- You 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 9 page 277.
More important things to know about front
airbags
F ig. 247 Inflated front a irbags
0 0 M
-.a ;z
Safety belts are important to help keep front
seat occupants in the proper seated position so
that airbags can unfold properly and provide sup p lemental protection in a frontal collision.
The front airbags are designed to provide addi
tional protect ion for the chest and face of the
driver and the front seat passenger when:
- safety belts are worn properly
- the seats have been positioned so that the
oc-
cupant is properly seated as far as possible
from the airbag
- and the head restraints have been properly ad-
justed
Because airbags inflate in the blink of an eye w ith
great force, things you have on your lap or have p laced on the seat could become dangerous pro
jectiles, and be pushed into you if the airbag in flates .
When an airbag deploys, fine dust is released.
This is normal and is not caused by a fire in the
veh icle. This dust is made up mostly of a powder
used to lubricate the airbags as they deploy . It
could irr itate skin .
It is important to remember that while the sup plemental airbag system is designed to reduce
the likelihood of ser ious injuries, other injuries,
for example swelling, bruising and minor abra-
Airb ag sys tem
sions, can also happen when airbags inflate. Air
bags do not protect the arms or the lower parts
of the body. Front airbags supp lement the three
point safety belts only in some frontal collisions
in which the vehicle dece leration is high enough
to deploy the airbags .
Front airbags will not depl oy :
- if the ignition is switched off when a crash oc-
curs
- in side co llisions
- in rear-end coll isions
- in rollovers
- when the crash deceleration measured by the
ai rbag system is less than the m inimum thresh
old needed for airbag dep loyment as registe red
by the electronic control un it
The front pass enge r airbag also w ill not
deploy:
- when the fron t passenger seat is not occupied,
- when the e lectr ical capacitance measured by
the capacit ive passenger detection system for
the front passenger seat ind icates that the pas
senger side frontal airbag m ust be switched off
by the electronic control unit (the
PASSENGER
AIR BA G OFF
"1; light 9 page 289 comes on
and stays on).
_& WARNING
Sitting in the wrong position can increase the
risk of ser ious injury in crashes.
- To reduce the risk of injury when the a irbags
inflate, the driver and passengers must al
ways sit in an upright posit ion, must not
lean aga inst or place any part of their body
too close to the area where the airbags are lo cated.
- Occupants who are unbelted, out of posit ion
or too close to the airbag can be serio usly
inj ured by an airbag as it unfolds wi th g reat
for ce in the blink of an eye
~ page 2 78.
_& WARNING
A child in a re arward-fa cing child safety seat
i nsta lled on t he front passenger sea t will be
serious ly in jured and can be ki lled if the front
Iii-
287
Airbag system
airbag inflates -even with an Advanced Airbag
System.
- The inflating airbag will hit the child safety
seat or infant carrier with great force and
will smash the child safety seat and child
against the backrest, center armrest, door or roof .
- Always install rear-facing child safety seats
on the rear seat .
- If you must install a rearward-facing child
safety seat on the front passenger seat be
cause of exceptional circumstances and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF~; light does not
come on and stay on, immediately install
the rear-facing child safety seat in a rear
seating position and have the airbag system inspected 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 maneuvers and
become dangerous projectiles that can
cause serious personal injury if the airbags
inflate .
- Never place or attach accessories or other
objects (such as cupholders, telephone
brackets, large, heavy or bulky objects) on
the doors, over or near the area marked "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 airbags inflate.
- Never recline the front passenger's seat to
transport 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
288
-
projectiles and cause injury, particularly
when the seat is reclined .
- Never place or transport objects on the
front passenger seat. Objects on the front passenger seat could cause the capacitive
sensor in the 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
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 turned 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
worked without objects on the seat.
- 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 signal that it is occupied by some
one who is heavier than the person actually
sitting 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 different from the way it would have
worked without the object on the seat.
A WARNING
The fine dust created when airbags deploy can cause breathing problems for people with a history of asthma or other breathing condi
tions .
- To reduce the risk of breathing problems,
those with asthma or other respiratory con ditions should get fresh air right away by
getting out of the vehicle or opening win
dows or doors.
- If you are in a collision in which airbags de
ploy, wash your hands and face with mild
soap and water before eating.
- Be careful not to get the dust into your eyes,
or into any cuts or scratches.
- If the residue should get into your eyes,
flush them with water .
Child safety
-Always make sure the seat backrest to which
the child restraint is installed is in an up
right position and securely latched into
place and cannot fold forward. Otherwise,
the seatback with the child safety seat at
tached to it could fly forward in the event of
an accident or other emergency situation.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS when
ever using a child restrained in a vehicle is
being used
c> page 302 . Special precautions
apply when installing a child safety seat on
the front passenger seat
¢ page 2 78, Child
restraints on the front seat -some impor
tant things to know.
Deactivating the convertible locking
retractor
The convertible Locking retractor for child re
straints will be deactivated automatically when
the belt is wound all the way bock into the re
tractor .
~ Press the red button on the safety belt buckle .
Th@ belt tongue will pop out of the buckle.
~ Guide the safety belt all the way back into its
stowed position .
Always let the safety belt retract completely into
its stowed position . The safety belt can now be
used as an ordinary safety belt without the con
vertible locking retractor for child restraints .
If the convertible locking retractor should be ac
tivated inadvertently, the safety belt must be un
fastened and guided completely back into its
stowed position to deactivate this feature. If the
convertible lock ing retractor is not deactivated,
the safety belt will gradually become tighter and
uncomfortable to wear.
A WARNING
-
Improperly installed child safety seats in
crease the risk of serious personal injury and
death in a collision.
- Never unfasten the safety belt to deactivate
the convertible locking retractor for child re straints while the vehicle is moving . You
316
would not be restrained and could be seri
ously injured in an accident.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS when
ever using a child restrained in a vehicle is being used
c> page 302. Special precautions
apply when installing a child safety seat on
the front passenger seat
c> page 2 78, Child
restraints on the front seat -some impor
tant things to know.
LATCH system (lower
anchorages and tethers
for children)
' Child Restraint System anchors and how
are they related to child safety
To provide a simpler and more practicable way to
attach the child restraint on the vehicle seat, Federal regulations require special lower ancho
rages in vehicles and devices on new child re
straints to attach to the vehicle anchorages .
In the United States, the combination of the
tether anchorages and the lower anchorages is
now generally called the LATCH system for
"Lower Anchorages and Tethers for Children" . In
Canada, the terms "top tether" with "lower uni
versal anchorages" (or "lower universal anchor
age bars") are used to describe the system .
In other countries the term "ISOFIX" is used to
describe the lower anchorages .
Forward-facing child restraints manufactured af
ter September 1, 1999, are required by U.S. fed
eral regulations to comply with new child head
movement performance requirements . These
new performance requirements make a tether
necessary on most new child seats.
Installing a child restraint that requires a top
tether without one can seriously impair the per
formance of the child restraint and its ab ility to
protect the child in a collision. Installing a child
restraint that requires a top tether without the
top tether may be a violation of state law.
Child restraint manufacturers offer LATCH lower
anchorages on their child seats with hook-on or
...
Child safety
Installing the upper tether strap on the
anchorage
App lies to: Coupe
F ig. 266 Te ther s trap : proper ro utin g an d mo untin g
~
,r~~
Applies to: Sportback/Cabriolet
Fig. 267 Tet her st rap : proper rou ting and moun ting (ex
amp le)
In sta lling th e te th er strap
• Release or deploy the tether strap on the child
restraint according to the child restra int manu
facturer's instructions .
• Applies to: Cabrio let: Fold the backrest s light ly
forward
~ page 79 and locate the tethe r anchor
behind the rear seat backrest .
• Guide the upper tether strap under the rear
head restraint (raise the head restraint if neces
sary) . For child restraints with V -tether straps ,
always make sure that the head restraint guide rods do no t interfere with any part of the top
tether strap .
• Applies to: Coupe: Tilt the recess flap up to ex
pose the anchor bracket .
• Applies to: Coupe: Attach the tether strap an
cho rage hook into the open ing of the tether an
c h orage.
• Applies to: Sportback/Cabriolet: Guide the up
per tether strap into the rear cargo area and
slide the tether strap hook over the anchor bracket.
320
• Applies to: Cabriolet: Make sure the seat belt is
not pinched or damaged when folding the bakr
est.
• Applies to: Cabriolet: Fold the backrest up
again until it locks into place.
• Pull on the tether strap hook so that the spring
catc h of the hook engages.
• Tighten the tether strap firm ly following the
child restra int manufacturer's ins truc tions.
Releasing the tether strap
• Loosen the tension follow ing the child restra int
manufacturer's instructions .
• Depress the spring catch on the hook and re
lease it from the anchorage.
(D Note
If you leave the child restraint with the tether
strap firmly installed for severa l days, this
could leave a mark on the upholstery on the
seat cushion and ba ckrest in the area where
the te ther s trap was installed . The upholstery
would a lso be permanently stretched around
the tether strap . Th is app lies especia lly to
l eather seats.
Using tether straps on rearward -facing
child restraints
Currently, few rear-facing child restraint systems
come wi th a tether. Please read and heed the
c hi ld rest raint system manufacture r's instr uc
tions caref ully to determine how to properly in
stall the tether.
A WARNING
A child in a rearward-facing child safety seat
installed on the front passenger seat will be
seriously injured and can be k illed if the front
a irbag inflates
-even with an Advanced Air
bag System .
- The inflating airbag will h it the chi ld safety
seat or infant carrier with great force and
will smas h the child safety seat and child
aga inst the backrest, ce nter armrest, or
door.
- If you must install a rearward facing child
safety seat on the front passenger seat