2017 AUDI A6 warning light

The side curtain airbag system supplements the
safety belts and can help to reduce the risk of in­
jury for occupants' heads and upper torso. The
side curtain airbag inflates in side impacts and
only when the vehicle acce leration registered by
the control unit is high enough . If this rate is be ­
l ow the reference value programmed into the
control unit, the side curtain airbag will not be
tr iggered, even thoug h the car may be bad ly
damaged as a resul t of the collision.
It is not pos­
sib le to define an airbag triggering range that
will cover every possible angle o f impact, since
the circumstances wi ll vary considerably between
one co llision and another. Important factors in­
clude, for example, the nature (hard or soft) of
the impacting object, the angle of impact, vehicle speed, etc.
c> page 169, How side curtain air ­
bags work.
Aside from their normal safety function, safety
be lts work to help keep the driver or front pas­
senger in posit ion in the event of a collision so
that t he side curta in airbags can provide protec­
tion .
The airbag system is not a substitute for your
safety belt . Rather, it is part of the overall occu­
pant restraint system in your veh icle . Always re­
member that the airbag system can only help to
protect you if you are wearing your safety belt
and wear ing it properly . T his is another reason
why you should always wear your safety belts,
not just because the law requires you to do so
¢ page 139, General information.
It is important to remember that while the side
curta in airbag system is designed to help reduce
the likelihood of serious injuries, other injuries,
for example, swelling, bruising, friction burns
and minor abrasions can also be associated with
these airbags upon deployment . Remember too,
these airbags will deploy only once and only in
certa in kinds of accidents -your safety belts are
always there to offer protection .
The side curtain airbag system basically
consists of:
co ~ - The electronic control module and external s ide
N ~ impact sensors
.... 0 0 <.,;) 'SI"
Airbag system
- 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
T he airbag system is mon itored electron ically to
make certain it is functioning properly at all
times. Each time you switch on the ignition, the
airbag system ind icator light wi ll come on for a
few seconds (self diagnostics) .
The side curtain airbag is not activated:
-if the ignition is switched off,
- in side collisions when the acceleration meas-
ured by the sensor is too low,
- in rear-end col lisions.
_& WARNING
- Safety belts and the airbag system will only
provide protection when occupants are in
the proper seating position
¢ page 50,
Seats and storage.
- If the airbag indicator light¢ page 17
comes when the vehicle is being used, have
the system inspected immediately
by your
author ized Audi dealer. It is possible that
the airbag will inflate when it is not sup­
posed to, or w ill not inflate when it should.
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. 162 Illustration of principle: Inflated s ide cu rta in air·
bags on the left s ide
Ill>
169

Airbag syste m
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 coll is ion
¢ fig . 162.
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 identif ied 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 s ide curta in a irbag could injure you if your
seating position is not proper or upright or if
items are located in the area where the supp le­
mental side curtain a irbag inflates. This applies
especia lly to children
¢ page 171.
A lthough they are not a soft pillow, side curtain
airbags can "cushion" the impact and in this way
they can help to red uce the risk of inj ury to the
head and the upper part of the body.
A fine dust may develop when the airbag deploys.
This is quite no rmal and does not mean there is a
fi re in the veh icle.
Important safety instructions on the side
curtain airbag system
Airbags are only supplemental restraints . Always
properly wear safety belts and ride in a proper
seating position .
There is a lot that yo u and your passengers must
know and do to help the safety be lts and airbags
do their job to provide supp lemental protection .
A WARNING
Improperly wearing safety belts and improper
seating positions increase the risk of serious
personal injury and death whenever a vehicle
is being used .
- Never let occupants p lace any parts of the ir
bodies in the area from which the side cur­
ta in a irbag inflate.
- Always make sure that the side curtain air­
bags can inflate without interference.
- Use the built- in coat hooks on ly for light­
weight cloth ing. Never leave any heavy or
sharp-edged objects in the pockets that may
170
interfere with airbag deployment and can
cause persona l injury in a co llision.
- Never use hangers to hang clothes on the
hooks.
- On ly use factory-insta lled sun shades or, if
shades installed after the vehicle leaves the
factory, use on ly genu ine A udi sun shades.
- Never swing the sun visors over to the side
w indows if things such as pens, garage door
openers, hands-free speakers, etc. are at­
tached to the sun visors. They could come loose and cause serious injury if the side cur­
tain airbag inflates.
- A deploying airbag inflates in a fract ion of a
second and with great force .
- Never attach objects to the cover or in the
deployment zone of a s ide curtain airbag .
- The a irbag deployment zones must be kept
clear at all times. Make sure there are no
objects, pets, o r other persons in the space
between any vehicle occupant and any air­
bag at any time.
- Do not attach any accessories to the doors.
A WARNING
-The a irbag system can deploy on ly once. If
the airbag has been triggered, t he system
m ust be rep laced by an authorized A udi
dea le r o r qualified works hop.
- Always have wo rk invo lv ing the side curtain
airbag system, remova l and installat ion of
the airbag componen ts, or o ther repairs
pe rformed by a q ualified dealership. Other ­
wise the airbag system may not work cor­ rectly.
- Never attempt to mod ify any components of
the airbag system in any way .

Child safety
A WARNING
Children on the front seat of any car even with
Advanced Airbags can be seriously 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 serious ly
injured and can be killed if the front a irbag in ­
flates .
- The inflating a irbag w ill hit the child safety
seat or infant carrier with great force and
will smash the chi ld safety seat and child
against the backrest, center armrest, or
doo r.
- Always install rear-facing child safety seats
on the rear seat.
-If you must install a rearward fac ing ch ild
safety seat on the front passenger seat in
exceptional circumstances and the
PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on
and stay on, immediately install the rear ­
facing child safety seat in a rear seating po­
sition and have the airbag system inspected
immediately by your Audi dealer.
A WARNING
- Forward-facing child seats installed on the
front passenger seat may interfere with the deployment of the a irbag and cause serious
personal injury to the child .
- If except ional circumstances require the use
of a forward -facing child restraint on the
front passenger's seat , the child's safety
and well-being require the following special
precautions to be taken:
- Always make sure that the forward-facing
seat has been designed and certified by its
manufacturer for use on a front passenger
seat with a front and s ide a irbag.
-Always carefully follow the manufacturer's instructions provided with the child seat
or infant carrier.
- Never install a child restraint without a
properly attached top tether strap if the
child restraint manufacturer's instructions
require the top tether strap to be used.
172
-Never put the forward-fac ing child re­
straint up against or very near the instru­
ment panel.
- Always set the safety belt upper anchor­
age to the adjustment position that per­
mits proper installation in accordance
with the child restraint manufacturer's in ­
structions .
- Always move the front passenger seat to
the h ighest position in the up and down
adjustment range and move it back to the
r earmos t position in the seat's fore and
aft adjustment range, as far away from
the airbag as possible, before installing
the forward-facing child restraint.
- Always make s ure that the safety belt up­
per anchorage is behind the child restraint
and not next to or in front of the child re­
straint so that the safety belt wi ll be prop­
erly pos itioned.
- Always make sure that nothing prevents
the front passenger's seat from being
moved to the rearmost position in its fore
and aft adjustment range.
- Never place objects on the seat (such as a
laptop, CD player, electronic games de­
v ice, power inverter or seat heater for
ch ild seats). These may influence the elec­
trical capacitance measured by the capaci­
tive passenger detection system and can
also fly a round in an accident and cause
serious personal injury.
- Never place or use any elect rical device
(such as a laptop, CD player, electronic
games device, power inverter or seat heat­
er for child seats) on the front passenger
seat if the device is connected to the 12-
vo lt socket or the cigarette lighter socket.
- If a seat heater has been retrofitted or
otherwise added to the front passenger
seat, never install any child restraint sys­
tem on this seat.
- Make sure that there are no wet objects
(such as a wet towel) and no water or oth­
er liquids on the front passenger seat
cush ion .
- Always make sure that the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on

co
co
.... N
" N .... 0 0 <..:l ' all the time whenever the ignition is
switched on.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, immediate­
ly install the forward-facing child seat in a
rear seating position and have the airbag
system inspected by your authorized Aud i
dealer.
- Always buckle the chi ld seat firmly in
p lace even if a ch ild is not sitt ing in it. A
loose child seat can fly around during a
sudden stop o r in a collision.
-Always read and heed all WARNINGS wheneve r using a child restraint in a vehi­
cle <=>
page 139, Safety belts, <=> page 147,
Airbag system
and¢ page 171, Impor­
tant information .
@ Tips
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 co uld cause
it to fail in anothe r 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 veh icle 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 crite ria are intended to
reduce the risk of injury through inte raction with
the airbag that can occur, for examp le, by being
too close to the steering whee l and instrument
panel when the airbag inflates . In addition, the
system has been certified to comply with the
"suppression" req uirements of the Safety Stand­
ard, to turn off the front airbag for infants up to
12 months who are restra ined on the front pas­
senger seat in child restraints that are listed in
the Standard .
Child safety
Even though your vehicle is equipped with an Ad­
vanced Airbag system, all chi ldren, 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 potentia lly dangerous place 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 fo r an infant o r a
la rger ch ild i n a rea rwa rd-facing seat .
T he veh icle 's Advanced Airbag System has a ca­
pacit ive passenger detection system in the front
passenge r seat cushion that can de tect the p res­
ence of a baby or a ch ild in a child restra int sys­
tem on this seat .
The capacitive passenger detection system reg is­
te rs the changes that result in an electrical field
when a child, a ch ild restraint, and a baby b lan ket
are on the front passenger seat. The change in
the measured capacitance due to the presence of
a chi ld, a child restraint, and a baby blanket on
the front passenger seat is related to the child
restra int system resting on the seat. The meas­
ured capacitance of a child restraint system var­
ies depend ing on the type of system and specific
make and model.
The electrical capac itance of the various types,
makes, and models of child restraints specif ied
by the U .S.National Highway Traff ic Safety Ad ­
min istrat ion (NHTSA) in the relevant safety
standard are stored in the Advanced Airbag Sys­
tem contro l unit together with the capacitances
typ ica l of infants and a 1-year old child. When a
child restraint is used on the front passenger
seat with a typical 1 year-old infant, the Ad­
vanced Airbag System compares the capacitance
measured by the capacitive passenger detection
system with the data stored in the electronic con­
trol unit .
Child restraints and Advanced front airbag
system
Regardless of the ch ild restrain t that yo u use,
make sure that it has been cer tified to meet Safe ­
ty Standards and has been cert ified by its manu-
facturer for use with an airbag. Always be sure ..,.
173

co
co
.... N
" N .... 0 0 <..:l ' -Take the chi ld restraint off the front passen­
ger seat and install it properly at one of the
rear seat positions if the
P ASS ENGER A IR
BA G O FF
light does not stay on.
- Have the airbag system inspected by your
authorized Audi dealer immediately.
The child seats listed in categories A to C have been statically tested by Audi only for the Ad­
vanced Airbag function.
Important safety instructions for using
child safety seats
Correct use of child safety seats substantially re­
duces the risk of injury in an accident!
As the driver, you are responsible for the safety
of everybody in the vehicle, especially children:
~ Always use the right child safety seat for each child and a lways use it properly~
page 177.
~ Always carefully follow the child safety seat
manufacturer's instructions on how to route
the safety belt properly through the child safe­
ty seat .
~ When using the vehicle safety be lt to install a
child safety seat, you must first activate the
convertible locking retractor on the safety be lt
to prevent the child safety seat from moving
¢page 182.
~ Push the child safety seat down with your fu ll
weight to get the safety be lt really tight so that
the seat cannot move forward or sideways
more than one inch (2.5 cm).
~ Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
¢ page 177.
Always remember: Even though your vehicle is
equipped with an Advanced Airbag system, all
children, especially those 12 years and younger,
should always ride in the back seat properly re­
stra ined fo r their age and size.
_& WARNING
Not using a ch ild safety seat, using the wrong
child safety seat or improper ly installing a
Ch ild safety
child restraint increases the risk of serious
personal injury and death.
- All vehicle occupants and especially children
must be restrained properly whenever riding
in a vehicle. An unrestra ined or improperly
restrained child could be injured by striking
the inter ior or by being ejected from the ve­
hicle dur ing a sudden maneuve r or impact.
An unrest rained or improperly restrained
child is a lso at greater r is k of injury or death
through contact w ith an inflating a irbag.
- Commerc ially availab le child safe ty seats
are requi red to comply with U.S. Federal
Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 213
(in Canada CMVSS 213).
- When buying a child restra int, select one
that fits your ch ild and the vehicle .
- Only use child restraint systems that fully
contact the flat portion of the seat cush­
ion. The ch ild restraint must not t ip or
lean to either side. Audi does not recom­
mend using child safety seats that rest on
legs or tube-like frames. They do not pro­
vide adequate contact with the seat.
- Always heed all lega l requirements per­
ta ining to the insta llation and use of child
safety seats and carefu lly follow the in­
structions provided by the manufacturer
of the seat you are using .
- Never a llow children under 57 inches
(1.45 mete rs) to wear a normal safety be lt.
They must a lways be restrained by a proper
child restraint system. Otherwise, they
could sustain injuries to the abdomen and
neck areas during sudden braking maneu­
vers or accidents .
- Never let more than one child occupy a child
safety seat.
- Never let babies or o lder children ride in a
vehicle while sitting on the lap of another
passenger .
- Holding a child in your arms is never a sub­
stitute for a chi ld restrain t system .
- The strongest person cou ld not ho ld the
ch ild with the forces that exist in an acci­
dent. The child will strike the interior of
the vehicle and can also be struck by the passenger.
175

Child safety
-The child and the passenger can also in­
jure each other in an accident.
- Never install rear-facing child safety seats
or infant carriers on the front passenger
seat. A child will be seriously injured and
can be killed when the passenger airbag in­
flates - even with an Advanced Airbag Sys­
tem.
- 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
or infant carriers on the rear seat.
- Make sure there is enough space in front of
the child in the child seat. If necessary, ad­
just the angle and position of the seat in
front of the child seat.
- Forward-facing child safety seats installed
on the front passenger's seat can interfere
with the airbag when it inflates and cause
serious injury to the child. Always install for­
ward-facing child safety seats on the rear
seat.
- If exceptional circumstances require the use
of a forward-facing child restraint on the
front passenger's seat, the child's safety
and well-being require that the following
special precautions be taken:
- Make sure the forward-facing seat has
been designed and certified by its manu­
facturer for use on a front seat with a pas­
senger front and side airbag.
- Always carefully follow the manufacturer's
instructions provided with the child safety
seat or carrier.
- Always move the front passenger seat to the highest position in the up and down
adjustment range and move it back to the
rearmost position in the seat's fore and
aft adjustment range, as far away from
the airbag as possible, before installing
the forward-facing child restraint.
- Always make sure that the safety belt up­
per anchorage is behind the child restraint
and not next to or in front of the child re-
176
straint so that the safety belt will be prop­
erly positioned.
- Always make sure that nothing prevents
the front passenger's seat from being
moved to the rearmost position in its fore
and aft adjustment range.
-Always make sure that the backrest is in the upright position.
- Never place or use any electrical device
(such as a laptop, CD player, electronic
games device, power inverter or seat heat­
er for child seats) on the front passenger seat if the device is connected to the 12-
volt socket or the cigarette lighter socket.
- If a seat heater has been retrofitted or
otherwise added to the front passenger
seat, never install any child restraint sys­
tem on this seat.
- Make sure that there are no wet objects
(such as a wet towel) and no water or oth­
er liquids on the front passenger seat
cushion.
- Never place objects on the seat (such as a
laptop, CD player, electronic games de­
vice, power inverter or seat heater for
child seats). These may influence the elec­
trical capacitance measured by the capaci­
tive passenger detection system and can
also fly around in an accident and cause
serious personal injury.
- Always buckle the child safety seat firmly in
place even if a child is not sitting in it. A
loose child safety seat can fly around during
a sudden stop or in a collision .
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS when­
ever using a child restrained in a vehicle is
being used<::;>
page 139, Safety belts,
c::> page 147, Airbag system and
c::> page 171, Child safety.
.8. WARNING
To reduce the risk of serious injury, make sure
that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
comes on and stays on whenever a child re­
straint is installed on the front passenger seat
and the ignition is switched on. .,_

co
co
.... N
" N .... 0 0 <.,;) 'SI"
-Take the child restraint off the front passen­
ger seat and install it properly at one of the
rear seat positions if the
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
light does not stay on.
- Have the airbag system inspected by your
authorized Audi dealer immediately.
Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
Fig . 163 Schemat ic overv iew: keep unused s-afety belts
away from children in chil d safety seats. @· oute r rear
sa fety belt,
@ -center rear safety belt*
If a chi ld safety seat is used on the rear bench,
especia lly with LA TCH universal lower anchorag­
es, the unused safety belts
must be secured so
that the child in the child restraint cannot reach
them
c::> ,& .
-Gui de the safety belt webbings @ and ®* be­
hind the head restra int of the seat where the
child restraint is installed
c::>fig. 163. When do­
ing so, do not engage the convertible lock ing
retractor! You should not hear a "click ing"
sound when w inding up the safety belt.
- Let the belt retractor wind up the safety belt
webbing .
A WARNING
A child in a child safety seat installed with the
LATCH lower anchorages or with the standard
safety belt or a child in a booste r seat on the
rear seat could play with unused rear seat
safety belts and become entangled. This
cou ld cause the chi ld serious personal injury
and even death.
- Always secure unused rear seat safety belts
out of reach of children in child seats such
as by proper ly routing them aro und the
Child safety
head restraint of the seat where the child
restraint is installed .
- Never activate the convertible locking re­
tractor when routing the safety belts around
the head restraints.
- Never let anyone sit at the center rear seat­
ing position if the center rear safety belt has
been routed around a rear head restraint.
Child seats
Infant seats
Babies and infants up to about one year old and
20 lbs. or
9 kg need special rearward-facing
child restraints that support the back, neck and
head in a crash.
Fig. 164 Sc hem atic overv iew: rearward -fac ing infa nt seat ,
properly installed o n the rear seat
., When using the vehicle safety belt to install a
child safety seat, you must first activate the
convertib le locking retractor on the safety belt
to prevent the chi ld safety seat from moving
c::> poge 182 or install the seat using the LATCH
attachments .
.. Push the child safety seat down with your full
weight to get the safety belt really tight so that
the seat cannot move forward or sideways
more than one inch (2 .5 cm) .
., Sec ure unused safety belts on the rear seat
c::>page 177.
Infants up to about one year (20 lbs . or 9 kg) are
best protected in special infant carriers and child
safety seats designed for the ir age group. Many
expe rts be lieve that infants and small children
shou ld ride only in special res tra ints in wh ich the
child faces the back of the vehicle. These infant ..,
177

Child safety
seats support the baby's back, neck and head in a
crash
¢fig. 164 .
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 is a very
dangerous place for an infant or a larger child in
a rearward-facing seat .
A WARNING
Not using a child safety seat, using the wrong
child safety seat or improperly installing a
child restraint increases the risk of serious
personal injury and death in a crash.
- Never install rear -facing child safety seats
or infant carriers on the front passenger
seat -even with an Advanced Airbag System.
A child will be seriously injured and can be killed when the inflating airbag hits the
child safety seat or infant carrier with great
force and smashes the child safety seat and child against the backrest, center armrest,
door or roof<=>
page 148, Child restraints on
the front seat -some important things to
know .
-Always install rear-facing child safety seats
or infant carriers on the rear seat.
- Never install a rear-facing child restraint in the forward-facing direction. Such restraints
are designed for the special needs of infants and very small children and cannot protect
them properly if the seat is forward-facing .
- If you must install a rearward facing child safety seat on the front passenger seat be­cause of 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 by your Audi dealer.
- Never place or use any electrical device (such as a laptop, CD player, electronic
games device, power inverter or seat heater
for child seats) on the front passenger seat
if the device is connected to the 12-volt
socket or the cigarette lighter socket.
178
- If a seat heater has been retrofitted or oth­
erwise added to the front passenger seat,
never install any child restraint system on
this seat .
- Make sure that there are no wet objects
(such as a wet towel) and no water or other
liquids on the front passenger seat cushion.
- Never place objects on the seat (such as a
laptop, CD player, electronic games device,
power inverter or seat heater for child
seats) . These may influence the electrical
capacitance measured by the capacitive pas­
senger detection system and can also fly
around in an accident and cause serious per­
sonal injury.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS when­
ever using a child restrained in a vehicle is being used¢
page 139, Safety belts,
¢page
147, Airbag system and
c> page 171, Important information.