
-Always carefully follow the manufacturer's
instructions provided w ith the child seat or
carrier.
- 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 signa l that it is occ upied by some
one who is heavier than the pe rson actua lly
s itting on the seat. The p resence of addi
tional objects could cause the passenger
fro nt airbag to be turned on when it shou ld
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 .
Front airbags
Description of front airbags
The airbag system can provide supplemental
protection to properly restrained front seat occu
pants.
F ig . 160 Locat ion of driver a irbag: in stee ring wheel
Fig . 1 61 Locat ion of front passenger's airbag: i n the in -
CD st rume nt panel CD ,-t N
" ~ Your veh icle is equipped with a n "Adva nced Air-
~ bag System" in compl iance wi th Un ited States
co
Airb ag sys tem
Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standa rd
(FMVSS) 208, as well as Canada Motor Vehicle
Safety Standard (CMVSS) 208 as applicable at
the time your ve hicle was manufactured. The
safety belts for the front seats have "pretension
ers" that help to take slack out of the belt sys
tem . The pretens ioners are also activated by the
electronic control unit for the airbag system.
The front safety belts also have load limiters to
help reduce the fo rces applied to the body in a
crash.
The airbag for the driver is in the steering wheel
hub ¢
fig. 160 and the airbag for the front pas
senger is in the instrument panel¢
fig . 161. The
general locat io n of the a irbags is marked "AIR
BAG" .
There is a lot you need to know about the airbags
in you r vehicle. We urge you to read the deta iled
information about airbags, safety be lts and c hild
safety in this and the other chapte rs that make
u p the ow ner's literature. Please be sure to heed
the WARNINGS - they are ex tremely important
for yo ur safety and the safety of your passengers,
especially infants and small children.
A WARNING
-
Never rely on airbags alone fo r protect ion .
- Even when they deploy, airbags provide only
supp lemental protection .
- Ai rbag work most effectively when used
with proper ly worn safety be lts.
- T herefo re, always we ar you r safe ty be lts and
make sure that everybody in your vehicle is
proper ly restrained.
- Always hold the stee ring w heel with both
hands on the outside o f the steering wheel
rim at the 9 :00 o'clock and 3:00 o'clock po
sitions to help reduce the risk of personal in
jury if the driver's a irbag inflates.
- Never ho ld the steering wheel at the 12
o'clock position or with your hands any
where inside the steering wheel o r on the
steer ing whee l hub. Holding the steering
wheel the wrong way increases the r is k of
seve re injury to the arms, hands, and head if
the dr iver airbag deploys.
~
201

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 ..,.

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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
-Always install rear -facing child seats on the
rear seat.
- If you must install a rearward facing chi ld
seat on the front passenger seat because of
exceptional c ircumstances and the
PA SSEN
G ER AIR BAG OFF ~;
light does not come
on and stay on, immediately install the rear
facing child seat in a rear seating position and have the airbag system inspected by
you r Audi dealer.
_& WARNING
Objects between you and the a irbag w ill in
crease the risk of in jury in a crash by interfer
ing with the way the airbag unfo lds or by be
ing pushed into yo u 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 or in the area of
the front passenger seat . Objects could
move into the area of the front airbags du r
ing brak ing or other sudden maneuver and
become dangerous projectiles that can
cause serious personal injury if the a irbags
inflate.
- Never place or attach accessor ies or other
objects (such as cup holders, te lephone
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 backrests or between
those areas and yourself. These objects could cause injury in a crash, espe cially
when the airbags inflate.
- Never recline the front passenge r's seat to
t ransport objects . Items can also move into
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 passenge r seat could cause the capac itive
sensor in t he 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
208
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 t urned 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
wo rked without objects on the seat.
- Always make sure that there is noth ing o n
the front passenge r seat that will cause the
capacitive passenge r de tection system in
the sea t to signal to the Airbag System tha t
the seat is occup ied by a person when it is
not , or to signal that it is occupied by some
one who is heavier than the person act ually
sitt ing 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 diffe rent from the way it would have
wo rked without the object on the seat.
- Never til t the front passenger seat backrest
forward when the vehicle is mov ing . An in
flating airbag wi ll force t he bac krest back
ward and can injure rear seat occup ants .
_& WARNING
The fine dus t created when airbags deploy can
cause breathing prob lems for people with a
h istory of asthma or other breathing condi
tions.
- To reduce the r isk of breathing problems,
those with asthma o r other respiratory con
ditions sho uld get fresh ai r right away by
getting out of the vehicle or opening win
dows or doors.
- If you are in a co llision in which airbags de
ploy, wash your hands and face with m ild
soap and water before eating.
- Be carefu l not to get the dust into your eyes,
or into any cuts or scratches .
-If the residue shou ld get into your eyes,
flush them w ith water .

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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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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rear seating position and have the airbag
system inspected by your authorized Audi
dealer.
- Always buckle the child seat firmly in
place even if a child is not sitting in it. A
loose child seat can fly around during a
sudden stop or in a collision.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child restraint in a vehi
cle
c!;> page 189, Safety belts, c!;> page 197,
Airbag system
and c!;> page 221, Impor
tant information.
{D) Tips
Always replace child restraints that were in
stalled in a vehicle dur ing a crash. Damage to
a child restraint that is not visible could cause
it to fail in another collision situation.
Advanced front airbag system and children
Your vehicle is equipped with a front "Advanced
Ai rbag System" in compliance with United States
F edera l Motor Vehicle Safety Standard ( FMVSS)
208 as applicable at the time your vehicle was manufactured.
The Advanced Airbag system in your vehi cle has
been certified to meet the "low-risk" require
ments for 3- and 6-year old children on the pas
senger side and small adults on the driver side.
The low risk deployment criteria are intended to
reduce the risk of injury through interaction with
the airbag that can occur, for example, by being
too close to the steering wheel and instrument
panel when the airbag inflates. In addition, the
system has been certified to comply with the
"s uppress io n " req uiremen ts of the Safety Stand
ard, to turn of f the front airbag for infants up to
12 months who are restrained on the front pas
senger seat in chi ld restraints that are listed in
the Standard.
E ven though your vehicle is equipped with an Ad
vanced Ai rbag system, all children, especially
those 12 years and younger, should always r ide
in the back seat properly restrained for their age
and size. The airbag on the passenger side makes
the front seat a potentially dangerous place for a
Child safety
child to ride. The front seat is not the safest place
for a chi ld in a forward-facing chi ld safety seat . It
can be a very dangerous place for an infant or a
larger ch ild in a rearward-facing seat.
T he vehicle's Advanced A irbag System has a ca
pacitive passenger detection system in the front
passenger seat cushion that can detect the pres
ence of a baby or a ch ild in a child restraint sys
tem on this seat.
The capacitive passenger detection system regis
ters the changes that result in an electrical field
when a child, a child restraint, and a baby b lanket
are on the front passenger seat. The change in
the measured capacitance due to the presence of
a child, a ch ild restraint, and a baby blanket on
the front passenger seat is related to the child
restraint system resting on the seat . Th e meas
ur ed capacitance of a child restraint system var
ies depending on the type of system and specific
make and mode l.
T he elect rical capacitance of the various types,
makes, and models of child restra in ts specified
by the U.S .National Highway Traff ic Safety Ad
ministration (NHTSA) in the relevant safety
standard are stored in the Advanced Airbag Sys
tem control unit together with the capacitances
typ ica l of infants and a 1-year old child. When a
child restraint is used on the front passenger
seat w ith a typical 1 year -old infant, the Ad
vanced Airbag System compares the capacitance measured by the capacitive passenge r detection
system with the data stored in the electronic con
trol unit.
Child restraints and Advanced front airbag
system
Regardless of the ch ild restraint that you use,
make sure that it has been certified to meet Unit
ed States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards
and has been certified by its manufacturer for
use with an a irbag. Always be sure that the child
r estra int is properly installed at one of the rear
seating positions.
If in except ional circumstances
you must use it on the front passenger seat, care
f ully read all of the information on child safety
and Advanced Airbags and heed all of the .,.
223

Wheels
-Have the wheels rebalanced if an imbalance is causing noticeable
vibration in the steering wheel.
If you do not, the tires and other
vehicle components could wear
more quickly.
Treadwear indicator
Original equipment tires contain
treadwear indicators in the tread
pattern, which are bars that are
1/16 in (1.6 mm) high and are
spaced evenly around the tire per pendicular to the running direc
tion¢
fig . 197 . The letters "TWI"
or triangles on the tire sidewall indicate the location of the tread
wear indicators.
The tires have reached the mini mum tread depth
l) when they
have worn down to the tread wear
indicators . Replace the tires with
new ones ¢A.
Tire rotation
Rotating the tires regularly is rec
ommended to ensure the tires
wear evenly. To rotate the tires,
install the t ires from the rear axle
on the front axle and vice versa .
This will allow the tires to have
1> Obey any applicable regulations in your
country.
264
approximately the same length of
service life.
For unidirectional tires, make
sure the tires are installed accord
ing to the running direction indi
cated on the tire sidewall
¢page 286.
Hidden damage
Damage to tires and rims can of
ten occur in locations that are hidden. Unusual vibrations in the
vehicle or pulling to one side may indicate that there is tire damage.
Reduce your speed immediately.
Check the tires for damage . If no
damage is visible from the out
side, drive slowly and carefully to
the nearest authorized Audi deal er or authorized Audi Service Fa
cility to have the vehicle inspect
ed.
8_ WARNING
Tread that has worn too low or different tread depths on the
tires can reduce driving safety.
This can especially have a nega
tive effect on handling, on the risk aquaplaning when driving
through water, when driving ,..