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Airbag system
Important information
Importance of wearing safety belts and
sitting properly
Airbags are only supplemental restraints. For
airbags to do their job, occupants must always
properly wear their safety belts and be in a prop
er seating position.
For your safety and the safety of your passen
gers, before driving off, always:
.,. Adjust the driver's seat and steering wheel
properly
9 page 181,
.,. Adjust the front passenger's seat properly
¢page 182,
.,. Wear safety belts properly ¢page 192,
.,. Always properly use the proper child restraint
to protect children
¢ page 221.
In a collision airbags must inflate within the blink
of an eye and with considerable force. The sup
plemental airbags can cause injuries if the driver
or the front seat passenger is not seated proper
ly. Therefore in order to help the airbag to do its
job, it is important, both as a driver and as a pas
senger to sit properly at all times.
By keeping room between your body and the
steering wheel and the front of the passenger
compartment, the airbag can inflate fully and
completely and provide supplemental protection in certain frontal collisions¢
page 181, Correct
passenger seating positions.
For details on the
operation of the seat adjustment controls
¢page 44.
It's especially important that children are proper
ly restrained
¢page 221.
There is a lot that the driver and the passengers
can and must do to help the individual safety fea
tures installed in your Audi work together as a
system.
Proper seating position is important so that the
front airbag on the driver side can do its job. If
you have a physical impairment or condition that prevents you from sitting properly on the driver
seat with the safety belt properly fastened and
Airbag system
reaching the pedals, or if you have concerns with
regard to the function or operation of the Ad
vanced Airbag System, please contact your au
thori zed Audi dealer or qualified workshop, or
call Audi Customer Relations at 1(800)
822 -2834 for possible modifications to your ve
hicle.
When the airbag system deploys, a gas generator
will fill the airbags, break open the padded cov ers, and inflate between the steering wheel and
the driver and between the instrument panel and
the front passenger. The airbags will deflate im mediately after deployment so that the front oc
cupants can see through the windshield again
without interruption .
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 nothing should be in their way when they deploy. Front airbags in
combination with properly worn safety belts slow
down and limit the occupant's forward move
ment. Together they help to prevent the driver
and front seat passenger from hitting parts of
the inside the vehicle while reducing the forces
acting on the occupant during the crash. In this
way they help to reduce the risk of injury to the
head and upper body in the crash. Airbags do not
protect the arms or the lower parts of the body.
Both front airbags will not inflate in all frontal
collisions . The triggering of the airbag system de
pends on the vehicle deceleration rate caused by
the collision and registered by the electronic con
trol unit. If this rate is below the reference value
programmed into the control unit, the airbags
will not be triggered, even though the car may be badly damaged as a result of the collision . Vehi
cle damage, repair costs or even the lack of vehi
cle damage is not necessarily an indication of
whether an airbag should inflate or not .
Since the circumstances will vary considerably between one collision and another, it is not possi
ble to define a range of vehicle speeds that will
cover every possible kind and angle of impact
that will always trigger the airbags. Important
factors include, for example, the nature (hard or soft) of the object which the car hits, the angle of
II>
197
Airbag syste m
impact, veh icle speed, etc. The front airbags will
also not inflate in side or rear co llisions, or in
roll -overs.
A lwa ys re memb er: Airbags will deploy only once,
and only in certain kinds of coll isions. Your safety
be lts are always there to offer protection in those
situations in which airbags are not supposed to
deploy, or when they have already deployed ; for
example, when your vehicle strikes or is struck by
another vehicle after the first collision .
This is just one of the reasons why an airbag is a
supp lementary restraint and is not a substitute
for a safety belt. The a irbag system works most
effectively when used with the safety belts.
Therefore, always properly wear your safety belts
c::> page 189 .
A WARNING
Sitting too close to the steering whee l o r i n
strument panel will decrease the effective
ness of the airbags and will increase the risk
of persona l injury in a co llision.
- Never sit closer than 10 in (25 cm) to the
steering wheel or instr ument pane l.
- If you cannot si t mo re than 10 in (25 cm)
from the steering wheel, inves tigate wheth
er adaptive equipment may be avai lab le to
held yo u reach the pedals and increase your
seating distance from the steering wheel.
- If you are unrestrained, leaning forward, s it
ting sideways or out of position in any way,
your risk of injury is much higher.
- Yo u will also receive serious injuries and
could even be killed if you are up aga inst the
airbag or too close to it when it inflates -
even with an Advanced Airbag.
- To reduce the risk of injury when an airbag inflates, always wear safety belts properly
¢ page 193, Safety belts .
-Always make certain that chi ldren age 12 or
younger always ride in the rear seat. If chil dren are not properly restra ined, they may
be severely injured or k illed when an airbag
inflates .
- Never let children ride unrestrained or im prope rly rest ra in ed in the vehicle . Adjust the
front seats properly .
198
-
-Never ride with the back rest recl ined.
-Always sit as far as possible from the steer -
ing wheel or the instrument panel
¢ page 181.
-Always sit upright with your back against
the backrest of your seat.
- Never p lace your feet on the instrument
panel or on the seat . Always keep both feet
on the floor in front of the seat to help pre
vent serious injur ies to the legs and hips if
the airbag inflates.
- Never recl ine the front passenger's seat to
transport objects. Items can also move into
the area of the s ide a irbag or the front air
bag during brak ing or in a sudden maneu
ver. Objects near the airbags can become proje cti les and cause injury when an airbag
inflates.
A WARNING
A irbags that have deployed in a crash m ust be
replaced.
- Use o nly orig inal eq uipment airbags ap
p roved by A ud i and inst alled by a trained
technician who has the ne cessary tools and
diagnostic equipment to properly replace
any airbag in yo ur vehicle and assure system
effectiveness in a crash.
'
- Never permit salvaged or recycled airbags to
be installed in your vehicle .
Child restraints on the front seat - some
important things to know
.,. Be sure to read the important informat ion and
head the WARNINGS fo r important details
about c hildren and Advanced A irbags
c::> page 221 .
Even though your veh icle is equipped w ith an Ad
vanced Airbag Sys tem, make certa in that a ll chil
dre n, especia lly those 12 yea rs and younger, al
ways ride i n the b ack seat prope rly res trained fo r
their age and size. The airbag on the passenger
s ide makes the front seat a potentially dange rous
place for a child to r ide . The front seat is not the
safest place for a chi ld in a forward-fac ing chi ld ...,.
-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.
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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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-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