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Unfastening safety belts
Unbuckle the safety belt with the red release
button only after the vehicle has stopped.
Fig. 154 Releasing the tongue from the buckle
.. Push the red release button on the buckle
Q fig. 154. The belt tongue will spring out of
the buckle Q ,&..
.. Let the belt wind up on the retractor as you
guide
the belt tongue to its stowed position.
A WARNING
Never unfasten safety belt while the vehicle is
moving . Doing so will increase your risk of be
ing injured
or kil led.
Improperly worn safety belts
a
~ 0 ± .. QJ
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 effective
ness of safety belts and wil l even increase the
risk of injury and death by mov ing the safety belt
to crit ica l areas of the body. Improper seating
positions also increase the risk of serious injury
and death when an airbag deploys and strikes an
occupant who is not in the correct seating posi
tion. A driver
is responsible for the safety of all
vehicle
occupants and especially for children.
Therefore:
.. Never permit anyone to assume an incorrect
seated position in the vehicle while traveling
QA .
186
A WARNING
Improperly worn safety belts increase the risk
of serious personal injury and death whenever
a veh icle is being used.
- Always
make sure that all veh icle occupants
are corr ectly restrained and stay in a correct
seated position whenever the vehicle is be
ing
used.
- Always read and follow all WARNINGS and
other important information Q page 183.
Safety belt tensioner
How safety belt pretensioners work
In front, side and rear-end collisions above a
particular severity
and in a rollover, safety belts
are tensioned automatically .
Pyrotechnic safety belt pretensioners
The safety belts for the front seati ng pos it io ns
are equipped with safety belt pretensioners. The
system is acti va ted by sensors in front, side and
r
ear-end collisions of great seve rity and in a roll
over. This
tightens the belt and takes up belt
s lack ~ .& in Service and disposal of safety belt
pretensioner on page 187. Taking up the slack
helps
to reduce forward occupant movement dur
i ng a collis ion.
A WARNING
-It is possi ble for the pretensioners to deploy
incorrect ly .
- The pyrotechnic
system can only provide
protection for one collision. If th e py rotech
nic pretensioners deploy, the pretensioning
sys tem must be replaced.
(!) Tips
The pyrotechnic safety belt pretensioners can
o nl y
deploy once .
- The
safety belt pretensioners do not deploy
in minor frontal, side and rear-end colli
sions .
- A
fine dust is re leased when the pyrotechnic
safety belt pretensioners deploy . This is no r
mal and is not caused by a fire in the veh i
cle.
Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Airbag sy stem
Airbag system
Important information
Importance of wearing safety belts and
sitting properly
Airbags are only supplemental restraints. For
airbags to do their job, occupants must always
properly wear their
safety belts and be in a prop
er seating position.
For your safety and the safety of your passen
gers, before driving off, always:
,. Adjust the driver's seat and steering wheel
properly<::;> page 172,
,. Adjust the front passenger's seat properly
¢page 44,
,. Wear safety belts properly ¢page 183,
,. Always properly use the proper child restraint
to protect children ¢page 212.
In a collision airbags must inflate within the blink
of an eye and with considerable force. The sup
plemental airbags can cause injuries if the driver
or the front seat passenger is not seated proper·
Ly. Therefore in order to help the airbag to do its
job, it is important, both as a driver and as a pas
senger to sit properly at all times.
By keeping room between your body and the
steering wheel and the front of the passenger
compartment, the airbag can inflate fully and
completely and provide supplemental protection
in certain frontal collisions r=.> page 172, Correct
passenger seating positions . For details on the
operation of the seat adjustment controls
¢page45.
It's especially important that children are proper
ly restrained¢ page 212.
There is a lot that the driver and the passengers
can and must do to help the individual safety fea
tures installed in your Audi work together as a
system.
Proper seating position is important so that the
front airbag on the driver side can do its job. If
you have a physical impairment or condition that
prevents you from sitting properly on the driver
seat wi th the safety belt properly fastened and
188
reaching the pedals, or if you have concerns with
regard to the function or operation of the Ad
vanced Airbag
System, please contact your au
thorized Audi
dealer or qualified workshop, or
call Audi Customer Relations at 1-800-822-2834
for possible modifications to your vehicle.
When the airbag system deploys , a gas generator
will fill the airbags, break open the padded cov
ers, and inflate between the steering wheel and
the driver and between the instrument panel and
the front passenger. The airbags will deflate im
mediately after deployment so that the front oc
cupants can see through the windshield again
without interruption.
All of this takes place in th e blink of an eye, so
fast that many people don't even realize that the
airbags have deployed. The airbags also inflate
with a great deal of force and nothing should be
in their way when they deploy . Front airbags in
combination with properly worn safety belts slow
down
and limit the occupant's forward move
ment. Together they help to prevent the driver
and front seat passenger from hitting parts of
the inside the vehicle while reducing the forces
acting on the occupant during the crash. In this
way they help to reduce the risk of injury to the
head and upper body in the crash. Airbags do not
protect the arms or the lower parts of the body.
Both
front a irbags will not inflate in all frontal
collisions. The triggering of the airbag system de
pends on the vehicle deceleration rate caused by
the collision and registered by the electronic con
trol unit. If this rate is below the reference value
programmed into the control unit, the airbags
will not be triggered, even though the car may be
badly
damaged as a result of the co llision. Vehi
cle
damage, repair costs or even the lack of vehi
cle
damage is not necessarily an indication of
whether an airbag should inflate or not.
Since the circumstances will vary considerably
between one collision and another, it is not possi
ble to define a range of vehicle speeds that will
cover every possible kind
and angle of impact
that will always trigger the airbags. 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 Iii>
Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine ...... N
G'. CX)
..... ID IJ' ..... ID .....
also not inflate in side or rear collisions, or in
roll-overs.
Always rememb er: Airbags will deploy only once,
and only
in certain kinds of collisions . Your safety
belts are always there to offer protection in those
situations 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 vehicle after the first collision.
This
is just one of the reasons why an airbag is a
supplementary restraint and is not a substitute
for a safety belt. The airbag system works most
effectively when used with the safety belts.
Therefore, always properly wear your safety belts
r:::;.page 180.
A WARNING
-
Sitting too close to the steering wheel or in-
strument panel will decrease the effective
ness of the airbags and will increase the risk
of personal injury in a collision.
- Never
sit closer than 10 in (25 cm) to the
steering wheel or instrument panel.
-
If you cannot sit more than 10 in (25 cm)
from the steering wheel, investigate wheth
er adaptive equipment may be available to
held you reach the pedals and increase your
seating distance from the steering wheel.
-If you are unrestrained, leaning forward, sit
t ing 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 inf lates -
even with an Advanced Airbag.
- To reduce
the risk of injury when an airbag
inflates, always
wear safety belts properly
Q page 184, Safety belts.
-Always make certain that children age 12 or
younger always ride in the rear seat. If chil
dren are not properly restrained, they may
be severely injured or killed when an airbag
inflates.
- Never
let children ride unrestrained or im
properly
restrained in the vehicle. Adjust the
front seats properly .
- Never ride with
the backrest reclined .
Airbag system
-Always sit as far as possible from the steer
ing wheel or the instrument panel
r:=:>page 172.
-Always sit upright with your back against
the backrest of your seat.
- Never place your feet on the instrument
panel or on the seat. Always keep both feet
on the floor in front of the seat to help pre
vent serious injuries to the legs and hips if
the airbag inflates.
- Never recline
the front passenger's seat to
transport objects. Items can also move into
the area of the side airbag or the front air
bag during braking
or in a sudden maneu
ver. Objects near the airbags can become
projectiles and cause injury when an airbag
inflates.
A WARNING ___,j
Airbags that have deployed in a crash must be
replaced.
-
Use only original equipment airbags ap
proved by Audi and installed by a trained
technician who has the necessary tools and
diagnostic equipment to properly replace
any
airbag in your 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 information and
head the WARNINGS for important details
about children and Advanced Airbags
r:::;.page 212.
Even though your vehicle is equipped with an Ad
vanced Airbag
System, make certain that all chil
dren, especially those 12 years and younger, al
ways 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
seat. It can be a very dangerous place for an in-
fant or a child in a rearward -facing seat. ..,.
189
Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Airbag system
not, or to signal that it is occupied by some
one who is heavier than the person actually
sitting on the seat. The presence of addi
tional objects could cause the passenger
front airbag to be turned on when it should
be off, or could cause the airbag to work in a
way
that is different from the way it would
have worked
without the object on the seat.
Front airbags
Description of front airbags
The airbag system can provide supplemental
protection to properly restrained front
seat occu
pants.
Fig. 155 Locat ion of driver airbag : in steering wheel
Fig.
156 Location of front passenger's airbag: in the in·
strument panel
Your vehicle is equipped with an "Advance d Air
bag System" in compliance with United States
Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
(FMVSS) 208 as applicable at the time your vehi
cle
was manufactured. The safety belts for the
front seats have "pretensioners" that help to
take slack out of the belt system. The pretension
ers are also activated by the electronic control
unit for the airbag system.
192
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 steering wheel
hub i::> fig. 155 and the airbag for the front pas
senger is in the instrument panel i::> fig. 156. The
general location of the airbags is marked "AIR
BAG".
There is a lot you need to know about the airbags
in your vehicle. We urge you to read the detailed
information 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 protection.
- Even when they deploy, airbags provide only
supplemental protection.
-Airbag work most effectively when used
with properly
worn safety belts.
- Therefore, always
wear your safety belts and
make sure that everybody in your vehicle is
properly
restrained.
- Always hold the steering wheel with both
hands on the outside of the steering wheel
rim at the 9:00 o'clock and 3:00 o'clock po
sitions
to help reduce the risk of personal in
jury if the driver's airbag inflates.
-Never hold the steering wheel at the 12
o'clock position or with your hands any
where inside the steering wheel or on the
steering wheel hub. Holding the steering
wheel the wrong way increases the risk of
severe injury to the arms, hands, and head if
the driver airbag deploys.
_&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 and/or by
being pushed into you as the airbag inflates.
- Always
make sure nothing is in the front air-
bag deployment zone that could be struck
by the airbag when it inflates. _____ ___.
Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine -Objects in the zone of a deploying airbag
can
become projectiles when the airbag de
ploys and cause serious personal injury.
- Never hold
things in your hands or on your
lap
when the vehicle is in use.
-Never place accessories or other objects
(such as cup holders, telephone brackets,
note pads, navigation systems, or things
that are large, heavy, or bulky) on the doors;
never
attach then to the doors or the wind
shield; never place
them over or near or at
tach them to the area marked ,.AIRBAG" on
the steering wheel, instrument panel or the
seat backrests; never place them between
these areas and you or any other person in
the vehicle.
- Never
attach objects to the windshield
above
the passenger front airbag, such as
accessory GPS navigation units or music
players. Such
objects could cause serious in
jury
in a collision, especially when the air
bags inflate.
- Never recline
the front passenger seat to
transport objects. Items can also move into
the deployment area of the side airbags or
the front airbag during breaking or in a sud
den maneuver. Objects near the airbags can
fly dangerously through the passenger com
partment and cause injury, particularly
when the seat is reclined and the airbags in
flate.
A WARNING
A person on the front passenger seat, espe
cially infants and small children, will receive
serious injuries and can even be killed by be
ing
too close to the airbag when it inflates.
- 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 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
-I
Airbag system
the U.S. Federal Standard if a child that is
heavier
than the typical one-year old child 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 seating position .
- For
their own safety, all children, especially
12 years and younger, should always ride in
the back properly restrained for their 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 asap
plicable at the time your vehicle was manufac
tured.
The front Advanced Airbag System supplements
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
flate only in frontal impacts when the vehicle de
celeration 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 overall occupant re
straint system in your vehicle. Always remember
that the airbag system can only help to protect
you, if you are sitting upright, wearing your safe
ty belt and wearing it properly. This is why you
and your passengers must always be properly re
strained, not just because the law requires you to
be.
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 very small adults on the driver
side. The low risk
deployment criteria are intend
ed to help reduce the risk of injury through inter
action with the front 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 .,..
193
Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine smash the child seat and child against the
backrest, center armrest, door, or roof.
- Always
install rearward-facing child re
straints on the rear seat.
-If you must install a rearward facing child
seat on the front passenger seat because of
exceptional circumstances and the PASSEN
GER AIR BAG OFF light does not come on
and stay on, immediately install the rear
facing child
seat in a rear seating position
and have the airbag system inspected by
your Audi dealer.
A WARNING
If, in exceptional circumstances, you must in
stall a forward-fac ing chi ld restraint on the
front passenger's seat:
- Always make sure the forward-fac ing seat
has been designed and cer t ified by its man
ufacturer for use on a fron t seat with a pas
senger front and side airbag .
- 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 far away from the air
bag as possible, before install ing the for
ward-facing child
restraint. The backrest
must be adjusted to an upright positio n.
-Always make sure that there is nothing on
the front passenger seat that will cause the
capacitive passenger detection system in
the seat to signa l to the Airbag System that
the seat is occupied by a person when it is
not, or to signa l that it is occupied by some
one who is heavier than the person actually
sitting on the seat. T he presence of addi
tional objec ts could cause the passenger
fro nt airbag to be turned on when it should
be off, or could cause the airbag to work in a
way
that is different from the way it would
have worked
without the object on the seat.
- Make
sure that the PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF light comes on and stays on all the time
whenever the ignition is switched on.
Airbag system
Advanced Airbag System components
The front passenger seat in your vehicle has a lo t
of ve ry important parts of the Advan ced Airb ag
System in it. These parts include the capacitive
passenger detection system, wiring, brackets,
and more. The control unit monitors the system
on the front passenger seat when the ignition is
switched on and turns the airbag indicator light
on when a malfunction in the one of the system
components is detected c> page 200. Because
the front passenger seat contai ns important
parts of the Advanced Airbag System, you must
take care to p revent it from being damaged.
Dam age to the seat m ay prevent the Advan ced
Airbag
System for the front passenger seat from
doing its job in a crash.
The front Advanced Airbag System consists
of the following:
-Crash sensors in the front of the ve hicl e tha t
measure vehicle acceleration/deceleration to
prov ide information to the Advanced Airbag
System about the severity of the crash.
-
An electronic control unit, with integrated
crash sensors for front and side impacts. The
control un it "decides" whether to f ir e the front
airbags based on the information rece ived from
the crash sensors. The control unit also "de
cides" whether the safety belt pretensioners
should be activated.
-
An Advanced Airbag with gas generator for the
driver inside the steering wheel hub .
-
An Adva nced Airbag with gas generator inside
the instrument panel for the front passenger.
- A
capacitive passenger detection system under
neath the front passenger seat cove r. This sys
tem measures the electrica l capacitance of the
pe rson in the seat. The information registered
is sent continuous ly to the electronic control
u
nit to reg ulate deployment of t he front Ad
vanced Airbag on
the passenger side.
-
An airbag monitori ng system and ind ic a tor
ligh t in t he i nstrument cl us ter c>poge 199.
-A sensor in each front seat registers t he d is
tance between the respective seat and the
steering wheel or ins trument panel. The infor-
mation registered is sent continuousl y to the ...
195
Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine those areas and yourself. These objects
could cause injury in a crash, especially
when the airbags inflate.
- Never recline
the front passenger's seat to
transport objects. Items can also move into
the area of the side airbag or the front air
bag during braking or in a sudden maneu
ver. Objects near the airbags can become
projectiles and cause injury, particularly
when the seat is reclined.
- Never place
or transport objects on the
front passenger seat. Objects on the front
passenger seat could cause the capac itive
sensor in the seat to signal to airbag system
that the seat is occup ied by a person when it
in fact is not, or that the person on the seat
is heavier than he or she actually is. The
change in electric capacitance because of
such objects can cause the passenger front
airbag to be turned on when it should be
off, or can cause the a irbag to work in a way
that is diffe rent from the way it would have
worked without objects on the seat.
- Always make sure that there is nothing on
the front passenger seat that will cause the
capaciti ve passenger detection system in
the seat to signal to the Airbag System tha t
the seat is occupied by a person when it is
not, or to signa l that it is occupied by some
one who is heavier than the person actually
sitting on
the seat. The presence of an ob
ject could cause the passenger front airbag
to be turned on when it should be off, or
cou ld cause the air bag to work in a way that
is different from the way it wou ld have
worked witho ut the object on the seat.
- Never tilt the front passenger seat backrest
forward when the vehicle is moving. An in
flating airbag will force the backrest back
ward and can injure rear seat occupants.
_&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.
Airba g system
- To reduce the ris k of breathing problems,
those with asthma or other respiratory con
ditions should get fresh a ir right away by
getting out of the vehicle or opening win
dows or doors.
-
If you are i n a collision in which airbags de
p loy, wash your hands and face with mild
soap and water before eating.
-
Be carefu l not to get the dust into your eyes,
or into any cuts or scratches.
-Ifthe residue should get into your eyes,
f lush
them w ith water.
Monitoring the
Advanced Airbag System
t~~ 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.
The Advanced Airbag System as well as the side
airbags and side curta in airbags with ejection
mitigation features (including the electronic con
trol unit, sensors and system wiring) are all
monitored continuously to make sure that they
are functioning properly whenever the ignition is
on. Every time you turn on the ign ition, the a ir
bag system indica to r light II will come on for a
few
seconds ( function check).
The system must be inspected when the
indicator light II:
-does not come on when the ignition is sw itched
on,
-
does not go out a few seconds after you have
switched on the igni tion, or
-comes on while driving .
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 PASSENGER ..,.
199
Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Airbag system
"
Important safety instructions on
monitoring the Advanced Airbag System
A WARNING
--I
-If the status of the Advanced Airbag System
has changed while the vehicle is moving, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light blinks for
about 5 seconds to catch the driver's atten
tion. If this happens, always stop as soon as
it is safe to do so and check the steps descri
bed above.
-If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not go off when an adult who is not very
small is sitti ng 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 posi
tions. Have the airbag system inspected by
your authorized Aud i dealer before trans
porting anyone on the front passenger seat.
A WARNING
An airbag system that is not functioning prop-
erly
cannot provide supplemental protection
in a frontal crash.
-
If the airbag indicator light Q page 15
comes when the vehicle is being used, have
the system inspected immediately by your
authorized Audi dealer. It is possib le 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
restrai nt, or in a rearward-facing child
safety seat, or in a forward-facing child re
straint that has not been properly installed
will be seriously injured and can be killed.
- 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
seats on the rear seat -even with an Ad
vanced Airbag System.
202
-If you must install a rearward-facing child
seat on the front passenger seat because of
exceptional circumstances and the PASSEN
GER AIR BAG OFF light does not appear and
stay on, immediately install the rear-facing
child
seat in a rear seating position and have
the airbag system inspected by your Audi
dealer.
- 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 possi ble. The backrest
must be adjusted to an upright position.
M
ake sure that the PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF light comes on and stays on all the time
whenever the ignition is swi tched 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
Audi
dealer before transporting anyone on
the front passenger seat.
(1) Tips
If the capacitive passenger detection system
d etermines that the front passenger seat is
empty, the frontal airbag on the passenger
side will be turned off, and the PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF light will stay on.
Repair, care and disposal of the airbags
Parts of the airbag system are installed at many
different places on your Audi. Installing, remov
ing, servicing
or repairing a part in an area of the
vehicle can damage a part of an airbag system
and prevent that system from working properly
in a collision.
There
are some important things you have to
know to make sure that the effectiveness of the ~