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LL 00
greater detail below. Because the front passen
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 Ad vanced Airb ag S ystem con sis ts
of the follo wing :
-Crash sensors in the front of the vehicle that
measure vehicle acceleration/decelerat io n to
provide 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
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 safety be lt pretensioners
shou ld be activated.
- An Advanced Airbag with gas generator and
contro l valve for the driver inside 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 the total weight on the seat . The
information registered is sent continuously to
the electron ic control unit to regulate deploy
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 140.
-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
electronic 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 140, fig . 149 and tells you when
the front Advanced Airbag on the passenge r
side has been turned off.
- A sensor below the safety belt latch fo r the
front seat passenger to meas ure the tension on
Airb ag sys tem
the sa fety belt. The tension on the safety belt
and the weight registered by the weight-sens
ing mat help the control unit "decide" whether
the front airbag for the front passenger seat
should be turned off or not¢
page 131, 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 t he electronic
cont rol un it.
_& WARNING
Damage to the front passenge r seat can pre
vent the front airbag from working properly.
- Imp roper repair or disassembly of the front
passenger and driver seat will p revent the
Advanced Airbag System from f unctioning
properly.
- Repairs to the front passenger seat must be
performed by qualified and properly trained
workshop 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 o r remove par ts from the
seat o r disconnect w ires from it.
- Never carry sh arp objects in your pocke ts or
p lace 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 passenger seat. S uch 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, p reventing them and the airbag sys
tem from working p roper ly.
- Never p lace seat covers or replacement up
holstery that have not been specifically ap
p roved by A udi on the front seats.
- Seat covers can prevent the Advanced A ir
bag System from recognizing chi ld
137
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 A IR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on whenever the
child restraint is installed on the front pas
senger seat.
- If the
PAS SENGER AIR BAG O FF 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
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 .
Deployment 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
eration as we ll as the mass and stiffness of the
vehicle or object involved 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
1 38
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 131, 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 unrestrained, leaning forward, sit
ting sideways or ou t of position in 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 130.
More important things to know about front
airbags
Fig. 14 8 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 the oc-
cupant is properly seated as far as possib le
from the airbag,
Ill-
-and the head restraints have been properly ad -
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 N
~ Sitting in the wrong pos ition can increase the
8 r isk of se rious injury in c rashes. LL 00
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
Qpage 131.
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.
139
The PASSENGER AIR BAG O FF light is located in
the c enter of the instrument panel¢
fig. 149 .
The PASS ENGER AIR BAG OFF light will come on
and stay on to tell you when the front Advanced
Airbag on the passenger side has been turned off
by the el ectronic control unit . Each time you turn
on the ignition, the
P ASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light will flash for a few seconds and:
- will stay on if the front passenger seat is not
occupied,
- will stay on if the re is a sma ll child or child re
straint on the front passenger seat,
- wi ll go out if the front passenge r seat is occu
pied by an adult as registered by the weight
sensing mat .
The
PA SSENGER AIR BAG O FF light mu st c ome
on and sta y on
if the igni tion is on and
- a car bed has been insta lled on the front seat,
o r
- a rearward-facing child restrai nt has been in
stalled on the front passenger seat , or
- a forward -facing child restra int has been instal
led on the front passenger seat, or
- the weight reg istered on the front passenger
seat is equal to or less than the comb ined
weight of a typical 1 yea r-o ld restrained in one
of the rear-facing or forward-fac ing infant re
strain ts listed in Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standard 208 w ith which the Advanced A irbag
System in your vehicle was certified.
I f the front passenger seat is no t occupied, the
fron t air bag w ill not deploy, and the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light will stay on . Never install a
rearward -fac ing child restraint on the front pas
senger s eat, the safest p lace for a child in any
kind of child restraint is at one of the seating po
sitions on the rear seat ¢
page 131, Child re
s train ts on the front sea t-some impor tan t
things to know
and ¢ page 1 SO, Child safety .
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
when one of the condit ions listed above is met,
be sure to check the light regularly to make cer-
gi tain that the PASSENGER AIR BA G OFF light ......
~ stays on cont inuously whenever the ign ition is
~ on . If the PASSENGER A IR BAG OFF lig ht does
0 LL 00
Airb ag sys tem
not appear and not stay on all the time, stop as
soon as it is safe to do so and
- react ivate the system by tur ning t he ignit ion
off and then t urn ing it on again ;
- remove and re insta ll th e chi ld restrain t. M ake
sure that the chi ld restraint is properly ins ta l
led and that the safety belt for the front pas
senger seat has bee n correct ly routed around
the child restraint as desc ribed in the c hild re
straint manufacture r's instruct ions;
- make sure that the convertible locking retrac
tor on the safety belt for the front passenge r
seat has been activated and that the safety belt
has been pulled tight. The belt must not be
loose or have loops of slack so that the sensor
below the safety belt latch on the seat can do its job
¢ page 159.
-make sure that th ings that may increase the
weight of the child and ch ild safety seat are not
be ing transported on the front passenger seat ;
- make sure that the safety belt tens ion sensor is
not b locked . Shake the safety belt la tch on the
front passenger seat bac k and forth;
- If a strap or tether is being used to tie the child
safety seat to the front passenger seat, make
sure that it is not so tight t hat i t causes the
weight-sensing mat to me asu re more weight
than is actua lly on the sea t.
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light still do es
not come on
and does not stay on co nti nuously
(whe n the ignition is switched on),
- take the child restraint off the front passenge r
seat and install it p roper ly at one of the rear
seat pos itions . Have the airbag system inspect
ed by yo ur au thori zed Aud i deale r immedi ately .
- move the child to a rear seat pos ition and ma ke
sure that t he chi ld is proper ly rest rained in a
child restra int that is appropr iate for its s ize
and age .
T he
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF lig ht should NOT
come on when the ignit io n is on and an adu lt is
s itting in a prope r seat ing pos ition on the front
passenge r seat. If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on or flashes for about
5 seconds whi le dr iv ing, under these c ircumstan-
ces, make sure that :
Ill-
141
Airbag syste m
-the adu lt 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
r::>page 112, Correct
passenger seating positions,
-the adu lt is not taking weight off the seat by
holding on to the passenger assist handle
above the front passenger door or supporting
their we ight on the armrest,
- the safety belt 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
th ings that may cause an incorrect read ing or
impression on the weight-sensing mat under
the upho lstery of the seat have been removed
from the front passenge r seat,
- a safety be lt extender has not been left in the
safety belt latc h for the front passenge r seat.
In addition to the
PASSE NGER AIR BAG OFF
light in the center of the instrument panel, the
message
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF or PASSEN
GER AIR BAG ON
w ill briefly appear in the inst ru
ment cluster display . T his 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 funct ion ing prop
er ly cannot p rovide supplemental p rotection
in a frontal crash.
- If the airbag indicato r light
c> page 17
comes when the vehicle is be ing used, h ave
the system inspected immediate ly by yo ur
authorized Aud i dealer. It is possible that
the airbag will inflate when it is not s up
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
ser iously injured and can be killed .
142
-Even though your vehicle is equipped with
an Advanced A irbag System, make certain
that all children, espec ia lly 12 years and
younger, always ride on the back seat prop
erly restrained for their age and s ize.
- Always install forward or rear-facing child
safety seats on the rear seat -even with an
Advanced A irbag 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 l ight does not
appear and s tay on, immedi ately ins tall the
rear-facing child safety seat in a re ar seat ing
position and have the a irbag system in
spected by your a uthorized Audi dea ler.
- A t ight tether or other s trap on a rearward
facing chi ld 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 thoug h an adu lt
were on the seat and deploy the Advanced
Airbag when it must be suppressed causing
serious or even f atal injury to the child.
- If, in exceptional circumstances, you must
install a forward-fa cing child res traint on
the front p assenge r seat, always move the
seat into i ts rearmost posi tion in the sea t's
fore and aft ad justment range, as far away
from the ai rbag as possible . The back rest
must be adjusted to an upr ight position.
Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
li ght comes on and stays on all the time
wheneve r the ignit ion 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 afte r taking the steps
described above, make s ure the adult is
p roper ly sea ted and restra ined at one o f the
rear sea ting posit ions .
- Have the ai rbag system inspec ted by your
author ized Audi dealer befo re t ransporting
anyone on the front passenger seat.
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(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, t raining 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.
- In accidents when an airbag is dep loyed, the
vehicle battery separates the alternator and
the starter from the veh icle electrical sys
tem for safety reasons w ith a pyrotechnic
circu it interrupter.
- Wo rk on the pyrotechnic c ircuit inte rrupt
er must on ly be performed by a qu alified
dealer -risk of an acc ident!
- If the vehicle or the circuit interr upter is
scrapped, all applicable safe ty p recautions
must be followed .
143
Child safety
Child safety
Important information
Introduction
The rear seat is generally the safest place in a
collision .
The physical principles of what happens when
your vehicle is in a crash apply also to children
¢ page 123, What happens to occupants not
wearing safety belts? .
But unlike adults their
muscles and bones are not fu lly deve loped . In
many respects ch ildren are at greater risk of ser i
ous injury in crashes than adults.
Because children's bodies are not fu lly devel
oped, they requ ire restraint systems especially
des igned for their size, we ight, and body struc
ture. Many countries and all states of the United
S tates and p rovinces of Canada have laws requir
ing the use of approved child restraint systems
for infants and small children.
I n a frontal crash at a speed of 20-35 mph
(30-56 km/h) the forces acting on a 13-pound
(6 kg) infant will be more than 20 times the
weight of the child. This means the weight of th e
child would suddenly be more than 260 pounds
(120 kg) . Under these conditions, only an appro
priate child restraint properly used can reduce
the risk of serious injury. Child restraints must be
used properly to be effective . Used improperly,
they can increase the risk of serious injury in an
accident.
Consult the child safety seat manufacturer's in
structions to be sure the seat is right for your
child's size¢
page 153, Important safety in
structions for using child safety seats.
Please be
sure to read and heed all of the important infor
mation and WARN INGS about ch ild safety, Ad
vanced Airbags, and the installation of child re
straints in this chapter.
There is a lot you need to know about the Ad
vanced Airbags in you r vehicle and how they work
when infants and children in child restraints are
on the front passenger seat . Because of the large
amount of important information, we cannot re
peat it all here. We urge you to read the detailed
150
information in this owner 's manual about airbags
and the Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle
and the very important information about trans
porting children on the front passenger seat.
Please be sure to heed the WARNINGS - they are
extremely important for your safety and the safe
ty of your passengers, especially infants and small chi ldren .
&_ WARNING
-Accident statistics have shown that children
are generally safer in the rear seat area than
in the front seating position. Always restrain
any child age 12 and under in the rear.
- All vehicle occupants and especially children
m ust be restrained properly whenever riding
in a vehicle. An unrestrained or improperly
restrained child cou ld be injured by striking
the interior or by being ejected from the ve hicle during a sudden maneuver or impact.
An unrestrained or improperly restrained
child is also at greater r isk of injury or death
through contact w ith an inflating airbag .
- A suitable ch ild restraint properly installed
and used at one of the rear seating positions
provides the highest degree of protect ion
for infants and small children in most acci
dent sit uat ions.
&_ WARNING
Children on the front seat of any car even with
Advanced Airbags can be ser iously injured or
even killed when an airbag inflates. 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 airbag in
flates.
- The inflating airbag will hit the ch ild safety
seat or infant carrier with great force and
w ill smash the child safety seat and child
aga inst the backrest, center armrest or
door.
-Always install rearward-facing child safety
seats on the rear seat.
- If you must install a rearward facing child
safety seat on the front passenger seat in
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exceptional circumstances and the PASSEN·
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on
and stay on, immediately insta ll the rear
ward-facing child safety seat in a rear seat
ing posit ion and have the airbag system in
spected immediately by your authorized
Audi dealer.
A WARNING
If, in except ional circumstances, you must in
stall a forward-facing chi ld restraint on the
front passenger's seat :
- Always make 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 airbag .
- Always follow the manufac turer 's instruc
tions provided with the chi ld 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 possib le before installing the child
restra int. The backrest must be adjusted to
an upr ight position.
-Always make sure that the
PA SSENGER AIR
B AG OFF
light comes on and stays on all the
t ime whenever the ignition is switched on.
Always replace ch ild restraints that were in
stalled in a vehicle dur ing a crash. Damage to
a child restraint that is not visib le could cause
it to fail in another collision situation.
Advanced front airbag system and children
Your veh icle is equipped with a front "Advanced
A irbag System" i n compliance w ith United States
F edera l Moto r Vehicle Safety Standard ( FMVSS)
208, as well as Canada Motor Ve hicle Safety
Standard (CMVSS) 208 as applicable at the time
your vehicle was manufactured .
The Advanced Airbag system in your ve hicle has
been ce rtified to meet the " low-risk" requ ire
ments for 3 -and 6-yea r old children on the pas
senger side and sma ll adults on the driver side .
Child safety
The low risk deployment criteria a re intended to
reduce the risk of injury through interaction with
the a irbag that can occur, for example, by be ing
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 ch ild rest raints that are listed in
the Standard.
Even though your veh icle is equipped with an Ad·
vanced Airbag system, all ch ild ren, especially
those 12 yea rs and you nger, sho uld a lways ride
in the back seat proper ly restrained for their age
and size . The airbag on the passenger side makes
the front seat a potentially dangerous p lace for a
child to ride. The front seat is not the safest place
for a ch ild in a forward-fac ing ch ild safety seat. It
can be a very dangerous place for an infant or a
larger ch ild in a rearward-facing seat .
' Advanced Airbags and the weight-sensing
mat in the front seat
The Advanced A irbag System in your vehicle de
tects the presence of an infant or chi ld in a chi ld
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 tens ion on the
safety belt.
The weight-sensing mat measures total weight of the child and the chi ld safety seat and a child
blanket on the front passenger seat . The weight
on the front passenger seat is related to the de
s ign of the child restra int and its "footprint", the
s ize and shape of the bottom of the ch ild re-
straint as it sits on the seat. The weight of a ch ild
restra int and its "footprint" va ry for different
k inds of child restra ints and for the different
models of the same kind o f chi ld rest raint of -
fered by chi ld restraint manufacturers.
T he we igh t ranges for the indiv id ual types,
makes and mode ls of ch ild restraints that the
NH TSA has specified in the Safety Standard to
gether with the weight ranges of typical infants .,.
15 1