Safety belts
The shou lder belt should lie as close to the center
of the collar bone as possib le and should fit well
on the body
c::> A in Safety belt position on
page 134.
"' Push
the loop -around fittings up c::> fig. 151 @ ,
or
"'squeeze together the (D button, and push the
loop-around fittings down@.
"'Pull the belt to make sure that the upper at
tachment is properly engaged .
A WARNING
Always read and heed all WARNINGS and oth er important informat ion
c::> page 132.
(D Tips
With the front seats, the height adjustment of the seat can also be used to adjust the po
sition of the safety belts.
Improperly worn safety belts
Incorrectly positioned safety belts can cause se
vere injuries.
Wearing safety belts improperly can cause seri
ous injury or death. Safety belts can only work
when they are correctly positioned on the body.
Improper seating positions reduce the effect ive
ness of safety belts and will even inc rease the
risk of injury and death by mov ing the safety belt
to cr it ica l areas of the body. Improper seating
positions a lso increase the risk of serious injury
and death when an airbag deploys and strikes an
occupant who is not in the correct seating pos i
tion. A driver is responsible for the safety of all
veh icle occupants and especially for children.
Therefore:
"' Never permit anyone to assume an incorrect
sitting position in the vehicle while traveling
c>_& .
A WARNING
Improperly worn safety belts increase the risk
of serious personal injury and death whenever
a vehicle is being used.
136
- Always make sure that all vehicle occupants
are correctly restrained and stay in a correct
seating position whenever the vehicle is be
ing used.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other important informat ion
c::> page 132.
Belt tensioners
How safety belt pretensioners work
In front, side and rear-end collisions above a
particular severity, safety belts ore tensioned au tomatically.
The safety belts are equipped w ith safety belt
pretensioners . The system is activated by sensors
i n front, side and rear-end collisions of great se
verity . This t igh tens the belt and takes up belt
s lack
c::> & in Service and disposal of safety belt
pretensioner on page 137.
Tak ing up the s lack
helps to reduce forward occupant movement dur
ing a collis ion.
(D Note
Never let the belt remain over a rear seatback
that has been folded forward .
@ Tips
The safety belt pretensioner can only be acti
vated once.
- Th e safety belt pretensioners do not deploy
in minor frontal, side and rear-end colli
sions.
- In the case of a side crash, the safety belt
pretensioners will activate on the driver's or
front passenger's sides only, depending on
wh ich side of the vehicle the crash occurs.
- When the safety belt pretensioners are acti
vated, a fine dust is released. This is normal
and is not caused by a fire in the vehicle.
- The relevant safety requirements must be
observed when the vehicle or components
of the system are scrapped. An authorized
Audi dealer or qualified workshop is familiar
with these regulations and will be pleased
to pass on the information to you. .,_
Airbag syste m
safety seat. It can be a very dangerous p lace for
an infant or a child in a rearward-facing seat.
The Advanced Airbag System i n your veh icle has
been ce rt ified to comp ly with the requirements
of United States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standard (FMVSS)
208, as well as Canada Motor
Veh icle Safety Standard (CMVSS)
208 as applica
b le at the time your vehicle was manufactured.
According to requirements, the front Advanced
Airbag System on the passenger s ide has been
certified for "suppression " for infants of about
12 month old and younger and for "low risk de
p loyment " for children aged
3 to 6 years o ld (as
defined in the standard).
The
PA SSENGER AIR BAG OFF light in the instru
ment panel tells you when the front Advanced
Ai rbag on the passenger side has been tu rned off
by the elect ronic cont rol unit.
Each t ime you tur n on the ignit ion , the
PASSEN
GER AIR BAG OFF
light will come on fo r a few
seconds and :
- will stay on if the front passenger seat is not
occupied,
- will s tay on if there is a small c hild or child re
straint on the front passenger seat,
- will go off if the front passenger seat is occu
pied by an adult as reg istered by the weight
sensing mat¢
page 148, Monitoring the Ad
vanced Airbag System .
The PAS SENGER AIR BAG O FF light comes on
when the control unit detects a total we ight on
the front passenger seat that requires the front
airbag to be turned off.
If the tota l weight on the front passenger seat is
more than that of a typical 1 year -old child but
less than the we ight of a small adult, the front
a irbag on the passenger side can deploy (the
PAS SENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not come
on) .
If the PAS SENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not come on, the front a irbag on the passenger
side has not been turned off by the electronic
control unit and can deploy if the control unit
senses an impact that meets the condit ions stor
ed in its memory.
For e xample, the airbag may deploy if:
140
- a small chi ld that is heavier than a typica l 1
year-o ld child is on th e front passenger seat
(regard less of whether the child is in one of the
child safety seats listed ¢
page 160), or
- a child who has outgrown c hild restraints is on
the front passenger seat.
If the front passenger a irbag is t urned off, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on in the
instrument cluster and stays on.
The fro nt airbag on the passenge r side may
not
deploy (the PAS SENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not ill uminate and stay lit) even if a small adu lt
or teenager, or a passenger who is not sitting up
right with thei r back against a non-recl ined back
rest with the ir fee t on the vehicle floor in front of
the sea t is on the fron t passenger sea t
<=> page 122, Proper seating position for the driv
er .
If the front passenger a irbag deploys, the Feder
al Standard requires the airbag to meet the "low
risk" deployment cr iteria to reduce the r isk of in
jury through interaction w ith the airbag . '' low
risk " deployment occurs in those crashes that
take place at lowe r de cele rations as defined in
the e lec tronic co ntro l unit ¢
page 148, PASSEN
GER AIR BAG OF F light.
Always remembe r, a chi ld safety seat or infant
c ar rie r ins talled on the front seat may be s truck
and knocked ou t of posit ion by t he rap idly i nflat
i ng passenge r's airbag in a frontal coll is ion . The
airbag could greatly red uce the effectiveness of
the child restraint and even seriously injure the child during inflation.
Fo r th is reason, and beca use the back seat is the
safest place for children -when properly restrain
ed according to their age and size -we strongly
recommend that children always sit in the back
seat
c> page 158, Child safety .
A WARNING
A child in a rearward-facing child safety seat
installed on the front passenger seat will be
seriously injured and can be killed if the front
a ir bag inflates - even with an Advanced Airbag
Sys tem.
Ill>
..... N
0 ::..:: co .....
seat or infant carrier with great force and
will smash the chi ld safety seat and child
against the backrest, center armrest, door
or roof .
- Always install rear-facing child safety seats
on the rear seat.
- If you must install a rearward fac ing ch ild
safety seat on the front passenger seat be cause of exceptional circumstances and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not
come on and stay on, immed iate ly install
the rear-fac ing ch ild safety seat in a rear
seating pos it ion and have the airbag system
inspected by your a uthorized Audi dea le r.
- Forward-fac ing ch ild safety seats installed
on the front passenger's seat may interfere
with the deployment of the airbag and
cause serious personal injury to the child.
~ WARNING
If, in except ional circumstances, you must in
stall a forward-facing chi ld restraint on the
front passenger 's seat:
- Always ma ke sure the forward-fac ing seat
has been designed and certified by its man
ufacturer for use on a front seat with a pas
senger front and s ide a irbag.
- Never put the forward-facing child restraint
up against or very near the instrument pan
el.
-Always move the passenger seat into its
rearmost position in the seat's fore and aft
adjustment range, as fa r away from the air
bag as possib le befo re installing the for
wa rd- facing child restra int. The bac krest
must be adjusted to an up right posit ion.
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on and stays on all the time
whenever the ignition is switched on.
A WARNING
To red uce the risk of serious in jury, make s ure
t hat the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light w ill
be displayed wheneve r a child restraint is in
stalled on t he front passenger seat and t he
ign ition is switched on.
Airb ag sys tem
-If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not stay on, perform the checks described
¢ page 148, Monitoring the Advanced Air
bag System .
-Take the child restra int off the front passen
ger seat and install it prope rly at one of the
rear seat positions if the
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
light does no t stay on.
- Have the airbag system inspected by your
author ized Audi dealer immed iately .
- Always carefully follow instructions from
child restraint manufacture rs when instal
ling child restra ints .
A WARNING
-If, in exceptional c ircumstances, you must in-
stall a forward or rearward-facing child re
stra int on t he fron t passenger 's seat:
- Imp roper installat ion of child res traints can
reduce the ir effectiveness or even prevent
them from provi ding any pro te ct ion.
- An imprope rly installed child restra int can
interfere wi th the airbag as it deploys and
serio usly injure or even kil l the c hild -eve n
with an Advanced A irb ag Sys tem.
- Always carefully follow the manufacturer's
instr uctions provided wi th the child sa fe ty
seat or ca rr ie r.
- Never p lace add ition al it ems on the se at
that can increase the total weight registered
by the weight -sensing mat and can cause in
jury in a crash .
141
Airbag syste m
Front airbags
Description of front airbags
The airbag system can provide supplemental
protection to properly restrained front seat occu
pants.
Fig. 152 Location of driver airbag: in steering whee l
Fig. 153 Location of front passenger's airbag: in the in
strument panel
Your veh icle is equipped with an "Advanced Air
bag System" in compliance with Un ited States
Federa l Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
(FMVSS) 208, as well as Canada Motor Vehicle
Safety Sta ndard (CMVSS) 208 as app licable at
the time your vehicle was manufactured. The
safety belts for the seats have "pretensioners"
that help to take slack out of the belt system.
The pretensioners are also activated by the elec
tronic control unit for the airbag system.
The front safety be lts also have load limiters to
help reduce the forces applied to the body in a
crash.
The airbag for the driver is in the steering wheel
hub
<=>fig . 152 and the airbag for the front pas
senger is in the instrument panel
<=>fig. 153. The
general location of the airbags is marked "AIR
BAG".
142
There is a lot you need to know about the airbags
in your vehicle . We urge you to read the detailed
i nformation 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 extremely important
for your safety and the safety of your passengers,
especially infants and small children .
.&_ WARNING -
Never rely on airbags alone for prote ct ion.
- Even when they deploy, airbags provide only supp lemental protection.
- Airbag work most effectively when used with properly worn safety be lts.
- Therefore, always wear your safety belts and make sure that everybody in your veh icle is
properly restrained .
.&_ WARNING
A person on the front passenger seat, espe
cially infants and small ch ildren, wi ll receive
serious inju ries and can even be killed by be
ing too close to the airbag when it inf lates.
- Although the Advanced Airbag System in
-
your vehicle is designed to turn off the front passenger airbag i f 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 under
the U.S. Federal Standard if a child that is
heav ier than the typical one-year old ch ild is
on the front passenger seat and the other
conditions for airbag deployment are met.
- Accident statistics have shown that children are generally safer in the rear seat area than
in the front seat ing pos ition.
- For their own safety, all chi ld ren, especially
12 years and younger, should always ride in
the back proper ly restrained for their age
and size .
..... N
0 ::..:: co .....
Your vehicle is equipped with a front Advanced
Airbag System in compliance with Un ited States
F edera l Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208, as
well as Canada Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
(CMVSS) 208 as applicable at the time your vehi
cle was manufactured .
The front Advanced Airbag System supp lements
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
f late only in frontal impacts when the veh icle de
celerat ion is high enough.
The front Advanced Airbag System for the front
seat occupants is not a substitute for your safety be lts . Rather, it is part of the overall occupant re
stra int system in your vehicle. Always remember
that the airbag system can on ly help to protect
you, if you are sitting upr ight, wear ing your safe
ty belt and wear ing it prope rly . This is why you
and your passengers must always be prope rly re
stra ined, not just beca use the law req uires yo u to
be .
The Advanced Airbag System in your veh icle has
been ce rtified to meet the "low r is k" requi re
ments fo r 3 and 6 ye ar-old children o n the pas
senger side and very sma ll adults on the drive r
side . The low risk dep loyment cr iteria are intend
ed to help reduce the risk of injury through inter
action with the front a irbag that can occur, for
examp le, by being too close to the steering wheel
and instrument panel when the airbag inflates .
In addition, the system has been certified to
comp ly with the "suppression" requirements of
the Safety Standard, to turn off the front a irbag
for i nfants 12 months old and younger who are
restrained on the front passenger seat in child re
stra ints that are listed in the Standa rd
¢ page 160, Child restraints and Advanced Air
bags.
"Suppress ion" requ ires the front a irbag on the
passenger side to be turned off if:
- a ch ild up to about one year of age is restra ined
on the front passenger seat in one of the rear
facing or forward -fac ing infant restra ints listed
Airb ag sys tem
in Federal Motor Veh icle Safety Standard 208
with which the Advanced Airbag System in your
veh icle was certif ied. For a List ing of the child
restraints that were used to certify your vehi
cle's compliance with the US Safety Standard
¢page 160,
-weight less than a threshold level stored in the
control un it is detected on the front passenger
seat .
When a person is detected on the front passen ger seat, weighing more than the total weight of
a chi ld that is about
1 year old restra ined in one
of the rear-facing or forward -fac ing infant re
straints (listed in Federal Motor Veh icle Safety
Standard 208 with w hich the Advanced A irbag
System i n your veh icle was certified), the front
airbag on the passenge r side may o r may not de
ploy .
T he
PAS SENGER AIR BAG OFF lig ht comes o n
whe n the elect ronic con trol uni t detects a tota l
weight on the fron t passenger sea t th at req uires
the front a irbag to be turned off . If th e
PASSEN
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on, the
front airbag on the passenger side has not been
turned off by the control unit and can dep loy if
the control unit senses an impact that meets the
condit io ns stored in its memory .
If the total weight on the front passenger seat is
more than that of a typica l 1 year-old, but less
than the weight of a small adult, the front airbag
o n the passenger s ide may deploy (the
PAS SEN
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on) .
For example , the ai rb ag may deploy if :
- a small ch ild that is heav ier than a typ ica l 1
yea r-o ld child is on the front passenger seat
(regard less of whether the child is in one of the
child safety seats listed
¢ page 160),
- a child who has outgrown c hild restraints is on
the front passenger seat.
If the front passenge r a irbag is t urned off, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light in the center of
the instr ument pane l wi ll come on and stay on .
T he front airbag on the passenger s ide m ay
not
deploy (the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not illuminate and stay lit) if: ..,.
143
..... N
0 ::..:: co .....
ger seat contains important parts of the Ad
vanced A irbag System, you must take care to pre
vent it from being damaged. Damage to the seat may prevent the Advanced Airbag for the front
passenger seat from doing its job in a crash .
The front Adv anced Airb ag Sy stem con sist s
of the following :
-Crash sensors in the front of the vehicle that
measure vehicle accelerat ion/decelerat io n to
provide information to the Advanced Airbag
System about the severity of the crash .
- An electronic control un it, with integrated
crash sensors fo r front and side impacts . The
contro l unit "decides" whether to fire the front
airbags based on the information received from
the crash sensors. The control unit also "de
cides" whether the safe ty be lt pretens ioners
sho uld be activated.
- An Advanced Airbag wi th gas generato r and
contro l valve for the driver ins ide the steer ing
whee l hub .
- An Advanced Airbag with gas generator and
contro l valve inside the instrument pane l for
the front passenger.
- A weight -sensing mat under t he upho lstery
padding of the front passenger seat cushion
that meas ures the total weight on the seat . The
information registered is sent continuously to
the electron ic control unit to regulate dep loy
ment of the front Adva need A irbag on the pas
senger side.
- An airbag monitoring system and indicator
light i n the instrument cluster
¢ page 148.
-A sensor in each front seat registers the dis
tance between the respective seat and the
steering wheel or instrument panel. The infor
mation reg istered is sent cont inuous ly to the
electroni c control unit to regulate deployment
of the fro nt Adv a need A irbags.
- T he
PASS EN GE R AIR BAG OFF light comes on
and stays on in the center of the instrument
pane l¢
page 148, fig . 155 a nd tells you when
the fron t Advan ced Airbag on the passenge r
side has been turned off.
- A se nsor below the safe ty bel t lat ch fo r th e
front seat passenger to meas ure the tens ion on
Airb ag sys tem
the sa fe ty belt. The tension on the safety belt
and the weight registered by the weight-sens
ing mat help the contro l unit "decide" whether
the front airbag for the front passenger seat
should be turned off or not¢
page 139, Child
restraints on the front seat -some important
things to know.
- A sensor in the safety belt latch for the driver
and for the front seat passenger that senses
whether that safety belt is latched o r not and
t ransmits this information to t he electronic
cont rol un it.
_& WARNING
Da mage to the front passenge r seat can pre
vent the front airbag from working properly.
- Imp roper repair or disassembly of the fro nt
passenger and driver seat will p revent the
Advanced Airbag System from f unct ioning
p roperly.
- Repairs to the front passenger seat must be
performed by qualified an d properly trained
wo rkshop personne l.
- Never remove the front passenge r or driver
seat from the vehicle.
- Never remove the upholstery from the front
passenger seat.
- Never disassemble o r remove par ts from the
seat o r disconnect w ires from it.
- Never ca rry sharp objects in your pocke ts or
p la ce them on the seat. If the weight-sens
ing mat in the passenger seat is punctu red
it cannot work proper ly.
- Never carry things on your lap or carry ob
jects on the passenge r seat. S uch items can
increase the weight reg istered by the
weight-sensing mat and send the wrong in
formation to the a irbag control unit.
- Never store items unde r the front passenger
seat. Parts of the Advanced Airbag System
under the passenger seat could be dam
aged, p reventing them and the airbag sys
tem from worki ng p roper ly.
- Never p lace seat covers or replacement up
holstery tha t have not been specifically ap
p roved by A udi on the front seats.
- Seat covers can prevent the Advanced A ir
bag Sys tem from recognizing chi ld
145
Airbag syste m
restraints or occupants on the front passen
ger seat and prevent the side airbag in the
seat backrest from deploying properly.
- Never use cushions, pillows, blankets or
similar items on the front passenger seat.
The additional padding will prevent the
weight-sens ing mat in the seat from accu
rately reg istering the ch ild restraint or per
son on the seat and prevent the Advanced
Airbag System from funct ioning prope rly.
- If you must use a child restraint on the front
passenge r seat and the child restraint man
ufact urer's instructions require the use of a
towel, foam cushion or something else to properly position the chi ld restraint, make
certain that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG O FF
light comes on and stays on whenever the
child restraint is installed on the front pas
senger seat.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG O FF light does
not come on and stay on, immediately in
stall child restrai nt in a rear seating position
and have the airbag system inspected by
you r authorized Aud i deale r.
How the Advanced Airbag System
components work together
The front Advanced Airbag System and the side
ai rbags supplement the protection offered by the
front three-point safety belts with pretensioners and load limiters and the adjustable head re
stra ints to help reduce the r isk of injury in a wide
range of accident and crash situations. Be sure to
read the important information about safety and heed the WARNINGS in th is chapter .
Dep loyment of the Advanced Airbag System and
the activation of the safety belt pretensioners de
pend on the deceleration measured by the crash
sensors and registered by the electronic control
unit . Crash severity depends on speed and decel
era tion as we ll as the mass and stiffness of the
vehicle or object invo lved in the crash.
On the passenger s ide, regardless of safety belt
use, the a irbag will be t urned off if the weight on
the passenge r seat is less than the amount p ro
g rammed in the e lectron ic cont rol unit . T he front
146
airbag on the passenger side will also be turned
off if one of the child safety seats that has been
certified under Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standard 208 has been recogn ized on the seat.
The
PAS SEN GER AI R BA G OFF light comes on
and stays on to te ll you when the front Advanced
Airbag on the passenger side has been turned off
¢ page 139, Child restraints on the front seat
some important things to know .
.&_ WARNING
To reduce the risk of injury when an airbag in
f lates, always wear safety belts properly.
- I f you are un restrained, leaning forward, sit
ting sideways or ou t of position i n any way,
your ris k of injury is much highe r.
- You will a lso receive ser ious injuries and
could even be killed if yo u are up against the
airbag or too close to i t when it inflates -
even with an Advanced Airbag
r::!;>page 138.
More important things to know about front
airbags
Fig. 154 Inflated front a irbags
-,... N 0 :i: ;;i;
Safety be lts are important to help keep front
seat occupants in the proper seated position so
that airbags can unfo ld properly and prov ide sup
plemental protection in a fronta l co llision.
The front airbags a re designed to provide addi
tional protection for the chest and face of the driver and the front seat passenger when:
- safety belts are worn properly,
- t he seats have been positioned so that t he oc-
cupant is properly seated as far as possib le
from the airbag,
Ill-
..... N
0 ::..:: co .....
justed.
Because airbags inflate in the blink of a n eye w ith
great for ce, things you have on you r lap or have
p laced on the seat cou ld become dangerous pro
jectiles, and be pushed into you if the airbag in
flates.
When an a irbag deploys, fine dust is released .
This is normal and is not caused by a fire 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 remember that while the sup
p lemental airbag system is designed to reduce
the likelihood of ser ious injuries, other inj uries,
for example swell ing, bruising and minor abra
sions, can also happen when airbags inflate. Air
bags do not protect the arms or the lower parts
of the body . Front airbags only supplement the
three po int safety belts i n some fronta l co llisions
i n which the veh icle decelerat ion is high enough
to deploy the airbags.
F ront airbags will not deploy:
- if the ignit ion is switched off when a crash oc -
curs,
- in s ide collisions,
- in rear-end collisions,
- in rollovers,
- when the crash decelerat ion measured by the
airbag system is less than the minimum thresh
o ld needed for airbag deployment as registered
by the electronic contro l unit .
Th e front passeng er airbag will a lso not
deplo y:
- when the front passenger seat is not occupied,
- when the weight on the front passenger seat as
sensed by the Advanced Airbag System indi
cates that the front airbag on the passenger
s ide has to be turned off by the electronic con
trol unit (the
P A SSENGER AIR B AG OFF light
comes on and stays on).
A WARNING
Sitting in the wrong pos ition can increase the
r isk of se rious injury in c rashes .
Airb ag sys tem
-To reduce the risk of injury when the ai rbags
inflate, the driver and passengers must al
ways sit in an upright posit ion, must not
lean aga inst or place any part of their body
too close to the area where the airbags are located.
- Occupants who are unbelted, out of posit ion
or too close to the airbag can be seriously in jur ed by an airbag as it unfolds with g reat
for ce in the blink of an eye
Q page 139.
A WARNING
A child in a rearward-facing child safety seat
i nsta lled on the front passenger seat will be
seriously injured and can be k illed if the front
a irbag inflates - even with an Advanced Airbag
System .
- The inflating airbag will hit the child safety seat or infant ca rrier with great force and
will smash the child safety seat and child aga inst the backrest, center armrest, door
or roof.
- Always install rear-fac ing child safety seats
on the rear seat.
- If you must install a rea rwa rd facing child
safety seat on the front passenger seat be
cause of exceptional circumstances and the
PA SS ENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not
come on and stay on, immediately install
the rea r-facing child safety seat in a rear
seating position and have the a irbag system
inspected by your au thori zed A udi dealer.
A 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 or by be
ing p ushed into you as the airbag inflates .
- Never hold things in yo ur hands or on your
lap when the vehicle is in use .
- Never transport items on or in the area o f
the front passenger seat . Objects could
move into the area of the front airbags dur
ing braking or other sudden maneuver and
become dangerous projectiles that can
cause serious persona l injury if the airbags
inflate.
147