Driving safety
For detailed information on how to adjust the
driver's seat, see ¢
page 44.
A WARNING
Drivers who are unbelted, out of position or
too close to the airbag can be seriously in
jured by an airbag as it unfolds. To help re
duce the risk of serious personal injury:
- Always adjust the driver's seat and the
steering wheel so that there are at least
10 inches (25 cm) between your breastbone
and the steering wheel.
- Always hold the steering wheel on the out
side of the steering wheel rim with your
hands at the 9 o'clock and 3 o'clock posi
tions to help reduce the risk of personal in
jury if the driver's airbag inflates.
- Never hold the steering wheel at the
12 o'clock position or with your hands at
other positions inside the steering wheel
rim or on the steering wheel hub. Holding
the steering wheel the wrong way can cause serious injuries to the hands, arms and head
if the driver's airbag deploys.
- Pointing the steering wheel toward your
face decreases the ability of the su pplemen
tal driver's airbag to protect you in a colli
sion.
- Always sit in an upright position and never lean against or place any part of your body
too close to the area where the airbags are
located.
- Before driving, always adjust the front seats
and head restraints properly and make sure
that all passengers are properly restrained.
- Never adjust the seats while the vehicle is
moving . Your seat may move unexpectedly
and you could lose control of the vehicle.
- Never drive with the backrest reclined or
tilted far back! The farther the backrests are
tilted back, the greater the risk of injury due
to incorrect positioning of the safety belt
and improper seating position.
- Children must always ride in child safety
seats¢
page 137. Special precautions ap
ply when installing a child safety seat on the
front passenger seat
q page 117.
102
-
Proper seating position for the front
passenger
The proper front passenger seating position is
important for safe, relaxed driving.
For your own safety and to reduce the risk of in
jury in the event of an accident, we recommend
that you adjust the seat for the front passenger
to the following position :
.,. Adjust the angle of the seatback so that it is in
an upright position and your back comes in full
contact with it whenever the vehicle is moving.
.,. Adjust the head restraint so the upper edge is
as even as possible with the top of your head. If
that is not possible, try to adjust the head re
straint so that it is as close to this position as
possible ¢
page 45.
.,. Keep both feet flat on the floor in front of the
front passenger seat.
.,. Fasten and wear safety belts correctly
¢page 112.
For detailed information on how to adjust the
front passenger's seat, see
¢ page 44.
A WARNING
Front seat passengers who are unbelted, out
of position or too close to the airbag can be
seriously injured or killed by the airbag as it
unfolds. To help reduce the risk of serious
personal injury:
- Passengers must always sit in an upright po
sition and never lean against or place any
part of their body too close to the area
where the airbags are located.
- Passengers who are unbelted, out of posi
tion or too close to the airbag can be seri
ously injured by an airbag as it unfolds with
great force in the blink of an eye.
- Always make sure that there are at least
10 inches (25 cm) between the front pas
senger's breastbone and the instrument
panel.
- Each passenger must always sit on a seat of
their own and properly fasten and wear the
safety belt belonging to that seat.
- Before driving, always adjust the front pas senger seat and head restraint properly.
Safe ty belts
-Failure to pay attention to the warn ing light
that come on, could lead to personal injury.
Why use safety belts?
Frontal collisions and the law of physics
Frontal crashes create very strong forces for peo
ple riding in vehicles.
F ig . 10 5 Unbe lted occupants in a ve hicle headi ng for a wall
Fig . 1 06 The ve hicle c ras hes into the wall
The physical principles are simple . Both the vehi
cle and the passengers possess energy wh ich var
ies with vehicle speed and body weight. Engi
neers call this energy "kinet ic energy."
The higher the speed of the vehicle and the greater the vehicle's we ight, the more energy
that has to be "absorbed" in the crash .
Vehicle speed is the most significant fac tor. If
the speed doubles from 15 to 30 mph (25 to 50
km/h), the energy increases 4 times!
Because t he passengers of th is veh icle are not us
ing safety belts<=>
fig. 105, they will keep mov ing
at the same speed the vehicle was moving just
befo re the crash , u nti l something stops them -
here, the wall
r=> fig. 106.
110
The same principles apply to people sitting in a
veh icle that is invo lved in a frontal collision . Even
at city speeds of 20 to 30 mph (30 to 50 km/h) ,
the forces acting on the body can reach one ton
(2,000 lbs . or 1,000 kg) or more. At greater
speeds, these forces are even higher .
People who do not use safety belts are a lso not
attached to their vehicle. In a frontal collis ion
they will also keep mov ing fo rward at the speed
their vehicle was travelling just before the crash .
Of course, the laws of physics don't just apply to
frontal collisions, they determine what happens
i n a ll kinds of accide nts and co llisions .
What happens to occupants not wearing
safety belts?
In crashes unbel ted occupants cannot stop
themselves from flying forward and being in
jured or killed. Always wear your safety belts!
F ig. 107 A drive r not wea ring a safety belt is vio lent ly
t h row n forward
Fig. 108 A rea r passe nge r not wea ring a safety be lt will fly
forwa rd an d str ike t he drive r
Unbelted occ upants are not ab le to res ist the tre
mendous forces of impact by holdi ng tight or
braci ng themselves. Without the benefit of safe
ty restraint systems, the unrestra ined occupant
will slam violently into the stee ring wheel ,
Ill>
00
00
......
"' ,....
"' ...... 0 0 :::,
00
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 .,.
-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.
Airbag syste m
adjustment range, as far away from the air
bag as possib le, before insta lling the
forward-facing ch ild restraint. The backrest
must be adjusted to an upright posit ion.
- Make sure that the
PAS SEN GER AIR BA G
OFF
light comes on and stays on all the time
whenever the ignition is switched on.
Advanced Airbag System components
The front passenger seat in your vehicle has a lot
of very important parts of the Advanced Airbag
System in it. These parts include the we ight
sensing mat, sensors, w iring, brac kets, and
mo re. The function of the system in the front
passenger seat is checked by the elec tronic con
trol unit when the ignition is on. The contro l unit
monitors the Advanced Airbag System and turns
the airbag indicator light on when a malfunct ion
in the system components is detected. The func
tion of the airbag indicator light is described in
greater detail below. Because the front passen
ge r seat contains important parts of the Ad
vanced A irbag System, you must take care to p re
vent i t from being damaged. Damage to the seat
may prevent the Advanced Airbag for the fron t
passenger seat from doing its job in a c rash.
The front Advanced Airbag System consists
of th e follow ing :
-Crash sensors in the front of the vehicle that
measure vehicle acceleration/deceleration to
provide information to the Advanced Airbag
System about the severity of the crash.
- An e lectronic control unit, with integrated
crash sensors for front and side impacts. The
contro l unit "decides" whether to fire the front
airbags based on the information received from
the crash sensors . The control unit also "de
c ides" whether the safety belt pretens ioners
sho uld be activated .
- An Advanced Airbag with gas generator and
contro l valve fo r the driver ins ide the steer ing
whee l hub.
-An Advanced Airbag with gas generator and contro l valve inside the instrument pane l for
the front passenger.
124
- A weight -sensing mat under the upholstery
padding of the front passenger seat cushion
that measures the total weight on the seat. The
information reg istered is sent cont inuous ly to
the electronic control unit to regulate deploy
ment of the front Advanced Airbag on the pas
senger s ide .
- An airbag monitoring system and ind icator
light in the instrument cluster
c::;,page 127.
-A sensor in each front seat registers the dis
tance between the respective seat and the
steer ing wheel or instrument panel. The infor
mat ion registered is sent cont inuously to the
elect ronic contro l unit to regu late dep loyment
of the fron t Advanced Airbags.
- The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
and stays on in the cente r of the ins trument
pa nel
c::;, page 128, fig. 118 and te lls yo u when
the front Advanced Airbag on the passenger
side has been turned
off .
-A sensor below the safety be lt latch for the
front seat passenger to measure the tension on
the safety belt. The tension on the safety belt
and the weight registered by the weight-sens
ing mat help the control unit "decide" whether
the front airbag for the front passenger seat
should be turned off or not
c::;, page 118, Child
restraints on the front seat -some important
things to know.
- A sensor in the safety belt latch for the driver
and for the front seat passenger that senses
whether that safety be lt is latched o r not and
transmits this informa tion to the e lec tronic
cont rol un it.
_&. WARNING
D amage to the front passenger seat can pre
vent the front airbag from working prope rly .
- Improper repair or disassembly of the front
passenger and driver seat will prevent the
Advanced Airbag System from f unctioning
properly.
- Repairs to the front passenger seat must be
performed by qualified and proper ly trained
workshop personnel.
- Never remove the front passenger or driver
seat from the vehicle.
00
00
......
"' ,....
"' ...... 0 0 :::,
00
against the backrest, cen ter armrest, door
or r oof.
- Always install rear-facing child safety seats
on the rear seat.
- If you must install a rearward facing child
safety seat on the front passenger seat be
cause of exceptional circumstances and the
PASSEN GER A IR 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
seating pos it ion and have the airbag system
inspected by you r authorized Audi dea le r.
A WARNING
Objects between you and the a irbag will in
crease the risk of in jury in a crash by inte rfer
ing w ith the way the airbag unfolds or by be
ing pushed into you as the airbag inflates.
- Never hold th ings in your hands or on your
lap when the vehicle is in use .
- Never transport items on o r in the area of
the fron t passenger seat . Objec ts could
move into the area of the front airbags dur
ing brak ing or other sudden maneuver and
become dangerous projectiles that can
cause serious pe rsonal injury if the airbags
inflate.
- Never place or attach accessories or other objects (such as cupholders, telephone
brackets, large, heavy or bulky objects) on
the doors, over or near the area marked
"AIRBAG" on the steering wheel, instru
ment pane l, seat bac krests or between
those areas and you rself. These objects
cou ld cause injury in a c rash, especially
when the airbags infla te.
- Never recline the front passenge r's seat to
transport objects . Items can also move into
the area o f the side airbag or the front air
bag dur ing braking or in a sudden maneu
ver. Objects near the airbags can become
projectiles and cause in ju ry, particularly
when the seat is reclined.
A WARNING
The fine dust created when airbags deploy can
cause breathing problems for peop le w ith a
Airb ag sys tem
history of asthma or othe r breath ing cond i
tions .
- To reduce the r is k of breathing problems,
those with asthma or other respiratory con
ditions should get fresh a ir right away by
getting out of the vehicle or open ing win
dows or doors .
-If you are in a co llision in wh ich airbags de
p loy, wash your hands and face w ith m ild
soap and water be fore eating .
- Be carefu l not to get the dust into your eyes,
or into any cuts or scratches .
- If the residue sho uld get into your eyes,
f lush them w ith wate r.
Monitoring the
Advanced Airbag System
!I.' 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.
T he Advanced Airbag System as well as the side
airbags and side curtain airbags with ejection
mitigation features (including the electronic con
trol unit, sensors and system wiring) are all monitored cont inuously to make sure that they
are functioning properly w henever the ignition is
on . Each t ime you turn on t he ignition, the airbag
monitoring indicator light
El will come on fo r a
few seconds (se lf d iagnost ics) .
The system must be inspected when the
indicator light
E,I:
- does not come on when the ignition is sw itched
on,
- does not go out a few seconds afte r you have
sw itched on the ignition, or
- comes on while driv ing .
If an airbag system malfunction is detected, the
indicator light will come on to serve as a constant
rem inder to have the system inspected immedi
ately.
If a malfunction occurs that turns the front air-
bag on the passenger side off, the
PASSENGER IJl,
127