Safety belt s
Service and disposal of safety belt preten
sioner
The safety be lt pretensioners are parts o f the
safety belts on yo ur Audi. Installing, removing,
servicing or repairing of belt pretensioners can
damage the safety belt system and prevent it
from working correctly in a collision.
There are some important 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
env ironment.
A WARNING
-
Improper care, serv icing and repair proce
dures can increase the r is k of personal injury
and death by preventing a safety be lt preten
sioner from activating when needed or acti
vating it unexpectedly:
- T he be lt pretensione r system can be act ivat
ed only once. If bel t pretensioners have
been act ivated, the system must be re
placed.
- Never repair, adjust, or change any parts of
the safety be lt system .
- Safe ty belt systems in cl ud ing safe ty be lt
pretens ioners cannot be repaired . Special
procedures are req uired for removal, insta l
lation and disposal of this system.
- For any wor k on the safety belt system, we
strongly recommend that you see your au
thorized Aud i dea ler or q ualified technician
who has an A udi approved repair manual,
training and spec ial equ ipment necessary.
@ For the sake of the environment
Undep loyed airbag modu les and pretension
ers might be classified as Perch lorate Materi
al -specia l handling may apply, see
www.dtsc.ca.gov/hazardouswaste/perchlo rate. When the vehicle or parts of the re
straint system including airbag modules safe
t y belts with pretens io n ers are scrapped, all
app licab le laws and regulat ions m ust be ob
served. Y our authori zed Audi de aler is familiar
w ith these req uiremen ts and we recommend
116
that yo u have your dealer perform this service
for you .
00
00
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A irbag system
Important information
Importance of wearing safety belts and
sitting properly
Airbags are only suppl emental restraints. For
airbags to do their job, occupants must always
properly wear their safety belts and be in a prop er seating position.
F or your safety and the safety of your passen
ge rs , before driving off, always :
.,. Adjust the dr iver's seat and steering wheel
prope rly 9page
101,
.,. Adjus t the fro nt passenger's seat prope rly
¢ page 102,
.,. Wear safety bel ts p roperly ¢ page 111,
.,. Always properly use the proper c hild restraint
to protect children
¢ page 137 .
In a coll is io n air bags must infla te wi thin the blink
of an eye and with co nsiderable for ce . The s up
p lemental airbags can cause injuries if the drive r
or the front seat passenger is not seated proper
ly . Therefore in order to help the a irbag to do its
job, it is important, both as a d river and as a p as
senger to sit properly at a ll times .
By keeping room between yo ur body and the
steer ing whee l and the front of the passenger
compartment, the a irbag can inflate fully and
comp letely and prov ide supplemental pro tect io n
in certa in frontal collis ions ¢
page 101, Correct
passenger seating positions .
For details on the
ope ration of th e seat ad justment con trols
¢page 44.
It's especially important that children are proper
ly restra ined
¢ page 137.
There is a lot that the driver and the passengers
can and must do to help the ind ividual safety fea
tures installed in your Audi work together as a
sys tem.
Proper seating posit ion is important so that the
front a irbag on the driver side can do its job. If
you have a physical impairment or cond it ion that
p revents yo u from s itting proper ly on the driver
seat with the safety be lt prope rly fastened and
Airb ag sys tem
reach ing the pedals, special modifications to
your vehicle may be necessary.
Contact yo ur aut ho rize d Au di dea le r, or call A udi
Cu stomer Rela tions at 1-800-82 2-283 4.
When the airbag system deploys, a gas generator
will fill the airbags, b reak open the padded cov
ers, and infla te be twee n the steeri ng wheel and
the d river and between the inst rumen t pa ne l and
the front passenger . The a irbags w ill deflate im
mediate ly after deployment so that the front oc
c u pants can see th rough the windsh ie ld again
without interruption .
All o f th is takes p lace in the blink of an eye, so
fast that many peop le don't even realize that the
airbags have deployed. The airbags a lso inflate
with a great deal of force and nothing should be in the ir way when they deploy. Front airbags in
combination with properly worn safety belts slow
down and lim it the occupant's forward move
me nt. T ogether they help to prevent the d river
and fro nt seat passe nger from hitt ing pa rts of
t h e inside the ve hicle while redu cing the fo rces
act ing on the occupant dur ing t he crash . In t his
way they help to reduce the risk of inj ury to the
head and uppe r body in the crash . Airbags do not
protect the arms or the lower parts of the body.
B oth front airbags will no t infla te in a ll frontal
co llisions. The t riggering of the airbag system de
pends on the vehicle decelerat ion rate caused by
the coll is ion and registered by the electronic con
trol unit . If this rate is be low the reference value
programmed into the contro l unit, the airbags
will not be t rigge red, even though the car may be
badly damaged as a resu lt of the co llision . Vehi
cl e damage, repair costs or even the lack of veh i
cl e damage is no t necessari ly an indic ation of
whethe r an a irbag should infl ate o r not.
It is no t possib le to define a range of vehicle
spe eds t hat w ill cove r every possible kind and an
gle of impa ct tha t will a lways tr igger the airbags ,
s in ce the circumst ances w ill vary cons iderably be
tween one collision and another. Important fa c
tors include, for example, the nat ure (har d or
soft) of the object which the car hits, the angle of
impact, vehicle speed, etc . The front airbags will
IIJJ,
117
Airbag syste m
also not inflate in s ide or rear collisions, or in
ro ll-overs.
Alwa ys rememb er: Airbags will deploy only once,
and on ly in ce rtain k inds of coll is ions. Yo ur safety
be lts are always there to offer protection in those
situations in which airbags are not supposed to
dep loy, or when they have already deployed ; for
examp le, when your vehicle str ikes or is struck by
another after the first collis ion.
This is just one of the reasons why an airbag is a
supp lementary restraint and is not a substitute
for a safety belt. The a irbag system works most
effect ively when used with the safety belts.
Therefore, always properly wear your safety belts
c::> page 109 .
A WARNING
Sitting too close to the steering wheel or in
strument panel will decrease the effective
ness of the airbags and will inc rease the risk
of personal injury in a co llision .
- Never sit closer than 10 inches (25 cm) to
the steering wheel or instrument panel.
- If you cannot si t mo re than 10 inches
(25 cm) from the steering wheel, invest i
gate whether adaptive equipment may be
available to help you reach the pedals and
increase your seating distance from the
steering wheel.
- All vehicle occupants and especially children
must be restrained properly whenever riding
in a vehicle. An unrestrained or improperly
restra ined child could be injured by striking
the interior or by being ejected from the ve
hicle during a sudden maneuver or impact.
An unrestrained or imp roperly restrained
child is also at greate r risk of inju ry or death
through contact with an inflating airbag .
-If you are unrestrained, leaning fo rward, s it
t ing s ideways or out of pos ition in any way,
yo ur risk of in ju ry is much h igher.
- Yo u will also receive serious injuries and
could even be killed if you are up aga inst the
airbag or too close to it when it inflates -
even with an Advanced Airbag.
118
-
- To reduce the risk of injury when an airbag
inflates, always wear safety belts properly
c::> page 112, Safety belts.
- Always make certa in that children age 12 or
younger always ride in the rear seat. If chil
dren are not properly restrained, they may be severely injured or killed when an airbag
inflates .
- Never let ch ildren ride unrestra ined or im
properly restrained in the vehicle. Ad just the
front seats properly.
- Never ride with the backrest recl ined .
- Always sit as far as possible from the steer-
ing wheel or the instrument panel
c::> page 101.
- Always sit upright w ith your back against
the backrest of your seat .
- Never p lace your feet on the instrument
panel or on the seat . Always keep both feet
on the floor in front of the seat to help pre
vent serious injur ies to the legs and hips if
the airbag inflates.
- Never recl ine the front passenger's seat to
transpo rt objects . Items can also move into
the area of the s ide a irbag or the front air
bag du ring brak ing o r in a sudden maneu
ver. Objects near the airbags can become projecti les and cause injury when an airbag
inflates.
A WARNING
Airbags that have deployed in a crash must be replaced.
- Use on ly original equipment airbags ap
proved by Audi and installed by a trained
technician who has the necessary tools and
diagnostic equipment to properly replace
any airbag in your vehicle and assure system
effectiveness in a crash .
- Never perm it salvaged or recycled airbags to
be installed in your vehicle.
Child restraints on the front seat - some
important things to know
.,. Be s ure to read the impo rtant info rmat ion and
head the WARNINGS for important details .,.
about children and Advanced Airbags
<=>page 137 .
Even though yo ur vehicle is equipped with an Ad
vanced Airbag System, make certain that all chil
dren, especially those 12 years and younge r, a l
ways ride in the back seat properly restrained for
their age and size. The airbag on the passenger
side makes the front seat a potentially dangerous place for a child to ride. The front seat is not the
safest place for a child in a forward-facing child
safety seat .
It can be a very dangerous place for
a n infant or a child in a rearward-fac ing seat.
The Advanced Airbag System in your veh icle has
been certified to comply with the requirements
of United States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standa rd (FMVSS) 208, as well as Canada Motor
Veh icle Safety Standa rd (CMVSS) 208 as applica
b le a t the time your veh icle was m an ufact ured.
Accord ing to requirements, the front Advanced
Airbag System on the passenger side has been
certified for "suppression" for infants of about
12 month old and younger and for "low risk de
ployment" for children aged
3 to 6 years old (as
defined in the standard) .
The
PASSENGER AIR BAG O FF light in the instru
ment panel tells you when the front Advanced
Airbag on the passenger side has been turned
off
by the electronic control unit.
Each time yo u switch on the ignition, the
PAS ·
S ENGER AIR BAG OFF
light will come on for a
few seconds and:
- will stay on if the front passenger seat is not
occupied,
-will stay on if there is a sma ll chi ld or chi ld re
straint on the front passenge r seat,
- will go
off if the front passenger seat is occu
pied by an adult as reg istered by the weight
sensing mat
c:> page 12 7, Monitoring the Ad
vanced Airbag System.
The PAS SENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
when the contro l unit detects a tota l weight on
the front passenger seat that requi res the front
~ airbag to be turned off . ......
"' ~ If the total weight on the front passenge r seat is ......
8 more than that of a typical 1 year-old child but :::, 00
Airb ag sys tem
less than the weight o f a sma ll adult, the front
airbag on the passenger side can dep loy (the
PASSENGER AIR BAG O FF light does not come
on). If the
PA SSENGER AIR BA G OFF light does
not come on, the front airbag on the passenger
s ide has not been turned
off by the electronic
control unit and can deploy if the contro l unit
senses an impact that meets the conditions stor
ed in its memo ry .
For example, the airbag may deploy if:
- a small ch ild that is heav ier than a typ ica l 1
year-o ld child is on the front passenger seat
(regardless of whether the child is in one of the
child safety seats listed
c:> page 139), or
- a child who has outgrown c hild restraints is on
the front passenger seat.
If the front passenger airbag is t urned off, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG O FF light comes on in the
instrument cluster and stays on.
T he front airbag on the passenger side may
not
deploy (the PAS SENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not illuminate and stay lit) even if a small adu lt
or teenager, or a passenger who is not s itting up
right w ith their back against a non-recl ined back
rest with the ir feet on the vehicle floor i n front of
the seat is on the front passenger seat
c:> page 101, Proper seating position for the driv
er.
If the front passenge r a irbag deploys, the Feder
al Standard requi res the airbag to meet the "low
risk" deployment cri te ria to reduce the r is k of in
j u ry throug h interact ion w it h t he airbag. "Low
risk" deploymen t occurs in t hose crashes tha t
take place at lowe r dece lerations as defined in
the e lectronic control unit
c:> page 128, PASSEN
GER AIR BAG OFF light.
Always remembe r, a ch ild safety sea t or infan t
carr ier installed on the front seat may be s truck
and knocked out of positio n by the rapidly i nflat
ing passenger's airbag in a frontal coll ision . The
airbag could greatly red uce the effectiveness of
the child restraint and even seriously injure the
child during inflation .
IJJ,,
119
Airbag syste m
For this reason, and bec ause t he back seat is the
safest place for chi ldren -when properly restrain
ed according to the ir age and size -we strong ly
recommend that children a lways sit in the back
seat
<=> page 13 7, Child safety.
A WARNING
A child in a rearward-facing child safety seat installed on the front passenger seat w ill be
ser iously injured and can be killed if the front
airbag inflates -even w ith an Advanced Ai rbag
System.
- T he inflating a irbag w il l hit the child safety
seat or infant car rier with g reat force and
will smash the ch ild safety seat an d child
against the backrest, cen ter armrest, door
or roof.
- Always install rear-facing child safety seats
on the rear seat .
-If you mus t install a rearward fac ing ch ild
safe ty seat on the front passenger seat be
ca use of exceptiona l circumstances and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not
come on and stay on, immed iate ly install
the rear-fac ing ch ild safety seat in a rear
seat ing pos ition and have the airbag system
inspected by your authorized Audi dea ler.
- Forward-facing ch ild safety seats installed
on the front passenger's seat may interfere
with the deployment of the airbag and
ca use serious pe rsonal injury to the child .
A WARNING
If, in exceptio nal circumstances, you must in
stall a fo rward-facing chi ld res train t on the
front passenger's seat:
- Always make sure the forward-facing seat
has been designed and ce rt ified by its man
u fa ctu rer for use on a fron t se at with a pas
senger fron t and si de a irbag .
- Never pu t the forw ard-fa cing child res tra int
up against or very near the ins trument pan
el.
- Always move the front passenger se at to
the h ighes t position in the up and down ad
justment range and move it back to the
rea rmost position in the seat's fore and aft
120
ad justment range, as far away from the a ir
bag as poss ible, before install ing the for
ward-facing chi ld restraint.
- Always make sure that the safety be lt upper
anchorage is behind the ch ild rest raint and
not next to or in front of the child restraint
so that the safety be lt will be properly posi
tioned.
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER A IR BAG
OFF
light comes on and stays on a ll the time
whenever the ig nit io n is swi tched on.
A WARNING
To reduce the ris k of serious injury, ma ke sure
that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF l ight will
be d isp layed whenever a ch ild rest raint is in
stalled on the front p assenge r seat and the
ignit ion is switched on.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
no t stay on, perform the checks describe d
<=> page 12 7, Monitoring the Advanced Air
bag System .
- Take the child res tra int off the front passen
ger seat and install it properly at one of the
rear seat positions i f the PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
light does not stay on.
- Have the ai rbag system inspected by your
author ized Audi dealer immed iate ly.
- Always carefully follow instructions from
child restra int manufacturers when instal
ling child restra ints.
A WARNING
If, in exceptional circumstances, you must in
stall a forward or rearward-fac ing child re
stra int on the front passenger's seat:
- Improper installat ion of child restraints can
reduce the ir effectiveness or even prevent
them from provid ing any pro tect ion.
- An improperly installed child restra int can
interfere with the airbag as it deploys and
serious ly injure or even ki ll the child -even
w it h an Advanced A irbag System.
- Always carefully follow the manufacturer's instructions provided with the child safe ty
seat o r ca rrie r.
-Never place additional items on the seat
that can increase the total weight registered
by the weight-sensing mat and can cause in
jury in a crash .
Front airbags
Description of front airbags
The airbag system can provide supplemental
protection to properly restrained front seat occu
pants.
Fig. 1 15 Location of driver airbag: i n stee ring wheel
Fig. 116 Location of front passenger's airbag: in the in
st rument panel
Your veh icle is equipped with an "Advanced Air
bag System" in compliance with United States
F edera l Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
(FMVSS) 208 , as well as Canada Motor Vehicle
Safety Standard (CMVSS) 208 as app licab le at
the time your vehicle was manufactured . The
safety belts for the seats have "pretensioners"
that help to take slack out of the belt system.
The pretensioners are also activated by the elec
tron ic control unit for the airbag system .
~ The front safety belts also have load limiters to ......
~ help reduce the forces applied to the body in a N
8 crash .
0 ::, (X)
Airb ag sys tem
The airbag for the drive r is in the steering wheel
hub ~
fig. 115 and the airbag for the front pas
senger is in the instrument panel
~ fig. 116. The
general locat ion of the airbags is marked "AIR
BAG".
There is a lot you need to know about the airbags
i n your vehicle . We urge you to read the deta iled
information about airbags, safety belts and child
safety in this and the other chapters that make
up the owner's literature . Please be sure to heed
the WARNINGS -they are extremely important
for you r safety and the safety of your passengers,
especially infan ts and small children .
_&. WARNING
-
Never rely on ai rbags alone fo r protect ion.
- E ven w hen they deploy, airbags provide only
supp lemental protection.
- Airbag work most effectively when used
with p roperly worn safety belts .
- Therefore, always wear your safety belts and
make sure that everybody in your ve hicle is
p roperly restrained.
_&. WARNING
A pe rson on the front passenger seat, espe
cia lly infants and small ch ildren, wi ll receive
serious injuries and can even be ki lled by be
ing too close to the airbag when it inf lates.
- Although the Advanced Airbag System in
your veh icle is designed to turn off the front
passenger airbag ifan infant or a small child
is on the front passenger seat, nobody can
absolutely guarantee that deployment un
der these specia l conditions is impossible in
all conceivable situations that may happen
during the useful life of yo ur vehicle .
- The Advanced Airbag System can dep loy in
accordance with the "low risk" option under
the U .S . Fede ral Standa rd if a ch ild that is
heavier than the typica l one-year old ch ild is
on the front passenger seat and the other
conditions fo r airbag deployment are met.
- Accident statistics have shown that children
are generally safe r in the rear sea t area t han
in the front seating pos ition .
Ill-
121
Airbag syste m
-Fo r th eir own safety, all children, especially
12 years and younger, shou ld always ride in
the back properly restra ined for their age
and size .
Advanced front airbag system
Your veh icle is equipped with a front Advanced
Airbag System in compliance with Un ited States
F edera l Moto r Vehicle Safety Standard
208, as
well as Canada Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (C MVSS)
208 as app lica ble at the time your ve hi
cle was manufactured.
The front Advanced Airbag System supp lements
the safety belts to prov ide addi tional pro te ct ion
for the dr iver's and front passenger's he ads and
upper bodies in frontal crashes. The airbags in
flate only in frontal impacts w hen the veh icle de
celeration is high enough .
The front Advanced Airbag System for the front
seat occupants is not a substitute fo r your safety
be lts. Rather, it is part of the overa ll occupant re
straint system in your vehicle . Always remember
that the airbag system can on ly help to protect
you, if you are sitting upr ight, wearing your safe
ty belt and wearing it properly . This is why you
and your passengers must always be properly re
stra ined, not just because the law requ ires you to
be.
The Advanced Airbag System in your veh icle has
been cert ified to meet the "low risk" require
men ts for 3 and 6 yea r-o ld children on the pas
senge r side and very sma ll adults on the d river
side. The low r is k dep loymen t cr ite ria are intend
ed to he lp reduce t he r is k of injury through inter
action with t he front ai rbag that can o ccu r, fo r
examp le, by being too close to the steering wheel
and instr ument pane l when the airbag inflates.
I n addi tion, the sys tem has been certified to
comp ly w ith the "suppression" requirements of
the Safety Standa rd, to tu rn
off the front ai rbag
for infants 12 months old and yo unger who a re
restrained on the front passenger seat in c hild re
stra ints that are listed in the Standard
¢ page 139, Child restraints and Advanced Air
bags.
122
"Suppression" requires the front airbag on the
passenger side to be turned
off if:
- a child up to abo ut one year of age is restraine d
on the fron t passenger seat in one of the rear
facing or forward -facing infant restraints listed
in Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
208
w ith which the Advanced A irbag System in yo ur
veh icle was certified. For a list ing of the child
restraints that were used to cert ify your vehi
cle's compliance with the US Safety Standard
¢ page 139,
-weight less than a threshold leve l stored in t he
control u nit is detected on the front passenger
seat .
When a person is detected on the front passen ger seat, weig hing more than the total weight of
a ch ild that is about 1 year old restrained in one
of the rea r-facing or forward-fac ing infant re
straints (listed in Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Stan dard
208 w ith w hich t he Adv anced Airbag
System i n your veh icle w as certified), the fro nt
airbag on the passenger side may or may not de
ploy .
The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF lig ht comes o n
whe n the ele ct ronic con trol uni t detects a tot al
weight on t he fron t passenger sea t that req uires
the front airbag to be turned
off . If the PASSEN·
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on, the
front airbag on the passenger side has not been
turned
off by the control unit and can dep loy if
the control unit senses an impact t hat meets the
cond it ions stored in its memory .
If the total weight on the front passenger seat is
more than that of a typ ica l 1 yea r-old, but less
than the weight of a small adult, the front airbag o n the passenge r side may deploy (the
PASSEN
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on) .
For example , the airb ag may deploy if:
- a small ch ild that is heav ier than a typica l 1
year-o ld child is on the front passenger seat
(regard less of whether the child is in one o f the
child safety seats listed¢
page 139),
-a child who has outgrown ch ild restraints is on
the front passenger seat.
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If the front passenger airbag is turned off, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light in the center of
the instrument panel will come on and stay on.
The front airbag on the passenger side may
not
deploy (the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not illuminate and stay lit) if:
- a small adult or teenager is on the front pas
senger seat
- a passenger who is not sitting upright with
their back against a non-reclined backrest with
their feet on the vehicle floor in front of the
seat is on the front passenger seat.
If the front passenger airbag deploys, the Feder
al Standard requires the airbag to meet the "low
risk" deployment criteria to help reduce the risk
of injury through interaction with the airbag.
"Low risk" deployment occurs in those crashes
that take place at lower decelerations as defined
in the electronic control unit.
c::;, page 12 7
Always remember: Even though your vehicle is
equipped with Advanced Airbags, the safest place
for childre n is properly restrained on the back
seat. Please be sure to read the important infor
mation in the sections that follow and be sure to
heed all of the WARNINGS.
A 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 higher.
- You will also receive serious injuries and
could even be killed if you are up against the
airbag or too close to it when it inflates -
even with an Advanced Airbag
¢ page 117.
A WARNING
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 inflates -even with an Advanced Airbag
System .
- Although the Advanced Airbag System in
your vehicle is designed to turn off the front
airbag when a rearward-facing child re-
Airbag system
straint has been installed on the front pas
senger seat, nobody can absolutely guaran
tee that deployment is impossible in all con
ceivable situations that may happen during
the useful life of your vehicle .
- 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 rearward-facing child re
straints in the back seat.
- 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 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 authorized Audi dealer.
A WARNING
-If, in exceptional circumstances, you must in-
stall a forward-facing child restraint on the
front passenger's seat:
-Always make sure the forward-facing seat
has been designed and certified by its man
ufacturer for use on a front seat with a pas
senger front and side airbag .
- Never put the forward-facing child restraint
up against or very near the instrument pan
el.
- Always move the front passenger seat to
the highest position in the up and down ad
justment range and move it back to the rearmost position in the seat's fore and aft
adjustment range, as far away from the air
bag as possible, before installing the for
ward-facing child restraint.
-Always make sure that the safety belt upper
anchorage is behind the child restraint and
not next to or in front of the child restraint
so that the safety belt will be properly posi
tioned.
- Always move the passenger seat into its
rearmost position in the seat's fore and aft
123