2015 AUDI TT ROADSTER instrument panel

Why safety belts?
Frontal collisions and the law of physics
Frontal crashes create very strong forces for
people riding in vehicles .
Fig. 102 Unbelted occupants in a ve hicle heading for a
wall
Fig. 103 The vehicle c ras hes into the wall.
The physical principles are simple. Both the
vehicle and the passengers possess energy
which varies with vehicle speed and body
weight . Engineers call this energy "kinetic en ­
ergy ."
The higher the speed of the vehicle and the greater the vehicle 's weight, the more energy
that has to be "absorbed" in the crash .
Vehicle speed is the most significant factor . If
the speed doubles from 15 to 30 mph (25 to
50 km/h) , the energy increases 4 times!
Because the occupants in this vehicle are not
using safety belts
r::;, fig. 102, they will keep
moving at the same speed the vehicle was
moving just before the crash, until something
stops them -here, the wall
c:> fig . 103 .
The same principles apply to people sitting in
a vehicle that is involved in a frontal collision .
Even at city speeds of 20 to 30 mph (30 to 50
km/h), the forces acting on the body can
Safety belts 101
reach one ton (2,000 lbs, or 1,000 kg) or
more. At higher speeds, these forces are even
greater.
People who do not use safety belts are also
not attached to their vehicle. In a frontal colli­
sion they will also keep moving forward at the
speed their vehicle was travelling just before
the crash. Of course, the laws of physics don't
just apply to frontal collisions, they determine what happens in all kinds of accidents and col ­
lisions .
What happens to occupants not wearing
safety belts?
In crashes unbelted occupants cannot stop
themselves from flying forward and being in­
jured or killed. Always wear your safety belts!
Fig. 104 A driver not wear ing a safety belt is v io len tly
thrown forward
Unbelted occupants are not able to resist the
tremendous forces of impact by holding tight
or bracing themselves . Without the benefit of
safety restraint systems, the unrestrained oc­ cupant will slam violently into the steering
wheel, instrument panel, windshield, or what­
ever else is in the way r::;, fig . 104 . This impact
with the vehicle interior has all the energy
they had just before the crash.
Never rely on airbags alone for protection .
Even when they deploy , airbags provide only
additional protection . Airbags are not sup­
posed to deploy in all kinds of accidents. Al­
though your Audi is equipped with airbags, all
vehicle occupants, including the driver, must
wear safety belts correctly in order to mini­
mize the risk of severe injury or death in a
crash.

-Never strap more than one person, in­
cluding small children, into any single
safety belt.
- Never place a safety belt over a child sit­
ting on your lap.
- Always keep feet in the footwell in front
of the seat while the vehicle is being driv­
en.
- Never let any person ride with feet on
the instrument panel or sticking out the
window or on the seat.
- Never remove a safety belt while the ve­ hicle is moving. Doing so will increase
your risk of being injured or killed.
- Never wear belts twisted.
- Never wear belts over rigid or breakable
objects in or on your clothing, such as
eye glasses, pens, keys, etc., as these
may cause injury.
- Never wear the shoulder part of the belt under your arm or otherwise out of posi­
tion.
- Several layers of heavy clothing may in­
terfere with correct positioning of belts
and reduce their effectiveness.
- Always keep belt buckles free of anything
that may prevent the buckle from latch­
ing securely .
- Never use comfort clips or devices that
create slack in the shoulder belt. Howev­
er, special clips may be required for the
correct use of some child restraint sys­
tems.
- Never allow safety belts to become dam­
aged by being caught in door or seat hardware.
- Torn or frayed safety belts can tear and
damaged belt ha rdware can break in an
accident. Inspect belts regularly.
If web­
bing, bindings, buckles, or retractors are
damaged, have belts replaced by an au­
thorized Audi dealer or qualified work ­
shop.
- Safety belts that have been worn and
loaded in an accident must be replaced
with the correct replacement safety belt by an authorized Audi dealer or qualified
workshop . Replacement may be necessa-
Safety belts 103
ry even if damage cannot be clearly seen.
Anchorages that were loaded must also be inspected.
- Never remove, modify, disassemble, or
try to repair the safety belts yourself .
- Always keep the belts clean . Dirty be lts
may not work properly and can impair
the function of the inertia reel¢
ta­
ble Cleaning interior on page 156.
Safety belts
Fastening safety belts
Seat first -everybody buckle up!
Fig. 106 Belt buck le and to ngue on t he driv er's se at
To provide maximum protection, safety belts
must always be positioned correctly on the
wearer's body.
.,. Adjust the front seat and head restraint
properly ¢
page 59, General recommenda­
tions.
.,. Hold the belt by the tongue and pull it even­
ly across the chest and pelvis
c:> _& .
.,. Insert the tongue into the correct buckle of
your seat until you hear it latch securely
¢fig . 106.
.,. Pull on the belt to make sure that it is se-
curely latched in the buckle.
Automatic safety belt retractors
Every safety belt is equipped with an automat­
ic belt retractor on the shoulder belt . This fea­
ture locks the belt when the belt is pulled out
fast, during hard braking and in an accident .
The belt may a lso lock when you drive up or
down a steep hill or through a sha rp curve.

angle of impact that will always trigger the
airbags, since the circumstances will vary con­
siderably between one collision and another.
Important factors include, for example, the nature (hard or soft) of the object which the
car hits, the angle of impact, vehicle speed,
etc. The front airbags will also not inflate in
side or rear collisions, or in ro ll-overs .
A lwa ys
rem ember : Airbags will deploy only
once, and only in certa in kinds of collisions .
Your safety belts are always there to offer pro­
tection in those s ituations in which airbags
are not supposed to deploy , or when they have
a lready deployed ; fo r example , when yo ur ve­
h icle strikes or is struck by another after the
first collision .
This is just one of the reasons why an a irbag is
a supplementary restra int and is not a s ubst i­
tute for a safety belt . The airbag system
works most effectively when used with the
safety belts. Therefore, always properly wear
your safety belts
¢ page 100.
A WARNING
Sitting too close to the steer ing wheel or
instrument panel will decrease the effec­
tiveness of the airbags and will increase
the risk of pe rsonal injury in a co llision .
- Never sit closer than 10 inches (25 cm)
to the stee ring wheel or instrument pan­
el.
- If you cannot sit more than 10 inches
(25 cm) from the steer ing whee l, investi­
gate whether adaptive equipment may
be available to held you reach the pedals
and increase your seating dis tance from
the steering wheel.
- If you are unrestrained, lean ing fo rward,
sitting sideways or out of position in any
way, yo ur risk of inj ury is much highe r.
- You w il l also receive serio us inju ries and
cou ld even be killed if you are up against
the airbag or too close to it when it in ­
flates -even with an Advanced Airbag.
- To reduce the r isk o f injury when an air ­
bag inflates, a lways wear safety belts
proper ly ¢
page 103, Safety belts .
Airbag sys tem 109
-If ch ildren are not prope rly restrained,
they may be severely injured or killed
when an airbag inflates.
- Never let ch ildren ride unrestra ined or
improperly restrained in the vehicle. Ad­
just the front seats properly.
- Always sit as far as possible from the steer ing whee l or the instrument panel
¢ page 92, Proper occupant seating po­
sitions.
- Always sit upright with your back against
the backrest of your seat.
- Never p lace your feet on the instrument
panel or on t he seat. Always keep both
feet on the f loor in front of the seat to
help prevent serious in ju ries to the legs
a nd hips if the airbag inflates.
A WARNING
A irbags that have deployed in a crash must
be replaced.
- Use on ly orig inal equipment airbags ap­
proved by Aud i and i nstalled by a trai ned
technician who has the ne cessary too ls
and d iagnost ic equipment to properly re­
place any airbag in your vehicle and as­
sure system effectiveness in a crash.
- Never perm it salvaged or recycled air ­
bags to be installed in you r vehicle .
Child restraints on the front seat - some
important things to know
.. Be s ure to read the important in forma tion
and head the WARNINGS for important de ­
tails about ch ildren and Advanced A irbags
¢ page 129.
The airbag on the passenger side makes the
front seat a pote ntially dange rous place for a
c hi ld to ride . The front seat is not the safest
pla ce for a child in a fo rward-facing child safe ­
ty seat.
It can be a very d angerous place for a n
infant or a chi ld in a rearwa rd -fa cing seat.
The Advanced A irbag System in you r vehicle
has been ce rtified to comply wit h the Require­
ments of United States Fede ral Motor Vehicle
1111>
•
•

112 Airbag system
Front airbags
Description of front airbags
The airbag system can provide supplemental
protection to properly restrained front seat occupants.
Fig . 110 Locat ion of driver airbag: in steering wheel
Fig. 111 Locatio n of front passenger 's ai rbag: in t he in·
strument 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 front seats have "pretensioners" that
help to take slack out of the belt system. The
pretensioners are also activated by the elec·
tronic 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 steer ing
wheel hub ¢
fig. 110 and the airbag for the
front passenger is in the instrument panel
¢
fig . 111. 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 detailed information abo
ut airbags, safety
belts and child safety in this and the other
chapters that make up the owner's literature .
P lease be sure to heed the WARNINGS -they
are extremely 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 protect ion.
- Airbag work most effective ly when used
with properly worn safety belts.
- Therefore, always wear your safety belts
and make sure that eve rybody in your ve­
h icle is p roperly restrained.
A WARNING
A person on the front passenger seat, es­
pec ially infants and sma ll children, w ill re­
ceive serious injuries and can even be kil­
l ed by be ing too close to the airbag when
i t inflates .
- Al tho ugh the Advanced Airbag System in
your veh icle is designed to tur n
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
b le situations that may happen during
the useful life of your vehicle .
- The Advanced Airbag System can dep loy
in accordance with the "low risk" option
under the U.S . Federal Standa rd if a child
that is heav ie r th an the typical one-year
old ch ild is on the front passenger seat
and the other condi tions for a irbag de­
p loyment are met .
- F or its own safe ty, a child sho uld always
ride properly restrained for its 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 A irbag System supp le­
ments the safety belts to provide additiona l
protection for the driver's and front passeng­
er's heads and upper bodies in fronta l crashes.
The airbags inflate only in frontal impacts
when the vehicle deceleration 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 over­ all occupant restraint system in your veh icle.
Always remember that the airbag system can
only help to protect you, if you are s itting up­
right, wearing your safety belt and wea ring it
prope rly. This is why you and you r passenge rs
must always be properly restr ained , not just
because the law requires yo u to be.
The Advanced Airbag System in your veh icle
h as been certified to meet the "low ris k" re ­
qu irements for
3 and 6 year-o ld childre n on
the passenger side and very small adu lts on
the driver side. The low risk dep loyment 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 be ing too
close to the steer ing wheel and instrument
panel when the airbag inflates.
In addition, the system has been certif ied to
comply w ith the "suppression" requ irements
of the Safety Standard, to turn
off the front
airbag for infants
12 months old and younger
who are restra ined o n the front passenger
seat in c hild restra ints that a re listed in the
Standa rd
¢page 131, Child restraints and
Advanced Airbags.
"Suppression" requires the front airbag on the passenger side to be turned
off i f:
- a ch ild up to about one year of age is re­
stra ined on the front passenger seat in one
of the rear-facing or forward-fac ing infant
rest raints listed in Federa l Motor Veh icle
Safe ty S tanda rd 208 w it h which t he Ad­
vanced Airbag System in your vehicle was certified . For a listing of the child rest raints
A irbag system 113
that were used to certify your vehicle's com ­
pliance with the US Safety Standard
¢ page 131,
-weight less than a thresho ld level stored in
the control unit is detected on the front pas­
senger seat.
When a person is detected on the front pas ­
senger seat, weighing more than the total
weight of a chi ld that is about
1 year old re­
stra ined in one of the rear-facing or forward­
facing infant restraints (listed in Federal Mo­
tor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 w ith which
the Advanced A irbag System in your vehicle
was certified), the front airbag on the passen­ ger side may or may not deploy.
The
PAS SENGER AIR BAG OFF lig ht comes on
when the electron ic contro l unit detects a to ­
ta l we ight on the front passenger seat that re­
quires the front airbag to be tu rned
off. If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does no t
come on, the fron t ai rbag on the passe nger
s ide has not been t urned
off by the contro l
u nit and can dep loy if the control unit senses
an impact that meets the cond itions stored in
its memory.
If the total weight on the front passenge r
seat is more than that of a typical
1 year-o ld,
but less than the we ight of a small ad ult, the
front a irbag on the passenger side may dep loy
(the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not
come on) .
For example , the airb ag m ay deploy if:
- a small ch ild that is heav ier t han a typical 1
year -old chi ld is on the front passenger seat
(regard less of whether the child is in one of
the child safety seats listed
¢page 131),
-a child who has outgrown chi ld restraints is
on the front passenger seat .
If the fron t passenger airbag is turned
off, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light in the cen ter
of the instrument panel will come on and stay
on .
T he front airbag on the passenge r side may
not deploy (the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not illuminate and stay lit) i f:
•
•

components is detected . The function of the
airbag indicator light is described in greater
deta il below . Because the front passenger
seat contains important parts of the Ad­
vanced Airbag System, you must take care to
prevent it from being damaged. Damage to
the seat may prevent the Advanced A irbag for
the front passenger seat from doing its job in
a crash.
The f ront Ad vanc ed Airb ag S ystem
consists of the following:
- Crash sensors in the front of the veh icle that
measu re ve hicle acceleration/deceleration
to provide information to the Advanced Air­
bag System about the severity of the crash.
- An electronic control unit, with integrated
c rash sensors for front and side impacts.
T he contro l unit "decides" whether to fire
the front airbags based on the information
received from the crash sensors . The control
unit also "decides" whether the safety belt
pretensioners should be activated.
- An Advanced Airbag with gas generator for
the driver ins ide the steer ing wheel hub.
- An Advanced Airbag with gas generator in­
side the instr ument panel for the front pas­
senger.
- A weight-sensing mat under the upholstery
padding of the front passenger seat cushion
that measures the total weight on the seat.
The information registered is sent continu­
ously to the electron ic control unit to regu­
late dep loyment of the front Advanced Air­
bag on the passenger side.
- An a irbag monitoring system and indicator
li ght in the instrument cluster
¢page 118.
-The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes
on and stays on in the center of the instru­
ment pane l
¢page 119, fig. 113 and te lls
you when the front Adv anced Airbag on the
passenge r side has been turned off.
- A senso r below the safety belt latch for the
front seat passenger to me asure the tension
on the safety belt . The tens ion on the safety
belt and the weight registered by the
weight-sensing mat help the control unit
"dec ide" whether the front airbag for the
Airbag system 11 5
front passenger seat should be turned off or
not
¢ page 109, Child restraints on the
front seat -some important things to
know.
- A sensor in the safety belt latch for the driv­
er and for the front seat passenger that
senses whether that safety belt is latched or
not and transmits this information to the
electronic control unit .
.&, WARNING
Damage to the front passenger seat can
prevent the front airbag from wor king
properly.
- Improper repai r or d isassembly of the
front passenge r and dr iver seat will pre­
vent the Advanced Airbag System from
functioning properly.
- Repairs to the front passenge r seat must
be pe rformed by qualified and p roperly
trained workshop personne l.
- Never remove the front passenger o r
driver seat from the vehicle .
- Never remove the upholstery from the
front passenger seat.
- Neve r d isassemble o r remove parts from
the seat or disconnec t wires from it.
- Never carry sharp objects in you r pockets
or place t hem on the seat. If the weight­
sens ing ma t in the passenge r seat is
punctured it cannot work properly .
- Neve r carry things on you r lap or carry
objects on the passenger seat. Such
items can increase the weight registered
by the weight-sensing mat and send the
wrong information to the airbag co ntrol
un it.
- Never store items under the front pas­
senger seat. Parts o f the Advanced Air­
bag System under the passenger seat
could be damaged, preventing them and
the airbag system from working proper­ ly.
- Never p lace seat covers or rep lacement
upholstery that have not been specifica l­
ly approved by Audi on the front seats.
- Seat covers can prevent the Advanced
Airbag System from recognizing chi ld
Ill>
•
•

118 Airbag sys te m
- The inflating airba g will hit the child
safety seat or infant carri er w it h great
force and w ill smash the ch ild safety seat
and child against the backrest, cente r
arm r est, door or ro of.
- Ne ver install a r earward facing child
sa fety seat on the fro nt passenger seat
unl ess the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
ligh t co me s on and stays on. If the PA S­
SENGER AIR BAG OFF
ligh t does no t
come on and stay on, the inflating airbag
will hit the child safety seat or infant car ­
rier with great force and will smash the
child safety seat and child against the
backrest, door or roof. Have the airbag
system inspected immediately by your
authorized Audi dealer .
A WARNING
Objects between you and the a irbag will
increase the risk of injury in a crash by in­
terfering with the way the airbag unfolds
or by being pushed into you as the a irbag
inflates.
- Never hold th ings in your hands or on
yo ur lap when the vehicle is in use.
- Never transport items on or in the area
of the front passenge r seat. Objects
c ou ld move into the area of the front air­
bags dur ing braking or other s udden ma­
neuver and become dange rous projec ­
tiles that can cause serious personal in­
jury if the airbags inflate.
- Never place o r attach accessories or oth­
er objects (such as cup ho lders, tele­
phone brackets, large, heavy or b ulky ob­
jects) on the doors, over or near the area
marked "AIRBAG" on the steering wheel,
instrument panel, seat backrests or be­
tween those a reas and yourself. These
objects co uld cause injury in a crash, es­
pecially when the airbags inflate.
- Never recline the front passenger's seat
to transport objects. Items can also
move in to the area o f the side airb ag or
the front airbag dur ing braking or in a
sudden maneuver. Objects near the air -
-
bags can become projectiles and cause
inju ry, partic ularly when the seat is re­
clined.
A WARNING
The fine dust created when airbags deploy
can cause breathing prob lems for people
with a history of asthma or other breath­
i ng cond itions.
- To reduce the risk of breath ing problems,
those with asthma o r othe r respiratory
conditions shou ld get fresh air righ t
away by getting o ut of the ve hicle or
open ing win dows or doors.
- I f you are i n a collision in which airbags
deploy, wash your hands and fa ce with
mild soap and wate r before ea ting.
- Be ca reful not to get the dust into your
eyes, o r into any c uts or s cratches.
- If the res id ue should get into your eyes,
flush them w ith wate r.
Monitoring the
Advanced Airbag System
tii Airbag monitoring indicator light
Two separate indicators monitor the function
of the Advan ced Airbag Sy stem: the airbag
monitoring indicator light and the
PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG OFF
light.
T he Advanced A irbag Sys tem ( incl uding the
ele ctron ic cont rol unit, sensor circ uits and sys ­
tem wir ing) is monitored continuously to
make sure that it is functioning properly
whenever the ignition is on. Eac h time you
turn on the ignition, the a irbag monitoring in­
dicator light . will come on for a few sec­
onds (self diagnostics).
The system must be inspected when the
i ndicator light•=
-does not come on when the ignition is
sw itched on,
- does not go out a few seconds after you
have switched on the ignit ion, or

- comes on while driving.
I f an airbag system malfunct io n is dete cted ,
the ind icator light will firs t start flashing to
catch the driver 's attention and then stay on
continuously to serve as a constant reminder
to have the system inspected immed iately.
If a malfunction occurs tha t tur ns the fron t
ai rbag on the passenger side off, the
PA SSEN­
GER AIR BAG OFF
li ght wi ll come on and stay
on wheneve r the ignition is on.
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 comes on, it
means that the re may be somet hing
wrong with the Adva nced Airbag System .
It is possible that the airbag will inflate
w hen it is not s upposed to, or w ill not in­
flate when it should.
- Have the airbag system inspected imme­
diately by your Aud i dealer .
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
Fig. 11 3 Section fr om the inst ru men t pa nel: PASS EN­
G ER AIR BAG O FF light
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light is located
i n the cen ter of the instrument panel
c:> fig. 113 .
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light will come
on and stay on to tell you when the front Ad ­
vanced A irbag on the passenger side h as been
turned off by t he e lectronic control u nit. Each
time you tu rn on the ign ition, the
PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG OF F
light will flash for a few
seconds and:
A irba g sy stem 119
- will stay on if the front passenger seat is not
occupied,
-w ill stay on i f there is a small ch ild or child
restraint on the front passenger seat,
- will go out if the fron t passenger seat is oc­
cupied by an adult as registered by the
weight-sensing mat .
T he
PAS SENGER AIR BAG OFF light must
com e on and sta y on
if t he igni tion is on and
- a car bed has been installed on the front
seat , or
- a rearward-facing child restraint has been installed on the front passenger seat, or
- a forward -fac ing ch ild restra int has been in ­
stalled on the front passenger seat, or
- the weight reg istered on the front passen ­
ger seat is equal to or less than the com­
bi ned weight of a typical 1 year-old restra in­
ed in one of the rear-facing or forward-fac­
ing infant restra ints listed in Federal Motor
Ve hicle Safety Standa rd 208 wi th which the
Advanced Airbag System in you r veh icle was
certified.
If t he fron t passenger seat is not occupied,
the fro nt airbag will not deploy, and the
PAS­
SENGER AIR BAG O FF
light will stay on . Nev ­
er install a rearward-facing child restraint on
the front passenger seat
c:> page 109 , Child
res train ts on the front sea t-some important
things to know
and c:> page 129, Child Safe ty .
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light come s
o n
when one of the cond itions listed above is
met, be sure to check the light regularly to
make certain that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light stays on continuously wheneve r the
ignition is on .
If the PASSENGER A IR BAG
OFF
light does not appear and not stay on all
the time, stop as soon as it is safe to do so and
- reactivate the system by turn ing the ign ition
off and then turn ing it on again;
- remove and reinstall the ch ild restra int .
Make s ure that the ch ild restraint is proper ly
installed and that the safety belt for the
front passenge r seat has been correc tly
rou ted aro und t he chi ld restraint as