Airbag system
~ WARNING
-Safety belts and the a irbag system will only
provide protection when occupants are in
the proper seating position ¢
page 166.
-If the airbag indicator light¢ page 16
comes when the vehicle is being used, have
the system inspected immediate ly by your
authori zed Audi dealer . It is possible that
the airbag will inflate when it is not sup
posed to, or will not inflate when it should.
How supplemental side airbags work
Side airbags deploy instantly and can help re
duce the risk of upper torso injuries for occu
pants who are properly restrained .
Fig. 160 Infla ted side airbags o n left s ide of veh icle , rear
side a irbag
When the system is triggered, the airbag is filled
with propellant gas and breaks through a seam in
the seat surface area marked "AIRBAG" . It ex
pands between the side trim panel and the pas
senger . In order to help provide this additional
protection, the side airbag must inflate within a
fraction of a second at very high speed and with
great force. The supplemental side airbag could
injure you if your seating position is not proper or
upright or if items are located in the area where
the supplemental side airbag expands. This ap
plies especially to children
¢ page 170, Child
safety .
Supplemental side airbags inflate be
tween the occupant and the door pane l on the
side of the vehicle that is struck in certain side
coll is ion
¢ fig. 160 .
Although they are not a soft pillow, they can
"cushion " the impact and in this way they can
166
help to reduce the risk of injury to the upper part
of the body.
A fine d ust may develop when the a irbag deploys .
This is norma l and does not mean the re is a fire
in the vehicle.
Important safety instructions on the side
airbag system
Airbags are only supplemental restraints. Always
properly wear safety belts and ride in a proper
sea ting position .
There is a lot that you and your passengers must
know and act according ly to help the safety belts
and airbags do their job to provide supplemental protection.
A WARNING
An inflating side airbag can cause serious or
fatal injury . Improperly wearing safety belts
and improper seating positions increase the
risk of serious personal injury and death
whenever a vehicle is being used.
-In order to reduce the risk of injury when
the supplemental side airbag inflates:
- Always s it in an upright position and never
lean against the area where the supple-
mental side airbag is located.
-Never let a child or anyone e lse rest their
head against the side trim panel in the
area where the supplemental side airbag inflates.
- Always make sure that safety belts are
worn correctly,
-Do not let anyone s itting in the front seat
put their hand or any other parts of their
body out of the window .
- Always make sure that the side airbag can
inflate without interference.
-Never install seat covers or replacement
upholstery over the front seatbacks that
have not been specifically approved by
Audi.
-Never use additional seat cushions that
cover the areas where the side airbags de-
ploy.
~
a co .... N
" N .... 0 00 \,;J '
cupant and the windows on the side of the vehi
cle that is struck in a side collis ion
¢ fig . 162.
When the system is tr iggered, t he side curta in
ai rbag is filled with propellant gas and breaks
through a seam above the front and rear side
windows identif ied by the AIRBAG labe l. In order
to help provide this addit ional protection, the
side curtain airbag must inflate within the blink
of an eye at very h igh speed and with great force .
The s ide curta in a irbag could injure you if your
seating position is not proper or upright or if
items are loca ted in the a rea whe re t he supp le
mental side curta in air bag inflates . T his applies
espec ia lly to children
¢ page 170 .
Although they a re not a soft p illow, side curtain
a ir bags can "cushion " the impact and in this way
they can help to red uce the risk of inj ury to the
h ead and t he upper part of t he body .
A fi ne dust may deve lop when the airbag deploys .
This is quite normal and does not mean there is a
fi re in t he ve hicl e.
Important safety instructions on the side
curtain airbag system
Airbags are only supplemental restraints . Always
properly wear safety belts and ride in a proper
seating position .
There is a lot th at yo u and your passengers m ust
know and do to he lp the safety be lts and airbags
do their job to provide supp lemental protection .
A WARNING
Improperly wearing safety belts and improper
seating posit ions increase the risk of serious
personal injury and death whenever a vehicle
is being used .
- Never let occ upants p lace any parts of the ir
bodies in the area from which the side cur
ta in a irbag inflate .
- Always make sure that the side curtain air
bags can inflate witho ut interference .
- Use the built- in coat hooks on ly for light
we ight cloth ing. Never leave any heavy or
sharp-edged objects in the pockets that may
Airbag syste m
inter fere with a irbag deployment and can
cause persona l injury in a co llision.
- Never use hangers to hang clot hes on t he
hooks.
- On ly use factory-insta lled sun shades or, if
shades installed after the vehicle leaves the
factory, use on ly gen uine A udi sun shades.
- Never swing the su n visors over to the side
windows if things s uch as pens, garage door
openers, hands-free speakers, etc. are at
tached to the sun v isors. They could come
loose and cause ser ious injury if the s ide c ur
tain airbag inflates .
- A dep loying airbag inflates in a fract ion of a
second and w ith great force .
- Never attach ob jects to the cover or i n the
deployment zone of a s ide curtain airbag .
- The a irbag deployment zones must be kept
clear at all t imes . Make s ure there are no
objects, pets, o r other persons in the space
between any vehicle occupant and any air
bag at any t ime .
- Do not attac h any accessories to the doors .
A WARNING
-
-The a irbag sys tem can dep loy o nly once . If
the airbag has been trigge red, the system
mu st be rep laced by an au thor ized A udi
de aler or q ualified wo rksho p.
- Always have wo rk invo lv ing t he side curtai n
air bag system, remova l an d installa tion of
t he airbag componen ts, or o ther repairs
performed by a q ualified dea lership . Other
wise the airbag system may not work cor
rectly.
- Neve r attempt to modify any components of
the airbag system i n any way .
169
Child safety
Child safety
Important information
Introduction
The rear seat is generally the safest place in a
collision .
The physical principles of what happens when
your vehicle is in a crash apply also to children
¢ page 139, What happens to occupants not
wearing safety belts? .
But unlike adults and
teenagers, their muscles and bones are not fully
developed. In many respects children are at
g reater r isk of serious injury in crashes than
adults .
Because children's bodies are not fully devel
oped, they require restraint systems especially
designed for their size, weight, and body struc
ture. Many countries and all states of the United
States and provinces of Canada have laws requir
ing the use of approved child restraint systems
for infants and small children .
I n a frontal crash at a speed of 20-35 mph
(30 -56 km/h) the forces acting on a 13-pound
(6 kg) infant will be more than 20 times the
weight of the child. This means the weight of the
child would suddenly be more than 260 pounds
(120 kg) . Under these conditions, only an appro
priate child restraint properly used can reduce
the risk of serious injury. Child restraints, like
adu lt safety belts, must be used properly to be
effect ive. Used improperly, they can increase the
risk of serious injury in an accident.
All ch ildren, especially those 12 years and young
er must always ride in the back seat properly re
strained for their age and size. If you must insta ll
a child restra int on the front passenger seat in
exceptional circumstances, be sure to read and
heed the important information and warnings
¢ page 147. Infants and other chi ldren who are
properly restrained in an appropriate child re
straint that is for their si ze and age can benefit
from the protection that supplemental side air
bags provide in some kinds of crashes .
For more information please see information
provided by the:
170
- National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
(NHTSA), currently at: http://
www.safercar .gov (for the USA)
- Tr ansport Canada Information Centre, current-
ly at: http ://www.tc .gc.ca (for Canada)
Consult the child safety seat manufacturer's in
structions in o rder to be sure the seat is right fo r
your c hild's
size ¢ page 174, Important safety
instructions for using child safety seats .
Please
be sure to read and heed all of the important in
format ion and WARNINGS about child safety,
Advanced Airbags, and the installation of child
restraints in this chapter .
T here is a lot you need to know about the Ad
vanced Airbags in your veh icle and how they work
when infants and children in child res traints are
on the front passenger seat . Because of the large
amount of important informat ion, we cannot re
peat it all he re . We urge you to read the detailed
info rmat ion in this owner's manual about airbags
and the Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle
and the very important information about trans
porting children on the front passenger seat.
P lease be sure to heed the WARNINGS -they are
extremely important for your safety and the safe
ty of your passengers, especially infants and
small children .
A WARNING
-Accident statistics have shown that children
are generally safer in the rear seat area than
in the front seating position. Always restrain
any child age 12 and under in the rear.
- All vehicle occupants and especially children
must be restrained properly whenever riding
in a vehicle. An unrestrained or improperly
restrained child could be injured by striking
the interior or by being ejected from the ve
hicle during a sudden maneuver or impact.
An unrestrained or improperly restrained
child is a lso at greater r isk of injury or death
through contact w ith an inflating airbag.
- A suitable ch ild restraint properly installed
and used at one of the rear seating positions
provides the highest degree of protection
for infants and small children in most acci
dent situat ions.
Child sa fety
all the time whenever the ignition is
sw itched 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 posit ion and have the airbag
system inspected by your authorized Aud i
dealer .
- Always buckle the child seat firmly in
place even if a ch ild is not sitt ing in it . A
loose child seat can fly around during a
sudden stop o r in a collision.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
wheneve r us ing a child restraint in a vehi
cle ~ page 138 , Safety belts, ~ page 146,
Airbag system
and ~ page 170, Impor
tant information .
(D Tips
Always replace chi ld restraints that were in
stalled in a vehicle dur ing a crash. Damage to
a child res traint that is not visib le cou ld cause
it to fail in anothe r collision situation .
Advanced front airbag system and children
Your ve hicle 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 Veh icle Safe ty
Standard (CMVSS) 208 as applicable at the time
your ve hicle was manufactured .
The Advanced Airbag system in you r veh icle has
been cert ified to meet the "low-risk" requ ire
ments for 3- and 6 -year old children on the pas
senger s ide and small adults on the driver side .
The low risk deployment cr ite ria are intended to
reduce t he r isk of injury through inte ract ion with
the airbag t hat can occur, for examp le, by being
too close to the steering whee l and instrument
panel when the airbag inflates . In addition, the
system has been certified to comply with the
"suppress ion" req uirements of the Safety Stand
ard, to turn off the front airbag for infants up to
12 months who are restra ined on the front pas
senger seat in child restraints that are listed in
the Standard .
172
Even though your vehicle is equipped w it h an Ad
vanced Airbag system, all chi ldren, especially
t h ose 12 years and younger, sho uld a lways ride
i n the back seat properly restrained for their age
and s ize . The airbag on the passenger s ide makes
the front seat a potentia lly dangerous p lace for a
c hi ld to ride . T he front seat is not the safest place
fo r a ch ild in a fo rward-fac ing ch ild safety seat .
It
can be a very dangerous place fo r an infant o r a
l a rge r ch ild in a re ar war d-facing seat.
The veh icle's Advanced A irbag System has a ca
pac it ive passenger detection system in the front
passenge r seat cushion that can detect the p res
ence of a baby o r a c hild i n a child res train t sys
tem on this seat .
The capacitive passenger detection system reg is
te rs the changes that result i n an elect rical field
whe n a child, a chi ld restra int, and a baby b la nk et
are on the front passenger sea t. The change in
the measured capacitance due to the presence of
a chi ld, a c hild restraint, and a baby blanket on
the front passenger seat is re lated to the child
restra int system resting on the seat . The meas
ured capacitance of a child restra int system var
i es depending on the type of system and specific
make and model.
The elect rical capac itance of the various types,
makes, and models of child restraints specif ied
by the U .S . National Highway Traffic Safety Ad
min istrat ion (NHTSA) in the releva nt safety
standard are stored in the Advanced Airbag Sys
tem contro l unit together with the capacitances
typ ic al of infants and a 1 -year old ch ild. When a
c hi ld restraint is used on the front passenger
seat wit h a typical 1 year-old infant, t he Ad
vanced Airbag System compares the capacitance
measured by the capacitive passenger detection
system with the data stored in the electronic con
tro l unit .
Child restraints and Advanced front airbag
system
Regardless of the ch ild rest raint that yo u use,
make s ure tha t it has been ce rtified to mee t Safe
ty Standards and has been cert ified by its man u-
facturer for use with an airbag . A lways be sure
..,.
Child sa fety
- Take the chi ld restraint off the front passen
ger seat and insta ll it proper ly at one of the
rear seat positions if the
PA SSEN GER AIR
BA G OFF
light does not stay on.
- Have the airbag system inspected by your
authorized Aud i dealer immediately.
(D Tips
The chi ld seats listed in categories A to C have
been statica lly tested by Aud i only for the Ad
vanced Airbag function.
Important safety instructions for using
child safety seats
Correct use of child safety seats substantially re
duces the risk of injury in an accident!
As the driver, you are responsible for the safety
of everybody in the vehicle, especially chi ldren:
~ A lways use the right chi ld safety seat for each
c h ild and a lways use it properly
c::> page 176.
~ Always carefully follow the child safety seat
manufacturer's instructions on how to route
the safety belt properly through the child safe
ty seat .
~ When using the vehicle safety be lt to insta ll a
c hi ld safety seat , you must first activate the
conve rtible locking retractor on the safety be lt
to prevent the child safety seat from mov ing
c::> page 181 .
~ Push the child safety seat down wit h your fu ll
weight to get the safety be lt really tight so that
the seat cannot move forward or sideways
more than one inch (2.5 cm).
~ Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
c::> page 176 .
Always remember: Even though your vehicle is
equ ipped w ith an Advanced Airbag system, all
children, especially those 12 years and younger,
should always r ide in the back seat prope rly re
stra ined fo r th eir age and size.
_& WARNING
N ot using a c hild safety seat, usi ng the w rong
c hild safety seat or imp roper ly installing a
174
chi ld restraint increases t he risk of serious
personal injury and death.
- All vehicle occ upants and especially children
must be restra ined properly whenever rid ing
in a vehicle. An unrestrained or improperly
restrained child cou ld be injured by strik ing
the inter ior or by being ejected from the ve
h icle dur ing a sudden maneuve r o r i mpact.
An unrest rained or imprope rly rest rai ned
child is a lso at g rea ter r is k of inj ury o r death
through con ta ct w it h an infl ati ng a irbag.
- Commerc ia lly availab le child safety seats
a re requ ired to comply with U.S. Federal
Motor Vehicle S afety Standard ( FMVSS) 2 13
(in Canada CMVSS 213).
- When buying a child restra int, select one
that fits your chi ld and the vehicle .
- Only use child restra int systems that fully
contact the flat port ion of the seat cush
i o n. The ch ild restraint must not tip or
lean to e ither side . Audi does not recom
mend using child safety seats that rest on
l egs or tube -like frames. They do not p ro
v ide adequate cont act wi th t he seat.
- Always heed all lega l req uirements per
ta in ing to the inst allation and use of child
sa fe ty seats and caref ully follow the in
str uctions provided by the manufact urer
of the seat you are using .
- Never a llow children under 5 7 inc hes
( 1. 45 meters) to wear a normal safety be lt.
They must a lways be restrained by a proper
child restraint system. Otherwise, they
could sustain injuries to t he abdomen and
neck areas dur ing sudden brak ing maneu
vers or accidents .
- Never let more than one c hild occupy a chi ld
safety seat.
- Never let babies or o lder ch ildren ride in a
ve hicle w hile sitting on the lap of a nother
passenger.
- Holding a c hild in your a rms is never a s ub
stitute fo r a ch ild restraint system .
- The s tronges t person cou ld no t hold the
c hil d with the forces tha t exist in an acc i
dent. The c hild will strike the inte rior of
the ve hicle and can also be struck by the
passenger.
Child safety
-Take the child restraint off the front passenger seat and install it properly at one of the
rear seat positions if the
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
light does not stay on.
-Have the airbag system inspected by your
authorized Audi dealer immediately.
Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
l8 , ,.,_ _ g
---0
Fig. 163 Schematic overv iew: keep unu sed safety belts
away from chi ldren in chil d safety seats. @-outer rear
safety belt,@- center rear safety belt*
~
If a child safety seat is used on the rear bench,
especially with LATCH universal lower anchorag
es, the unused safety belts
must be secured so
that the child in the child restraint cannot reach
them
c::> ,&. .
-Guide the safety belt webbings @and ®* be
hind the head restraint of the seat where the
c hild restraint is installed
c::>fig. 163. When do
ing so, do not engage the convertible locking
retractor! You should not hear a "clicking"
sound when winding up the safety belt .
-Let the belt retractor wind up the safety belt
webbing .
A WARNING
A child in a child safety seat installed with the
LATCH lower anchorages or with the standard
safety belt or a child in a booster seat on the
rear seat could play with unused rear seat
safety belts and become entangled. This
could cause the child serious personal injury
and even death.
-Always secure unused rear seat safety belts out of reach of children in child seats such
as by properly routing them around the
176
head restraint of the seat where the child
restraint is installed .
- Never activate the convertible locking re
tractor when routing the safety belts around
the head restraints.
-Never let anyone sit at the center rear seat
ing position if the center rear safety belt has
been routed around a rear head restrain t.
Child safety seats
Infant seats
Babies and infants up to about one year old and
20 lbs . or
9 kg need special rearward-facing
child restraints that support the back, neck and
head in a crash.
Fig. 164 Schema tic overview : rearward-facing infa nt seat,
prope rly installed on the rear seat
.. When using the vehicle safety belt to install a
child safety seat, you must first activate the
convertib le locking retractor on the safety belt
to prevent the child safety seat from moving
c::> poge 181 or install the seat using the LATCH
attachments .
.. Push the child safety seat down with your full
weight to get the safety belt really tight so that
the seat cannot move forward or sideways
more than one inch (2 .5 cm).
.. Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
c::> page 176 .
Infants up to about one year (20 lbs. or 9 kg) are
best protected in special infant carriers and child
safety seats designed for their age group. Many
experts believe that infants and small children
should ride only in special restraints in which the
child faces the back of the vehicle. These infant
II>
Child safety
Booster seats and safety belts
Properly used booster seats can help protect
children weighing between about 40 lbs . and 80
lbs. (18 kg and 36 kg) who are less than 4
ft. 9
in. (57 inches/1.45 meters) tall .
Fig. 167 Rear seat: child properly restrained in a booster
seat
The vehicle's safety belts alone will not fit most
children until they are at least 4
ft. 9 in. (57 in
ches/1.45 meters) tall and weigh about 80 lbs.
(36 kg). Booster seats raise these chi ldren up so
that the safety belt will pass properly
over the
stronger parts of their bodies and the safety belt
can help protect them in a crash.
.. Do not use the convertible locking retractor
when using the vehicle's safety belt to restrain
a child on a booster seat .
.. The shoulder belt must lie as close to the cen
ter of the child's collar bone as possible and must lie flat 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 tight
en if necessary .
.. If you must transport an older child in a boos
ter seat on the front passenger seat, you can use the safety belt height adjustment to help
adjust the shoulder portion properly .
.. Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
c>page 176.
Children up to at least 8 years old (over 40 lbs or
18 kg) are best protected in child safety seats de
signed for their age and weight. Experts say that
the skeletal structure, particularly the pelvis, of
these children is not fully developed, and they
180
must not use the vehicle safety belts without a
suitable child restraint .
It is usually best to put these children in appro
priate booster seats. Be sure the booster seat
meets all applicable safety standards.
Booster seats raise the seating position of the
child and reposition both the lap and shoulder
parts of the safety belt so that they pass across
the child's body in the right places. The routing of
the be lt over the child's body is
very important
for the child's protection, whether or not a boos
ter seat is used. Children age 12 and under must
always ride in the rear seat.
Children who are at least 4
ft. 9 in. (57 inches/
1.45 meters) tall can generally use the vehicle 's
three point lap and shoulder belts. Never use the
lap belt portion of the vehicle's safety belt alone
to restrain any child, regardless of how big the
c hi ld is. Always remember that children do not
have the pronounced pelvic structure required for
the proper function of lap belt portion of the
ve
hicle's three point lap and shoulder belts. The
child's safety absolutely requires that a lap belt
portion of the safety belt be fastened snugly and
as low as possible around the pelvis. Never let
the lap belt portion of the safety belt pass over
the child's stomach or abdomen.
In a crash, airbags must inflate within a blink of
an eye and with considerable force. In order to do its job, the airbag needs room to inflate so that it
will be there to protect the occupant as the occu pant moves forward into the airbag .
A vehicle occupant who is out of position and too close to the airbag gets in the way of an inflating
airbag. When an occupant is too close, he or she
will be struck violently and will receive serious or possibly even fatal injury .
In order for the airbag to offer protection, it is
important that all vehicle occupants, especially
any children, who must be in the front seat be
cause of exceptional circumstances, be properly
restrained and as far away from the a irbag as
possible. By keeping room between the child's
.,..
a co .... N
" N .... 0 00 \.J '
ment, the airbag can inflate comp lete ly and pro
vide supp lemental protect ion in certain fronta l
coll is ions.
A WARNING
Not using a booster seat, us ing the booster
seat improperly, incorrectly installing a boos
ter seat or using the vehicle safety belt im
properly increases the risk of ser ious personal
inju ry and death in a co llision or ot her eme r
ge ncy sit uat io n. To help red uce the r isk of se
r ious persona l injury and/o r death:
- T he shoulder be lt must lie as close to the
cen ter o f the child's collar bone as poss ib le
and must lie flat and snug on the uppe r
body. It must never lie across the throat or
neck . The lap be lt must lie across t he pe lvis
and never across the stomac h or abdomen.
Make sure that the belt lies flat and s nug.
Pull on the belt to tighten if necessary .
- Failure to proper ly route safety belts over a
child's body will cause severe injuries in an
acc ident or other emergency s ituation
¢ page 138.
- The rear side of the child safety seat should
be pos it ioned as close as poss ible to the
back rest on the vehicle seat.
- For adjustable head restraints : adj ust or re
move the rear seat head restraint if it is d if
ficult to i nstall the child seat w ith the head
restra int i n place
¢page 49. Install the
head restrain t again immedia tely o nce the
child seat is remove d. Driving w ithout head
restraints or with head restraints that are
not properly adjusted increases the risk of
serious or fata l neck injury dramatically.
- Never let a child put the sho ulder be lt under
the a rm or be hind the bac k, because it co uld
cause seve re 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 a irbag inflates.
- Never let a child stand or knee l on any seat,
for example the front seat.
- Never let a child ride in the cargo area of
yo ur vehicle.
-
Ch ild saf ety
- Always remember that a chi ld leaning fo r
ward, sitt ing sideways or o ut of position in
any way during an acc ident can be struck by
a dep loying airbag . Th is w ill resu lt in serious
pe rsonal injury or death .
- If you must install a booster seat on the
front passenger seat because of exceptiona l
circumstances the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
li ght must come on and stay on, when
eve r th e ign ition is swit ched on.
- I f the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not come on and stay on, perfo rm the
checks
d es cribed¢ page 158, Monitoring
the Advanced Airbag System.
- T ake the child res tra int off the front passen
ge r seat and inst all it prope rly at one of the
rear seat positions i f th e
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
light does not stay on wheneve r
the ignition is switched on .
- A lways read and heed all WAR NINGS when
ever using a chi ld restrained in a vehicle is
be ing
u sed ¢ page 138, Safety belts,
¢ page 146, Airbag system and
¢ page 170, 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.
T he safety belts emergency locking retractors for
the rear seats safety be lts and for the front pas
senger's seat safety be lt have a convertible lock
ing retractor for child restra ints. The safety be lt
must be locked so that be lt webb ing cannot un
r eel. The ret ractor ca n be activated to lock the
safe ty belt and preven t the safety belt webbing
from loosening up dur ing no rma l dr iving. A ch ild
safety se at can o nly be properly insta lled when
the safety be lt is locked so t hat the c hild and
c h ild safety seat will stay in place .
Always remembe r: E ven thoug h your ve hicle is
equipped wi th an Advanced Airbag system, all
c h ildren, especia lly t hose 12 yea rs and younger,
.,,.
181