sensor AUDI TT COUPE 2017 Owner's Manual

Airbag syste m
& WARNING
A child in a rearward-facing chi ld seat instal­
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
you r vehicle is designed to tu rn off the front
airbag when a rea rwa rd-facing child re­
straint has been insta lled on the fron t pas­
senger seat, nobody can absolutely g uaran ­
tee that deployment is impossible in a ll con ­
ceivable situations that may happen during
the useful life of your vehicle.
- The inflating airbag w ill hit the child seat or
infant carrier w ith great force and will
smash the ch ild seat and child against the
backrest, center armrest, door, or roof.
- Always install rearward-facing ch ild re­
straints on the rear seat.
- If you must install a rearward fac ing ch ild
seat on the front passenger seat because of
exceptional c ircumstances and the
PASSEN­
G ER A IR BAG OFF,;; light does not come
on and stay on, immediately install the rear­
facing child seat in a rea r seating pos ition
and have the a irbag system inspected by
yo ur Audi dealer.
& WARNING
If, i n ex cept ional circumstances, you must i n­
sta ll a forward-facing chi ld restraint on the
front passenger's seat:
- Always make sure the forward-facing se at
has been designed and ce rtified by its man ­
ufacturer for use on a f ront seat with a pas­
senger front and side a irbag .
- Never put the forward -facing child restraint
u p against or very near the instrument pan­
el.
- Always move the front passenger seat to
the highest 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 restra int.
204
-
- lways make sure that t he safety belt upper
anchorage is behind the ch ild restraint and
not next to or in front of the child restraint
so that the safety be lt will be p roperly posi­
tioned.
- Always make sure that there is noth ing o n
the front passenge r seat that will cause the
capacitive passenge r detection system in
the seat to signal to the Airbag System tha t
the sea t is occup ied by a perso n when it is
not, or to s ignal th at it is occupie d by some­
one who is heavier than the person ac tually
sitting on the seat . The presence of addi­
tional objects cou ld cause the passenger
front airbag to be turned on when it should
be off, or could cause the airbag to work in a
way that is d if f erent from the way it wou ld
have worked without the object on the seat.
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF "1; light comes on and stays on all the
time wheneve r the ig nitio n is swi tched on.
Advanced Airbag System components
The fro nt passenge r seat in your veh icle has a lot
of ve ry important parts of the Advanced A irbag
Syste m in it. These parts incl ude the capacitive
passenger detection system, wir ing, b racke ts,
and more . The con trol uni t monitors the system
on the front passenger seat when the ignition is
switched on and turns the airbag indicator light
on when a malfunction in the one of the system
components is detected<=>
page 209. Because
the front passenger seat contains important
parts of the Adva nced A irbag System, you must
take care to p revent it from being damaged.
Damage to the seat may prevent the Advanced
A irbag Sys tem for the front passenge r seat from
do ing its job in a crash .
The front Advanced Airbag System consists
of the following:
-Crash sensors in the front of the veh icle tha t
meas ure vehicle acce le ra tion/dece le ra tion to
prov ide in formation to the Advanced A irbag
System about the sever ity of the crash .
- An elect ronic contro l unit, with integ rated
crash sensors for front and side impacts. The

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control unit "decides" whether to fire the front
airbags based on the information received from
the crash sensors. The control unit also "de­
cides" whether the safety be lt pretensioners
shou ld 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 capacitive passenger detection system under­
neath the front passenger seat cover. This sys­
tem measures the electrical capacitance of the
person in the seat. The information registered
is sent continuously to the electronic control
unit to regulate deployment of the front Ad­
vanced Airbag on the passenger side.
- An airbag monitoring system and indicator
light
El in the instrument cluster.
- A sensor in each front seat registers the dis­
tance between the respective seat and the
steering wheel or instrument panel. The infor­
mation registered is sent continuously to the
electronic control unit to regulate deployment
of the front Adv a need Airbags.
- The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF~; light comes
on and stays on in the headliner¢
page 209,
fig. 163 and tells you when the front Advanced
Airbag on the passenger side has been turned
off.
-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
transm its this information to the electronic
contro l unit.
A WARNING
Damage to the front passenger seat can pre­
vent the front airbag from working properly.
- Improper repair or disassembly of the front
passenger and driver seat will prevent the
Advanced Airbag System from functioning properly.
- Repairs to the front passenger seat must be
performed by qualified and properly trained
workshop personnel.
- Never remove the front passenger or driver
seat from the vehicle.
Airbag system
-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
put them on the seat. The capacitive pas­
senger detection mat in the front passenger
seat will not function properly if it is punc­
tured.
- Never carry things on your lap or carry ob­
jects on the front passenger seat. Such ob­
jects can influence the capacitance regis­
tered by the capacitive passenger detection
system, so that incorrect information is pro­
vided 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 dam­
aged , preventing them and the airbag sys­
tem from working properly.
- Never place seat covers or replacement up­
holstery that have not been specifically ap­
proved by Audi on the front seats.
- Seat covers can prevent the Advanced Air­
bag System from recognizing child re­
straints or occupants on the front passenger
seat and prevent the side airbag in the seat
backrest from deploying properly.
- If a seat heater has been retrofitted or oth­
erwise added to the front passenger seat,
never install any child restraint system on
this seat.
- Never use cushions, pillows, blankets, or
similar items on the front passenger seat.
The additional layers prevent the capacitive
passenger detection system from accurately
measuring the capacitance of the child safe­
ty seat and/or the person on the seat and
thus keep the Advanced Airbag System from
working properly.
- Never place or use any electrical device
(such as a laptop, CD player, electronic
games device, power inverter or seat heater
for child seats) on the front passenger seat
if the device is connected to the 12-volt
socket or the cigarette lighter socket. Such
devices can influence the capacitance regis­
tered by the capacitive passenger detection
205

Airbag syste m
system, so that incorrect information is pro­
vided to the airbag control unit.
- 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 ch ild restraint, make
certain that the
PASSENGE R AIR BA G OFF
~; light comes on and stays on whenever
the chi ld restraint is installed on the front
passenge r seat.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF~; light
does not come on and stay on, immediate ly
install child restra int in a rea r seating posi­
t ion and have the airbag system inspected
by your Audi dealer.
A WARNING
If the front passenger seat gets wet, dry it im ­
mediately.
- If liquid soaks into the front passenger seat,
this can keep the a irbag system from work­
ing properly and may, for instance, deact i­
vate the passenger frontal airbag. If this
happens, the PA SSENGER AIR BAG OFF ~;
light will come on and stay on together with
the a irbag ind icator light
m in the inst ru­
ment cluster.
- If liquid is pooled on the seat, but has not
soa ked in, this may also keep the airbag sys­
tem from wo rking properly and ca use the
passenger frontal a irbag to be enabled
(turned on), even though there is a properly
installed chi ld restraint system on t he seat.
Wet towe ls or other wet things on the seat
c u shion can have the same effect . If the
front passenger frontal airbag is turned on,
the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF~; light light
will go out.
How the Advanced Airbag System
components work together
The front Advanced Airbag System and the side
ai rbags s upplement the protection offered by the
front three -po int safety bel ts with p retensioners
and load limiters to he lp reduce the risk of injury
in a wide range of accident and crash situations.
206
Be sure to read the important information about
safety and heed the WARNINGS in this chapter.
Deployment of the Advanced A irbag System and
the ac tiva tion of the sa fe ty belt pretensioners de ­
pend on the dece leration measured by the c rash
sensors and registered by the electronic contro l
u nit . 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, regard less of safety be lt
use, the front passenger frontal a irbag will be
turned off if the e lectr ica l capacitance measured
by the capacitive passenger detection system on
the front passenger seat is less than the amount
programmed in t he electron ic contro l unit . The
front passenger frontal a irbag w ill also be tur ned
off if the capaci tance measured by the system for
t h e fron t passe nger sea t equals that of a n infan t
of about one year of age in one o f the chi ld sea ts
that was used to certify the Advanced Airbag Sys­
tem under Fe d era l Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
208. The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF~; light
comes on and stays on to tell you when the front
Advanced Airbag System on the passenger side has been turned off
c> page 209 .
A WARNING
To reduce the risk of injury when an airbag in­
flates, always wea r safety belts prope rly.
- If you are un restrained, leaning forward, sit­
ting sideways or ou t of position i n any way,
your r is k of injury is much highe r.
- You will also receive ser ious injuries and
could even be killed if yo u ar e u p against the
airbag or too close to i t when it inflates -
eve n with a n Advanced Airb ag
i=>page 197.

Airbag syste m
-Always install rear -facing child seats on the
rear seat.
- If you must install a rearward facing chi ld
seat on the front passenger seat because of
exceptional c ircumstances and the
PA SSEN ­
G ER AIR BAG OFF ~;
light does not come
on and stay on, immediately install the rear­
facing child seat in a rear seating position and have the airbag system inspected by
you r Audi dealer.
_& WARNING
Objects between you and the a irbag w ill in­
crease the risk of in jury in a crash by interfer­
ing with the way the airbag unfo lds or by be­
ing pushed into yo u as the airbag inflates.
-
- Never hold th ings 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 du r­
ing brak ing or other sudden maneuver and
become dangerous projectiles that can
cause serious personal injury if the a irbags
inflate.
- Never place or attach accessor ies or other
objects (such as cup holders, te lephone
brackets, large, heavy or bulky objects) on
the doors, over or near the area marked "AIRBAG" on the steering wheel, instru­
ment pane l, 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 passenge r's seat to
t ransport objects . Items can also move into
the area of the side airbag or the front air­ bag during braking or in a sudden maneu­
ver. Objects near the airbags can become projectiles and cause injury, particularly
when the seat is reclined .
- Never place or transport objects on the
front passenger seat. Objects on the front passenge r seat could cause the capac itive
sensor in t he seat to signal to airbag system
that the seat is occupied by a person when it in fact is not, or that the person on the seat
208
is heavier than he or she actually is. The
change in electric capacitance because of
such objects can cause the passenger front
airbag to be t urned on when it should be
off, or can cause the airbag to work in a way
that is different from the way it would have
wo rked without objects on the seat.
- Always make sure that there is noth ing o n
the front passenge r seat that will cause the
capacitive passenge r de tection system in
the sea t to signal to the Airbag System tha t
the seat is occup ied by a person when it is
not , or to signal that it is occupied by some­
one who is heavier than the person act ually
sitt ing on the seat. The presence of an ob­
ject could cause the passenger front airbag
to be turned on when it should be off , or
could cause the airbag to work in a way that is diffe rent from the way it would have
wo rked without the object on the seat.
- Never til t the front passenger seat backrest
forward when the vehicle is mov ing . An in­
flating airbag wi ll force t he bac krest back­
ward and can injure rear seat occup ants .
_& WARNING
The fine dus t created when airbags deploy can
cause breathing prob lems for people with a
h istory of asthma or other breathing condi ­
tions.
- To reduce the r isk of breathing problems,
those with asthma o r other respiratory con­
ditions sho uld get fresh ai r right away by
getting out of the vehicle or opening win ­
dows or doors.
- If you are in a co llision in which airbags de­
ploy, wash your hands and face with m ild
soap and water before eating.
- Be carefu l not to get the dust into your eyes,
or into any cuts or scratches .
-If the residue shou ld get into your eyes,
flush them w ith water .

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Monitoring the
Advanced Airbag System
Airbag monitoring indicator light
Two separate indicators monitor the fun ction of
the A dvanced Airbag System: the
El ligh t and
t he
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF ~; ON @ Light.
The Advanced Airbag System as we ll as the side
a ir bags and side c urta in air bags with ejec tion
m it iga tion fea tures ( in cludi ng the e lectro nic con­
tro l uni t, sensors and sys tem wiring) are a ll
monitored co nti nu ously to ma ke sure that they
are funct ioning properly whenever the ignition is
on. Every t ime you turn on the ignition, the air­
bag system ind icator
light E,lwill come on for a
few seconds (function check).
The system must be inspected when the
indicato r light
E,I:
- does not come on when the ignit ion is switched
on,
- does not go out a few seconds after you have
switched on the ign ition, o r
- comes on w hile driving.
If an airbag sys tem malf unct ion is de te cte d, the
indicator light w ill come on to serve as a co nstant
remi nder to have the system inspected immedi­
ately .
If a mal function occurs that turns the front air­
bag on the passenger side off, the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF~.
lig ht w ill come o n an d stay on
whenever the ignit ion is on.
A WARNING
An airbag system that is not funct io ning prop­
erly cannot provide supplemental p rotection
in a frontal crash .
- If the airbag indicato r light¢
page 15
comes whe n the vehicle is be ing used, have
th e sys te m in spect ed immed iate ly by yo ur
au tho riz ed Aud i deale r.
It is possible that
th e air bag will i nflate w hen it i s n ot su p­
p osed to, o r will not infla te whe n it shou ld.
Airbag system
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF '1; ON @ light
Fi g. 163 Sect io n from t he headli ner: PASSENGE R AIR BAG
OFF~ ; ON
@ light
T he PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF~; ON @ light is
located in t he headliner ¢
fig. 163.
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF~; light will come
o n and stay on to tell you w hen t he fro nt Ad­
van ced Air bag o n the p assenge r side has been
tu rned
off by t he e lec tron ic control unit. If the
bulb fo r the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF~; ON @
light b urns o ut, t he a irbag ind icator light El w ill
come on to signal a ma lfunction in the Advanced
Airbag System. Altho ugh the burned-out b ulb
will not change the way the front passenger's
frontal a irbag works, it w ill no longer be possible
to use the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF~; ON @
ligh t to make s ure that the airbag on/off s tatus is
c or rec t fo r th e o ccu pan t on the front passenge r
sea t. Have the airb ag system inspec ted immedi­
ate ly by yo ur au thorized A udi d ealer .
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF~; ON @ light
will blink for about S seconds when:
- the capacit ive passenger detection system,
which switc hes the front sea t passe nger's fron ­
tal Advanced Airbag o n and off, detects a
change in the st atus of the front pa sse nger
se at.
As soon as the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF~; ON
@ light s tops blin kin g, a lways make sure that the
air bag st atus (on o r off) as shown by the ligh t is
prope r for the age, size and e lec trica l capacitance
of t he perso n occ up ying the front passenger
seat . Always ma ke sure that the safety be lt fo r
t h e front passenger seat is proper ly fastened .
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF~;/ PASSENGER
AIR BAG ON
@ light will show the statu s of the ..,.
209

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-For safety reasons in severe accidents, the
alternator and starter are separated from
the vehicle battery with a pyrotechn ic circuit
interrupter.
- Work on the pyrotechnic circ uit interrupt ­
er must only be performed by a qualified
technicians who have the experience, in ­
formation and special tools necessary to
perform the work safely.
- If the vehicle or the circuit interrupter is
scrapped, all app licab le safety precautions
must be followed .
@) For the sake of the environment
Undeployed airbag modu les a nd pretension ­
ers might be classified as Perch lorate Materi­
al -special handling may apply, see
www.dtsc .ca.gov/hazardouswaste/perchlo­
rate. When the vehicle or parts of the re­
straint system including airbag modules and
safety belts with pretensioners are scrapped,
all applicable laws and regulations must be
observed. Your authorized Audi dealer is fa­
m iliar with these requi rements a nd we recom­
mend t hat you have you r dealer perform this
service for you.
Other things that can affect Advanced
Airbag performance
Changing the vehicle's suspension system can
change the way that the Advanced Airbag System
performs in a crash . For example, using tire-r im
comb inat ions not approved by Audi, lowering the
ve hicl e, chang ing the stiffness of the suspens io n,
in clud ing the spr ings, suspens ion str uts, shock
absorbers et c. can change the forces that are
measured by the airbag sensors and sent to the
e lectronic contro l unit. Some suspension changes
can, for example, increase the force levels meas­
ured by the sensors and make the airbag system
deploy in crashes in wh ich it would not deploy if
the changes had not been made. Other ki nds of
changes may reduce the fo rce levels meas ured by
the sensors and prevent the airbag from deploy­
in g when i t should .
Airbag sys tem
A WARNING
-Changing the vehicle's suspension including
use of unapproved tire-rim combinations can
change Advanced Airbag performance and in­
crease the risk of serious persona l injury in a
crash.
- Never install suspension components that
do not have the same pe rformance charac­
teristics as the components o rigina lly ins tal­
led on your vehicle.
- Never use tire-rim combinations t hat have
not been approved by Audi.
Knee airbags
Description of knee airbags
The knee airbag system can provide supplemen­
tal protection to prop erly restrained front sea t
occupants.
F ig. 16 4 D river 's knee a irbag
The driver knee airbag is in the instrument panel
u nderneath the steering whee l
~fig. 164, the
airbag fo r the p asse nger is at about the same
height in the instr ument pane l underneath the
glove compa rtment.
T he knee airbag offers add itiona l protection to
the driver's and passenge r's knees and uppe r and
lower thigh areas and supp lements the protec­
tion provided by the safety be lts .
If the front airbags deploy, the knee airbags a lso
deploy in fron tal coll is ions when the deploymen t
threshold stored in the cont rol un it is me t
~ page 207, More important things to know
about front airbags.
213

Airbag system
the occupant sitting next to it is not seated prop­
erly. The side airbag for the front passenger seat
can be used with properly installed child re­
straints. Please be sure to read the important in­
formation and warnings whenever using a child
restraint in a vehicle: Safety belts
Qpage 189,
Airbag system Qpage 197, Child safety
c::;, page 2 21 .
The side airbag system basically consists of:
-the e lectronic control modu le and externa l side
impact sensors
- the two side airbags located in the sides of the
front backrests
- the airbag warning light in the instrument clus-
ter.
The airbag system is monitored electronically to
make certa in that it is functioning properly at all
times. Each time you turn on the ignition, the air­
bag system indicator light will come on for a few
seconds (self diagnost ics).
The side airbag system supplements the safety
be lts and can help to reduce the risk of injury to
the driver 's and front passenger's upper torso on
the side of the vehicle that is struck in a side col­
lision . The airbag deploys in side impacts and on­
ly when the vehicle acceleration registered by the
control unit is high enough. If this rate is below
the reference value programmed into the control
un it, the side a irbags w ill not be triggered, even
though the car may be badly damaged as a res ult
of the collision.
It is not possible to define an air­
bag tr igger ing range that will cover every poss i­
b le ang le of impact, since the circumstances will
vary considerably between one collision and an­
other. Important factors include, for example,
the nature (hard or soft) of the impacting object,
the angle of impact, vehicle speed, etc.
Q page 217, Important safety instructions on
the side airbag system .
Aside from their normal safety function, safety
belts work to help keep the driver or front pas­
senger in pos it ion in the event of a s ide collision
so that the side a irbags can provide protection .
The airbag system is
not a subst itute for your
safety belt. Rather, it is part of the overall occu­
pant restraint system in your vehicle . Always re-
216
member that the side airbag system can only
help to protect you if you are wearing your safety
belt and wearing it properly. This is another rea­
son why you should a lways wear your safety
belts, not just because the law requires you to do
so
Q page 189, General notes.
It is important to remember that while the sup­
plemental side airbag system is designed to re­
duce the likelihood of ser ious injuries, other inju­
ries, for example, swelling, bru is in g, friction
burns and minor abrasions can also be assoc iated
with deployed side airbags. Remember too, side
airbags will dep loy only once and only in certa in
kinds of accidents - your safety belts are always
there to offer protection.
Vehicle damage, repair costs or even the lack of
vehicle damage are not necessarily an ind ication
of over -sens itive or fa iled airbag activation. In
some collisions, both front and side airbags may
inflate. Remember too, that airbags wi ll dep loy
on ly once and on ly in certain kinds of collisions -
your safety be lts are always there to offer protec­
tion in those accidents in which airbags are not
supposed to deploy or when they have already
deployed .
The side airbag system will not deploy:
-when the ignition is switched off
- in side collisions when the acceleration meas -
ured by the sensor is too low
- in front-end collisions
- in rea r-end collisions
- in rollovers .
In some types of accidents the front airbags, side
curtain airbags and side a irbags may be triggered
together .
A WARNING
-Safety belts and the airbag system will only
provide protect ion when occupants are in
the proper seating position
c::;, page 217.
- If the airbag ind icator light Qpage 15
comes when the vehicle is being used, have
the system inspected immediately by your
authorized Audi dealer. It is possible that
the airbag will inflate when it is not sup­
posed to, or wi ll not inflate when it should .

Airbag 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 in ju ry
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 it h side airbag deployment
and can cause personal i njury 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
orig inal seat covers or to the seam in the
area of the side a irbag mod ule m ust always
be repa ired immed iate ly by an authorized
Audi dealer .
- If children are sea ted improperly, their r is k
of injury increases in the ca se of an ac ciden t
~ page 221, Child safety .
-Never attempt to modify any components of
the a irbag sys tem in any way.
- In a side collision, s ide a irbags w il l not fu nc­
t ion properly if sensors cannot correct ly
measure increasi ng a ir pressure ins ide the
doo rs when air escapes through larger, un­
closed openings in the door panel.
- Never drive w ith inter io r door tr im panels
removed .
- Never drive when parts have been re­
moved from the inside doo r panel and the
open ings they leave have not been proper­
ly closed.
218
- 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 i n the inside
door panels.
- Always have work on the doors done by an
authorized Aud i dealer or q ualified 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. 168 S id e curt ain airbags, driver's sid e: side curtain a ir ­
bag locatio n
The side curtain airbags are located on both sides
of the inter ior above the fro nt and rear side win­
dows~
fig. 168. T hey are identified by the word
"AIRBAG" on the windshie ld frame and the cen­
ter roof p illar .
The side curtain airbags contain features that provide ejection mitigation to help prevent veh i­
cle occupants or parts of their bodies from being
completely or part ially ejected from the vehicle
interior in certain side impacts and vehicle roll­
overs .
The side c urtain airbag system supplements the
safety belts and can help to reduce the risk of in­
jury for occupants' heads and upper torso. The
side curtain airbag inflates in side impacts and
only when the ve hicle acceleration registered by
the control unit is high enough .
If this rate is .,.

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below the reference value programmed into the
control unit, the side curtain airbag will not be
tr iggered, even though the car may be bad ly
damaged as a result of the collision. It is not pos­
sible to define an airbag triggering range that
will cover every possib le angle of impact, since
the circumstances will vary considerably between one co llision and another. Important factors in­
clude, for example, the nature (hard or soft) of
the impacting object, the angle of impact, vehicle speed, etc.¢
page 219, How side curtain air­
bags work.
Aside from their normal safety function, safety
be lts work to help keep the d river or fron t pas­
senger in posit ion in the event of a co llision so
that the side curtain airbags can provide protec ­
tion.
The airbag system is not a s ubst itu te for yo ur
safety belt. Rather, it is part of the overa ll occu­
pant restraint system in your vehicle. Always re­
member that the airbag system can only help to
protect you if you are wearing your safety belt
and wear ing it properly . This is another reason
why you should always wear your safety belts,
not just because the law requires you to do so
¢ page 189, General notes.
It is important to remember that while the side
curtain airbag system is des igned to help reduce
the likelihood of serious injuries, other injuries,
for example, swelli ng, bruising, fr iction burns
and minor abrasions can also be associated with
these airbags upon deployment . Remember too,
these airbags will deploy only once and only in certa in kinds of acc idents - you r safety belts are
always there to offer protection.
The side curtain airbag system basically
consists of:
- T he elec tronic contro l module and external side
impact sensors
- T he side c urtain airbags above the front and
rea r side windows with ejection mitigation fea ­
tures
- T he airbag indicator light in the instrument
panel
The airbag system is monitored elec tronically to
make certain it is f unct ion ing properly at all
Airb ag sys tem
times. Each time you switch on the ignition, the
airbag system indicator light wi ll come on for a
few seconds (self d iagnostics).
Th e side curtain airbag is not activ ated:
- if the igni tion is sw itched off,
- in side co llisions when the accele ration meas-
ured by the sensor is too low,
- in rear-end co llisions.
A WARNING
- Safety belts an d the airbag system will only
p rovide protect ion when occup ants are in
the proper seat ing position ¢
page 44,
Seats and storage .
- If the airbag ind ic a tor light~ page 15
comes when the veh icle is being used, have
the system inspected immediately by your
authorized Audi dealer . It is possib le that
the airbag will inflate when it is not sup­
posed to, or w ill not inf late when it should.
How side curtain airbags work
Side curtain airbags con work together with side
airbags to help reduce the risk of head and upper
torso injuries for occupants who ore properly re­
strained.
Fig. 169 Illustration of princip le: Inflated s ide curta in air­
bags on the left s ide
The side curtain airbags inflate between the oc­
cupant and the windows on the side of the vehi-
cle that is struck in a side collision
¢fig . 169 .
When the system is triggered, the side curtain
airbag is filled with propellant gas and breaks
through a seam above the front and rear side
windows identified by the AIRBAG label. In order
liJ,
219

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Your vehicle has also been equipped with a TPMS
malfunction indicator to indicate when the sys­
tem is not operating properly. The TPMS mal­
function indicator is combined with the low tire pressure telltale. When the system detects a
malfunction, the telltale will flash for approxi ­
mately one minute and then remain continuously
illuminated . This sequence will continue upon
subsequent vehicle start-ups as long as the mal­
function exists .
When the malfunction indicator is illuminated,
the system may not be able to detect or signal low tire pressure as intended. TPMS malfunctions
may occur for a variety of reasons, including the
installation of replacement or alternate tires or
wheels on the vehicle that prevent the TPMS
from functioning properly . Always check the
TPMS malfunction telltale after replacing one or
more tires or wheels on your vehicle to ensure
that the replacement or alternate tires and
wheels allow the TPMS to continue to function properly.
If the Tire Pressure Monitoring System
indicator appears
The tire pressure indicator in the instrument
cluster informs you if the tire pressure is too low
or if there is a system malfunction .
Using the ABS sensors, the tire pressure monitor­
ing system compares the tire tread circumfer­
ence and vibration characteristics of the individu­
al tires. If the pressure changes in one or more
tires, this is indicated in the Infotainment system
display w ith an indicator light
RE and a message.
If only one tire is affected, the location of that
tire will be indicated.
The tire pressures must be stored in the Infotain­
ment system again each time the pressures
change (switching between partial and full load
pressure) or after changing or replacing a tire on
your vehicle
c::;, page 274 . The tire pressure moni­
toring system only monitors the tire pressure you have stored. Refer to the tire pressure label for
the recommended tire pressure for your vehicle
¢ page 265, fig. 199.
Wheels
Tire tread circumference and vibration character­
istics can change and cause a tire pressure warn­
ing if :
- the tire pressure in one or more tires is too low.
- the tire has structural damage.
- the tire was replaced or the tire pressure was
changed and it was not stored
c::;, page 274.
- the spare tire* is installed .
Indicator lights
RE-Loss of pressure in at least one tire c::;, &,.
Check the tires and replace or repair if necessary.
Check/correct the pressures of all four tires and
store the pressure again in the Infotainment sys­
tem
¢ page 274.
mm (Tire Pressure Monitoring System) Tire
pressure: malfunction! See owner's manual -If
mm appears after switching on the ignition or
while driving and then the indicator light
RE in
the instrument cluster also starts to blink for
about one minute and then stays on permanent­
ly, there is a system malfunction. Try to store the
correct tire pressures
c::;, page 2 74 . If the indica­
tor light does turn off or turns on again after a short period of time, drive to an authorized Audi
dealer or authorized Audi Service Facility immedi­
ately to have the malfunction corrected.
A WARNING
..-
- If the tire pressure indicator appears in the
display, reduce your speed immediately and
avoid any hard steering or braking maneu­
vers. Stop as soon as possible and check the
tires and their pressure.
- The driver is responsible for maintaining the
correct tire pressures . You must check the
tire pressures regularly .
- Under certain conditions (such as a sporty
driving style, winter conditions or unpaved
roads), the pressure monitor indicator may
be delayed.
- Do not use run-flat tires on your vehicle . Us­
ing them when not permitted can lead to
vehicle damage or accidents.
273