2018 AUDI Q5 ignition

Airbag syste m
Make sure that the PASSENGER AIR B AG
OFF ,;; light comes on and stays on all the
t ime whenever the ignition is switched on.
A WARNING
- If the PASS ENGER AIR B AG O FF 1'i; light
does not go out when an adult is sitting on
the front passenger seat after tak ing the
steps described above, make sure the adult
is p roperly seated and restrained at one of
the rear seating positions.
- Have the airbag system inspected by your
authorized Aud i dealer before transporting
anyone on the front passenger seat.
(D Tips
If the capacitive passenger detection system
determines that the front passenger seat is
empty, the frontal airbag on the passenge r
side w ill be tu rned off, and the
PA SSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
1'i ; light 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, servic ing or repa iring a part in an area of the
veh icle 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 w ill not be impaired and that discarded
components do not cause injury or pollute the
env ironment.
A WARNING
Improper care, serv icing and repai r proce­
dures can increase the r is k of personal injury
and death by preventing an airbag from de­
ploying when needed or dep loying an airbag
unexpectedly:
-
- Never cover, obstruct, or change the steer ­
ing wheel horn pad or airbag cover or the in­
strument pane l or modify them in any way.
284
- Never attach any objects such as cupholders
or telephone mountings to the surfaces cov­
ering the a irbag un its.
- For cleaning the horn pad or instrument
panel, use only a soft, dry cloth or one mois­
tened w ith plain water. Solvents or cleaners
could damage the airbag cover or change
the st iffness 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 e lectr ica l system ( in­
cluding the installation of a udio eq uipment,
cellular telephones and CB radios, etc.) m ust be performed by a qualified techn ician
who has the training and specia l equipment
necessary.
- For any work on the airbag system, we strong ly recommend that you see your au­
thorized Audi dealer or qualified workshop.
- Never modify the front b umper or parts of
the vehicle body.
- Always make sure that the side a irbag can
inflate without interference:
- Never install seat covers or replacement
upholstery over the front seatbacks that
have not been specifically approved by
A udi.
- Never use additional seat c ushions that
cover the areas where the side airbags in­
flate.
- Damage to the orig inal seat cove rs or to
the seam in the area of the s ide airbag
module mus t always be repaired immedi­
ate ly by an autho rized Aud i dealer .
- The a irbag sys tem can deploy on ly once. Af­
ter an airbag has been deployed, it m ust be
replaced with new replacement parts de­
signed and approved especia lly for your
Audi model version . Replacement of com­
plete airbag systems or airbag components
must be performed by qua lified workshops
only . Make sure that any airbag service ac­
tion is entered in your Audi Warranty
&
Ma intenance booklet under AIRBAG RE-
PLAC EMENT RECORD.
Ii)-

Airbag system
-the e lectronic control module and externa l side
impact sensors
- th e two side airbags located in the sides of the
front backrests
- two rear side airbags*
- the air bag wa rn in g light in the instrument clus-
te r.
The a irbag system is monitored electronically to
make certa in that it is functioning properly at all
times. Each time you turn on the ignition, the air­
bag system ind icator light will come on for a few
seconds (self diagnostics).
The s ide a irbag system supplements the safety
be lts and can help to reduce the risk of injury to
the driver's, front and rear* passenger's upper
torso on the side of the vehicle that is struck in a
side co llision . The airbag dep loys on ly in side im­
pacts and on ly when the vehicle acceleration reg ­
istered by the control unit is high enough. If this
rate is below the reference value programmed in­
to the control un it, the side airbags w ill not be
tr iggered, even though the car may be badly
damaged as a result of the collision. It is not pos­
sib le to define an ai rbag tr igger ing range that
w ill cover every possible angle of impact, s ince
t he circumstances will vary considerably between
one collision and another. Important factors in­
clude, for example, the nature (hard or soft) of
the impacting object, the angle of impact, vehicle
speed, etc.
c> page 287, Important safety in­
structions on the side airbag system.
Aside from their normal safety function, safety
be lts work to help keep the driver or front pas ­
senger in position in the event of a side collision
so that the side a irbags can provide protection.
The airbag system is
not a substitute for your
safety belt . Rather, it is part of the overa ll occu ­
pant restraint system in your vehicle. Always re­
member that the s ide airbag system can only
help to protect you if you are wearing your safety
belt and wearing it properly. This is another rea­
son why you should always wear you r safety
be lts, not just because the law requ ires you to do
soc> page 261, General information.
It is important to remember that while the sup­
plemental s ide a irbag system is designed to re-
286
duce the likelihood of serious injuries, other inju­
ries, for example, swelling, bruising, friction
burns and m inor abras ions can also be assoc iated
with deployed side airbags. Remember too, side
airbags will dep loy only once and only in certa in
kinds of accidents
-your safety belts are always
there to offer protection .
Vehicle damage, repair costs or even the lack of
vehicle damage are not necessar ily an ind ication
of over-sens itive or fa iled airbag activat ion . In
some collis ions, both front and side airbags may
i nflate. Remember too, that air bags w ill dep loy
only once and only in certain kinds of collisions
-
your safety belts are always there to offer protec­
tion in those accidents in which airbags are not
supposed to deploy or when they have alr eady
deployed.
The side airbag system will not deploy:
-when the ignition is turned off
- in side co llisions whe n the accele ration meas-
ured by the sensor is too low
- in fro nt-end coll is ions
- in rear-end collisions
- in rollovers.
In some types of accidents t he front airbags, side
curtain airbags and side airbags may be triggered
together.
A WARNING
- Safety belts and the airbag system will only
provide protection when occupants are in
the proper seat ing position
c> page 287.
-If the airbag ind icator light c> page 26
comes when the vehicle 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 will not inflate when it should.

collision. It is not possible to define an airbag
triggering range that will cover every possible an­
g le of impact, s ince the circumstances will vary
considerably between one collision and another.
Important factors include, for example, the na­
ture (hard or soft) of the impacting object, the
angle of impact, vehicle speed, etc.
Q page 289,
How side curtain airbags work .
Aside from their normal safety function, safety
be lts work to he lp keep the driver or front pas­
senger in pos it ion in the event of a collision so
that the side curtain airbags can p rovide protec­
tion .
The airbag system is not a substitute for your
safety belt . Rat he r, it is part of the overa ll occu­
pant restraint system in your veh icle . Always re­
member that the airbag system can only help to
p rotect yo u if you are wea ring your safety bel t
and wearing it properly . T his is another reason
why you should always wear your safety belts, not j ust because the law requires you to do so
¢ page 261, General information.
It is important to remember that whi le the s ide
curtain ai rbag system is designed to he lp reduce
the likelihood of serious injuries, other inj uries,
for example, swelling, bruising, 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 ki nds of acc idents
-you r safety belts are
always there to offer protection .
The side curtain airbag sy stem basically
consists of:
- The electronic contro l modu le and external s ide
impact senso rs
- The side curtain airbags above the w indows of
the outer seating positions with ejection miti­
gation feat ures
- The airbag ind icator light in the instrument
panel
The airbag system is monitored electronically to make certain it is funct ion ing properly at all
u times. Each time you turn on the ignit ion, the air-co
~ bag system ind icator light will come on for a few r--
~ seconds (self d iagnost ics) .
~ 0 co
Airbag system
The side curtain airbag is not activ ated :
-if the ignition is turned off
- in side co llisions whe n the acceleration meas-
ured by the sensor is too low
- in rear-end col lisions .
_&. WARNING
-Safe ty bel ts and the airbag system will only
provide protect ion when occupants are i n
the proper seating position
¢ page 56,
Front seats.
- I f the airbag ind icator light¢ page 26
comes when the veh icle is being used, have
the system inspected immediately by your
authorized Audi dealer. It is possib le that
the airbag will inflate when it is not sup­
posed to, or will not inf late when it should.
How side curtain airbags work
Side curtain airbags con work together with side
airbags to help reduce the risk of head and upper
torso injuries for occupants who are properly re­
strained.
Fi g. 24 0 Illustration of pr incip le: Inflated s ide curta in air­
bags o n the left s ide
The side curtain airbags inflate between the oc­
cupant and the w indows in a side collis ion
¢ fig . 240.
When the system is triggered, the side curtain
airbag is filled with propellant gas and breaks
through a seam above the front and rear side
windows identified by the AIRBAG label. In order
to help provide this additional protect io n, the
s ide curtain a irbag must inf late w ithi n the blink
of a n eye at very high speed a nd with g reat fo rce .
T he side c urtain airbag cou ld injure you if yo ur
..,.
289

on 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 insta ll the forward-facing child seat in a
rear seating position and have the airbag
system inspected by your authorized Aud i
deale r.
- Always buckle the chi ld seat firmly in
place even if a ch ild is not sitt ing in it. A
loose ch ild seat ca n fly around during a
sudden stop o r in a coll is ion.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
wheneve r us ing a ch ild restraint in a veh i­
cle
~ page 261, Safety belts, ~ page 269,
Airbag system and ~page 291, Impor­
tant information .
(j) Tips
Always replace ch ild restraints that were in­
stalled in a veh icle dur ing a crash. Damage to
a child restra int tha t is not visib le co uld 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 comp liance with United States
Federa l Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS)
208, as well as Canada Motor Veh icle Safety
Standard (CMVSS) 208 as applicable at the t ime
your ve hicle was manufactured .
The Advanced Airbag system in your vehicle has
been certified to meet the "low-risk" requ ire­
ments for 3- and 6-year old children on the pas­
senger side and small adults on the driver side.
The low risk deployment crite ria are intended to
reduce t he r isk of injury thro ugh 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
"suppression" 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 i n
~ the Standard. 0 <( 0 00
Child s af ety
E ven thoug h your veh icle is equipped with an Ad ­
vanced Airbag system, all chi ldren, especially
those 12 years and younger, should a lways ride
in the back seat properly restrained for their age
and size . The airbag on the passenger side makes
the front seat a potentia lly dangerous p lace for a
ch ild to ride . Th e front seat is not the safest place
fo r a ch ild in a forward-fac ing ch ild safety seat.
It
can be a very dangerous place fo r an infant o r a
la rge r ch ild i n a rea rwa rd -facing seat.
T he veh icle 's Advanced A irbag System has a ca­
pacit ive passenger detection system in the front
passenge r seat cushion that can detect the p res ­
ence of a baby or a c hild in a child res tra int sys ­
tem on this seat .
T he capacitive passenger detection system reg is­
te rs the changes that result i n an elect rical field
whe n a child, a ch ild restraint, and a baby b la nket
are on t he fron t passenger seat. The change in
the measured capacitance due to the presence of a chi ld, a child restraint, and a baby blanket on
the front passenger seat is related to the child
restra int system resting on the seat. The meas­
ured capacitance of a child restra int system var­
ies depend ing on the type of system and specific
make and model.
The electrical 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 relevant safety
standard are stored in the Advanced Airbag Sys­
tem contro l unit together with the capacitances
typ ica l of infants and a 1 -year old child. When a
c h ild restraint is used on the front passenger
seat with 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
trol un it .
Child restraints and Advanced Airbags
Regardless of the ch ild restraint that you use,
make sure that it has been certified to meet Safe­
ty Standards and has been cert ified by its manu­
fact urer for use w ith an airbag . Always be s ure
t h at the c hild restraint is properly installed at
IJJ,,
293

Child sa fety
one o f th e rear seating positions . If in exception ­
a l 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 app licab le WARNINGS. Make cer­
tain that the child and child restraint are correct­
ly recogn ized by the capacitive passenger detec­
tion system in the front passenge r seat, that the
front passenger airbag is turned off, and t hat the
a ir bag stat us is a lways cor rectly signaled by the
PASSENGER AIR BA G OFF ~; light.
Many types and models of c hild rest raints have
been ava ilable ove r th e yea rs, new mode ls are in­
troduced regularly incorporat ing new and im ­
p roved designs and o lder mode ls are taken o ut of
p roduction . Chi ld restraints are not standardized .
Chi ld restraints of the same type typically have
d ifferent weights and sizes and d ifferent "foot­
prints", the s ize and shape of the bottom of the
chi ld restraint that s its on the seat, when they
are installed on a vehicle seat . These differences
make it virtually impossible to ce rtify compliance
with the requ irements fo r advanced airbags with
each and eve ry c hild rest raint that has ever been
sold in the pas t or will be sold ove r the co urse of
the useful life of your vehicle.
For this reason, the Un ited States Nat ional High­
way Traffic Safety Adm inist ration has p ublished a
lis t of specific type, makes and models of child
rest raints that must be used to cert ify comp li­
ance of the Advanced Airbag System in your vehi­
cle with th e suppression requirements of Federal
Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208. These child
restraints are:
Subpart A -Car bed child restraint s
Model Manufactured on or
after
Ange l Guard Ange l September 25, 2007
Ride AA2403FOF
294
Subpart B -Rear-facing child rest raints
Model Manufactured on or
after
Century SmartFit 4543 December 1, 1 999
Cosco Arriva September 25, 2007
22-013PAW and base
22 -999WHO
Evenflo Discovery Ad- December
1, 1999
just R ight 212
E venflo First Choice December
1, 1
999
204
Graco Infant 8457 December
1, 1 999
Graco Snugride September 25, 2007
P eg Perego P rimo Viag- September 25, 2007
g io SI P IMU NOOUS
Subpart C -Forward-facing and convertible
child restraints
Model Manufactured on or
after
Britax Roundabout September 25, 2007
E9L02xx
Cosco Tou riva 025 19 December
1, 1999
Cosco Summit Deluxe 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 ions September 25, 200 7
35 2xxxx
Graco ComfortSport September 25, 2007
Graco Todd le r Safety September 25, 200 7
Seat Step 2
Graco Plat inum Cargo September 25, 2007
A WARNING
To reduce the ris k of se rious injury, ma ke sure
that t he
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF ~; light
comes on and stays on whenever a c hild re ­
straint is insta lled on the front passenger seat
and the ignition is switched on .

u co ..... N r-­N .....
~ 0 co
comes on and stays on whenever a child re­
straint is installed on the front passenger seat
and the ignition is switched on.
- Take the child restraint off the front passen­
ger seat and install it properly at one of the
rear seat positions if the
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OF F
~; light does not stay on .
- Have the airbag system inspected by your
authorized Audi dealer immediately .
Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
Fig . 241 Schematic overview: keep unused safety belts
away from children in child safety seats. @· oute r rear
safety belt, ® · center rear safety belt
If a chi ld safety seat is used on the rear bench,
especia lly with LATCH universal lower anchorag­
es, the unused safety be lts
mu st be secured so
that the child in the child restraint cannot reach
them <=>.&. .
-Guide the safety belt webbings @ and @ be­
hind the head restra int of the seat where the
child restraint is installed
<=> fig. 241. When do­
ing so, do not engage the convertible locking
retractor! You shou ld not hear a "clicking"
sound when w inding up the safety be lt .
- Let the belt retractor wind up the safety belt webbing .
A WARNING
A child in a child safety seat installed with the
LA TC H l ower anchorages or w ith 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
co uld cause the chi ld serious personal i njury
and even death.
Ch ild s afe ty
-Always secure unused rear seat safety belts
out of reach of children in child seats such
as by properly routing them around the
head restraint of the seat where the child
restraint is installed .
- Never activate the convert ible lock ing re­
tractor when rout ing 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 restraint.
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. 242 Sc hematic overview: rearward-facing in fant seat,
properly i nstalled on th e 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
<=> page 302 or install the seat using the LATCH
attachme nts .
.,. Push the ch ild safety seat down with you r 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
<=>page 297 .
Infants up to about one yea r (20 lbs. or 9 kg) are
best protected in special infant ca rr ie rs and child
sa fety seats designed for the ir age group. Many
experts believe that infants and small ch ildren
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297

Child sa fety
restraint in place ~ page 58. Install the
head restraint again immediately once the
child seat is removed. Driving without head
restra ints or w ith 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 261, Safety belts,
~ page 269, Airbag system and
~ page 291, Important information.
A WARNING
If exceptional circumstances require the use
o f a forward- facing child restra int on the
front passenger's seat, the child's safety and
well-being require that the following special precaut ions be taken:
- Make s ure the forward-facing seat has been
designed and cert ified by its manufact urer
for use on a front seat with a passenger
front and side airbag.
- Always follow the manufacturer's instruc­ tions prov ided with the ch ild safety seat or
infant carrier.
- Always move the front passenger seat to the h ighest 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 fa r away from the air­
bag as possib le, before insta lling the for­
ward-facing child res tra int.
- Always make sure that the safety belt upper
anchorage is beh ind the child restrain t and
not next to or in front o f the child restrain t
so that the safety belt will be properly pos i­
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, CO player, elect ronic
games dev ice, power inverte r or seat heater
for child seats) on the front passenger seat
300
if the device is connected to the 12-volt
socket or the cigarette lighte r 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 p lace objects on the seat (such as a
laptop, CO p layer, electron ic games device,
power inverte r 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
around in an accident and cause se rious per­
sonal injury .
- Ma ke sure th at the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
1-f; light comes on and stays on all the
time wheneve r the ign it ion is switched on .
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF 1-f; 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
ge r seat and install it prope rly at one of the
rear seat positions if the
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
1-f; light does not stay on whenever
the ignition is switched on.

Child sa fety
body and the front of the passenger compart­
ment, the air bag 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
injury and death in a collision or other eme r­
gency sit uat ion. To help red uce the risk of se­
rious persona l injury and/or death:
- The shoulder be lt mus t lie as close to the
center of the child's collar bone as possib le
and must lie flat and snug on the upper
body. It must never lie across the throat or
neck . The lap be lt 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 proper ly route safety belts over a
child's body will cause severe injuries in an
acc ident or other emergency situation
¢ page 261.
- The rear side of the child safety seat should
be pos itioned as close as possible 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 he ad
restra int in place¢
page 58. Ins tall the
head restraint again immediately once the
child seat is removed . Driving without head
restra ints or w ith head rest raints that are
not properly adjusted increases the risk of
serious or fatal neck injury dramatically.
- Never let a child put the sho ulder 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 knee l on any seat,
for example the front seat.
- Never let a child ride in the ca rgo area o f
you r vehicle.
- Always remember that a child leaning for­
ward, s itting sideways or out of position in
302
-
any way du ring an accident can be struck by
a deploying airbag. Th is w ill result in serious
personal 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
'1; light must come on and stay on,
wheneve r the ign it ion is swi tched on.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF '1; light
does not come on and stay on, perform the
checks desc ribed ¢
page 281, Monitoring
the Advanced Airbag System.
- Take the child res tra int off the front passen­
ge r seat and install it prope rly at one of the
rear sea t positions if the
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
'1; light does not st ay on whenever
the ignition is switched on .
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS when­
eve r us ing a child restrained in a vehicle is
be ing used ¢
page 261, Safety belts,
¢ page 269, Airbag system and
¢ page 291 , 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 rea r seats and for the
front passenge r's seat have a conve rtible locking
r etractor for child safety seats. The safety belt
must be locked so that be lt webb ing cannot un ­
r eel. The retractor can be act ivated to lock the
safety belt and prevent the safety belt webbing
from loosening up dur ing norma l dr iving . A ch ild
safety seat can o nly be prope rly installed when
t h e safety be lt is locked so that the c hild and
c hi ld s afety seat will stay in place.
Always remember : Even though your veh icle is
equipped with an Advanced Airbag system, all
c hi ld re n, especially those 12 yea rs and you nger,
sho uld always ride in t he b ack seat p roperly re-
strained for their age and s ize.
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