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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 restrained in a
child restraint that is appropriate for its size
and age.
Th e PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF ~ ; light
s h ould NOT com e on ...
The PASS ENGER AI R BAG OFF ~ ; light should
NO T come on when the ignition is on and an
adult is sitting in a proper seating position on the
front passenger seat . If the
PASS ENGER AIR
BAG OFF ~;
light comes on and stays on while
driving, under these circumstances, make sure
that :
- the adult on the front passenger seat is proper
ly seated on the center of the seat cushion with
his or he r back up aga inst the backrest and the
back rest is not reclined,
- the adult is not tak ing weight off the seat by
ho lding on to the passenger assist handle
above t he front passenger door or supporting
their weight on the a.rm rest,
- the safety belt is be ing properly worn 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 migh t ca use the ca
pacitive passenger detection system to miscal
cu late electrical capacitance .
Important safety instructions on
monitoring the Advanced Airbag System
A WARNING
-If the status of the Adv a need A irbag System
has changed while the vehicle is moving, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF,;; ON @ light
blinks for about 5 seconds to catch the driv
er's attention .
If this happens, always stop
as soon as it is safe to do so and check the
steps described above .
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF,;; light
does not go off when an adult who is not
very small is s itting on the front passenger
-
Airb ag sys tem
seat after taking the steps described above,
make sure the adu lt is properly seated and
restrained at one of the rear seating posi
tions . Have the a irbag system inspected by
your author ized Audi dealer before trans
port ing anyone on the front passenger seat.
A WARNING
f-
An a irbag system that is not functioning prop-
e rly cannot prov ide supplemental protect io n
i n a front al crash.
- I f the ai rbag ind icator light~
page 29
comes when the veh icle is being used, have
the system inspected immedia tely by your
authorized Audi dealer . It is possib le that
the airbag will inflate when it is not sup
posed to, or will not inflate when it should.
A WARNING
If the front airbag inflates, a ch ild without 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 seriously injured and can be killed.
- Even though your vehicle is equipped with
an Advanced A irbag System, make certain
that all children , espec ially 12 years and
younge r, always ride on the back seat p rop
erly rest rained for the ir age and s ize .
- Always install fo rwa rd or rear-facing child
safety seats on the rear seat - even with an
Advan ced Airbag System.
- I f you must install a rea rwa rd-facing child
safety seat on the front passenger seat be
cause of excep tional circums tances and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF,;, light does not
appear and stay on, immediate ly install the
rear-facing chi ld safety seat in a rear seat ing
position and have the a irbag system in
spected by your authori zed Aud i dea ler.
- 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 ad justment range, as far away
from the a irbag as poss ible . The back rest
m ust be adjusted to an upr ight position .
287
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Airbag syste m
Make sure that the PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
11;; li ght comes on and stays on all t he
t ime whenever the ignition is switched on.
A WARNING
- If the PA SSEN GER AIR BAG OFF 11;; light
does not go out when an adult is si tting on
the front passe nger seat a fter ta king the
steps described above, make sure the adult is p roperly seated and restrained at one of
the rear seating positions.
- Have the airbag system inspected by your
authorized Aud i 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 passenge r
side w ill be tu rned off, and the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
11;; light will stay on.
-
Repair , care and disposal of the airbags
Parts of the a irbag system are installed at many
different places on your Audi. Installing, remov ing, servic ing or repa iring a part in an area of the
ve hicle can damage a part of an airbag system
and prevent that system from working properly
i n 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 repai r proce
dures can increase the r is k of personal injury
and death by preventing an airbag from de
ploying when needed or dep loying an airbag
unexpectedly:
-
- Never cover, obstruct, or change the stee r
ing wheel horn pad or airbag cover or the in
strument pane l or modify them in any way.
288
- Never attach any objects s uch as c upholders
or telephone mountings to the surfaces cov
ering the a irbag un its.
- For cleaning the horn pad or instrument
panel, use only a soft, dry cloth or one mois
tened w ith plain water. Solvents or cleaners
could damage the airbag cover or change
the st iffness or strength of the material so
that the airbag canno t deploy and p rotect
properly.
- Never repair, adjust , or change any parts of
the airbag system.
- All work on the steering wheel, inst rument
panel, front seats or e lectr ica l system ( in
cluding the installation of a udio eq uipment,
cellular telephones and C B radios, etc.)
m ust be perfo rmed by a qualified techn ician
who has the training and specia l equipment
necessary.
- For any work on the airbag system, we strong ly recommend that you see your au
thorized A udi dealer or qualified workshop.
- Never modify the front b umper or parts of
the vehicle body.
- Always make sure that the side a irbag can
inflate w ithout interference:
- Never install seat covers or replacement
upholstery over the front seatbacks that
have not been specifically approved by
A udi.
- Never use additional seat c ushions that
cover the areas where the side airbags in
flate.
- Damage to the orig inal seat cove rs or to
the seam in the area of the s ide airbag
module mus t always be repaired immedi
ate ly by an autho riz ed Au di dealer.
- The a irbag system can deploy on ly once. Af
ter an airbag h as been deployed, i t m ust be
repla ced with new replacement parts de
signed and approved espec ia lly for your
Audi model version . Replacement of com
plete airbag systems or airbag components
must be perfo rmed by qua lified workshops
only. Make su re that any airbag service ac
tion is entered in your A udi Warranty
&
Ma intenance boo klet under AIRBAG RE-
PLAC EM EN T RECORD.
~
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-For safety reasons in severe accidents, the
alternator and starter are separated from
the vehicle battery with a pyrotechn ic circuit
interrupter.
- Work on the pyrotechnic circ uit interrupt
er must only be performed by a qualified
technicians who have the experience, in
formation and special tools necessary to
perform the work safely.
- If the vehicle or the circuit interrupter is
scrapped, all app licab le safety precautions
must be followed .
® For the sake of the environment
Undeployed airbag modu les a nd pretension
ers might be classified as Perch lorate Materi
al -special handling may apply, see
www.dtsc.ca.gov/hazardouswaste/perchlo rate. When the vehicle or parts of the re
straint system including airbag modules and
safety belts with pretensioners are scrapped,
all applicable laws and regulations must be
observed. Your authorized Audi dealer is fa
m iliar with these requi rements a nd we recom
mend t hat you have you r dealer perform this
service for you.
Other things that can affect Advanced
Airbag performance
Changing the vehicle's suspension system can
change the way that the Advanced Airbag System
performs in a crash . For example, using tire-r im
comb inat ions not approved by Audi, lowering the
ve hicl e, chang ing the s tiffness of the suspens io n,
in clud ing the spr ings, suspens ion str uts, shock
absor bers et c. can change the forces that are
measured by the airbag sensors and sent to the
e lectronic contro l unit. Some suspension changes
can, for example, increase the force levels meas
ured by the sensors and make the airbag system
deploy in crashes in which it would not deploy if
the changes had not been made. Other ki nds of
changes may reduce the fo rce levels meas ured by
the sensors and prevent the airbag from deploy in g when i t should .
Airbag sys tem
A WARNING ,-
Changing the vehicle's suspension including
use of unapproved tire-rim combinations can
change Advanced Airbag performance and in
crease the risk of serious personal injury in a
crash.
- Never install suspension components that
do not have the same pe rformance charac
teristics as the components o rigina lly ins tal
led on your vehicle.
- Never use tire-rim combinations t hat have
not been approved by Audi.
Side airbags
Description of side airbags
The airbag system can provide supplemental
protection to properly restrained occupants.
Fig. 2 42 Sid e airbag location in t he drive r's seat
The side airbags are located in the sides of the
front seat backrests
¢ fig . 242 and the rear back
r es t* facing the doo rs.
The side airbags installed for the front seating
pos itions have bee n des igned and certified to
help reduce the risk of in ju ry that can be caused
by a irbags when they inflate, pa rticu larly when
the oc cupant s itting next to it is not seated prop
erly . T he side airbag for the fron t passenger seat
can be used w it h properly installed chi ld re
straints . Please be sure to read the important in
formation and warnings whenever using a child
restra int in a vehicle: Safety belts
c::> page 265,
Airbag system c::> page 273, Child safety
c>page295 .
The side airbag sy stem ba sica lly consi st s of: II>
289
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Airbag syste m
-the e lectronic contro l modu le and external side
impact sensors
- the two side airbags located in the sides of the
front backrests
- two rear side airbags*
- the a irbag warning light in the instrument clus-
ter .
The airbag system is monitored electronically to make certa in that it is functioning properly at all
times. Each time you turn on the ignit ion, the air
bag system ind icator light will come on for a few
seconds (self diagnostics).
The s ide a irbag system supplements the safety
be lts and can help to reduce the risk of injury to
the dr iver's, front and rear* passenger 's upper
torso on the side of the vehicle that is struck in a
s ide collision . The airbag dep loys only in side im
pacts and on ly wh en the vehicle acceleration reg
iste red by the control unit is high enough . If this
rate is below the reference value programmed in
t o the control unit, the side airbags w ill not be
tr iggered , even though the car may be badly
damaged as a result of the collision .
It is not pos
sib le to define an airbag tr igger ing range that
w ill cover every possib le ang le of impact , since
the c ircumstances wi ll vary cons iderably 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, v ehicle
speed, etc.
c::> page 291 , Important safety in
s tructions on the side airbag sys tem.
Aside from their normal safety function, safety
be lts work to help k eep the driver or front pas
senger in position in the event of a side collision
so that the side a irbags can provide protection .
The airbag system is
not a substitute for your
safety belt . Rather , it is part of the overa ll occu
pant restraint system in your vehicle . Always re
member that the s ide airbag system can only
help to protect you if you are wearing your safety
belt and wea ring it properly . Th is is another rea
son why you should always wear your safety
be lts, not just because the law requ ires you to do
so ¢
page 265 , General information .
It is important to remember that while the sup
plemental side a irbag system is des igned to re-
290
duce the likelihood of ser ious injuries, other inju
ries, for example, swelling, bruising, friction
burns and m inor abras ions can also be assoc iated
with deployed side airbags. Remember too, side
airbags will dep loy only once and only in certa in
k inds of acc idents -your safety belts are always
there to offer protection .
Vehicle damage, repair costs or even the lack of
vehicle damage are not necessar ily an ind ication
of over -sens itive or fa iled airbag activat ion. In
some collisions, both front and side airbags may
i nflate . Remember too, that a irbags w ill dep loy
o nl y once and on ly in certain kinds of collisions -
you r safety be lts are always there to offer protec
tion in those accidents in which airbags are not supposed to deploy or when they have a lready
deployed.
The side airbag system will not deploy:
- when the ignit io n is tu rned off
- in side co llisions when the acceleration meas-
ured by the sensor is too low
- in front-end coll is ions
- in rear-end collisions
-in rollovers .
In some types of accidents the front ai rbags, side
curtain airbags and side airbags may be triggered
together .
A WARNING
-Safety belts and the airbag system will only
provide protect ion when occupants are in
the proper seating pos ition
c::> page 291 .
-If the airbag ind icator light c::> page 29
comes when the veh icle is being used, have
the system inspected immediately by your
author ized Audi dealer . It is possible that
the airbag will inflate when i t is not sup
posed to, or wi ll not inflate when it should.
Page 293 of 402

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How supplemental side airbags work
Side airbags deploy instantly and can help reduce the risk of upper torso injuries for occu
pants who are properly restrained.
Fig. 243 Inflated side airbags on left side of vehicle , rear
side airbag optiona l equipment
When the system is triggered, the airbag is filled
with propellant gas and breaks through a seam in
the seat surface area.
It expands between the
side trim panel and the passenger. In order to help provide this additional protection, the side
airbag must inflate within a fraction of a second
at very high speed and with great force. The sup
p leme ntal side airbag could injure you if your
seating position is not proper or upright or if
items are located in the area where the supple
mental side airbag expands. This applies espe
cially to children~
page 295, Child safety. Sup
plemental side airbags inflate between the occu
pant and the door panel on the side of the vehicle
that is struck in certain side collision
~fig. 243.
Although they are not a soft pillow, they can
"cushion" the impact and in this way they can
help to reduce the risk of injury to the upper part
of the body.
A fine dust may develop when the airbag deploys.
This is normal and does not mean there is a fire
in the vehicle .
Airbag system
Important safety instructions on the side
airbag system
Airbags are only supplemental restraints. Always
properly wear safety belts and ride in a proper
seating position .
There is a lot that you and your passengers must
know and act accordingly to help the safety belts
and airbags do their job to provide supplemental
protection.
A WARNING
An inflating side airbag can cause serious or
fatal injury. Improperly wearing safety belts
and improper seating positions increase the
risk of serious personal injury and death
whenever a vehicle is being used.
- In order to reduce the risk of injury when
the supplemental side airbag inflates:
- Always sit in an upright position and never
lean against the area where the supple
mental side airbag is located.
- Never let a child or anyone else rest their
head against the side trim panel in the
area where the supplemental side airbag inflates.
- Always make sure that safety belts are
worn correctly,
- Do not let anyone sitting in the front seat
put their hand or any other parts of their
body out of the window.
- 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 de ploy.
- 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.
-
- Objects between you and the airbag can in
crease the risk of injury in an accident by in
terfering with the way the airbag unfolds or _,.
291
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Airbag syste m
by being pushed into you as the airbag in
flates.
- Never p lace or attach accessories or other
objects (such as cupho lders, te lephone
brackets, or even large, bulky objects) on
the doors, over or near the area marked
"AIRBAG" on the seat backrests.
- Such objects and accessories can become
dangerous projectiles and cause in ju ry
when the supplemental side airbag de ploys.
- Never carry any objects or pets in the de ployment space between them and the
airbags or allow children or other passen
gers to travel in this posit ion.
- Always use the built-in coat hooks* only for
lightweight clothing. Never leave any heavy
or sharp-edged objects in the pockets that
may interfere w it h side airbag deployment
and can cause personal i njury in an accident.
- Always prevent the side airbags from being
damaged by heavy objects knocking against
or hitting the sides of the seatbacks.
- The airbag system can only be triggered
once. If the airbag has been triggered, the
system must be replaced by an author ized
Audi dealership.
- Damage (cracks, deep scratches etc.) to the
orig inal seat covers or to the seam in the
area of the side a irbag mod ule m ust always
be repa ired immed iate ly by an authorized
Audi dealer .
-If children are sea ted improperly, their r is k
of injury increases in the ca se of an ac ciden t
¢ page 295, Child safety .
-Never attempt to modify any components of
the a irbag sys tem in any way.
- In a side collision, side a irbags w il l not fu nc
t ion properly if sensors cannot correct ly
measure increasi ng air pressure ins ide the
doo rs when air escapes through larger, un
closed openings in the door panel.
- Never drive w ith inter io r door tr im panels
removed .
- Never drive when parts have been re
moved from the inside doo r panel and the
open ings they leave have not been proper
ly closed.
292
- Never drive when loudspeakers in the
doors have been removed unless the
speaker holes have been properly closed.
- Always make certain that openings are
covered or filled if additional speakers or
other equipment is installed i n the inside
door panels.
- Always have work on the doors done by an
authorized Aud i dealer or q ualified work
shop.
Side curtain airbags
Description of side curtain airbags
The side curtain airbags can provide supplemen
tal protection to properly restrained oc cupants.
Fig. 244 S id e curta in airbags, driver 's side : locatio n
The side curtain airbags are located on both sides
of the interior above the front and rear side win
dows
¢ fig. 244.
The side curtain airbags contain features that
provide ejection mitigation to help prevent vehi
cle occupants or parts of their bodies from be ing
completely or part ially ejected from the vehicle
i nterior i n certa in side impacts and vehicle roll
ove rs .
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 in a
side collision . The s ide curtain a irbag inflates in
s ide impacts and on ly when the veh icle ac celera
tion registered by the control unit is high
eno ugh . If this ra te is be low the refere nce va lue
programmed into the contro l unit, the side cur
tain airbag will not be triggered, even though the
car may be badly damaged as a result of the ..,_
Page 295 of 402

collision. It is not possible to define an airbag
triggering range that will cover every possible an
g le of impact, s ince the circumstances will vary
considerably between one collision and another.
Important factors include, for example, the na
ture (hard or soft) of the impacting object, the
angle of impact, vehicle speed, etc.
¢ page 293,
How side curtain airbags work .
Aside from their normal safety function, safety
be lts work to he lp keep the driver or front pas
senger in pos it ion in the event of a collision so
that the side curtain airbags can p rovide 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
p rotect you if you are wearing your safety bel t
and wearing it properly . This is another reason
why you should always wear your safety belts, not just because the law requires you to do so
¢ page 265, General information.
It is important to remember that whi le the s ide
curtain airbag system is designed to he lp 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 o nce and only in
certa in ki nds of acc idents -your safety belts are
always there to offer protection .
The side curtain airba g sy stem ba sically
consists of:
- The electronic control module and external s ide
impact senso rs
- The side curtain airbags above the w indows of
the outer seating positions with ejection miti
gation feat ures
- The airbag indicator light in the instrument
panel
The airbag system is monitored electronically to make certain it is funct ion ing properly at all
~ times . Each time you turn on the ignit ion, the air-
.... ~ bag system ind icator light will come on for a few
8 seconds (self d iagnost ics) .
0 :E
Airb ag sys tem
The side curta in airbag is not activ ated:
- if the ignition is turned off
- in side co llisions whe n the acceleration meas-
ured by the sensor is too low
- in rear-end col lisions .
_&. WARNING
-Safe ty bel ts and the airbag system will only
provide pro tect ion when occupants are in
the proper seating position
¢ page 59,
Front seats.
- I f the airbag ind ic a tor light q page 29
comes when the veh icle is being used, have
the system inspected immediately by your
authorized Audi dealer. It is possib le that
the airbag will inflate when it is not sup
posed to, or w ill not inf late when it should.
How side curtain airbags work
Side curtain airbags con work together with side
airbags to help reduce the risk of head and upper
torso injuries for occupants who are properly re
strained .
Fig. 24 5 Illustration of pr incip le: Inflated s ide curta in air
bags o n the left s ide
The side curtain airbags inflate between the oc
cupant and the w indows in a side collis ion
c> fig . 245 .
When the system is triggered, the side curtain
airbag is filled with propellant gas and breaks
through a seam above the front and rear side
windows identified by the AIRBAG label. In order
to help provide this additional protect ion, the
s ide curtain a irbag must inf late w ithi n the blink
of a n eye at very high speed and with g reat fo rce .
T he side c urtain airbag could injure you if yo ur
Ill>
293
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Airbag syste m
seating position is not proper or upright or if
items are located in the area where the supp le
mental side curtain airbag inflates. This applies
especially to children¢
page 295.
Although they are not a soft pillow, side curtain
airbags can "cushion" the impact and in this way
they can help to reduce the risk of in jury to the
head and the upper part of the body.
A fine dust may develop when the airbag deploys.
This is quite normal and does not mean there is a
f ire in the veh icle .
Important safety instructions on the side
curtain airbag system
Airbags are only supplemental restraints. Always
properly wear safety belts and ride in a proper
seating position.
There is a lot that yo u and your passengers must
know and do to help the safety be lts and airbags
do their job to provide supplemental protect ion.
A WARNING
Improperly wearing safety belts and improper
seating posit ions increase the risk of serious
personal inju ry and death whenever a vehicle
is being used.
- Never let occupants p lace any parts of the ir
bodies in the area from which the side cur
ta in a irbag inflate.
- Always make sure that the side curtain air
bags can inflate witho ut interferen ce.
- Use the built- in coat hooks on ly for light
weight cloth ing. Neve r leave any heavy or
sharp-edged obje cts in t he pockets that may
in terfere w ith airbag deployment and can
ca use personal injury in a collision.
- Never use hangers to hang clothes on the
hoo ks.
- Only use factory-installed s un shades or, if
shades installed after the veh icle leaves the
factory, use only genuine Aud i sun shades.
- Never swing the sun viso rs ove r to the side
windows if things such as pens, ga rage door
openers, hands-free speakers, etc . are at
tached to the sun visors. They co uld come
294
loose and cause serious injury if the side cu r
tain airbag inflates.
- A deploying airbag inflates in a fraction of a
second and with great force.
- Never attach objects to the cover or in the
deployment zone of a side curtain airbag .
- The a irbag deployment zones must be kept
clear at all times. Make s ure there are no
objects, pets, o r other persons in the space
between any vehicle occupant and any air
bag at any time.
- Do not attach any accessories to the doors.
A WARNING
- The a irbag system can deploy on ly once. If
the airbag has been triggered, the system
m ust be rep laced by an authorized A udi
dealer or qualified workshop .
- Always have work invo lv ing the side curtain
airbag system, remova l and installat ion of
the airbag components, or other repairs
pe rformed by a q ualified dealership. Other
w ise the airbag system may not work cor
rectly.
- Never attempt to mod ify any componen ts of
the airbag system in any way.