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interior in certain side impacts and vehicle
ro llovers .
The s ide curtain a irbag system supplements the
safety be lts and can he lp to reduce the risk of
in
jury for occupants' heads and upper torso in a
side col lision . The side curtai n airbag inflates in
side impacts and only when the vehicle accelera
tion reg istered by the control un it is high
enough. If th is rate is below the reference value
programmed into the control unit, the side cur
tain airbag will not be triggered, even though the
car may be badly damaged as a result of the colli
sion.
It is not possib le to define an airbag tr igger
i ng range tha t will cover every possib le ang le of
impact, since the circ ums tances will vary consid
e rably between one co llision and another . Impor
tant factors include, for examp le, the nat ure
(hard or soft) of the impact ing ob ject, the angle
of impact, vehicle speed, etc.
Q page 300, How
side curtain airbags work.
Aside from their normal safety function, safety be lts work to help keep the driver or front pas
senger in posit ion in the event of a collision so
that the side curtain airbags can provide protec
tion .
The airbag system is not a subst itute for your
safety belt. Rather, it is part of the overall occu
pant restraint system in your veh icle. Always
re
member that the airbag system can only help to
protect you if you are wea ring your safety belt
a nd wear ing it properly . T his is anothe r reason
why you should always wear your safety be lts,
n ot j ust because the law requires you to do so
Q page 268, General information.
It is important to remember that wh ile the s ide
curta in a irbag system is des igned to he lp reduce
the l ikel ihood of ser ious injuries, o ther i njuries,
for example, swel ling, b ruising, friction burns
and minor abrasions can also be associated with
these airbags upon deployment. Remember too,
these airbags will deploy only once and only in
certa in kinds of acc idents
-your safety belts are
always there to offer protection .
Airbag sys tem
The side curtain airbag system basically
cons ists of :
-The e lectronic control mod ule and externa l side
impact sensors
- The side curtain airbags above the windows of
the outer seating positions with eject ion mit i
gation features
- The airbag indicator light in the instrument
panel
T he airbag system is mon itored e lectron ica lly to
make certain it is functioning properly 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 curtain airbag is not activated :
-if the ignition is turned off
- in side co llisions whe n the ac celeration meas-
ured by the sensor is too low
- in rear -end co llisions.
_&. WARNING
- Safe ty belts and the airbag system will only
provide protect ion when occupants are in
the proper seating position
Q page 71,
Front seats.
- If the ai rbag ind icator light Q page 32
comes when the vehicle is being used, have
the system inspected immediately by your
author ized Audi dealer. It is possib le that
the airbag will inflate when it is not sup
posed to, or w ill not inflate when it should.
299

Child safety
-Always make sure that the PASSENGER
AIR BAG
OFF~; light comes on and stays
on all the time whenever the ignition is
switched on .
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF~; light
does not come on and stay on, immediate
ly install the forward-facing child seat in a
rear seating position and have the airbag
system inspected by your authorized Audi
dealer.
- Always buckle the child seat firmly in
place even if a child is not sitting in it. A
loose child seat can fly around during a
sudden stop or in a collision.
-Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child restraint in a vehi
cle ¢
page 268, Safety belts , ~ page 2 77,
Airbag system and ~ page 302, Impor
tant information.
(D Tips
Always replace child restraints that were in
stalled in a vehicle during a crash. Damage to
a child restraint that is not visible could cause
it to fail in another collision situation.
Advanced front airbag system and children
Your vehicle is equipped with an "Advanced Air
bag System" in compliance with United St ates
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 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-
304
senger seat in child restraints that are listed in
the Standard.
Even though your vehicle is equipped with an Ad
vanced Airbag system, all children, especially
those 12 years and younger, should always ride
in the back seat properly restrained for their 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 child, 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.
The electrical capacitance of the various types, makes, and models of child restraints specified
by the U.S.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 Airbags
Regardless of the child restraint that you use,
make sure that it has been certified to meet Safe -
ty Standards and has been certified by its
..,.

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manufacturer for use with an airbag. Always be
sure that the child restraint is properly installed
at one of the rear seating positions . If in excep
tional circumstances you must use it on the front
passenger seat, carefully read all of the informa
tion on child safety and Advanced Airbags and heed all of the appl icable WARNINGS . Make cer
tain that the child and ch ild restraint are correct
ly recognized by the capacitive passenger detec
tion 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 A IR BAG OFF 1,;; light.
Many types and models of ch ild rest rai nts have
been available over the yea rs, new mode ls are in
troduced regularly incorporating new and im
proved designs and older mode ls are taken out of
product ion. Chi ld restraints are not standardized.
Ch ild restraints of the same type typically have
d ifferent weights and sizes and different "foot
prints", the s ize and shape of the bottom of the
chi ld restraint that sits on the seat, when they
are insta lled on a vehicle seat. These differences
make it virtually impossible to certify compliance
with the req uirements fo r advanced airbags wi th
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.
F or this reason, the Un ited States National High
way Traffic Safety Administration has published a
list of specific type, makes and models of child
restraints that must be used to certify compli
ance of the Advanced Airbag System in your vehi
cle with the suppression requ irements of Federal
Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 . These child
restraints are:
Subp art A - Car bed child re stra int s
Model Manufactured on or
after
Ange l Guard Angel September 25, 2007
Ride AA2403FOF
Ch ild safety
Subpart B - R ear -facing child restraints
Model Manufactured on or
after
Century SmartFit 4543 December 1, 1999
Cosco Arriva September 25, 2007
22-013PAW and base
22-999WHO
Evenflo Discovery Ad- December 1, 1999
just Right 212
Evenflo First Choice December 1, 1999
204
Graco Infant 8457 Decembe r 1, 1999
Graco Snugride September 25, 2007
P eg Pe rego P rimo Viag- September 25, 2007
g io SIP IMUNOOUS
Subpart C - Forward -facing and convertible
child restraints
Model Manufactured on or
after
Britax Roundabout September 25, 2007
E9L02xx
Cosco Tou riva 025 19 Decembe r 1, 1999
Cosco Summit De luxe September 25, 2007
H igh Back Booster
22-262
Cosco High Back Boos -September 25, 2007
ter 22-209
E venflo Tribute V September 25, 2007
379xxxx
Evenflo Medallion 254 December 1, 1999
E venflo Generat io ns September 25, 2007
352xxxx
Graco ComfortSport September 25, 2007
Graco Todd le r Safety September 25, 200 7
Seat Step 2
Graco Platinum Cargo September 25, 2007
A WARNING
To reduce the risk of serious injury, ma ke sure
that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF 1,;; light
comes on and stays on whenever a child re
straint is installed on the front passenger seat
and the ignition is switched on .
..,.
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restraint in place ¢page 74. Install the
head restraint again immediately once the
child seat is removed. Driving without head
restraints or with head restraints that are
not properly adjusted increases the risk of
serious or fatal neck injury dramatically.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS when ever using a child restrained in a veh icle is
being used
¢ page 268, Safety belts,
¢ page 2 77, Airbag system and
¢ page 302, Important information.
_& WARNING
If exceptional circ umstances require the use
o f a forwa rd-facing child restraint on the
front passenger's seat, the child's safety and
we ll-being require that the following special
precautions be taken:
- Make sure the forward-facing seat has been
designed and certified by its manufacturer
for use on a front seat with a passenger
front and side airbag.
- Always follow the manufacturer 's instruc
t ions prov ided with the ch ild safety seat or
infant carrier.
- Always move the front passenger seat to the highest position in the up and down ad
justment range and move it back to the
rearmost position in the seat's fore and aft
adjustment range, as far away from the air
bag as possib le, before insta lling the for
wa rd-facing child restraint.
- Always make sure that the safety belt upper
anchorage is beh ind the child restraint and
not next to or in front of the chi ld restraint
so that the safety belt will be properly posi
tioned.
- Always make sure that nothing prevents the
front passenger's seat from being moved to
the rearmost position in its fore and aft ad
justment range.
- Always make sure the backrest is in an up
right position.
- 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
Ch ild safety
if the device is connected to the 12-volt
socket or the cigarette lighter socket.
-If a seat heater has been ret rofitted or oth
erwise added to the front passenger seat, never install any child restra int system on
this seat.
- Make sure that there are no wet objects
(such as a wet towel) and no water or other
liquids on the front passenger seat cush ion.
- Never place objects on the seat (such as a
laptop, CD p layer, electronic games device,
power inverter or seat heater for ch ild
seats). These may influence the elect rical
capacitance measu red by the capacitive pas
senger detect ion system and can also fly
a ro und in an accident and cause serious per
sonal injury .
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF ,;; light comes on and stays on all the
time wheneve r the ignit ion is switched on .
- If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF ,;; light
does not come on and stay on, immediately
install the forward -facing child seat at a
seating position on the rear seat
and have
the airbag system inspected by your author
ized Audi dealer.
- Take the child restra int off the front passen
ger seat and install it prope rly at one of the
rear seat positions if the
PASSENGER AIR
BAG
OFF ,;; light does not stay on whenever
the ignition is switched on.
311

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body and the front of the passenger compart
ment, the airbag can inflate comp letely and pro
vide supp lemental protect ion in certain frontal
collisions.
& WARNING
Not using a booster seat, using the booster
seat improperly, incorrectly installing a boos
ter seat or using the vehicle safety belt im properly increases the risk of serious personal
injury and dea th in a collision or other eme r
gency sit uat ion. To help red uce the risk of se
rious personal injury and/or death:
- T he shoulder be lt must lie as close to the
center of the child's collar bone as possible
and must lie f lat and snug on the upper
body. It must never lie across the throat or
neck. The lap belt must lie across the pelvis
and never across the stomach or abdomen.
Make sure the belt lies flat and snug. Pull on
the belt to tighten if necessary .
- Failure to properly route safety belts over a
child's body will cause severe injuries in an
acc ident or other emergency situation
¢ page 268.
- The rear side of the child safety seat should
be pos itioned as close as poss ible to the
backrest on the vehicle seat. Adjust or re
move the rear seat head restraint if it is d if
ficult to install the child seat with the head restra int in place¢
page 74. Install the
head restraint again immediately once the
child seat is removed . Driving without head
restraints or w ith head restraints that are
not properly adjusted increases the risk of
serious or fatal neck injury dramatically.
- Never let a child put the shoulder belt under
the arm or beh ind the back, because it cou ld
cause severe injur ies in a crash.
- Children on the front seat of any car, even with Advanced Airbags, can be seriously in
jured or even killed when an airbag inflates.
- Never let a child stand or kneel on any seat,
for example the front seat.
- Never let a child ride in the cargo area of your vehicle .
- Always remember that a child leaning for
ward, sitting sideways or out of position in
Ch ild safety
any way du ring an accident can be struck by
a dep loying airbag. Th is will result in serious
personal injury or death.
- If you must install a booster seat on the
front passenger seat because of exceptional
circumstances the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
'-I; light must come on and stay on,
whenever the ignit ion is switched on.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BA G OFF '-I; light
does not come on and stay on, perform the
checks described ¢
page 289, Monitoring
the Advanced Airbag System.
- Take the child restra int off the front passen
ge r seat and install it prope rly at one of the
rear seat positions if the
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
'-I; light does not stay on whenever
the ignition is switched on .
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS when
eve r using a child restrained in a vehicle is
be ing used
¢ page 268, Safety belts,
¢ page 2 77, Airbag system and
¢ page 302, Important information .
Securing child safety
seats
Securing a child safety seat using a safety
belt
Safety belts for the rear seats and the front pas
senger can be locked with the convertible locking
retractor to properly secure child safety seats .
The safety belts for the rear seats and for the
front passenge r's seat have a convertible locking
retractor for child safety seats. The safety belt
must be locked so that be lt webbing cannot un
reel. The retractor can be activated to lock the
safety belt and prevent the safety belt webbing
from loosening up dur ing normal driving . A ch ild
safety seat can only be properly installed when
the safety be lt is locked so that the ch ild and
c h ild safety seat will stay in place.
Always remember : Even though your veh icle is
equipped with an Advanced Airbag system, all
children, especially those 12 years and younger,
shou ld a lways r ide in t he back seat p roperly re-
strained for their age and s ize.
.,.
31 3

Child safet y
A WARNING
-
Improperly installed child safety seats in
crease the risk of ser ious personal injury and
death in a collision .
- Always make sure that the safety belt re
tractor is locked when installing a child safety seat. An unlocked safety belt retrac
tor cannot hold the child safety seat in place dur ing normal driving or in a crash.
- Always buckle the child safety seat firmly in
place even if a child is not s itting in it. A
loose child safety seat can fly around during
a sudden stop or in a coll is ion .
- Always make sure that the rear seat back
rest to which the center rear safety belt* is
attached is securely latched whenever the
rear cente r safety belt is being used to se
cu re a ch ild restraint.
- If the backrest is not securely latched, the
child and the child restraint will be thrown
forward together w ith the backrest and will
strike parts of the vehicle interior. The chi ld
can be se riously injured or killed .
- Never ins tall rear-facing chi ld safety seats
or infant carriers on the front passenger
seat . A child will be serious ly inju red and
can be killed when the passenger airbag in
flates.
- The inflating airbag will hit the child safety
seat or infant carrier with great force and
will smash the chi ld safety seat and child
against the backrest, center armrest, door
or roof .
- Always install rear-facing child safety seats
or infant carr iers on the rear seat.
- Forward-facing ch ild safety seats or infant
carr iers installed on the front passenger's
seat may interfere with the deployment of
the a irbag and cause serious injury to the
child .
- It is safer to install a forward -facing ch ild
safety seat on the rear seat .
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS when
ever using a child restrained in a veh icle is
being used
~ page 302 . Specia l precaut ions
apply when installing a child safety seat on
the fron t passenger seat
~ page 2 78, Child
314
restraints on the front seat -some impor
tant things to know.
A WARNING
A lways take special precautions if you must
install a forward or rearward-facing child re
stra int on the front passenger's seat in excep
tional s ituations:
- Whenever a forward or rearward-fac ing
child restraint is installed on the front pas
senger seat, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
~; light must come on and stay on whenev
er the ign ition is switched on.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF ~; light
does not come on and stay on , perform the
checks desc ribed
~ page 289, Monitoring
the Advanced Airbag System.
- Take the child restra int off the front passen
ger seat and install it prope rly at one of the
rear seat positions if the
PA SSENGER AIR
BAG
OFF ~. light does not stay on whenever
the ignition is switched on .
- Improper installation of child restraints can
reduce their effectiveness or even prevent
them from providing any protect ion .
- An improperly installed child restraint can
interfere with the airbag as it deploys and
serious ly injure or even kill the child.
- Always carefully follow the manufacturer's
instructions provided with the child safety
seat or carrier.
- After checking to make sure that the child
restraint is properly installed, make certain
that the child restraint is correctly recog nized by the capacitive passenger detection
system in the front passenger seat and that
the
PASSENGE R AIR B AG OFF ~; light sig
na ls the correct front passenger fronta l air
bag stat us.
A WARNING
Forward-facing child restra ints:
- Always make sure the forward-facing seat
has been des igned and certified by its man
ufacturer for use on a front seat with a pas
senger front and side airbag.
-

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3 a,
-Never put the forward-facing child restraint
up, against or very near the instrument pan
el.
-Always move the front passenger seat to
the highest position in the up and down
ad
justment range and move it back to the
rearmost position in the seat's fore and aft
adjustment range, as far away from the air
bag as possib le, before insta lling the
for
ward-facing child restra int.
- Always make sure that the safety belt upper
anchorage is beh ind the child restraint and
not next to or in front of the chi ld restraint
so that the safety belt will be properly pos i
tioned.
-Make sure that the PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF ~; light comes on and stays on a ll the
time whenever the ignition is switched on.
,&. WARNING t-==
Rearward-facing child restraints:
-A ch ild in a rearward-facing child safety seat
installed on the front passenger seat wi ll be
seriously injured and can be killed if the
front airbag inflates
-even with an Ad
vanced Airbag System.
-The inflating airbag will hit the child safety
seat or infant carrier with great force and
will smash the chi ld safety seat and child
against the backrest, center armrest, door
or roof .
-Always be especially careful if you must in
stall a rearward facing child safety seat on
the front passenger seat in exceptional c ir
cumstances .
-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.
-If the PASSENGE R AIR BAG OFF ~; light
does not come on and stay on, immed iate ly
install the rea r-facing child safety seat in a
rea r seat ing pos ition and have the airbag
system inspected by your Aud i dealer.
Ch ild safety
Activating the convertible locking retractor
Use the convertible locking retractor to secure a
child restraint .
Always heed the child safety seat manufacturer's
instructions when installing a child restraint in
your vehicle. To activate the convertible locking retractor:
.. Place the child restraint on a seat, preferably
on the rear seat .
.. Slowly pull the belt all the w ay out .
.. Route it around or through the child restra int
be lt
path ¢&. -
.. Push the ch ild safety seat down with you r full
weight to get the safety belt really tight.
.. Insert the belt tongue into the buckle for that
seating position.
.. Guide the safety belt back into the retractor un
til the belt lies flat and snug on the child safety
seat .
.. You should hear a ''cl icking" noise as the belt
w inds back into the inertia reel. Test the con
vert ible lock ing retractor by pulling on the belt .
You shou ld no longer be able to pull the belt
out of the retractor. The convertib le loc king re
t ractor is now activated.
.. Make sure that the red release button is facing
away from the child restraint so that it can be
unbuckled quickly .
.. Pull on the belt to make sure the safety belt is
properly tight and fastened so that the seat
cannot move forward or sideways more than
one inch (2 .5 cm) .
,&. WARNING
Using the wrong ch ild rest raint or an improp
e rly installed child restra int can cause se rious
personal injury or death in a crash.
-Always make sure that the safety be lt re
tr actor is locked when installing a child
safety seat . An un locked safety be lt retrac
tor cannot hold the chi ld safety seat in p lace
during normal driving or in a crash.
-Always buckle the child safety seat firm ly in
p lace even if a child is not sitting in it. A
loose child safety seat can fly around during
a sudden stop or in a crash.
.,.
315

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filler door. For additional information on fuel,
see
~page 322.
The fuel tank capacity of your vehicle is listed in the
T ec hnical Dat a section ~ page 388.
To avoid fuel spill ing or evaporating from the fuel
tank always close fuel cap p roperly and com
p letely . An improperly closed fue l filler cap may
a lso cause the MIL
lamp~ page 24 t o come on.
A WARNING -
Not paying attention when fueling or han
dling fue l incorrectly can lead to fires, exp lo
sions or serious in juries.
-Fuel ignites easily and can cause serious
burns and other injuries.
-If you do not switch the engine off when fu
eling and/or do not insert the fuel nozz le
completely into the tank opening, fue l can
leak out or run over. Leaked fuel can ignite
and start a fire.
-Do not use the telephone whi le fueling. The
electromagnetic rays can cause sparks,
wh ich can ignite fuel vapors and start a fire.
-Do not sit in your vehicle while fueling. If
you must make an except ion and enter your
vehicle again wh ile fue ling, close the door
and touch meta l to discharge static electric
ity befo re touch ing the fue l nozzle. Static
elect ricity can create spar ks, wh ich can ig
ni te vapo rs when fue ling.
-Do not smoke or have an open flame in the
area when fueling your veh icle o r filling a
f uel contai ner because th is increases the
risk of an explos ion .
-For yo ur safety, carrying f uel containers in
yo ur vehicle is no t recommended. Whethe r
f ull or empty, the conta iner can leak a nd
cause a fire in the event of an accident .
-If you must make an exception and trans
port a fuel container, note the following :
-Never fill the fuel container with fuel
while it is in or on the vehicle. Stat ic elec
tr icity is d ischa rged when filling wh ich can
cause the f uel vapors to ignite and in
creases the r isk of an explos ion.
-Always p lace a fuel containe r on the
g ro u nd before fi llin g.
Ch eck ing and Filling
-Always hold the fue l nozzle completely in
the fuel container when filling.
-If the fuel container is made of metal, the
fuel nozzle must always be in contact with
the container when filling it with fuel. This
prevents stat ic electricity from discharg
ing .
-Never spill fuel in the vehicle or the lug
gage compartment. Evaporated fuel is ex
plosive and increases the risk of serious in
jury or death .
-Follow legal requirements when using,
stor ing and transporti ng fuel conta iners .
-Make sure the fuel container conforms to
industry standards (ANSI/AS TM F8S2-86).
@ Note
-Remove spilled fuel from vehicle pa int im
mediately, because it can damage paint.
-Never drive unti l the fuel tank is complete ly
empty. The irregular supply of fue l that re
sults from that can cause eng ine misfires.
Uncombusted fuel will enter the exhaust
system and increase the risk of damage to
t he catalytic converte r.
-If the fue l tank runs complete ly empty in a
vehicle with a
diesel eng ine , the ignition
must remain swit ched on fo r at least 30
se conds afte r ref ueli ng before starti ng the
eng ine. It may take longer than usual fo r
t he engine to s tart, even up to a minu te.
T his is because the air must first b leed out
of the fue l system when starting the eng ine.
@ For the sake of the environment
Do not overfill the fuel tank, otherwise fuel
can leak out when the veh icle is warming up.
(D Tips
D iesel ve hicles are eq uipped w ith a diesel mis
fueling guard .
It allows the vehi cle to be fu
eled on ly with a diesel fuel pump nozzle. A
worn or damaged nozzle or a nozzle that is
too small may not be able to open the diese l
misfueling guard. If this is the case, try turn
i ng the nozzle before inserting it in the fue l
filler neck, use a different fuel pump, o r see
325