(D Tips
If the weight-sensing mat in the front passen
ger seat detects an empty seat, the front air
bag on the passenger side will be turned off,
and
P ASS ENGER AIR B AG OFF will stay on.
Repair , care and disposal of the airbags
Parts of the a irbag system are installed at many
d ifferent p laces on your Aud i. Installing, remov
ing, servicing o r repa iring a part in an area of the
vehicle can damage a pa rt of an airbag system
and prevent that system from working properly in a co llision.
There are some importa nt things you have to
know to make sure that the effectiveness of the
system w ill not be impaired and that discarded
components do not cause injury or pollute the
environment.
A WARNING
Improper care, serv icing and repair proce
dures can increase the r isk of personal injury
and death by preventing an airbag from de
ploying when needed or deploying an airbag
unexpectedly :
-
-Never cover, obstruct, or change the steer
ing wheel horn pad or a irbag cover or the in
strument panel or mod ify them in any way .
- Never attach any objects such as cupholders
or telephone mountings to the surfaces cov
er ing the airbag units .
- For cleaning the horn pad or instrument panel, use only a soft, dry cloth or one mois
tened with plain water. Solvents or cleaners
cou ld damage the a irbag cover or change
the stiffness or strength of the mater ial so
that the airbag cannot dep loy and protect
properly.
- Never repair, adjust, or change any parts of
the airbag system.
- All work on the stee ring wheel, instr ument
pane l, front seats or electrical system (in
cluding the installation of audio equipment,
cellu lar telephones and CB radios, etc .)
must be performed by a qualified technician
Airb ag sys tem
who has the training and special equ ipment
necessary.
- For any wo rk on the airbag system, we
strong ly recommend that you see your au
thorized Audi dealer or qualified workshop .
- Never modify the front bumper or parts of
the vehicle body.
- Always make sure that the side a irbag can
inflate without interference:
- Never install seat covers or replacement
upholstery ove r the front seatbacks that
have not been specifica lly approved by
Audi .
- Never use addi tional seat cushions that
cove r the areas where the side airbags in
flate.
- Damage to the orig inal seat cove rs or to
the seam in the area of the s ide airbag
module must a lways be repaired immedi
ate ly by an authorized Aud i dealer.
- The airbag system can be activated only
once . A fter an airbag has inflated, it must
be replaced by an authorized Audi dealer or
qualified technic ian who has the technical
information, training and spec ial equ ipment
necessary.
- The airbag system can be deployed only
once . After an airbag has been deployed, it
must be replaced with new rep lacement
parts des igned and approved especially for
your Aud i model version. Replacement of
comp lete airbag systems or airbag compo
nents must be performed by qualified work
shops only. Ma ke sure that any airbag serv
ice act ion is en tered in your Aud i Wa rranty
& Maintenance booklet under AIRBAG RE
PLACEMENT RECORD.
@ For the sake of the environment
Un deployed airbag modules and p retension-
ers might be classif ied as Perchlorate Materi -
al -special handling may apply, see
www.dtsc .ca.gov/hazardouswaste/perchlo-
rate . When the vehicle or parts of the re-
straint system including airbag modu les safe-
ty belts with pretensioners are scrapped, all
applicable laws and regu lations must be ob
se rved. Your authorized Audi dealer is familiar .,.
125
Airbag system
The side curtain airbag system basically
consists of:
- The electronic control module and external side
impact sensors
- The side curta in airbags above the front and
rear side windows with ejection mitigation fea
tures
- The airbag indicator light in the instrument
panel
The airbag system is monitored electronically to
make certain it is functioning properly at all
times. Each time you turn on the ignition, the air
bag system indicator light will come on for a few
seconds (self diagnostics).
The side curtain airbag is not activated:
-if the ignition is turned off,
-in side collisions when the acceleration meas-
ured by the sensor is too low,
- in rear-end collisions.
,&. WARNING
-Safety belts and the airbag system will only
provide protection when occupants are in
the proper seating position
¢ page 50,
Front seats.
-If the airbag indicator light ¢page 16
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.
130
How side curtain airbags work
Side curtain airbags can work together with side
airbags to help reduce the risk of head and upper
torso injuries for occupants who are properly re
strained.
Fig. 128 Illus tratio n of principle: I nflated side curtain a ir
bag s on t he left s ide
The side curtain airbags inflate between the oc
cupant and the windows on the side of the vehi
cle that is struck in a side collision
~ fig. 128.
When the system is triggered, the side curtain
airbag is filled with propellant gas and breaks
through a seam above the front and rear side
windows identified by the AIRBAG label. In order
to help provide this additional protection, the
side curtain airbag must inflate within the blink
of an eye at very high speed and with great force.
The side curtain airbag could injure you if your
seating position is not proper or upright or if
items are located in the area where the supple
mental side curtain airbag inflates. This applies
especially to children~
page 132.
Although they are not a soft pillow, side curtain
airbags can "cushion" the impact and in this way
they can help to reduce the risk of injury to the
head and the upper part of the body.
A fine dust may develop when the airbag deploys .
This is quite normal and does not mean there is a
fire in the vehicle .
