2021 AUDI Q5 airbag

Sitting correctly and safely


your arms, hands, and head could be injured
in the event that the driver's airbag deploys.

Adjusting
manually
Applies to: vehicles with manual steering wheel adjustment
e steering wheel position
The steering wheel position is adjustable up and
down and forward and back.




Fig. 60 Steering column: lever for adjusting the steering
wheel position
> Press the lever in the direction of the arrow.
> Bring the steering wheel into the desired posi-
tion.
> Push the lever all the way up until it engages.

Z\ WARNING
—To reduce the risk of an accident, only adjust
the steering wheel before you start driving.
— Push the lever upward firmly so that the
steering wheel position does not change un-
intentionally while driving, which would in-
crease the risk of an accident.

66
Power steering wheel position adjustment
Applies to: vehicles with power steering wheel adjustment
The steering wheel position can be adjusted elec-
trically
up/down and forward/back.

Fig. 61 Steering column: switch for adjusting the steering
wheel position
> To move the steering wheel upward or down-
ward, press the switch upward or downward.
> To move the steering wheel forward or back-
ward, press the switch forward or backward.
The steering wheel can also be adjusted when the
ignition is switched off.
In vehicles with memory function, the steering
column settings are stored together with the
seat position.
Head restraints
General information
Applies to: vehicles with adjustable head restraints

B4G-0454


Fig. 62 Correctly-adjusted head restraint
Make sure that:
— The upper edge of the head restraint is as even
as possible with the top of your head
— The head restraint is as close as possible to the
back of the head

Sitting correctly and safely

safety belt correctly and make sure that all vehi-
cle passengers are also wearing their safety belts
correctly when the vehicle is moving.
Even though your vehicle is equipped with an air-
bag system, every vehicle passenger must still al-
ways wear the appropriate safety belt. In addi-
tion to their normal protective function, safety
belts also hold vehicle occupants in the correct
seating position in the event of a collision so that
the airbags can deploy correctly and provide addi-
tional protection. Safety belts provide protection
during collisions when the airbags do not deploy
or if they have already deployed.

ZA\ WARNING
The risk of serious or fatal injury increases if
the safety belt is not fastened, if it is worn in-
correctly, or if it is damaged.
— All vehicle occupants, including the driver,
must fasten their safety belts correctly be-
fore every trip and must always keep their
safety belts fastened during the trip, regard-
less of whether the seat is equipped with an
airbag or not. This also applies to children
that are seated in a child safety seat that is
appropriate for their weight and age and
that is secured with a safety belt.
— In the event of a collision, vehicle occupants
that are not wearing safety belts could be
propelled through the vehicle interior and
collide with vehicle components, such as the
steering wheel, instrument panel, wind-
shield, or doors. In some situations, vehicle
occupants could also be ejected from the ve-
hicle. Vehicle occupants in the rear seats
who do not wear safety belts not only en-
danger themselves, but also other people in
the vehicle.
— Only one person may be fastened with a
safety belt at a time. Never secure more
than one person, including children, with a
single safety belt.
— Never allow children or infants to ride on an-
other person's lap and be belted into the
safety belt with them.
— Insert the belt buckle only in the belt latch
belonging to the corresponding seat, so that
the protective function is not impaired.

68

—To ensure the maximum protective function
of the safety belts, all vehicle passengers
must sit in the correct seating position
=> page 62.
— Check the condition of your vehicle’s safety
belts regularly > page 283. If you find dam-
age to the belt webbing, the belt connec-
tions, the retractor, or the buckle, have the
damaged safety belt replaced by an author-
ized Audi dealer or authorized Audi Service
Facility.
— The safety belts must not be removed or
modified in any way. Do not attempt to re-
pair the safety belts yourself.
— Safety belts that are strained during an acci-
dent must be replaced by an authorized
Audi dealer or authorized Audi Service Facili-
ty.
(electra tae tlie teil lars)


B4H-0751






=~
Fig. 66 Safety belt positioning for pregnant women
Fastened safety belts only offer optimal protec-
tion during an accident and reduce the risk of se-
rious injury or death when they are positioned
correctly. Furthermore, the correct safety belt
position holds the vehicle occupant in place so
that a deployed airbag can provide maximum >

80B012721BA
Sitting correctly and safely


belt tensioners deploy, the pretensioning sys-
tem must be replaced by an authorized Audi

dealer or authorized Audi Service Facility.
— In an emergency, the recall process can be
canceled by pressing the seat adjustment
button on that seat.

G) Tips
Smoke may be released when pyrotechnic belt
tensioners deploy. This is not a sign of a vehi-
cle fire.
Memory function
General information
Applies to: vehicles with memory function
With the memory function, you can save and call
up seat profiles using the memory buttons in the
door trim panel.
Depending on vehicle equipment, some settings
such as the driver’s seat and exterior mirror posi-
tion can be stored.
Storing and recalling a seat profile
Applies to: vehicles with memory function
The memory function buttons are located in the
door trim panel.
Storing a seat profile

> Press the |SET] button. If the LED in the button
turns on, a seat profile can be stored.
> Push one of the numbered memory buttons. A
tone confirms that the settings were stored.

Recalling a seat profile
> When the a door is open and the ignition is
switched off, press the memory button once
briefly. The seat will be fully adjusted to the
settings in the seat profile.
> If the door is closed or the ignition is switched
on, press and hold the memory button until the
seat is fully adjusted to the settings in the seat
profile.

Z\ WARNING
—To reduce the risk of an accident, the seat
setting can only be recalled when the vehicle
is stationary.

Airbag system
Z\ WARNING
— If you have not fastened your safety belt,
you are in an incorrect seating position, or
you are too close to the airbag system, the
airbag system will not be able to protect
you. This increases the risk of serious or fa-
tal
injuries. Make sure that every vehicle
passenger has their safety belt correctly fas-
tened and is sitting in a correct seating posi-
tion > page 62. This is necessary regardless
of whether the seat is equipped with an air-
bag or not.
— Never place your feet on the instrument
panel, out of the window, or on the seat sur-
faces. To help ensure that the airbag system
can deploy correctly, never bend forward or
lean on the door or the side window. Other-
wise, serious and possibly fatal injuries can
occur if the airbags deploy.

— People, animals, or objects between the
passengers and the airbag system can inter-
fere with the correct deployment of the air-
bag or can be thrown through the vehicle in-
terior, increasing the risk of serious or fatal
injuries. Make sure that nothing is located
between the vehicle occupants and the air-
bag system. Do not secure or transport any
objects within the deployment zone of the
airbag systems, especially on the steering
wheel, on the instrument panel, on the
doors, on the windows, or in the footwell.
— Never put stickers on the airbag system cov-
ers or cover them with any objects.
— Only lightweight clothing should be hung
from the garment hooks in the vehicle. Do
not use clothes hangers to hang clothing.
The pockets of the clothing must not con-
tain any heavy, breakable, or sharp-edged
objects. This could impair the effectiveness

of the side curtain airbags.

71

Sitting correctly and safely



— You must not use seat or protective covers particularly for individuals who have or have
that are not specifically approved for use on had asthma or other health issues that af-
Audi seats with side airbags. Since the side fect breathing. Exit the vehicle or open the
airbags deploy from the seat backrest, such windows or doors to get access to fresh air.
covers could impair the protective function
of the side airbags. G@) Tips
— Damage to the original seat covers in the
side airbag deployment area must always be
repaired by an authorized Audi dealer or au-
thorized Audi Service Facility.
— Airbag system components are installed at Ss
. . . ; Se melee]
various locations in your vehicle. Incorrect
If you are transporting children in the vehicle,
read the information and follow the safety
precautions > page 76.
work or repairs on the vehicle could damage The B@ indicator light in the instrument cluster
the airbag system components or impair monitors the safety systems such as the airbags
their functionality. This may prevent the air- (including the control modules, sensor, and wir-
bags from deploying or cause them to de- ing) and the belt tensioners. It turns on when you
ploy incorrectly in the event of an accident, switch the ignition on and
turns off after several
which increases the risk of serious or fatal seconds.
injuries. Only have an authorized Audi dealer
or authorized Audi Service Facility make re-
pairs or modifications to a vehicle.
If the indicator light does not turn on when the
ignition is switched on, does not turn off after
several seconds, or turns on or flashes while driv-
ing, there may be a malfunction in one of the
safety systems. Drive to an authorized Audi deal-
er or authorized Audi Service Facility immediately
to have the malfunction corrected.
— The airbag system can only provide protec-
tion during one collision. If there is another
collision, the airbag system will not deploy
again. If the airbag system has deployed,
have it replaced immediately by an author-
ized Audi dealer or authorized Audi Service A WARNING
Facility.
— Fine dust may appear if the airbags deploy.
This is completely normal and does not indi-
cate a fire in the vehicle. The fine dust can ir-
ritate the skin and mucous membranes in
the eyes and can cause difficulty breathing,

Have the malfunction in the safety systems in-
spected immediately. Otherwise, there is a
risk that the systems may not activate during
an accident, which increases the risk of seri-
ous or fatal injury.


72

80B012721BA
Sitting correctly and safely

Description




RAZ-0785)

Fig. 70 Airbag overview image (enlarged section: deployed airbags)
The locations of the airbags are labeled with
“AIRBAG”. The following airbags are installed in
your vehicle:
@ Driver's airbag
@ Front passenger's airbag
@®) Front side airbags and rear, if applicable
@ Head curtain airbag with ejection mitigation
Airbags offer the best possible protection in your
vehicle during an accident when they are used to-
gether with safety belts that are fastened cor-
rectly, and when passengers are sitting in the cor-
rect seating position. Airbags are a supplementa-
ry restraint system and do not replace safety
belts.
Airbags may deploy during front-impact, side-im-
pact, or rollover accidents.
The deployment area for the airbag system can-
not be defined for every situation, since the cir-
cumstances surrounding accidents can vary wide-
ly. Factors that play an important role include the
condition of the object that the vehicle hits (hard
or soft), the angle of impact, vehicle speed, etc.
The deciding factor for the deployment of the air-
bag system is the deceleration that occurs during
an accident. Sensors in the vehicle are designed
to detect the severity of an accident in conjunc-
tion with the control module, and to provide a
targeted and timely deployment of the restraint
system. If the vehicle deceleration that is meas-
ured during an accident is below the specified
reference values in the control module, then the
airbags will not deploy, even though the vehicle
may be severely damaged from the accident. In
these cases, the vehicle occupants will be pro-
tected by the safety belts if they are fastened and
worn correctly.
The deployment of the front passenger's airbag
will depend on the occupancy of the seat
=> page 74.
Each deployed airbag is filled with gas. When this
occurs, the airbag covers open and the airbags
unfold with great force into the deployment zone
within milliseconds. Inflated airbags reduce the >
73

Sitting correctly and safely

movement of passengers wearing safety belts in
the direction of the impact and thus help to re-
duce the risk of injury. They can help to protect
the head, upper body, and lap, for example. How-
ever, there is the possibility that airbag deploy-
ment can cause injuries.
The airbag system only works when the ignition
is turned on.
If you or other vehicle passengers have physical
limitations that prevent sitting in a correct posi-
tion, modifications to the vehicle may be neces-
sary. For more information, contact an author-
ized Audi dealer or authorized Audi Service Facili-
ty, or call Audi customer support at
1-800-822-2834.
@ Tips
The side curtain airbags in your vehicle have
ejection mitigation functions. This reduces
the risk of being ejected from the vehicle inte-
rior during an accident, especially in the event
of a vehicle rollover.
Advanced airbag system

Fig. 71 Headliner: indicator light to display the status of
the front passenger's airbag
The Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle has
been certified to comply with the requirements
of the United States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standard (FMVSS) 208, as well as Canada Motor
Vehicle Safety Standard (CMVSS) 208 as applica-
ble at the time your vehicle was manufactured.
According to these requirements, the front Ad-
vanced Airbag System on the passenger’s side
has been certified for “suppression” for infants
approximately 12 months old and younger, and
74
for “low risk deployment” for children aged 3 to
6 years old (as defined in the standard).
The advanced airbag system will activate or deac-
tivate the front passenger's airbag based on the
occupancy of the seat. If a front airbag deploys
during an accident, the deployment force will
adapt to the passenger.
Components
The advanced airbag system consists of the fol-
lowing components:
— Front airbags in the steering wheel and in the
instrument panel on the front passenger's side:
these can protect the front passengers during
an accident
— Passenger occupant detection sensor in the
front passenger's seat: this detects if the front
passenger's seat is occupied (for example, by a
person or asmall child in a child safety seat)
— Seat position sensors on the front seats: these
determine the distance between the seat and
the steering wheel or instrument panel
— Sensors in the front seat belt latch: these de-
tect if the safety belts are fastened
— PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF ; ON ® indi-
cator light in the headliner:this indicates if the
front passenger's airbag is activated or deacti-
vated
- ka indicator light in the instrument cluster:
this monitors the function of the Advanced Air-
bag System components to ensure they are
functioning correctly
How the components function together
The passenger occupant detection sensor in the
front passenger's seat detects if the front pas-
senger's seat is occupied. The passenger occu-
pant detection sensor measures the electrical ca-
pacity on the front passenger’s seat. The pas-
senger's airbag is activated or deactivated de-
pending on the electrical capacity that is meas-
ured.
The passenger's airbag is activated if:
— The electrical capacity is higher than the
threshold stored in the control module

80B012721BA
Sitting correctly and safely

— The electrical capacity is the same as or greater
than the electrical capacity of a typical adult
The passenger's airbag is deactivated if:
— The electrical capacity is lower than the thresh-
old stored in the control module
— The electrical capacity is the same as or less
than the electrical capacity of a typical one-
year-old child in a child safety seat that has
been used for certification in accordance with
FMVSS 208
If the front passenger's airbag is activated, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG ON @ indicator light
will turn on. If the front passenger's airbag is de-
activated, the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF #;
indicator light will turn on.
The deployment force of the front airbags adapts
based on whether or not the safety belt is used
and the distance between the seat and the steer-
ing wheel/instrument panel. For example, if a
person is too close to the front airbag, the front
airbag will deploy with less force to help reduce
the risk of injury.
Meaning of PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF 3; ON
® indicator light
When the ignition is switched on, the system de-
tects whether the front passenger's seat is occu-
pied. PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF #; ON @
will turn on for several seconds during this proc-
ess. Then it will indicate whether the front pas-
senger's airbag is activated or deactivated.
— PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF #%%;: the front
passenger's airbag is deactivated and will not
deploy in the event of an accident.
— PASSENGER AIR BAG ON ®:: the front pas-
senger's airbag is activated and could deploy in
the event of an accident.
If a change to the occupancy status of the front
passenger's seat is detected
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF #, ON @ will
flash for several seconds and will then display the
status of the front passenger's airbag.
Always make sure the indicator light corresponds
to the occupancy of the front passenger's seat.
— An adult or individual of similar size in the
front passenger's seat: the front passenger's
airbag must be activated, therefore
PASSENGER AIR BAG ON @ must remain
turned on.
— An individual of smaller size (for example, an
adolescent or small adult) in the front pas-
senger's seat: the front passenger's airbag
must be activated, so
PASSENGER AIR BAG ON @ must stay on.
— Child in a child safety seat on the front pas-
senger's seat: the front passenger's airbag
must be deactivated, so
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF #¥; must stay on.
— Front passenger's seat not occupied: the front
passenger's airbag must be deactivated, so
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF %; must stay on.

Z\ WARNING
— An adult or a person with a small stature
(such as a young person or small adult) seat-
ed on the front passenger's seat will not be
protected by the passenger's airbag in the
event of a collision if the passenger's airbag
is deactivated. This increases the risk of in-
jury and death. Always make sure that
PASSENGER AIR BAG ON @ remains on
while driving. If
PASSENGER AIR BAG ON @ does not
turn on, make sure the front passenger is
sitting correctly in the seat > page 62 and
that there is nothing covering the front pas-
senger's seat (such as blankets or pillows).
If PASSENGER AIR BAG ON ®@ still does
not turn on, the front passenger's seat must
not be used. Drive to an authorized Audi
dealer or authorized Audi Service Facility
and have the airbag system inspected.
—Achild ina child safety seat on the front
passenger's seat - especially in a rear-facing
child safety seat - can receive a severe im-
pact if the front passenger's airbag deploys,
which increases the risk of serious or fatal
injury. Always secure child safety seats on
the rear seats. If special circumstances re-
quire the use of a child safety seat on the
front passenger's seat, always make sure

75

Sitting correctly and safely


that PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF #; stays
on while driving. If
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF #¥; does not
turn on, remove the child safety seat and in-
stall it again according to the child safety
seat manufacturer instructions. If
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF &%; still does
not turn on, the front passenger's seat must
not be used. Drive to an authorized Audi
dealer or authorized Audi Service Facility
and have the airbag system inspected.
— Fluids, electronic devices, or mechanical
damage on the front passenger's seat may
cause the front passenger seat occupant de-
tection to malfunction. The system may
then incorrectly detect if the front passeng-
er's seat is occupied. As a result, it could de-
ploy the front passenger’s airbag incorrectly
or fail to deploy it, which increases the risk
of serious or fatal injury. Make sure that no
wet objects (such as a wet hand towel) and
no fluids come into contact with the front
passenger's seat cushion. If the front pas-
senger's seat becomes wet, dry it immedi-
ately. Make sure no electronic devices (such
as a laptop or a retrofitted seat heater) are
on the front passenger's seat. Do not trans-
port any objects on or under the front pas-
senger's seat.
— Seat covers or protective covers may prevent
the advanced airbag system from correctly
detecting child safety seats or passengers in
the front passenger's seat. You must not use
seat covers or protective covers on the front
passenger's seat that are not specifically ap-
proved for use on Audi seats with an ad-

vanced airbag system.

Child safety seats
General information
When installing and using child safety seats, fol-
low the information in this Owner's Manual, the
applicable state and federal regulations, and the
manufacturer instructions for the child safety
seat.
76
You can also obtain useful and current informa-
tion from the following sources:
U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Adminis-
tration
http://www.nhtsa.gov
http://www.safercar.gov
National SAFE KIDS Campaign
http://www.safekids.org
SafetyBeltSafe U.S.A.
http://www.carseat.org
Transport Canada Information Centre
http://www.tc.gc.ca/roadsafety
Audi Customer Experience Center
https://www.audiusa.com/help/contact-us
https://www.audi.ca/ca/web/en/models/layer/
contact.html

Z\ WARNING
To reduce the risk of serious or fatal injuries,
children must always be secured in the vehicle
with a child safety seat that is appropriate for
their body size, weight, and age.
— Children ages 12 and under must be trans-
ported using the appropriate child safety
seat. Note differences in regulations be-
tween states and countries.
— Child safety seats secured incorrectly in the
vehicle may cause serious or fatal injuries in
the event of an accident. Always secure the
child safety seat according to the manufac-
turer instructions.
— Children or babies must not under any cir-
cumstances be held on the lap of the driver
or other passengers while driving.
— Do not secure more than one child in a child
safety seat.
— Never allow a child to sit in a child safety
seat unsupervised.
— Never allow children to ride unsecured in the
vehicle or to stand or kneel on the seats
while driving. In the event of an accident, a
child could be propelled through the vehicle.
This can cause serious or fatal injuries for
the child and passengers.
— If children use an incorrect seating position

while driving, they have a higher risk of