1.1'1
......
_& WARNING
Objects between you and the airbag will in­
crease the risk of injury in a crash by interfer­
ing with the way the airbag unfolds and/or by
being pushed into you as the airbag inflates.
- Always make sure nothing is in the front air-
bag 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 de­
ploys and cause serious personal injury.
- Never hold things in your hands or on your
lap when the vehicle is in use.
- 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 wind­
shield; never place them over or near or at­
tach them to the area marked ,,AIRBAG" on
the steering wheel, instrument 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 music
players. Such objects could cause serious in­
jury in a collision, especially when the air­
bags inflate.
- Never recline the front passenger seat to
transport objects. Items can also move into
the deployment area of the side airbags or
the front airbag during breaking or in a sud­ den maneuver. Objects near the airbags can
fly dangerously through the passenger com­
partment and cause injury, particularly
when the seat is reclined and the airbags in­
flate.
_& WARNING
A person on the front passenger seat, espe­ cially infants and small children, will receive
serious injuries and can even be killed by be­
ing too close to the airbag when it inflates.
- Although the Advanced Airbag System in
your vehicle is designed to turn off the front
-
Airbag system
passenger airbag if an infant or a small child
is on the front passenger seat, nobody can
absolutely guarantee that deployment un­
der these special conditions is impossible in
all conceivable 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 U.S. Fed­
eral Standard if a child with electrical capac­
itance greater than the combined capaci­
tance of a typical one-year old infant re­
strained in one of the forward facing or rear­
ward-facing child seats with which your ve­
hicle was certified is on the front passenger
seat and the other conditions for airbag de­
ployment are met.
- Accident statistics have shown that children
are generally safer in the rear seat area than
in the front seating position .
- For their own safety, all children, especially
12 years and younger, should always ride in
the back properly restrained 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 asap­
plicable at the time your vehicle was manufac­
tured.
The front Advanced Airbag System supplements
the safety belts to provide additional protection
for the driver's and front passenger's heads and
upper bodies in frontal crashes. The airbags in­
flate only in frontal impacts when the vehicle de­
celeration is high enough.
The front Advanced Airbag System for the front
seat occupants is not a substitute for your safety
belts. Rather, it is part of the overall occupant re­
straint system in your vehicle. Always remember
that the airbag system can only help to protect
you, if you are sitting upright, wearing your safe-
ty belt and wearing it properly . This is why you ..,.
153

Airbag system
and your passengers must always be properly re­
strained, not just because the law requires you to
be .
The Advanced Airbag System in your veh icle has
been certified to meet the " low risk" require­
ments for 3 and 6 year-old chi ldren on the pas­
senger side and very small adu lts on the driver
side. The low risk deployment criteria are intend­
ed to help reduce the risk of injury through inter­
action with the front airbag that can occur, for
example, by being too close to the steer ing wheel
and instrument panel when the airbag inflates.
In addition, the system has been certified to
comp ly with the "suppress ion" requirements of
the Safety Standard, to turn off the front airbag
for infants 12 months old and younger who are
restrained on the front passenger seat in child r e­
straints that are listed in the Standard
¢ page 17 4, Child restraints and Advanced front
airbag system.
"Suppression" requires the front airbag on the
passenger side to be turned off if:
- a child up to about one year of age is rest rained
on the front passenger seat in one of the rear­
facing or forward-facing infant rest raints listed
in Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208
with which the Advanced Airbag System in your
vehicle was certified . For a listing of the child
restraints that were used to certify your vehi­
cle's comp liance with the US Safety Standard
¢ page 174,
-When a person is detected on the front passen­
ger seat that has an electrica l capacitance that
is more than the total electrical capacitance of
a child that is about 1 year old restrained in one
of the rear-facing or forward-facing infant re­
stra ints (listed in Federal Motor Veh icle Safety
Standard 208 with which the Advanced Airbag
System in your veh icle was certified), the front
airbag on the passenger side may or may not
deploy.
The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
when the electronic control unit detects a total
elec trical capacitance on the front passenger seat
that requires the front airbag to be turned off. If
the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not
154
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 unit senses an impact
that meets the cond itions stored in its memory.
If the total electrica l capacitance registered on
the front passenger seat is more than t hat of a
typ ica l 1 year-old, but less than the we ight of a
small adult, the front airbag on the passenger
s ide may deploy (the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
li ght does not come on).
For example, the airbag may deploy if:
-a small ch ild that is heavier than a typical 1
year -old chi ld is on the front passenger seat (re­
gardless of whether the chi ld is in one of the
child seats listed
¢ page 17 4),
- a child who has outgrown chi ld restraints is on
the front passenger seat.
If the front passenger airbag is turned off, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light in the center of
the instrument panel will come on and stay on.
If the front passenger ai rbag deploys, the Federal
Standard requires the airbag to meet the "low
risk" deployment criteria to help reduce the risk
of inj ury through interaction with the airbag.
"Low risk" deployment occurs in those crashes
that take place at lower decelerations as defined
i n the electronic control un it
¢ page 160.
Always remember: Even though yo ur vehicle is
equipped with Advanced Airbags, the safest p lace
for children is properly restrained on the back
seat. Please be sure to read the important infor­
mation in the sections that follow and be sure to
heed all of the WARNINGS.
A WARNING
To reduce the risk of injury when an airbag in­
flates, always wear safety belts properly.
- If you are unrestrained, leaning forward, sit­
ting sideways or out of position in any way,
your risk of injury is much higher.
- You will also receive serious injuries and
could even be killed if you are up against the
airbag or too close to it when it inflates -
even with an Advanced Airbag
¢page 148.

M N
0 > co ,...., \!) 1.1'1
1.1'1
1.1'1
,....,
A WARNING
A child in a rearward-facing child seat instal ­
led on the front passenger seat wi ll be seri ­
ously injured and can be killed if the front air­
bag inflates -even with an Advanced Airbag
System.
-Although the Advanced Airbag System in
your vehicle is designed to turn off the front
airbag when a rearward-facing child re­
straint has been installed on the front pas­ senger seat, nobody can absolutely guaran­
tee that deployment is impossible in all con­
c eivable s ituations that may happen dur ing
the useful life o f you r vehicle.
- The inflating a irbag w ill hit the child seat or
infant carrier w ith great force an d will
smash the ch ild seat and child agains t the
backrest, center armrest, doo r, or roo f.
- Alw ays install rearward- facing child re­
straints on the rear seat .
- If you must i nst all a rearw ard facing child
sea t on the front passenger sea t beca use of
excep tional circ umstances and the
PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG OFF light does not come on
and stay on, immediately install the rear­
facing child seat in a rear seating position
and have the a irbag system inspected by
your Audi dealer.
A WARNING
If, in exceptional c ircumstances, you must in­
stall a forward-facing ch ild restraint on the
front passenge r's seat:
-Always make sure the forward-fac ing seat
has be en designed and certified by its man­
ufact urer for use on a fro nt seat wit h a pas­
senger front and side airbag.
- Never put the forwa rd-facing child rest raint
up against or ve ry nea r the i nstr ument pan ­
el.
-Always move t he passenger seat into its
rearmost position in the seat 's fore and aft
adjus tment range, as far away from the air ­
bag as possib le, before installing the fo r­
ward-facing c hild restraint . The backrest
must be adjusted to an up right position .
-
Airbag syste m
- Always make sure that there is nothing on
the front passenger seat that w ill cause the
capacitive passenger detection system in
the seat to signal to the Airbag System that
the seat is occup ied by a person when it is
not, or to signal that it is occupied by some­
one who is heavier than the person actually
sitt ing on the se at. T he presen ce of add i­
tion al ob jects could cause t he passenger
front airbag to be tu rned on when it shou ld
be off, or co uld cause the ai rbag to wo rk in a
way that is different from the way it would
have worked without the ob ject on the seat.
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OF F light comes on and stays on all the time
wheneve r the ignit ion is switched on.
Advanced Airbag System components
The front passenger seat in yo ur vehicle has a lot
of very impo rtant parts of the Advanced A irbag
System in it . T hese pa rts include the capacitive
passenge r detection system, wir ing, brackets,
and more. The con trol unit mon itors the syste m
o n the front passenge r se at when the ig nition is
swi tched on and turns the airbag indicator ligh t
on when a malfunction in the one of the system
components is detected
¢ page 160 . Because
the front passenger seat contains important
parts of the Advanced A irbag System, yo u m ust
take care to prevent it from being damaged.
Damage to the seat may prevent the Advanced
Airbag System for the front passenger seat from
doing its job in a crash.
The front Advanced Airbag System consi sts
of the following:
- Crash sensors in the front of the vehicle that
measure vehicle acceleration/deceleration to
p rov ide i nfo rmat ion to the Advanced Airbag
System abo ut the sever ity o f the cr ash.
- An elect ron ic cont ro l unit, with integrated
cr ash senso rs for front and s ide imp acts. The
cont ro l uni t "dec ides" whet her to fire the fron t
airbags based on the info rmation received from
the crash sensors . The control unit a lso "de ­
cides" whether the safety belt pretens ione rs
should be activated. ..,.
155