AUDI S4 SEDAN 2013 Owners Manual

Important safety instructions about
safety belts
Safety belts must always be correctly posi­
tioned across the strongest bones of your
body.
~ Always wear safety belts as illustrated and
described in this chapter.
~ Make sure that your safety belts are always
ready for use and are not damaged.
A WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or wearing them
improperly increases the risk of serious
personal injury and death. Safety belts can
work only when used correctly.
- Always fasten your safety be lts correctly
before driving off and make sure all pas­
sengers are correctly restrained.
- For maximum protection, safety belts must always be positioned properly on
the body .
- Never strap more than one person, in­
cluding small children, into any belt.
- Never place a safety belt over a child sit­ ting on your lap.
- Always keep feet in the footwell in front
of the seat while the vehicle is being d riv­
en .
- Never let any person ride with their feet
on the instrument panel or sticking out
the window or on the seat.
- Never remove a safety belt while the ve­
hicle is moving. Doing so will increase
your risk of be ing injured or killed.
- Never wear belts twisted.
- Never wear belts over rigid or breakable
objects in or on your clothing, such as
eye glasses, pens, keys, etc., as these may cause injury.
- Never allow safety belts to become dam­
aged by being caught in door or seat
hardware .
- Do not wear the shoulder part of the belt
under your arm or otherwise out of posi ­
tion . Safety belts
139
- Several layers of heavy clothing may in­
terfere with correct positioning of belts and reduce the overall effectiveness of
the system .
- Always keep belt buckles free of anything
that may prevent the buckle from latch­
ing securely .
- Never use comfort clips or devices that
create slack in the shoulder belt . Howev­
er, special clips may be requ ired for the
proper use of some child restraint sys­
tems .
- Torn or frayed safety belts can tear, and
damaged belt hardware can break in an
accident. Inspect belts regularly.
If web­
bing , bindings, buckles, or retractors are
damaged, have belts replaced by an au­
thorized Audi dealer or qualified work­
shop.
- Safety belts that have been worn and
loaded in an accident must be replaced
with the correct replacement safety belt
by an authorized Audi dealer. Replace­
ment may be necessary even if damage
cannot be clearly seen . Anchorages that
were loaded must also be inspected.
- Never remove, modify, disassemble, or
try to repair the safety belts yourself.
- Always keep the belts clean. Dirty belts
may not work properly and can impair
the function of the inertia reel
c::> page 208, Safety belts .
Safety belts
Fastening safety belts
Safety first -everybody buckle up!
Fig. 135 Bel t b uckle and to ngue on the drive r's seat

140 Safet y belts
To provide maximum protection, sa fety belts
must always be positioned correctly on the
wearer 's body .
.,. Adjus t the front seat and head restra int
properly ¢
page 54, Seats and storage .
.,. Make sure the seatback of the rear seat
bench is in an upright pos ition and securely
latched in place befo re using the belt¢.&, .
.,. Hold the belt by the tongue and pull it
evenly across the chest and pelvis
c:> .&, .
.,. Insert the tongue into the co rrect buckle of
you r seat until you hea r it latch securely
¢ fig . 135.
.,. Pull on the be lt to make sure that it is se-
curely latched in the b uckle .
Automatic safety belt retractors
Every safety belt is equipped w ith an automat­
ic belt retractor on the shoulder be lt . T his fea­
ture locks the be lt when the belt is pulled out
fast, dur ing hard bra king and in an acci dent.
The belt may also lock when yo u drive up or
down a steep hill or through a sharp curve. During normal driving the belt lets you move
freely .
Safety belt pretensioners
The sa fe ty belts are equippe d wi th a be lt pre­
tensioner that helps to t igh ten the safety bel t
and remove s lack when the pretensioner is ac ­
tivated. The function of the pretensioner is
monitored by a warning light¢
page 20 .
Switchable locking feature
Every sa fe ty belt ex cep t the one on the dr iver
seat is eq uipped w it h a switchable locking fea ­
ture that
mu st be used w hen the safety belt is
used to attach a child safety seat . Be sure to
read the important inf ormation about this
feature
¢ page 175.
A WARNING
Imprope rly positioned safety belts can
cause serious injury in an accident
¢ page 140, Safety belt position .
- Safety belts offe r optimum protection
only when the seatback is up right and
-
be lts are properly posit ioned on the
body.
- Always make sure that the rear seat
backrest to wh ich the center rear safety
be lt is attached is securely latched when­
ever the rea r center safety belt is being
used. If the backrest is not secure ly
latched, t he passenger w ill move for­
ward with the ba ckr est dur ing sudd en
bra king, in a sudden maneuver and es pe­
ci ally in a cra sh .
- Neve r at tach t he safety be lt to t he buck­
le for an other se at. At taching the belt to
the wrong buckle will redu ce s afe ty be lt
effec tiveness and can cause serio us per ­
sonal injury.
- A passenger who is not properly restrain­
ed can be seriously injured by the safety
be lt itself w hen it moves from the stro n­
ger parts of the body into cr itical areas
like the abdomen .
- Always loc k the convertible locking re­
tractor when you are secu ring a child
safety seat in the vehicle
c:> page 177 .
Safety belt position
Correct belt position is the key to gett ing
maximum protection from safety belts.
Fig . 1 36 Safe ty bel t pos it ion
Standard features on your veh icle help you ad ­
j u st the pos ition of the safety be lt to match
you r body si ze.
- be lt height adjustment for the front seats,
- automatic belt height adjustment for the
rear seats .

_& WARNING
Improperly positioned safety belts can
cause serious personal injury in an acci­
dent.
- The shoulder belt shou ld lie as close to
the center of the collar bone as poss ible
and should fit we ll on the body. Ho ld the
belt above the latch tongue and pull it
evenly across the chest so that it sits as
low as possible on the pe lvis and there is
no press ure on the abdomen. The be lt
should a lways f it snugly¢
fig. 136 . Pull
on the be lt to tighten if necessary.
- The lap belt portion of the safety be lt
must be positioned as low as possible
across pelvis and never over the abdo ­
me n. Make sure the be lt lies flat and
snug
¢ fig . 136. Pull on the belt to tight­
en if necessary .
- A loose-fitt ing safety belt can cause seri­
ous in juries by sh ifting its position on
your body from the strong bones to more
vulnerab le, soft tissue and cause se rious
injury.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other important information
¢ page 139.
Pregnant women must also be correctly
restrained
The best way to protect the fetus is to make
sure tha t expectant mothers always wear
safety belts correctly -throughout the preg­
nancy.
F ig. 137 Safety belt positio n du ring pregnancy
Safety belts 141
To p rovide maximum protect ion, safety belts
must a lways be positioned correctly on the
wearer's body ¢
page 140.
.. Adjust the front seat and head rest rain t cor­
rectly¢
page 54, Seats and storage.
.. Make s ure the seatback of the rear seat
bench is in an upright position and securely
latched in place before using the belt.
.. Hold the belt by the tongue and pull it
even ly across the chest and pelvis
¢fig. 137, ¢ 11..
.. Insert the tongue into the correct buckle of
your seat unt il you hear it latch secu re ly
¢page 139, fig. 135 .
.. Pull on the belt to make s ure that it is se­
curely latched in the buck le .
A WARNING
-Improperly posit ioned safety be lts can
cause serious persona l injury in an acci­
dent.
-
- Expectant mothers must always wear the
lap portion of the safety belt as low as
possible across the pelvis and below the
round ing of the abdomen.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other important information
¢.&. in Fas­
tening safety belts on page 140.
Unfastening safety belts
Unbuckle the safety belt with the red release
button only after the vehicle has stopped.
Fig. 138 Re leasin g the tongue from the buck le
.. Push the red release button on the buckle
¢
fig. 138 . The belt tongue w ill spr ing out
of the buckle ¢
.&_. ..,..

142 Safet y belt s
• Let the belt wind up on the retractor as you
gu ide the belt tongue to its stowed pos ition .
A WARNING
Never unfasten safety belt while the veh i­
cle is moving. Doing so will increase your
r isk of being injured or killed .
Adjusting safety belt height
-
With the aid of the safety belt height adjust ­
men t, the three point safety belt strap rout­
ing can be fitted to the shoulder area, accord­
ing to body size .
~ 0 0 6
Fig. 139 Safety be lt he ig ht a dju stme nt for t he front
sea ts - loop -a rou nd fit tings
.. (0
The shoulder belt should lie as close to the
center of the collar bone as possib le and
should fit well on the body
c:> .&. in Safety belt
position on page 141 .
• Push
the loop-around fittings up c:> fig . 139
@ , or
• squeeze together the (D button, and push
the loop-around fitt ings down @.
• Pull the belt to make sure that the upper at­
tachment is properly engaged.
.&, WARNING
Alw ays read and heed all WARNINGS and
other impo rtant informat ion
¢ page 139.
(D Tips
With the front seats, the height adjust­
ment of the seat can also be used to adjus t
the posit ion of the safety be lts.
Improperly worn safety belts
Incorrectly positioned safety belts can cause
severe injuries .
Wearing safety belts improperly can cause se­
rious injury or death. Safety belts can only
work when they are correctly positioned on
the body . Improper seat ing pos itions reduce
the effectiveness of safety be lts and will even
i ncrease the risk of inju ry and death by mov ­
ing the safety be lt to crit ical areas o f the
body. Improper seating positions also in­
crease the risk of serious injury and death
when an airbag deploys and strikes an occu­ pant who is not in the cor rect seating posi­
tion. A driver is responsible for the safety of
all veh icle occupants and especially for chil­
dren . Therefore:
• Never permit anyone to assume an incorrect
sitting position in the vehicle while traveling
c:> ,&. .
.&, WARNING
Improperly worn safety belts increase the
r isk of ser ious persona l injury and death
whenever a vehicle is being used.
- Always make sure that all vehicle occ u­
pants are correctly restrained and stay in
a correc t seating position whe never the
veh icle is being used .
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other important information
¢ page 139.
Safety belt preten­
sioners
How safety belt pretensioners work
In front, side and rear -end collisions above a
particular severity, safety belts are tensioned automatically .
The safety belts are equipped with safety belt
pretensioners . The system is act ivated by sen­
sors in front, side and rear-end collisions of
great severity. This tightens the belt and takes
u p belt slack
c:> .&. in Service and disposal of .,._

safety belt pretensioner on page 143. Taking
up the slack helps to reduce forward occupant
movement dur ing a collision .
([) Note
Never let the belt remain over a rear seat­
back that has been folded forward.
@ Tips
The safety belt pretensioner can only be activated once .
- In minor frontal and side collisions, in
rear-end collisions, in a rollover and in
accidents involving very little impact
force , the safety belt pretensioner are
not activated.
- In the case of a side crash, the safety
belt pretensioners will activate on the
driver's or front passenger's sides only,
depending on which side of the vehicle
the crash occurs .
- When the safety belt pretensioners are
activated, a fine dust is released. This is
normal and is not caused
by a fire in the
vehicle.
- The relevant safety requirements must
be observed when the vehicle or compo­
nents of the system are scrapped . An au­
thorized Audi dealer or qualified work­
shop is familiar with these regulations
and will be pleased to pass on the infor­
mation to you.
- Be sure to observe all safety, environ­
mental and other regulations if the vehi­
cle or individual parts of the system, par­
ticularly the safety belt or airbag, are to be disposed. We recommend you have
your authori zed Audi dealer perform this
service for you .
Service and disposal of safety belt
pretension er
The safety belt pretensioners are parts of the
safety belts on your Audi . Installing, remov­
ing, servicing or repairing of belt pretension­
ers can damage the safety belt system and
Safety belts 143
prevent it from working correctly in a colli­
sion .
There are some important things you have to
know to make sure that the effectiveness of
the system will not be impaired and that dis­
carded components do not cause injury or pol­
lute the environment .
_& WARNING
Improper care, servicing and repair proce­
dures can increase the risk of personal in­
jury and death by preventing a safety belt
pretensioner from activating when needed
or activating it unexpectedly :
- The belt pretensioner system can be acti ­
vated only once .
If belt pretensioners
have been activated, the system must be
replaced.
- Never repair, adjust, or change any parts
of the safety be lt system.
- Safety belt systems including safety belt
pretens ioners cannot be repaired. Spe­
cial procedures are required for removal,
installation and disposal of this system.
- For any work on the safety belt system,
we strongly recommend that you see
your author ized Audi dealer or qualified
technician who has an Audi approved re­
pair manual, training and special equip­
ment necessary.
@ For the sake of the environment
Undeployed airbag modules and preten­
sioners might be classified as Perchlorate
Material - special handling may apply, see
www .dtsc .ca.gov/hazardouswaste/per-
ch lorate. When the vehicle or parts of the
restraint system including airbag modules
safety belts with pretensioners are scrap­ ped, all applicable laws and regulations
must be observed. Your authorized Audi
dealer is familiar with these requirements
and we recommend that you have your
dealer perform this service for you.
•
•

144 Airbag sys tem
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, a lways:
• Adjust the dr iver's seat and steering wheel
properly ¢
page 12 7,
• Adjust the front passenger's seat properly
r=;page 55,
• Wear safety be lts properly r=:; page 139,
• Always properly use the proper child re-
stra int to protect children¢
page 165.
In a collision airbags must inflate within the
blink of an eye and with considerable force .
The supplementa l airbags can cause injuries if
the dr iver or the front seat passenger is not
seated properly . T herefore in order to he lp the
a irbag to do its job, it is important, both as a
d river and as a passenge r to s it properly at all
times.
By keeping room between your body and the
steering wheel and the front of the passenge r
compartment, the airbag ca n inflate fully and
comp letely and provide supp lemen tal p rotec­
tion in ce rtain frontal collisions
r=:; page 127,
Proper occupant seating positions .
For detai ls
on the operat ion of the seat adjustment con­
trols ¢
page 56.
It's especially important that children a re
properly restrained
r=:; page 165.
There is a lot tha t the driver and the passen­
ge rs 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 yo
u from sitting properly
on the driver seat with the safety belt properly
fastened and reaching the peda ls , spec ial
modifications to your vehicle may be necessa­
ry.
Contact your a uthorized Audi dea ler, or call
Audi C ustomer Re lations at 1-800-822-2834 .
When the airbag sys tem dep loys, a gas gener­
ator will f ill the ai rbags, break open the pad ­
ded covers, and inf late between the steering
whee l and the dr iver and between the instru ­
ment pane l and the front passenger. The air­
bags will deflate immediately after dep loy­
ment so that the front occupants can see
th rough the w indshield aga in without inter­
ruption .
All of th is take s place in the blink of an eye, so
fast that many people don't even realize that
the a irbags have dep loyed . The airbags also
inflate with a g reat dea l of force and nothing
sho uld be in their way when they deploy.
F ron t air bags in combination w ith properly
worn safety bel ts slow down and lim it the oc ­
c u pant's forward movement. Together they
help to prevent the drive r and front seat pas­
senger from hitting parts of the inside the ve­
hicle 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 uppe r body i n the c rash . A irbags do not
protect the a rms or the lower parts of the
body.
Both front a irbags w ill not i nflate in all fronta l
collisions . The t rigge ring of the a irbag system
depends on the vehicle dece lerat ion rate
c a u sed by the co llision and reg istered by the
elect ron ic cont ro l u nit. If thi s rate is below
the re ference value programmed into the con­
trol unit, the airbags will not be trigge red ,
even though the car may be bad ly damaged as
a res ult of the collision . Veh icle damage, re­
pair costs or even the lack of veh icle damage
is no t necessarily an indication of whether an
airbag should inflate or not .
It is not possible to define a range of vehicle
speeds that w ill cover every possib le kind and .,.

angle of impact that will always trigger the
airbags, since the circumstances will vary con­
siderably between one collision and another.
Important factors include, for example, the nature (hard or soft) of the object which the
car hits, the angle of impact, vehicle speed,
etc. The front airbags will also not inflate in
side or rear collisions, or in ro ll-overs .
Alwa ys rem ember : Airbags will deploy only
once, and only in certa in kinds of collisions .
Your safety belts are always there to offer pro­
tection in those s ituations in which airbags
are not supposed to deploy , or when they have
a lready deployed ; fo r example , when yo ur ve­
h icle strikes or is struck by another after the
first collision .
This is just one of the reasons why an a irbag is
a supplementary restra int and is not a s ubst i­
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 136.
A WARNING
Sitting too close to the steer ing wheel or
instrument panel will decrease the effec­
tiveness of the airbags and will increase
the risk of pe rsonal injury in a co llision .
- Never sit closer than
10 inches (25 cm)
to the stee ring wheel or instrument pan­
el.
- If you cannot sit more than
10 i nches
(25 cm) from the steer ing whee l, investi­
gate whether adaptive equipment may
be available to help you reach the pedals
and increase your seating dis tance from
the steering wheel.
- 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 highe r.
- You w il l also receive serio us inju ries and
cou ld even be killed if you are up against
the airbag or too close to it when it in ­
flates -even with an Advanced Airbag.
- To reduce the r isk o f injury when an air ­
bag inflates, a lways wear safety belts
proper ly ¢
page 139, Safety belts .
Airbag system 145
-Always make certain that chi ld 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 backrest reclined.
- Always sit as far as possible from the
steer ing whee l or the instrument pane l
¢page 127.
-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 prevent serio us in juries to the legs
a nd h ips if the airbag inflates.
- Never recline the front passenger 's seat
to tra nsport objects. Items can a lso
move i nto 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 ne ar the air­
bags can become projectiles and cause
injury when an airbag inflates.
_&. WARNING ~
A irbags that have de ployed in a crash must
be replaced.
- Use on ly original equipment airbags ap­
proved by Audi and installed by a trai ned
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 .
Child restraints on the front seat - some
important things to know
.,. Be su re to read t he important information
and head the WARNINGS fo r important de­
tails about children and Advanced Airbags
¢ page 165. ..,.
•
•

146 Airbag system
Even though your vehicle is equipped with an
Advanced Airbag System, make certain that
all chi ldren, especially those 12 years and
younger, a lways 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 ch ild 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 an infant or
a child in a rearward-facing seat.
The Advanced Airbag System in your veh icle
has been certified to comply with the Requ ire­
ments of United States Federal Motor Vehicle
Safety Standard 208 as applicable at the time
your vehicle was manufactured.
The Standard requires the front a irbag on the
passenger side to be turned off ("sup­
pressed") if a child up to about one year of
age restrained in one of the rear-facing or for­
ward -facing infant restraints listed in Federal
Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 with which
the Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle
was certified has been installed on the front passenger seat . For a listing of the child re ­
strai nts that we re used to certify compliance
with the US Safety Standard
r=v page 167.
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light in the in­
strument panel te lls you when the front Ad­
vanced A irbag on the passenger side has been
turned off by the e lectronic control unit.
Each t ime you turn on the ignition, the
PAS ­
SENGER AIR BAG OFF
light 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,
- wi ll go off if the front passenger seat is oc­
cupied by an adult as registered by the
weight-sensing mat
r=v page 155, Monitor­
ing the Advanced Airbag System .
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
when the control un it detects a total weight
on the front passenger seat that requires the
front airbag to be turned off.
If the total weight on the front passenge r
seat is more than that of a typica l 1 year -old
chi ld but less than the weight of a small
adult, the front airbag on the passenger side
can deploy (the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on). 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 electronic con trol unit
and can deploy if the control unit senses an
impact that meets the cond itions stored in its
memory .
For example, the airbag may deploy if:
-a small ch ild that is heav ier than a typical 1
year-old ch ild is on the front passenger seat
( re gard less of whether the child is in one of
the child safety seats listed
r=v page 167), or
- a child who has outgrown ch ild restraints is
on the front passenger seat.
If the front passenger airbag is turned off, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on in
the instrument cluster and stays on.
The front airbag on the passenger s ide may
not deploy (the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not illum inate and stay lit) even if a
small adult or teenager, or a passenger who is
not sitt ing upright with their back against a
non-reclined backrest with their feet on the
vehicle floor in front of the seat is on the front
passenger seat
r=v page 12 7, Proper seating
position for the driver.
If the front passenger airbag deploys, the
Federal Standard requires the airbag to meet
the "low risk" deployment criteria to reduce
the risk of injury t hroug h interaction with the
airbag. "Low risk" deployment occurs in those
crashes that take place at lower dece lerat ions
as defined in the electronic control unit
r=v page 155, PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light .
Always remember, a child safety seat or infant
carr ier installed on the front seat may be
struck and knocked out of posit ion by the rap­
idly inflat ing passenger's airbag in a frontal
collision . The air bag could greatly reduce the
effectiveness of the ch ild restraint and even
seriously injure the child during inflation .

For this reason, and because the back seat is
the safest place for children - when properly restrained according to their age and size - we
strongly recommend that children always sit in the back seat
Q page 165, Child Safety.
A WARNING
-
A child in a rearward-facing child safety
seat installed on the front passenger seat
w ill be seriously injured and can be k illed if
the front a irbag inflates - even with an Ad­
vanced Airbag System.
- T he inflating a irbag w ill hit the child
safety seat or infant carrier w ith great
force and w ill smash the ch ild safety sea t
and child against the backrest, cente r
armrest, door or roof .
- Always install rear -facing child safety
seats on the rear seat.
- If you mus t inst all a rearward facing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat beca use of exceptional circumstan­
ces and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on and stay on , im­
med iately install the rear-facing child
safety seat in a rear seating posit ion and
have the a irbag system inspected by your
authorized Aud i dealer .
- Forward-fac ing ch ild safety seats instal­
led on the front passenger's seat may in­
terfe re with the deployment of the air­
bag and cause se rious personal injury to
the ch ild.
A WARNING
If, in exceptional c irc umstances, you mus t
install a forwa rd-facing child restra int on
the front passenger's seat:
- Alw ays make sure the forw ard -fac ing
sea t 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 pane l.
- Always move the passenger seat into its
rearmost position in the seat's fore and
A irbag system 147
aft ad justment range, as far away from
the airbag as possible before installing
the forward-fac ing ch ild restraint. The
backrest must be adj usted to an upright
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
T o reduce the risk of ser ious injury, make
su re that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light w ill be displayed whenever a child re­
straint is installed on the front passenger
seat and the ignition is switched on.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not s tay on, per form the checks de ­
scribed
Q page 155, Monitoring the Ad ­
vanced Airbag System.
- Take the 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 author ized Audi dealer immed iate­
ly .
-Always carefu lly follow instr uctions from
child restraint manufacturers when in­
stall ing ch ild restra ints .
A WARNING
If, in except iona l circumstances, you must
install a forward or rearward-facing child
restra int on the front passenger's seat :
- Improper instal lation of ch ild restraints
can reduce their effectiveness o r even
prevent them from providing any protec­
tion.
- An improper ly installed ch ild restra int
can interfere with the airbag as it de­
ploys and seriously i njure o r even kill the
child -even with an Advanced Airbag
System.
- Always carefu lly follow the manufact ur­
er 's ins tructions p rov ided with the ch ild
safety seat or carrier . •
•

148 Airbag system
-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 can provide supplemental
protection to properly restrained front seat
occupants.
Fig. 140 Locat ion of dr iver airbag: in stee ring wheel
Fig. 141 Loca tion of front pass enger's a irbag: in the in­
strument panel
Your veh icle is equipped with an "Advanced
Airbag System" in compliance with United
States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 208 as applicable at the time your
vehicle was manufactured . The system senses
the position of the front seats and controls
front airbag inflation with a valve, depend ing
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 contro l 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. 140 and the airbag for the
front passenger is in the instrument panel
~ fig. 141 . The general locat ion of the a irbags
i s 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
ch apters 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 your passengers, especially in­
fants and small children.
_&. WARNING
Never rely on airbags alone for protection.
- Even when they deploy, airbags provide
only supplemental protection.
-Airbag work most effectively when used
with properly worn safety bel ts.
- Therefore, always wear your safety belts
and make sure that everybody in your ve­
h icle is properly restrained.
_&. 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 imposs ible in all conceiva­
b le situat ions 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 heav ier than the typical one-year
-
.