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impact, vehicle speed, etc. The front airbags will
also not inflate in side or rear collisions, or in roll-overs.
A lwa ys remember : Airbags will deploy only once,
and only in certain kinds of collisions . 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 str ikes or is struck by
another vehicle after the first collis ion.
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 airbag system works most
effect ively when used with the safety belts .
Therefore, always properly wear your safety belts
¢ page 189.
.8, WARNING
Sitting too close to the steer ing whee l o r i n
strument panel will decrease the effect ive
ness of the airbags and will increase the risk
of persona l injury in a co llision.
- Never sit closer than 1 0 in (25 cm) to the
steering wheel or instrument pane l.
-If you cannot si t mo re than 10 in (25 cm)
from the steer ing whee l, 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 s ideways or out of position in any way,
your risk of in jury is much h igher.
- Yo u will also receive serious injur ies and
cou ld even be killed if you are up against the
airbag or too close to it when it inf lates -
even with an Advanced Airbag.
- To reduce the risk of in jury when an airbag
inflates, a lways wear safety belts p roperly
¢ page 192, Safety belts .
- If children are not properly restrained, they
may be severely injured or killed when an
airbag inflates.
- Never let children ride unrestrained or im
properly restrained in the veh icle. Adjust the
front seats proper ly .
-
Airb ag sys tem
-Always sit as fa r as possible from the steer
ing wheel or the instrument panel
¢page 182.
-Always sit upright w ith 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 ser ious injuries to the legs and hips if
the airbag inflates.
.8, WARNING
A irbags that have deployed in a crash must be
r eplaced.
- Use o nly orig inal equipment ai rbags ap
proved by A udi and installed by a trained
technician who has the necessary tools and
d iagnostic equipment to prope rly replace
any airbag in yo ur vehicle and ass ure system
effe ct iveness in a crash .
- Never permit salvaged or recycled airbags to
be installed in you r vehicle.
Child restra ints on the front seat -some
important things to know
.. Be sure to read the important informat ion and
head the WARNINGS for important details
about ch ildren and Advanced A irbags
¢page 218.
The airbag on the passenger side makes the front
seat a potent ially dangerous place for a child to
ride. The front seat is not the safest place for a
c h ild in a forward-fac ing c hild safety seat. It can
be a ve ry dange rous p lace for an infant or a ch ild
i n a rearward-fac ing seat.
The Advanced A irbag System in your vehicle has
been certified to com ply wit h the Requ irements
of United States Fede ral Motor Ve hicle Safety
Standa rd 208 as applicable at t he t ime you r vehi
cl e was manufac tured.
The Standard requires the front airbag on the passenger side to be turned off ("supp ressed") if
a ch ild up to abou t one yea r of age rest rained i n
one of the rear-fac ing o r forward-f acing infant re-
straints lis ted in Fede ral Motor Vehicle Sa fe ty ..,.
197
Airbag system
Front airbags
Description of front airbags
The airbag system can provide supplemental
protection to properly restrained front seat occu
pants.
Fig. 163 Location of dr iver airbag: in steering whee l
Fig. 164 Location of front passenger's airbag: in the in
strument panel
Your vehicle is equipped with an "Advanced Air
bag System" in compliance with Un ited 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
safety belts for the front seats have "pretension
ers" that help to take slack out of the belt sys
tem. The pretensioners are also activated by the
electronic control unit for the airbag system.
The front safety be lts also have load limiters to
help reduce the forces applied to the body in a
crash.
The airbag for the driver is in the steering wheel
hub<=>
fig . 163 and the airbag for the front pas
senger is in the instrument panel
<=>fig. 164. The
general location of the airbags is marked "AIR
BAG".
200
There is a lot you need to know about the airbags
in your vehicle . We urge you to read the detai led
i nformation about airbags, safety belts and ch ild
safety in this and the other chapters that make
up the owner's literature. Please be sure to heed
the WARNINGS -they are extremely important
for your safety and the safety of your passengers,
especially infants and small children .
.&_ WARNING -
Never rely on airbags alone for protection.
- Even when they deploy, airbags provide only
supp lemental protection.
- Airbag work most effectively when used
with properly worn safety belts .
- Therefore, always wear your safety belts and make sure that everybody in your vehicle is
properly restrained.
- Always hold the steering wheel w ith both
hands on the outside of 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 airbag inflates.
- Never hold the steering wheel at the
12
o'clock position or with your hands any
where inside the steering wheel or on the
steering whee l hub. Holding the steering
wheel the wrong way increases the risk of
severe injury to the arms, hands, and head if
the driver airbag deploys.
.&_ WARNING
Objects between you and the airbag will in
crease the r isk 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 zo ne 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
-
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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 syste m
Front airbag s will not deploy:
- if the ignit ion is switched off when a crash oc -
curs,
- in s ide collisions,
- in rear-end collisions,
- in rollovers,
- when the crash deceleration measured by the
airbag system is less than the minimum thresh
old needed for airbag deployment as registered
by the electronic contro l unit.
Th e front p asse nger airb ag w ill also not
depl oy:
- when the front passenger seat is not occupied,
- when the electrical capacitance measured by
the capacitive passenger detect ion system for
the front passenger seat indicates that the pas
senger side frontal airbag must be switched off
by the electronic contro l unit (the
PASSENGER
AIR B AG OFF ~;
light~ page 208 and how
they work comes on and stays on) .
A WARNING
Sitting in the wrong position can increase the
risk of serious injury in crashes.
- To reduce the risk of injury when the airbags inflate, the driver and passengers must al
ways sit in an upright position, must not
lean against or place any part of their body
too close to the area where the airbags are
located.
- Occupants who are unbelted, out of position
or too close to the a irbag can be seriously
injured by an airbag as it unfolds with great
force in the blin k of an eye~
page 197.
A WARNING
A child in a rearward-facing chi ld seat insta l
led on the front passenger seat will be ser i
ously inju red and can be killed if the front air
bag inf lates - even with an Advanced Airbag
System.
- T he inflating a irbag w il l hit the child seat or
infant carrier with great force and will
smash the chi ld seat and child against the
backrest, center armrest, door or roof.
206
-
- Never install a rearward facing chi ld safety
seat on the front passenger seat unless the
PAS SEN GER AIR BA G OFF ~; light comes
on and stays on . If the
PA SSE NGER AIR
BAG OFF~;
light does not come on and stay
on, the inflat ing airbag will hit the chi ld
safety seat or infant carrie r with great force
and will smash the child safety seat and
child against the bac krest, door or roof.
Have the airbag system inspected immedi
ately by your authorized Audi dealer .
A WARNING
Objects between you and the airbag will in
crease the risk of injury in a crash by interfer
ing with the way the airbag unfolds or by be
ing pushed into you as the airbag inflates.
- Never hold things in your hands or on your
lap when the vehicle is in use.
- Never transport items on or in the area of
the front passenger seat. Objects could
move into the area of the front airbags dur
ing braking or other sudden maneuver and
become dangerous projectiles that can
cause serious persona l injury if the airbags
inflate.
- Never place or attach accessories o r other
objects (such as cup holders, telephone
brackets, large, heavy or bulky objects) on
the doo rs, ove r or near the area ma rked
"AIRBAG" on the steering wheel, instru
ment panel, seat backrests or between
those areas and yourself. These objects
could cause injury in a crash, especially
when the a irbags inf late.
- Never recline the front passenger's seat to
transport objects. Items can also move into
the area of the side a irbag or the front air
bag during brak ing or in a sudden maneu
ver . Objects near the airbags can become
projecti les and cause injury, part icularly
when the seat is reclined.
- Never p lace or t ransport objects on the
-
front passenger sea t. Objects on the front
p assenger sea t could ca use the capaci tive
sensor in the seat to signal to ai rbag system
that the seat is occ upied by a person when it ..,
Airbag syste m
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.
A WARNING
If the front airbag inflates, a child without a
child restra int, or in a rearward-facing child
safety seat, or in a forward-facing child re
straint that has not been properly installed
w ill be seriously injured and can be killed.
- If you must install a rearward-fac ing child
seat on the front passenger seat because of
exceptional c ircumstances and the
PA SSEN
G ER AIR BAG OFF,;;
light does not appear
and stay on, have the airbag system inspect
ed by your Audi dealer.
- If, in exceptional circumstances, you must
install a forward-facing chi ld restraint on
the front passenger seat, always move the
seat into its rearmost pos ition in the seat's
fore and aft adjustment range, as far away
from the airbag as possible. The backrest
must be adjusted to an upright posit ion.
Make s ure that the PASSENGER AI R BAG
OFF ,;;
light comes on and stays on a ll the
t ime whenever the ignition is switched on.
A WARNING
If the PAS SENGER AIR BAG OFF~; light does
not go out when an adult is s itting on the
front passenger seat afte r taking the steps
described above, have the airbag system in
spected by your Audi dealer before transport
ing anyone on the front passenger seat.
(D Tips
If the capacitive passenger detection system
determines that the front passenger seat is
empty, the frontal airbag on the passenger
side w ill be turned off, and the
PA SSENGER
AIR BA G OFF ~;
light will stay on.
Repair, care and disposal of the airbags
Parts of the a irbag system are installed at many
d ifferent places on your Aud i. Instal ling, remov-
210
ing, servicing or repairing a part in an area of the
vehicle can damage a part of an airbag system
and prevent that system from work ing properly
i n a coll is ion.
There are some important things you have to know to make sure that the effectiveness of the
system will not be impaired and that discarded
components do not cause injury or pollute the
environment.
A WARNING
Improper care, servicing and repair proce
dures can increase the risk of personal injury
and death by preventing an airbag from de
p loying when needed or deploy ing an a irbag
unexpectedly:
-
- Never cover, obstruct, or change the steer
ing wheel ho rn pad or airbag cover or the in
strumen t panel or modify them in any way.
- Never attach any objects such as cup ho lde rs
or telephone mountings to the surfaces cov
ering the a irbag un its.
- For cleaning the horn pad or instr ument
panel, use only a soft, dry doth 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 cannot deploy and protect proper ly.
- Never repair, ad just, 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 audio equ ipment,
cellular te lephones and CB radios, etc.)
m ust be perfo rmed by a qualified techn ician
who has the training and spec ial equipment
necessary.
- For any work on the airbag system, we
strong ly recommend tha t you see you r au
thori zed A udi dealer or qualified wo rkshop.
- Never modify the front bumper or pa rts of
the vehicle body.
- Always make sure that the side a irbag can
inflate w ithout interfe rence:
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