weight AUDI A8 2018 User Guide

Airbag syste m
-The inflating airbag will hit the child seat or
infant carrier w ith great force and will
smash the ch ild seat and c hild against the
backrest, center armrest , door or roof .
- Always install rear-facing child seats on the
rear seat.
- If you must install a rearward fac ing ch ild
seat on the front passenger seat because of exceptional c ircumstances and the
PA SSEN­
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on
and stay on, immediately insta ll the rear­
facing child seat in a rea r seating position
and have the airbag system inspected by
yo ur Audi dealer.
- Forward-facing ch ild seats insta lled on the
front passenge r's sea t may in terfe re with
the deployment of the airbag and cause se­
rious persona l injury to the child.
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 cert ified by its man­
ufact urer for use on a front seat with a pas­
senger front and side a irbag.
- Never put the forward-facing child restraint up against or very near the instrument pan­
el.
- Always move the front passenger seat to the h ighest position in the up and down ad­
justment range and move it back to the
rearmost position in the seat's fore and aft
adjustment range, as fa r away from the air­
bag as possib le, before insta lling the for­
ward-facing child res trai nt.
- Always make sure that the safety belt upper
anchorage is beh ind the child restraint and
not next to or in front o f the child restrain t
so tha t the safety belt will be properly pos i­
tioned.
- Make s ure tha t the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on and stays on all the time
whenever the ignition is switched on.
230
A WARNING
To reduce the risk of serious injury, make sure
that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light will
be d isplayed whenever a ch ild restraint is in­
stalled on the front passenge r seat and the
ignit ion is switched on.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not stay on, perform the checks desc ribed
~ page 23 7, Monitoring the Advan ced Air­
bag System.
- Take the child restra int off the front passen­
ge r seat an d install it prope rly at one of the
rear sea t positions if the
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
light does not stay on .
- Have the ai rb ag system inspec ted by your
Aud i dea ler immediately.
- Always carefully follow ins truc tions from
child restrain t manufacture rs 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 front passenger's seat:
- Improper installat ion of child restraints can
reduce the ir effectiveness or even prevent
them from provid ing any protect ion.
- An improperly installed child restra int can
inter fere with the airbag as it deploys and
serious ly injure or even kill the child - even
w ith an Advanced A irbag System.
- Always carefully follow the manufacturer's instructions provided with the child seat or
car rier.
- Never p lace add itiona l items on the seat
that can increase the tota l weight registered
by the weight -sensing mat and can cause in ­
jury in a crash.

Airbag syste m
The front Advanced Airbag System supp lements
the safety belts to provide additional protection
for the dr iver's and front passenger's heads and
upper bodies in frontal crashes. The airbags in­
flate only in frontal impacts when the veh icle de­
celerat ion 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 overall occupant re­
stra int system in your vehicle. Always remember
that the a irbag system can only help to protect
you, if you are sitt ing upr ight, wear ing your safe­
ty belt and wear ing it prope rly. This is why you
and your passengers must always be prope rly re ­
stra ined, not just because the law req uires yo u to
be .
The Advanced Airbag System i n your veh icle has
been ce rt ified to meet the " low r isk" requ ire­
men ts for 3 and 6 yea r-old children on the pas­
senger side and very sma ll adults on the driver
side . The low risk dep loyment criteria are intend ­
ed to he lp 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 panel when the airbag inflates .
In addition, the system has been certified to
comp ly w ith the "suppression" 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 c hild re­
stra ints that are listed in the Standa rd
¢ page 251, Child restraints and Advanced Air­
bags.
"Suppress ion" requ ires t he front a irbag on the
passenger side to be turned
off if:
- a chi ld up to about one year of age is restra ined
on the front passenger seat in one of the rear­
facing o r fo rward-fac ing infant restra ints listed
i n Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
208
with wh ic h the Advanced Airbag System in your
vehicle was ce rt ified. For a l isting of the c hild
restra ints that were used to certify your veh i­
cle's compliance with the US Safety Standard
¢ page 251,
232
-weight less than a threshold leve l stored in t he
control unit is detected on the front passenger
seat.
When a person is detected on the fron t passen ­
ger seat, weig hing more than the total weight of
a chi ld that is about 1 year old restrained in one
of the rea r-facing or forward-fac ing infant re­
straints (listed in Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standard
208 with w hich the Advanced Airbag
System in your vehicle was certified), the front
a irbag on the passenger s ide may or may not de­
ploy.
The
PASSENGER AIR BA G OFF light comes on
whe n the electronic control unit detects a tota l
weight on t he front passenger seat that requ ires
t h e front a irbag to be tur ned
off . If t he PASSEN ­
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on, the
front a irbag on the passenge r side has no t been
tu rne d
off by t he control unit and can dep loy if
the control unit senses an impact t hat meets the
conditions stored in its memory.
If the total weig ht on the front passe nger sea t is
more than that of a typ ica l 1 year-o ld, but less
than the weight of a small adult, the front airbag
on the passenger side may dep loy (the
PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG O FF
light does not come on).
For example , the airbag ma y deplo y if:
- a small ch ild that is heav ier than a typ ica l 1
year-old child is on the front passenger seat (regard less of whethe r the child is in one of t he
child seats listed
¢ page 251),
-a child who has outgrown c hild res traints is on
the front passenge r seat.
If the front passenger a irbag is tu rned
off, the
PA SSENGER AIR BAG OFF light in the center of
t h e i nstr ument pane l w ill come on and s tay on.
The front airbag on the passenger side may
not
deploy (the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not ill uminate and stay lit) if:
- a small adult or teenager is on the front pas­
senger seat
- a passenger who is not s itting upright with
their back against a no n-reclined backrest with
their feet on the veh icle floor in front of the
seat is on the front passenger seat .

u. co .... N
" N .... 0 0 :c '<t
If the front passenger airbag dep loys, the Feder ­
a l Standard requires the airbag to meet the "low
risk" deployment criteria to help reduce the risk
of injury through interaction with the airbag.
"Low risk" dep loyment occurs in those crashes
that take place at lower decelerations as defined in the electronic control unit
r;:;. page 23 7.
Al way s remember: Even though your vehicle is
equ ipped w ith Advanced A irbags, the s afest p lace
for children is properly restrained on the back
seat . Please be sure to read the important infor­
mat io n in the sect ions that follow and be su re to
h eed a ll of the WARN INGS.
A WARNING
T o red uce the r isk of injury when an airbag in­
flates, a lways wear safety be lts properly .
- If you are unrest rained, lean ing fo rwa rd, s it ­
t ing s idew ays or o ut of pos it ion in any way,
yo ur risk of in jury is much higher .
- Yo u will also receive se rious injur ies a nd
cou ld even be killed if you are up aga inst the
airbag or too close to it when it inflates
-
even with an Advanced Airbag I!!> page 22 7.
A WARNING
A child in a rearward-facing chi ld seat insta l­
led on the front passenger seat will be ser i­
ously injured and can be k illed if the front air­
bag inflates - even with an Advanced Airbag
System .
- Although the Advanced A irbag System in
yo ur vehicle is designed to turn off t he front
airbag when a rearward-facing ch ild re­
straint has been insta lled on the front pas­
senger seat, nobody can abso lutely g uara n­
tee that deployment is impossible in a ll con ­
c e ivable s ituat ions that may happen dur ing
the usefu l life o f yo ur vehicle .
- T he inf lat ing air bag w ill hit th e chi ld sea t or
infant carrier w it h great fo rce and will
smash the c hild seat and child against the
backrest , center a rmrest, door, or roof.
- Always install rearward -fac ing c hild re ­
straints on the rear seat .
- If you must install a rearwar d fac ing c hild
seat on the front passenger seat because of
Airbag syste m
except io n al circumstances and the PASSEN ­
GER AIR BAG OFF
li ght does not come on
and stay on, immed iate ly install the rea r­
faci ng chi ld seat in a rear seating pos it io n
a nd have the airbag system inspected by
your Aud i dea le r.
A WARNING
-
If, in exceptional c ircu mstances, you must in­
stall a forward-fa cing child rest ra in t on the
fron t passenger's seat:
- Always make su re the forward-facing seat
has bee n des igned and certified by its man­
uf acture r for use o n a front sea t with a pas ­
senge r front and side airbag.
- N eve r put the fo rw ar d-faci ng chi ld restra in t
up ag ainst o r very ne ar th e i nstr ument pan ­
el.
- Always move the fro nt passenge r seat to
the hig hest posit io n in the up and down ad ­
justment range and move it bac k to the
rearmost positio n in the seat's fo re and aft
ad justment range, as far away from the a ir ­
bag as poss ible, before install ing the for ­
ward-facing ch ild restraint .
- Always make sure that the safety be lt upper
anchorage is behind the c hild restraint and
not next to o r in front of the ch ild restraint
so that the safety be lt will be p roperly posi­
tioned .
- Make sure that t he
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
l ight comes on and stays on a ll the time
wheneve r th e ignit ion is switched o n.
Advanced Airbag System components
The front passenge r seat in your ve hicle has a lo t
of ve ry important parts of t he Advanced A irb ag
System in it. These parts incl ude the weight ­
sensing mat, sensors, wiring, brackets, and
more . The f unction of th e system in the front
passenger seat is checked by the electronic con­
trol unit when the ign ition is on. The control unit
moni tors the Advanced Airbag System and turns
the a irbag ind icator light on when a malfunction
i n the system compone nts is detected . The func­
t ion of the a irbag ind icator light is described in
greate r deta il be low. Because t he front
233

Airbag syste m
passenger seat contains important parts of the
Advanced Airbag System, you must take care to
prevent it from being damaged . Damage to the
seat may prevent the Advanced A irbag for the
front passenger seat from doing its job in a
crash .
The front Ad vanced Airb ag S ystem con sist s
o f the follo wing :
-Crash sensors in the front of the vehicle that
measure vehicle acceleration/decelerat ion to
provide information to the Advanced Airbag
System about the severity of the crash .
- An electron ic control un it, with integrated
crash sensors for front and side impacts . The
contro l unit "decides " whether to fire the front
airbags based on the information received from
the crash sensors. The contro l unit also "de ­
cides" whether the safety be lt pretensioners
sho uld be activated.
-An Advanced Airbag with gas generator and
contro l valve for the driver inside the steering
whee l hub .
-An Advanced Airbag with gas generator and
contro l valve inside the instrument pane l for
the front passenger.
- A weight -sensing mat unde r th e upho lstery
padding of the front passenger seat cushion
that meas ures the tota l weight on the seat . T he
information registered is sent continuously to
the e lec tronic control unit to regu la te dep loy­
ment of the front Adva need A irbag on the pas ­
senger side .
- An airbag monitoring system and indicator
light in the instrument cluster
c> page 23 7 .
- A sensor in each front sea t registers 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 cont rol u nit to regulate deployment
of the fro nt Advanced A irbags.
- T he
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
and stays on in the center of the instr ument
pane l
c> page 23 7, fig. 232 and tells you w hen
the front Advanced Airbag on the passenger side has been turned off.
-A sensor be low the safety belt latch fo r the
front seat passenger to meas ure the tension on
234
the sa fety be lt. The tension on the safety belt
and the weight registered by the weight -sens­
ing mat he lp the contro l unit "decide" whether
the front airbag for the front passenger seat
should be turned
off or not c> page 228, Child
restraints on the front seat -some important
things to know .
-A sensor in the safety belt latch for the driver
and for the front seat passenger that senses
whether that safety belt is latched or not and
transmits this informat ion to the e lectronic
cont rol u nit.
_&, WARNING
Da mage to the front passenge r seat can pre ­
vent the front airbag from work ing prope rly .
- I mp roper repair or disassembly of the front
passenger and driver seat will p revent the
Advanced Airbag System from functioning
proper ly.
-Repairs to the front passenger seat mus t be
performed by qualified and proper ly trained
workshop personne l.
- Never remove the front passenger or driver seat from the vehicle.
-Never remove the upholstery from the front
passenger seat.
-N ever d is a ssemble o r remove pa rts from the
seat or disconnect wi res from it.
- N ever carry sharp objects in your pocke ts or
p lace them on the seat. If the weight-sens ­
ing mat in the passenger seat is p unctured
it ca nnot work proper ly.
- Never carry things on your lap or carry ob­
jects on the passenger seat. S uch items can
increase t he weight reg istered by the
weight-sensing mat and send the wrong in­ formation to the a irbag control u nit.
- Never store items under the front passenger
seat . Parts of the Advanced Airbag System
under the passenger seat cou ld be dam­
aged, preventing them and the airbag sys­
tem from worki ng p roperly.
- Never place seat covers or replacement up­
holstery that have not been specifically ap­
proved by A ud i on the front seats.
- Seat covers can prevent the Advanced A ir­
bag System from recognizi ng ch ild

restraints or occupants on the front passen­
ger seat and prevent the side airbag in the
seat backrest from deploying properly.
- Never use cushions, pillows, blankets or
similar items on the front passenger seat.
The additional padding will prevent the
weight-sensing mat in the seat from accu­
rately registering the child restraint or per­
son on the seat and prevent the Advanced
Airbag System from functioning properly .
- If you must use a child 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 properly position the child restraint, make
certain that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on whenever the
child restraint is installed on the front pas­
senger seat.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not come on and stay on, immediately in­
stall child restraint in a rear seating position and have the airbag system inspected by
your Audi dealer .
How the Advanced Airbag System
components work together
The front Advanced Airbag System and the side
airbags supplement the protection offered by the
front three-point safety belts and the adjustable head restraints to help reduce the risk of injury in
a wide range of accident and crash situations . Be
sure to read the important information about
safety and heed the WARNINGS in this chapter.
Deployment of the Advanced Airbag System and
the activation of the safety belt pretensioners de­ pend on the deceleration measured by the crash
sensors and registered by the electronic control
unit. Crash severity depends on speed and decel­
eration as well as the mass and stiffness of the
vehicle or object involved in the crash.
On the passenger side , regardless of safety belt
use, the airbag will be turned off if the weight on
~ the passenger seat is less than the amount pro-...,
~ gram med in the electronic control unit. The front N
8 airbag on the passenger side will also be turned 0 :c '<I'
Airbag system
off if one of the child seats that has been certi­
fied under Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
208 has been recognized on the seat. The
PAS­
SENGER AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays
on to tell you when the front Advanced Airbag on
the passenger side has been turned off
~ page 228, Child restraints on the front seat ­
some important things to know .
_&. WARNING
To reduce the risk of injury when an airbag in­
flates, always wear safety belts properly.
- 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 against the
airbag or too close to it when it inflates
-
even with an Advanced Airbag~ page 227.
More important things to know about front
airbags
Fig. 231 Inflated front airbags
Safety belts are important to help keep front
seat occupants in the proper seated position so
that airbags can unfold properly and provide sup­ plemental protection in a frontal collision .
The front airbags are designed to provide addi­
tional protection for the chest and face of the driver and the front seat passenger when:
- safety belts are worn properly,
- the seats have been positioned so that the oc-
cupant is properly seated as far as possible
from the airbag,
- and the head restraints have been properly ad-
justed .
.,.
235

Airbag syste m
Because airbags inflate in the blink of an eye with
great force, things you have on your lap or have
p laced on the seat cou ld become dangerous pro ­
jectiles, and be pushed into you if the airbag in­
flates .
When an airbag deploys, fine dust is re leased.
This is normal and is not caused by a fire in the
veh icle. Th is dust is made up mostly of a powder
used to lubricate the airbags as they deploy. It
could irr itate sk in .
It is important to remember that while the sup ­
p lemental a irbag system is designed to reduce
the likelihood of serious injuries, other injuries,
for example swelling, bruising and m inor abra ­
sions, can also happen when airbags inflate . A ir­
bags do not protect the arms or the lower parts
of the body. Front a irbags supplement the th ree­
point safety belts only in some fronta l co llisions
in which the veh icle decelerat ion is high enough
to deploy the airbags.
Front airbags will not deploy:
- i f the ign it ion is switched off when a crash oc-
c ur s,
- i n s ide collisions,
- in rear -end collisions,
- in rollovers,
- when the crash deceleration measured by the
airbag system is less than the minimum thresh­
o ld needed for airbag deployment as registered
by the electronic control unit .
The front passenger airbag als o will not
deplo y:
- when the front passenger seat is not occupied,
- when the weight on the front passenger seat as
sensed by the Advanced A irbag System indi­
cates that the front airbag on the passenger
s ide has to be turned off by the electronic con­
trol unit (the
P A SSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
comes on and stays on).
_& WARNING
Sitting in the wrong pos ition can increase the
r is k of serious in jury in c rashes.
- To reduce the risk of inju ry when the airbags
inflate, the d river an d passengers must
al-
236
ways sit in an upright posit ion, must not
lean aga inst or place any part of their body
too close to the area where the airbags are
located.
- Occupants who are unbe lted, out of posit ion
or too close to the airbag can be serious ly
in jured by an airbag as it unfolds with g reat
force in the blink of an eye
~ page 228.
_& WARNING
A child in a rearward-facing child seat instal­ led on the front passenger seat will be seri­
ously injured and can be killed if the front air­
bag inflates
-even with an Advanced Airbag
System.
- The infla ting air bag will h it the ch ild seat o r
infan t ca rrier wi th great force and wi ll
smash the child seat and child against the
backrest, center armrest, door or roof .
- Always install rear -fac ing ch ild seats on the
rear seat.
- If you must install a rea rw ar d facing child
seat on the front passenger seat because o f
except ional circumstances and the
PASSEN·
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on
and stay on, immed iate ly install the rear­
facing chi ld seat in a rear seating posit ion
and have the airbag system inspected by
your Aud i dea le r.
_& WARNING
Objects between you and the airbag will in­
crease the r is k of injury in a c rash by interfe r­
ing wi th the way the airbag unfolds or by be­
ing p ushed into you as the air bag infla tes.
- Never hold things in you r hands o r on your
lap when the veh icle is in use.
- Never transport items on or in the a rea of
the front passenge r seat. Objects could
move into the area of the front airbags dur­
ing b raking or other s udden maneuvers and
become dangerous projectiles that can
cause serious persona l injury if the airbags
inflate.
- Never p lace or attach accessories or othe r
objects (such as cup holders, telephone brackets, large, heavy or bulky ob jects) on -

Airbag syste m
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light will come on
and stay on to tell you when the front Advanced
Airbag on the passenger side has been turned
off
by the electronic control unit. Each time you
sw itch on the ignit ion, the
P ASS ENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light will flash for a few seconds and:
- will stay on if the front passenger seat is not
occupied,
- will stay on if there is a small c hild or child re ­
straint on the front passenger seat,
- will go out if the front passenger seat is occu­
pied by an adult as registered by the weight ­
sensing mat .
The
PA SSENGER AIR BAG OFF light mu st come
on and sta y on
if the ignition is on and
- a car bed has been insta lled on the front seat,
o r
- a rearward-fac ing child rest ra in t has been in ­
stalled on the front passe nger seat, or
- a fo rwa rd-facing child restra int has bee n in stal­
led on the front passenger seat, o r
- the weight reg istered on the fro nt passenger
seat is equal to o r less than the comb ined
we ight of a typ ica l 1 yea r-old restrained in one
of the rear -facing or forward -fac ing infant re­
straints listed in Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standard 208 with w hich the Advanced Airbag
System in your vehicle was certified.
I f t he front passenger seat is not occupied, the
front airbag wi ll not dep loy, and the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light will stay on . Never insta ll a
rearward-facing child restraint on the front pas ­
senger seat, the safest p lace for a child in any
kind of child restraint is at one of the seating po­
sitions on the rear seat
¢ page 228, Child re­
straints on the front seat -some important
things to know
and ¢ page 249, Child safety.
If the PA SSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
when one of the condit ions listed above is met,
be sure to check the light regularly to make cer­
tain that the
P A SSENGER AIR B AG OFF light
s tays o n cont inuous ly wheneve r the ig nition is
on.
If the PA SSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not appear on and does not stay on all the time,
stop as soon as it is safe to do so and
238
- reactivate the system by switching the ignition
off and then switching it on again;
- remove and reinsta ll the chi ld restraint . Make
sure that the child restraint is properly insta l­
led and that the safety belt for the front pas­
senger seat has been correct ly routed through
the child restraint as described in the ch ild re­
straint ma nufacturer's instruct ions;
- make sure that the convert ib le lock ing retrac­
tor on the safety belt for the front passenger
seat has been activated and that the safety belt
has been pulled t ight. The belt must not be
loose or have loops of slack so that the sensor
be low the safety belt latc h on the seat can do
i t s
job¢ page 259 .
-make sure that th ings that may increase the
weight of the ch ild and c hild seat a re not be ing
transpo rted on the front passenge r seat;
- ma ke sure that t he safety be lt te nsion sensor is
not b locked. S hake the safety belt latch on the
front passenger seatback and forth;
- If a strap or tether is being used to t ie the child
seat to t he fron t passenger sea t, make s ure
that it is not so tight that it causes the weight ­
sensing mat to measure more weight than is
actually on the seat.
If th e PAS SENGER AIR BAG OFF light still do es
n o t come on
and does not stay on continuously
(when the ignition is switc hed on),
- take the child restra int
off the front passenge r
seat and insta ll it p roperly a t one of the rear
seat pos itions. Have the airbag system inspect ­
ed by yo ur Audi dealer immediate ly .
- move the ch ild to a rear seat pos ition and m ake
sure that the child is proper ly restrained in a
child restraint that is appropriate for its size
and age .
The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF lig ht sho uld NOT
come on when t he ignit ion is on and an ad ult is
sitting in a proper seating position on the front
passenger seat. If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
li ght comes on and stays on or flashes for about
5 seconds while dr iv ing, under these c ircumstan­
ces, make sure that:
- the adult on the front passenger seat is proper-
ly seated on the center of the seat cushion with
..,.

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his or her back up against the backrest and the
backrest is not reclined ¢
page 209, Correct
passenger seating positions,
- the adult is not taking weig ht off the seat by
holding on to the passenger assist handle
above the front passenger door or supporting
their we ight on the armrest,
- the safety be lt is being properly worn and that
there is not a lot of slack in the safety belt web­
bing,
- accessory seat covers or cushions or other
th ings that may cause an incorrect read ing or
impression on the weight-sens ing mat under
the upholstery of the seat have been removed
from the front passenge r seat,
- a safety belt extender has not been left in the
safety belt latch for the front passenger seat.
In addition to the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light in the center of the instrument panel, the
message
PAS SENG ER AIR BAG OFF or PAS SEN­
GER AIR BAG ON
w ill br iefly appear in the instru­
ment cluster display . T his is to inform the dr iver
of the curre nt front passenge r airbag status.
Important safety instructions on
monitoring the Advanced Airbag System
A WARNING
An airbag system that is not funct ioning prop­
erly cannot provide supplemental p rotection
in a frontal crash .
- If the airbag indicator l ight¢
page 23
comes when the vehicle is be ing used, have
the system inspected immed iate ly by yo ur
au thori zed Au di dealer. It is possible that
the a irbag will in flate when it is not s up­
posed to, or will not inflate when it shou ld .
A WARNING
If the front airbag inflates, a child without a
child restraint, or in a rearward-facing child
safety seat, or in a forward-facing child re­
straint that has not been properly installed
w ill be seriously injured and can be killed.
- Even though your veh icle is equipped with
an Advanced Airbag System, make certain
that all ch ild ren, especially 12 years and
Airbag syste m
younger, always ride on the bac k seat prop­
erly rest rained for the ir age and s ize.
- Always install forward or rea r-facing child
seats on the rea r seat
-even w ith an Ad­
vanced Airbag System.
- If you must install a rea rward-facing child
seat on the front passenger seat because o f
except ional circumstances and the
PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not appear and
s tay on, immed iate ly ins tall the rea r-facing
child sea t in a rear seat ing pos ition and have
the airbag system inspected by your Audi
deale r.
- A tight tether or other strap on a rearward­
facing ch ild restraint attached to the front
p a ssenger se at c an put too much pressure
on the weight-sensing mat in the seat and
register more weight than is actually on the
seat . The heav ier weight registered can
make the system work as though an adu lt
were on the seat and deploy the Advanced
Airbag when it must be suppressed causing
serio us or even fatal injury to the child .
- If, in exceptional circumstances, you must
install a forward-facing child restraint on
the front passenge r seat, always move the
seat into its rearmost position in the seat 's
fore and aft ad justment range, as far away
from the airbag as poss ible. The back res t
m ust be adjusted to an upr igh t position.
Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
li ght comes on and stays on all the time
wheneve r the ignit ion is switched on.
A WARNING
--
- If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not go out when an adult is sitting on the
front passenger seat after tak ing the steps
described above, make sure the adult is p roperly sea ted and restra ined a t one of the
rear sea ting posit ions.
- Have the ai rbag system inspected by your
Aud i deale r before transpo rting anyone on
the front passenge r seat.
239

Airbag syste m
(D Tips
If the weight-sensing mat in the front passen ­
ger seat detects an empty seat, the front air ­
bag on the passenger side w ill be turned off,
and the
PASSEN GER AIR BAG OFF light will
stay on.
Repair, care and disposal of the airbags
Parts of the a irbag system are installed at many
d ifferent p laces on your Aud i. Install ing, remov­
i n g, servic ing o r repa iring a part in an area of the
ve hicle can damage a pa rt of an airbag system
and prevent that system from working properly
in a co llision .
There are some important t hings yo u have to
know to make sure th at the effect iveness of the
system wi ll not be impaired and that dis carded
components do not cause injury or pollute the
environment .
A WARNING
Improper care, serv icing and repair proce­
dures can increase the r isk of personal injury
and death by preventing an airbag from de­
ploying when needed or deploying an airbag
unexpectedly:
-
-Never cover, obstruct, or change the steer­
i ng wheel horn pad or a irbag cover or the in­
strument pa ne l or mod ify them in any way.
-Never attach any objects such as cup holders
o r te lephone mount ings to the surfaces cov­
er ing the ai rbag units.
-For cleaning the horn pad or instrument
pane l, use on ly a soft, dry cloth or one mois­
tened with plain water. Solvents or cleaners cou ld damage the airbag cover or change
the stiffness or st rengt h of the materia l so
t h at the airbag cannot dep loy and protect
properly.
-Never repair, adjust, or change any parts of
the airbag system.
-All work on the stee ring wheel, i nstr ument
pane l, front seats or electrical system (in ­
cluding the installation of audio equipment,
ce llular telephones and CB rad ios, etc.)
must be performed by a qualified technician
240
who has the training and specia l equipment
necessary.
-F or any work on the airbag system, we
strong ly recommend that you see yo ur au­
thorized Audi dealer or qualified workshop.
-Never modify the front b umper or parts of
the vehicle body.
- Always make sure that the side airbag can
inflate w ithout interference:
-Never install seat covers or replaceme nt
upholstery ove r the front seatbacks that
have not bee n specific ally app roved by
A udi.
-Neve r use additional seat c ushi ons that
cover the areas where the side airbags in ­
flate.
-Damage to the orig inal seat cove rs o r to
t h e seam in the area of the s ide airb ag
module mus t always be repai red immedi ­
ate ly by an authorized Audi dealer.
-The airb ag sys tem can be act iv a ted only
once . A fter an airbag has in flated, it must
be replaced by an authorized Audi dealer or
qua lified tech nic ian who has the technical
information, train ing and spec ial equ ipment
necessary.
-The airbag system can be deployed only
once. After an airbag has been deployed, it
must be replaced with new rep lacement
parts des igned and approved espec ially for
your Aud i model version. Replacement of
comp lete airbag systems or airbag compo­
nents must be perfo rmed by qualified work­
shops only. M ake sure that any a irb ag se rv ­
ice act ion is entered in your Audi Warranty
& Maintenance booklet under AIRBAG RE ­
PLACEMENT RECORD.
-For safety reasons in severe accidents, the
a lter nator and starter a re separated from
the vehicle battery with a pyrotechnic circu it
interrupter.
-Wo rk on the pyrotechnic c ircuit inte rrupt­
e r must o nly be perfo rmed by a qua lified
dealer
-r isk of an a cciden t!
-If the vehicle or the c ircuit inte rr u pte r is
sc rapped, all appli cable safety p recau tions
mus t be followed.
..,.

Airb ag syste m
by being pushed into you as the airbag in­
flates.
- Never p lace or attach accessories or other
objects (such as cup holders, telephone brackets, or even Large, bulky objects) on
the doors, over or near the area marked
"AIRBAG" on the seat backrests.
- Such objects and accessories can become
dangerous projectiles and cause injury
when the supplemental side airbag de­ ploys.
- Never carry any objects or pets in the de­ ployment space between them and the
airbags or allow children or other passen­
gers to travel in this position.
- Always use the built-in coat hooks only for
Lightweight clothing. Never leave any heavy
or sharp-edged objects in the pockets that
may interfere w ith side airbag deployment
and can cause personal injury in an accident.
- Always prevent the side airbags from being
damaged by heavy objects knocking against
or hitting the sides of the seatbacks.
- The airbag system can only be triggered
once. If the airbag has been triggered, the
system must be replaced by an author ized
Audi dealership .
- Damage (cracks, deep scratches etc.) to the
original seat covers or to the seam in the
area of the side a irbag mod ule m ust always
be repa ired immed iately by an authorized
Audi dealer .
- If children are seated imp roperly, their risk
of injury increases in the case of an acc ident
¢ page 249, Child safety.
- Never attempt to modify any components of
the a irbag system in any way.
- In a side collision, side a irbags w il l not func­
t ion properly if sensors cannot correctly
measure increasing air pressure ins ide the
doors when air escapes through larger, un­
closed openings in the door panel.
- Never drive with inter ior door tr im panels
removed .
- Never drive when parts have been re­
moved from the inside door panel and the
open ings they leave have not been proper­
ly closed.
2 4 6
- Never drive when loudspeakers in the
doors have been removed unless the
speaker holes have been properly closed.
- Always make certain that openings are
covered or filled if additional speakers or
other equipment is installed in the inside
door panels.
- Always have work on the doors done by an
authorized Aud i dea ler or qualified work­
shop.
Side curtain airbags
Description of side curtain airbags
The side curtain airbag system can provide sup­
plemental protection to properly restrained oc ­
cupants.
Fig. 237 S id e curt ain airbags, driver's sid e: side curtain air­
bag location
The side curtain airbags are located on both sides
of the interior above the front and rear side win­
dows¢
fig. 237. They are identified by the word
"AIRBAG" on the windshield frame and the cen­
ter roof p illar .
The side curtain airbag system supplements the
safety belts and can help to reduce the risk of in­
jury for occupants' heads and upper torso on the
s ide of the vehicle that is struck in a side colli­
sion. The side curtain airbag inflates in side im­
pacts and only when the vehicle acceleration reg­
istered by the control unit is high enough. If this
rate is below the reference value programmed in­
to the control unit, the side airbags will not be
triggered, even though the car may be badly damaged as a result of the collision .
It is not pos­
sible to define an airbag triggering range that
will cover every possible angle of impact, since
..,.