2016 AUDI A5 COUPE warning light

Airbag syste m
-The inflating airbag will hit the child safety
seat or infant carrier with great force and
will smash the child 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 facing child
safety seat on the front passenger seat be­ cause of exceptional circumstances and the
P ASS ENGER 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
seat ing pos ition and have the airbag system
inspected by your authorized Audi dea ler.
- Forward-facing 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 .
A WARNING
If, in exceptional circumstances, you must in­
stall a forward-facing chi ld restraint on the
front passenger's seat:
- Always make sure the forward-facing seat
has been designed and certified by its man­
ufacturer for use on a front seat with a pas­
senger front and side 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 before insta lling the for­
ward-facing child restra int. The bac krest
mus t be adjusted to an up right posit ion.
- Make s ure that the
PASSENGER AI R BAG
OFF
light comes on and s tays on all the time
whenever the ignition is switched on.
A WARNING
To red uce the risk of serio us in jury, make s ure
that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light wi ll
be displayed whenever a child restraint is in­
stalled on the front passenger seat and the
ign ition is switched on.
132
- If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OF F light does
not stay on, perform the checks described
¢ page 139, Monitoring the Advanced Air­
bag System .
-Take the child restra int off the front passen­
ger seat and install it properly at one of the
rear seat positions if the
PA SSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
light does not stay on .
- Have the airbag system inspected by your
author ized Audi dealer immed iately .
- Always carefully follow instructions from
child restraint manufacturers when instal ­
ling child restra ints.
A WARNING
If, in exceptional circumstances, you must in­
stall a forward or rearward-fac ing child re­
stra int on the fron t passenger's seat:
- Improper installat ion of child restraints can
reduce the ir effectiveness or even prevent
them from provid ing any pro tect ion.
- An improperly installed child res tra int can
inter fere with the airbag as it deploys and
serious ly injure or even kil l the child -eve n
w ith an Advanced A irbag System.
- Always carefully follow the manufacturer's
instructions provided with the child safe ty
seat o r carrier.
- Never p lace add ition al items on the seat
that can increase the tota l weight registered
by the weight -sensing mat and can cause in ­
jury in a crash .

.... N
0 I­co .... .... -a small adu lt o r teenager is on the front pas ­
s e nger seat
- a passenger who is not sitting uprigh t w ith
their back against a non-reclined backrest with
their feet on the vehicle floor in front of the
seat is on the front passenger seat.
I f the front passenger airbag dep loys , the Feder ­
al Standard requires the airbag to meet the "low
risk" deployment criteria to help reduce the risk
of injury through interaction with the airbag.
"Low risk" dep loyment occurs in those crashes
t ha t take place at lower decelera tions as defined
in the electronic control unit.¢
page 139
Alway s rem ember: Even though your vehicle is
equipped w ith Advanced Airbags, the safest place
f or children is properly restrained on the back
seat . Please be sure to read the important infor ­
mat ion in the sections that follow and be sure to
heed all of the WARN INGS.
.&, WARNING
To reduce the r isk of inj ury when an a irbag in­
flates, a lways wear safety belts p roperly.
- If you are unrest rained, leaning fo rwa rd, s it­
t ing s ideways or o ut of pos ition in any way,
yo ur risk of in jury is much h igher .
- Yo u will also receive serious injur ies and
cou ld even be killed if you are up aga inst the
airbag or too close to it when it inflates -
even with an Advanced Airbag¢
page 129.
.&_ WARNING
A child in a rearward-facing chi ld safety seat
installed on the front passenge r seat w ill be
ser iously injured and can be killed if the front
airbag inflates -even with an Advanced A irbag
System .
- Although the Advanced A irbag 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 absolu tely g uaran­
tee that deployment is impossible in a ll con­
c eivable s ituations that may happen during
the useful life of your vehicle .
- The inflating a irbag w ill hit the child safety
seat or infant carrier wi th great force and
Airb ag sys tem
will smash the child safety seat and child
aga inst the backrest, center armrest, door,
or roof.
- Always install rearward-facing child re­
stra ints in the back seat.
- If you must install a rearward facing child
safety seat on the front passenger seat be­
cause of exceptional circumstances and the
PAS SENGER 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 thorized Audi dealer.
.&_ WARNING
If, in exceptional c ircumstances , you must in­
stall a forward-facing child res traint on the
front passenger's seat:
- Always make sure the forward-fa cing seat
has bee n des igned and certified by its man­
ufacturer for use on a front seat with a pas­
senger front and side airbag.
- Never p ut the fo rward-facing child restraint
up against or very near the instr ument pan ·
el.
-Always move the passenger seat into its
rearmost position in the seat's fore and aft
ad justment range, as far away from the a ir ­
bag as possible, before install ing the for­
ward-facing ch ild restraint. The backrest
m ust be adjusted to an upr ight position .
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR B AG
OFF
li ght comes on and stays on all the time
whenever the ignit ion is switched on .
Advanced Airbag System components
The front passenger seat in your veh icle has a lot
of ve ry important parts of the Advanced Airbag
System i n it. These parts incl ude the weight ­
sensing mat, senso rs, wir ing , b racke ts, and
more . The f unction o f the system in the front
passenger seat is checked by the electronic con­
tro l unit when the ign ition is on . The control unit
monitors the Advanced Airbag System and turns
the a irbag ind icator light on when a malfunction
in the system components i s detected. The func-
tion of the a irbag ind icator light is described in .,.
135

Airbag syste m
greater detail below. Because the front passen ­
ger seat contains important parts of the Ad­
vanced Airbag System, you must take care to pre ­
vent it from being damaged. Damage to the seat m ay prevent the Advanced Airbag for the front
passenger seat from doing its job in a crash .
The front Advanced Airba g Sy stem con sists
of the follo wing :
-Crash sensors in the front of the vehicle that
measure vehicle acceleration/deceleration to
provide information to the Advanced Airbag
System about the seve rity of the crash .
- An electronic control un it, with integrated
crash sensors for front and side impacts . The
contro l unit "decides " whethe r to fire the front
airbags based on the information received from
the crash sensors. The control unit a lso "de­
cides" whether the safety be lt pretensioners
shou ld be activated.
- An Advanced Airbag with gas generator and
contro l valve for the driver ins ide the steering
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 the upho lstery
padding of the front passenger seat cushion
that measures th e total weight on the seat . T he
information registered is sent continuously to
the e lec tronic control unit to regu la te dep loy­
ment of the front Advanced A irbag on the pas ­
senger side .
- An airbag monitoring system and indica tor
l ight in the instrument cluster
r=> page 139.
-A sensor in each front sea t registers the dis­
tance between the respective seat and the
steering wheel or instrument panel. The infor­ mation reg istered is sent continuous ly to the
electronic control u nit to regulate deployment
of the front Advanced A irbags.
- T he
PASSEN GE R AIR B AG OFF light comes on
and stays on in the center of the inst rument
pane l
c> page 139, fig . 134 and tells you when
the front Advan ced Airbag on the passenger
side has been turned off .
- A sensor below the safety belt la tch fo r the
front seat passenger to meas ure the tension on
136
the safety belt. The tension on the safety belt
and the weight reg istered 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 c> page 130, 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 or not and
transmits this information to the e lectronic
cont rol u nit.
_&. WARNING
Damage to the front passenge r seat can pre­
vent the front airbag from work ing properly .
- Improper repair or disassembly of the front
passenger and driver seat will prevent the
Advanced Airbag System from f unctioning
proper ly.
- Repairs to the front passenger seat mus t be
performed by qualified and proper ly trained
wo rkshop personne l.
- Never remove the front passenger or driver
seat from the vehicle.
- Never remove the upholstery from the front
passenger seat.
- Never d isassemble or remove pa rts from the
seat o r disconnect wi res from it.
- Never carry sharp objects in your pocke ts or
place them on the seat. If the weight-sens­
ing mat in the passenger seat is p unctured
it cannot work proper ly.
- Never carry things on your lap or carry ob­ jects on the passenger seat. Such items can increase the weight reg istered by the
weight-sensing mat and send the wrong in­
formation to the airbag control unit.
- Never store items under the front passenger
seat . Parts of the Advanced Airbag System
under the passenger seat could be dam­
aged, preventing them and the airbag sys­
tem from working properly .
- Never p lace seat covers or replacement up­
holstery that have not been specifically ap­
proved by Audi on the front seats.
- Seat covers can prevent the Advanced A ir­
bag System from recognizing child

,-1 N
0 1-CX)
,-1 I.Cl U"I
,-1 I.Cl ......
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-sensing mat in the seat from accu­
rately registering the child restraint or per­
son on the seat and prevent the Advanced
Airbag System from functioning properly .
- If you must use a child restraint on the front passenger seat and the child restraint man­
ufacturer's instructions require the use of a
towel, foam cushion or something else to
properly position the child restraint, make
certain that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on whenever the
child restraint is installed on the front pas­
senger seat.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not come on and stay on, immediately in­
stall child restraint in a rear seating position
and have the airbag system inspected by
your authorized Audi dealer .
How the Advanced Airbag System
components work together
The front Advanced Airbag System and the side
airbags supplement the protection offered by the
front three-point safety belts with pretensioners
and load limiters and the adjustable head re­
straints to help reduce the risk of inju ry in a wide
range of accident and crash situations. Be sure to
read the important information about safety and
heed the WARNINGS in this chapter.
Deployment of the Advanced Airbag System and
the act ivation of the safety be lt pretensioners de­
pend on the deceleration measured by the crash
sensors and regis tered by the electronic control
unit . Crash severity depends on speed and decel­
eration as well as the mass and stiffness of the
vehicle or object involved in the crash .
On the passenger side, regardless of safety belt
use, the airbag will be turned off if the weight on
the passenger seat is less than the amount pro­ grammed in the elect ronic control unit. The front
Airbag system
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 recognized on the seat.
The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
and stays on to tell you when the front Advanced
Airbag on the passenger side has been turned off
q page 130, Child restraints on the front seat -
some important things to know .
_&. 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
qpage 129.
More important things to know about front
airbags
Fig. 133 Inflated front airbags
-.... N 0 :i:
~
Safety belts are important to help keep front
seat occupants in the proper seated position so
that airbags can unfold properly and provide sup­
plemental protection in a frontal collision .
The front airbags are 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,
- the seats have been positioned so that the oc-
cupant is properly seated as far as possible
from the airbag, ..,.
137

Airbag syste m
-and the head restraints have been properly ad -
justed .
Because airbags i nflate i n the blink of an eye w ith
g reat for ce, th ings you have on your 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 dus t is re leased.
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 sk in.
It is important to remember that whi le the sup ­
p lemental airbag system is designed to reduce
the likelihood of serious injur ies, other in juries,
for example swelling, bruising and m inor 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 in some fronta l co llisions
i n which the veh icle decelerat ion is high enough
to deploy the airbags.
Fr ont airbags w ill 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 control unit.
The front pass eng er airbag will also not
depl oy :
- when the front passenger seat is not occupied,
- when the weight on the front passenger seat as
sensed by the Advanced A irbag System indi­
cates that the front airbag on the passenger
s ide has to be turned off by the electronic con­
trol unit (the
PAS SENGER AIR B AG OFF light
comes on and stays on) .
A WARNING
Sitting in the wrong pos ition can increase the
r is k of se rious i njury in c rashes.
138
- To reduce the risk o f injury when the airbags
inflate, the driver and passengers must al­
ways sit in an upright position, 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 serious ly
in ju red by an airbag as it unfolds wit h great
force in the blink of an eye
c:> page 130.
A WARNING
A child in a rearward-fa cing child safety seat
installed on the front p assenger sea t will be
seriously injured and can be killed if the front
airbag inflates -even with an Advanced Airbag
System.
- The inflating airbag will hit the chi ld safety
seat o r infant ca rrier with great force and
w ill smash the child safety seat and child
aga inst the backrest, center a rmrest, door
or roof.
- Always install rear-fac ing ch ild safety seats
on the rear seat.
- If you must insta ll a rearwa rd facing child
safety seat on the front passenger seat be­
cause of exceptional circumstances and the
PAS SENGER 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 ai rbag system
inspected by your au thori zed Au di d ealer.
A WARNING
Objects between you and the airbag will i n­
crease the r is k 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 o r on your
lap when the vehicle 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 airbags dur­
ing braking or other sudden maneuver and
become dangerous projectiles that can
cause serious persona l injury if the airbags
inflate.

- Never place or attach accessories or other objects (such as cupholders, telephone
brackets, la rge, heavy or bulky objects) on
t h e doors, over or near th e area marked
"AIRBAG" on t he s teering wheel, instru­
ment pane l, seat backrests or between
those areas and you rself. These objects
cou ld cause injury in a crash, especially
when the airbags inflate.
- Never re cline the front passenger's seat to
transport objects. Items can also move into
the area of the side airbag or t he front a ir ­
bag during braking or in a sudden maneu­
ver . Objects near the airbags can become
projectiles and cause injury, particular ly
when the seat is reclined.
A WARNING
The fine dust created when airbags deploy can
cause breathing problems for people w ith a
history of asthma or other breathing condi­
tions.
-To reduce the risk of breathing problems, those w ith asthma or other respiratory con­
ditions should get fresh air right away by
gett ing out of the veh icle o r opening w in­
dows or doo rs.
- If you are in a collision in which airbags de­
ploy, wash your hands and face with mild
soap and wa ter before eat ing.
- Be careful not to get the dust into your eyes,
o r in to any cuts or s cratches.
- If the resid ue should get into your eyes,
flush them with water.
Monitoring the
Advanced Airbag System
fA (USA models) /!f (Canada models)
Airbag monitoring indicator light
Two separate indicators monitor the function of
the Advanced Airbag System: the airbag moni­
toring indicator light and the
PASSENGER AIR
,..., BAG OFF
light. N
0
~ The Advanced Airbag System ( includ ing the elec-,...,
~ tro nic control un it, senso r cir cuits and system
~ w iri ng) is monitored continuously to make su re ......
Airb ag sys tem
that it is functioning properly whenever the igni­
tion is on . Every time you turn on the ignition, the
airbag system indicator light
fl (USA models)/
El (Canada models) will come on for a few sec­
onds (function check).
The system must be in spected when the
indicator light
II (USA models) , m
(Canada models ):
- does not come on when the ignition is sw itched
on,
- does not go out a few seconds after you have
sw itched on the ignit ion, or
- comes on while driv ing .
If an airbag system malfunction is detected, the
indicator light will first start flashing to catch the
driver's attention and then stay on continuously
to serve as a constant rem inder to have the sys­
tem inspected immediately.
If a malfunction occurs that turns the front air­
bag on the passenger side off, the
PAS SENGER
AIR BAG OFF
lig ht will come on and stay on
whenever the ignition is on .
A WARNING
f-
An airbag system that is not functioning prop-
e rly cannot provide supplemental protect ion
in a fronta l crash.
-If the ai rbag ind icator light~ page 19
comes when the veh icle is being used, have
the system inspec ted immedia tely by your
author ized Audi dealer. It is possi ble that
the air bag will inflate when it is not sup ­
posed to, or w ill not inflate when it should.
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
Fig. 1 34 Sect ion from the instrument panel: PASSENGER
AIR BAG O FF light ...
139

.... N
0 I­co .... .... -the adult on the front passenger seat is proper­
ly seated on the center of the seat cushion with
his or her back up against the backrest and the
backrest is not reclined
9page 113, Correc t
passenger seating positions,
- the adult is not taking weight off the seat by
holding on to the passenger assis t handle
above the front passenger door or suppor ting
their weight on the armrest,
- the safety bel t is being properly worn and that
there is not a lot of slack in the safety belt web­
bing,
- accessory seat covers or cushions or other
things that may cause an incorrect reading or
impression on the weight-sensing mat under
the upholstery of the seat have been removed
from the front passenger seat,
- a safety belt extender has not been left in the
safety belt latch for the front passenger seat.
In addition to the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light in the center of the instrument panel, the
message
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF or PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG ON
will briefly appear in the instru­
ment cluster display . This is to inform the driver
of the current front passenger airbag status.
Important safety instructions on
monitoring the Advanced Airbag System
A WARNING
An airbag system that is not functioning prop­ erly cannot provide supplemental protection
in a frontal crash .
- If the airbag indicator light
9 page 19
comes when the vehicle is being used, have
the system inspected immediately by your
authorized Audi dealer. It is possible that
the airbag will inflate when it is not sup­
posed to, or will not inflate when it should.
A WARNING
If the front airbag inflates, a child without a
child restraint, in a rearward-facing child safe­
ty seat or in a forward-facing child restraint
that has not been properly installed will be
seriously injured and can be killed.
Airbag system
-Even though your vehicle is equipped with
an Advanced Airbag System, make certain
that all children, especially 12 years and
younger, always ride on the back seat prop­ erly restrained for their age and size .
- Always install forward or rear-facing child
safety seats on the rear seat -even with an
Advanced Airbag System .
- If you must install a rearward-facing child
safety seat on the front passenger seat be­
cause of exceptional circumstances and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not
appear and stay on, immediately install the
rear-facing child safety seat in a rear seating
position and have the airbag system in­
spected by your authorized Audi dealer.
-A tight tether or other strap on a rearward­
facing child restraint attached to the front passenger seat can put too much pressure
on the weight-sensing mat in the seat and
register more weight than is actually on the
seat . The heavier weight registered can
make the system work as though an adult
were on the seat and deploy the Advanced
Airbag when it must be suppressed causing
serious or even fatal injury to the child.
- If, in exceptional circumstances, you must
install a forward-facing child restraint on
the front passenger seat, always move the
seat into its rearmost position in the seat's
fore and aft adjustment range, as far away
from the airbag as possible. The backrest must be adjusted to an upright position .
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
-- If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not go out when an adult is sitting on the
front passenger seat after taking the steps
described above, make sure the adult is
properly seated and restrained at one of the rear seating positions.
- Have the airbag system inspected by your
authorized Audi dealer before transporting
anyone on the front passenger seat .
141

Airbag system
position in a frontal collision so that the airbags
can provide supplemental protection.
The airbag system is not a substitute for your
safety belt. Rather, it is part of the overall occu­
pant restraint system in your vehicle. Always re­
member that the airbag system can only help to
protect you if you are wearing your safety belt
and wearing it properly . This is why you should
always wear your safety belt, not just because
the law requires you to do soc::>
page 121, Gener ­
al information.
Remember too, airbags will deploy only once and
only in certain kinds of accidents - your safety
belts are always there to offer protection in those
accidents in which airbags are not supposed to
deploy or when they have already deployed, for
example when your vehicle strikes or is struck by
another after the first collision.
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 belts correctly.
It is important to remember that while the sup­
plemental knee airbag system is designed to re­
duce the likelihood of serious injuries, other inju­
ries, for example, swelling, bruising, and minor
abrasions and friction burns can also occur when
an airbag inflates .
The knee airbag system basically consists of:
- The electronic control module
- Two inflatable airbags (airbag and gas genera-
tor), one for the driver and one for the front
passenger
- The airbag indicator light in the instrument
panel
The knee airbag system will not deploy:
- when the ignition is turned off
- in frontal collisions when the deceleration
measured by the control unit is too low
- in side collisions
- in rear-end collisions
- in rollovers
144
- in the event of a system malfunction (warning/
indicator light is on)
c::> page 19.
A WARNING
-Safety belts and the airbag system can only
provide protection when occupants are in
the proper seating position
r::;> page 13 7.
- If the airbag indicator light
c::> page 19
comes when the vehicle is being used, have
the system inspected immediately by your
authorized Audi dealer. It is possible that
the airbag will inflate when it is not sup­
posed to, or will not inflate when it should.
How knee airbags work
App lies to vehicles: with knee airbags
The risk of injury to the leg area can be reduced
by fully deployed knee airbags.
Fig. 136 Inflated a irbags prot ectin g in a frontal coll is io n
The knee airbag system has been designed so
that the airbags for the driver and front passen­
ger deploy in certain but not all frontal collisions.
If the front airbags deploy, the knee airbags also
deploy in frontal collisions when the deployment
threshold stored in the control unit is met.
When the system deploys, the airbags fill with a
propellant gas, and inflate between the lower
part of the instrument panel and the driver and
the lower part of the instrument panel and the
front passenger
c::> page 13 7, fig. 133.
Although they are not a soft pillow, they can
cushion the impact and in this way they can help
to reduce the risk of injury to the lower extremi­
ties.
..