2017 AUDI A6 seats

Airbag system
the front passenger seat . Always make sure that
the safety belt for the front passenger seat is
proper ly fastened .
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light will show
the status of the front seat passenger's frontal
Advanced Airbag a few seconds after the igni­
tion is switched on and the airbag indicator
light goes off . The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light:
- will stay on if the front passenger seat is not
occupied;
- will stay on if the electrical capacitance meas­
ured by the capacitive passenger detection sys­
tem for the front passenger seat equals the
combined capacitance of an infant up to about
one year of age and one of the rearward-facing
or forward-facing child restraints listed in Fed­
eral Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 w ith
which the Advanced Airbag System in your veh i­
cle was certified; For a list ing of the child re­
straints that were used to certif y you r vehicle's
compliance with the U.S. Safety Standard
¢page 173.
-will go out if the front passenger seat is occu­
pied by an adult as registered by the capacitive
passenger detection system.
- The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light must come
on and stay on if the ignition is on and . ..
- a car bed has been insta lled on the front pas­
senger seat, o r
- a rearward-facing child res traint has been in ­
stalled on the front passenger seat, or
- a fo rw ar d-fa cing child restraint has bee n ins tal­
led on the front passenge r seat,
- and if the electrica l capacitance registered on
the front passenger seat is equa l to or less than
the combined capacitance of a typica l 1 year­
o ld infant and one of the rearward-facing or
forward-facing child restraints listed in Federal
Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 with which
the Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle was certified.
If the front passenger seat is not occupied, the
front airbag will not deploy, and the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light will stay on. Never install a
rearward-fac ing ch ild restraint on the front pas­
senger seat, the safest place for a child in any
160
kind of child restraint is at one o f th e seating po ­
sitions on the rear seat¢
page 148, Child re­
straints on the front seat -some important
things to know
and ¢ page 171, Child safety.
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG light comes
on ...
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
when one of the conditions listed above is met,
be sure to check the light regularly to make cer­
ta in that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
stays on continuously whenever the ignition is
on. If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not appear on and does not stay on a ll the time,
stop as soon as it is safe to do so and
- reactivate the system by tur ning the ignition
off for more than 4 seconds and then turning it
on again;
- remove and re install the child restraint. Make
sure that the child restraint is properly insta l­
led and that the safety belt for the front pas­
senge r seat has been corre ctly routed through
the child restraint as described in the child re­
straint manufacturer's instructions;
- make sure that the convertible lock ing retrac­
tor on the safety belt for the front passenger
seat has been activated and that the safety belt
has been pulled tight.
- make sure that no e lectrica l device (suc h as a
laptop, CD player, e lectronic games device,
power inverter or seat heater for child seats) is
placed or used on the front passenger seat if
the device is connected to the 12-volt socket or
the cigarette lighter socket;
- make sure that no seat heater has been retro­
fitted or otherw ise added to the front passen­
ger seat;
- make sure that noth ing can interfere with the
safety belt buckles and that they are not ob­
structed;
- 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. .,.

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" N .... 0 0 <..:l - If the PA SSENGE R AIR BAG light st ill doe s
not c om e on ...
If the PASSENGER AIR B AG OFF light still does
not come on and does not stay on continuously
(when the ignition is switched on),
- take the child restraint off the front passenger
seat and install it properly at one of the rear
seat positions. Have the airbag system inspect­ ed by your Audi dealer immediately .
- move the chi ld to a rear seat position and make
sure that the child is properly restra ined in a
child restraint that is appropriate for its size
and age .
The PAS SENGER AIR BAG light should NOT
come on ...
The PASS ENGER AIR B AG OFF light should NOT
come on whe n the ignition is on and an adult is
sitting in a proper seating position on the front passenger seat .
If the PAS SENGER AIR BA G OFF
light comes on and stays on or flashes for about
5 seconds while d riving, under these c ir c umstan­
ces, make s ure that:
- the adult on the front passenger seat is proper­
ly seated on the center of the seat cushion with
his o r her back up aga inst the bac kres t and the
backrest is not recl ined,
- the adult is not taking weight off t he seat by
holding on to the passenger assist handle
above the front passenger door or supporting
their weight on the armrest,
- the safety belt is be ing properly wo rn and that
there is not a lot of slack in the safety belt web ­
bing,
- there are no aftermarket seat covers or cush­
ions or other things (such as blankets) on the
front passenger seat that might cause the ca­
pacitive passenger detection system to miscal­
cu late electrical capac itance.
Important safety instructions on
monitoring the Advanced Airbag System
_& WARNING t= -
- If the status of the Adv a need Airbag System
has changed while the vehicle is moving, the
PA SSENGER AIR BA G OFF light blinks for
Airb ag sys tem
about S 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
PASS ENGER AIR B AG OFF light does
not go off when an adult who is not very
small is s itting on the front passenger seat
after taking the steps described above,
make sure the adu lt is properly seated and
rest rained at one of the rear seating posi­
tions. Have the a irbag system inspected by
your authorized Audi dealer before trans­
porting anyone on the front passenge r seat .
A WARNING
-
An airbag system that is not functioning prop­
erly cannot provide supplemental protection
i n a fronta l crash.
- 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 .
A WARNING
If the front a irbag inflates, a ch ild witho ut a
chi ld restraint , or in a rearward-facing child
safety seat, or in a forward-fac ing child re­
stra int that has not been properly insta lled
will be serious ly injured and can be killed.
- Even tho ugh you r vehicle is equipped with
an Advanced A irbag 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 w ith an Ad­
vanced Airbag System .
- If you must install a rearward-facing child
seat on the front passenger seat because of
except ional circumstances and the
PA SSEN­
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not appear and
stay on, immed iately install the rear-facing
child seat in a rear seat ing pos ition and have
the airbag system inspected by your Audi
deale r.
~
16 1

Airbag system
-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 possible . The backrest
must be adjusted to an upright position.
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on and stays on all the time
whenever the ignition is switched on.
_& 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 .
@ Tips
If the capacitive passenger detection system
determines 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
system will not be impaired and that discarded
components do not cause injury or pollute the
environment.
A WARNING
Improper care, servicing and repair proce­
dures can increase the risk of personal injury
and death by preventing an airbag from de-
162
ploying when needed or deploying an airbag
unexpectedly :
- Never cover, obstruct, or change the steer­
ing wheel horn pad or airbag cover or the in­
strument panel or modify them in any way .
- Never attach any objects such as cup holders
or telephone mountings to the surfaces cov­
ering 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 could damage the airbag cover or change
the stiffness or strength of the material so
that the airbag cannot deploy and protect properly.
- Never repair , adjust, or change any parts of
the airbag system.
-All work on the steering wheel, instrument
panel, front seats or electrical system (in­
cluding the installation of audio equipment,
cellular telephones and CB radios, etc.) must be performed by a qualified technician
who has the training and special equipment
necessary.
- For any work on the airbag system, we
strongly 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 airbag can inflate without interference:
- Never install seat covers or replacement
upholstery over the front seatbacks that
have not been specifically approved by
Audi .
- Never use additional seat cushions that
cover the areas where the side airbags in­
flate.
- Damage to the original seat covers or to
the seam in the area of the side airbag
module must always be repaired immedi­
ately by an authorized Audi dealer .
- The airbag system can deploy only once. Af­
ter an airbag has been deployed, it must be
replaced with new replacement parts de­
signed and approved especially for your
Audi model version. Replacement of com­
plete airbag systems or airbag components

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

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" N .... 0 0 <..:l ' 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
c:> page 140, What happens to occupants not
wearing safety belts? .
But unlike adults and
teenagers, their muscles and bones are not fully
developed. In many respects children are at
greater r isk of serious 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 countr ies and all states of the United
States and provinces 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- 3 5 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 the
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 restra ints, like
adult safety belts, must be used properly to be
effect ive. Used improperly, they can increase the
risk of serious injury in an accident .
All ch ildren, especially those 12 years and young­
er must always ride in the back seat proper ly re­
stra ined for their age and size. If you must install
a child restra int on the front passenger seat in
exceptional circumstances, be sure to read and
heed the important information and warnings
c:> page 148. Infants and other children who are
properly restrained in an appropriate child re­
straint that is for their si ze and age can benefit
from the protection that supplemental side air­
bags provide in some kinds of crashes.
For more information please see information
provided by the:
Ch ild safety
- National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
(NHTSA), currently at: http :/ /www.safe ­
rcar.gov (for the USA)
- Transport Canada Information Centre, current-
ly at: http://www.tc .gc.ca (for Canada)
Consult the chi ld safety seat manufacturer's in­
structions in order to be sure the seat is right for
yo ur child's size
c:> page 175 , Important safety
instructions for using child safety seats .
Please
be sure to read and heed all of the important in­
formation and WARNINGS about child safety,
Advanced Airbags, and the installation of child restra ints in this chapter .
There is a lot you need to know about the Ad­
vanced Airbags in your 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 informat ion, we cannot re­
peat it all he re . We urge you to read the detailed
information in this owner 's ma nual about airbags
and the Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle and the very important information about trans ­
porting children on the front passenger seat.
P lease be sure to heed the WARNINGS -they are
extremely important for your safety and the safe­
ty of your passengers, especially infants and
small children .
A WARNING
-- Accident statistics have shown that children
are generally safer in the rear seat area than
in the front seat ing pos ition. Always restrain
any child age 12 and under in the rear.
- All vehicle occupants and especially children must be restrained prope rly whenever r iding
in a vehicle. An unrestra ined or improperly
rest rained child cou ld be inju red 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 risk of injury or death
through contact w ith an inflating a irbag.
- A suitable child restraint properly installed
and used at one of the rear seating positions
provides the h ighest degree of protection
for infants and small children in most acci­
dent situat ions .
17 1

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

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" 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. .,_