warning light AUDI TT ROADSTER 2018 Workshop Manual

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front three-point safety belts to help reduce the
risk of injury in a wide range of accident and
crash situations. Be sure to read the important
information about safety and heed the WARN­
INGS in this chapter.
Deployment of the Advanced A irbag System and
the activation of the safety belt pretensioners de­
pend on the deceleration measured by the crash
sensors and registered by the electronic control
unit . Crash severity depends on speed and decel ­
eration as well as the mass and stiffness of the
vehicle or object involved in the crash .
On the passenger side, regardless of safety belt
use, the front passenger frontal airbag will be
turned off if the electrical capacitance measured
by the capacitive passenger detection system on
the front passenger seat is less than the amount
programmed in the electronic control unit. The
front passenger frontal airbag will also be turned
off if the capacitance measured by the system for
the front passenger seat equals that of an infant
of about one year of age in one of the child seats
that was used to certify the Advanced Airbag Sys­
tem under Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
208. The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF '1; light
comes on and stays on to tell you when the front
Advanced Airbag System on the passenger side
has been turned off
Q page 206.
A WARNING
To reduce the risk of injury when an airbag in­
flates, always wear safety belts properly.
- If you are unrestrained, leaning forward, sit­
ting sideways or out of position in any way,
your risk of injury is much higher.
- You will also receive serious injuries and
could even be killed if you are up against the
airbag or too close to it when it inflates
-
even with an Advanced Airbag Qpoge 194.
Airbag system
More important things to know about front
airbags
Fig. 163 Inflated front airbags
Safety belts are important to help keep front
seat occupants in the proper seated position so
that airbags can unfold properly and provide sup­
plemental protection in a frontal collision.
The front airbags are designed to provide addi­
tional protection for the chest and face of the
driver and the front seat passenger when:
- safety belts are worn properly,
- the seats have been positioned so tha t the oc-
cupant is properly seated as far as possible
from the airbag.
Because airbags inflate in the blink of an eye with
great force, things you have on your lap or have
placed on the seat could become dangerous pro ­
jectiles, and be pushed into you if the airbag in­
flates.
When an airbag deploys , fine dust is released.
This is normal and is not caused by a fire in the
vehicle . This dust is made up mostly of a powder
used to lubricate the airbags as they deploy.
It
could irritate skin.
It is important to remember that while the sup ­
plemental airbag system is designed to reduce
the likelihood of serious injuries, other injuries,
for example swelling, bruising and minor abra­
sions, can also happen when airbags inflate. Air­
bags do not protect the arms or the lower parts
of the body. Front airbags supp lement the three
point safety belts only in some frontal collisions
in which the vehicle deceleration is high enough
to deploy the airbags.
IJII,-
203

Airbag syste m
Front airbag s will not d eploy:
- i f the ig nition is switched off whe n a cr ash oc-
cu rs,
- i n s ide collisions,
- in rear-end collisions,
- in rollovers,
- when the crash decelerat ion measured by the
airbag system is less than the minimum thresh ­
old needed for airbag deployment as registered
by the electronic contro l unit .
The front p assenger airb ag will also not
deploy:
- when the front passenger seat is not occup ied,
- whe n the electrical capac itance measured by
the capacitive passenger detect ion system for
the front passenger seat indicates that the pas­
senger side frontal airbag must be switched off
by the electronic contro l unit (the
PASSENGER
A IR BAG
OFF ~; ligh t~ page 206 and how
they work comes on and stays on) .
.&_ 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 al­
ways sit in an upright position, must not
lean against or p lace any part of their body
too close to the area where the airbags are located.
- Occupants who are unbelted, out of position
or too close to the a irbag can be seriously
injured by an airbag as it unfolds with great
force in the b link of an
eye <=;> page 195.
.&_ WARNING
A child in a rearward-facing chi ld seat insta l­
led on the front passenger seat will be ser i­
ously inju red and can be killed if the front air­
bag inflates
-even with an Advanced Airbag
System.
- T he inflating a irbag w ill hit the child seat or
infant carrier with great force and will
smash the chi ld seat and child against the
backrest, center armrest, door or roof.
204
-
- Never install a rearward facing chi ld safety
seat on the front passenger seat unless the
PAS SEN GER AIR B AG OFF ~; light comes
on and stays on . If the
PA SSENGER AIR
BAG
OFF ~; light does not come on and stay
on, the inflat ing airbag will hit the chi ld
safety seat or infant carrie r wi th great force
and will smash the child safety seat and
child against the bac krest, door or roof .
Have the airbag system inspected immedi­
ately by your authorized Audi dealer .
.&_ WARNING
Objects between you and the airbag will in­
crease the r isk of injury in a crash by interfer­
ing with the way the airbag unfolds or by be­
ing pushed into you as the airbag inflates.
- Never hold things in your hands or on your lap when the veh icle 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 dur­
ing braking or other sudden maneuver and
become dangerous projectiles that can
cause serious persona l injury if the airbags
inflate.
- Never place or attach accesso ries o r othe r
objects (such as cup holders, telephone brackets, large, heavy or bulky ob jects) on
the doo rs, ove r or near the area ma rked
"AIRBAG" on the steering wheel, instru ­
ment panel, seat backrests or between
those areas and yourself. These objects
could cause injury in a crash, especially
when the a irbags inflate.
- Never recl ine the front passenger's seat to
transport objects. Items can also move into
the area of the side a irbag or the front air­
bag during brak ing or in a sudden maneu­
ver. Objects near the airbags can become projecti les and cause injury, part icularly
when the seat is reclined.
- Never p lace or t ransport objects on the
-
front passenger seat. Objects on the front
passenger seat could ca use the capaci tive
sensor in the seat to signal to airbag system
that the seat is occ upied by a person when it
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in fact is not, or that the person on the seat
is heavier than he or she actually is. The
c h ange in electric capac itance b ecause o f
such obj ects can caus e the passenger front
airbag to be turned on when it should be
off, or can cause the a irbag to wo rk in a way
that is diffe rent from the way it would have
wor ked witho ut objec ts on the se at.
- Always make sure that the re is nothing on
the fron t passenger sea t that w ill cause the
c apa citi ve passenger dete ction system in
the seat to sign al to the Airbag Sys tem tha t
the seat is occupied by a person when it is not, or to signa l that it is occ upied by some­
one who is heavier than the person actually
sitting on the seat. The presence of an ob­
ject could cause the passenger front a irbag
to be t urned on when it sho uld be off, or
cou ld cause the ai rbag to wo rk in a way that
is d ifferent from the way it wou ld have
wor ked witho ut the ob je ct on the seat.
A WARNING
The fine dust cre ate d when air bag s d eploy can
c ause bre athing problems for peop le w ith a
history of asthma or other breathing condi ­
tions .
- T o reduce the risk of brea thing pro blems,
those w ith asthma or other respiratory con ­
ditions should get fresh air right away by
gett ing out of the veh icle or opening w in­
dows o r doors.
- If you are in a collision in which airbags de­
ploy, wash your hands and face with mild
soap and water before eat ing.
- Be careful not to get the dust into your eyes,
o r into any cuts or sc ratches.
- If the resi due should get into your eyes,
flush them with water .
Airbag syste m
Monitoring the
Advanced Airbag System
Airbag monitoring indicator light
T wo separate indi cators monitor the func tion of
t he Advan ced Airbag Sys tem: the
E,I ligh t and
t he
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF '1,; ; ON @ light.
The Adva nced A irbag System as well as the s ide
airbags with e je ct ion m itigat ion fe atures (i nclud­
i ng the e lectron ic cont ro l un it, senso rs and sys ­
tem wiring) are all monito red contin uous ly to
make su re that they are functioning proper ly
whenever the ignition is on. Eve ry t ime yo u tur n
o n the ignition, the a irbag system indicator light
m w ill come o n for a few seconds (function
check) .
The sy stem mu st be in spected when the
indicator light
E,I:
- does not come on when the ignition is sw itched
on,
- does not go out a few seconds afte r you have
sw itched on the ignition, or
- comes on while driv ing.
If an airbag system mal func tion is detected, t he
indicator light will come on to se rve as a constant
r eminder to have the system inspected immedi ­
ately.
If a ma lfunction occurs tha t turns the front air ­
bag on the passenge r side off , the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
'1,; ; light will come on and stay on
whenever the ignition is on.
A WARNING "---
An a irbag system that is not functioning prop­
e rly cannot prov ide supplemental protect ion
i n a fronta l crash.
- If the ai rbag ind icator light
<=> page 14
comes when the veh icle is being used, have
the system inspected immedia tely by your
author ized Audi dealer . It is possib le that
the air bag will inflate when i t is not sup­
posed to, or w ill not in flate w hen it should.
205

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met, be sure to check the light regularly to make
certain that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF "1;
light stays on continuously whenever the ignition
is on. If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF "1; light
does not appear on and does not stay on all the
time, stop as soon as it is safe to do so and
- reactivate the system by turning the ign ition
off for more than 4 seconds and then turning it
on again;
- remove and reinstall the child restraint. Make
sure that the child restraint is properly instal­ led and that the safety belt for the front pas­
senger seat has been correctly routed through
the child restraint as descr ibed in the child re­
straint manufacturer's i nstr uctions;
- make sure that the convertible locking retrac­
tor on the safety be lt for the front passenger
seat has bee n activated and that the safety belt
has been pulled tight.
- make sure that no electrical device (such as a
laptop, CD player, elect ronic games dev ice,
power inverter or seat heater for child seats) is
placed or used on the front passenger seat if
the device is connected to the 12 ·vo lt socket or
the cigarette lighter socket;
- make sure that no seat heater has been retro­
fitted or otherwise added to the front passen­
ger seat;
- make sure that nothing can interfere with the
safety belt buckles and that they are not ob­
structed;
- make sure that there are no wet objects (such
as a wet towel) and no water or other liquids on
the front passenger seat cush ion.
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF~; light still
does not come on ...
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF "1; light still
does not come on and does not stay on continu­
ously (when the ignition is sw itched on),
- take the child restraint off the front passenger
seat and have the airbag system inspected by
your Audi dealer immed iate ly.
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF ~; light
should NOT come on ...
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF ~; light should
NOT come on when the ign ition is on and an
Airbag system
adult is sitting in a proper seating position on the
front passenger seat. If the
PASSENGER AIR
BAG
OFF ~; light comes on and stays on whi le
driv ing, under these c ircumstances, make sure
that:
- the adult on the front passenger seat is proper ­
ly seated on the center of the seat cushion w ith
his or her back up against the backrest and the
backrest is not reclined,
- the adult is not taking weight off the seat by holding on to the passenger assist handle
above the front passenger door or support ing
their weight on the armrest,
- the safety belt is being properly worn and that
there is not a lot of slack in the safety belt web­
b ing,
- there are no aftermarket seat covers or cush­
ions or other things (such as blankets) on the
front passenger seat that might cause the ca­
pacitive passenge r detection system to miscal­
culate e lectr ica l capacitance.
Important safety instructions on
monitoring the Advanced Airbag System
A WARNING
-
-If the status of the Advanced Airbag System
has changed while the vehicle is moving, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF "1; ON@ light
blinks for about 5 seconds to catch the driv­
er 's attention. If this happens, always stop
as soon as it is safe to do so and check the
steps described above .
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF "1; light
does not go off when an adult who is not
very small is sitting on the front passenger
seat after taking the steps described above,
have the airbag system inspected by your
author ized Audi dealer before transporting
anyone on the front passenger seat.
A WARNING
-
An air bag system that is not functioning prop­
erly cannot provide supplemental protection
in a fronta l crash.
- If the airbag indicator light <=> page 14
comes when the vehicle is being used, have
207

Airbag syste m
the system inspected immediately by your
authorized Aud i dealer. It is possible that
the a irbag will inflate when it is not sup­
posed to, or will not inflate when it should.
A WARNING
If the front airbag inflates, a child without a
child restra int, or in a rearward-facing child
safety seat, or in a forward-facing child re­
st raint that has not been p roperly installed
w ill be seriously injured and can be killed.
- If you must install a rearward-fac ing child
seat on the front passenger seat because of
exceptional c ircumstances and the
PA SSEN­
GER AIR BAG
OFF ,;; light does not appear
and stay on, have the airbag system inspect­
ed by your Audi dealer.
- If, in exceptiona l circumstances, you must
install a forward-facing chi ld restraint on
the front passenger seat, always move the
seat into its rearmost pos ition in the seat's
fore and aft adjustment range, as far away
from the airbag as possible. The backrest
must be adjusted to an upright posit ion .
Make sure that the PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF ,;; light comes on and stays on a ll the
t ime whenever the ignition is switched on.
A WARNING
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF ~; ligh t does
not go o ut when an adult is s itting on the
front passenger seat after taking the steps described above, have the airbag system in­
spected by your Audi dealer before transport­
ing anyone on the front passenger seat.
(D Tips
If the capacitive passenger detection system
determines that the front passenger seat is
empty, the frontal airbag on the passenger
side w ill be turned off, and the
PA SSENGER
AIR BAG
OFF ~; light will stay on.
Repair , care and disposal of the airbags
Parts of the a irbag system are installed at many
d ifferent p laces on your Aud i. Insta lling, remov-
208
ing, servicing or repair ing a part in an area of the
vehicle can damage a part of an airbag system
and prevent that system from work ing properly
i n a coll is ion.
There are some important things you have to know to make sure that the effectiveness of the
system will not be impaired and that discarded
components do not cause injury or pollute the
environment .
A WARNING
Improper care, servicing and repair proce­
du res can increase the risk of personal in jury
and death by p reventing an airbag from de­
p loying when needed or deploy ing an a irbag
unexpectedly:
-
- Never cover, obstruct, or change the steer­
ing wheel ho rn pad or airbag cover or the in­
s trumen t panel or modify them in any way.
- Never attach any objects s uch as c up ho lde rs
or telephone mountings to the surfaces cov­
ering the a irbag un its.
- For cleaning the horn p ad or instr ument
panel, use only a soft, dry doth or one mois­
tened w ith plain water . Solvents or cleaners
could damage the airbag cover or change
the stiffness o r strength of the material so
that the airbag cannot deploy and protect properly.
- Never repair, ad just, or change any parts o f
the airbag system.
- All work on the steering wheel, instrument
panel, front seats or e lectr ica l system ( in­
cluding the installation of a udio eq uipment,
cellular te lephones and CB radios, etc.)
m ust be performed by a qualified techn ician
who has the training and spec ial equipment
necessary.
- For any work on the airbag system, we
strong ly recommend tha t you see you r au­
thori zed A udi dealer or qualified wo rkshop.
- Never modify the front bumper or pa rts of
the vehicle body.
- Always make sure that the side a irbag can
inflate w ithout interfe rence:

Airbag system
Knee airbags
Description of knee airbags
The knee airbag system can provide supplemen­
tal protection to properly restrained front seat
occupants .
Fig. 165 Driver's k nee a irbag
The driver knee airbag is in the instrument panel
underneath the steering
wheel ¢ fig. 165, the
airbag for the passenger is at about the same
height in the instrument panel underneath the
glove compartment.
The knee airbag offers additional protection to
the driver's and passenger's knees and upper and
lower thigh areas and supplements the protec­
tion provided by the safety belts.
If the front airbags deploy, the knee airbags also
deploy in frontal collisions when the deployment
threshold stored in the control unit is met
¢ page 203, More important things to know
about front airbags.
In addition to their normal safety function, safe­
ty belts help keep the driver or front passenger in
posi tion in a frontal collision so that the airbags
can prov ide supplemental protection .
The airbag system is not a substitute for your safety belt. Rather, it is part of the overall 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 wearing it properly . T his is why you should
always wear your safety belt, not just because
the law requires yo u to do so ¢
page 187, Gener­
al notes.
210
Remember too, airbags will deploy only once and
on ly in certain kinds of accidents -your safety
belts are always there to offer protection in those
accidents in which airbags are not supposed to
deploy or when they have already deployed, for
example when your vehicle strikes or is struck by
another after the first collision .
This is just one of the reasons why an airbag is
not a substitute for the safety belt . The airbag
system works most effectively when used with
the safety belts. Therefore, always wear your
safety belts correctly.
It is important to remember that while the sup­
plemental knee airbag system is designed to re­
duce the likelihood of serious injuries, other inju­
ries, for example, swelling, bruising and minor
abras ions and friction burns can also occur when
an airbag inflates.
The knee airbag system basically consists of:
-The electronic control module
-Two inflatable airbags (airbag and gas genera-
tor), one for the driver and one for the front
passenger
- The airbag warning light in the instrument clus-
ter
The knee airbag system will not deploy:
-when the ignition is switched off
- in frontal collisions when the decelerat ion
measured by the control unit is too low
-in side collisions
-in rear-end collisions
-in rollovers
-in the event of a system malfunction (warning/
ind icator light is on)
¢ page 14 .
.&, WARNING
-Safety belts and the airbag system can only
provide protection when occupants are in
the proper seating position
¢page 203 .
-If the airbag ind icator light ¢ page 14
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 will not inflate when it should.

Airbag system
prevent proper deployment of the airbag.
Small objects can be thrown through the
vehicle if the airbag deploys and injure you
or your passenger .
- Make sure there are no cracks, deep scratch­
es or other damage in the area of the instru­
ment panel where the knee airbags are lo­
cated.
- If children are incorrectly seated, their risk
of injury increases in a collision
c:> page 216, Child safety.
Side airbags
Description of side airbags
The airbag system can provide supplemental
protection to properly restrained occupants.
Fig. 167 Side airbag locat ion in t he drive r's se at
The side airbags are located in the sides of the
front seat backrests
c:> fig. 167 facing the doors .
They are identified by the word "AIRBAG".
The side airbags installed for the front seating
positions have been designed and certified to
help reduce the risk of injury that can be caused
by airbags when they inflate, particularly when
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
c:> page 187,
Airbag system c:>page 194, Child safety
c:> page 216 .
The side airbag system basically consists of:
-the electronic control module and externa l side
impact sensors
212
-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 mon itored electron ically to
make certain that it is functioni ng 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 diagnostics) .
The side airbag system supplements the safety
belts 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
unit, the side airbags will not be tr iggered, even
though the car may be badly damaged as a result
of the collision.
It is not possible to define an air­
bag triggering range that w ill cover every possi­
ble angle 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.
c:> page 214, 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 position in the event of a side collision
so that the side airbags can provide protection.
The airbag system is
not a substitute for your
safety belt. Rather, it is part of the overall occu­
pant restraint system in your vehicle . Always re­
member that the side airbag system can only
help to protect you if you are wear ing your safety
belt and wear ing it properly. This is another rea­
son why you sho uld always wear your safety
belts, not just because the law requires you to do
so
c:> page 187, General notes.
It is impo rtant 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, bruising , friction
burns and minor abrasions can also be associated
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with deployed side airbags. Remember too, side
airbags wi ll deploy on ly once and on ly in certain
kinds of acc idents -your safety be lts are always
there to offer protection.
Vehicle damage, repair costs or even the lack of
ve hicle damage are not necessarily an indication
of over-sensitive or failed airbag act ivation. In
some collisions, both front and side a irbags may
inflate. Remember too, that airbags will deploy
only once and only in ce rtain kinds of coll is ions
-
your safety belts are always there to offer protec­
tion in those acc idents in which airbags are not
supposed to deploy or when they have already
deployed.
The side airbag system will not deploy:
-when the ign ition is switched off
-in side collisions when the acceleration meas-
ured by the sensor is too low
-in front-end collisions
-in rear-end collisions
-in rollovers.
I n some types of accidents the front airbags and
side airbags may be triggered together.
_& WARNING
-Safety belts and the airbag system will only
provide protection when occupants are in
the proper seating position¢
page 214.
-If the airbag indicator light q page 14
comes when the vehicle is being used, have
the system inspected immed iate ly by your
authorized Audi dealer. It is possible that
the a irbag will inflate when it is not sup­
posed to, or will not inflate when it should.
Airbag system
How supplemental side airbags work
Side airbags deploy instantly and can help re­
duce the risk of upper torso injuries for occu­
pants who are properly restrained.
Fig. 168 Inflated side airbag on left side of vehicle
When the system is triggered, the airbag is filled
with propellant gas and breaks through a seam in
the seat surface area marked "AIRBAG". It ex­
pands between the side trim panel and the pas­
senger . In order to help provide this addit ional
protect ion, the side airbag must inflate w ith in a
fraction of a second at very high speed and with
great force. The supplemental sid e a irbag could
injure you if you r seating position is not proper or
u pr ight or if items are located in the area where
the supp lemental side airbag expands . This ap­
plies especially to children
¢ page 216, Child
safety.
Supplementa l side airbags inflate be ­
tween the occupant and the door panel on the
s ide of the vehicle that is struck in certain side
collision ¢
fig. 168.
Although they are not a soft pillow, they can
"cushion" the impact and in this way they can
help to reduce the risk of injury to the upper part
of the body .
A fine dust may develop when the airbag deploys.
This is normal and does not mean there is a fire
in the veh icle.
213

Cl 00 .-< N r-­N .-< 0 r-­Vl 00
-Never install a rearward facing child safety
seat on the front passenger seat if the
PA S·
SEN GER AIR B AG
OFF,;; light does not
turn on and stay on. Have the system in­
spected immediately by an authorized Audi
dealer or author ized Audi Service Facility .
A WARNING
-Forward-fac ing ch ild seats insta lled on the
front passenge r seat may inte rfere with the
deployment of the a irbag and cause serious
persona l inju ry to the child .
- If except ional circumstances require the use
of a forward-facing child res traint on the
front passenger's seat, the child's safety
and well-being require the following special
precautions to be taken:
- Always make sure that the forward-facing seat has been designed and cert ified by its
manufacture r fo r u se on a front passenger
seat with a front and s ide a irb ag.
- Always carefully follow the manufacturer's
instr uctions provided with the child seat
or i nfan t ca rrier.
- Never p ut the fo rward-facing child re­
s tra int up against o r very near the instru­
men t panel.
- Always move the front passenger seat to
the highest posit ion 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 far away from
the airbag as possible, before installing
the forward-fac ing ch ild restraint.
- Always make sure that the safety be lt up­
pe r anchorage is behind the child restra int
and not next to o r in front of the child re­
stra int so that the safety belt will be prop­
erly positioned.
- Always make sure that nothing prevents
the front passenger's seat from be ing
moved to the rearmost posit ion in its fore
and aft adjustment range .
- Never place objects on the seat (such as a
laptop, CD p laye r, electronic games de­
vice, powe r inverter or seat heater for
child se ats). These m ay influence the ele c-
Ch ild saf ety
trical capacitance measu red by the capac i­
tive passenger detection system and can also fly around in an acc ident and cause
serious personal injury .
- Never place or use any electrical device
(such as a laptop, CD player, electronic
games device, powe r inverter or seat heat ­
er for child seats) on the front passenger
seat if the device is connected to the 12-
vo lt socke t or the cigarette lighter so cket.
- If a seat heate r has been retrofitted or
othe rw ise added to t he front passenger
seat, neve r insta ll any child res traint sys­
tem on this seat.
- Make su re that there a re no wet objects
(s uch as a we t towe l) and no w ater or oth­
er liquids on the front passenger seat
cushion .
- Always make sure tha t the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG
OFF ,;; light comes on and stays
on all the time whenever the ignition is
switched on .
- Never install a forward -facing chi ld safety
seat on the front passenger seat if the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF ~; light does
not turn on and stay on. Have the system
inspected immediately by an author ized
Audi dealer or authorized Audi Service Fa ­
c ility .
- Always buck le the child seat firmly in
place even if a child is not s itting in it . A
loose child seat can fly aro und during a
sudden stop or in a collision.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child rest raint in a vehi­
cl e
~page 187, Safety bel ts, ~page 194,
Airbag sy stem
and ~ page 216, Impor­
tant information.
(D Tips
A lways replace child restraints that were in­
stalled in a vehicle du ring a c rash . Damage to
a child restrain t that is not v is ible could cause
i t to fai l in another co llision sit uat ion .
217

Child sa fety
Advanced front airbag system and children
Your veh icle is equipped w ith a front "Advanced
A irbag System" in comp liance w it h United States
F edera l Motor Vehicle Safety Standard ( FMVSS)
208, as well as Canada Motor Vehicle Safety
Standard (CMVSS) 208 as applicable at the time
your vehicle was manufactured.
The Advanced Airbag system in your veh icle has
been certified to meet the " low-risk" require ­
ments for 3- and 6-year old children on the pas­
senger side and small adults on the driver side.
The low risk deployment criteria are intended to
reduce the risk of injury through interaction with
the airbag that can occur, for example, by being
too close to the steering wheel and instrument
panel when the a irbag inflates. In addit ion, the
system has been certified to comply w ith the
" su ppress io n" req uirements of the Safety S tand­
ard, to tu rn off the front airbag for infants up to
12 months who are restrained on the front pas­
senger seat in child restraints that are listed in
the Standard.
E ven tho ugh yo ur vehicle is equipped with an
Ad a
vanced Airbag system, a chi ld should a lways ride
in the seat proper ly restrained for its age and
size. The airbag on the passenger side makes the
front seat a potentially dangerous p lace for a
child to r ide . The front seat is not the safest place
for a child in a forward-facing child safety seat .
It
can be a very dange rous place for a n infant or a
larger child in a rearward-fac ing seat.
The vehicle's Advanced Airbag System has a ca­
pac itive passenger detect ion system in the front
passenger seat cush ion that ca n detect the pres­
ence of a baby or a child in a ch ild restraint sys­
tem on t his seat .
The capac it ive passenger detect ion system regis ­
ters the changes that result in an electr ical field
when a c hild, a child restra int, and a baby blanket
a re on the front passenge r seat. The change in
t he meas ured capacitance due to t he p resence o f
a child, a chi ld restraint, and a baby b lanket on
the front passenger seat is re lated to the chi ld
restraint system resting on the seat . The meas ­
ured capacitance of a ch ild restraint system var-
218
ies depending on the type of system and specific
make and mode l.
The elect rical capac ita nce of the va rious types,
makes, and models of child restra in ts speci fied
by the U.S . National Highway Tra ffic Safety Ad­
ministration (NHTSA) in the relevant safety
standard are stored in the Advanced Airbag Sys ­
tem control unit together with the capacitances
typ ica l of infants and a 1-year old child. When a
c hi ld restraint is used on the front passenger
seat w it h a typical 1 year-old infant, t he Ad­
vanced Airbag System compares the capacitance measured by the capacitive passenge r detect ion
system wi th the data stored in the e lec tronic co n­
tro l unit .
Child restraints and Advanced front airbag
system
Regardless of the ch ild restraint that you use,
make sure that it has been certified to meet Safe­
ty Standards and has been cert ified by its manu ­
factu rer for use w ith an airbag . If in exceptional
c ir cumstances you m ust use it on the front pas­
senger seat, ca refully read all of the information
o n chi ld safety and Advanced Airbags and heed
a ll of th e app licab le WARNINGS . Make certain
that the chi ld and chi ld restraint are correctly
recognized by the capacitive passenger detection
system in the front passenger seat, that the front passenger a irbag is turned off, and that the air­
bag status is always correct ly signa led by the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF ~; light.
Many types and models of child restra ints have
been available over the years, new models are in­
troduced regularly incorporating new and im­
proved designs and older models are taken out of
production . Ch ild rest rai nts are not standa rdized .
Child res tra ints of the same type typically have
d iffe rent weights and sizes and diffe re nt "foot ­
pr ints", the size and shape o f th e bo ttom of the
ch ild restraint that sits on the seat, w hen they
are installed on a vehicle seat . These differences
make it virtua lly impossib le to certify comp liance
with the requirements for advanced a irbags w ith
each and every child restra int that has ever been
sold in the past or will be sold over the course of
the useful life of your veh icle .
.,.