AUDI S8 2008 Owners Manual

__________________________________________________ A_ i_ r _b _a-' g=- s_ y=- s_t _e _m __ lfflll
r ep air costs or ev e n the lac k of veh icle dama ge is not necessari ly an
indicati on of w heth e r an air b ag s houl d infla te or not .
I t is not poss ib le to def in e a ran ge of v ehicle sp ee ds t hat w il l cover
eve ry po ssible kind and ang le of impact that wil l a lway s trigger the
a ir b ags , s in ce t he cir cum stanc es w ill vary c onsid era bly be tw een
one co llision and another . Important factors inc lude , for example,
th e nat ure ( hard or soft) of the o bject w hic h the car h its, the a ng le
of impact, ve hicle speed, etc. The front airbags wi ll also not inflate
in side or rea r co lli s io ns, or i n ro ll-ov ers .
Always remember : Airbags w ill d eploy only onc e, an d on ly in c ertain
k inds of coll isi ons. Your s afe ty b elt s a re a lway s the re to o ffer prot ec­
t ion in th ose s ituat io ns in whi ch airba gs are not su pposed to deplo y,
or whe n th ey hav e a lready dep lo yed; for ex am ple, wh en your v ehi cle
s tr ik es or i s struc k by another a ft e r th e fir st c ollis ion .
T his is just one of the reasons why a n airbag is a su pple mentary
r es traint and is not a sub stitut e for a sa fe ty b elt. T he ai rbag s ystem
w ork s most eff ect ively wh en us ed w ith the saf ety be lts . T herefore,
alw ay s pr operly w ea r y ou r safe ty b e lts ~ page 2 09.
& WARNING
Sitting too close to the steering wheel or instrument panel will
decrease the effectiveness of the airbags and will increase the risk
of personal injury in a collision.
• Never sit closer than 10 inches (25 cm) to the steering wheel or
instrument panel.
• If you cannot sit more than 10 inches (25 cm ) from the steering
wheel , investigate whether adaptive equipment may be available
to held you reach the pedals and increase your seating distance
from the steering wheel.
• If you are unrestrained , leaning forward, sitting 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.
Controls and equip­ ment Safety first
Vehicle operation
&, WARNING (continued )
• To reduce the risk of injury when an airbag inflates, always
wear safety belts
properly ~ page 213, "Safety belts ".
• Always make certain that children age 12 or younger always
ride in the rear seat . If children are not properly restrained , they
may be severely injured or killed when an airbag inflates.
• Never let children ride unrestrained or improperly restrained in
the vehicle . Adjust the front seats properly .
• Never ride with the backrest reclined .
• Always sit as far as possible from the steering wheel or the
instrument panel
~ page 200.
• Always sit upright with your back against the backrest of your
seat.
• Never place your feet on the instrument panel or on the seat .
Always keep both feet on the floor in front of the seat to help prevent serious injuries to the legs and hips if the airbag inflates .
• Never recline the front passenger's seat to transport objects.
Items can also move into the area of the side airbag or the front
airbag during braking or in a sudden maneuver. Objects near the
airbags can become projectiles and cause injury when an airbag
inflates .
& WARNING
Airbags that have deployed in a crash must be replaced.
• Use only original equipment airbags approved by Audi and
installed by a trained technician who has the necessary tools and
diagnostic equipment to properly repla ce any airbag in your
vehicle and assure system effectiveness in a crash .
• Never permit salvaged or recy cled airbags to be installed in
your vehicle. •
Vehicle care Do-it-yourself service Technical data

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Child restraints on the front seat - some important things to know
- Be sure to read the important information and head the WARNINGS for important details about c hildren and
Advanced
Airbags=> page 243.
Even though your vehic le is equipped with an Advanced Airbag
System, make certain that a ll children, especia lly those 12 years and
younger, a lways ride in the back seat proper ly restrained for their
age and size . The airbag on the passenger side makes the front seat
a potentia lly dangerous place for a child to ride. The front seat is not
the safest p lace for a child in a forward -facing chi ld seat. It can be a
very dangerous place for an infant or a child in a rearward -fac ing
seat.
The Advanced Ai rbag System in your vehicle has been certified to
comply with the Requirements of United States Federal Motor
Vehicle Safety Standard 208 as applicable at the time your vehicle
was manufactured.
The Standard requires the front airbag on the passenger side to be
t urned off ("suppressed") if a chi ld up to about one year of age
restrained in one of the rear -facing or forward -facing infant
restraints l isted in Federa l Motor Vehic le Safety Standard 208 with
which the Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle was certified has
been insta lled on the front passenger seat. For a listing of the child
restraints that were used to certify compl iance with the US Safety
Standard
=> page 245.
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF l ight in the instrument pane l te lls you
when the front Advanced Airbag on the passenger side has been
t urned off by the electronic co ntrol unit.
Each time you turn on the ignition, the
PA SS ENGER AIR BAG OFF
light will come on for a few seconds and :
• will stay on if the front passenger seat is not occup ied, •
will stay on if there is a small child or chi ld restraint on the front
passenge r seat,
• will go off if the front passenger seat is occupied by an adult as
r egis tered by the weight-sensi ng
m at => page 229, "Monitoring the
Advanced Airbag System" .
The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on when the contro l unit
detects a tota l weight on the front passenger seat that requires the
front airbag to be turned off.
I f the to tal weight on the front passe nger seat is m ore than tha t of
a typ ica l 1 year -old child but less than the weight of a small adult,
t he fron t airbag on the passe nger side can dep loy (the
PAS SENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on). If the PASSEN GER AIR BAG
OFF
light does not come on, the front airbag on t he passe nger s ide
has not been turned off by the electronic contro l unit and can
deploy if the control unit senses an impact t hat meets the condi­
tions stored in its memory.
For example , the airb ag m ay deploy if :
• a small ch ild that is heavier tha n a typ ical 1 yea r-o ld child is on
the front passenger seat (regardless of whether the child is in one
of the child seats
l isted => page 245), or
• a child who has outgrown chi ld restraints is on the front
p asse nger seat.
I f the front passe nger airbag is turned o ff, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on in the instrument cluster and stays on.
T he front a irbag o n th e passenger s ide may
not deploy (the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF l ight does not illuminate and stay lit) even
if a smal l adult or teenage r, o r a passenger wh o is n ot sitting uprigh t
with their back against a non -reclined backrest with their feet on the
vehic le floor in front of the seat is o n the front passenge r seat
=> page 200, "Proper seating pos it ion for the driver".
I f the front passenger airbag deploys, the Federa l Standard requires
the airbag to meet the "low risk" deployment cr iteria to reduce the
risk of injury through interaction with the airbag. "Low risk" deploy­
ment occu rs in those crashes that take place at lower decelerations
~

as defined in the elec tronic control unit~ page 230 , "PA SSENGER
AI R BAG OFF ligh t".
A lways r em ember, a ch ild seat or infant carrier install ed on th e front
seat may be st ruck and knocked out of position by the rap idly
i n fl ating pass enger's airbag in a fr ontal co llisio n. T he airb ag co uld
greatly reduce the effectivenes s of the chi ld restraint and even seri ­
ously inju re t he c hild duri ng i nflatio n .
F or this reason, and because the bac k seat is the safest place for
chi ldr en -w hen pro perly res traine d acc ording to th eir age an d size
- w e stron gly recomm end that c hildren a lways sit in th e bac k seat
~ page 243, "C hil d Safe ty" .
& WARNING
A child in a rearward -facing child seat installed on the front
passenger seat will be seriously injured and can be killed if the
front airbag inflates - even with an Advanced Airbag System.
• The inflating airbag will hit the child seat or infant car rier with
great force and will smash the child seat and child against the
backrest , center arm rest, door or roof .
• Always install rear-facing child seats on the rear seat.
• If you must install a rearward facing child seat on the front
passenger seat because of exceptional circumstances and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not come on and stay on,
immediately install the rear-facing child seat in a rear seating posi­
tion and have the airbag system inspected by your Audi dealer.
• Forward -facing child seats installed on the front passenger's
seat may interfere with the deployment of the airbag and cause
serious personal injury to the child .
& WARNING
If, in exceptional circumstances, you must install a forward-facing
child restraint on the front passenger's seat:
Controls and equip­ ment Safety first
Vehicle operation
Airbag system
&, WARNING (continued )
• 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 side airbag .
• Never put the forward-facing child restraint up against or very
near the instrument panel .
• Always move the passenger seat into its rearmost position in
the seat's fore and aft adjustment range, as far away from the
airbag as possible before installing the forward-facing child
restraint. The backrest must be adjusted to an upright position .
• Make sure that the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
and stays on all the time whenever the ignition is switched on.
& WARNING
To reduce the risk of serious injury, make sure that the PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF light will be displayed whenever a child restraint is
installed on the front passenger seat and the ignition is switched
on.
• If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not stay on , perform
the checks described
~ page 229 , "Monitoring the Advanced
Airbag System" .
• Take the child restraint off the front passenger seat and install
it properly at one of the rear seat positions if the PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF light does not stay on .
• Have the airbag system inspected by your Audi dealer immedi ­
ately .
• Always carefully follow instructions from child restraint manu­
facturers when installing child restraints .
& WARNING
If, in exceptional circumstances, you must install a forward or
rearward -facing child restraint on the front passenger's seat:
Vehicle care Do-it-yourself service Technical data

-Airbag system P'll:1-~--------------
& WAR N IN G ( continued )
• Improper in stallation of child restraints can reduce their effec­
tiveness or even prevent them from p roviding any protection .
• An improperly installed child restraint can interfere with the
airbag as it deploys and seriously injure or even kill the child -
even with an Advanced Airbag System .
• Always carefully follow the manufa cturer's instruction s
provided with the child seat or carrier .
• Never pl ace additional items on the seat that can in crease the
total weight registered by the weight -sensing mat and can cause
injury in a crash . •
Front airbags
Description of front airbags
Th e air bag s ystem c an provide su ppleme ntal pro te cti on
t o prop erl y restra ined fr ont seat occu pants.
Fig. 2 30 Location of
driver airbag: in
s teering wheel
r I.. • ............ .
-= I
J
Fig . 231 Locat ion of
front pa ssenger' s
airbag : in the in stru ­
ment pa nel
Y our vehicle is equipped with an "Advanced Airbag System" in
complia nce with United States Federal M otor Vehicle Sa fe ty Sta n­
dard (FMVSS) 2 08 as applicable at t he time your vehicle was manu ­
f actured. The safe ty bel ts for the front seat s have "pretensione rs"
t h at help to ta ke slack out of the be lt sys tem . Th e p retensio ners are
a lso activated by the e lectronic control unit for the airbag system .
T he fron t sa fe ty be lts als o have loa d lim iters to hel p red uce the
forces applied to the body in a crash.
T he ai rbag f or the driver is in t he stee ring wheel
hub ~ fig. 230 and
th e ai rbag for the front passenger is in the instr ument panel
~ fig. 23 1. T he genera l location of the airbags is marked "A IRBAG".
There is a lo t yo u ne ed to know ab out the a irbags in y our vehicle. We
urge you to read the detailed informa tion about airbags, safety belts
and child s afety in t his an d th e other cha pters tha t make u p the
owner's literature . P lease be sure to heed the WARNINGS
-the y are
e xtr em ely im po rt ant for y our safety and the safe ty of y our passen ­
gers , especia lly infants and small children .
& WARNING
Never rely on airbags alone for protection .
• Even when they deploy, airbags provide only supplemental
protection .

Airbag system -
--------------=---=--
& WARNING (continued)
• Airbag work most effectively when used with properly worn
safety belts.
• Therefore, always wear your safety belts and make sure that
everybody in your vehicle is properly restrained.
& WARNING
A person on the front passenger seat, especially infants and small
children, will receive serious injuries and can even be killed 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 conceivable 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 deployment
are met.
• Accident statistics have shown that children are generally safer
in the rear seat area than in the front seating position.
• For their own safety, all children, especially 12 years and
younger, should always 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 Stan ­
dard 208 as applicable at the time your vehicle was manufactured.
Controls and equip­ ment Safety first Vehicle operation
The
front Advanced Airbag System supplements the safety belts to
provide additional protection for the driver's and front passenger'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 overall
occupant restraint system in your vehicle. Always remember that
the airbag system can only help to protect you, if you are sitting
upright, 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" requirements for 3 and 6 year -old children on the
passenger side and very small adults on the driver side. The low risk
deployment criteria are intended to help reduce the risk of injury
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 245, "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 restrained 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 Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle was certified. For
a listing of the child restraints that were used to certify your
vehicle's compliance with the US Safety
Standard => page 245,
• weight less than a threshold level stored in the control unit is
detected on the front passenger seat.
~
Vehicle care Do-it-yourself service Technical data

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When a person is detected on the front passenger seat, weighing
mor e tha n the to ta l w eigh t of a c hild th at is a bout 1 year old
restrain ed in one of th e rear -facing or forward -fac ing infant
r es trai nts (l isted in Fede ra l M oto r Veh icle Safe ty Sta ndard
208 wi th
which the Advanc ed Airba g Syst em in your ve hic le was certified),
the fro nt airbag on the pas se nge r si de may o r may not de ploy .
The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF li g ht com es on when the elec troni c
contro l unit detects a total weight on the front passenger seat that
r e qui res th e front airb ag to b e turned off. If th e
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
li g ht does not com e on, the front airbag on the pass enger side
h as not b een t urn ed off by the c ont rol unit and can d eploy if th e
control unit senses an impact that meets t he conditions stor ed in its
mem ory.
If the t otal weig ht on the fro nt passe nger seat is m ore than that of
a typical
1 y ear -old, but less than the we ight of a small adult, the
fr ont air ba g on th e passen ger side m ay depl oy (the
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
li ght does not come on).
For example, the airbag may deploy if:
• a sma ll chil d th at is heav ie r th a n a ty pica l 1 yea r-old chi ld is o n
the front passenge r seat (regardless of w hether the child is in one
o f the chi ld seats lis ted
=> p ag e 24 5),
• a child who h as out grown child r estr ain ts is on th e fron t
passen ger seat.
I f the front passenge r airba g is turned off, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
li g ht in the ce nter of t he ins trum ent p anel will com e on and stay
o n.
The fro nt airb ag o n the pa ssenge r sid e may
not de plo y (t he
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF lig ht does not illumi nate a nd sta y li t) if:
• a small adu lt or teenager is on the front passenger seat
• a pass enge r w ho i s no t si tti ng upright wi th their back aga inst a
non -reclined bac krest with their feet on the vehicle f loor in front of
the sea t is o n the front pass enger se at.
I f the front passenger ai rbag deploys, the Fed era l S tanda rd requ ires
th e a irbag to m eet th e "low risk " de ploy ment c rit eri a to he lp reduc e th
e risk of injury throu gh interaction with th e airbag . "Low risk"
dep loyment oc cur s in th ose cras hes tha t take p lace at l ow er decel ­
e rations as defined in t he elect ron ic co ntro l
unit=> page 22 9.
Always remember : Even th ough yo ur veh icle is eq uipped w ith
A dv anced Airbags, the safest plac e for chil dren i s properly
r estra ined on the back seat. Please be su re t o read t he important
i n form atio n in th e sec tions th at f oll ow and be su re to heed all of the
W ARNING S.
& WARNING
To reduce the risk of injury when an airbag inflates, always wear
safety belts properly.
• If you are unrestrained, leaning forward, sitting 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 218.
& WARNING
A child in a rearward -facing child seat installed on the front
passenger seat will be seriously injured and can be killed if the
front airbag inflates
-even with an Advanced Airbag System .
• Although 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 absolutely guarantee that deployment is impossible in all
conceivable situations that may happen during the useful life of
your vehicle.
• The inflating airbag will hit the child seat or infant carrier with
great force and will smash the child seat and child against the
backrest , center arm rest , door , or roof .
• Always install rearward -facing child restraints in the back seat .
~

Airbag system -
--------------=---=--
& WARNING (continued)
• If you must install a rearward facing child seat on the front
passenger seat because of exceptional circumstances and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not come on and stay on,
immediately install the rear-facing child seat in a rear seating posi­
tion and have the airbag system inspected by your Audi dealer.
& WARNING
If, in exceptional circumstances, you must install a forward-facing
child restraint on the front passenger's seat:
• 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 side airbag.
• Never put the forward-facing child restraint up against or very
near the instrument panel.
• Always move the passenger seat into its rearmost position in
the seat's fore and aft adjustment range, as far away from the
airbag as possible, before installing the forward-facing child
restraint. The backrest must be adjusted to an upright position.
• Make sure that the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
and stays on all the time whenever the ignition is switched on. •
Advanced Airbag System components
The front passenger seat in your vehicle has a lot of very important
parts of the Advanced Airbag System in it. These parts include the
weight -sensing mat, sensors, wiring, brackets, and more. The func ­
tion of the system in the front passenger seat is checked by the elec­
tronic control unit when the ignition is on. The control unit monitors
the Advanced Airbag System and turns the airbag indicator light on
when a malfunction in the system components is detected. The
function of the airbag indicator light is described in greater detail below . Because the front passenger seat contains important parts
Controls and equip­
ment Safety first Vehicle operation
of the Advanced Airbag System, you must
take care to prevent it
from being damaged. Damage to the seat may prevent the
Advanced Airbag for the front passenger seat from doing its job in
a crash.
The front Advanced Airbag System consists of the
following:
• Crash sensors in the front of the vehicle that measure vehicle
acceleration/deceleration to provide information to the Advanced
Airbag System about the severity of the crash.
• An electronic control unit, with integrated crash sensors for front
and side impacts. The control unit "decides" whether to fire the
front airbags based on the information received from the crash
sensors. The control unit also "decides" whether the safety belt
pretensioners should be activated.
• An Advanced Airbag with gas generator for the driver inside the
steering wheel hub.
• An Advanced Airbag with gas generator inside the instrument
panel for the front passenger.
• A weight -sensing mat under the upholstery padding of the front
passenger seat cushion that measures the total weight on the seat.
The information registered is sent continuously to the electronic
control unit to regulate deployment of the front Advanced Airbag on
the passenger side .
• An airbag monitoring system and indicator light in the instru­
ment
cluster => page 229.
• The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on and stays on in the
center of the instrument
panel => page 230, fig. 233 and tells you
when the front Advanced Airbag on the passenger side has been
turned off .
• A sensor below the safety belt latch for the front seat passenger
to measure the tension on the safety belt . The tension on the safety
belt and the weight registered by the weight-sensing mat help the
control unit
"decide" whether the front airbag for the front
passenger seat should be turned off or
not=> page 220, "Child
restraints on the front seat
-some important things to know". .,_
Vehicle care Do-it-yourself service Technical data

___ A_ ir_b_ a_ g
=-- s
--a. y_s _t _e _m _________________________________________________ _
• A s ensor in the safety belt latch for the driver and for the front
s eat pass enger tha t sen ses wheth er that safe ty bel t i s la tc hed or not
and transm its this information to t he el ectron ic control unit .
& 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 will prevent the Advanced Airbag System from func ­
tioning properly.
• Repairs to the front passenger seat must be performed by qual­
ified and properly trained workshop personnel .
• Never remove the front passenger or driver seat from the
vehicle .
• Never remove the upholstery from the front passenger seat.
• Never disassemble or remove parts from the seat or disconnect
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-sensing mat and send the wrong information to the
airbag control unit .
• Never store items under the front passenger seat . Parts of the
Advanced Airbag System under the passenger seat could be damaged , preventing them and the airbag system from working
properly.
• Never place seat covers or replacement upholstery that have
not been specifically approved by Audi on the front seats.
• Seat covers can prevent the Advanced Airbag System from
recognizing child restraints or occupants on the front passenger
seat and prevent the side airbag
in the seat backrest from
deploying properly.
& WARNING (continued)
• 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 accurately registering the
child restraint or person 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 manufacturer'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 passenger seat .
• If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not come on and stay
on , immediately install 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
T he front Advanc ed Airba g Syst em and th e side airba gs supplement
t h e p rotection offered by the fro nt three -point safety belt s with
pretens ioners and load limiters and t he adjustab le head restraints
to help reduce the risk of in jury in a w ide range of acc ident and
cras h situat ions. Be sure to read the im por tant in form ation abo ut
safety and heed the WAR NINGS in this chapter.
Depl oyment of the Adva nced Airb ag Sys tem and the activa tio n of
the safety be lt pretensioners depend on the deceleration measured
b y th e c ra sh sen so rs and regi stere d by the elec tro nic c ontro l u nit.
C rash severity d epends on speed and dece leration as w ell as the
m ass a nd stiffness of t he vehicle o r object i nvo lve d in the c ra s h .
When t he elec tron ic contro l unit regist er s a lo w seve rity c rash a nd
the safety belt is be ing used, the a irbag wi ll not deploy . If the safety
b elt is not being u se d, the first s ta ge de ploys, f ollow ed by the
second stage after a much later time in t he crash sequence .
.,,_

If the electronic control unit registers a crash of medium severity,
the first s tage of the airbag deploys followed by the second stage at
a much later time in the crash sequence -regardless of whether the
safety be lt is being used or not . In higher severity crashes as regis ­
tered by the e lectronic control unit , both the first and second stages
deploy almost at the same time .
On the passenger side, regardless of sa fety belt use, the airbag w ill
be turned off if the weight on the passenger seat is less than the
a m ount program med in the e lectronic control unit . The front airbag
on the passenger side w ill also be turned off if one of the chi ld seats
that has been cer tified unde r Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
208 has been recogni zed on the seat . The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on to tell you when the front Adva nced
Airbag on the passenger side has been turned
off~ page 220 ,
"Child restraints on the front seat -some important things to
know ".
& WARNING
T o reduce the risk of injury when an airbag inflate s, alwa ys w ear
safety belts properly.
• If you are u nrestra ined , leaning forward , sitting sideway s or out
of position in any way , your risk of injury is much higher .
• You
will also re ce ive serious injur ie s and could even be killed if
you are up again st the airbag or too close to it when it inflate s -
ev en with a n Advan ced
Airbag ~ page 218. •
Airbag syst em
More Important things to know about front
airbags
Fi g. 2 32 In fl ated front
airba gs
Safety be lts are important to he lp keep front seat occupants in the
proper seated position so tha t airbags can unfold properly and
provide supplementa l protection in a fronta l collision.
The front air bags are designed to provide addi tional p rotecti on 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 occupant is properly
seated as far as possi ble fr om the a irbag,
• and the head restraints have been properly adjusted .
Because airbags inflate in the blink of an eye with grea t force , things
you have on your lap or have p laced on the seat cou ld become
dangerous projectiles , and be pushed into you if the airbag inflates .
When an airbag deploys, fine dus t is released . This is norma l and is
not caused by a fire in the vehicle. This dust is made up mostly of a
powde r used to lubrica te the airbags as they d eploy . It could irri tate
skin .
I t is important to remember that while the supplemental airbag
system is designed to reduce the likel ihood of serious injuries, other
injuries, for example swelling , bruising and minor abrasions, can
a lso happen when ai rbags inflate . Airbags do no t pro tect the arms
~
Vehicle care I I irechnical data

__ ....!:,A~i'.!. r !::b :!a ~g:L.: s~ y~ s:!: t::.:: e~ m'..!.!.. ______________________________________________ _
or the low er parts of the body . Front airbags only supplement th e
th re e po int safe ty b elts in som e front al c ollis ions in which the
vehic le dece lerat ion is h igh enou gh to deploy the a irba gs.
Front airbags will not deploy:
• if the ignition is switched off when a crash occurs,
• i n sid e coll is io ns,
• in r ear- e nd collisi ons ,
• in ro llovers,
• when th e cras h de cele ration meas ured b y th e a irba g sys tem is
less than the mini mum threshold needed for a irbag deployme nt as
r egi stere d by th e ele ctr on ic con trol uni t.
The front passenger airbag will also not deploy :
• when th e front p asseng er seat is not occ upi ed ,
• when the weight on the front pas senge r seat a s sensed by the
A dvance d Airb ag Syste m indicates t hat th e fr on t airb ag on the
passenger side has to be t urned off b y the e lectronic control unit
(the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF li g ht come s on and s tays o nl.
& WARNING
Sitting in the wrong position can increase the risk of serious injury
in crashes .
• To reduce the risk of injury when the airbags inflate , the driver
and passengers must always sit in an upright position , must not
lean against or place any part of their body too close to the area
where the airbags are located.
• Oc cupants who are unbelted , out of position or too close to the
airbag can be seriously injured by an airbag as it unfolds with
great force in the blink of an eye
=> page 220.
& WARNING
A child in a rearward -facing child seat installed on the front
passenger seat will be seriously injured and can be killed if the
front airbag inflates - even with an Advanced Airbag System .
• The inflating airbag will hit the child seat or infant carrier with
great force and will smash the child seat and child against the
backrest , center arm rest , door or roof .
• Always install rear-facing child seats on the rear seat.
• If you must install a rearward facing child seat on the front
passenger seat because of exceptional circumstances and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not come on and stay on ,
immediately install the rear-facing child seat in a rear seating posi­
tion and have the airbag system inspected by your Audi dealer.
& WARNING
Objects between you and the a irbag will increase the risk of injury
in a crash by interfering with the way the airbag unfolds or by
being pushed into you as the airbag inflates.
• Never hold things in your hands or on your lap when the vehicle
is in use.
• Never transport items on or in the area of the front passenger
seat. Objects could move into the area of the front airbags during
braking or other sudden maneuver and become dangerous projec­
tiles that can cause serious personal injury if the airbags inflate.
• Never place or attach accessories or other objects (such as cup
holders, telephone brackets, large , heavy or bulky objects) on the
doors , over or near the area marked
"AIRBAG " on the steering
wheel , instrument panel , seat backrests or between those areas
and yourself . These objects could cause injury in a crash, espe­
cially when the airbags inflate .
• Never recline the front passenger's seat to transport objects .
Items can also move into the area of the side airbag or the front
airbag during braking or in a sudden maneuver. Objects near the .,_