
Airbag system
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 and/or by
being pushed into you as the airbag inflates.
- Always make sure nothing is in the front air-
bag deployment zone that could be struck
by the airbag when it inflates.
- Objects in the zone of a deploying airbag
can become projectiles when the airbag de
ploys and cause serious personal injury.
- Never hold things in your hands or on your
lap when the vehicle is in use .
-
-Never place accessories or other objects
(such as cup holders, telephone brackets,
note pads, navigation systems, or things
that are large, heavy, or bulky) on the doors;
never attach then to the doors or the wind
shield; never place them over or near or at
tach them to the area marked .,AIRBAG" on
the steering wheel, instrument panel or the
seat backrests; never place them between
these areas and you or any other person in
the vehicle.
- Never attach objects to the windshield
above the passenger front airbag, such as
accessory GPS navigation units or music players. Such objects could cause serious in
jury in a collision, especially when the air bags inflate.
- Never recline the front passenger seat to transport objects. Items can also move into
the deployment area of the side airbags or
the front airbag during breaking or in a sud
den maneuver. Objects near the airbags can
fly dangerously through the passenger com
partment and cause injury, particularly
when the seat is reclined and the airbags in
flate.
A WARNING
A person on the front passenger seat, espe cially infants and small children, will receive
serious injuries and can even be killed by be
ing too close to the airbag when it inflates.
- Although the Advanced Airbag System in
your vehicle is designed to turn off the front
202
passenger airbag if an infant or a small child
is on the front passenger seat, nobody can
absolutely guarantee that deployment un
der these special conditions is impossible in
all conceivable situations that may happen
during the useful life of your vehicle.
- The Advanced Airbag System can deploy in accordance with the "low risk" option under
the U.S. Federal Standard if a child that is
heavier than the typical one-year old child is
on the front passenger seat and the other
conditions for airbag deployment are met.
- Accident statistics have shown that children
are generally safer in the rear seat area than
in the front seating position.
- For their own safety, all children, especially
12 years and younger, should always ride in
the back properly restrained for their age
and size .
Advanced front airbag system
Your vehicle is equipped with a front Advanced
Airbag System in compliance with United States
Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS)
208, as well as Canada Motor Vehicle Safety
Standard (CMVSS)
208 as applicable at the time
your vehicle was manufactured .
The front Advanced Airbag System supplements
the safety belts to provide additional protection
for the driver's and front passenger's heads and upper bodies in frontal crashes . The airbags in
flate only in frontal impacts when the vehicle de
celeration is high enough.
The front Advanced Airbag System for the front
seat occupants is not a substitute for your safety belts. Rather, it is part of the overall occupant re
straint system in your vehicle. Always remember
that the airbag system can only help to protect
you, if you are sitting upright, wearing your safe
ty belt and wearing it properly. This is why you
and your passengers must always be properly re
strained, not just because the law requires you to be.
The Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle has
been certified to meet the "low risk" require-
ments for 3 and 6 year-old children on the ..,.

passenger side and very small adults on the driv
er side. The low risk deployment criteria are in
tended to help reduce the risk of injury through interaction with the front airbag that can occur,
for example, by being too close to the steer ing
wheel and instrument panel when the a irbag in
flates .
In addition, the system has been certified to
comply w ith the "suppression" requirements of
the Safety Standard, to turn off the front a irbag
for infants 12 months old and younger who are
restrained on the front passenger seat in child re
stra ints that a re listed in the Standa rd
q page 223, Child restraints and Advanced front
airbag system .
"Suppression" requ ires the front a irbag on the
passenger side to be turned off if:
- a ch ild up to about one year of age is restra ined
on the front passenger seat i n one of the rear
facing or forward-fac ing infant restra ints listed
in Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208
with wh ic h t he Advanced Airbag System in your
vehicle was certified . For a listing of the ch ild
restraints that were used to certify your vehi
cle's comp liance with the US Safety Standard
q page 223,
-When a person is detected on the front passen
ger seat that has an electrical capacitance that
is more than the tota l electrical capac itance of
a ch ild that is about 1 year old restra ined in one
of the rear-facing or forward-facing infant re
straints (listed in Federal Motor Veh icle Safety
Sta ndard 208 w ith wh ich the Advanced A irbag
System i n your ve hicle was certified), the front
airbag o n the passenge r side may o r may not
deploy.
The
PA SSENGER AIR BAG OFF~; light comes on
when the e lectron ic cont rol u nit detects a total
e lectrical capacitan ce on the front passenger seat
that requ ires the fron t ai rbag to be turned off. If
the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF~; light does not
come on, the front ai rbag on the passenger side
has not been turned off by the control unit and
~ can dep loy if the control unit senses an impact
;:::: that meets the conditions stored in its memory.
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Airb ag sys tem
If the total e lectr ica l capacitance reg istered on
the front passenger seat is more than that of a
typ ica l 1 year -o ld, but less than the weight of a
small adult, the front a irbag on the passenger
s ide may deploy (the
PASSEN GER AIR BA G OFF
~; light does not come on) .
For example, the airbag 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
(regardless of whethe r the child is in one of the
child seats listed
¢ page 223),
- a child who has outgrown c hild restraints is on
the front passenge r seat .
If the front passenge r a irb ag is t urned off, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF~; light in the head
liner wi ll come on and stay on .
If the front passenge r a irbag deploys, the Feder
al S tanda rd requi res the ai rbag to meet the "low
risk" deployment cri teria to he lp red uce the r isk
of inj ury through interaction with the airbag .
" Low risk" deployment occurs in those cras hes
that take p lace at lower decelerations as defined
in the electronic contro l unit
q page 209.
Always remember: Even tho ugh yo ur vehicle is
equipped with Advanced Airbags, the safest place
for children 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
f lates, always wea r safety be lts prope rly.
- If you are u nrestra ined, leaning forward, si t
ting sideways or ou t of position in any way,
your r is k of injury is much highe r.
- You will a lso receive ser ious injuries and
could even be killed if yo u are up agains t the
a ir bag or too close to i t whe n it in flates -
even with an Advan ced Airb ag
Qpage 197.
203

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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 be lt pretensioners
shou ld 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
El in the instrument cluster.
- 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 headliner¢
page 209,
fig. 163 and tells you when the front Advanced
Airbag on the passenger side has been turned
off.
-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
transm its this information to the electronic
contro l 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.
Airbag system
-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.
- 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 capacitance of the child safe
ty seat and/or the person on the seat and
thus keep the Advanced Airbag System from
working properly.
- Never place or use any electrical device
(such as a laptop, CD player, electronic
games device, power inverter or seat heater
for child seats) on the front passenger seat
if the device is connected to the 12-volt
socket or the cigarette lighter socket. Such
devices can influence the capacitance regis
tered by the capacitive passenger detection
205

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
Audi dealer befo re t ransporting 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.
212
- Never attach any objects s uch as c up ho lders
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 alway s 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 stiffness of the suspens io n,
in clud ing the spr ings, suspens ion str uts, shock
absorbers 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 wh ich 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 persona l 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.
Knee airbags
Description of knee airbags
The knee airbag system can provide supplemen
tal protection to prop erly restrained front sea t
occupants.
F ig. 16 4 D river 's knee a irbag
The driver knee airbag is in the instrument panel
u nderneath the steering whee l
~fig. 164, the
airbag fo r the p asse nger is at about the same
height in the instr ument pane l underneath the
glove compa rtment.
T he knee airbag offers add itiona l protection to
the driver's and passenge r's knees and uppe r and
lower thigh areas and supp lements the protec
tion provided by the safety be lts .
If the front airbags deploy, the knee airbags a lso
deploy in fron tal coll is ions when the deploymen t
threshold stored in the cont rol un it is me t
~ page 207, More important things to know
about front airbags.
213

Airbag system
In addition to their normal safety function, safe
ty belts help keep the driver or front passenger in
position in a frontal collision so that the airbags
can provide supplemental 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 airbag system can only help to
protect you if you are wearing your safety belt
and wearing it properly . This is why you should
always wear your safety belt, not just because
the law requires you to do so ¢
page 189, Gener
al notes.
Remember too, airbags will deploy only once and
only in certain k inds of accidents - your safety
belts are always there to offer protection in those
accidents in which airbags are not supposed to
deploy or when they have already deployed, for
examp le when your vehicle str ikes or is struck by
another after the first collision .
This is just one of the reasons why an airbag is
not a substitute for the safety belt. The a irbag
system works most effectively when used with
the safety belts. Therefore, always wear your
safety belts correct ly.
It is important to remember that while the sup
p lemental knee airbag system is designed to re
duce the likelihood of serious injuries, other inju
ries, for example, swe lling, bruising and minor
abrasions and friction burns can also occur when
an airbag inflates .
The knee airbag system basically consists of:
- T he electronic control module
- T wo inflatab le airbags (airbag and gas genera-
tor), one for the driver and one for the front
passenger
- The airbag warning light in the instr ument clus
ter
The knee airbag system will not deploy:
-whe n the ignition is switched off
- in frontal collisions when the deceleration
measured by the control un it is too low
- in side collisions
- in rear-end collisions
214
- in rollovers
-in the event of a system malfunction (warning/
indicator light is on)
¢ page 15.
A WARNING
-Safety belts and the airbag system can only
provide protection when occupants are in
the proper seating position¢
page 207 .
-If the airbag indicator light¢ page 15
comes when the veh icle is being used, have
the system inspected immediately by your
authorized Audi dealer. It is possible that
the airbag will inflate when it is not sup
posed to, or will not inflate when it should.
How knee airbags work
The risk of injury to the leg area con be reduced
by fully inflated knee airbags.
Fig. 165 I n flated a irbags protect ing in a fro nta l coll ision
The knee airbag system has been designed so
that the airbags for the dr iver and front passen
ger dep loy in certain but not all fronta l collisions .
If the front airbags deploy, the knee airbags also
deploy in frontal collisions when the deployment
threshold stored in the control unit is met .
When the system deploys, the airbags fill with a
prope llant gas, and inflate between the lower
part of the instrument panel and the driver and
the lower part of the instrument panel and the
front passenger
¢page 207, fig. 162 .
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 lower ex
tremities.

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All of this takes place in the blink of an eye, so
fast that many people don't even realize that the airbags have deployed . The airbags also inflate
with a great deal of force and it is important for
occupant safety that nothing should be in their
way when they deploy .
Fully inflated airbags in comb ination with proper
ly worn safety belts slow down and limit the oc
cupant 's forward movement and help to reduce
the r isk of injury .
Important safety instructions on the knee
airbag system
Airbags are only supplemental restraints . Always
wear safety belts correctly and ride in a proper
seating position.
There is a lot that you and your passengers must
know and do to help the safety be lts and airbags
to provide s upplemental protection .
,& WARNING
An inflating knee airbag can cause ser ious in
jury. Wearing safety bel ts incor rectly and im
proper seating posit ions increase the r isk o f
serious personal injury and death whenever a
vehicle is being used.
- The knee airbag system cannot protect you
prope rly if you are seated too close to any of
the a irbag locat ions. When ad justing their
seat positions, it is important that both the
dr iver and the front passenger keep their
upper bod ies a nd knees at the following
min imum safe d istances:
- at least 10 in (25 cm) between the chest
and the steering wheel/instrument panel.
- at least 4 in (1 0 cm) between t he knees
and the lower part of the instrument pan
el.
- The risk of persona l injury inc reases if you
lean forward or to the side, or if the seat is
imp roper ly positioned and you are not wear
ing your safety belt. The risk increases even
more should the a irbag deploy.
- Always make sure that the knee airbag can
inflate without interference. Objects be
tween you and the airbag can increase the
Airb ag sys tem
risk of injury in an accident by interfering
with the way the airbag deploys or by being
pushed into you as the a irbag deploys.
- Never let anybody, especia lly children or
anima ls r ide in the footwell i n fron t of the
passenger seat.
If the airbag deploys, this
can result in serious or fatal in juries.
- Never carry objects of any kind in the foot
well a rea in front o f the d river's o r pas
senger's seat . Bulky objects (shopping
bags, for example) can interfere with or
prevent proper dep loyment of the airbag.
Small objects can be thrown thro ugh t he
vehicle if the airbag deploys and injure you
o r your passengers .
- Make sure there are no cracks, deep scratch
es o r othe r damage in the area of the inst ru
ment panel where the knee airbags are lo
cated .
- If c hildren are incorrectly seated, their risk
of injury inc reases in a coll is ion
~ page 221, Child safety.
Side airbags
Description of side airbags
The airbag system can provide supplemental
protection to properly restrained front seat occu
pants.
F ig. 166 Side a irbag locat io n in the drive r's sea t
The side airbags are located in the s ides of the
front seat backrests~
fig. 166 fac ing the doors .
T hey are iden tified by the word "AIRBAG".
The side airbags installed for the front seating
pos itions have been des igned and certified to
help reduce the risk of in ju ry that can be caused
by a irbags when they inflate, pa rticul arly when .,.
215

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below the reference value programmed into the
control unit, the side curtain airbag will not be
tr iggered, even though the car may be bad ly
damaged as a result of the collision. It is not pos
sible to define an airbag triggering range that
will cover every possib le angle of impact, since
the circumstances will vary considerably 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, vehicle speed, etc.¢
page 219, How side curtain air
bags work.
Aside from their normal safety function, safety
be lts work to help keep the d river or fron t pas
senger in posit ion in the event of a co llision so
that the side curtain airbags can provide protec
tion.
The airbag system is not a s ubst itu te for yo ur
safety belt. Rather, it is part of the overa ll occu
pant restraint system in your vehicle. Always re
member that the airbag system can only help to
protect you if you are wearing your safety belt
and wear ing 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 189, General notes.
It is important to remember that while the side
curtain airbag system is des igned to help reduce
the likelihood of serious injuries, other injuries,
for example, swelli ng, bruising, fr iction burns
and minor abrasions can also be associated with
these airbags upon deployment . Remember too,
these airbags will deploy only once and only in certa in kinds of acc idents - you r safety belts are
always there to offer protection.
The side curtain airbag system basically
consists of:
- T he elec tronic contro l module and external side
impact sensors
- T he side c urtain airbags above the front and
rea r side windows with ejection mitigation fea
tures
- T he airbag indicator light in the instrument
panel
The airbag system is monitored elec tronically to
make certain it is f unct ion ing properly at all
Airb ag sys tem
times. Each time you switch on the ignition, the
airbag system indicator light wi ll come on for a
few seconds (self d iagnostics).
Th e side curtain airbag is not activ ated:
- if the igni tion is sw itched off,
- in side co llisions when the accele ration meas-
ured by the sensor is too low,
- in rear-end co llisions.
A WARNING
- Safety belts an d the airbag system will only
p rovide protect ion when occup ants are in
the proper seat ing position ¢
page 44,
Seats and storage .
- If the airbag ind ic a tor light~ page 15
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 ore properly re
strained.
Fig. 169 Illustration of princip le: Inflated s ide curta in air
bags on the left s ide
The side curtain airbags inflate between the oc
cupant and the windows on the side of the vehi-
cle that is struck in a side collision
¢fig . 169 .
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
liJ,
219