2019 AUDI Q7 steering

Airbagsystem


—Improperinstallationofchildrestraintscan
reducetheireffectivenessorevenprevent
themfromprovidinganyprotection.
—Animproperlyinstalledchildrestraintcan
interferewiththeairbagasitdeploysand
seriouslyinjureorevenkillthechild-even
withanAdvancedAirbagSystem.
—Alwayscarefullyfollowthe manufacturer's
instructionsprovidedwiththechildsafety
seatorcarrier.
—Alwaysmakesurethatthereisnothingon
thefrontpassengerseatthatwillcausethe
capacitivepassengerdetectionsystemin
theseattosignaltothe AirbagSystemthat
theseatisoccupied byapersonwhen itis
not, ortosignalthatitisoccupied bysome-
onewhoisheavierthanthepersonactually
sittingontheseat.Thepresenceofaddi-
tionalobjectscouldcausethepassenger
frontairbagtobeturnedonwhenitshould
beoff,orcouldcause theairbagtoworkina
waythatisdifferentfromthewayitwould
haveworkedwithouttheobjectontheseat.



Frontairbags
ydetLeelaMeMicelialigeyleh)
Theairbagsystemcanprovidesupplemental
protectiontoproperlyrestrained frontseatoccu-
pants.
ro8 2
==oa

272

aa
g|
== a

Fig.235Locationoffrontpassenger'sairbag:intheinstru-
mentpanel
Yourvehicleisequippedwithan“AdvancedAir-
bagSystem”incompliancewithUnitedStates
FederalMotorVehicleSafetyStandard
(FMVSS)208,aswellasCanadaMotorVehicle
SafetyStandard(CMVSS)208asapplicableat
thetimeyourvehiclewasmanufactured.
Theairbagforthedriverisinthesteeringwheel
hub>fig.234andtheairbagforthefrontpas-
sengerisintheinstrumentpanel>fig.235.The
generallocationoftheairbagsismarked“AIR-
BAG”.
Thereisalotyouneedtoknowabouttheairbags
inyourvehicle.Weurgeyoutoreadthedetailed
informationaboutairbags,safetybeltsandchild
safetyinthisandtheotherchaptersthatmake
uptheowner'sliterature.Pleasebesuretoheed
theWARNINGS-theyareextremelyimportant
foryoursafetyandthesafety ofyourpassengers,
especiallyinfantsandsmallchildren.

ZAWARNING
Neverrelyonairbagsaloneforprotection.
—Evenwhentheydeploy,airbags provideonly
supplementalprotection.
—Airbagworkmosteffectivelywhenused
withproperlywornsafetybelts.
—Therefore,alwayswearyoursafetybeltsand
makesurethateverybodyinyourvehicleis
properlyrestrained.
—Alwaysholdthesteeringwheelwithboth
handsontheoutsideofthesteeringwheel
rimatthe9:00o'clockand3:00o'clockpo-
sitionstohelpreducetheriskofpersonalin-
juryifthedriver'sairbaginflates.

4M0012721BG
Airbagsystem


—Neverholdthesteeringwheelatthe12
o'clockpositionorwithyourhandsany-
whereinsidethesteeringwheeloronthe
steeringwheelhub.Holding thesteering
wheelthewrongwayincreasestheriskof
severeinjurytothearms,hands,andheadif
thedriverairbagdeploys.


Z\WARNING
Objectsbetweenyouandtheairbagwillin-
creasetheriskofinjuryinacrashbyinterfer-
ingwiththewaytheairbagunfoldsand/orby
beingpushedintoyouastheairbaginflates.
—Alwaysmakesurenothingisinthefrontair-
bagdeploymentzonethatcouldbestruck
bytheairbagwhenitinflates.
—Objectsinthezoneofadeployingairbagcan
becomeprojectileswhentheairbagdeploys
andcauseseriouspersonalinjury.
—Neverholdthingsinyourhandsoronyour
lapwhenthevehicleisinuse.
—Neverplaceaccessoriesorotherobjects
(suchascupholders,telephonebrackets,
notepads,navigationsystems,orthings
thatarelarge,heavy,orbulky)onthedoors;
neverattachthemtothedoorsorthewind-
shield;neverplacethemoverornearorat-
tachthemtotheareamarked,,AIRBAG“on
thesteeringwheel,instrumentpanelorthe
seatbackrests;neverplacethembetween
theseareasandyouoranyotherpersonin
thevehicle.
—Neverattachobjectstothewindshield
abovethepassengerfrontairbag,suchas
accessoryGPSnavigationunitsormusic
players.Suchobjectscouldcauseseriousin-
juryinacollision,especiallywhentheair-
bagsinflate.
—Neverreclinethefrontpassengerseatto
transport
objects.Itemscanalsomoveinto
thedeploymentareaofthesideairbagsor
thefrontairbagduringbreakingorinasud-
denmaneuver.Objectsneartheairbagscan
flydangerouslythroughthepassengercom-
partmentandcauseinjury,particularly
whentheseatisreclinedandtheairbagsin-
flate.

ZAWARNING
Apersononthefrontpassengerseat,espe-
ciallyinfantsandsmallchildren,willreceive
seriousinjuriesandcanevenbekilledbybe-
ingtooclosetotheairbagwhenitinflates.
—AlthoughtheAdvancedAirbagSystemin
yourvehicleisdesignedtoturnoffthefront
passengerairbagifaninfantorasmallchild
isonthefrontpassengerseat,nobodycan
absolutelyguaranteethatdeploymentun-
derthesespecialconditionsisimpossiblein
allconceivablesituationsthatmayhappen
duringtheusefullife ofyourvehicle.
— TheAdvancedAirbagSystemcandeployin
accordancewiththe,,lowrisk“optionfor3-
and6-year-oldchildrenundertheU.S.Fed-
eralStandardifachildwithelectricalcapac-
itancegreaterthanthecombinedcapaci-
tanceofatypicalone-yearoldinfantre-
strainedinoneoftheforwardfacing orrear-
ward-facingchildseatswithwhichyourve-
hiclewascertifiedisonthefrontpassenger
seatandtheotherconditionsforairbagde-
ploymentaremet.
—Accidentstatisticshaveshownthatchildren
aregenerallysaferintherearseatareathan
inthefrontseatingposition.
—Fortheirownsafety,allchildren,especially
12yearsandyounger,shouldalwaysridein
the backproperlyrestrainedfortheirage
andsize.
Advancedfrontairbagsystem
YourvehicleisequippedwithafrontAdvanced
AirbagSystemincompliancewithUnitedStates
FederalMotorVehicleSafetyStandard(FMVSS)
208,aswellasCanadaMotorVehicleSafety
Standard(CMVSS)208asapplicableatthetime
yourvehiclewasmanufactured.


ThefrontAdvancedAirbagSystemsupplements
thesafetybeltstoprovideadditional protection
forthedriver'sandfrontpassenger'sheadsand
upperbodiesinfrontalcrashes.Theairbagsin-
flateonlyinfrontalimpactswhenthevehiclede-
celerationishighenough.>
273

Airbagsystem

ThefrontAdvancedAirbagSystemforthefront
seatoccupantsisnotasubstituteforyoursafety
belts.Rather,itispart oftheoveralloccupantre-
straintsysteminyourvehicle.Alwaysremember
thattheairbagsystemcanonly helptoprotect
you,ifyouaresittingupright,wearingyoursafe-
tybeltandwearingitproperly.Thisiswhyyou
and
yourpassengersmustalways beproperlyre-
strained,notjustbecausethelawrequiresyouto
be.
TheAdvancedAirbagSysteminyourvehiclehas
beencertifiedtomeetthe“lowrisk”require-
mentsfor3and6year-oldchildrenonthepas-
sengersideandverysmalladultsonthedriver
side.Thelowriskdeploymentcriteriaare intend-
edtohelpreducetheriskofinjurythroughinter-
actionwiththefrontairbagthatcanoccur,for
example,bybeingtooclosetothesteeringwheel
andinstrumentpanelwhentheairbaginflates.
Inaddition,thesystemhasbeencertifiedto
complywiththe“suppression”requirementsof
theSafetyStandard,toturnoffthefrontairbag
forinfants12monthsoldandyoungerwhoare
restrainedonthefrontpassengerseatinchildre-
straintsthatarelistedintheStandard
=>page292,ChildrestraintsandAdvancedAir-
bags.
“Suppression”requiresthefrontairbagonthe
passengersidetobeturnedoffif:
—achilduptoaboutoneyearofageisrestrained
onthefrontpassengerseatinoneoftherear-
facing orforward-facinginfantrestraintslisted
inFederalMotorVehicleSafetyStandard208
withwhichtheAdvancedAirbagSysteminyour
vehiclewascertified.Foralistingofthechild
restraintsthatwereusedtocertifyyourvehi-
cle'scompliancewiththeUSSafetyStandard
=>page292,
—Whenapersonisdetectedonthefrontpassen-
gerseat thathasanelectricalcapacitancethat
ismorethanthetotalelectricalcapacitanceof
achildthatisabout1yearoldrestrainedinone
oftherear-facingorforward-facinginfantre-
straints(listedinFederalMotorVehicleSafety
Standard208withwhichtheAdvancedAirbag
Systeminyourvehiclewascertified),thefront
274
airbagonthepassengersidemayormaynot
deploy.
ThePASSENGERAIRBAGOFF#;lightcomeson
whentheelectroniccontrolunitdetectsatotal
electricalcapacitanceonthefrontpassengerseat
thatrequiresthefrontairbagtobeturnedoff.If
thePASSENGERAIRBAGOFF3;lightdoesnot
comeon,thefrontairbagonthepassengerside
hasnotbeenturnedoffby thecontrolunitand
candeployifthecontrolunitsenses animpact
thatmeetstheconditionsstoredin itsmemory.
Ifthetotalelectricalcapacitanceregisteredon
thefrontpassengerseatismorethanthatofa
typical1year-old,butlessthantheweightofa
smalladult,thefrontairbagonthepassenger
sidemaydeploy(thePASSENGERAIRBAGOFF
8%;lightdoesnotcomeon).
Forexample,theairbagmaydeployif:
—asmallchildthatisheavierthanatypical1
year-oldchildisonthefrontpassengerseat(re-
gardlessofwhetherthechildisinoneofthe
childsafetyseatslisted>page292),
—achildwhohasoutgrownchildrestraintsison
thefrontpassengerseat.
Ifthefrontpassengerairbagisturnedoff,the
PASSENGERAIRBAGOFF#;lightinthe head-
linerwillcomeonandstayon.
Ifthefrontpassengerairbagdeploys,theFederal
Standardrequirestheairbagtomeetthe“low
risk”deploymentcriteriatohelpreducetherisk
ofinjurythroughinteractionwiththeairbag.
“Lowrisk”deploymentoccursinthosecrashes
that takeplaceatlowerdecelerationsasdefined
intheelectroniccontrolunit.>page280
Alwaysremember:Eventhoughyourvehicleis
equippedwithAdvancedAirbags,thesafest place
forchildrenisproperlyrestrainedontheback
seat.Pleasebesuretoreadtheimportantinfor-
mationinthesectionsthatfollowandbesureto
heedalloftheWARNINGS.

ZAWARNING
Toreducetheriskofinjurywhenanairbagin-
flates,alwayswearsafetybeltsproperly.>

Airbagsystem

theseatmaypreventtheAdvancedAirbagSys-
temforthefrontpassengerseatfromdoingits
jobinacrash.
ThefrontAdvancedAirbagSystemconsists
ofthefollowing:
—Crashsensorsinthefrontofthevehiclethat
measurevehicleacceleration/decelerationto
provideinformationtotheAdvancedAirbag
Systemabouttheseverityofthecrash.
— Anelectroniccontrolunit,withintegrated
crashsensorsforfrontandsideimpacts.The
controlunit“decides”whethertofirethefront
airbagsbasedontheinformationreceivedfrom
thecrashsensors.Thecontrolunitalso“de-
cides”whetherthesafetybeltpretensioners
shouldbeactivated.
— AnAdvancedAirbagwithgasgeneratorand
controlvalveforthedriver insidethesteering
wheelhub.
— AnAdvancedAirbagwithgasgeneratorand
controlvalveinsidetheinstrumentpanelfor
thefrontpassenger.
—Acapacitivepassengerdetectionsystemunder-
neaththefrontpassengerseatcover.Thissys-
temmeasurestheelectricalcapacitanceofthe
personintheseat.Theinformationregistered
issent continuouslytotheelectroniccontrol
unit toregulatedeploymentofthefrontAd-
vancedAirbagonthepassengerside.
— Anairbagmonitoringsystemandindicator
lightEaintheinstrumentcluster.
—Asensorineachfrontseatregistersthedis-
tancebetweentherespectiveseatandthe
steeringwheelorinstrumentpanel.Theinfor-
mationregisteredissent continuouslytothe
electroniccontrolunittoregulatedeployment
ofthefrontAdvancedAirbags.
—ThePASSENGERAIRBAGOFF#;ON@light
comesonintheheadliner>page280,fig.237
andtellsyouthestatusoftheAdvancedAirbag
onthepassengerside.
—Asensorinthesafetybeltlatchforthedriver
andforthefrontseatpassengerthatsenses
whetherthatsafetybeltislatchedornotand
transmitsthisinformationtotheelectronic
controlunit.
276


ZAWARNING
Damagetothefrontpassengerseatcanpre-
ventthefrontairbagfromworkingproperly.
—Improperrepairordisassemblyofthefront
passengeranddriverseatwillpreventthe
AdvancedAirbagSystemfromfunctioning
properly.
—Repairstothefrontpassengerseatmustbe
performedbyqualifiedandproperlytrained
workshoppersonnel.
—Neverremovethefrontpassengeror driver
seatfromthevehicle.
—Neverremovetheupholsteryfromthefront
PassengerSeat.
—Neverdisassembleorremovepartsfromthe
seatordisconnectwiresfromit.
—Nevercarrysharpobjectsinyourpocketsor
putthemontheseat.Thecapacitivepassen-
gerdetectionmatinthefrontpassenger
seatwillnotfunctionproperlyifitispunc-
tured.
—Nevercarrythingsonyourlaporcarryob-
jectsonthefrontpassengerseat.Suchob-
jectscaninfluencethecapacitanceregis-
teredbythecapacitivepassengerdetection
system,so thatincorrectinformationispro-
videdtotheairbagcontrolunit.
—Neverstoreitemsunderthefrontpassenger
seat.PartsoftheAdvancedAirbagSystem
underthepassengerseatcouldbedam-
aged,preventingthemandtheairbagsys-
temfromworkingproperly.
—Neverplaceseatcoversorreplacementup-
holsterythathavenotbeenspecificallyap-
provedbyAudionthefrontseats.
—SeatcoverscanpreventtheAdvancedAirbag
Systemfromrecognizingchildrestraintsor
occupantsonthefrontpassengerseatand
preventthesideairbagintheseat backrest
fromdeployingproperly.
—Ifaseatheaterhasbeenretrofittedor oth-
erwiseaddedtothefrontpassengerseat,
neverinstallanychildrestraintsystemon
thisseat.
—Neverusecushions,pillows,blankets,or
similaritemsonthefrontpassengerseat.
Theadditionallayerspreventthecapacitive

4M0012721BG
Airbagsystem


—Theinflatingairbagwillhitthechildsafety
seatorinfantcarrierwithgreatforceand
willsmashthechildsafetyseatandchild
againstthebackrest,centerarmrest,door
orroof.
—Alwaysinstallrear-facingchildsafetyseats
ontherearseat.
—Ifyoumustinstallarearward-facingchild
safetyseatonthefrontpassengerseatbe-
causeofexceptionalcircumstancesandthe
PASSENGERAIRBAGOFF%;lightdoesnot
comeonandstay on,immediatelyinstall
therear-facingchildsafetyseatinarear
seatingpositionandhavetheairbagsystem
inspectedbyyourauthorizedAudidealer.



ZAWARNING
Objectsbetweenyouandtheairbagwillin-
creasetheriskofinjuryinacrashbyinterfer-
ingwiththewaytheairbagunfoldsorbybe-
ingpushedintoyouastheairbaginflates.
—Neverholdthingsinyourhandsoronyour
lapwhenthevehicleisinuse.
—Nevertransportitemsonorintheareaof
thefrontpassengerseat.Objectscould
moveintotheareaofthefrontairbagsdur-
ingbrakingorothersuddenmaneuversand
becomedangerousprojectilesthatcan
causeseriouspersonalinjuryiftheairbags
inflate.
—Neverplaceorattachaccessoriesorother
objects(suchascupholders,telephone
brackets,large,heavyorbulkyobjects)on
thedoors,overornear theareamarked
“AIRBAG”onthesteeringwheel,instrument
panel,seatbackrestsorbetweenthose
areasandyourself.Theseobjectscould
causeinjuryinacrash,especiallywhenthe
airbagsinflate.
—Neverreclinethefrontpassenger'sseatto
transportobjects.Itemscanalsomoveinto
theareaofthesideairbagorthefrontair-
bagduringbrakingorinasuddenmaneuver.
Objectsnear theairbagscanbecomeprojec-
tilesandcauseinjury,particularlywhenthe
seatisreclined.
—Neverplaceortransportobjectsonthefront
passengerseat.Objectsonthefrontpassen-
gerseatcouldcausethecapacitivesensorin
theseattosignaltoairbagsystemthatthe
seatisoccupiedbyapersonwhenitinfactis
not,orthatthepersonontheseatisheavier
thanheorsheactuallyis.Thechangein
electriccapacitancebecauseofsuchobjects
cancausethepassengerfrontairbagtobe
turnedonwhenitshouldbeoff,orcan
causetheairbagtoworkinawaythatisdif-
ferentfromthewayitwouldhaveworked
withoutobjectsontheseat.
—Alwaysmakesurethatthereisnothingon
thefrontpassengerseatthatwillcausethe
capacitivepassengerdetectionsystemin
theseattosignaltotheAirbagSystemthat
theseatisoccupiedbyapersonwhenitis
not,ortosignalthatitisoccupiedbysome-
onewhoisheavierthanthepersonactually
sittingontheseat.Thepresenceofanob-
jectcouldcausethepassengerfrontairbag
tobeturnedonwhenitshouldbeoff,or
couldcausetheairbagtoworkinawaythat
isdifferentfromthewayitwouldhave
workedwithouttheobjectontheseat.


Z\WARNING
Thefinedustcreatedwhenairbagsdeploycan
causebreathingproblemsforpeoplewitha
historyofasthmaorotherbreathingcondi-
tions.
—Toreducetheriskofbreathingproblems,
thosewithasthmaorotherrespiratorycon-
ditionsshouldgetfreshairrightawayby
gettingoutofthevehicleoropeningwin-
dowsordoors.
—Ifyouareinacollisioninwhichairbagsde-
ploy,washyourhandsandfacewithmild
soapandwaterbeforeeating.
—Becarefulnottoget thedustintoyoureyes,
orintoanycuts orscratches.
—Iftheresidueshould getintoyoureyes,
flushthemwithwater.


279

4M0012721BG
Airbagsystem


OFF3%;lightcomesonandstaysonallthe
timewhenever theignitionisswitchedon.

ZAWARNING
—IfthePASSENGERAIRBAGOFF%;light
doesnotgooutwhenanadultissittingon
thefrontpassengerseataftertakingthe
stepsdescribed above,makesuretheadult
isproperlyseatedandrestrainedatoneof
therearseatingpositions.
—Havetheairbagsysteminspectedbyyour
authorizedAudidealer before transporting
anyoneonthefrontpassengerseat.
@®Tips
Ifthecapacitivepassengerdetectionsystem
determinesthatthefrontpassengerseatis
empty,thefrontalairbagonthepassenger
sidewillbeturnedoff,andthePASSENGER
AIRBAGOFF%;lightwillstayon.
Repair,careanddisposaloftheairbags
Partsoftheairbagsystemareinstalledatmany
differentplacesonyourAudi.Installing,remov-
ing,servicingorrepairingapartinanareaofthe
vehiclecandamageapartofanairbagsystem
andpreventthatsystemfromworkingproperly
inacollision.

Therearesomeimportantthingsyouhaveto
knowtomakesurethattheeffectivenessofthe
systemwillnot beimpairedandthatdiscarded
componentsdonotcauseinjuryorpollutethe
environment.

ZAWARNING
Impropercare,servicingandrepairproce-
durescanincreasetheriskofpersonalinjury
anddeathbypreventinganairbagfromde-
ployingwhenneededordeployinganairbag
unexpectedly:
—Nevercover,obstruct,orchangethesteer-
ingwheelhornpadorairbagcoverorthein-
strumentpanelormodifytheminanyway.
—Neverattachanyobjectssuchascupholders
ortelephonemountingstothesurfacescov-
eringtheairbagunits.


—Forcleaningthehornpadorinstrument
panel,useonlyasoft,dryclothoronemois-
tenedwithplainwater.Solventsorcleaners
coulddamagetheairbagcoverorchange
thestiffnessorstrengthofthematerial so
that
theairbagcannotdeployandprotect
properly.
—Neverrepair,adjust,orchangeanypartsof
theairbagsystem.
—Allworkonthesteeringwheel,instrument
panel,frontseatsorelectricalsystem(in-
cludingtheinstallationofaudioequipment,
cellulartelephonesandCBradios,etc.)
mustbeperformedbyaqualifiedtechnician
whohasthetrainingandspecialequipment
necessary.
—Foranyworkontheairbagsystem,we
stronglyrecommendthatyouseeyourau-
thorizedAudidealerorqualifiedworkshop.
—Nevermodifythefrontbumperorpartsof
thevehiclebody.
—Alwaysmakesurethatthesideairbagcan
inflatewithoutinterference:
—Neverinstallseatcoversorreplacement
upholsteryoverthefrontseatbacksthat
havenotbeenspecificallyapprovedbyAu-
di.
—Neveruseadditionalseatcushionsthat
covertheareaswherethesideairbagsin-
flate.
—Damagetotheoriginalseatcoversor to
theseamintheareaofthesideairbag
modulemustalwaysberepairedimmedi-
atelyby anauthorizedAudidealer.
— Theairbagsystemcandeployonlyonce.Af-
teranairbaghasbeendeployed,it mustbe
replacedwithnewreplacementpartsde-
signedandapprovedespeciallyforyourAudi
model
version.Replacementofcomplete
airbagsystemsorairbagcomponentsmust
beperformedbyqualifiedworkshopsonly.
Makesurethatanyairbagserviceactionis
enteredinyourAudiWarranty&Mainte-
nancebookletunderAIRBAGREPLACEMENT
RECORD.
—Forsafetyreasonsinsevereaccidents,the
alternatorandstarterareseparatedfrom

283

Childsafety


onallthetimewhenevertheignitionis
switchedon.
—IfthePASSENGERAIRBAGOFF%;light
doesnotcomeonandstayon,immediate-
lyinstalltheforward-facingchildseatina
rearseatingpositionandhavetheairbag
systeminspectedbyyourauthorizedAudi
dealer.
—Alwaysbucklethechildseatfirmlyinplace
evenifa childisnotsittinginit.Aloose
childseatcanflyaroundduringasudden
stoporinacollision.
—AlwaysreadandheedallWARNINGS
wheneverusinga childrestraintinavehi-
cle>page260,Safetybelts,>page268,
Airbag
systemand>page290,Important
information.
@)Tips
Alwaysreplacechildrestraintsthatwerein-
stalledinavehicleduringacrash.Damageto
a childrestraintthatisnotvisiblecouldcause
ittofail inanothercollisionsituation.
ONETeeReameeMaalCele)
Yourvehicleisequippedwithan“AdvancedAir-
bagSystem”incompliancewithUnitedStates
FederalMotorVehicleSafetyStandard(FMVSS)
208,aswellasCanadaMotorVehicleSafety
Standard(CMVSS)208asapplicableatthetime
yourvehiclewasmanufactured.

TheAdvancedAirbagsysteminyourvehiclehas
beencertifiedtomeetthe“low-risk”require-
mentsfor3-and6-yearoldchildrenonthepas-
sengersideandsmalladultsonthedriverside.
Thelowriskdeploymentcriteriaareintendedto
reducetheriskofinjurythroughinteractionwith
theairbagthatcanoccur,forexample,bybeing
tooclosetothesteeringwheelandinstrument
panelwhentheairbaginflates.Inaddition,the
systemhasbeencertifiedtocomplywiththe
“suppression”requirementsoftheSafetyStand-
ard,toturnoffthefrontairbagforinfantsupto
12monthswhoarerestrainedonthefrontpas-
sengerseatinchildrestraintsthatarelistedin
theStandard.
292
EventhoughyourvehicleisequippedwithanAd-
vancedAirbagsystem,allchildren,especially
those12yearsandyounger,shouldalwaysridein
thebackseatproperlyrestrainedfortheirage
and
size.Theairbagonthepassengersidemakes
thefrontseatapotentiallydangerousplacefora
childtoride.Thefrontseatisnot thesafestplace
forachildinaforward-facingchildsafetyseat.It
canbeaverydangerousplaceforaninfantora
largerchildinarearward-facingseat.
Thevehicle'sAdvancedAirbagSystemhasaca-
pacitivepassengerdetectionsysteminthefront
passengerseatcushionthatcandetectthepres-
enceofababyorachildinachildrestraintsys-
temonthisseat.
Thecapacitivepassengerdetectionsystemregis-
tersthechangesthatresultinanelectricalfield
when achild,achildrestraint,andababyblanket
areonthefrontpassengerseat.Thechangein
themeasuredcapacitanceduetothepresenceof
achild,a childrestraint,andababyblanketon
thefrontpassengerseatisrelatedtothechildre-
straintsystemrestingontheseat.Themeasured
capacitanceofachildrestraintsystemvariesde-
pendingonthetypeofsystemandspecificmake
andmodel.
Theelectricalcapacitanceofthevarioustypes,
makes,andmodelsofchildrestraintsspecified
bytheU.S.NationalHighwayTrafficSafetyAd-
ministration(NHTSA)intherelevant safety
standardarestoredintheAdvancedAirbagSys-
temcontrolunittogetherwiththecapacitances
typicalofinfantsanda1-yearoldchild.Whena
child
restraintisusedonthefrontpassengerseat
withatypical1year-oldinfant,theAdvancedAir-
bagSystemcomparesthecapacitancemeasured
bythecapacitivepassengerdetectionsystem
withthedatastoredintheelectroniccontrol
unit.
CeaeReiteceaWahiteWayled
Regardlessofthechildrestraintthatyouuse,
makesurethatithasbeencertifiedtomeetSafe-
tyStandardsandhasbeencertifiedbyitsmanu-
facturerforusewithanairbag.Alwaysbesure
thatthechildrestraintisproperlyinstalledat>

4M0012721BG
Wheels


equippedwiththematthe
factory>page345.
—Ifyouinstallwheelcoverson
thevehicle,makesuretheyal-
lowenoughaircirculationto
coolthebrakesystem.Ifthey
donot,thiscouldincreasethe
riskofanaccident.


Tirewearanddamage
B4H-0415

Fig.269Tireprofile:treadwearindica-
tor
Tirewear
Checkthetiresregularlyforwear.
—Inflationpressurethatistoolow
orhighcanincreasetirewear
considerably.
—Drivingquicklythroughcurves,
rapidacceleration,andheavy
brakingincreasetirewear.
—HaveanauthorizedAudidealer
orauthorizedAudiServiceFacili-


DObeyanyapplicableregulationsinthe
country
wherethevehicleisbeingoper-
ated.
tycheckthewheelalignmentif
thereisunusualwear.
—Havethewheelsrebalancedifan
imbalanceiscausingnoticeable
vibrationinthesteeringwheel.
Ifyoudonot,thetiresandother
vehiclecomponentscouldwear
morequickly.
Treadwearindicator
Originalequipmenttirescontain
treadwearindicatorsinthetread
pattern,whicharebarsthatare
1/16in(1.6mm)highandare
spacedevenlyaroundthetireper-
pendiculartotherunningdirec-
tion>fig.269.Theletters“TWI”
ortrianglesonthetiresidewall
indicatethelocationofthetread-
wearindicators.
Thetireshavereachedthemini-
mumtreaddepth))whenthey
haveworndowntothetreadwear
indicators.Replacethetireswith
newones>A.
Tirerotation
Rotatingthetiresregularlyisrec-
ommendedtoensurethetires
wearevenly.Torotatethetires,
335
>