Airbag syste m
damaged, preventing them and the airbag
system from working properly.
- Never place seat covers or rep lacement up
holstery that have not been specifically ap
proved by Audi on the front seats .
- Seat covers can prevent the Advanced Air
bag System from recognizing child re
straints or occupants on the front passenger
seat and prevent the side a irbag in the seat
backrest from deploying properly.
- Never use cush ions, pillows, blankets or
similar items on the front passenger seat.
The add it ional padding will prevent the
weight-sens ing mat in the seat from acc u
rately reg istering the ch ild restraint or per
son on the seat and prevent the Advanced
Airbag System from funct ioning properly.
- If you must use a child rest raint on the front
passenge r seat and the child restraint man
ufacturer 's instructions require the use of a
towel, foam cushion or something else to properly position the ch ild restraint, make
certain that the
PA SSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on whenever the
child restraint is installed on the front pas
senger seat.
- If the
PASSEN GER AIR B AG OFF light does
not come on and stay on, immed iately in
stall child restraint in a rear seating position
and have the airbag system inspected by
yo ur autho rized Aud i deale r.
How the Advanced Airbag System
components work together
The front Advanced Airbag System and the side
airbags supplement the protection offered by the
front three-po int safety belts and the adjustable
head restraints to help reduce the risk of injury in
a w ide range of acc ident and crash s ituations . Be
sure to read the important information about
safety and heed the WARNINGS in th is chapter.
Deployment of the Advanced Airbag System and
the act ivat ion of the safety belt pretensioners de
pend on the deceleration measured by the crash
sensors and registered by the electronic control
un it. Crash severity depends on speed and de cel-
122
eration as well as the mass and stiffness of the
vehicle or object involved in the crash .
On the passenger side, regard less of safety be lt
u se, the airbag will be turned off if the weight on
the passenger seat is less than the amount pro
grammed in the electronic control unit . The front
airbag on the passenger side will also be turned
off if one of the child safety seats that has been
certified under Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standard 208 has been recogn ized on the seat .
The
PASSENGER A IR BAG OFF lig ht comes o n
and stays on to te ll you when the front Advanced
Airbag on the passenger side has been turned off
q page 115, Child restraints on the front seat
some important things to know.
A WARNING
To reduce the ris k of injury when an airbag in
f lates, always wea r safety belts properly.
- If you are un restrained, leaning forward, sit
ting sideways or out of position i n any way,
your risk of injury is much higher.
- You will a lso receive serious injuries and
could even be killed if you are up against the
airbag or too close to it when it inflates -
even with an Advanced Airbag
q page 114.
More important things to know about front
airbags
Fig . 114 Inflated front a irbags
Safety be lts are important to help keep front
seat occupants in the proper seated position so
that airbags can unfold properly and prov ide sup-
plemental protection in a fronta l collision . ..,.
a
co
...... N r--. N
'"' 0 0 ::, co
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
Fig. 115 Sect ion from the instrument panel: PASSENGER
AIR BAG O FF light
The PA SSENGER AIR BAG O FF ligh t is located i n
the center of the instrument panel¢
fig. 115 .
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light will come on
and stay on to tell you when the front Advanced
Ai rbag on the passenger side has been turned off
by the electronic control unit . Each time you turn
on the ignition, the
PASSEN GER AIR BAG OFF
light will flash for a few seconds and:
- will stay on if the front passenger sea t is not
occupied,
- will stay on if the re is a small child or child re
straint on the front passenger seat,
- will go ou t if the front passenge r seat is occu
pied by an adul t as reg istered by the weight
sensing mat.
The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light mu st come
on and stay on
if the ignition is on and
- a car bed has been installed on t he front seat,
o r
- a rearward-facing child restraint has been in
stalled on the front passenger seat, or
- a forward-facing child restra int has been instal
led on the front passenger seat, or
- the weight registered on the front passenger
seat is equal to or less than the combined
weight of a typical 1 year-old restrained in one
of the rear-facing or forward-fac ing infant re
straints listed in Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Sta ndard 208 w ith w hic h the Adva nced A irbag
System in your veh icle was certified.
I f the front passenger seat is not occupied, the
front a irbag w ill not deploy, and the
PASSENGER
Airb ag sys tem
AIR BAG OFF light wi ll stay on. Never install a
rearward-facing child restraint on the front pas
senger seat, the safest place for a ch ild in any
k ind of child restraint is at one of the seating po
sitions on the rear seat¢
page 115, Child re
straints on the front seat -some important
things to know
and ¢ page 134, Child safety.
If the PAS SENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
when one of the conditions listed above is met,
be su re to check the light regularly to make cer
ta in that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF li ght
stays on continuously whenever the ignition is
on. If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF li ght does
not appear and not s tay o n all the time, stop as
soon as it is safe to do so and
- reactivate the system by turning the ignit ion
off and then t urning it on again;
- remove and re insta ll the child restraint . Make
sure that the child restraint is properly insta l
led and tha t the safety belt for the fro nt pa s
senger seat has bee n correct ly routed around
the child res traint as desc ribed in the c hild re
stra int man ufactu rer's instructions;
- make sure that the convert ible lo ck ing retrac
t or on the safety belt for the front passenger
seat has been activated and that the safety belt
has been pulled tight. The belt m ust not be
loose or have loops of slack so that the sensor
below the safety belt latc h on the seat can do
its job¢
page 144 .
-make sure that things that may increase the
weight of the child and ch ild safety seat are not
be ing transported on the front passe nger seat;
- make sure that the safety be lt tens ion sensor is
not blocked . Shake the safety belt latch on the
front passe nger seatback and forth;
- If a strap or tether is being used to tie the child
safety seat to the front passenger seat, make
sure that it is not so tight that it causes the
weight-sens ing mat to measu re more weight
t han is actually on the seat.
If th e PA SS ENGER AIR BA G OFF light still does
not come on
and does not stay on continuously
(whe n the ignition is switc hed on),
- take the child restraint off the front passenger
seat and insta ll it properly at one of the rear
Iii--
125
Airbag syste m
seat positions. Have the airbag system inspect
ed by your authorized Audi dealer immediately .
- move the chi ld to a rear seat position and make
sure that the child is properly restrained in a
child restraint that is appropriate for its size
and age .
The
P ASSE NGER AIR BAG O FF light shou ld NOT
come on when the ignition is on and an adult is
sitting in a proper seating position on the front passenger seat. If the
P AS SENGER AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on or flashes for about
5 seconds while driving, under these circumstan
ces, make sure that:
- the adu lt on the front passenger seat is proper
ly seated on the center of the seat cushion with
his or her back up aga inst the backrest and the
backrest is not recl ined
c> page 98, Correct pas
senger seating positions,
- the adult is not taking weight off the seat by
holding on to the passenger assist handle
above the front passenger door or supporting
their we ight on the arm rest ,
- the safety belt is be ing properly worn and that
there is not a lot of slack in the safety belt web bing,
- accessory seat covers or cushions or other
th ings that may cause an inco rrect read ing o r
imp ression on the weight-sens ing mat under
the upho ls tery of the seat have been removed
from the front passenger seat,
- a safety be lt extende r has not been left in the
sa fety belt latch for the front passenge r seat .
I n addition to the
PASS ENGER AIR BAG OFF
light in the center of the inst rument panel, the
message
PA SSENGER AIR BAG OFF or PA SSEN
GER AIR BAG ON
wi ll briefly appear in the inst ru
ment cluster display . This is to inform the driver
of th e current front passenger airbag status.
Important safety instructions on
monitoring the Advanced Airbag System
_& WARNING
An airbag system that is not funct ion ing prop
er ly cannot provide supplemental p rotection
in a frontal crash.
126
- If the airbag indicator light c> page 14
comes when the veh icle is being used, have
the system inspected immediately by your
author ized Audi dealer. It is possible that
the airbag will inflate when it is not sup
posed to, or wi ll not inflate when it should.
_& WARNING
I f the front a irbag inflates, a ch ild without a
chi ld restraint, in a rea rward-facing chi ld safe
ty seat or in a forward -fac ing chi ld restrain t
that has not been proper ly ins talled will be
seriously injured and can be killed .
- Even tho ugh you r vehicle is equipped with
an Advanced A irbag System, make certain
that a ll children, espec ia lly 12 years and
younger , always ride on the back seat prop
erly restrained for their age and size .
- Always install forward or rear-facing child
safety seats on the rear seat -even with an
Advanced A irbag System .
- If you must insta ll a rearward-facing child
safety seat on the front passenger seat be
cause of exceptional circumstances and the
PA SSEN GER AIR BA G OFF light does not
appear and stay on, immediately install the
rear-facing child safety seat in a rear seat ing
position and have t he a irbag system in
spected by yo ur autho rized Aud i dea le r.
- A t ight tether or other strap on a rearward
facing chi ld restraint attached to the front
passenger sea t can put too much pressure
on the weight-sensing mat in the seat and
register more weight than is actually on the
seat. The heavier weight registered can
make the system work as though an adu lt
were on the seat and deploy the Advanced
Airbag when it must be suppressed causing
serious or even fatal injury to the child .
- If, in exceptional circumstances, you must
install a forward-facing child restraint on
the front passenger seat, always move the
seat into its rearmost position in the seat 's
fore and aft ad justment range, as far away
from the airbag as poss ible. The back res t
m ust be adjus ted to an upr ight position.
Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
0 co ......
"' ,....
"' ...... 0 0 :::,
00
OFF light comes on and stays on all the time
whenever the ignition is switched on.
A WARNING
- If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not go out when an adult is sitting on the
front passenger seat after taking the steps described above, make sure the adult is
properly seated and restrained at one of the
rear seating positions .
- Have the airbag system inspected by your
authorized Audi dealer before transporting
anyone on the front passenger seat.
{D) Tips
If the weight -sensing mat in the front passen
ger seat detects an empty seat, the front air
bag on the passenger side will be turned off,
and
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF will stay on.
Repair, care and disposal of the airbags
Parts of the airbag system are installed at many
different places on your Audi. Installing, remov
ing, servicing or repairing a part in an area of th e
vehicle can damage a part of an airbag system and prevent that system from working properly in a collision .
There are some important things you have to know to make sure that the effectiveness of the
system will not be impaired and that discarded
components do not cause injury or pollute the
environment.
A WARNING
Improper care, servicing and repair proce
dures can increase the risk of personal injury
and death by preventing an airbag from de
ploying when needed or deploying an airbag
unexpectedly:
-
- Never cover, obstruct, or change the steer
ing wheel horn pad or airbag cover or the in
strument panel or modify them in any way.
- Never attach any objects such as cupholders
or telephone mountings to the surfaces cov
ering the airbag units.
Airbag system
-For cleaning the horn pad or instrument
panel, use only a soft, dry cloth or one mois
tened with plain water . Solvents or cleaners
could damage the airbag cover or change
the stiffness or strength of the material so
that the airbag cannot deploy and protect
properly.
- Never repair, adjust, or change any parts of
the airbag system.
-All work on the steering wheel, instrument panel, front seats or electrical system (in
cluding the installation of audio equipment,
cellular telephones and CB radios, etc.) must be performed by a qualified technician
who has the training and special equipment
necessary.
- For any work on the airbag system, we
strongly recommend that you see your au
thorized Audi dealer or qualified workshop.
- Never modify the front bumper or parts of the vehicle body.
- 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 in
flate.
- Damage to the original seat covers or to
the seam in the area of the side airbag
module must always be repaired immedi
ately by an authorized Audi dealer.
- The airbag system can be activated only
once. After an airbag has inflated, it must
be replaced by an authorized Audi dealer or
qualified technician who has the technical
information, training and special equipment
necessary.
- The airbag system can be deployed only
once. After an airbag has been deployed, it
must be replaced with new replacement
parts designed and approved especially for
your Audi model version. Replacement of complete airbag systems or airbag compo
nents must be performed by qualified work-
shops only. Make sure that any airbag
Ill-
127
Airbag syste m
passenger. In order to he lp provide this add ition
al protection, the side airbag must inflate within
a fraction of a second at very high speed and w ith
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
q page 134, Child
safety.
Supplemental side ai rbags inf late be
tween the occ upan t and the door pane l on the
side of the vehicle that is struck in certa in side
collision
q fig . 117.
Although they are not a sof t pillow, they ca n
"c ushion" the impact and in t his way they can
he lp to reduce the risk of injury to the upper part
of the body .
A fine dust may deve lop when the airbag deploys.
This is normal and does not mean there is a fire
in the vehicle.
Important safety instructions on the side
airbag system
Airbags ore only supplemental restraints . Always
properly wear safety belts and ride in a proper
seating position.
There is a lot that yo u and your passengers must
know and act accord ingly to help the safety be lts
and airbags do the ir 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
r isk of se rious personal injury and death
w henever a vehicle is being used.
- In order to reduce the risk of injury when
the supplemental s ide airbag inflates:
- Always sit in an upright position and never
lean aga inst the area where the s upple-
mental side airbag is located.
- Never let a chi ld or anyone else rest their
head against the side trim panel in the
area where the supp lemental s ide airbag
inflates.
130 -
Always make sure that safety belts are
worn correctly,
- Do not let anyone sitting 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 w ithout interference.
- Never install seat covers or replacement
upholstery ove r the front seatbacks that
have not been specifica lly approved by
A udi.
- Never use addi tional seat cush ions that
cover the areas where the side airbags de
ploy .
- Damage to the orig inal se at cove rs or to
the seam in the area of the s ide airbag
module must a lways be repaired immedi
ate ly by an authorized Audi dealer.
- Objects be tween you and the airbag can in
crease the r is k of injury in an acc ident by in
terfering with the way the airbag unfolds or by being p ushed into you as the airbag in
flates.
- Never place or attach accessor ies or other
obje cts (s uch as cupholders, telephone
bracke ts, or even l arge, bulk y objec ts) on
the doors, over or near the area marked
"AIRBAG" on the seat backrests .
- Such objec ts and accessories can be come
dange rous projecti les and cause injury
when the supplemental side airbag de ploys.
- Never carry any objects or pets in the de
ployment space between them and the
airbags or allow children or other passen
gers to trave l in this position.
- Always use the b uilt-in coat hooks only fo r
lightweight clothing. Never leave any heavy
or sharp-edged objects in the pockets that
may inte rfere with s ide a irbag deployment
a nd can cause personal injury in an accident .
- Always prevent the side airbags from being
damaged by heavy objects knocking against
or hitting the sides of the seatbacks.
- The a irbag system can only be triggered
once . If the airbag has been triggered, the
system must be replaced by an autho rized
Aud i dea le rship.
~
0 co ......
"' ,....
"' ...... 0 0 :::,
00
they can help to reduce the risk of injury to the
head and the upper part of the body.
A fine dust may develop when the airbag deploys.
This is quite normal and does not mean there is a
fire in the vehicle.
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 that you and your passengers must
know and do to help the safety belts and airbags
do their job to provide supplemental protection.
A WARNING
Improperly wearing safety belts and improper
seating positions increase the risk of serious
personal injury and death whenever a vehicle
is being used .
- Never let occupants place any parts of their
bodies in the area from which the side cur
tain airbags inflate.
-Always make sure that the side curtain air bags can inflate without interference. Un
suitable accessories fitted inside the expan
sion range of a head airbag can dangerously
interfere with its function. A deploying head
airbag develops enough force to catapult
any piece of add-on component out of its
path of inflation and into the passenger
compartment. An occupant hit by such a
projectile can suffer serious injury or death
<=> page 215, Technical Modifications.
- Do not swivel the sun visors to the side if
you have any objects clipped onto them (for
example pens) . If the airbag should deploy,
you could be injured by these objects.
- Use the built-in coat hooks only for light
weight clothing . Never leave any heavy or
sharp-edged objects in the pockets that may
interfere with airbag deployment and can
cause personal injury in an accident.
- Never use hangers to hang clothing from
the hooks.
Airbag system
-Only use factory-installed sun shades or, in
the case of shades installed after the vehicle
leaves the factory, only Audi roll-up
sunscreens may be used
<=> page 214, Addi
tional accessories and parts replacement.
- Always sit in proper seating position and
wear safety belts while traveling so that the
side curtain airbags can help provide protec
tion .
- The airbag system can only be triggered
once .
If the airbag has been triggered, the
system must be replaced by an authorized
Audi dealer or qualified workshop.
-Always have work involving the side curtain
airbag system, removal and installation of
the airbag components, or other repairs performed by an authorized Audi dealer or
qualified workshop. Otherwise the airbag
system may not work correctly.
- Never attempt to modify any components of
the airbag system in any way.
133
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 10 7, 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
des igned 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 restra ints, 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 acc ident.
All ch ildren, especially those 12 years and young
er must always ride in the back seat properly re
stra ined for their age and size. If you must insta ll
a child restraint on the front passenger seat in
exceptional circumstances, be sure to read and
heed the important information and warnings
¢page 115. Infants and other children 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:
134
- National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
(NHTSA), currently at: http :/ /www.safe
rcar.gov (for the USA)
- Transport Canada Information Centre, current-
ly at: http://www.tc.gc.ca (for Canada)
Consult the child safety seat manufacturer's in
structions in order to be sure the seat is right fo r
your chi ld's size ¢
page 137, Important safety
instructions for using child safety seats .
Please
be sure to read and heed all of the important in
formation and WARNINGS about child safety,
Advanced Airbags, and the installation of child restra ints in this chapter .
There is a lot you need to know about the Ad
vanced Airbags in your vehicle and how they work
when infants and children in child restraints are on the front passenger seat . Because of the large
amount of important informat ion , we cannot re
peat it all here. We urge you to read the detailed
i nformation 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.
Please 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 seat ing pos ition. Always restrain
any child age 12 and under in the rear.
-All vehicle occupants and especially children
must be restra ined prope rly whenever rid ing
in a vehicle. An un restrained 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 risk 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 protect ion
for infants and small children in most acc i
dent situat ions.
Child safety
Advanced Airbags and the weight-sensing mat in the front seat
The Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle de
tects the presence of an infant or child in a child
restraint on the front passenger seat using the
weight -sensing mat in the seat cushion and the
sensor below the safety belt latch on the front
passenger seat that measures the tension on the
safety belt .
The weight-sensing mat measures total weight
of the child and the child safety seat and a child blanket on the front passenger seat . The weight
on the front passenger seat is related to the de
sign of the child restraint and its "footprint ", the
size and shape of the bottom of the child re
straint as it sits on the seat. The weight of a child
restraint and its "footprint" vary for different
kinds of child restraints and for the different
models of the same kind of child restraint of
fered by child restraint manufacturers.
The weight ranges for the individual types,
makes and models of child restraints that the
NHTSA has specified in the Safety Standard to
gether with the weight ranges of typical infants
and typical 1 year-old child have been stored in
the control unit of the Advanced Airbag System .
When a child restraint is being used on the front
passenger seat with a typical 1 year-old child, the
Advanced Airbag System compares the weight
measured by the weight sensing mat with the in
formation stored in the electronic control unit.
The electronic control unit also registers the ten
sion on the front passenger safety belt. The ten
sion on the safety belt for the front passenger
seat will be different for an adult who is properly
using the safety belt as compared to the tension
on the belt when it is used to attach a child re
straint to the seat. The sensor below the latch for
the safety belt for the front seat passenger
measures the tension on the belt. The input from
this sensor is then used with the weight to "de
cide" , whether there is a child restraint with a
typical 1 year-old child on the front passenger
seat and whether or not the airbag must be
turned off.
136
· 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 manu
facturer for use with an airbag. Always be sure
that the child restraint is properly installed at
one of the rear seating positions . If in exception
al 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 applicable WARNINGS. Make cer
tain that the child restraint is correctly recog
nized by the weight-sensing mat inside the front
passenger seat, that the front passenger airbag
is turned off and that the airbag status is always
correctly signaled by the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light.
Many types and models of child restraints have
been available over the years, new models are in
troduced regularly incorporating new and im
proved designs and older models are taken out of
production. Child restraints are not standardized.
Child restraints of the same type typically have
differen t weights and si zes and different 'foot
prints,' the size and shape of the bottom of the
child restraint that sits on the seat, when they
are installed on a vehicle seat. These differences
make it virtually impossible to certify compliance
with the requirements for advanced airbags with
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.
For this reason, the United 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 requirements of Federal
Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208. These child
restraints are:
Subpart A - Car bed child restraints
Model Manufactured on or
after
Angel Guard Angel September 25, 2007 Ride AA2403FOF