Airbag syste m
Always remember, a child safety seat or infant
carrier installed on the front seat may be struck
and knocked out of position by the rapidly inflat
ing passenger's airbag in a frontal collision. The
airbag could greatly reduce the effectiveness of
the child restraint and
even seriously injure the
child dur ing inflation.
For this reason, and because the back seat is the
safest place for children - when properly restrain
ed according to the ir age and size -we strongly
recommend that children always sit in the back
seat ¢ page 292, Child safety.
A WARNING
A child in a rearward-facing chi ld safety seat
installed on the front passenger seat w ill be
seriously injured and can be killed if the front
airbag inflates -
even with an Advanced Airbag
System.
- The inflating airbag will hit the child safety
seat or infant carrier with great force and
will smash the chi ld safety seat and child
against the backrest, center armrest, door
or roof.
- Always install rear-facing child safety seats
on the rear seat.
- If you must install a rearward facing chi ld
safety seat on the front passenger seat be cause of exceptional circumstances and the
PA SSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not
come on and stay on, immed iately install
the rear-fac ing ch ild safety seat in a rear
seat ing pos ition and have the airbag system
inspected by your Audi dealer.
- Forward-facing ch ild safety seats installed
on the front passenger's seat may interfere
with the deployment of the airbag and ca use serio us personal injury to the child .
A WARNING
If, in exceptional circumstances, you must in
stall a forward-facing chi ld restraint on the
front passenger's seat:
- Always make sure the forward -facing seat
has been designed and ce rtified by its man
u facturer for use on a front seat with a pas
senger front and side a irbag.
270
- Never put the fo rward-facing child restraint
up against or
very near the instrument 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 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 o r in front of the child rest raint
so that the safety be lt will be properly posi
tioned.
- Ma ke sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on and stays on a ll the time
wheneve r the ignit ion is switched on .
A WARNING
-
To reduce the risk of serious injury, make sure
that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light will
be d isp layed whenever a ch ild restraint is in
stalled on the front passenge r seat and the
ignition is switched on.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not stay on, perform the checks described
¢ page 2 79, Monitoring the Advanced Air
bag System .
-Take the child restraint off the front passen
ger seat and install it properly at one
of the
rear seat positions if the
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
light does not stay on.
- Have the airbag system inspected by your
Aud i dea le r i mmediately.
- Always carefully follow instructions from child restraint manufacture rs when instal
ling child restra ints.
A WARNING
If, in exceptional ci rcumstances, 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 restr aints can
reduce the ir effectiveness or
even preven t
them from provi ding any pro te ct ion .
Airbag syste m
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 s ideways 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 aga inst the
airbag or too close to it when it inflates -
even with an Advanced Airbag
c::> page 267 .
A WARNING
A child in a rearward-facing chi ld safety seat
installed on the front passenge r seat w ill be
ser iously injured and can be killed i f the front
airbag inflates
-even w ith an Advanced Ai rbag
System.
-Although the Advanced A irbag System in
yo ur vehicle is designed to tu rn off the front
airbag when a rearwa rd -facing child re
straint has been insta lled on the front pas
senger seat, nobody can absolutely guaran
tee that deployment is impossible in all con
ceivable s ituations that may happen during
the useful life of your vehicle .
- The inflating a irbag w ill hit the child safety
seat or infant carrier with great force and
will smash the chi ld safety seat and child
against the backrest, center armrest , door,
o r roof .
- Always install rearward -facing ch ild re
straints on the rear seat .
- If you must install a rearward fac ing ch ild
safety seat on the front passenger seat be
cause of exceptiona l circumstances and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not
come on and s tay on, immed iate ly install
the rear-fac ing ch ild safety seat in a rear
seating position and have the airbag system
inspected by your Audi dealer.
274
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 des igned and certified by its man
ufacturer for use on a front seat with a pas
senger front and side airbag.
- Never put the forwa rd-facing child restraint
up against or very nea r the instrument pan
el.
- Always move the front passenge r seat to
the highest posit ion in the up and down ad
justmen t range and move it back to the
rearmost posit io n in the seat's fo re and aft
adjustment 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 chi ld rest raint and
not next to o r in front of the c hild restraint
so that the safety be lt will be p roper ly posi
tioned.
- Always make sure that there is noth ing 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 occup ied by a person when it is
no t, or to signal that it is occupied by some
one who is heavier than the person ac tually
si tting on the sea t. T he presence of addi
tional objects 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 d ifferent from the way it wou ld
have worked 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 ign it ion is switched on.
Advanced Airbag System components
T he front passenger seat in your veh icle has a lot
of ve ry important parts of the Advanced A irbag
System i n it. These parts incl ude the capacitive
passenger detection system, wir ing , b rackets,
and more. The control uni t moni tors the system
on the front passenge r seat when t he ignit ion is
..,.
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switched on and turns the airbag indicator light
on when a malfunction in the one of the system
components is detected
c::> page 279. 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
Airbag System for the front passenger seat from
doing its job in a crash.
The front Advanced Airbag System consists
of the following:
-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 electronic control unit, with integrated
crash sensors for front and side impacts. The
control unit "decides" whether to fire the front
airbags based on the information received from
the crash sensors. The control unit also
"de
cides" whether the safety belt pretensioners
should be activated .
-An Advanced Airbag with gas generator for the
driver inside the steering wheel hub.
-An Advanced Airbag with gas generator inside
the instrument panel for the front passenger.
-A capacitive passenger detection system under neath the front passenger seat cover. This sys
tem measures the electrical capacitance of the person in the seat. The information registered
is sent continuously to the electronic control
unit to regulate deployment of the front Ad
vanced Airbag on the passenger side .
-An airbag monitoring system and indicator
light in the instrument cluster
c::> page 2 79.
-A sensor in each front seat registers the dis
tance between the respective seat and the
steering wheel or instrument panel. The infor
mation registered is sent continuously to the
electronic control unit to regulate deployment
of the front Adv a need Airbags.
-The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
and stays on in the center of the instrument
panel
c::> page 316 and tells you when the front
Advanced Airbag on the passenger side has been turned off.
Airbag system
-A sensor in the safety belt 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 unit.
A WARNING ,.__
Damage to the front passenger seat can pre
vent the front airbag from working properly.
-Improper repair or disassembly of the front passenger and driver seat will prevent the
Advanced Airbag System from functioning properly.
-Repairs to the front passenger seat must be
performed by qualified and properly trained
workshop personnel.
-Never remove the front passenger or driver
seat from the vehicle.
-Never remove the upholstery from the front
passenger seat.
-Never disassemble or remove parts from the
seat or disconnect wires from it.
- Never carry sharp objects in your pockets or
put them on the seat. The capacitive pas
senger detection mat in the front passenger
seat will not function properly if it is punc
tured.
-Never carry things on your lap or carry ob
jects on the front passenger seat. Such ob
jects can influence the capacitance regis
tered by the capacitive passenger detection
system, so that incorrect information is pro
vided to the airbag control unit.
-Never store items 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 place 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 Air
bag System from recognizing child re
straints or occupants on the front passenger
seat and prevent the side airbag in the seat
backrest from deploying properly.
275
Airbag syste m
-If a seat heater has been retrofitted or oth
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 capac itance of the ch ild safe
ty seat and/or the person on the seat and
th us keep the Advanced Airbag System from
working properly .
- Never place or use any electrical device
(s uch as a laptop, CD player, electronic
games device, power inverter or seat heater
for child safety seats) on the front passen ger seat if the dev ice is connected to the
12-
vo lt socket or the cigarette lighter socket.
Such dev ices can influence the capac itance
reg istered by the capacitive passenger de
tection system, so that incor rect informa
t ion is provided to the airbag cont rol un it.
- 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 ch ild rest raint, make
certain that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on whenever the
child restraint is insta lled 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.
A WARNING
If the front passenger seat gets wet, dry it im
mediately.
- If liquid soaks into the front passenger seat,
this can keep the a irbag system from work
ing properly and may, for instance, deact i
vate the passenger frontal airbag.
If this
happens, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
ligh t will come on and stay on togethe r with
276
the airbag indicato r light min the instru
ment cluster.
- If liq uid is pooled on the seat, but has not
soaked in, th is may also keep the airbag sys
tem from working proper ly and cause the
passenger frontal airbag to be enabled
(turned on), even though there is a p roperly
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 p assenger front al airbag is turned on,
the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light will go
out .
How the Advanced Airbag System
components work together
The front Advanced A irbag System and the side
airbags supp lement the protection offered by the
front th ree-point safety belts with pretens ioners
and load lim ite rs and the adj ustab le head re
straints* to help reduce the risk of i njury in a
wide range of accident and cras h situations. Be
s ur e to read the impo rtant informat ion about
sa fety and heed the WARNINGS in this chapter.
Deployment of the Advanced A irbag System and
the activa tion of the safety belt pretens ioners de
pend on the dece lera tion measured by the crash
senso rs and registered by the electronic contro l
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, regard less o f safety be lt
use, the front passenger frontal airbag will be
turned off if the e lectrica l capacitance measured
by the capacitive passenger detection system on
the front passenger seat is less than the amount
programmed in t he e lectronic contro l unit . The
front passenger frontal a irbag w ill also be tur ned
off if the capacitance measured by the system for
t h e front passenger seat equals that of an infant
of about o ne yea r of age in one o f the ch ild safety
seats that was used to cert ify the Advanced A ir
bag System under Federal Motor Veh icle Safety
Standard 208. The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on to tell you when the
front Advanced Airbag System on the passenger
s ide has been turned
off <=> page 279. ..,.
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A WARNING
To reduce the risk of injury when an airbag in
flates, always wear safety belts properly.
- If you are unrestrained, lean ing forward, sit
t ing s ideways or out of pos ition in anyway,
your risk of injury is much h igher.
- You will also receive serious injur ies 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¢ page 267.
More important things to know about front
a irbags
F ig. 2 43 Inflated front a irbags
Safety belts are important to help keep front
seat occupants in the p roper seated position so
that a irbags 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 a nd face of the
d river 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 a irbag deploys, fine dust is released .
This is normal and is not caused by a fire in the
veh icle. Th is dust is made up mostly of a powder
Airb ag sys tem
used to lubricate the airbags as they deploy. It
could irritate skin.
It i s important to remember that wh ile the sup
plementa l airbag system is designed to red uce
the likelihood of serious injuries, other injur ies,
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
point safety belts on ly in some frontal collisions
in which the vehicle deceleration is high e nough
to deploy the airbags .
Fron t airb ags will not depl oy:
- if the ignition is switched off when a crash oc-
curs,
- in side collisions,
- in rear-end collisions,
- in rollovers,
- when t he crash deceleration measured by the
airbag system is less than the m in imum thresh
old needed for airbag dep loyment as registe red
by the electronic control unit.
Th e front passenger airbag also will not
deplo y:
- when the front passenger seat is not occupied,
- when the e lectr ica l ca pacitance measured by
the capacitive passenger detection system for
the front passenger seat indicates that the pas senger s ide frontal a irbag must be switched off
by the electronic control unit (the
PAS SENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light¢ page 279 and how they
work comes on and stays on).
A WARNING
-Sitt ing in the wrong position can increase the
risk of ser ious injury in crashes.
- To reduce the risk of injury when the airbags
inflate, the drive r and passengers must al
ways sit in an up right posit ion, must not
lea n aga inst or place any part of their body
too close to the area where the airbags are located .
- Occupants who are unbelted, out of position
or too close to the airbag can be serio usly
injured by an airbag as it unfolds with great
force in the blink of an
eye¢ page 268. ~
277
Airbag system
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.
- The inflating airbag will hit the child safety
seat or infant carrier with great force and
will smash the child safety seat and child against the backrest, center armrest, door
or roof.
-Always install rear-facing child safety seats 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
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 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
278
the area of the side airbag or the front air
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.
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-If the residue should get into your eyes,
flush them with water.
Monitoring the
Advanced Airbag System
Airbag monitoring indicator light
Two separate indicators monitor the function of
the Advanced Airbag System: the
E,I light and
the
PA SSEN GER AIR BAG OFF light.
The Advanced Airbag System as we ll as the side
airbags and side curtain airbags with eject io n
mitigation feat ures (incl uding the e lectronic con
trol unit, sensors and system wiring) are all
monitored continuously to make sure that they
are functioning properly whenever the ignition is
on. Every t ime yo u turn on the ignition, the air
bag system indicator light
m will come on for a
few seconds (function check) .
The s yste m must b e in spect ed wh en th e
indicato r light
El:
- does not come on when the ignition is switched
on,
- does not go out a few seconds after you have
switched on the ign ition, or
- comes on while driving.
I f an airbag system malfunction is detected, the
indicator light wi ll come o n to serve as a constant
reminder to have the system inspected immedi
ately .
I f a malfunction occurs that turns the front air
bag on the passenger side off, the
PA SSENGER
AIR BAG OF F
light will come on and stay on
whenever the ignition is on.
A WARNING
An airbag system that is not funct ion ing prop
erly cannot provide supplemental p rotection
in a frontal crash.
- If the airbag indicato r light
c:> page 29
comes when the vehicle is be ing used, have
the system inspected immed iate ly by your
authori zed Aud i dealer.
It is possible that
the a irb ag will inf late w hen it is not sup
posed to, or will not infla te whe n it shou ld .
Airb ag sys tem
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
Fig. 2 44 Center console: passenger airbag off warning
light
T he PAS SENGER AIR BAG OFF light is located in
the cente r of the instrume nt panel
c:> fig . 244.
T he PASS ENGER AIR BAG OFF light w ill come o n
and stay on to tel l you when the front Advanced
Airbag on the passenger side has been turned off by the e lectronic control unit. If the b ulb for the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light burns out, the
airbag indicator light
m will come on to signal a
malfunction in the Advanced Airbag System. Al
though the burned-out bulb w ill not change the
way the front passenger's frontal airbag works, it
will no longer be possible to use the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light to make sure that the a irbag
o n/off status is correct for the occupan t on the
front passenge r seat. Have the airbag system in
spected imme diately by your au thori zed Audi
dealer.
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light will blink
for about 5 seconds when:
- the ignition is sw itched on and
- the capacit ive passenger detection system,
which switches the front seat passenger's fron
tal Advanced Airbag on and off, detects a
change i n the status of the front passenger
seat.
As soon as the
PA SSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
stops blinking, always make sure that the a irbag
status (on or off) as shown by the
PAS SENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light is proper for the age, si ze and
electrical cap acitance of the pe rson occ upying
the front passenger seat. A lways make s ure that
the safety be lt fo r the front passenger seat is
properly fastened.
""
279
CXl CXl .... N ,.__
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-take the child restraint off the front passenger
seat and install it properly at one of the rear
seat positions. Have the a irbag system inspect
ed by your Audi dealer immediately .
-move the child 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 BA G light should NOT
come on ...
The PASSEN GER AIR B AG O FF light shou ld NOT
come on when the ignition is on and an adult is
sitting in a proper seating position on the front
passenger seat . If the
P A SSENGER AIR B AG OFF
light comes on and stays on or flashes for about
5 seconds while d riving, under these c ir cu mstan
ces, make s ure that:
-the ad ult on the front passenger seat is prope r
ly seated on the center of the seat cushion with
his or her back up aga inst the back rest and the
backrest is not recl ined,
-the ad ult is not ta king weight off the seat by
holding on to the
passenger assist handle
above the front passenger door or s upporting
their weight on the armrest,
-the safety belt is be ing properly wo rn and that
there is not a lot of slack in the safety be lt web
bing,
-there are no aftermar ket seat covers or cush
ions or other things (such as blankets) on the
front passenger seat that might cause the ca
pacitive passenger detection system to miscal
cu late electrical capacitance.
Important safety instructions on
monitoring the Advanced Airbag System
,8. WARNING
-
-If the status of the Adv a need Airbag System
has changed while the vehicle is moving, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light blinks for
about S seconds to catch the driver's atten
t ion. If th is happens, a lways stop as soon as
it is safe to do so and check the steps descri-
bed above .
Airbag sys tem
-If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not go off when an adult who is not very
small is sitting on the front passenger seat
after taking the steps described above, make sure the adult is properly seated and
restrained at one of the rear seating posi
tions. Have the a irbag sys tem inspected by
your author ized Audi dealer befo re t rans
porting anyone on the front passenger seat .
,8. WARNING
=
An airbag system that is not functioning prop-
erly cannot provide supplemental protection
in a fronta l crash .
-If the ai rbag ind icator light ~ page 29
comes when the vehicle is being used, have
the system inspected immediately by your
author ized Audi dealer. It is possib le that
the airbag will inflate when it is not sup
posed to, or w ill not inflate when it should.
,8. WARNING
If the front a irbag inflates, a ch ild witho ut a
chi ld restraint, or in a rearward-facing child
safety seat, or in a forward-fac ing child re
stra int that has not been properly insta lled
will be serious ly injured and can be killed.
-Even though you r vehicle is equipped with
a n Advan ced A irbag System, make certain
that all children, espec ially 12 years and
younger, always ride on the back seat prop
erly restrained for the ir age and size.
-Always install forwa rd or re ar-facing child
safety seats on the rear seat -even with an
Advanced Airbag System.
-I f 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
appear and stay on, immediately install the rear-facing chi ld safety seat in a rear seat ing
position and have the a irbag system in
spected by your Audi dealer.
- If, in exceptional circumstances, you must
install a forward-facing child restraint on
the front passenge r seat, always move the
281