Safe ty belts
Autom ati c s afet y belt retr actors
Every safety belt is equ ipped with an automa tic
be lt retractor on the shoulder belt. This feature
locks the belt when the belt is pulled out fast,
during hard braking and in a n accident . The belt
may a lso lock when you drive up or down a steep
hill or through a sharp curve. Dur ing normal driv
ing the belt lets you
move freely .
Safety belt p ret en sion ers
The safety belts are equipped with a belt preten
sioner that helps to t ighten the safety belt and
remove slack when the pretensioner is activated
¢
page 146 . The function of the pretensioner is
mon itored by a warn ing light¢
page 17.
Con vertible loc king retracto r
Every safety belt except the one on the driver
seat is equipped with a convertible locking retrac
tor that
must be used when the safety belt is
used to attach a child seat. Be sure to read the
important information about this feature
¢ page 183 .
.&_ WARNING
Improperly pos it ioned safety be lts can cause
ser ious injury in an accident ¢
page 144,
Safety belt position.
- Safety belts offer optimum protection only
when the seatback is upright and belts are
properly positioned on the body.
- Always make sure that the rear seat bac k
rest to which the center rea r safety belt* is
attached is secure ly latched whenever the
rear center safety belt is being used. If the
backrest is not securely latched, the passen
ger will move forward with the backrest dur
ing sudden braking, in a sudden maneuver
and especially in a crash.
- Never attach the safety belt to the buckle for another seat. Attaching the belt to the
wrong b uckle will reduce safety belt effec
t iveness and can cause serious persona l in
jury.
- A passenger who is not properly restrained can be seriously in jured by the safety be lt it
self when it
moves from the stronger parts
144
of the body into critical areas like the abdo men.
- Always lock the convertible locking retractor
when you are securing a child seat in the ve
hicle
¢ page 185.
(D Tips
For information on safety belt pretensioners,
refer to¢
page 146 .
Safety belt position
Correct belt position is the key to getting maxi
mum protection from safety belts.
Fig. 151 Safety belt posit ion
Use the height adjustment to change the posit ion
of the shoulder belt of the front safety belts .
.&_ WARNING
Imp roperly positioned safety belts can cause
serio us pe rsonal injury in an a cc ident.
- The shou lde r belt should lie as close to the
center of the collar bone as possib le and
should fi t well on the body. Ho ld the belt
above the latch to ngue and pull it evenly
across the chest so that it sits as low as pos
sible on the pe lvis and there is no pressure
on the abdomen. The belt should a lways f it
snug ly ¢
fig. 151. Pull on the belt to tighten
if necessary.
- A loose-fitting safety belt can cause serious
injuries by sh ifting its position on your body
from the strong bones to more vulnerable,
soft tissue and cause serious i nju ry .
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other important informat ion
r=;, page 142 .
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installed on the front seat may be struck and
knocked out of position by t he rapidly inflating
passenger 's airbag in a frontal co llision . The air
bag could greatly reduce the effectiveness of the
chi ld restraint a nd even seriously i njure the ch ild
during inflation .
For this reason, and because the back seat is the
safest place for ch ildren -when properly restra in
ed according to the ir age and size -we strongly
recommend that children always sit in the back
seat
c::> page 172, Child safety .
.8, WARNING
A child in a rearward-facing chi ld seat insta l
led on the front passenger seat will be ser i
ously injured and can be k illed if the front air
bag inf lates -even with an Advanced Airbag
System.
- The inflating a irbag w ill hit the child seat or
infant carrier with great fo rce and will
smash the ch ild seat and child against the
backrest, center arm rest, door or roof.
- Always ins tall rear-facing child seats on the
rear seat.
- If you must install a rearward fac ing child
seat on the front passenger seat because of
exceptiona l circumstances and the
PASSEN·
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on
and stay on, immediately insta ll the rear
facing child seat in a rea r seat ing position
and have the airbag system inspected by
yo ur Audi dealer.
- Forward-fac ing ch ild seats installed on the
front passenge r's seat may interfe re with
the deployment of the airbag and cause se
rious person al injury to the child.
.8, WARNING
If, in except io nal circumst ances, you mus t in
stall a forward-f acing chi ld restraint on the
front passenger's seat:
- Always ma ke sure the forwar d-fa cing seat
has been designed and ce rtified by its man
ufact urer for use on a front seat with a pas
senger front and s ide a irbag .
.
Airb ag sys tem
-Never put the fo rwa rd-facing child restraint
up aga inst or very nea r the instr ument pan
el.
- Always move the front passenger seat to
the highest posit ion in the up and down ad
justment range and move it back to the rearmost posit ion in the seat's fore and aft
ad justment range, as far away from the air
bag as possible, before installing t he for
ward-facing ch ild restraint.
- Always make sure that the safety be lt upper
anchorage is behind the c hild rest raint and
not next to o r in front of the child res traint
so th at the s afety be lt will be properly posi
tioned.
- Ma ke sure that t he
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
li ght comes on and stays on all the time
whenever the ignit ion is switched on .
.8, WARNING
= -
To reduce the risk of serious injury, ma ke sure
that t he
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light will
be d isplayed whenever a child restraint is in
stalled on the front passenger seat and the
ignition is switched on.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF li ght does
not stay on, perform t he checks described
c::> page 160, Monitoring the Advanced Air
bag System .
-Take the child restra int off the front passen
ge r seat and install it properly at one of the
rear seat positions if the
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
light does not stay o n.
- Have the airbag system inspected by your
Aud i deale r immediately .
- Always carefully follow instructions from child r estrain t manufacture rs when instal
ling child restra ints .
.8, WARNING i=
If, in exceptional c ircumstances, you must in-
stall a forward or re arward-fa cing child re
stra int on the fron t passenger 's seat:
- I mp roper installa tion of child restrai nts can
reduce the ir effectiveness or even preven t
them from provi ding any pro te ct ion .
151
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heed all of the WARNINGS.
A WARNING
To reduce the risk of injury when an a irbag in
flates, always wear safety belts properly.
- If you are unrestrained, leaning forward, sit ting s ideways or out of position in any way,
your risk of injury is much h igher.
- You will also receive serious injur ies and
cou ld even be killed if you are up aga inst the
airbag or too close to it when it inflates -
even with an Advanced Airbag
r::;, page 148 .
A WARNING
A child in a rearward-facing chi ld seat insta l
led on the front passenger seat will be ser i
ously inju red and can be ki lled if the front air
bag inflates - even with an Advanced Airbag
System.
- Although the Advanced A irbag System in
yo ur vehicle is designed to t urn off the front
airbag when a rearward -facing child re
straint has been insta lled on the front pas
senger seat, nobody can absolutely g uaran
tee that deployment is impossible in a ll con
ceivable s ituations that may happen during
the useful life of you r vehicle.
- The inflating a irbag w ill hit the child seat or
infant carrier w ith great force and will
smash the ch ild seat and child against the
backrest, ce nter armrest , door, or roof.
- Always install rearward-fac ing child re
straints on the rear seat.
- If you must install a rearward facing ch ild
seat on the front passenger seat because of
exceptiona l circumstances and the
PASSEN
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on
and stay on, immediately insta ll the rear
f acing child seat in a re ar seat ing position
and have the airbag system inspected by
yo ur Audi dealer .
Airbag sys tem
A WARNING
If, in exceptional c ircumstances, you must in
stall a forward-facing child restraint on the
front passenger's seat:
- Always make sure the forward-facing seat
has bee n des igned and certified by its man
ufacture r for use on a fro nt seat with a pas
senger front and side airbag.
- Never p ut the forward-facing child restra int
up aga inst or very nea r the instr ument pan
el.
- Always move the front passenger seat to
the highest posit io n in the up and down ad
justment range and move it back to the
rearmost posit ion in the seat's fo re and aft
adj ustment range, as far away from the a ir
bag as possible, before install ing the for
ward-facing ch ild restraint.
- Always make sure that the safety be lt upper
anchorage is behind the c hild restraint and
not next to or in front of the child restraint
so that the safety be lt will be p roperly posi
tioned.
-Always make sure that there is noth ing on
the front passenge r seat that will cause the
capacitive passenge r detection system in
the seat to signal to the Airbag System that
the seat is occup ied by a person when it is
not, or to signal that it is occupied by some
one w ho is heavier than the person actually
sitt ing on the sea t. The presen ce of addi
tional ob jects could cause the passenger
front ai rbag to be turned on when it should
be off, or cou ld cause the ai rbag to work in a
way that is d ifferent from the way it wou ld
have wo rked without the object on the seat.
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
li ght comes on and stays on all the time
whenever the ignit ion is switched on.
Advanced Airbag System components
The front passenger seat in your veh icle has a lot
of very important parts of t he Advanced Airbag
System in it . These parts include the capacitive
passenge r detection system, wir ing, b rackets,
and more. The contro l unit moni to rs the system
on the fro nt passenge r seat when the igni tion is ..,.
155
Airbag syste m
switched on and turns the airbag indicator light
on when a malfunction in the one of the system
components is detected ¢
page 160. Because
the front passenger seat contains important
parts of the Advanced Airbag System, you must
take care to prevent it from being damaged .
Damage to the seat may prevent the Advanced
A irbag System for the front passenger seat from
doi ng its job in a c rash.
The front Ad vanced Airb ag Sy stem con sis ts
of the following:
- Crash sensors in the front of the vehicle that
measure vehicle acceleration/decelerat ion to
provide info rmation to the Advanced Airbag
System about t he severity of the crash.
- An electron ic control un it, with integrated
c rash sensors fo r front and side impacts. The
contro l unit "decides" whethe r to fire the front
airbags based on the information received from
the crash sensors . The control unit a lso "de
cides" whether the safety be lt pretensioners
shou ld be activated.
- An Advanced Airbag with gas generator and
control valve for the driver ins ide the steer ing
wheel hub.
- An Advanced Airbag with gas gene rator and
control valve inside the instrument pane l for
the front passenger.
- A capacitive passenger detect ion system under
neath the front passenger seat cover. This sys
tem measures the electrical capac itance of the
person in the seat . T he information registe red
is sent continuous ly to the e lectron ic cont rol
unit to regula te deployment of the front Ad
vanced Airbag on the passenge r si de.
- An airbag monitoring system and indicator
l igh t in the inst rumen t cluster¢
page 160.
- A sensor in each front seat registers the dis
tance between the respect ive seat and the
stee ring wheel or instr ume nt pane l. The infor
ma tion reg istered is sent contin uously to the
electronic control un it to regulate deployment
of the front Advanced Ai rbags.
- The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF lig ht comes on
and stays on in the center of the instrument
panel ¢
page 160, fig. 158 and tells you when
156
the front Advanced Airbag on the passenger
side has been turned
off.
-A sensor in the safety be lt 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 the electronic
control un it.
A WARNING
Damage to the front passenger seat can pre
vent the front airbag from work ing properly.
- Improper repair or disassembly of the front
passenger and driver seat will prevent the
Advanced A irbag Sys tem from f unction ing
proper ly.
- Repairs to the front passenger seat must be
performed by qualified and prope rly train ed
wo rkshop personne l.
- Never remove the front passenger or driver
seat from the vehicle .
- Never remove the upholstery from the front
passenger sea t.
- Never d isassemble or remove parts from the
seat or disconnect w ires from
it.
- Never carry sharp objects in your pockets or
put them on the seat . The capacit ive pas
senger de tect io n mat in the front passenger
seat will not function p roperly if it is punc
tured.
- Never car ry things on your lap or carry ob
jects on the front passenge r seat. Such ob
jects ca n influen ce the capaci tan ce regis
t ered by the capaci tive passenger detection
sys tem, so tha t incorrect in format ion is pro
vided to the airbag control unit.
- Never store i tems under the front passenger
seat. Parts of the Advanced Airbag System
under the passenger seat could be dam
aged, preventing them and the airbag sys
tem from working properly.
- Never p lace seat covers or replacement up
holstery that have not been specifically ap proved by Audi on the front seats.
- Seat covers can prevent the Advanced A ir
bag System from recogni zing child re
straints or occupants on the front passenger
seat and prevent the side airbag in the seat
backrest from deploying prope rly .
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erwise added to the front passenger seat,
never install any child restraint system on
this seat.
- Never use cushions, pillows, blankets, or
similar items on the front passenger seat.
The additional layers prevent the capacitive
passenger detection system from accurately
measuring the ca pacita nee of the child safe
ty seat and/or the person on the seat and
thus keep the Advanced Airbag System from
working properly.
- 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. Such
devices can influence the capacitance regis
tered by the capacitive passenger detection system, so that incorrect information is pro
vided to the airbag control unit .
- If you must use a child restraint on the front
passenger seat and the child restraint man
ufacturer's instructions require the use of a
towel, foam cushion or something else to properly position the child restraint, make
certain that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on whenever the
child restraint is installed on the front pas
senger seat.
-If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF 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
your Audi dealer.
.&_ WARNING
If the front passenger seat gets wet, dry it im
mediately.
- If liquid soaks into the front passenger seat,
this can keep the airbag system from work
ing properly and may, for instance, deacti
vate the passenger frontal airbag.
If this
happens, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light will come on and stay on together with
the airbag indicator light
fl (USA models) I
Airbag system
E,I (Canada models) in the instrument clus
ter.
- If liquid is pooled on the seat, but has not
soaked in, this may also keep the airbag sys
tem from working properly and cause the
passenger frontal airbag to be enabled
(turned on), even though there is a properly
installed child restraint system on the seat.
Wet towels or other wet things on the seat
cushion can have the same effect.
If the
front passenger frontal airbag is turned on,
the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light light
will go out.
How the Advanced Airbag System
components work together
The front Advanced Airbag System and the side
airbags supplement the protection offered by the
front three-point safety belts with pretensioners
and load limiters and the adjustable head re
straints* to help reduce the risk 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 this chapter.
Deployment of the Adv a need 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 well as the mass and stiffness of the
vehicle or object involved in the crash.
On the passenger side, regardless of safety belt
use, the front passenger frontal airbag will be
turned off if the electrical capacitance measured by the capacitive passenger detection system on
the front passenger seat is less than the amount
programmed in the electronic control unit . The
front passenger frontal airbag will also be turned off if the capacitance measured by the system for
the front passenger seat equals that of an infant of about one year of age in one of the child seats
that was used to certify the Advanced Airbag Sys
tem under Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
208. The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes
on and stays on to tell you when the front Ad
vanced Airbag System on the passenger side has been turned
offc::;,page 160 . Ill>-
157
Airbag system
_&. WARNING
To reduce the risk of injury when an airbag in
flates, always wear safety belts properly.
- If you are unrestrained, leaning forward, sit
ting sideways or out of position in any way,
your risk of injury is much h igher.
- 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 inflates -
even with an Advanced Airbag ¢
page 148.
More important things to know about front
airbags
Fig. 157 Infla ted front a irbags
~ ,-. N 9 :c ..,. CD
Safety belts are important to help keep front
seat occupants in the proper seated position so
that airbags can unfold properly and provide sup
p lemental protection in a frontal collision.
The front airbags are 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,
- the seats have been positioned so that the oc-
cupant is properly seated as far as possible
from the airbag,
- and for adjustable head restraints: the head re-
straints have been properly adjusted .
Because airbags inflate in the blink of an eye with
great force, things you have on your lap or have
placed on the seat could become dangerous pro
jectiles, and be pushed into you if the airbag in
flates .
When an airbag deploys, fine dust is released .
This is normal and is not caused by a fire in the
veh icle . This dust is made up mostly of a powder
158
used to lubricate the airbags as they deploy. It
could irritate skin.
It is impor tant to remember that while the sup
plemental airbag system is designed to reduce
the likelihood of serious injuries, other injuries,
for example swelling, bruising and minor abra
s ions, can also happen when airbags inflate. Air
bags do not protect the arms or the lower parts
of the body . Front airbags supplement the three
po int safety belts only in some frontal collisions
i n which the vehicle deceleration is high enough
to deploy the airbags .
Front airbags will not deploy:
- if the ignition is switched off when a crash oc-
curs,
- in side collisions, - in rear-end co llisions,
- in rollovers,
- when the crash deceleration measured by the
airbag system is less than the minimum thresh
old needed for airbag dep loyment as registered
by the electronic control u nit.
The front passenger airbag also will not
deploy:
- when the front passenger seat is not occupied,
- when the e lectrical capacitance measured by
the capacitive passenger detection system for
the front passenger seat indicates that the pas
senger side frontal a irbag must be switched off
by the electronic control unit (the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light¢ page 160 and how they
work comes on and stays on).
_&. WARNING
Sitt ing in the wrong posit ion can increase the
risk of serious injury in crashes.
- To reduce the r isk of injury when the airbags
inflate, the driver and passengers must al
ways sit in an up right posit ion, must not
lean against or place any part of their body
too close to the area where the airbags are
located .
- Occupants who are unbe lted, out of position
or too close to the airbag can be seriously
injured by an airbag as it unfolds with great
force in the blink of an eye¢
page 149. ~
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A child in a rearward-facing child seat instal
led on the front passenger seat will be seri
ously injured and can be killed if the front air
bag inflates - even with an Advanced Airbag
System .
- The inflating airbag will hit the child seat or
infant carrier with great force and will
smash the child seat and child against the backrest , center armrest, door or roof.
- Always install rear-facing child seats 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 a irbag system inspected by
your Audi 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 pushed into you as the airbag inflates .
- Never hold things in your hands or on your
lap when the vehicle is in use .
- Never transport items on or in the area of
the front passenger seat . Objects could
move into the area of the front airbags dur
ing braking or other sudden maneuvers and
become dangerous projectiles that can
cause serious personal injury if the airbags
inflate.
- Never place or attach accessories or other
objects (such as cup holders, telephone
brackets , large, heavy or bulky objects) on
the doors, over or near the area marked "AIRBAG" on the steering wheel, instru
ment panel, seat backrests or between
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-
-
Airbag system
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 capacitive
sensor in the seat to signal to airbag system
that the seat is occupied 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 airbag to work in a way
that is different 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
capacitive passenger detection system in
the seat to signal to the Airbag System that
the seat is occupied by a person when it is
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 an ob
ject 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.
A WARNING
-The fine dust created when airbags deploy can
cause breathing problems for people with a history of asthma or other breathing condi
tions .
- To reduce the risk of breathing problems,
those with asthma or other respiratory con
ditions should get fresh air right away by
getting out of the vehicle or opening win
dows or doors.
- If you are in a collision in which airbags de
ploy, wash your hands and face with mild
soap and water before eating.
- Be careful not to get the dust into your eyes,
or into any cuts or scratches.
- If the residue should get into your eyes,
flush them with water .
159
Airbag system
Monitoring the
Advanced Airbag System
:~ (USA models ) /!f (Canada model s)
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 we ll as the side
airbags and side c urtain airbags with ejection
mitigation features (including the e lectroni c con
trol unit, sensors and system wiring) are all
monitored continuously to make sure that they
are funct ioning prope rly whenever the ignition is
on . Eve ry t ime yo u tur n on the igni tion, the air
bag sys tem ind icator light
II (USA models) ; fll
(Ca nada models) will come on for a few seconds
(func tion chec k).
The system must be inspected when the
indicator light
ffl (USA models) tfll
( Canada model s):
- does not come on w hen the ignition is switched
on,
- does not go out a few seconds after you have
switched on the ign ition, or
- comes on wh ile driving .
I f an a irbag system ma lf u nction is detected, the
indicator light wi ll come o n to serve as a constant
reminder to have the system inspected immedi
a tely.
I f a malfunc tion occurs that turns the front air
bag on the passenger side off, the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light will come on and stay on
whenever the igni tion is on .
_& WARNING
An airbag system that is not functioning prop
erly cannot provide supplemental protection
in a frontal crash.
- If the airbag indicato r light
¢page 17
comes when the vehicle is being used, have
the system inspected immediate ly by your
authorized Aud i dealer . It is possible that
160
the airbag will inflate when it is not sup
posed to, or will not inflate when it should.
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
Fig . 158 Sect io n fro m t he inst rume nt panel : PASSENGER
AIR BAG O FF lig ht
The PAS SENG ER AI R BAG OFF light is located in
the center of the instrument panel~
fig. 158 .
The PASSENGER 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 electronic contro l unit . If the b ulb for the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light b urns out, the
a irbag indicato r light
II (USA models) a (Ca n
ada models) will come on to signal a malfunc tion
i n the Advanced A irbag Sys tem. Alt hough the
bur ned -out bulb will not change the way the
front passenger's fronta l airbag works , it wi ll no
longer be poss ible to use the
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
lig ht to make sure that the a irbag on/
off status is correct for the occupant on the front passenger seat . Have the airbag system inspect
ed immediately by your author ized Audi dealer .
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF l ight will blink
for about 5 seconds when:
- the ignition is switched on and
- the ca pacit ive passenger detec tion system,
which switches the front seat passenger's fron
tal Advanced Airbag on and off, detects a
change in the status of the front passenger
seat.
As soon as the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
stops blinking, always make sure that the airbag
status (on or off) as shown by the
PASS EN G ER
AIR BAG OFF
light is proper for the age, size and
electrical capacitance of the person occupying .,..