2018 AUDI A5 COUPE sensor

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snow and ice. Always read and follow safety
precautions¢.&. .
Winter tires
By using all wheel drive, your vehicle has good
forward motion with standard tires in winter con­
ditions. However, using winter or all season tires
on
all four wheels in the winter is recommended,
because this will improve the
braking effect.
Snow chains
If there are snow chain laws, snow chains must
also be used on vehicles with all wheel drive
¢ page 358, Snow chains.
Replacing tires
For vehicles with all wheel drive, only wheels with
the same rolling circumference should be used.
Avoid using tires with different tread depths
¢ page 348, New tires or wheels.
Offroad vehicle?
Your Audi is not an offroad vehicle -there is not
enough ground clearance. For this reason, avoid
difficult terrain .
A WARNING
-Also, in vehicles with all wheel drive, adapt
your driving style to the current road and
traffic conditions. Do not let the increased
safety provided tempt you into taking risks,
because this increases the risk of an acci­
dent .
- The braking ability of your vehicle is limited
to the traction of the wheels. In this way, it
is not different from a two wheel drive vehi­
cle. Do not be tempted to accelerate to a
high speed when the road is slippery, be­
cause this increases the risk of an accident .
- Note that on wet streets, the front wheels
can "hydroplane" if driving at speeds that
are too high. Unlike front wheel drive
vehicles, the engine does not rev higher sud­
denly when the vehicle begins hydroplaning.
For this reason, adapt your speed to the
road conditions to reduce the risk of an acci­
dent.
Intelligent Technology
Energy management
The starting ability is optimized
T he energy management system manages the
electrical energy distribution and optimizes the
availability of electrical energy for starting the
engtne.
When a vehicle with a conventional energy sys­
tem is not driven for a long time, the vehicle bat­
tery is drained by equipment (for example, the
immobilizer). In certain circumstances , there
could may not be enough energy to start the en­
gine.
Your vehicle is equipped with an intelligent ener­
gy management system for distributing electrici­
ty. This significantly improves the starting ability
and increases the vehicle battery life.
The energy management system Is made up of
battery diagnosis, idling current management,
and dynamic energy management.
Battery diagnosis
The battery diagnosis determines the vehicle bat­
tery charge level. The sensors determine the bat­
tery voltage, the battery current, and the battery
temperature. The current charge level and the
performance of the vehicle battery are deter­
mined based on this.
Idling current management
The idling current management decreases the
energy used while parked. With the engine
switched off, it manages the energy distribution
to the different electrical components . Data from
the battery diagnosis is taken into account for
this.
Depending on the vehicle battery charge level,
electrical equipment is switched off one item af­
ter the other to prevent the vehicle battery from draining and to maintain the starting ability.
Dynamic energy management
While driving, dynamic energy management dis­
tributes the appropriate amount of energy to the
electrical equipment.
It controls the battery
charge level so that the amount of energy is not
..,.
155

through vents in the trim panel. Be sure to keep these slots free and open .
- The t ire pressure must correspond to the
l oad . The tire pressure labe l lists the recom­
mended cold tire inflation pressures for the
vehicle at its maximum capacity weight and
the tires that were on your vehicle at the
time it was manufactured. For recommend­
ed tire pressures for normal load condi­
tions, please see chapter
q page 3 52.
Tie-downs
The luggage compartment is equipped with four
tie-downs to secure luggage and other items .
Use the tie-downs to secure your cargo properly
q page 263, Loading the luggage compartment.
In a collision, the laws of physics mean that even
smaller items that are loose in the vehicle will
become heavy missiles that can cause serious in­
jury . Items in the vehicle possess energy which
vary with vehicle speed and the weight of the
item . Veh icle speed is the most s ignificant factor .
For example, in a frontal collision at a speed of
30 mph (48 km/h), the forces acting on a 10-lb
(4.5 kg) object are about 20 times the normal
weight of the item . Th is means that the weight
of the item wo uld suddenly be abo ut
200 lbs . (90 kg). You can imagine the injuries
that a 200 lbs . (90 kg) item fly ing free ly through
the passenger compartment could cause in a col­
lision l ike this .
A WARNING
Weak, damaged or improper straps used to
secure items to tie-downs can fail d uring hard
brak ing or in a collision and cause serious per­
sonal injury.
- Always use su itab le mounting straps and
properly secure items to the tie-downs in
the luggage compartment to help prevent
items from shift ing or fly ing fo rwa rd as dan­
gerous missiles.
- When the rear seat backrest is folded down, always use su itab le mount ing straps and
prope rly secure items to t he tie-downs in
the luggage compartmen t to help p reve nt
-
Dr iving safety
items from flying forward as dangerous
miss iles into the passenger compartment .
- Never attach a chi ld safety seat tether strap
to a tie-down.
Active rollover protection system
Function
Applies to: veh icles w ith power top
The rollover protection system protects vehicle
occupants in the event of a rollover .
Fig. 231 Rear seats : rollbar deployment range
Fig. 232 Rear seats : deployed rollbar
The active rollover protection system consists of:
- two rollbars
- t he safe ty belts with bel t tensione rs
- the wi ndshield frame
- the rollover senso rs
The active rollover protection system provides additional safety in the event of a rollover. With­
i n milliseconds, sensors deploy two rollbars lo ­
cated behind the head restra ints in the rear seats
¢ fig . 232. 11iJJ,
265

Driving safety
The rollbars, reinforced windshield frame and
belt tensioners help protect front and rear pas­
sengers in the event of a rollover.
The rollover protection system functions when
the power top is both open and closed.
A WARNING
-
- Do not use the area behind the rear seat
head restraints
c::> fig. 231 as a seat or stor­
age area. This is the area where the rollbars deploy. If the rollover protection system is
triggered, objects placed there can be pro ­
pelled through the vehicle and make it more
difficult for the rollbars to deploy . This
in­
creases the risk for serious or life-threaten­
ing injuries.
- Do not remove the head restraints. Driving
with the head restraints removed or adjust­
ed incorrectly increases the risk of serious
injury.
When is rollover protection deployed?
A ppl ies to: ve hicles w ith power to p
Rollover protection deploys in a collision or roll­
over .
Depending on the collision, sensors throughout
the vehicle and the control module trigger the rollover system to deploy.
For safety reasons, rollover protection also
de ­
ploys during front , side and rear collisions above
a certain level of severity.
A WARNING
- The rollover protection system can only pro­
vide protection for one collision.
If the roll­
over protection was triggered, have it re­
placed immediately by an authorized Audi
dealer or authorized Audi Service Facility.
- Modifying the rollover protection system or individual components is not permitted.
- Work on the rollover protection system
should only be performed by an authorized
Audi dealer or authorized Audi Service Facili­
ty. Otherwise the system may not function
correctly in a collision or it could deploy
un­
expectedly .
266
(D Note
-Every repair procedure on the rollover pro­
tection system must be performed by an au ­
thori zed Audi dealer or authori zed Audi
Service Facility, that will perform work ac­
cording to Audi factory specifications . Incor ­
rect repairs may impair the functionality
and may void the vehicle's operating
li­
cense .
- The respective safety precautions must be
followed when disposing of individual com­ ponents from the system or the entire vehi­
cle. An authorized Audi dealer or authorized
Audi Service Facility is familiar with these
specifications and the procedures can be
handled there.
Reporting Safety Defects
Applicable to U.S.A.
If you believe that your vehicle
has a defect which could cause a
crash or could cause injury or
death, you should immediately in­
form the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in
addition to notifying Audi of
America, Inc.
If NHTSA receives similar com­
plaints, it may open an investiga­
tion, and if it finds that a safety
defects exists in a group of
vehicles, it may order a recall and
remedy campaign. However,
NHTSA cannot become involved in
individual problems between you,
your dealer, or Audi of America, Inc.
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Airbag System for the front passenger seat from
doing its job in a crash.
The f ront Ad vanced Airb ag S ystem con sists
of t he follo wing :
-Crash sensors in the front of the vehicle that
measure vehicle acceleration/deceleration to
provide information to the Advanced Airbag
System about the severity of the crash.
-An electronic control un it, with integrated
crash sensors for front and side impacts. The
control unit "decides" whether to fire the front
airbags based on the information received from
the crash sensors. The control unit also
"de­
c ides" whether the safety belt pretens ioners
shou ld be activated .
-An Advanced Airbag with gas generator and
contro l valve for the driver ins ide the steer ing
wheel hub.
-An Advanced Airbag with gas generator and contro l valve inside the instrument pane l for
the front passenger.
-A capac itive passenger detect io n system unde r­
neath the front passenger seat cover. This sys­
tem measures the elect rical capac ita nce of the
person in the seat. The i nformation registe red
is sent continuously to the electron ic control
unit to regulate deployment of the front Ad­
vanced Airbag on the passenger side.
-An airbag monitoring system and indicator
light
m in the instrument cluster .
-A sensor in each front seat reg isters the dis­
tance between the respective seat and the
steering wheel or instrument panel. The infor­
mation reg istered is sent continuously to the
electronic control unit to regulate deployment
of the front Advanced A irbags.
-The PA SS EN GER AIR BAG OFF ~; ON@ light
comes on in the
headliner ¢ page 289,
fig. 248 and tells you the status of the Ad­
vanced Airbag on the passenge r side .
-A sensor in the safety belt latch for the dr iver
and for the front seat passenger that senses
whether that safety belt is latched or not and
transm its this info rmat ion to the elect ronic
contro l unit.
Airb ag sys tem
_& 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 funct ion ing
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.
- Never remove the upholstery from the front
passenger seat.
- Never disassemble or remove parts from the
seat or disconnect w ires from it.
- Never carry sharp objects in your pockets or
put them on the seat. The capacit ive pas­
senger detect ion mat in the front passenger
seat will not function p roperly if it is punc­
tured.
- Never carry things on your lap or carry ob­
jects on the front passenger seat. S uch ob­
jects can influence the capacitance reg is­
tered by the capacitive passenger detection
system, so that incorrect informa tion is pro­
vided to the airbag control unit.
- Never store i tems unde r the front passenger
seat . Parts of the Advanced Airbag System
under the passenger seat could be dam­
aged, p reventing them and the airbag sys­
tem from working proper ly.
- Never p lace 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 A ir­
bag System from recognizing chi ld re­
stra ints 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 restra int system on
this seat.
- Never use cushions, p illows, blankets, or
similar items on the front passenge r seat .
285

Airbag syste m
The additio na l l ayers prevent the capacitive
passenger detection system from accurately
measuring the capac itance of the ch ild safe­
ty seat and/or the person on the seat and
thus keep the Advanced Airbag System from
working p roperly.
- Never place or use any electrical device (such as a laptop, CD player, elect ronic
games dev ice, power inverte r or seat heater
for child seats) on the front passenger seat
if the device is connected to the 12-vol t
socket or the cigarette lighter socket . S uch
devices can infl uence the capacitance regis­
tered by the capacitive passenger detection
system, so that incorrect information is pro­
vided to the airbag control unit.
- If you must use a c hild restraint on the front
passenger seat and the child restraint man­
ufacturer's instructions require the use of a
towel, foam cushion or something else to prope rly position the ch ild restraint, make
certain that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
~; light comes on and stays on whenever
the chi ld restraint is installed on the front
passenge r seat .
-If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF ~; light
does not come on and s tay on , immediate ly
ins tall child restra int in a rea r seating posi­
tion and have the airbag system inspected
by you r A udi dealer.
_& WARNING
If the front passenger seat gets wet, dry it im­
mediately.
- If liquid soaks into the front passenger seat,
this can keep the a irbag system from work ­
ing prope rly and may, for instance, deact i­
vate the passenger frontal airbag. If this happens, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF ~;
light will come on and stay on togethe r with
the a irbag ind icator
light E,I in the inst ru­
men t cluster.
- If liquid is poo led on the seat, bu t has not
soa ked i n, this may also keep the airbag sys­
tem from wo rking properly and ca use the
passenge r frontal a irbag to be enabled
(tu rned on), even though there is a properly
286
installed child rest raint system on the seat .
Wet towels or other wet things on the seat
cushion can have the same effect.
If the
front passenger fronta l airbag is turned on,
t he
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF ~; light light
w ill go out.
How the Advanced Airbag System
components work together
The front Advanced A irbag System and the side
airbags supp lement the p rotection offered by the
front three-point safety be lts and the adjustable
head restraints to he lp reduce the risk of injury in
a wide range of accident and crash situat ions. Be
sure to read the important i nformat ion about
safety and heed the WARNINGS in this chapter .
Deployment of the Advanced A irbag System and
the activation of the safety belt pretensioners de­ pend on the dece leration measured by the crash
sensors and registered by the elec tronic contro l
u nit . Crash severity depends on speed and decel­
e ration as well as the mass and stiffness of the
vehicle or object invo lved in the cras h.
On the passenger side, regard less of safety be lt
u se, the front passenge r frontal airbag will be
turned off if t he e lectr ica l capaci tance m easured
by the capaci tive p assenge r detection system o n
t h e fron t passenger sea t is less th an the amou nt
programmed in t he e lec tronic cont ro l unit. The
front passenger frontal airbag wi ll also be turned
off if the capacitance measured by the system for
the front passenger seat equals that of an infant
of about one year of age in one of the child seats
that was used to certify the Advanced Airbag Sys­
tem under Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208. The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF ~; light
comes on and stays on to tell you whe n the front
Advanced Airbag System on the passenge r side
has been tu rned
off~ page 289.
_& WARNING
T o reduce the ris k of injury when an airbag in ­
f lates, always wea r safety belts prope rly.
- If you are un res trained, leaning forward, sit­
ting sideways or out of position in any way,
your r isk of injury is much higher.

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 .

Monitoring the
Advanced Airbag System
Airbag monitoring indicator light
Two separate indicators monitor the fun ction of
the A dvanced Airbag System : the
El ligh t and
t he
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF ~ ; ON @ Light.
The Advanced Airbag System as we ll as the side
a ir bags and side c urta in air bags with ejec tion
m it iga tion fea tures ( in cludi ng the e lectro nic con­
tro l uni t, sensors and sys tem wiring) are a ll
monitored co nti nu ously to ma ke sure that they
are funct ioning properly whenever the ignition is
on. Every t ime you turn on the ignition, the air ­
bag system ind icator
light E,lwill come on for a
few seconds (function check).
The system must be inspected when the
indicato r light
E,I:
- does not come on when the ignit ion is switched
on
- does not go out a few seconds after you have
switched on the ign ition, o r
- comes on w hile driving
If an airbag sys tem malf unct ion is de te cted, the
indicator light w ill come on to serve as a co nstant
remi nder to have the system inspected immedi­
ately .
If a mal function occurs that turns the front air­
bag on the passenger side off, the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG
OFF ~. lig ht w ill come o n an d stay on
whenever the ignit ion is on.
A WARNING
An airbag system that is not funct io ning prop­
erly cannot provide supplemental p rotection
in a frontal crash .
- If the airbag indicato r
light¢ page 32
comes whe n the vehicle is be ing used, have
th e sys te m in spect ed immed iate ly by yo ur
au tho riz ed Aud i deale r.
It is possible that
th e air bag will i nflate w hen it i s n ot su p­
p osed to, o r will not i nfla te whe n it shou ld.
Airbag system
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF '1; ON @ light
Fi g. 248 Sect io n fro m th e headli ner: PASSENGE R AIR BAG
OFF~ ; ON @ lig ht
T he PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF ~; ON@ light is
located in t he
headliner ¢ fig. 248.
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF ~; light will come
o n and stay on to tell you w hen t he fro nt Ad­
van ced Air bag o n the p assenge r side has been
tu rned off by t he e lec tron ic control unit . If the
bulb fo r the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF ~; ON@
light b urns o ut, t he a irbag ind icator light El w ill
come on to signal a ma lfunction in the Advanced
Airbag System. Altho ugh the burned-out b ulb
will not change the way the front passenger's
frontal a irbag works , it w ill no longer be possible
to use the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF ~; ON@
ligh t to make s ure that the airbag on/off s tatus is
c or rec t fo r th e o ccu pan t on the front passenge r
sea t. Have the airb ag system inspec ted immedi­
ate ly by yo ur au thorized A udi d ealer .
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF~; ON@ light
will blink for about S seconds when:
- the capacit ive passenger detection system,
which switc hes the front sea t passe nger's fron ­
tal Advanced Airbag o n and off, detects a
change in the st atus of the front pa sse nger
se at.
As soon as the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF ~; ON
@ light s tops blin kin g, a lways make sure that the
air bag st atus (on o r off) as shown by the ligh t is
prope r for the age, size and e lec trica l capacitance
of t he perso n occ up ying the front passenger
seat . Always ma ke sure that the safety be lt fo r
t h e front passenger seat is proper ly fastened .
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF~;/ PASSENGER
AIR BAG ON
@ light will show the statu s of the ..,.
289

-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.
-I f 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. 2 49 Driver 's knee a irbag
The driver knee airbag is in the instrument panel
u nderneath the steering whee l
~fig. 249, 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 287, More important things to know
about front airbags.
293