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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.
&_ WARNING
A person on the front passenger seat, especially 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
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.
- For its own safety, a child should always ride
properly restrained for its age and si ze.
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.
T he front Advanced Airbag System supplements
the safety belts to provide additional protection
Airbag system
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 pas
senger side and very small adults on the driver
side. The low risk deployment criteria are intend
ed to help reduce the risk of injury through inter
action with the front 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 "suppression" requirements of
the Safety Standard, to turn off the front airbag
for infants 12 months old and younger who are res trained on the front passenger seat in child re
straints that are listed in the Standard
¢ page 220, Child restraints and Advanced front
airbag system.
"Suppression" requires the front airbag on the
passenger side to be turned off if:
- a child up to about one year of age is restrained
on the front passenger seat in one of the rear
facing or forward-facing infant restraints listed in Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208
with which the Advanced Airbag System in your
vehicle was certified . For a listing of the child
restraints that were used to certify your vehi
cle's compliance with the US Safety Standard
¢page 220,
-When a person is detected on the front passen
ger seat that has an electrical capacitance that
is more than the total electrical capacitance of
a child that is about 1 year old restrained in one .,.
201

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rearmost position in the seat's fore and aft
adjustment range, as far away from the air
bag as possible, before insta lling the for
ward-facing child restra int.
- lways make sure that the safety belt upper
anchorage is beh ind the child restraint and
not next to or in front of the child restraint
so that the safety belt will be properly pos i
tioned.
-Always make sure that there is nothing on the front passenger seat that w ill cause the
c apacit ive passenger detection system in
the seat to signa l to the Airbag Sys tem tha t
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 person actua lly
sitting on the seat . The p resence of addi
t ional objects could cause the passenger
front 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 witho ut the object on the seat.
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF ~;
light comes on and stays on a ll the
t ime whenever the ignition is switched on.
Advanced Airbag System components
The front passenger seat in yo ur vehicle has a lot
of
very important parts of the Advanced Airbag
Sys tem in it . These pa rts in cl ude the capacitive
passenger detection system, w iring, brackets,
and mo re. The control un it monitors the system
on the front passenger seat when the ign ition is
switched on and turns the airbag indicator light
on when a malfunct ion in the one of the system
components is detected
c::> page 208 . Because
the fro nt passenger seat contains important
pa rts of the Advanced Airbag System, you must
take ca re to preven t it from being damaged.
D amage to the seat may p revent the Advanced
Ai rbag System for the front passenger seat from
doi ng its job i n a crash.
The front Advanced Airbag System consists
of the follow ing :
- C rash sensors in the front of the vehicle that
measure vehicle accelerat ion/dece leration to
Airb ag sys tem
provide information to the Advanced A irbag
System about the severity of the cras h.
- An elect ronic contro l unit, with integrated
cras h sensors for front and side impacts . The
control un it "decides" whether to fire the front
airbags based on the information rece ived from
the crash sensors . The control unit also "de
cides" whether the safety belt pretensioners
should be activated.
- An Advanced A irbag w ith gas generator for the
driver inside the steeri ng wheel hub .
- An Advanced A irbag w ith gas generator inside
the instrument panel for the front passenger.
-A capacit ive passenger detection system under
neath the front passenger seat
cover. This sys
tem measures the e lectr ica l capacitance of the
person in the seat. The information registered
is sent continuously to the elect ronic contro l
un it to reg ulate dep loyment of the front Ad
vanced Airbag on the p assenger side.
- An airbag monitoring system and indicator
light
El in the inst rument cl uste r.
- A sensor in each front seat registe rs the d is
t ance betwee n the respective seat and the
steer ing whee l o r ins trumen t pa nel. The infor
mat ion registered is sent con tinuous ly to the
electronic contro l unit to regu late dep loyment
of the front Advanced Airbags .
- The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF~; lig ht comes
on and stays on in the headliner
c::> poge 208,
fig. 166 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 be lt is latched or not and
transmits this information to t he electronic
cont rol un it .
A WARNING
Damage to the front passenge r seat can pre
vent the front airbag from working prope rly.
- Imp roper repair or d isassembly of the front
passenger and driver seat will p revent the
Advanced Airbag Sys tem from f unct ion ing
p roper ly. ...,
203

Airbag system
Knee airbags
Description of knee airbags
The knee airbag system can provide supplemen
tal protection to properly restrained front seat
occupants.
Fig. 167 Driver's knee airbag
The driver knee airbag is in the instrument panel
underneath the steering wheel¢
fig. 167, the
airbag for the passenger is at about the same
height in the instrument panel underneath the
glove compartment.
The knee airbag offers additional protection to
the driver's and passenger's knees and upper and
lower thigh areas and supplements the protec
tion provided by the safety belts.
If the front airbags deploy, the knee airbags also
deploy in frontal collisions when the deployment
threshold stored in the control unit is met
¢ page 205, More important things to know
about front airbags.
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 prov ide supplemental protection.
The airbag system is not a substitute for your
safety belt. Rather, it is part of the overall 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.
212
Remember too, airbags will deploy on ly once and
on ly in certain kinds 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
example when your vehicle strikes 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 airbag
system works most effectively when used with
the safety belts. Therefore, always wear your
safety belts correctly.
It is important to remember that while the sup
plemental knee airbag system is designed to re
duce the likelihood of serious injuries, other inju
ries, for example, swelling, bruising and minor
abras ions and friction burns can also occur when
an airbag inflates.
The knee airbag system basically consists of:
-The electronic control module
- Two inflatable airbags (airbag and gas genera-
tor), one for the driver and one for the front
passenger
- The airbag warning light in the instrument clus-
ter
The knee airbag system will not deploy:
-when the ignition is switched off
- in frontal collisions when the decelerat ion
measured by the control unit is too low
- in side collisions
- in rear-end co llisions
- in rollovers
- in the event of a system malfunction (warning/
ind icator light is on) ¢
page 14 .
&_ WARNING
-Safety belts and the airbag system can only
provide protection when occupants are in
the proper seating position ¢
page 205.
-If the airbag ind icator light¢ page 14
comes when the vehicle 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 wi ll not inflate when it should.

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How knee airbags work
The risk of injury to the leg area can be reduced
by fully inflated kn ee airbags.
Fig . 168 Inflated airbags protecting in a fronta l collision
The knee airbag system has been designed so
that the airbags for the driver and front passen ger deploy in certain but not all frontal collisions .
If the front airbags dep loy, the knee ai rbags also
deploy in fronta l co llisions when the dep loyment
threshold stored in the contro l unit is met.
When the sys tem dep loys, the airbags fill with a
propellan t gas, and inf late between the lowe r
part of the instrument panel and the driver and
the lower pa rt of the instrument panel and the
front passenger ¢
page 205, fig. 165.
Although they are not a soft pi llow, they can
"c ushion" the impact and in this way they can
he lp to reduce the risk of injury to the lower ex
tremities.
All of this ta kes place in t he b lin k of an eye, so
fast that many people don't even realize that the
airbags have dep loyed . 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 .
F u lly inflated airbags in combination 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.
Airb ag sys tem
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 yo ur passenger must
know and do to help the safety belts and ai rbags
to provide supp lemental protect ion.
A WARNING ~
An inflat ing knee a irbag can cause se rious in-
jury. Wearing safety be lts incorrectly and im
proper seating positions increase the risk of
serious personal injury and death whenever a
vehicle is being used.
- The knee airbag system cannot protect yo u
proper ly if yo u are seated too close to any of
the airbag locations. When adjusting t heir
seat pos itions, it is important that both the
driver and the front passenger keep their
uppe r bodies and knees at the fo llow ing
m inim um safe d istan ces:
- at least 10 in (25 cm) between the chest
and t he steering wheel/instrument panel.
- at least 4 in (10 cm) between the knees
and t he lower part of the instrument pan
el.
- The risk of personal inj ury increases if you
lean forward or to the side, or if the seat is
improperly positioned and you are not wear
ing your safety belt. The risk increases even
more should the airbag deploy .
- Always make sure that the knee a irbag can
inflate w ithout interference. Objects be
tween you and the airbag can increase the risk of injury in an accident by inte rfe ring
wit h the way the airbag deploys or by bei ng
pushed into yo u as the ai rbag deploys.
- Never let anybody, especially children or
anima ls r ide in the footwell in front of the
passenger seat. If the airbag deploys, this
can result in serious or fatal i njuries .
- Never carry objects of any kind in the foot
well a rea in front of the driver's or pas
senger's seat. Bulky objects (shopp ing
bags, fo r example) ca n in terfere with or
~
213

Airbag system
prevent proper deployment of the airbag.
Small objects can be thrown through the
vehicle if the airbag deploys and injure you
or your passenger .
- Make sure there are no cracks, deep scratch
es or other damage in the area of the instru
ment panel where the knee airbags are lo
cated.
- If children a re incorrect ly seated, their risk
of injury increases in a collision
c::> page 218, Child safety.
Side airbags
Description of side airbags
The airbag system can provide supplemental
protection to properly restrained occupants.
F ig. 169 Side airbag locat ion in t he drive r's seat
The side airbags are located in the sides of the
front seat backrests
c::> fig. 169 facing the doors .
They are identified by the word "AIRBAG".
The side airbags installed for the front seating
positions have been designed and certified to
help reduce the risk of injury that can be caused
by airbags when they inflate, particularly when
the occupant sitting next to it is not seated prop
erly. The side airbag for the front passenger seat
can be used with properly installed child re
straints. Please be sure to read the important in
formation and warnings whenever using a child
restraint in a vehicle: Safety belts
c::> page 189,
Airbag system c::>page 196, Child safety
c::> page 218 .
The side airbag system basically consists of:
- the electronic control modu le and external side
impact sensors
214
- the two side airbags located in the sides of the
front backrests
- the airbag warning light in the instrument clus-
ter.
The airbag system is mon itored electron ical ly to
make certain that it is functioni ng p roperly at all
times. Each time you turn on the ignition, the air
bag system indicator light will come on for a few
seconds (self diagnostics) .
The side airbag system supplements the safety
belts and can help to reduce the risk of injury to
the driver's and front passenger's upper torso
and head on the side of the vehicle that is struck
in a side collision. The airbag deploys in side im
pacts and only when the vehicle acceleration reg
istered by the control unit is high enough. If this
rate is below the reference value programmed in
to the control unit, the side airbags will not be
trigge red, even though the car may be badly
damaged as a result of the collision .
It is not pos
sible to define an airbag triggering range that
will cover every possible angle of impact, since
the circumstances will vary conside rably between
one collision and another. Important factors in
clude, for example, the nature (hard or soft) of
the impacting object, the angle of impact, vehicle
speed, etc.
c::> page 216, Important safety in
structions on the side airbag system .
Aside from their normal safety function, safety
belts work to help keep the driver or front pas
senger in position in the event of a side collision
so that the side airbags can provide protect ion.
The airbag system is
not a substitute for your
safety belt. Rather, it is part of the overall occu
pant restraint system in your vehicle . Always re
member that the side airbag system can only
help to protect you if you are wear ing your safety
belt and wear ing it properly. This is another rea
son why you sho uld always wear your safety
belts, not just because the law requires you to do
so
c::> page 189, General notes.
It is impo rtant to remember that while the sup
plemental side airbag system is desig ned to re
duce the likelihood of ser ious injuries, other inju
ries, for example, swelling, bruising , friction
burns and minor abrasions can also be associated ..,.

Child safety
Advanced front airbag system and children
Your vehicle is equipped with a front "Advanced
Airbag System" in compliance with United States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS)
208 as applicable at the time your vehicle was
manufactured.
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 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
"suppression" requirements of the Safety Stand
ard, to turn off the front airbag for infants up to
12 months who are restrained on the front pas
senger seat in child restraints that are listed in
the Standard .
Even though your vehicle is equipped with an Ad
vanced Airbag system, a child should always ride
in the seat properly restrained for its age and
size . The airbag on the passenger side makes the
front seat a potentially dangerous place for a
child to ride. The front seat is not the safest place
for a child in a forward-facing child safety seat. It
can be a very dangerous place for an infant or a larger child in a rearward-facing seat .
The vehicle's Advanced Airbag 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 child 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 ch ild, a child restraint, and a baby blanket
are on the front passenger seat. The change in
the measured capacitance due to the presence of
a child, a child restraint, and a baby blanket on
the front passenger seat is related to the child
restraint system resting on the seat. The meas
ured capacitance of a child restraint system var ies depending on the type of system and specific
make and model.
220
The electrical capacitance of the various types, makes, and models of child restraints specified
by the U.5 .National Highway Traffic Safety Ad
ministration (NHTSA) in the relevant safety
standard are stored in the Advanced Airbag Sys
tem control unit together with the capacitances
typical of infants and a 1-year old child . When a
child restraint is used on the front passenger
seat with a typical 1 year-old infant, the Ad
vanced Airbag System compares the capacitance
measured by the capacitive passenger detection
system with the data stored in the electronic con
trol unit.
Child restraints and Advanced front airbag
system
Regardless of the child 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 airbag. If in exceptional circumstan
ces you must use it on the front passenger seat,
carefully read all of the information on child safe
ty and Advanced Airbags and heed all of the ap
plicable WARNINGS. Make certain that the child
and child restraint are correctly recognized by the
capacitive passenger detection system in the
front passenger seat, that the front passenger
airbag is turned off, and that the airbag status is
always correctly signaled by the
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF~;
light.
Many types and models of child restraints have
been available over the years, new models are in
troduced regularly incorporating new and im
proved designs and older models are taken out of
production. Child restraints are not standardized.
Child restraints of the same type typically have
different weights and sizes and different "foot
prints", the size and shape of the bottom of the
child restraint that sits on the seat, when they
are installed on a vehicle seat. These differences
make it virtually impossible to certify compliance
with the requirements for advanced airbags with each and every child restraint that has ever been
sold in the past or will be sold over the course of
the useful life of your vehicle. ..,.