light AUDI A5 COUPE 2018 Owners Manual

.,. Observe all traffic laws, rules of the road and
speed limits and plain common sense .
.. ALWAYS adjust your speed to road, traffic and
weather conditions.
.. Take frequent breaks on long trips. Do not drive
for more than two hours at a stretch.
.. Do NOT drive when you are tired, under pres­
sure or when you are st ressed.
& WARNING
Impai red dr iv ing safe ty inc reases the risk of
ser ious personal inju ry and death whenever a
vehicle is being used.
Correct passenger
seating positions
Proper seating position for the driver
The proper driver seating position is important
for safe, relaxed driving.
F ig . 2 28 Correct seating posit ion
F or your own safety and to reduce the risk of in­
jury in the event of an accident, we recommend
that you adjust the driver's seat to the following position:
.. Adjust the dr iver's seat so that you can easily
push the pedals all the way to the floor while
keeping your knee(s) slight ly
bent ¢&_ .
.. Adjust the angle of the seatback so that it is in
an upright position so that your back comes in
full contact w ith it when you drive .
.,. Adjust the steering wheel so that there is a dis­
tance of at least 10 in ches (25 cm) between the
steering wheel and you r breast
bone ¢ fig. 228.
If not possib le, see your aut horized Aud i dea le r
about adaptive eq uipment .
Driving safety
.. Adjust the steering wheel so that the steering
wheel and airbag cover points at your chest and
not at yo ur face .
.. Grasp the top of the steering wheel with your
elbow(s) slightly bent .
.,. Applies to: adjustable head restraints: Adjust
the head restraint so the upper edge is as even as poss ible with the top of your head. If that is
not possib le, try to adjust the head rest raint so
t ha t it is as close to this pos ition as poss ible .
.. Fasten and wear safety belts correctly
¢page 272.
.. Always keep both feet in the footwell so that
you are in contro l of the veh icle at a ll times.
F or detailed information on how to adj ust the
drive r's seat, see
¢page 71 .
A WARNING
-
Drivers who are unbelted, out of position or
too close to the airbag can be seriously in­
jured by an airbag as it unfolds. To help re­ d uce the risk of serious personal injury:
- Always ad just the driver's seat and the
steer ing whee l so that there are at least
10 inc hes (25 cm) between you r breastbone
and the steering wheel.
- Always ad just the driver's seat and the
steer ing wheel so that there are at least
4 inches (10 cm) between the knees a nd the
lowe r part of the instrument panel.
- Always hold the steering w heel on the out­
s ide of the steering wheel r im with yo ur
hands at the 9 o 'clock and 3 o'clo ck posi ­
tions to help reduce the risk of personal in­
jury if the driver's airbag inflates.
- Never hold the stee ring wheel at the
12 o' clock position o r wi th yo ur hands at
other positions i nside the steer ing whee l
rim or on the steering wheel hub. Holding
the steering wheel the wrong way can cause
serio us injuries to the hands, arms and head
if the dr iver's airbag dep loys.
- Pointing the steering wheel toward your
face decreases the ability of the supplemen­
tal driver's airbag to protect you in a coll i·
.,
sion. ..,
259

Safety belt s
Safety belts
General information
Always wear safety belts!
Wearing safety belts correctly saves lives!
This chapter explains why safety be lts are neces­
sary, how they work and how to adjust and wear
them correctly .
.. Read all the information that follows and heed
all of the instructions and WARNINGS.
&_ WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or wearing them im­
properly increases the risk of serious personal
injury and death.
- Safety belts are the s ingle most effective
means ava ilable to reduce the risk of serious
injury and death in automobile accidents.
For your protect ion and that of your passen­
gers, always co rrectly wear safety be lts
when the vehicle is moving .
- Pregnant women, injured, o r physically im­
paired persons must a lso use safety belts.
L ik e all vehicle occ upants, they are mo re
likely to be serio usly injured i f they do not
wea r safety be lts. The best way to protect a
fetus is to protect the mother -thro ughout
the ent ire pregnancy .
Number of seats
Applies to: Coupe/Cab riolet: Your Audi has a to­
tal of four seating positions: two in the front and
two in the rear. Each seat ing position has a safety
belt .
App lies to: Sportback: Your Audi has a total of
five seating positions: two in the front and three
in the rear . Each seating posit ion has a safety
belt .
&_ WARNING
Not wea ring safety belts or wearing them im­
properly increases the risk of ser io us personal
injury and dea th.
268
- Never strap more than one person, includ­
ing small children, into any belt. It is espe­
cially dangerous to place a safety be lt over a
child sitting on your lap .
- Never let more people r ide in the vehicle
than there are safety be lts available.
- Be sure everyone riding in the vehicle is
proper ly restrained with a separate safety
be lt or ch ild restraint .
Safety belt warning light
Your vehicle has a warning system for the driver
and front seat passenger to remind you about the importance of buckling-up.
Fi g. 233 Safety belt warn ing lig ht in th e in st rument clus ­
ter -enlarged
Befor e dri ving off , alway s:
.. Fasten your safety belt and make sure you are
wearing it properly .
<O N
"' 0 ..:, <r m
.. Make sure that your passengers also buckle up
and properly wear the ir safety belts .
.. Protect children with a ch ild restraint system
app ropr iate for the size and age .
The warning light . in the instrument cluster
l ights up when the ig nition is switched on as a re­
minder to fasten t he safety be lts . In addition,
you w ill hea r a wa rning tone for a ce rtain per iod
of time.
Fasten your saf ety b elt and make sure that your
pas sengers al so prop erly put on th eir safety
belts.

_& WARNING
-Safety belts are the single most effective
means availa ble to r educe the ris k of ser ious
injury and death in automobile accidents .
For your protection and that of your passen­
gers, always correctly wea r safety be lts
when the veh icle is moving .
- Failure to pay attention to the warn ing light
that comes on could lead to persona l injury.
Why use safety belts?
Frontal collisions and the law of physics
Frontal crashes create very strong forces for peo­
ple riding in vehicles.
Fig. 2 34 Unbelted occupants in a veh icle head ing for a wall
Fig. 23 5 The veh icle crashes into the wa ll
The physical principles are simple . Both the vehi­
cle and the passengers possess e nergy which va r­
ies w ith veh icle speed and body weigh t. Engi­
n eers ca ll this energy "ki ne tic e nergy."
The highe r the speed of the vehicle and the
g reater the vehicle 's we ight, the more energy
~ that has to be "absorbed " in the crash. ~ N ...... N ~ 0
'° ~ co
Safet y bel ts
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 passenge rs of this vehicle a re not us­
ing sa fety belts
¢ fig . 234, they will keep moving
at the same speed the vehicle was moving just
before the crash, until someth ing stops them -
here, the wall
c:.-fig. 235.
T he same p rinciples apply to people sitting in a
vehicle that is invo lved in a fronta l co llision. Even
at city speeds of 20 to 30 mph (30 to 50 km/h),
the forces acting on the body can reach one ton (2,000 lbs . or 1,000 kg) or more. At greater
speeds, these forces are even higher .
People who do not use safety belts are a lso not
attached to the ir 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 accide nts and co llisions.
269

Safety belts
-Always keep the belts clean. Dirty belts may not work properly and can impa ir the func­
t ion of the inertia reel
¢ table Interior
cleaning on page 364 .
Safety belts
Belt positioner
Applies to: vehicles with belt positioners
Fig. 239 Driver 's seat: Belt pos it ione r (exa mple)
The front seats are equ ipped w ith belt pos ition­
ers so it is easier to fasten the safety belts . The
belt positioners automatically extend when the
door closes or the igni tion switches on.
The belt positioner returns to its starting posi­
tion again when
-the tongue in the belt la tch engages or the belt
was not fastened within 60 seconds .
- you switch the ignition off.
-you open the door .
A WARNING
The belt positioners could cause injury or
damage if they p inch people or objects when
extend ing or retracting.
272
Fastening safety belts
Safety first -everybody buckle up!
Fig. 240 Belt buckle and tongue on the driver's seat
To provide maximum protection, safety belts
must always be positioned correctly on the wear­
er 's body .
.. Adjust the front seat and head restraint proper­
ly¢ page 71, Front seats.
.. Make sure the seatback of the rear seat bench
is in an upright position and securely latched in
place before using the
belt ¢ _A.
.. Pull the safety belt evenly across the chest and
pelvis ¢ fig. 240, ¢ _A .
.. Insert the tongue into the correct buckle of
your seat until you hear it latch securely .
.. Pull on the belt to make sure that it is sec urely
latched in the buckle .
Automatic safety belt retractors
Every safety belt is equipped with an automatic
belt retractor on the shoulder belt . This feature
locks the belt when the belt is pulled out fast,
during hard brak ing and in an accident. The belt
may also lock when you drive up or down a steep
hill or through a sharp curve. During normal driv­
ing the belt lets you move free ly.
Safety belt pretensioners
The safety belts are equipped w ith a belt preten­
sioner that helps to tighten the safety belt and
remove slack when the pretensioner is activated
¢ page 2 75. The function of the pretensioner is
monitored by a warning
light ¢ page 32 . Iii>

<( a, .... N ,....
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about children and Advanced Airbags
¢page 302 .
Even though yo ur vehicle is equipped with an Ad­
vanced Airbag System, make certain that all chil­
dren, especially those 12 years and younger,
a l­
ways ride in the back seat properly restrained for
their age and size. The airbag on the passenger
side makes the front seat a potentially dangerous
place for a child to ride. The front seat is not the
safest place for a child in a forward-facing child
safety seat .
It can be a very dangerous place for
a n infant or a child in a rearward-fac ing seat.
T he Advanced Airbag System in your veh icle has
been certified to comply with the requirements
of United States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standa rd (FMVSS) 208, as well as Canada Motor
Veh icle Safety Standa rd (CMVSS) 208 as applica­
b le a t the time your veh icle was m an ufact ured.
Accord ing to requirements, the front Advanced
Airbag System on the passenger side has been
certifi ed for "suppression" for infants of about
12 month old and younger and for "low risk
de­
ployment" for children aged 3 to 6 years old (as
defined in the standard) .
T he
PASSENGER AIR BAG O FF ~ ; light in the
headliner tells you when the front Advanced Air­
bag on the passenger side has been turned off by
the electronic control unit.
Each time yo u turn on the ignition, the
PASSEN ­
GER AIR BAG OFF
~ ; ON @ light will come on
for a few seconds and:
- PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF ~; will come on if
the front passenger seat is not occupied
- PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF ~; will come on if
the e lectrica l capacitance measured by the
ca­
pacitive passenger detection system for the
front passenger seat equa ls the comb ined
ca­
pacitance of an infant up to about one year of
age and one of the rearward-facing or forward ­
facing child restra ints listed i n Federa l Moto r
Vehicle Safety Standard ( FMVSS) 208 with
wh ich the Advanced Airbag System i n your veh i­
cl e was certified . Fo r a listing of the child
re ­
straints that were used to ce rtify you r vehicle 's
compliance with the Safety Standard
¢ page 304 .
Airb ag sys tem
-PAS SENGER AIR BAG OFF ~; will come on if
there is a small chi ld or child restraint on the
front passenger seat
- PASSENGER AIR BAG ON @ will come on if the
front passenger seat is occupied by an ad ult as
registered by the capacit ive passenger detec­
tion system
¢ page 289 , Monitoring the Ad­
vanced Airbag System .
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF ~; light comes on
when e lectrical capacitance registered on the
front passenger seat is equal to or less than the
combined capacitance of a typical 1 year-old
in­
fant and one of the rearward-facing or forward ­
facing child restrai nts listed in Federal Motor Ve­
hicle Safety Standard ( FMVSS) 208 with wh ich
the Advan ced Airbag System in yo ur vehicle was
ce rtified.
If the total electr ical capacitance reg istered on
t h e front passenger seat is mo re than that of a
typ ical 1 year -old ch ild but less than the weight
of a sm all adult, the front air bag on the passen­
ger side can deploy (the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF ~; light does not come on) .
If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF ~; light does
not come on, the front airbag on the p assenger
s ide has not been turned off by the electronic
contro l unit and can deploy if the contro l unit
senses an impact that meets the conditions stor­
ed in its memory .
For example , the airbag may deploy if :
-a small c hild that is heav ier than a typ ica l 1
year -o ld child is on the front passenger se at
(regardless o f whethe r the child is in one o f the
child sa fe ty seats listed
¢ page 304), o r
- a child who has outgrown c hild rest raints is on
t he front passenge r seat .
If the front passenge r airbag is t urned off, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF ~; light comes on i n
t h e headliner a nd stays o n.
If the front passenger a irbag deploys, the Feder­
al Standard requi res the airbag to meet the "low
r isk " dep loymen t criteria to redu ce the r isk of
in­
j u ry through interaction w it h t he airbag. "Low
risk" deployment oc curs in those crashes that
take place at lowe r decelerations as defined in
Ill>
279

Airbag syste m
the electronic control unit¢ page 289, PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG
OFF~; ON@ light.
A lways remember, a child safety seat or infant
carrier installed on the front seat may be struck
and knocked out of position by the rapid ly inflat­
ing passenger's airbag in a fronta l co llision. The
airbag cou ld greatly reduce the effect iveness of
the child restraint and even seriously injure the
child during inflation.
For this reason, and because the back seat is the
safest place for ch ildren
-when properly restra in­
ed according to the ir age and size
-we strong ly
recommend that children always sit in the back
seat
¢ page 302, Child safety.
A WARNING
A ch ild in a rearward-facing child safety seat
installed on the front passenger seat w ill be
ser iously injured and can be killed if the fron t
airbag infla tes
-even w ith an Advanced Ai rbag
System.
- T he inflating a irbag w ill hit the child safety
seat or infant carrier with great force and
will smash the chi ld 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 ch ild
safety seat on the front passenger seat be­
cause of exceptiona l circumstances and the
PA SSENGER AIR BAG OFF ~; light does not
come on and stay on, immed iately install
the rear-fac ing ch ild safety seat in a rear
seat ing pos ition and have the airbag system
inspected by your authorized Audi dea ler.
- Forward-facing ch ild safety seats installed
on the front passenger's seat may interfere
with the deployment of the airbag and ca use serio us pe rsonal injury to the child.
A WARNING
If, in except ional circumstances, you must i n­
stall a forward -facing chi ld res train t on the
front passenger's seat:
- Alw ays make sure the forward-facing seat
has been designed and ce rt ified by its man-
280
ufacturer for use on a front seat with a pas­
senger front and side airbag.
- Never put the forward-facing child restraint
up against or very near the instrument pan­
el.
- Always move the front passenger seat to
the highest posit ion in the up and down ad­
justment range and move it back to the
rearmost posit ion in the seat's fore and aft
ad justment range, as far away from the a ir­
bag as poss ible, before installing the for­
ward-facing chi ld restraint.
- Always make sure that the safety be lt upper
anchorage is behind the ch ild rest raint and
not next to o r in front of the child rest raint
so th at the safety be lt will be p roperly posi­
tioned.
- Ma ke sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
~; light comes on and stays on all the
time wheneve r the ign it ion is switched on .
A WARNING
To reduce the risk of serious injury, make sure
that the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF~; light
will be disp layed whenever a ch ild restraint is
installed on the front passenger seat and the
ignit ion is switched on.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF ~; light
does not stay on, perform the checks descri­
bed
¢ page 289, Monitoring the Advanced
Airbag System.
- Take the child restra int off the front passen­
ger seat and install it properly at one of the rear seat positions if the
PASSENGER AIR
BAG
OFF ~ light does not stay on .
- Have the airbag system inspected by your author ized Audi dealer immed iate ly.
- Always carefully follow instructions from
child restraint manufacturers when instal­
ling child restra ints.
A WARNING
If, in exceptional ci rcumstances, you must in­
stall a forward or rearward-fac ing child re-
stra int on the fron t passenger's seat:
..,.

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3 a,
The front Advanced Airbag System for the front
seat occupants is not a substitute for your safety be lts. Rather, it is part of the overa ll occupant re ­
straint system in your vehicle. A lways remember
that the airbag system can on ly help to protect
you, if you are sitting upr ight, wear ing your safe ­
ty belt and wear ing it properly. This is why you
and your passengers must always be properly re­
stra ined, not just because the law requ ires you to
be.
The Advanced Airbag System in your ve hicle has
been certified to meet the
"low r isk" require­
ments for 3 and 6 yea r-old children o n the pas­
senger side and very sma ll adults on the drive r
side . The low r isk dep loyment cr iteria are intend­
ed to help reduce the risk of injury through inter­
action with the front airbag that can occur, for
examp le, by being too close to the steering wheel
and instrument pane l when the airbag inflates .
I n addition, the system has been certified to
comp ly with the "supp ression" requirements of
the Safety Standard, to turn off the front a irbag
for infants 12 months old and younger who are
restrained on the front passenger seat in child re­
stra ints that are listed in the Standard
c::> page 304, Child restraints and Advanced Air­
bags.
"Suppress ion" requ ires the front a irbag on the
passenger side to be turned off if:
- a ch ild up to about one year of age is restrained
on the front passenger seat in one of the rear­
facing or forward-fac ing infant restra ints listed
in Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208
with wh ich the Advanced Airbag System in your
vehicle was ce rt ified. For a listi ng of the ch ild
restra ints tha t were used to certify your veh i­
cl e's compl iance with the US Safety St andard
c::, page 304,
- When a person is dete cted on the front passen­
ger seat that has an electrical capacitance that
is more than the tota l electrical capac itance of
a ch ild 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 w ith which the Advanced A irbag
System in your veh icle was certified), the front
Airb ag sys tem
airbag on the passenger side may or may not
dep loy.
T he
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF ~; ligh t comes on
whe n the elect ronic con trol uni t detects a tota l
electrical capacitance on the front passenger seat
that requires the front airbag to be turned off. If
the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OF F~ ; light does not
come on, the front airbag on the passenger side
has not been turned
off by the contro l unit and
can deploy if the contro l unit senses a n impact
that meets the cond itions stored in its memory.
If the total e lectr ica l capacitance reg istered on
the front passenger seat is more than that of a
typ ical 1 year-old, b ut less than the weight of a
small ad ult, the front a irbag on the passenger
s ide may dep loy (the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
~; light does not come on).
For example, th e airbag may deploy if:
- a small ch ild that is heav ier than a typ ical 1
year-o ld child is on the front passenger seat
(regardless of whether the child is in one of the
child safety seats listed
c:> page 304),
- a child who has outgrown c hild restraints is on
the front passenger seat.
If the front passenger airbag is t urned
off, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF ~; light in the head­
liner w ill come on and stay on.
If the front passenge r airbag deploys, the Feder­
al Standard requ ires the a irbag to meet the " low
risk" deployment criteria to help reduce the r isk
of inj ury through interaction with the airbag.
"Low risk" deployment occurs in those crashes
that take place at lower decelerations as defined
i n the electronic control unit .
c::>page 289
Always remember: Even though your vehicle is
equipped with Advanced Airbags, the safest place
for childre n is properly restrained on the back
seat. Please be sure to read the impor tant infor­
mation in the sec tions that fo llow and be sure to
heed all of the WARNINGS.
_& WARNING
To redu ce the risk of injury when an airbag in-
f lates, always wear safe ty belts properly.
llill-
283

Airbag syste m
-If you are unrestrained, leaning forward, sit­
ting sideways or out of position in any way,
your risk of injury is much higher.
- You will also receive serious injuries and
could even be killed if you are up aga inst the
airbag or too close to it when it inflates
-
even with an Advanced Airbag ¢page 277.
A WARNING
A child in a rearward-facing child safety seat
installed on the front passenger seat w ill be
ser iously injured and can be killed if the front
airbag inflates
-even w ith an Advanced Airbag
System.
- Although the Advanced A irbag System in
yo ur vehicle is designed to turn off the front
airbag when a rearward-facing child re­
straint has been insta lled on the front pas­
senger seat, nobody can absolutely guaran­
tee that deployment is impossible in all con­ ceivable s ituations that may happen during
the useful life of your vehicle.
- The inf lating airbag will hit the child safety
seat or infant carrier with great force and
will smash the chi ld safety seat and child
against the backrest, center armrest, door,
or roof.
- Always install rearward-facing ch ild re­
straints on the rear seat.
- If you must install a rearward fac ing ch ild
safety seat on the front passenger seat be­
cause of exceptiona l circumstances and the
PAS SENGER AIR BAG OFF ~; light does not
come on and stay on, immed iate ly install
the rear-fac ing ch ild safety seat in a rear
seating position and have the airbag system
inspected by your authorized Audi dea ler.
A WARNING
If, in exceptional circumstances, you must in­
stall a forward-facing chi ld restraint on the
front passenger's seat:
- Always make sure the forward-facing seat
has been designed and certified by its man­
ufacturer for use on a front seat with a pas­
senger front and side a irbag.
284
- Never put the forward-facing child restraint
up against or very near the instrument pan­
el.
- Always move the front passenger seat to
the highest posit ion in the up and down ad­
justment range and move it back to the rearmost posit ion in the seat's fore and aft
ad justment range, as far away from the a ir­
bag as poss ible, before install ing the for­
ward-facing chi ld restraint.
- Always make sure that the safety be lt upper
anchorage is behind the ch ild rest raint and
not next to o r in fron t of the child rest raint
so that the safety be lt will be properly posi­
tioned.
- Always make sure th at there is noth ing on
the front passenger seat that will cause the
capacitive passenger detection system in
the seat to signal to the Airbag System that
the seat is occup ied by a person when it is
not, or to signal that it is occupied by some­
one who is heavier than the person actually
sitt ing on the seat. The presence of addi­
tional objects could cause the passenger
front airbag to be turned on when it should
be off, or could cause the airbag to work in a
way that is d ifferent from the way it wou ld
have worked withou t the objec t on the seat .
- Ma ke sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
"1; light comes on and stays on all the
time wheneve r the ignit ion is switched on .
' Advanced Airbag System components
The front passenger seat in your vehicle has a lot
of very important parts of the Advanced Airbag
System in it. These parts include the capacitive passenger detection system, wir ing, brackets,
and more. The control unit monitors the system
on the front passenger seat when the ignit ion is
switched on and turns the airbag indicato r light
o n when a malfunction in the one of the system
components is
detec ted¢ page 289. Because
t h e fron t passenger seat contains impo rtant
parts of the Advanced Ai rbag System, you must
take care to prevent it from being damaged .
Damage to the seat may prevent the Advanced
.,.

<( a, .... N ,....
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3 a,
Airbag System for the front passenger seat from
doing its job in a crash.
The f ront Ad vanced Airb ag S ystem con sists
of t he follo wing :
-Crash sensors in the front of the vehicle that
measure vehicle acceleration/deceleration to
provide information to the Advanced Airbag
System about the severity of the crash.
-An electronic control un it, with integrated
crash sensors for front and side impacts. The
control unit "decides" whether to fire the front
airbags based on the information received from
the crash sensors. The control unit also
"de­
c ides" whether the safety belt pretens ioners
shou ld be activated .
-An Advanced Airbag with gas generator and
contro l valve for the driver ins ide the steer ing
wheel hub.
-An Advanced Airbag with gas generator and contro l valve inside the instrument pane l for
the front passenger.
-A capac itive passenger detect io n system unde r­
neath the front passenger seat cover. This sys­
tem measures the elect rical capac ita nce of the
person in the seat. The i nformation registe red
is sent continuously to the electron ic control
unit to regulate deployment of the front Ad­
vanced Airbag on the passenger side.
-An airbag monitoring system and indicator
light
m in the instrument cluster .
-A sensor in each front seat reg isters the dis­
tance between the respective seat and the
steering wheel or instrument panel. The infor­
mation reg istered is sent continuously to the
electronic control unit to regulate deployment
of the front Advanced A irbags.
-The PA SS EN GER AIR BAG OFF ~; ON@ light
comes on in the
headliner ¢ page 289,
fig. 248 and tells you the status of the Ad­
vanced Airbag on the passenge r side .
-A sensor in the safety belt latch for the dr iver
and for the front seat passenger that senses
whether that safety belt is latched or not and
transm its this info rmat ion to the elect ronic
contro l unit.
Airb ag sys tem
_& WARNING
Damage to the front passenger seat can pre­
vent the front airbag from working properly.
- Improper repair or disassembly of the front
passenger and driver seat will prevent the
Advanced Airbag System from funct ion ing
properly.
- Repairs to the front passenger seat must be
performed by qualified and properly trained
workshop personnel.
- Never remove the front passenger or driver seat from the vehicle.
- Never remove the upholstery from the front
passenger seat.
- Never disassemble or remove parts from the
seat or disconnect w ires from it.
- Never carry sharp objects in your pockets or
put them on the seat. The capacit ive pas­
senger detect ion mat in the front passenger
seat will not function p roperly if it is punc­
tured.
- Never carry things on your lap or carry ob­
jects on the front passenger seat. S uch ob­
jects can influence the capacitance reg is­
tered by the capacitive passenger detection
system, so that incorrect informa tion is pro­
vided to the airbag control unit.
- Never store i tems unde r the front passenger
seat . Parts of the Advanced Airbag System
under the passenger seat could be dam­
aged, p reventing them and the airbag sys­
tem from working proper ly.
- Never p lace seat covers or replacement up­
holstery that have not been specifically ap­
proved by Audi on the front seats.
- Seat covers can prevent the Advanced A ir­
bag System from recognizing chi ld re­
stra ints or occupants on the front passenger
seat and prevent the side airbag in the seat
backrest from deploying properly.
- If a seat heater has been retrofitted or oth­
erwise added to the front passenger seat,
never install any child restra int system on
this seat.
- Never use cushions, p illows, blankets, or
similar items on the front passenge r seat .
285

Airbag syste m
The additio na l l ayers prevent the capacitive
passenger detection system from accurately
measuring the capac itance of the ch ild safe­
ty seat and/or the person on the seat and
thus keep the Advanced Airbag System from
working p roperly.
- Never place or use any electrical device (such as a laptop, CD player, elect ronic
games dev ice, power inverte r or seat heater
for child seats) on the front passenger seat
if the device is connected to the 12-vol t
socket or the cigarette lighter socket . S uch
devices can infl uence the capacitance regis­
tered by the capacitive passenger detection
system, so that incorrect information is pro­
vided to the airbag control unit.
- If you must use a c hild restraint on the front
passenger seat and the child restraint man­
ufacturer's instructions require the use of a
towel, foam cushion or something else to prope rly position the ch ild restraint, make
certain that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
~; light comes on and stays on whenever
the chi ld restraint is installed on the front
passenge r seat .
-If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF ~; light
does not come on and s tay on , immediate ly
ins tall child restra int in a rea r seating posi­
tion and have the airbag system inspected
by you r A udi dealer.
_& WARNING
If the front passenger seat gets wet, dry it im­
mediately.
- If liquid soaks into the front passenger seat,
this can keep the a irbag system from work ­
ing prope rly and may, for instance, deact i­
vate the passenger frontal airbag. If this happens, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF ~;
light will come on and stay on togethe r with
the a irbag ind icator
light E,I in the inst ru­
men t cluster.
- If liquid is poo led on the seat, bu t has not
soa ked i n, this may also keep the airbag sys­
tem from wo rking properly and ca use the
passenge r frontal a irbag to be enabled
(tu rned on), even though there is a properly
286
installed child rest raint system on the seat .
Wet towels or other wet things on the seat
cushion can have the same effect.
If the
front passenger fronta l airbag is turned on,
t he
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF ~; light light
w ill go out.
How the Advanced Airbag System
components work together
The front Advanced A irbag System and the side
airbags supp lement the p rotection offered by the
front three-point safety be lts and the adjustable
head restraints to he lp reduce the risk of injury in
a wide range of accident and crash situat ions. Be
sure to read the important i nformat ion about
safety and heed the WARNINGS in this chapter .
Deployment of the Advanced A irbag System and
the activation of the safety belt pretensioners de­ pend on the dece leration measured by the crash
sensors and registered by the elec tronic contro l
u nit . Crash severity depends on speed and decel­
e ration as well as the mass and stiffness of the
vehicle or object invo lved in the cras h.
On the passenger side, regard less of safety be lt
u se, the front passenge r frontal airbag will be
turned off if t he e lectr ica l capaci tance m easured
by the capaci tive p assenge r detection system o n
t h e fron t passenger sea t is less th an the amou nt
programmed in t he e lec tronic cont ro l unit. The
front passenger frontal airbag wi ll also be turned
off if the capacitance measured by the system for
the front passenger seat equals that of an infant
of about one year of age in one of the child seats
that was used to certify the Advanced Airbag Sys­
tem under Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208. The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF ~; light
comes on and stays on to tell you whe n the front
Advanced Airbag System on the passenge r side
has been tu rned
off~ page 289.
_& WARNING
T o reduce the ris k of injury when an airbag in ­
f lates, always wea r safety belts prope rly.
- If you are un res trained, leaning forward, sit­
ting sideways or out of position in any way,
your r isk of injury is much higher.