ESP AUDI A5 COUPE 2012 Workshop Manual

164 Airbag sys te m
Even though your vehicle is equipped with an
Advanced Airbag System, make certain that
all c hildren, especially those 12 years and
younger, a lways ride in the back seat properly
restra ined for their age and size. The airbag
on the passenger side makes the front seat a potentially dangerous place for a ch ild to r ide.
The front seat is not the safest place for a
child in a fo rward-facing ch ild safety seat. It
can be a very dangerous place for an infant or
a child in a rearward-facing seat.
The Advanced Airbag System in your veh icle
has been certified to comp ly with the Requ ire­
ments of United States Federa l Mo tor Veh icle
Safety Standard 208 as applicable at the time
your vehicle was manufactured.
The Standard requires the front a irbag on the
passenger side to be turned off ("sup­
pressed") if a ch ild up to about one year of
age restrained in one of the rear -facing or for ­
ward -facing infant restraints listed in Federal
Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 with which
the Advanced A irbag System in your vehicle
was certified has been installed on the front passenger seat . For a listing of the child re ­
strai nts that we re used to certify compliance
with the US Safety Standard
r=v page 188.
The PASSENGE R AIR BAG OFF light in the in­
strument panel te lls you when the front Ad­
vanced A irbag on the passenger side has been
turned off by the e lectronic control unit.
Each t ime you turn on the ignition, the
PAS ­
SENGER AIR BA G OFF
light will come on for a
few seconds and:
- will stay on if the front passenger seat is not
occupied,
- wi ll stay on if there is a small child or child
restraint on the front passenger seat,
- wi ll go off if the front passenger seat is oc ­
cupied by an adult as registered by the
weight-sensing mat
r=v page 173, Monitor­
ing the Advanced Airbag System .
The PASSENGE R AIR BAG OFF light comes on
when the control un it detects a total weight
on the front passenger seat that requires the
front airbag to be turned off.
If the total weight on the front passenge r
seat is more than that of a typica l 1 year -old
chi ld but less than the weight of a small
adult, the front airbag on the passenger side
can deploy (the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
li ght does not come on). If the PAS SENGER
AI R BAG OFF
light does not come on, the
front a irbag on the passenger side has not
been tu rned off by the elect ronic con trol unit
and can deploy if the control unit se nses an
impact that meets the cond itions stored in its
memory .
For exampl e, th e airbag ma y deploy if:
-a small ch ild that is heav ier than a typical 1
year-old ch ild is on the front passenger seat
( r egard less of whether the child is in one of
t he child safety seats listed
r=v page 188), or
- a child who has outgrown ch ild restraints is
on the front passenger seat.
If the front passenger airbag is turned off, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on in
the instrument cluster and stays on.
The front airbag on the passenger s ide may
not deploy (the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not illum inate and stay lit) even if a
small adult or teenager, or a passenger who is
not sitt ing up rig ht w ith their back against a
non- recl ined ba ck res t w it h thei r feet on the
vehicle floor in front of the sea t is on the front
passenger seat
r=v page 145, Proper seating
position for the driver.
If the front passenger a irbag dep loys, the
F ede ra l Standard req uires the airbag to meet
the "low risk" dep loyment criteria to reduce
the risk of injury t hro ugh interaction wit h the
airbag. "Low risk" dep loyment occ urs in those
crashes that take place at lower dece lerat ions
as defined in the electronic control unit
r=v page 173, PASSENGER AIRBAG OFF light.
Always remember, a ch ild safety seat or infant
carr ier installed on the front seat may be
struck and knocked out of posit ion by the rap­
idly inflat ing passenger's airbag in a fronta l
collision . T he a irbag could greatly reduce the
effectiveness of the ch ild restraint and even
seriously injure t he ch ild during inflation .

166 Airbag system
-Never place additiona l items on the seat
that can increase the total weight regis­
tered by the weight-sensing mat and can
cause injury in a crash.
Front airbags
Description of front airbags
The airbag system can provide supplemental
protection to properly restrained front seat
occupants.
F ig . 175 Location of driver airbag: in steer ing whee l
Fig. 176 Location of front passenger's airbag: in the in ­
strument panel
Your veh icle is equipped with an "Advanced
A irbag System" in compliance with United
States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard ( FM VSS) 208 as app licab le at the time your
ve hicl e was manufac tured. The system senses
the position of the front seats and controls
front airbag inflation with a valve, depending
on the distance between the respect ive seat
and the steering wheel or instrument panel.
The safety belts for the seats have "preten­
sioners" that he lp to take slack out of the belt
system . The pretensioners a re also activated
by the electron ic cont ro l unit for the ai rbag
system. T
he front safety belts also have load limiters
to help reduce the forces applied to the body
i n a crash .
T he airbag for the drive r is in the stee ring
whee l hub¢
fig. 175 and the airbag for the
front passenger is in the instrument panel
~ fig. 176. The general locat ion of the a irbags
is marked "AIRBAG".
T here is a lot you need to know about the ai r­
bags in your vehicle. We urge you to read the
detailed information about airbags, safety
belts and child safety in this and the other
chapters that make up th e owner's literature.
P lease be sure to heed the WARNINGS -they
are extremely importa nt for your safety and
the safety of your passengers, especially in­
fants and small chi ldren.
_&. WARNING
Neve r rely on airbags alone for p rotection.
- Even w hen they deploy, airbags provide
only s upplement al pro te ctio n.
- Airbag work most effect ive ly when used
with p roperly wor n safety bel ts.
- Therefore, always wea r you r safety belts
a nd make sure tha t eve rybody in your ve­
h icle is properly res trained.
_&. WARNING
A pe rson on the front passenger seat, es­
pe cial ly infa nts and sm all ch ildren, w ill re­
ceive serio us inju ries and can even be kil­
l ed by being too close to the airbag when
it inflates .
- Although t he Advanced Airbag System in
your veh icle is designed to tur n off the
front passenger airbag if an infant or a
small child is on the front passe nger
seat, nobody can absolutely guarantee
that deployment under these special
conditions is imposs ible in all conceiva­
b le sit uat ions that may happen dur ing
the useful life of your vehicle.
- The Advanced Airbag System can dep loy
i n acco rdance with the "low risk" option
unde r the U.S . Feder al Standa rd if a child
th at is heav ie r than the typical one -year
-
.

old child is on the front passenger seat
and the other conditions for airbag de­
ployment are met.
- Accident statistics have shown that chil­
dren are generally safer in the rear seat
area than in the front seating position.
- For their own safety, all children, espe­ cially 12 years and younger, should al­
ways ride in the back properly restrained
for their 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
208 as applicable at the time your vehicle was
manufactured.
The front Advanced Airbag System supple­ ments the safety belts to provide additional
protection for the driver's and front passeng­
er's heads and upper bodies in frontal crashes.
The airbags inflate only in frontal impacts
when the vehicle deceleration is high enough .
The front Advanced Airbag System for the
front seat occupants is not a substitute for
your safety belts. Rather, it is part of the over­
all occupant restraint system in your vehicle.
Always remember that the ai rbag system can
only help to protect you, if you are sitting up­ right, wearing your safety belt and wearing it
properly . This is why you and your passengers
must always be properly restrained, not just
because the law requires you to be.
T he Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle
has been certified to meet the "low risk" re ­
quirements for 3 and 6 year-old children on
the passenger side and very small adults on
the driver side. The low risk deployment crite­
ria are intended to help reduce the risk of in­
jury through interaction with the front airbag
that can occur , for example , by being too
close to the steering wheel and instrument panel when the airbag inflates.
In addition, the system has been certified to
comply with the "suppression" requirements
Airbag system 167
of the Safety Standard, to turn off the front
airbag for infants 12 months old and younger
who are restrained on the front passenger
seat in child restraints that are listed in the
Standard ¢
page 188 , Child restraints and
Advanced Airbags .
"Suppression" requires the front airbag on the
passenger side to be turned off if:
- a child up to about one year of age is re­
strained 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 Ad­
vanced Airbag System in your vehicle was
certified . For a listing of the child restraints
that were used to certify your vehicle's com­ pliance with the US Safety Standard
¢page 188,
-weight less than a threshold level stored in
the control unit is detected on the front pas­
senger seat.
When a person is detected on the front pas­
senger seat, weighing more than the total
weight of a child that is about 1 year old re­
strained in one of the rear-facing or forward­
facing infant restraints (listed in Federal Mo­
tor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 with which
the Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle
was certified), the front airbag on the passen­ ger side may or may not deploy.
The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
when the electronic control unit detects a to­
tal weight on the front passenger seat that re­
quires the front airbag to be turned off. If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not
come on, the front airbag on the passenger
side has not been turned off by the control unit and can deploy if the control unit senses
an impact that meets the conditions stored in
its memory.
If the total weight on the front passenger
seat is more than that of a typical 1 year-old ,
but less than the weight of a small adult, the
front airbag on the passenger side may deploy
(the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not
come on). ..,. •
•

-Always move the passenger seat into its
rearmost position in the seat's fore and
aft adjustment range, as far away from
the a irbag as poss ible, before installing
the forward-facing child restraint. The backrest must be adjusted to an upr ight
posit ion.
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on and stays on all the
t ime w henever the ignition is sw itched
on.
Advanced Airbag System components
The fron t passenger seat in your vehicle has a
lot of very important parts of the Advanced
Airbag System in it. These parts include the
weight-sensing mat, sensors, wiring, brack ­
ets, and more. The function of the system in
the front passenger seat is checked by the
e lectronic control u nit when the ignit ion is on .
The control un it mon itors the Advanced Air­
bag System and turns the airbag indicator
l ight on whe n a ma lfunction in t he sys tem
components is de tected. The function of the
airbag indicator light is described in greater
detai l below . Because the front passenger
seat contains important parts of the Ad ­
vanced A irbag System, you m ust take care to
prevent it from being damaged. Damage to
the seat may prevent the Advanced Airbag for
the front passenger seat from doing its job in
a crash .
The front Advanced Airb ag Sy stem
consists of the following:
- Crash sensors in the front of the veh icle that
measure veh icle acceleration/decele ration
to provide information to the Advanced Air­
bag System about the seve rity of the crash.
- An electronic co ntrol unit, with integrated
c rash se nsors for front and side impacts .
T he cont ro l unit " decides " whethe r to fire
the front airbags based on the inform ation
received from the crash senso rs . The contro l
unit a lso "decides" whether the safety belt
pretensioners should be activated .
Airbag system 169
-An Advanced A irbag w ith gas gene rator and
contro l valve fo r the driver ins ide the steer ­
ing wheel h ub.
- An Advanced Airbag w ith gas gene rator and
contro l valve inside the instrument pane l for
the front passenger.
- A weight-sensing mat under the upholstery
padding of the front passenger seat cushion
that measures the total weight on the seat.
The informat ion reg istered is sent continu­
ously to the electronic control unit to regu­
late deployment of the front Advanced Air­
bag on the passenger side.
- An airbag monitor ing system and ind icator
light in the instrument cluster
q page 173 .
-A sensor in each front seat registers the dis­
tance between the respective seat and the
steer ing whee l o r inst rument panel. The in­
forma tion registered is sent cont inuo usly to
t he elect ron ic cont ro l uni t to regula te de ­
ployment o f the front Advance d Airbags .
- The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF ligh t comes
on and st ays on in the cen ter o f th e instr u­
ment panel
q page 1 73, fig . 178 and tells
you whe n the front Advanced Airbag on the
passenger side has been tu rned
off .
-A sensor below the safety be lt latch fo r the
front seat passenger to measure the tension on the safety be lt . The tension on the safety
be lt and the weight registered by the
weight-sensing mat he lp the control unit
"decide" whether the front a irbag for the
front passenge r seat should be turned
off or
not
~ pag e 163, Child restraints on the
front seat -some important things to
know.
- A senso r in the safety belt latch fo r the d riv­
er a nd fo r the fro nt sea t passenger tha t
senses w hethe r that safe ty belt is latched or
no t and transmi ts this informa tion to the
electronic control unit.
_&. WARNING
Damage to the front passenger seat can
prevent the front airbag from work ing
properly.
-
•
•

1 70 Airbag sys tem
-Improper repair or disassembly of the
front passenger and driver seat will pre­
vent the Advanced A irbag System from
functioning properly.
- Repairs to the front passenger seat must
be performed by qualified and properly
trained workshop personnel.
- Never remove the front passenger or
dr iver seat from the veh icle .
- Never remove the upholstery from the
front passenger seat.
- Never disassemble or remove parts from the seat or disconnect wires from it.
- Never carry sharp objects in your pockets
or place them on the seat. If the weight­
sensing mat in the passenger seat is punctured it cannot work properly.
- Never carry things on your lap or carry
objects on the passenger seat. Such
items can increase the weight registered
by the weight-sens ing mat and send the
wrong info rmation to the airbag control
unit.
- Never store items under the front pas·
senger seat. Parts of the Advanced Ai r­
bag System under the passenge r seat
cou ld be damaged, prevent ing them and
the airbag system from wo rking proper­
ly .
- Never place seat covers or replacement upholstery that have not been specifical­
ly approved by A udi on the front seats.
- Seat covers can prevent the Advanced Airbag System from recognizing child re­
straints or occupants on the front pas­
senger seat and prevent the side airbag in the seat backrest from deploy ing prop­
erly.
- Never use cush ions, pillows, blankets or
similar items on the front passenger
seat. The add itiona l padd ing will prevent
the weight-sensing mat in the seat from
accu rately reg iste ring the c hild restra int
or person on the seat and prevent the
Advanced Airbag System from function­ ing properly .
-If you must use a child restra int on the
front passenger seat and the ch ild re- straint manufacturer's instructions
re­
qu ire the use of a towel, foam cushion or
something e lse to properly pos ition the
child restraint, make certain that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes
on and stays on whenever the ch ild re·
straint is installed on the front passen­
ger seat.
- If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, immed i­
a tely insta ll child restrain t in a rear se at­
ing position and have the airbag system
inspected by your authorized Audi dealer.
How the Advanced Airbag System
components work together
The front Advanced Airbag System and the
s ide airbags supp lement the protection of­
fered by the front three-point safety belts
with pretensioners and load limiters and the
adjustable head restraints to help redu ce the
risk of inju ry in a wide range of accident and
c rash situations. Be s ure to read the impor ­
tant information about safety and heed the
WARNINGS in this chapter.
Deployment of the Adv a need A irbag System
and the activation of the safety belt preten­
sioners depend on the deceleration measured
by the crash sensors and registered by the
electron ic control unit. The amount of infla­
tion of the front airbags can a lso be adapted
to the front seat pos ition, depending on the
distance between the respect ive front seat
and the steer ing w heel or instrument panel as
registered by sensors in the seats. Crash se·
verity depends on speed and deceleration as
well as the mass and st iffness of the vehicle
o r object involved in the crash .
On the passenger side, regardless of safety
belt use, the ai rbag w ill be tu rned off if the
we ight on the passenger seat is less than the
amount programmed in the e lectronic control
u nit. The front airbag on the passenger side
will a lso be turned off if one of the child safe -
ty seats that has been certified under Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 has been
recogni zed on the seat . The
PAS SENGER AIR .,..

172 Airbag system
must always sit in an upright position,
must not lean against or place any part
of their body too close to the area where
the airbags are located .
- Occupants who are unbelted, out of posi­
tion or too close to the airbag can be se­ riously injured by an airbag as it unfolds
with great force in the blink of an eye
~page 163.
A WARNING
A child in a rearward-facing child safety
seat installed on the front passenger seat
will be seriously injured and can be killed if
the front airbag inflates -even with an Ad­
vanced Airbag System.
- The inflating airbag will hit the child
safety seat or infant carrier with great
force and will smash the child safety seat
and child against the backrest, center
armrest, door or roof.
- Always install rear-facing child safety
seats on the rear seat.
- If you must install a rearward facing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat because of exceptional circumstan­
ces and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on and stay on, im­
mediately install the rear-facing child
safety seat in a rear seating position and
have the airbag system inspected by your
authorized Audi dealer.
A WARNING
Objects between you and the airbag will
increase the risk of injury in a crash by in­
terfering with the way the airbag unfolds
or by being pushed into you as the airbag
inflates.
- Never hold things in your hands or on
your lap when the vehicle 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 air­
bags during braking or other sudden ma­
neuver and become dangerous projec- tiles that can cause serious personal in­
jury if the airbags inflate.
- Never place or attach accessories or oth­
er objects (such as cupholders, tele­ phone brackets, large, heavy or bulky ob­
jects) on the doors, over or near the area marked "AIRBAG" on the steering wheel,
instrument panel, seat backrests or be­
tween those areas and yourself. These
objects could cause injury in a crash, es­
pecially when the airbags inflate.
- Never recline the front passenger's seat
to transport objects. Items can also
move into the area of the side airbag or
the front airbag during braking or in a
sudden maneuver. Objects near the air­
bags can become projectiles and cause
injury, particularly when the seat is re­
clined.
A WARNING
'-
The fine dust created when airbags deploy
can cause breathing problems for people
with a history of asthma or other breath­
ing conditions.
- To reduce the risk of breathing problems, those with asthma or other respiratory
conditions should get fresh air right
away by getting out of the vehicle or
opening windows or doors.
- If you are in a collision in which airbags
deploy, wash your hands and face with
mild soap and water before eating.
- Be careful not to get the dust into your
eyes, or into any cuts or scratches.
- If the residue should get into your eyes,
flush them with water.

PASSENGER AIRBAG ON will briefly appear in
the instrument cluster display. This is to in­
form the driver of the current front passenger
airbag status .
Important safety instructions on
monitoring the Advanced Airbag System
A WARNING
An airbag system that is not functioning
properly cannot provide supplemental pro­
tection in a frontal crash.
- If the airbag indicator light comes on, it
means that there may be someth ing
wrong with the Advanced Airbag System .
It is possible that the airbag will inflate
when it is not supposed to, or w ill not in ­
flate when it should .
- Have the airbag system inspected imme­
diately by your author ized Audi dealer .
A WARNING
If the front airbag inflates, a ch ild without
a child restra int, in a rearward-facing child
safety seat or in a forward-facing chi ld re­
straint that has not been prope rly insta lled
w ill be seriously injured and can be k illed.
- E ven thoug h your veh icle is equipped
with an Advanced Airbag System, make certain that a ll children, especially 12
years and younger, a lways ride on the
back seat properly restrained for their
age and size.
- Always insta ll forward or rear -facing
child safety seats on the rear seat -even
with an Advanced Airbag System.
- If you must install a rearward-facing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat because of exceptional circumstan­ ces and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not appear and stay on, imme ­
diately insta ll the rear-fac ing ch ild safety
seat in a rear seating position and have
the a irbag system inspected by you r au­
thorized Aud i de aler.
- A tight tether or other st rap on a rear­
wa rd-fac ing child restra int attached to
-
A irbag system 1 75
the front passenger seat can p ut too
m uch pressu re on the weight-sensing
mat in the seat and reg ister more weight
than is actually o n the seat . The heavier
weight registered can make the system
wo rk as tho ugh an adult we re on the seat
a nd deploy the Advanced Airbag w hen it
m ust be suppressed causing ser ious or
even fata l injury to the ch ild .
- I f, in exceptiona l circumstances , you
m ust install a forward-fac ing ch ild re­
s traint on the front passenger seat, al ­
ways move the seat into its rearmost po­ sition in the seat's fore and aft adjust­ ment range, as far away from the a irbag
as poss ible. The backrest must be ad just­
ed to an upright pos ition. Make sure that
the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
comes on and stays o n all t he time when­
eve r the ignit ion is switched on.
A WARNING
-
- I f the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not go o ut when an ad ult is sitting
on the front passenger sea t after tak ing
the steps described above, make su re the
ad ult is properly seate d and restra ined at
one o f the rea r seat ing pos itions.
- Have the airbag system inspected by your authorized Audi dealer before trans­port ing anyone on the front passenger
seat .
(D Tips
If the weight -sensing mat in the front pas ­
senger seat detects an empty seat, the
front airbag on the passenger side wi ll be
turned off, and
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
will stay on.
Repair , care and disposal of the airbags
Parts of the airbag system are i nstalled at
many different p laces o n your Aud i. Insta lli ng,
removing, servicing or repa iring a par t in an
area o f the veh icle can damage a par t of an
airbag sys tem and preven t that system from
working properly in a coll is ion . ..,.
•
•

176 Airbag system
There are some important things you have to
know to make sure that the effectiveness of
the system will not be impaired and that dis­
carded components do not cause injury or pol ­
lute the environment.
A WARNING
Improper care, servicing and repair proce­
dures can increase the risk of personal in­
jury and death by preventing an airbag
from deploying when needed or deploying an airbag unexpectedly:
- Never cover, obstruct, or change the
steering wheel horn pad or airbag cover
or the instrument panel or modify them
in any way.
- Never attach any objects such as cu­
pholders or telephone mountings to the
surfaces covering the airbag units.
- For cleaning the horn pad or instrument
panel, use only a soft, dry cloth or one
moistened with plain water. Solvents or
cleaners could damage the airbag cover
or change the stiffness or strength of the
material so that the airbag cannot de­
ploy and protect properly.
- Never repair, adjust, or change any parts
of the airbag system .
- All work on the steering wheel, instru­
ment panel, front seats or electrical sys­
tem (including the installation of audio
equipment, cellular telephones and CB
radios, etc .) must be performed by a
qualified technician who has the training
and special equipment necessary.
- For any work on the airbag system, we
strongly recommend that you see your
authorized Audi dealer or qualified work­ shop.
- Never modify the front bumper or parts
of the vehicle body.
- Always make sure that the side airbag
can inflate without interference:
- Never install seat covers or replace­
ment upholstery over the front seat­
backs that have not been specifically
approved by Audi . -
Never use additional seat cushions that
cover the areas where the side airbags
inflate.
- Damage to the original seat covers or
to the seam in the area of the side air­
bag module must always be repaired
immediately by an authorized Audi
dealer .
- The airbag system can be activated only
once. After an airbag has inflated, it
must be replaced by an authorized Audi
dealer or qualified technician who has
the technical information, training and
special equipment necessary.
- The airbag system can be deployed only
once . After an airbag has been deployed,
it must be replaced with new replace­
ment parts designed and approved espe­
cially for your Audi model version. Re­
placement of complete airbag systems
or airbag components must be per­
formed by qualified workshops only.
Make sure that any airbag service action
is entered in your Audi Warranty
& Main­
tenance booklet under
AIRBAG REPLACE­
MENT RECORD .
-In accidents when an airbag is deployed,
the vehicle battery separates the alterna­
tor and the starter from the vehicle elec­
trical system for safety reasons with a pyrotechnic circuit interrupter.
- Work on the pyrotechnic circuit inter­
rupter must only be performed by a
qualified dealer -risk of an accident!
- If the vehicle or the circuit interrupter
is scrapped, all applicable safety pre­
cautions must be followed.
@ For the sake of the environment
Undeployed airbag modules and preten­
sioners might be classified as Perchlorate Material -special handling may apply, see
www.dtsc.ca.gov/hazardouswaste/per­
chlorate. When the vehicle or parts of the restraint system including airbag modules
safety belts with pretensioners are scrap­
ped, all applicable laws and regulations
must be observed. Your authorized Audi
1J1-

The knee airbag system has been designed so
that the airbags for the driver and front pas­
senger deploy in certain but not all frontal
collis ions .
I f the front airbags deploy , the knee airbags
also deploy in fronta l collis ions when the de ­
p loyment threshold stored in the control unit
ist met.
When the system dep loys, the airbags fill
with a prope llant gas, and inflate between the
l ower part of the instrument panel and the
driver and the lower part of the instrument panel and the fron t passenger <=>
page 171,
fig . 17 7.
Although they are not a soft pillow, they can
cushion the impact and in this way they can
he lp to reduce the r isk of injury to the lower
extremities .
All of this takes place in the blink of an eye, so
fast that many people don't even reali ze that
t he airbags have deployed . The airbags also
inflate w it h a great deal of force and it is im ­
portant for occ upant safety that not hing
should be in the ir way when they dep loy .
Fully infla ted airbags in comb ination with
properly worn safety belts slow down and lim ­
it the occupant's forward movement and help
to reduce the r isk of injury .
Important safety instructions on the
knee airbag system
Applies to vehicles: with knee a irbags
Airbags are only supplemental restraints. Al­
ways wear safety belts correctly and ride in a
proper seating position .
There is a lot that you and your passenge rs
must know and do to help the safety be lts a nd
ai rbags to provide supp lemen tal protection .
_.6 WARNING
An inflating knee airbag can cause ser ious
injury. Wear ing safety belts incorrectly and
improper seating positions increase the
r isk of serious personal injury and death
whenever a veh icle is being used.
A irbag system 179
-The knee a irbag system cannot p rotect
you proper ly if you a re seated too close
to any of the airbag locat ions. When ad­
justing their seat pos itions, it is impor­
tant that both the driver and the front passenger keep the ir upper bod ies and
knees at the following m inimum safe
distances :
- at least 10 inches (25 cm) between the
chest and the steering wheel/instru­
ment panel.
- at least 4 inches (10 cm) between the knees and the lower part of the instru­
ment panel.
- The risk of personal in jury increases if
you lean forward or to the s ide, or if the
seat is improperly positioned and you are
not wearing yo ur safety belt . The risk i n­
creases even more should the ai rbag de­
ploy .
- Always ma ke sure that the knee a irbag
can inflate without inte rfe rence. Objects
between yo u and the airbag can inc rease
the risk of in jury in an accident by inte r­
fering w ith the way the a irbag deploys or
by being p ushed into you as the airbag
deploys.
- Never let anybody, especia lly children
or anima ls ride in the footwell in front
of the passenge r seat. If the airbag de­
ploys, th is can result in serious or fa tal
i njur ies.
- Never carry obje cts of any kind in the
footwe ll area in front of the dr iver' s or
passenger 's sea t. Bulky objects (shop ­
ping bags , fo r example) can interfere
with o r prevent proper deployment of
the airbag. Small objects can be
thrown through the ve hicle if the air­
bag deploys and injure you or your pas­
sengers .
- Make sure there are no cracks, deep
scratches or other damage in the area of
the instrument panel where the knee air­
bags are located.
- If ch ildren are incorrectly seated, their
risk of injury increases in a collision
<=> page 186, Child Safety .
•
•

- in rollovers.
I n some types of acc idents the front airbags,
side curt ain a irbags and side airbag s may be
t r iggered together .
& WARNING
- Safety belts and the airbag system will
only prov ide protection when occ upants
are in the proper seating position
r:::;, page 181.
- If the airbag indicator light comes on
when the vehicle is being used, have the
system inspected immediately by your
authorized Audi dealer. The a irbag may
not wo rk properly when the vehicle ac­
celeration in a side co llision is h igh
enough to activate the airbag .
How supplemental side airbags work
-
Side airbags deploy instantly and can help re­
duce the risk of upper torso injuries for occu­
pants who are properly restrained .
Fig. 1 82 Inflated sid e airbags o n left sid e of ve hicle
When t he system is triggered, the airbag is
f ill ed with propellant gas and breaks thro ugh
a seam in the seat surface area marked "AIR­
BAG".
It exp ands between the side trim pane l
and the passenger . In order to help prov ide
this additional protection, the side a irbag
must inflate withi n a fraction of a second at
ve ry high speed and with great force . T he sup­
p lemental side a irbag could injure you if your
seating position is not p roper or upr ight or if
items are Located in the area where the sup ­
p lemental s ide a irbag e xpands. This app lies
especia lly to children r:::;, page 186, Child Safe ­
ty . Supplementa l side airbags inflate between
A irba g sy stem 181
the occ upant and the door panel on the side
of the vehicle t hat is struck in certain side col­
li sion ¢fig. 182.
Although they are not a soft pillow , they can
"cushion" the impact and in this way they can
help to reduce the risk of injury to the upper
part of the body .
A fine d ust may deve lop when the a irbag de­
ploys . This is normal and does not mean there
is a fire in the veh icle.
Important safety instructions on the
side airbag system
Airbags are only supplemental restraints . Al­
ways properly wear safety belts and ride in a
proper seating position.
T here is a lot that you and your passengers
must know and act accordingly to help the
s afety belts and airbags do their job to pro­
vide supplementa l protect ion.
& WARNING ...
A n inflat ing side a irbag can cause serious
or fata l injury. Improperly wear ing safety
belts and imp roper seat ing pos itions in­
crease the r isk of serio us pe rsonal injury
and death whenever a vehicle is being
used .
- I n order to reduce the risk of i njury when
the supplemental side airbag inflates:
- Always sit in an upright position and
never lean aga inst the area where the
suppleme nta l side airbag is Located.
- Never Let a child or a nyone e lse rest
their head aga inst the s ide trim pane l
i n the area where the supplemental
s ide a irbag inflates .
-Always make sure that safety be lts are
worn co rrectly,
- Do not Let anyone s itting in the front
seat put the ir hand or any other parts
of their body out of the window .
-Always make sure that the s ide a irbag
can inflate without interfe rence.