
Safety belts
Why safety belts?
Frontal collisions and the law of physics
Frontal crashes create very strong forces for peo
ple riding in vehicles .
Fig . 153 Unbelted occupants in a veh icle headi ng fo r a wall
Fig. 154 T he vehicle c rashes into the wall
The physical principles are simple. Both the vehi
cle and the passengers possess energy which var
ies w ith vehicle speed and body weight. Engi
neers call this energy "k inetic energy."
The higher the speed of the vehicle and the
greater the vehicle's weight, the more energy
that has to be "absorbed" in the crash.
Vehicle speed is the most significant factor .
If
the speed doubles from 15 to 30 mph (25 to 50
km/h), the energy increases 4 times!
Because the passengers of this vehicle are not us
i ng safety belts
c::>fig. 153, they will keep moving
at the same speed the vehicle was moving just
before the crash, unti l something stops them -
here, the wall
c::> fig . 154.
The same principles apply to people sit ting in a
vehicle that is involved in a frontal collision . Even
at c ity speeds of 20 to 30 mph (30 to 50 km/h),
the forces acting on the body can reach one ton
188
(2,000 lbs, or 1,000 kg) or more . At higher
speeds, these forces are even greater.
People who do not use safety belts are also not
attached to their vehicle. In a frontal collis ion
they will also keep moving forward at the speed
their vehicle was travelling just before the crash.
Of course, the laws of physics don't just apply to
frontal collisions, they determine what happens
in all kinds of accidents and collisions .
What happens to occupants not wearing
safety belts?
In crashes unbelted occupants cannot stop
themselves from flying forward and being in
jured or killed . Always wear your safety belts!
Fig. 155 A drive r not wea ring a safety belt is vio len tly
t hrow n fo rward
Unb elted occupants are not able to resist the tre
mendous forces of impact by holding tight o r
bracing themselves . Without the benefit of safe
ty restraint systems, the unrestrained occupant
will slam violently into the steering wheel, in
strument panel, windshield, or whatever else is
i n the way
c::> fig . 155 . This impact w ith the vehi
cle inter ior has all the energy they had just be
fore the crash.
Never rely on a irbags alone for protection . Even
when they deploy, a irbags provide only addit ional
protection. Airbags are not supposed to deploy in
all kinds of accidents. Although your Audi is
equipped with airbags, all veh icle occupants, in
cluding the driver, must wear safety belts cor
rectly in order to minimize the risk of severe in
ju ry or death in a crash .
Remember too, that airbags will deploy only
once and that your safety be lts are always there
IJJ,,

Airbag system
Airbag system
Important information
Importance of wearing safety belts and
sitting properly
Airbags are only supplemental restraints . For
airbags to do their job, occupants must always
properly wear their safety belts and be in a prop er seating position.
For your safety and the safety of your passen
gers , before driving off, always :
.,. Adjust the driver's seat and steering wheel
properly ~ page 180,
.,. Adjust the front passenge r's seat properly
~ page 181,
.,. Wear safety belts p roperly ~ page 189,
.. Always properly use the proper child restraint
to protect chi ldren
~ page 216.
In a coll is ion airbags must inflate within the blink
of an eye and with considerable force. The sup
p lemental airbags can cause injuries if the driver
or the front seat passenger is not seated proper ·
ly. T herefore in order to help the airbag to do its
job, it is important, both as a dr iver and as a pas
senger to sit properly at all t imes .
By keeping room between your body and the
steering whee l and the front of the passenger
compartment, the a irbag can inflate fully and
completely and provide supplemental protect ion
in certain frontal
coll isions ¢ page 180, Correct
passenger seating positions .
For details on the
operation of the seat adjustment controls
¢page 46.
It's especially important that children are proper
ly restrained
¢page 216 .
There is a lot that the driver and the passenger
can and must do to help the ind iv idual safety fea
tures installed in your Audi work together as a
system .
Proper seating posit ion is important so that the
front airbag on the driver side can do its job. If
you have a physical impairment or cond ition that
prevents you from s itting properly on the driver
seat with the safety be lt properly fastened and
194 reaching
the pedals, or if you have concerns with
regard to the function or operation of the Ad
vanced Airbag System, please contact your au
thori zed Audi dea ler or qualified workshop, or
ca ll Audi Customer Relations at 1-800-822-2834
for poss ible modifications to your vehicle .
When the airbag system dep loys, a gas generator
will fill the airbags, break open the padded cov ers, and inflate between the steering wheel and
the driver and between the instrument panel and
the front passenger . Th e a irbags w ill deflate im
med iate ly after deployment so that the front oc
cupants can see t hrough the windsh ield aga in
without interruption.
All of th is takes place in the blink of an eye, so
fast that many people don't even realize that the
a irbags have deployed. The airbags also inflate
with a great deal of force and nothing should be
in the ir way when they deploy. Front airbags in
combination with properly worn safety belts slow
down and limit the occupant's forward move
ment . Together they help to prevent the driver
and passenger from hitting parts of the inside
the vehicle while reducing the forces acting on
the occupant during the crash . In this way they
help to reduce the risk of injury to the head and
upper body in the crash . Airbags do not protect
the arms or the lowe r parts of the body.
Both front airbags will not inflate in all frontal
collisions . The triggering of t he a irbag system de
pends on the vehicle deceleration rate caused by
the collis ion and regis tered by the electronic con
trol unit . If this rate is be low the refe rence value
programmed into the control unit, the airbags
will not be triggered, even tho ugh t he car may be
badly damaged as a resu lt of the co llision . Vehi
cle damage, repair costs or even the lack of vehi
cle damage is not necessarily an indication of
whether an a irbag should inflate or not.
Since the circumstances wi ll vary considerab ly
between one collision and another, it is not possi
ble to define a range of veh icle speeds that will
cover every poss ible kind and angle of impact
that w ill always trigger the airbags . Important
factors include, for example, the nature (hard or
soft) of the object which the car hits, the angle of
im pact , vehicle speed, etc. The front airbags will
..,.

Cl 00 .-< N r--N .-< 0 r--Vl 00
also not inflate in side or rear co llisions, or in
ro llovers .
Alwa ys re memb er: Airbags will deploy only o nce,
and on ly in ce rtain k inds of coll is ions. Yo ur safety
be lts are always there to offer protection in those
situations in which airbags are not supposed to
deploy, or when they have already deployed; for
examp le, when your vehicle str ikes or is struck by
another vehicle after the first coll is ion.
This is just one of the reasons why an airbag is a
supp lementary restraint and is not a substitute
for a safety belt. The airbag system works most
effect ively when used with the safety belts.
Therefore, always properly wear your safety belts
<=:> page 187 .
A WARNING
Sitting too close to the steer ing whee l o r i n
st rument panel w ill decrease the effe ct ive
ness of the airbags and will inc rease the risk
of persona l injury in a co llision.
- Never si t close r than 10 in (25 cm) to t he
steering wheel o r inst rument pane l.
- If you cannot sit mo re than 10 in (25 cm)
from the steer ing whee l, invest iga te wheth
er adaptive eq uipme nt may be avai lab le to
held you reach the pedals and increase you r
seating distance from the steering wheel.
- If you are unrestrained, leaning fo rwa rd, s it
ting sideways or o ut of position in any way,
your risk of inj ury is much higher .
- Yo u will also receive serious injuries and
cou ld even be killed if you are up against the
airbag or too close to it when it inf lates -
even with an Advanced Airbag.
- To reduce the risk of inj ury when an airbag
inflates, a lways wear safety be lts proper ly
¢ page 190, Safety belts.
- If children are not properly restrained, they
may be severely in jured or killed when an
airbag inflates.
- Never let children ride unrestrained or im properly restrained in the veh icle. Adjust the
front seats properly.
- Always sit as far as poss ible from the steer
ing w heel or the inst rument panel
¢ page 180.
-
Airbag syste m
- Always sit upright w ith your back against
the backrest of your seat .
- Never p lace your feet on the instrument
panel or on the seat. Always keep bot h feet
on the floor in front of the seat to help pre
vent ser ious injuries to the legs and hips if
the airbag inflates.
A WARNING
-
A irbags that have deployed in a cras h must be
r eplaced.
- Use o nly orig inal equipment airbags ap
proved by Audi and installed by a trained
technicia n who has the necessary tools and
d iagnost ic equipment to prope rly replace
a ny a irbag i n yo ur vehicle and ass ure system
effe ct iveness in a crash .
- Neve r pe rmit salvaged or recycled airbags to
be inst alled in you r vehicle.
Child restraints on the front seat - some
important things to know
.,. Be sure to read the important information and
head the WARNINGS for important detai ls
about ch ildren and Advanced A irbags
¢page 216 .
The airbag on the passenger side makes the front
seat a potent ially dangerous place for a child to
ride. The front seat is not the safest place for a
child in a forward -fac ing child safety seat . It can
be a very dangerous place for an infant or a ch ild
in a rearward-fac ing seat.
The Advanced A irbag System in your vehicle has
been certified to comply with the requirements
of United States Federal Motor Ve hicle Safety
Standard (FMVSS) 208, as we ll as Canada Moto r
Vehicle Safety Standard (C MVSS) 208 as appl ica
ble at the time you r vehi cle was manuf actured.
According to requirements , the front Advanced
Airbag System on the passenger side has been
certified for "suppression" for infants of abo ut
12 month o ld and younger and for " low risk de
ployment" for chi ldren aged 3 to 6 years old (as
defined in the standard).
Iii>
195

Airbag system
Front airbags
Description of front airbags
The airbag system can provide supplemental
protection to properly restrained front seat occu
pants.
Fig. 161 location of driver airbag: in steering wheel
Fig. 162 location of front passenger's airbag: in the in
strument panel
Your vehicle is equipped with an "Advanced Air
bag System" in compliance with Un ited States
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 airbag for the driver is in the steer ing whee l
hub
~ fig. 161 and the airbag for the front pas
senger is in the instrument panel
~fig. 162. The
general location of the airbags is marked "AIR
BAG" .
There is a lot you need to know about the airbags
in your vehicle. We urge you to read th e detailed
information about airbags, safety belts and child
safety in this and the other chapters that make
up the owner's literature. Please be sure to heed
the WARNINGS - they are extremely important
198
for your safety and the safety of your passengers,
especially infants and small children.
A WARNING -
Never rely on airbags alone for protection.
- Even when they deploy, airbags provide only
supplemental protection.
- Airbag work most effectively when used with proper ly worn safety belts.
- Therefore, always wear your safety be lts and
make sure that everybody in your veh icle is
properly restrained.
- Always hold the steering wheel with both hands on the outside of the steering wheel
rim at the 9:00 o'clock and 3:00 o'clock po
sitions to help reduce the risk of personal in
jury if the driver's airbag inflates.
- Never hold the steering wheel at the 12
o'clock position or with your hands any
where inside the steering wheel or on the
steering wheel hub. Holding the steering
wheel the wrong way increases the risk of
severe injury to the arms, hands, and head if
the dr iver airbag deploys .
.&_ WARNING
Objects between you and the airbag will in
crease the r isk of injury in a crash by interfer
ing with the way the airbag unfolds and/or by
being pushed into you as the airbag inflates.
-Always make sure nothing is in the front air-
bag deployment zone that cou ld be struck
by the airbag when it inflates.
-
- Objects in the zone of a deploying airbag
can become projectiles when the airbag de
ploys and cause serious personal injury.
- Never hold things in your hands or on your
lap when the vehicle is in use.
- Never p lace accessories or other objects
(such as cup holders, telephone brackets,
note pads, navigation systems, or things
that are large, heavy, or bulky) on the doors;
never attach then to the doors or the wind
shield; never place them over or near or at
tach them to the area marked ,,AIRBAG" on the steering wheel, instrument panel or the
.,..

Cl 00 .-< N r-N .-< 0 r-Vl 00
seat backrests; never place them between
these areas and you or any other person in
the vehicle.
- Never attach objects to the windshield
above the passenger front airbag, such as
accessory GPS navigation units or music
players. Such objects could cause serious in
jury in a collision, especially when the air bags inflate .
A WARNING
A person on the front passenger seat, espe
cially infants and small children, will receive
serious injuries and can even be killed by be
ing too close to the airbag when it inflates.
- Although the Advanced Airbag System in
-
your vehicle is designed to turn off the front
passenger airbag if an infant or a small child
is on the front passenger seat, nobody can
absolutely guarantee that deployment un
der these special conditions is impossible in
all conceivable situations that may happen
during the useful life of your vehicle.
- The Advanced Airbag System can deploy in accordance with the "low risk" option under
the U .S . Federal Standard if a child that is
heavier than the typical one-year old child is
on the front passenger seat and the other
conditions for airbag deployment are met.
- For its own safety, a child should always ride
properly restrained for its age and size.
Advanced front airbag system
Your vehicle 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 Vehicle Safety
Standard (CMVSS) 208 as applicable at the time
your vehicle was manufactured.
The front Advanced Airbag System supplements
the safety belts to provide additional protection
for the driv er's and front passenger's heads and
upper bodies in frontal crashes . The airbags in
flate only in frontal impacts when the vehicle de
celeration is high enough.
Airbag system
The front Advanced Airbag System for the front
seat occupants is not a substitute for your safety
belts. Rather, it is part of the overall occupant re
straint system in your vehicle. Always remember
that the airb ag system can only help to protect
you, if you are sitting upright, wearing your safe
ty belt and wearing it properly . This is why you
and your passengers must always be properly re
strained, not just because the law requires you to
be.
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 very small adults on the driver
side. The low risk deployment criteria are intend
ed to help reduce the risk of injury through inter
action with the front airbag that can occur, for
example, by being too close to the steering wheel
and instrument p anel when the airbag inflates.
In addition, the system has been certified to
comply with the "suppression" requirements of
the Safety Standard, to turn off the front airbag
for infants 12 months old and younger who are
res trained on the front passenger seat in child re
straints that are listed in the Standard
~page 218, Child restraints and Advanced front
airbag system .
"Suppression" requires the front airbag on the
passenger side to be turned off if:
- a child up to about one year of age is restrained
on the front passenger seat in one of the rear
facing or forward-facing infant restraints listed in Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208
with which the Advanced Airbag System in your
vehicle was certified . For a listing of the child
restraints that were used to certify your vehi
cle's compliance with the US Safety Standard
~page 218,
- When a person is detected on the front passen
ger seat that has an electrical capacitance that
is more than the total electrical capacitance of
a child that is about 1 year old restrained in one
of the rear-facing or forward-facing infant re
straints (listed in Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standard 208 with which the Advanced Airbag
System in your vehicle was certified), the front
.,,.
199

Cl 00 .-< N r--N .-< 0 r--Vl 00
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
t ioned.
- Always make sure that there is nothing on
the front passenger seat that w ill cause the
capacit ive passenger detection system in
the seat to signa l to the Airbag System that
the seat is occupied by a person w hen it is
not, or to sign al that it is occ upied by some
one who is heavier than t he pe rson actua lly
sitting on the seat . The presence of addi
tiona l objects could ca use the passenge r
front airbag to be turned on when it shou ld
be off, or could cause the airbag to work in a
way that is different from the way it would
have worked wi tho ut the object on t he seat .
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF ~; light comes on and stays on all the
t ime w henever the ignition is sw itc hed on.
Advanced Airbag System components
The front passenger seat in you r vehicle has a lot
of very impo rtant parts of the Advanced Airbag
Sys tem in it. These pa rts in cl ude the capaci tive
passenger detection system, w iring, brac kets,
and more. The control unit monitors the system
on the front passenger seat when the ignition is
switched on and turns the airbag indicator light
on when a malfunct ion in the one of the system
components is detected
¢ page 206. Because
the front passenger seat contains important
pa rts of the Advanced Airbag System, you must
take ca re to prevent it from be ing damaged .
D amage to the seat may p reve nt the Advanced
A irbag System fo r the fron t passenger seat from
doi ng its job in a crash.
The front Advanced Airbag System consists
of the following :
-Cr ash sensors in the front of the vehicle t hat
measure vehicle accelerat ion/dece lerat ion to
Airbag syste m
prov ide information to the Advanced A irbag
System about the severity of the cras h.
- An electronic contro l uni t, with integrated
cras h sensors for front and side impacts . The
control unit "decides" whether to fire the front
airbags based on the information rece ived from
the crash sensors . The control unit also "de
cides" whether the safety belt pretensioners
should be activated.
- An Advanced A irbag w it h gas generator for the
driver inside the steering wheel hub .
- An Advanced A irbag w ith gas generator inside
the instrument panel for the front passenger.
- A capacit ive passenger detection system under
neat h the front passenger seat cover. This sys
tem meas ures the e lectr ica l capacitance of the
person in the seat. The informat ion registered
is sent cont inuously to the elect ronic contro l
un it to reg ulate dep loymen t of the front Ad
vance d Airbag on the p assenger side.
- An airbag monitor ing system and ind icator
ligh t
El in the inst rument cl uste r.
- A sensor in each front seat registe rs the d is
t ance betwee n the respective seat and the
s teer ing whee l o r i nst rument p anel. The infor
mation registered is sent con tinuous ly to the
elect ronic contro l unit to regu late dep loyment
of the front Advanced Airbags .
- The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF ~; lig ht comes
on and stays on in the
headliner¢ page 206,
fig. 164 and tells you when the front Advanced
Airbag on the passenger side has been turned
off.
- A sensor in the safety be lt latch for the driver
and for the front seat passenger that senses
whether that safety be lt is latched or not and
transmits this information to the e lectronic
control un it .
A WARNING
-
Damage to the front passenge r seat can pre
vent the front airbag from wo rk ing prope rly.
- Imp roper repair or d isassembly of the front
passenger and driver seat will p reve nt the
Advanced A irbag Sys tem from f unct io ni ng
p roperly .
201

Airbag syste m
Front airbag s will not d eploy:
- i f the ig nition is switched off whe n a cr ash oc-
cu rs,
- i n s ide collisions,
- in rear-end collisions,
- in rollovers,
- when the crash decelerat ion measured by the
airbag system is less than the minimum thresh
old needed for airbag deployment as registered
by the electronic contro l unit .
The front p assenger airb ag will also not
deploy:
- when the front passenger seat is not occup ied,
- whe n the electrical capac itance measured by
the capacitive passenger detect ion system for
the front passenger seat indicates that the pas
senger side frontal airbag must be switched off
by the electronic contro l unit (the
PASSENGER
A IR BAG
OFF ~; ligh t~ page 206 and how
they work comes on and stays on) .
.&_ WARNING
Sitting in the wrong position can increase the
risk of serious injury in crashes.
- To reduce the risk of injury when the airbags inflate, the driver and passengers must al
ways sit in an upright position, must not
lean against or p lace any part of their body
too close to the area where the airbags are located.
- Occupants who are unbelted, out of position
or too close to the a irbag can be seriously
injured by an airbag as it unfolds with great
force in the b link of an
eye <=;> page 195.
.&_ WARNING
A child in a rearward-facing chi ld seat insta l
led on the front passenger seat will be ser i
ously inju red and can be killed if the front air
bag inflates
-even with an Advanced Airbag
System.
- T he inflating a irbag w ill hit the child seat or
infant carrier with great force and will
smash the chi ld seat and child against the
backrest, center armrest, door or roof.
204
-
- Never install a rearward facing chi ld safety
seat on the front passenger seat unless the
PAS SEN GER AIR B AG OFF ~; light comes
on and stays on . If the
PA SSENGER AIR
BAG
OFF ~; light does not come on and stay
on, the inflat ing airbag will hit the chi ld
safety seat or infant carrie r wi th great force
and will smash the child safety seat and
child against the bac krest, door or roof .
Have the airbag system inspected immedi
ately by your authorized Audi dealer .
.&_ WARNING
Objects between you and the airbag will in
crease the r isk of injury in a crash by interfer
ing with the way the airbag unfolds or by be
ing pushed into you as the airbag inflates.
- Never hold things in your hands or on your lap when the veh icle is in use.
- Never transport items on or in the area of
the front passenger seat. Objects could
move into the area of the front airbags dur
ing braking or other sudden maneuver and
become dangerous projectiles that can
cause serious persona l injury if the airbags
inflate.
- Never place or attach accesso ries o r othe r
objects (such as cup holders, telephone brackets, large, heavy or bulky ob jects) on
the doo rs, ove r or near the area ma rked
"AIRBAG" on the steering wheel, instru
ment panel, seat backrests or between
those areas and yourself. These objects
could cause injury in a crash, especially
when the a irbags inflate.
- Never recl ine the front passenger's seat to
transport objects. Items can also move into
the area of the side a irbag or the front air
bag during brak ing or in a sudden maneu
ver. Objects near the airbags can become projecti les and cause injury, part icularly
when the seat is reclined.
- Never p lace or t ransport objects on the
-
front passenger seat. Objects on the front
passenger seat could ca use the capaci tive
sensor in the seat to signal to airbag system
that the seat is occ upied by a person when it
..,

Airbag syste m
the system inspected immediately by your
authorized Aud i dealer. It is possible that
the a irbag will inflate when it is not sup
posed to, or will not inflate when it should.
A WARNING
If the front airbag inflates, a child without a
child restra int, or in a rearward-facing child
safety seat, or in a forward-facing child re
st raint that has not been p roperly installed
w ill be seriously injured and can be killed.
- If you must install a rearward-fac ing child
seat on the front passenger seat because of
exceptional c ircumstances and the
PA SSEN
GER AIR BAG
OFF ,;; light does not appear
and stay on, have the airbag system inspect
ed by your Audi dealer.
- If, in exceptiona l circumstances, you must
install a forward-facing chi ld restraint on
the front passenger seat, always move the
seat into its rearmost pos ition in the seat's
fore and aft adjustment range, as far away
from the airbag as possible. The backrest
must be adjusted to an upright posit ion .
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.
A WARNING
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF ~; ligh t does
not go o ut when an adult is s itting on the
front passenger seat after taking the steps described above, have the airbag system in
spected by your Audi dealer before transport
ing 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 passenger
side w ill be turned off, and the
PA SSENGER
AIR BAG
OFF ~; light will stay on.
Repair , care and disposal of the airbags
Parts of the a irbag system are installed at many
d ifferent p laces on your Aud i. Insta lling, remov-
208
ing, servicing or repair ing a part in an area of the
vehicle can damage a part of an airbag system
and prevent that system from work ing properly
i n a coll is ion.
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
du res can increase the risk of personal in jury
and death by p reventing an airbag from de
p loying when needed or deploy ing an a irbag
unexpectedly:
-
- Never cover, obstruct, or change the steer
ing wheel ho rn pad or airbag cover or the in
s trumen t panel or modify them in any way.
- Never attach any objects s uch as c up ho lde rs
or telephone mountings to the surfaces cov
ering the a irbag un its.
- For cleaning the horn p ad or instr ument
panel, use only a soft, dry doth or one mois
tened w ith plain water . Solvents or cleaners
could damage the airbag cover or change
the stiffness o r strength of the material so
that the airbag cannot deploy and protect properly.
- Never repair, ad just, or change any parts o f
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 te lephones and CB radios, etc.)
m ust be performed by a qualified techn ician
who has the training and spec ial equipment
necessary.
- For any work on the airbag system, we
strong ly recommend tha t you see you r au
thori zed A udi dealer or qualified wo rkshop.
- Never modify the front bumper or pa rts of
the vehicle body.
- Always make sure that the side a irbag can
inflate w ithout interfe rence: