airbag off AUDI A8 2013 User Guide

152 Airbag sys te m
Airbag system
Important things to know
Importance of wearing safety belts and
sitting properly
Airbags are only supplemental restraints. For
airbags to do their job , occupants must al­
ways properly wear their safety belts and be
in a proper seating position.
F or your safety and the safety of your passen­
gers, before driving off, always:
• Adjust the dr iver's seat and steering wheel
properly ¢
page 135,
• Adjust the front passenger's seat properly
r=;page 58,
• Wear safety be lts properly r=; page 147,
• Always properly use the proper child re-
stra int to protect children¢
page 176.
In a collision, airbags must inflate within the
blink of an eye and with considerable force .
The supplemental airbags can cause injuries if
the dr iver or the front seat passenger is not
seated properly . Therefore in order to he lp the
a irbag to do its job, it is important, both as a
d river and as a passenger to sit properly at all
times.
By keeping room between your body and the
steering wheel and the front of the passenger
compartment, the airbag ca n inflate fully and
comp letely and provide supp lemental protec­
tion in certain frontal collisions¢
page 135,
Proper occupant seating positions.
F or detai ls
on the operat ion of the seat adjustment con­
trols ¢
page 58.
It's especially important that children a re
properly restrained ¢
page 176.
There is a lot that the driver and the passen­
gers can and must do to help the individua l
safety features ins talled in your A udi work to­
gether as a system.
Prope r seat ing pos ition is important so that
the front airbag on the driver s ide can do i ts
job. If yo u have a physical impa irment or con- dition that prevents you from sitting properly
on the driver seat with the safety belt properly
fastened and reaching the peda ls , or if you
have concerns with regard to the function or
operation of the Advanced Airbag System,
please contact your author ized Audi dealer or
qualified workshop, or call Audi Customer Re­
lations at 1-800-822-2834 for poss ible modi­
ficat ions to your ve hicle.
When the airbag system deploys, a gas gener ­
ator will f il l the a irbags, break open t he pad­
ded cove rs, and i nflate between the steer ing
whee l and the dr iver and between the instru­
ment pane l and the front passenger. The a ir­
bags will deflate immediately after dep loy­
ment so that the front occupants can see
t h rough the windshie ld again witho ut inter­
ruption .
All of th is takes p lace in the b link of an eye, so
fast that many peop le don't even realize tha t
the airbags have deployed. The airbags a lso
inflate with a great dea l of force and nothing
shou ld be in their way when they deploy.
Front airbags in combination with properly
wor n safety belts slow down and lim it the oc ­
cupant's forward movement . T ogether they
help to prevent the drive r and front seat pas­
senger from hitting pa rts of the inside of the
vehicle while reducing the forces acting on the
occupant dur ing the crash . In this way they
help to reduce the risk of injury to the head
and upper body in the crash. A irbags do not
protect the arms or the lower parts of the
body.
Both front airbags wi ll not inflate in all fronta l
collisions . The t riggering of the airbag system
depends on the vehicle dece lerat ion rate
caused by the co llision and registered by the
electron ic control unit. If th is rate is below
the reference value programmed into the con ­
t rol unit , the airbags will not be trigge red,
even though the car may be badly damaged as
a res ult of the co llision . Ve hicl e damage, re­
pair costs or even the lack of ve hicle damage
is not necessari ly an indication of whether an
airbag shou ld inflate or not .
IJll-

Since the circums tances will vary considerab ly
between one collision and another , it is not
possible to define a range of veh icle speeds
that will cover every possible k ind and angle
of impact t hat w ill always t rig ger the a irbags .
Important factors include, for example, the
nature (hard or so ft) of the object which the
car h its, the ang le of impact, vehicle speed,
etc. The front airbags will a lso not inflate in
side or rear collisions, or in ro ll-overs .
Alw ays rememb er: Airbags will deploy only
once, and only in certa in kinds of co llisions.
Your safety belts are always there to offe r pro­
tect ion in those s ituations in which airbags
are not supposed to deploy, or when they have
a lready deployed ; for example , when your ve­
hicle strikes or is struck by another vehicle af­
ter the first co llision .
This is just one of the reasons why an a irbag is
a supp lementary restraint and is not a s ubsti ­
tute for a safety belt . The airbag system
works most effectively when used with the
safety belts. Therefore, always properly wear
your safety belts¢
page 144.
A WARNING
Sitting too close to the steer ing whee l or
instrument panel will dec rease the effec­
tiveness of the airbags and will inc rease
the risk of pe rsonal injury in a co llision .
- Never sit closer than 10 inches (2S cm)
to the stee ring wheel or instr ument pan­
el.
- If you cannot sit more than 10 inches
( 2 5 cm) from the steer ing whee l, investi­
ga te whethe r adaptive equipment may
be available to help you reach the pedals
and increase your seating distance from
the steering wheel.
- If you are unrestrained, lean ing forward,
sitting sideways or out of position in any
way, yo ur risk of inj ury is much higher.
- You w ill also receive serio us injuries and
cou ld even be killed if you are up against
the a irbag or too close to it when it in­
flates -even with an Advanced Airbag.
A irbag system 153
-To reduce the risk of injury when an air­
bag inflates, always wear safety belts
properly ¢
page 147, Safety belts.
-Always make certain that ch ild ren age 12
or younger a lways ride in the rear seat. If
children are not properly restrained, they may be severe ly inju red or killed when an
airbag inf lates .
- Never let ch ildren ride unrestra ined or
improperly restrained in the vehicle. Ad­
just the front seats prope rly .
- Never ride with the back rest reclined .
- Always sit as far as possible from the
steer ing whee l or the instrument pane l
¢page 13S.
-Always sit upright with your back against
the backrest of your seat .
- Never p lace your feet on the instrument
panel or on the seat. Always keep both
feet on the f loor in front of the seat to
he lp preven t serio us in ju ries to the legs
and h ips if the airbag infla tes.
- Never recline the front passenger 's seat
to transport objects . Items can a lso
move into the area of the s ide a irbag or
the front a irbag du ring bra king or in a
sud den maneuve r. Obje cts near the air ­
bags can become projectiles and cause
in jur y when an airbag inflates.
A WARNING
Airbags that have de ployed in a crash must
be replaced.
- Use on ly orig inal equipment airbags ap­
proved by Aud i an d installed by a trained
technician who has the necessary too ls
and d iagnost ic equipment to properly re­
place any airbag in your vehicle and as­
sure system effectiveness in a crash .
- Never perm it salvaged or recycled air­
bags to be installed in your vehicle . •
•

154 Airbag sys te m
Child restraints on the front seat - some
important things to know
• Be sure to read the impo rtant in formation
and heed the WARNINGS for important de­
ta ils about ch ildren and Advanced Airbags
i=> page 176.
Even though your vehicle is equipped with an
Advanced Airbag System, make certain that
all children, 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 child to r ide .
The front seat is not the safest place fo r a
chi ld in a fo rward-facing chi ld seat.
It can be a
ve ry dangerous p lace for an infant or a ch ild in
a rearward -facing seat.
The Advanced Airbag System i n your veh icle
has been certified to comply with the require­
men ts of United States Federa l Mo to r Veh icle
Safety Standard 208 as applicable at the time
your vehicle was manufactured.
The Standa rd requires the fron t air bag on t he
passenger side to be turned off ("sup­
p ressed") if a ch ild up to about one yea r 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 ­
straints that were used to certify compliance
with the US Safety Standard
c> page 178.
The PASS ENGE R AIR BAG OFF light in the in­
strument panel tells you when the front Ad­
vanced A irbag on the passenger side has been
turned off by t he e lectronic control unit.
Each t ime you sw itch on the ignit ion, the
PAS­
SENGER AIR BAG OFF
l ight will come on for a
few seconds and:
- will stay on if the front passenger seat is not
occupied ,
- will stay on if there is a small child or child
restraint on the front passenger seat, -
will go off if the front passenger seat is oc ­
cupied by an adult as registered by the
weight -sensing mat
c::> page 163, Monitor­
ing the Advanced Airbag System.
T he PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
when the control unit detects a tota l weight
on the front passenger seat that req uires the
front a irbag 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
child b ut 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
AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on, the
front a irbag on the passenger side has not
been turned 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 deplo y if:
-a small ch ild that is heav ie r 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
the child seats listed
c> page 178), or
- a child who has outgrown ch ild restraints is
on t he 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 side may
not deploy (the P A SSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not illum inate and stay lit) even if a
small adult o r teenager, or a passenger who is
not sitt ing up rig ht w ith their back against a
non- re cli ned ba ck rest w it h thei r feet on the
vehicle floor in front of the sea t is on the front
passenge r seat
c::> page 135, Proper seating
position for the driver.
If the front passenger a irbag dep loys, the
F ede ra l St andard 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
¢ page 163, PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light .
Always remember, a chi ld seat or inf ant ca rri­
e r i nsta lled on the front seat may be struck
and knocked out of position by the rapidly in­
flating passenger's airbag in a frontal colli­
sion. The airbag could greatly red uce the ef­
fectiveness of the child restraint and even se­ riously injure the child during inflat ion.
F or this reason, and because the back seat is
the safest p lace for children -when properly
restra ined accord ing to their age and si ze -we
strongly recommend that children always sit
in the back seat¢
page 176, Child Safety.
A WARNING
A child in a rearward-facing child seat in­
stalled on the front passenger seat will be
ser iously injured and can be killed if the
front airbag inflates -even with an Ad­
vanced Airbag System .
- The inflating a irbag w ill hit the child seat
or infant carrier w ith great force and w ill
smash the ch ild seat and child against
the backrest, center armrest, door or
roof .
- Always install rear -facing child seats on
the rear seat .
- If you mus t install a rearward facing
child seat on the front passenge r seat
because of exceptiona l circumstances
and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, immedi­
ately install the rear-facing chi ld seat in a
rear seating position and have the airbag
system inspected by your Aud i deale r.
- Forward-fac ing ch ild seats installed on
the front passenger's seat may interfere
with the deployment of the airbag and cause serious pe rsonal injury to the
child.
A WARNING
If, in exceptional c ircumstances, you mus t
install a forwa rd-facing child restra int on
the front passenger's seat:
A irbag system 15 5
-Always make sure the forward-facing
seat has been designed and certified by
its manufacturer for use on a front seat
with a passenger front and s ide a irbag.
- Never put the forward-facing child re­
straint up against or very near the instru­ ment panel.
- Always move the passenger seat into its
rearmost position in the seat's fore and
aft adjustment range, as fa r away from
the airbag as possible before installing
the forward-fa cing ch ild restra int. The
backrest mus t be ad justed to an upright
posi tion.
- Ma ke sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
li ght comes on and stays on all the
time wheneve r the ignit ion is swi tched
on.
A WARNING
To reduce the risk of serious injury, make
sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light will be displayed whenever a child re­
straint is installed on the front passenger
seat and the ignition is sw itched on.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not stay on, perform the checks de­
scribed ¢
page 163, Monitoring the Ad­
vanced Airbag System .
-Take t he chi ld restraint off the front pas­
senger seat and install it properly at one
of the rear seat positions if the
PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not stay on.
- Have the airbag system inspected by
your Aud i dea le r i mmediately.
- Always carefully follow instructions from
child restraint manufacture rs when in­
stalling ch ild restra ints.
A WARNING
If, in except iona l circumstances, you must
ins tall a forward o r rearwa rd-facing child
restra int on the front passenger's se at:
- Imp roper install ation of ch ild restrai nts
can reduce their effec tiveness o r even
preven t them from providing any protec­
tion. •
•

156 Airbag system
-An improperly installed child restraint
can interfere with the airbag as it de ­
ploys and seriously injure or even kill the
child -even with an Advanced Airbag
System .
- Always carefully follow the manufactur­
er's instructions provided with the child
seat or carrier .
- Never place additional 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 con provide supplemental
protect ion to properly restrained front seat
occupants.
Fig. 165 Location of dr iver airbag: in stee ring wheel
Fig. 166 Locat ion of front passenger's airb ag: in the in­
s trument panel
Your vehicle is equipped with an "Advanced
A irbag System" in compliance w ith United
States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
(FMVSS) 208 as applicable at the time you r
vehicle was manufactured. The system senses
the position of the front seats and controls
front airbag inflation with a valve, depending on
the distance between the respective seat
and the steering wheel or instrument panel.
The safety belts for the seats have "preten­ sioners" that help to take slack out of the belt
system. The pretensioners are also activated by the electronic control unit for the airbag
system.
The front safety belts also have load limiters
to help reduce the forces applied to the body in a crash .
The airbag for the driver is in the steering
wheel hub
¢fig. 165 and the airbag for the
front passenge r is in the instrument panel
¢ fig . 166 . The general location of the airbags
is marked "AIRBAG".
There is a lot you need to know about the air­
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 the owner's literature .
Please be sure to heed the WARNINGS -they
are extremely important for your safety and
the safety of you r passengers, especially in­
fants and small children.
A WARNING
Never rely on airbags alone for protection.
- Even when they deploy, airbags provide
only supplementa l protection .
-Airbag work most effective ly when used
with properly worn safety belts.
- Therefore, always wear your safety belts
and make sure that everybody in your ve ­
hicle is properly restrained .
A WARNING
A person on the front passenger seat , es­
pecially infants and sma ll children, will re­
ceive serious injuries and can even be kil­
led by being too close to the airbag when
it inflates .
- Although the Advanced Airbag System in
your vehicle is designed to turn off the
front passenger airbag if an infant or a
small child is on the front passenger
seat, nobody can absolutely guarantee ..,.

that deployment under these special
conditions is impossible in all conceiva­
ble situations that may happen during
the useful life of your vehicle .
- The Advanced Airbag System can deploy
in accordance with the "low risk" option
under the U .S . Federal Standard if a child
that is heavier than the typical one-year old child is on the front passenger seat
and the other conditions for airbag 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 .
T he 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 airbag 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.
The 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-
Airbag system 157
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
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 178, 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 178,
-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
11-
•
•

158 Airb ag sys te m
an impact that meets the conditions stored in
its memory .
I f the total weight on the front passenger
seat is more than that of a typical 1 year-o ld,
but less than the weight of a small adu lt, the
front airbag on the passenger side may deploy (the
PASSENGER AIR B AG OFF light does not
come on).
For exa mple , the airbag ma y depl oy if :
- a small child that is heavier than a typical 1
year-o ld child is on the front passenger seat
(regardless of whe ther the child is in one of
the chi ld seats listed
¢ page 178),
- a ch ild who has outgrown child rest raints is
on the front passenger seat.
If the front passenger airbag is turned off, the
PA SSENGER AIR BAG OFF light in the cente r
of the instrument panel w ill come on and stay
on.
The front a irbag on the passenger side may
not deploy (the PAS SENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not illuminate and stay lit) if:
- a small adult or teenager is on the front pas­
senger seat
- a passenger who is not sitt ing upright wit h
their back against a non-reclined backrest
with their feet on the veh icle floo r in front
of the seat is on the front passenger seat.
If the front passenger airbag deploys, the Federal Standard requires the a irbag to meet
the "low risk" deployment criteria to help re­
d uce the risk of inju ry through interaction
with the airbag. " Low risk" deployment occurs
in those crashes that take place at lower de­
celerations as defined in the electronic control un it
¢ page 163.
Alw ays re memb er: Even tho ugh you r vehicle
is equipped with Advanced Airbags, the safest
p lace for children is properly restrained on the
back seat . Please be sure to read the impor­
tant information in the sect ions that follow
and be sure to heed all of the WARNINGS.
A WARNING
To reduce the risk of injury when an a irbag
i nflates, always wear safety be lts properly.
- If you are unrestra ined, leaning forward,
sitt ing s ideways or out of pos ition in any
way, your risk of injury is much h igher.
- You will a lso receive serious injuries and
could even be killed if you are up aga inst
the airbag or too close to it when it in­
flates -even w ith an Advanced A irbag
¢ page 152.
A WARNING
A child in a rearward-fac ing ch ild seat in­
stalled on the front passenger se at will be
se riously injured and can be killed if the
front airbag inflates -even with an Ad­
vanced Airbag System.
- Altho ugh the Advanced Airbag System in
your vehicle is designed to turn off the
front airbag when a rearward-facing
child restraint has been installed on the
front passenger seat, nobody can abso­
lutely guarantee that dep loyment is im­
possible in all conceivable situations that
may happen dur ing the usefu l life of your
veh icle.
- The inflating airbag will h it the ch ild seat
or infant car rier with g reat force and will
smash the child seat and child against
the backrest, center armrest, door, or
roof.
- Always install rearward-facing ch ild re­
s traints on the rear seat.
- I f you must ins tall a rearward fac ing
child seat on the fron t passenger seat
because of exceptional circumstances
and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, immedi­
ately insta ll the rear-facing child seat in a
rear seat ing pos ition and have the airbag
system inspected by your Audi dealer.
A WARNING
If, in exceptional circumstances, you must
i nstall a forward-facing child restraint on
the front passenger's seat:
-

-Always make sure the forward-facing
seat has been des igned and certified by
its manufacturer for use on a front seat
with a passenger front and side airbag.
- Never put the forward-facing child re­
straint up aga inst or very near the instru­
ment panel.
- 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 insta lling
the fo rward -facing child restraint. T he
b ackres t m ust be adjus ted to an upr igh t
posit ion.
- Make su re that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on and s tays on all the
t ime whenever the ignition is switched
on .
Advanced Airbag System components
The front passenger seat in your vehicle has a
l ot of very important parts of the Advanced
Airbag System in it. These parts include the
weight-sens ing mat, sensors, wiring, brack­
ets, and more . The function of the system in
the front passenger seat is checked by the
e lectronic control un it when the ign it ion is on .
The control un it mon itors the Advance d Air ­
bag Sys tem and turn s the a irbag i ndica tor
light on when a ma lfunction in t he system
compo nents is detected . The function of the
ai rbag indicator light is described in greater
deta il below. Because the front passenger
seat contains important parts of the Ad­
va nced A irbag System, you must take care to
prevent it from being damaged . Damage to
the seat may p revent the Advanced A irbag for
the front passenger seat from doing its job in
a crash .
The front Advanced Airb ag System
consists of the following:
- Crash senso rs in the front of the veh icle that
measu re ve hicle accelera tion/decele ra ti on
to provide info rm ation to the Advanced Air ­
bag System abo ut the severity of the crash.
A irbag system 159
-An elect ron ic cont ro l unit, with integrated
crash sensors for front and side impacts .
The control un it "decides" whether to f ire
the front a irbags based on the informat ion
received from the crash sensors. The control
unit also "decides" whether the safety belt
prete nsione rs shou ld be act iva ted.
- An Advanced A irbag w it h gas generator and
cont ro l valve for the d river ins ide the steer ­
ing wheel h ub.
- An Advanced A irbag w ith gas generator and
cont ro l valve inside the instrument pa ne l for
the front passenger .
- A weight -sensing mat unde r the upho lstery
padding of the front passenge r seat cushion
that measures the to tal weight o n the seat.
The info rmat ion reg iste red is sent continu­
ously to the elect ronic con trol u nit to regu ­
la te deployment of the front Advanced Air ­
bag on the passenger side .
- An airbag moni tor ing sys tem and ind icator
light in the instr ument cluster
¢ page 163.
-A sen sor in each fron t seat regis ters the dis ­
t ance betwee n the respec tive seat and the
steering whee l or instrument panel. The i n­
formation registered is sent cont inuo usly to
the electron ic contro l unit to regulate de­
ployment of the front Advanced A irbags .
- The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes
on and stays on in the center o f the instr u­
ment panel¢
page 163, fig. 168 and tells
you whe n the front Advanced Airbag on the
passe nger side has been tu rned off.
- A sensor below the safety belt latch for the
front seat passenger to measure t he tension
on the safety belt. The tension o n the safety
be lt and the weight regis tered by the
weigh t-sensi ng mat he lp the cont rol uni t
"de cide" whe ther the front airbag fo r the
front passenge r seat should be turned off or
not
~ page 154, Child restraints on the
front seat -some important things to
know.
- A sensor in t he safety be lt latch fo r the d riv­
er and for the front seat passenger that
senses w hethe r th at safety belt is latched or
not and transmits this information to the
electronic control unit.
•
•

160 Airbag sys te m
_& WARNING
Damage to the front passenger seat can
prevent the front airbag from working
properly.
- Improper repair or disassembly of the
front passenger and driver seat wi ll pre­
vent the Advanced A irbag System from
functioning properly.
- Repairs to the front passenger seat must
be performed by q ualified 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-se nsing 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
c ou ld be damaged, prevent ing them and
the a irbag sys tem from working proper ­
ly .
- N ever place sea t covers or replacement
upholstery that have not been specifical­
ly approved by A udi on the fron t seats.
- Seat covers can preven t th e Advanced
Airbag System from recognizing child re ­
st raints or occupants on the front pas­
senger seat and prevent the side airbag
in the seat backrest from deploy ing prop­
er ly.
- Never use cushions, 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 p roperly.
- If you must use a child restraint on the
front passenger seat and the child re­
straint manufacturer's instructions re­
qu ire the use of a towel, foam cushion or
something e lse to prope rly pos ition the
child restraint, make certain t hat the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF lig ht comes
on and stays on whenever the ch ild re­
straint is installed on the front passen ­
ge r seat .
- If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, immedi ­
ately insta ll child restraint in a rear seat­
ing position and have the ai rbag system
inspected by your Audi dea ler.
How the Advanced Airbag System
components work together
T he front Advanced Airbag System and the
s ide a irbags supp lem ent the p rotection of­
fered by the front three-po int safety belts
with pre tensione rs and load lim iters and the
adjustable head res train ts to help redu ce the
risk of in jury in a wide ra nge of accident and
crash situations . Be s ure to read the impor­
tant information about safety and heed the
WARNINGS in th is chapter.
Deployment of the Adv a need Airbag System
and t he activation of the safety belt preten ­
s ioners depend on the deceleration measured
by the crash sensors and registered by the
electron ic co ntrol unit. The amount of infla­
t ion of t he front airbags can a lso be adapted
to the front seat pos ition, depending on the
distance between the respective front seat
and t he steer ing w heel or instrument panel as
regis tered by sensors in the seats. C rash se ­
verity depends on speed and dece leration as
well as the mass and st iffness of t he vehicle
or object involved in the crash .
On t he passenger side, rega rdless of sa fe ty
belt use, the airbag w ill be turned off if the
weight on the passenger seat is less than the ..,.

amount prog rammed in the e lec tronic control
u nit. The front airbag on the passe nger side
will also be turned off if one of the ch ild seats
that has been certified u nder Fede ral Motor
Vehicle Safety Standard 208 has been recog­ n ized o n the seat. The
PASS ENGER AIR BAG
OFF li gh t comes on and stays on to tell you
when the front Advanced A irbag on the pas­
se nger side has been tu rned off
Q page 154,
Child restraints on the front seat -some im­
portant things to know.
A WARNING
To reduce the risk of injury when an airbag
inf lates, a lways wear safety belts properly.
- If you are unrestrained, lean ing fo rward,
sitting sideways or out of position in any
way , yo ur risk of inj ury is much higher.
- You wi ll also receive serio us injuries and
cou ld even be killed if you are up against
the a irbag or too close to it when it in­
flates -even with an Advanced Airbag
Qpage 152.
More important things to know about
front airbags
F ig. 167 Inflated front a irbags
Safety belts are important to help keep front
seat occupants in the proper seated pos ition
so that airbags can unfo ld properly and pro­
v ide supplemental protection in a fronta l co l­
lision .
The front a irbags are designed to provide ad­
d itiona l protection for the chest and face of
the dr iver and the front seat passenger when :
- safety be lts are worn properly,
A irba g sy stem 161
- the seats have been positioned so that the
occ upant is properly seated as far as possi­
ble from the airbag,
- and the head restrai nts have been properly
adjusted .
Beca use ai rb ags infl ate i n t he bli nk o f an eye
wi th great fo rce, th ings you have on your lap
or have p laced on the seat co uld become dan­
gerous p ro jecti les, and be p ushed into you if
the a irbag inflates.
When an airbag deploys, fine dust is re leased .
T his is norma l and is not ca used by a fi re in
the ve hicle . This dust is made up mostly of a
powder used to lubricate the airbags as they
deploy. It could irr itate skin.
It is important to remember that wh ile the
s u pplementa l airbag system is designed to re­
duce the like lihood of serious injur ies , other
injuries, for example swelling, bru is ing and
minor abrasions, can also happen when air­
bags i nflate . A irbags do not protect the arms
or the lower parts of the body. Front a irbags
suppleme nt the th ree-point safety be lts only
i n some fronta l colli sions in which the vehicle
deceler ation is high e nough to deploy the air­
bags .
Front airbags will not deploy :
-if the ignition is sw itched off when a c rash
o ccur s,
- in side co llisions,
- in rear-end coll is ions,
- in rollovers,
- when the crash deceleration measu red by
the airbag system is less than the minimum
threshold needed for a irbag deployment as
reg istered by the electro nic contro l unit .
The front passenger airbag also will not
deploy:
-when the front passenger seat is not occu­
pied,
- when the weight on the front passenger seat as sensed by the Advanced Airbag Sys­
tem ind icates that the front a irbag on the
passenger side has to be turned off by the
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