Airbag syste m
also not infl ate in s ide or rear collisions, o r in
ro ll-overs.
Al wa ys rememb er: Airbag s will depl oy on ly once ,
a nd on ly in ce rtain k inds of coll is ions. Yo ur safety
be lts are always there to offer protection in those
situations in which airbags are not supposed to
dep loy, or when they have already deployed; for
examp le, when your vehicle str ikes or is struck by
another after the first collis ion.
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 a irbag system works most
effect ively when used with the safety belts.
There fore, always properly wear your safety belts
r=;, page 143.
A WARNING
Sitting too close to the steering wheel or in
st rument panel will decrease the effective
ness of the airbags and will inc rease the risk
of personal injury in a co llision.
- Never sit closer than 10 inches (25 cm) to
the steering wheel or instrument panel.
- If you cannot sit mo re than 10 inches
(25 cm) from the steering wheel, invest i
gate whether adaptive equipment may be
available to help yo u reach the pedals and
increase your seating distance from the
steering wheel.
- If you are unrestrained, leaning forwa rd, s it
ting sideways or o ut of pos ition in any way,
your risk of in jury is much h igher.
- Yo u will also receive serious injuries and
could even be killed if you are up aga inst the
airbag or too close to it when it inflates -
even with an Advanced Airbag.
- To reduce the risk of injury when an airbag inflates, a lways wear safety belts properly
c> page 146, Safety belts.
-Always make certain that chi ldren age 12 or
younger always ride in the rear seat. If chil dren are not properly restra ined, they may
be severe ly injured or k illed when an airbag
inflates.
- Never let children ride unrestrained or im prope rly restrained in the vehicle . Adjust the
front seats properly.
152
-
- Never ride with the back rest recl ined.
-Always sit as far as possible from the steer -
ing wheel or the instrument panel
c> page 135.
- Always sit upright with your back against
the backrest of your seat.
- Never p lace your feet on the ins trument
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 recl ine the front passenger's seat to
transpo rt objects. Items can also move into
the area of the s ide a irbag or the front air
bag du ring brak ing or in a sudden maneu
ver. Objects near the airbags can become
proje cti les and cause injury when an airbag
inflates.
A WARNING
A irbags that have deployed in a crash m ust be
replaced.
- Use on ly orig inal equipment airbags ap
proved by A udi and inst alled by a trained
technician who has the ne cessary tools and
diagnostic equipment to prope rly replace
any airbag in yo ur vehicle and assure system
effectiveness in a crash.
'
- Never permit salvaged or recycled airbags to
be installed in your vehicle .
Child restraints on the front seat - some
important things to know
.,. Be sure to read the important i nformat ion and
head the WARNINGS fo r important details
about c hildren and Advanced A irbags
r=;, page 171 .
Even thoug h your veh icle is equipped w it h an Ad
vanced Airbag Sys tem, make certa in that a ll chil
dre n, espec ia lly those 12 yea rs and younger, al
ways ride i n the b ack seat prope rly res trained fo r
their age and size. The airbag on the passenger
s ide makes the front seat a potentially dange rous
p lace for a child to r ide . The front seat is not the
safest place for a chi ld i n a forward-fac ing chi ld ...,.
..... N
co ~ CX)
..... I.Cl U"I
..... I.Cl .....
Front airbags
Description of front airbags
The airbag system can provide supplemental
protection to properly restrained front seat occu
pants .
Fig. 165 Loca tion of driver airbag: in steering wheel
Fig. 166 Loca tion of fron t passenger's airbag: i n the in
st rument panel
Your veh icle is equipped with an "Advanced Air
bag System" in compliance with United States
Federa l Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
(FMVSS) 208, as well as Canada Motor Vehicle
Safety Standard (CMVSS) 208 as app licab le 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 belts also have load limiters to help reduce the forces applied to the body in a
crash.
The airbag fo r the driver is in the steering whee l
hub ¢
fig. 165 and the airbag for the front pas
senger is in the instrument panel¢
fig. 166. The
general location of the airbags is marked "AIR
BAG".
Airb ag sys tem
There is a lot you need to know about the airbags
in your vehicle . We urge you to read the detai led
information about airbags, safety belts and ch ild
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 a irbags alone fo r protect ion.
- Even when they deploy, airbags provide only supplemental protection.
-Airbag work most effectively when used with proper ly worn safety be lts .
- Therefore, always wear your safety belts and make sure that everybody in your vehicle is
properly restrained.
_&. WARNING
-A pe rson on the front passenger seat, espe
cially infants and small ch ild ren, w ill receive
se rious inj ur ies and can even be k illed by be
i ng 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 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 impossib le 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" opt ion under
the U.S. Federal Standard if a ch ild that is
heavier than the typ ical 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 sea t area than
in the front sea ting pos ition.
- For their own safety, all c hildren, especially
12 yea rs and younger, should always ride in
the back properly restrained for their age and size .
-
155
Child safety
exceptional circumstances and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not
come on and stay on, immediately install
the rear-facing child safety seat in a rear
seating position and have the airbag system inspected immediately by your Audi dealer .
A WARNING
If, in exceptional circumstances, you must in
stall a forward-facing child 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 airbag.
- Always follow the manufacturer's instruc
tions provided with the child safety seat or
carrier.
- Always move the passenger seat into its
rearmost position in the seat's fore and aft
adjustment range, as far away from the air
bag as possible before installing the child
restraint. The backrest must be adjusted to
an upright position.
- Always make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on all the
time whenever the ignition is switched on.
(D Tips
Always replace child restraints that were in stalled in a vehicle during a crash. Damage to
a child restraint that is not visible could cause
it to fail in another collision situation.
Advanced front airbag system and children
Your vehicle is equipped with a front "Advanced
Airbag System" in compliance with United States
Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS)
208, as well as Canada Motor Vehicle Safety
Standard (CMVSS) 208 as applicable at the time
your vehicle was manufactured.
The Advanced Airbag system in your vehicle has
been certified to meet the "low-risk" require
ments for 3- and 6-year old children on the pas
senger side and small adults on the driver side.
The low risk deployment criteria are intended to
172
reduce the risk of injury through interaction with
the airbag that can occur, for example, by being
too close to the steering wheel and instrument panel when the airbag inflates. In addition, the
system has been certified to comply with the
"suppression" requirements of the Safety Stand
ard, to turn off the front airbag for infants up to
12 months who are restrained on the front pas
senger seat in child restraints that are listed in
the Standard .
Even though your vehicle is equipped with an Ad
vanced Airbag system, all children, especially
those 12 years and younger, should always 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 safety seat. It
can be a very dangerous place for an infant or a
larger child in a rearward-facing seat.
· Advanced Airbags and the weight-sensing
mat in the front seat
The Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle de
tects the presence of an infant or child in a child
restraint on the front passenger seat using the
weight-sensing mat in the seat cushion and the
sensor below the safety belt latch on the front
passenger seat that measures the tension on the
safety belt.
The weight-sensing mat measures total weight
of the child and the child safety seat and a child
blanket on the front passenger seat . The weight
on the front passenger seat is related to the de
sign of the child restraint and its "footprint", the
size and shape of the bottom of the child re
straint as it sits on the seat . The weight of a child
restraint and its "footprint" vary for different
kinds of child restraints and for the different
models of the same kind of child restraint of
fered by child restraint manufacturers.
The weight ranges for the individual types,
makes and models of child restraints that the
NH TSA has specified in the Safety Standard to
gether with the weight ranges of typical infants
and typical 1 year -old child have been stored in ..,.
.... N
co
er::
co
....
(if applicable)
P indicates a tire for a passenger
vehicle. T indicates a tire desig
nated for temporary use.
@ Nominal width
Nominal width of the tire be
tween the sidewalls in millime
ters. In general: the larger the
number, the wider the tire.
@ Aspect ratio
Height/width ratio expressed as a
percentage.
@ Tire construction
R indicates a radial tire.
® Rim diameter
Size of the rim diameter in inches.
@ Load index and speed rating
The load index indicates the tire's
load-carrying capacity.
The speed rating indicates the
maximum permitted speed¢.&
in
Winter tires on page 249.
"EXTRA LOAD", "xl" or "RF" indi
cates that the tire is reinforced or
is an Extra Load tire.
Speed rat-
Maximum permitted speed
ing
p
up to 93 mph (150 km/h)
Q up to 99 mph (160 km/h)
Wheels
Speed rat- Maximum permitted speed
ing
R up to 106 mph (170 km/h)
s up to 110 mph (180 km/h)
T up to 118 mph (190 km/h)
u up to 124 mph (200 km/h)
H up to 130 mph (210 km/h)
V up to 149 mph (240 km/h) al
z above 149 mph (240 km/h)al
w up to 168 mph (270 km/h)al
y up to 186 mph (300 km/h)al
a) For tires above 149 mph (240 km/h),
tire manufacturers sometimes use the
code "ZR".
(j) US DOT number (TIN) and
manufacture date
The manufacture date is listed on
the tire sidewall (it may only ap
pear on the inner side of the tire):
DOT ... 2215 ...
means, for example, that the tire
was produced in the 22nd week of
the year 2015.
@ Audi Original equipment
tires
Audi Original equipment tires
with the designation "AO" or "RO" have been specially matched to
your Audi. When used correctly,
these tires meet the highest
standards of safety and handling.
An authorized Audi dealer or au
thorized Audi Service Facility will ""
235
Bead
means the part of the tire that is
made of steel wires, wrapped or
reinforced by ply cords and that is
shaped to fit the rim.
Bead separation
means a breakdown of the bond
between components in the bead.
Cord
means the strands forming the
plies in the tire.
Cold tire inflation pressure
means the tir e pressure recom
mended by the vehic le manufac
turer for a tire of a designated
size that has not been driven for
more than a couple of miles (kilo
meters) at low speeds in the
three hour period before the tire pressure is measured or adjusted .
Curb weight
means the weight of a motor ve
hicle with standard equipment in
c luding the maximum capacity of
fuel, oi l, and coolant, a ir condi
tioning and add itional weight of
optional equipment.
E xtra load ti re
means a tire designed to operate
at higher loads and at h igher in -
Wheels
flation pressures than the corre
sponding standard tire . Extra load
tires may be identified as "XL",
" xl", "EXTRA LOAD", o r "RF" on
the sidewal l.
Gross Axle Weight Rating
( " GAWR")
means the load -carrying capacity
of a single axle system, measured
at the tire-ground interfaces .
Gross Vehicle Weight Rating
("GVWR ")
means the max imum total loaded
weight of the vehic le.
Groove
means the space between two ad
jacent tr ead ribs .
Load rating (code)
means the max im um load tha t a
tire is rated to carry fo r a g iven in
flat ion pressure . You may not find
this informat ion on all tires be
cause it is not requ ired by law.
Maximum load rating
means the load rating for a tire at
the maximum pe rmissible infla
tion pressure for that tire.
Maximum loaded vehicle
weight
means the sum o f:
23 7
..
"XL" "xl" "EXTRA LOAD" or "RF" ' ' '
on the sidewall.
Rim
means a metal support for a tire
or a tire and tube assembly upon
which the tire beads are seated .
Rim diameter
means nominal diameter of the
bead seat. If you change your
wheel size, you will have to pur
chase new tires to match the new
rim d iameter.
Rim size designation
means rim diameter and width.
Rim width
means nominal distance between
r im flanges.
Sidewall
means that portion of a tire be
tween the tread and bead .
Speed rating (letter code )
means the speed at wh ich a tire is
designed to be driven for exten d
ed periods of t ime . The ratings
range from 93 mph (150 km/h)
to 186 mph (298 km/h)
¢ table
on page 235.
Yo u may not find
this information on all tires be
cause it is not required by law.
Wheels
T he speed rating letter code,
where applicable, is molded on
the tire sidewall and indicates the
maximum pe rmissible road
speeds
¢ & in Winter tires on
page 249 .
Tire pressure monitoring
system*
means a system that detects
when one or more of a vehicle's
tires are underin flated and illum i
na tes a low tire pressure wa rning
telltale.
Tread
means that port ion of a tire that
comes into contact with the road.
Tread separation
means pulling away of the tread
from the tire carcass .
Treadwear indicators (TWI)
means the projections within the
principal grooves designed to give
a visua l indication of t he degrees
of wear of the tread . See
¢ page 243, Treadwear indicator
for mo re info rma tion on measu r-
ing tire wear. .,.
239
Occupant loading and distri
but ion for vehicle normal load
for various design ated se ating
c a pa cit ies
Refer to the tire inflation pres
sure label ¢
page 244, fig. 207
for the number of seating posi
tions. Refer to the table ¢
table
on page 246
for the number of
people that correspond to the ve
hicle normal load.
New tires or wheels
Audi recommends having all work
on tires or wheels performed by
an authorized Audi dealer or au
thorized Audi Service Facility .
These facilities have the proper
knowledge and are equ ipped with
the required tools and replace
ment parts .
.,,. New tires do not yet have the
opt imum adhesion properties.
Drive carefully and at moderate
speeds for the first 350 m iles
(500 km) with new tires .
... use tires of the same construc
tion, size (rolling circumference)
and as close to the same tread pattern as possible on all four
wheels.
Wheels
.,,. Do not replace tires individually.
At least replace both tires on the same axle at the same time .
.,,. Audi recommends that you use
Audi Original equipment tires. If
you would like to use different
tires, please note that the tires may perform differently even if
they are the same size¢,&..
.,,. If you would like to equip your
vehicle w ith a tire/r im combina
tion that is different from what
was installed at the factory, con
sult w ith an authorized Audi
dealer or authorized Audi Service
Facility before making a pur
chase ¢
..1,..
The spare t ire* is diffe rent from
the regular tires installed on the
vehicle - for example, if winter
tires or wide tires are installed -
then only use the spare tire* tem
porarily in case of emergency and
drive carefully while it is in use . It
should be replaced with a regular
tire as soon as possible.
On
all wheel d rive vehicles, all
four wheels must be equipped
with tires that are the same brand
and have the same construction
and tread pa ttern so that the
drive system is not damaged by
24 1
Wheels
different tire speeds. For this rea
son, in case of emergency, only
use a spare tire* that is the same
circumference as the regular
tires.
,&. WARNING -
-Only use tire/rim combina tions and suitable wheel bolts
that have been approved by
Audi. Otherwise, damage to
the vehicle and an accident could result.
-For technical reasons, it is not possible to use tires from oth
er vehicles - in some cases,
you cannot even use tires from the same vehicle model.
-Make sure that the tires you select have enough clearance
to the vehicle . Replacement
tires should not be chosen simply based on the nominal
size, because t ires with a dif
ferent construction can differ
greatly even if they are the
same size. If there is not
enough clearance, the tires or
the vehicle can be damaged and this can reduce driving
safety and increase the risk of
an accident.
242
-Only use tires that are more
than 6 years old when abso
lutely necessary and drive
carefully when doing so .
-Do not use run-flat tires on your vehicle. Using them when not permitted can Lead to ve
hicle damage or accidents.
- If you install wheel covers on
the vehicle, make sure they al
low enough air circulation to
cool the brake system. If they
do not, this could increase the
risk of an accident.
Tire wear/damage
Fig. 205 Tire profile: tread wear ind ica
tor
Tire wear
Check the tires regularly for wear.
- Inflation pressure that is too Low
or high can increase tire wear
considerably.
-Driving quickly through curves, rapid acceleration and heavy
braking increase tire wear. ..