light AUDI A3 2016 Owner´s Manual

,....,
N
0 > co ,...., With the engin e switched off
The battery will d rain if you use fu nctions such as
listening to the radio while the engine is switch­
ed off.
The vehicle 's ability to start may be impaired by
the energy use, a message will appear in the In­
fotainment system disp lay .
The message ind icates that the system will
switch off au tomati cally soon. If you wou ld like
to continue using the funct ions, you must s tart
the engine.
With the engine running
Although electrical energy is gene rated whi le
d riving, the batte ry can d rain. This can happen
when little energy is generated, and m uch is used
and the charge leve l of the battery is not optima l.
To restore the balance of energy, components that requ ire large amou nts of energy are tempo­
rari ly sca led bac k or switched off . He ating sys­
t ems in part icu lar require a g rea t d eal of ene rgy.
If yo u no tice, for example, that the seat heating*
or rear w indow defroster is not wo rking, then it
has been temporar ily reduced or switched off.
These systems are available again as soon as the
energy supp ly has been restored.
In addition , you may notice that the idle speed
has slightly increased . That is norma l and no
cause for concern. Due to the increased idling
speed, the add itiona l required energy w ill be
generated and the battery will be c harged.
Intellig ent Technology
165

Driving sa fe ty
Driving safety
Basics
Safe driving habits
Please remember -safe ty first!
This chapter contains important information,
tips, instruct ions and warn ings that you need to
read and observe for your own safety, the safety
of your passengers and others. We have summar­ ized here what you need to know about safety
be lts, a irbags, child restra ints as well as child
safety. Your safety is for us
priority number 1 . Al­
ways observe the i nfo rmation and wa rn ings in
this section - for your own safety as well as that
of your passengers.
The information i n this section applies to all
model versions of yo ur vehicle . Some of the fea­
tures descr ibed in t his sections may be s tanda rd
equipment on some models, or may be optional
equipment on others . If you are not sure, ask
your authorized Audi dealer.
A WARNING
- Always make sure that you follow the in­
structions and heed the WARNINGS in th is
Manual.
It is in your interest and in the in­
te rest of your passengers .
- Always keep the comp lete Owner's Litera­
ture in your A udi when you lend or se ll your
vehicle so that this important information
will always be available to the d river and
passenge rs.
- Always keep the Owner 's literature handy so
that you can find it easily if you have ques­
t ions.
- Always adjust your speed to the weather
traff ic and conditions. Follow the speed lim­
its.
- Always dr ive in such a way that you can s top
yo ur vehicle s afely.
- Always adjust your speed to the genera l
flow of traffic. Follow the speed l imits.
166
· Safety equipment
The safety features are part of the occupant re­
straint system and work together to help reduce the risk of injury in a wide variety of accident sit­
uations.
You r safety and the safety of your passengers
should not be left to chance . Advances in tech­
no logy have made a va riety of features available
to help red uce the risk of inj ury in an accident.
The following is a lis t of jus t a few of the safe ty
fea tures in yo ur Audi :
- sophisticated safety be lts fo r drive r and all pas-
senge r seat ing pos itions,
- safety belt pretensioners,
- safety bel t force lim ite rs fo r the front seats,
- safety belt he ight adjustment systems for the
front seats,
- front airbags,
- knee airbags for the front seats*
- side airbags in the front seats and outer rear
seats *,
- side c urtain airbags with eject ion mit igat ion
features,
- special LATCH anchorages for chil d rest raints,
- head rest raints fo r each seating position,
- adjustab le steer ing column .
- pre sense bas ic * (preventative passenger pro-
tect ion)
These ind iv idual safety features, can work to­
gether as a system to he lp protect you and your
passengers i n a wide range of acc idents . T hese
feat ures cannot wo rk as a system if they are not
always correctly ad justed and cor rect ly used.
Safet y is everybody's responsibil ity!
Important things to do before driving
Safety is everybody 's job! Vehicle and occupant
safety always depends on the informed and care­ ful driver .
For your safety and the safety of your passen­
gers,
before driving always:
.. Make sure tha t all lights and signals a re operat­
ing correctly .
.. Make sure that the tire pressure is correct.

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.. Make sure that all windows are clean and afford
good visibility to the outside .
.. Secure all luggage and other items carefully
r=> page 64, r=> page 63.
.. Make sure that nothing can interfere with the
pedals .
.. Adjust front seat, head restraint and mirrors
correctly for your height .
.,. Instruct passengers to adjust the head re­
straints accord ing to their height .
.. Make sure to use the right ch ild restraint cor­
rectly to protect children
r=> page 209, Child
safety .
.. Sit properly in your seat and make sure that
your passengers do the same
r=> page 58, Front
seats .
.. Fasten your safety belt and wear it properly . Al­
so instruct your passengers to fasten their safe­
ty belts properly
r=> page 176.
What impairs driving safety?
Safe driving is directly related to the condition of
the vehicle, the driver as well as the driver 's abili­
ty to concentrate on the road without being dis­
tracted.
The driver is responsible for the safety of the ve·
h ide and all of its occupants. If your ability to
drive is impaired, safety risks for everybody in the
veh icle increase and you also become a hazard to
everyone else on the road
r=> ,&. . Th erefo re :
.. Do not let yourself be distracted by passengers
or by using a cell ular telephone.
.. NEV ER drive when yo ur dr iv ing abili ty is im­
paired (by medications, alcohol, drugs, etc.).
.. Observe all traffic laws, rules of the road and
speed limits and plain common sense.
.. ALWAYS adjust your speed to road, traffic and
weather conditions.
.. Take frequent breaks on long trips. Do not drive
for more than two hours at a stretch.
.,. Do NOT drive when you are tired, under pres­
su re or when you are stressed.
Dr iving safety
A WARNING
-Impaired driving safety increases the risk of
serious personal injury and death whenever a
vehicle is being used .
Correct passenger
seating pos itions
Proper seating position for the driver
The proper driver seating position is important
for safe, relaxed driving.
Fig. 148 Correct seating pos ition
For your own safety and to reduce the risk of in·
jury in the event of an accident, we recommend
that you adjust the dr iver's seat to the follow ing
position:
.,. Adjust the driver's seat so that you can easily
push the pedals all the way to the floor while
keep ing your knee(s) slightly bent
r=> ,&. .
.. Adjust the angle of the seatback so that it is in
an upright position so that your back comes in
full contact with it when you drive .
.. Adjust the steering wheel so that there is a d is­
tance of at least 10 inches (25 cm) between the
steering wheel and your breast boner=>
fig. 148.
If not poss ible, see your authorized Audi deal·
ership about adapt ive equipment .
.,. Adjust the steering wheel so that the steering
wheel and airbag cover points at your chest and
not at your face .
.. Grasp the top of the steering wheel with your
elbow(s) slightly bent .
.. For adjustab le head restraints: Adjust the head
restraint so the upper edge is as even as possi­
ble with the top of your head . If that is not pos­
sible, try to adjust the head restraint so that it ..,.
167

Safety belts
Safety belts
General notes
Always wear safety belts!
Wearing safety belts correctly saves lives!
This chapter explains why safety belts are neces­
sary, how they work and how to adjust and wear
them correctly.
.. Read all the information that follows and heed
all of the instructions and WARNINGS.
&_ WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or wearing them im­
properly increases the risk of serious personal
injury and death .
- Safety belts are the single most effective
means available to reduce the risk of serious
injury and death in automobile accidents .
For your protection and that of your passen­
gers, always correctly wear safety belts
when the vehicle is moving .
- Pregnant women, injured, or physically im­
paired persons must also use safety belts.
Like all vehicle occupants, they are more
likely to be seriously injured if they do not
wear safety belts. The best way to protect a
fetus is to protect the mother -throughout
the entire pregnancy .
Number of seats
Your Audi has a total of five seating positions:
two in the front and three in the rear. Each seat­
ing position has a safety belt.
&_ WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or wearing them im­
properly increases the risk of serious personal
injury and death.
- Never strap more than one person, includ­
ing small children, into any belt .
It is espe­
cially dangerous to place a safety belt over a
child sitting on your lap.
- Never let more people ride in the vehicle
than there are safety belts available.
176
-Be sure everyone riding in the vehicle is
properly restrained with a separate safety
belt or child restraint.
~ Safety belt warning light
Your vehicle has a warning system for the driver
and front seat passenger (on USA models only) to remind you about the importance of buckling­
up .
Fig. 151 Safety be lt warning light in the instrument clu s­
ter -enlarged
Before driving off, always:
.. Fasten your safety belt and make sure you are
wearing it properly .
(0
"'
"' 9
"' .. Make sure that your passengers also buckle up
and properly wear their safety belts .
.. Protect children with a child restraint system
appropriate for the size and age .
The warning light . in the instrument cluster
lights up when the ignition is on as a reminder to
fasten the safety belts. In addition , you will hear
a warning tone for a certain period of time.
Fasten your safety belt and make sure that your
passengers also properly put on their safety
belts.
&_ WARNING
-
-Safety belts are the single most effective
means available to reduce the risk of serious
injury and death in automobile accidents.
For your protection and that of your passen­
gers, always correctly wear safety belts
when the vehicle is moving.
- Failure to pay attention to the warning light
that come on, could lead to personal injury.

Safe ty belts
Autom ati c s afet y belt retr actors
Every safety belt is equ ipped with an automa tic
be lt retractor on the shoulder belt. This feature
locks the belt when the belt is pulled out fast,
during hard braking and in a n accident . The belt
may a lso lock when you drive up or down a steep
hill or through a sharp curve. Dur ing normal driv­
ing the belt lets you
move freely .
Safety belt p ret en sion ers
The safety belts are equipped with a belt preten­
sioner that helps to t ighten the safety belt and
remove slack when the pretensioner is activated
c;, page 182 . The function of the pretensioner is
mon itored by a warn ing light
c;,page 21.
Convertible loc king retracto r
Every safety belt except the one on the driver
seat is equipped with a convertible locking retrac­
tor that
must be used when the safety belt is
used to attach a child seat. Be sure to read the
important information about this feature
¢ page 219 .
.&_ WARNING
Improperly pos it ioned safety be lts can cause
ser ious injury in an accident ¢
page 180,
Safety belt position.
- Safety belts offer optimum protection only
when the seatback is upright and belts are
properly positioned on the body.
- Always make sure that the rear seat bac k­
rest to which the center rea r safety belt* is
attached is secure ly latched whenever the
rear center safety belt is being used. If the
backrest is not securely latched, the passen­
ger will move forward with the backrest dur­
ing sudden braking, in a sudden maneuver
and especially in a crash.
- Never attach the safety belt to the buckle for another seat. Attaching the belt to the
wrong b uckle will reduce safety belt effec­
t iveness and can cause serious persona l in­
jury.
- A passenger who is not properly restrained can be seriously in jured by the safety be lt it­
self when it
moves from the stronger parts
180
of the body into critical areas like the abdo­ men.
- Always lock the convertible locking retractor
when you are securing a child seat in the ve­
hicle
c;, page 221.
(D Tips
For information on safety belt pretensioners,
refer to
c;, page 182 .
Safety belt position
Correct belt position is the key to getting maxi­
mum protection from safety belts.
Fig. 158 Safety belt posit ion
Use the height adjustment to change the posit ion
of the shoulder belt of the front safety belts .
.&_ WARNING
Imp roperly positioned safety belts can cause
serio us pe rsonal injury in an a cc ident.
- The shou lde r belt should lie as close to the
center of the collar bone as possib le and
should fi t well on the body. Ho ld the belt
above the latch to ngue and pull it evenly
across the chest so that it sits as low as pos ­
sible on the pe lvis and there is no pressure
on the abdomen. The belt should a lways f it
snug ly
c;, fig. 158. Pull on the belt to tighten
if necessary.
- The lap belt portion of the safety belt must
be positioned as low as possible across pel­
vis and never over the abdomen . Make sure
the belt lies flat and snug
c::> fig. 158 . Pull on
the belt to tighten if necessary.
Ii-

Airbag syste m
about children and Advanced Airbags
¢page 209 .
Even tho ugh your vehicle is equipped with an Ad­
vanced Airbag System, make certain that all chi l­
dren, especially those 12 years and younger, al­
ways ride in the back seat proper ly restrained for
their age and size. The airbag on the passenger
side makes the front seat a potentially dangerous place for a child to ride. The front seat is not the
safest place for a child in a forward-facing child
seat . It ca n be a very dangerous place for an in­
fant or a c hild in a rearward-fac ing seat.
The Advanced Airbag System in your veh icle has
been cert ified to comply with the requirements
of United States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standard ( FMVSS) 208, as well as Canada Motor
Veh icle Safety Standa rd (CMVSS) 208 as applica­
b le at the time your vehicle was man ufa ct ur ed.
According to requi rements, the front Advanced
Airbag System on the passenger side has been
certified for "suppression" for infants of about 12 month old and younger and for "low risk de­
ployment" for children aged 3 to 6 years o ld (as
defined in the standard) .
The
PAS SENGER AIR BAG O FF light in the instru­
ment panel tells you when the front Advanced
Airbag on the passenger side has been turned off by the electronic control unit.
Each time you switch on the ignition, the
PAS ­
S ENGER AIR BAG OFF
light will come on for a
few seconds and:
- will stay on if the front passenger seat is not
occupied,
- will stay on if the electrical capacitance meas ­
ured by the capacitive passenger detection sys ­
tem for the front passenger seat equals the
combined capacitance of an infant up to about one year of age and one of the rearward-facing
or forward-facing child restraints listed in Fed­
eral Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 w ith
which the Advanced Airbag System in your veh i­
cle was certified. Fo r a listing of the child re­
straints that were used to cert ify your vehicle's
compliance with the U.S. Safety Standard
¢ page 211 .
186
- will stay on if there is a sma ll child o r chi ld re­
straint on the front passenger seat,
- wi ll go off if the front passenger seat is occu­
pied by an adult as registered by the capacitive
passenger detectio n system ~
page 196, Mon­
itoring the Advanced Airbag System.
The PAS SENGER AIR BAG OFF lig ht comes on
when electrical capacitance registered on the
front passenger seat is equal to or less than the
combined capacitance of a typical 1 year-old in­
fant and one of the rearward-facing or forward­
facing child restraints listed in Federal Motor Ve­ hicle Safety Standard 208 w ith which the Ad ­
vanced Airbag System in your vehicle was certi­
fied .
If the total electr ical capacitance registered o n
the front passenger seat is more than that of a
typ ical 1 year-old chi ld but less than the weight
of a sma ll adult, the front airbag on the passen­
ger side can deploy (the
PAS SENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light does not come on).
If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not
come on, the front airbag on the passenger side
has not been t urned off by the electron ic con trol
u nit and can dep loy if the con trol uni t senses an
impact t hat meets the conditions stored in its
memo ry.
For exampl e, the airbag ma y depl oy if:
- a small ch ild that is heav ier than a typ ical 1
year-old child is on the front passenger seat (regard less of whethe r the child is in one of the
child seats listed ¢
page 211), or
- a child who has outgrown ch ild restraints is on
the front passenge r seat.
If the front passenger a irbag is turned off, the
PA SSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on in the
i nst rument cluster and stays on .
If the front passenger airbag deploys, the Feder­
al Standard requires the airbag to meet the "low
risk" dep loyment criteria to reduce the r isk of in­
ju ry through interaction w ith the airbag . "Low
r isk" dep loyment occurs in those crashes that
take place at lower decelerations as defined in
the e lectronic contro l unit ¢
page 196, PASSEN-
GER AIR BAG OFF light. .,_

,....,
N
0 > co ,...., Always remember, a child seat or infant carrier
installed on the front seat may be struck and
knocked out of position by t he rapidly inflating
passenger's airbag in a frontal co llision . The air­
bag could greatly reduce the effectiveness of the
chi ld restraint a nd even seriously i njure the ch ild
during inflation .
For this reason, and because the back seat is the
safest place for ch ildren -when properly restra in­
ed according to the ir age and size -we strongly
recommend that children always sit in the back
seat
Q page 209, Child safety.
.8, WARNING
A child in a rearward-facing chi ld seat insta l­
led on the front passenger seat will be ser i­
ously injured and can be k illed if the front air­
bag inf lates -even with an Advanced Airbag
System.
- The inflating a irbag w ill hit the child seat or
infant carrier with great fo rce and will
smash the ch ild seat and child against the
backrest, center arm rest, door or roof.
- Always ins tall rear-facing child seats on the
rear seat.
-If you must install a rearward fac ing child
seat on the front passenger seat because of
exceptiona l circumstances and the
PASSEN·
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on
and stay on, immediately insta ll the rear­
facing child seat in a rea r seat ing position
and have the airbag system inspected by
yo ur Audi dealer.
- Forward-fac ing ch ild seats insta lled on the
front passenge r's seat may interfe re with
the deployment of the airbag and ca use se­
rious person al injury to the child.
.8, WARNING
If, in except io nal circumst ances, you mus t in­
stall a forward-f acing chi ld restraint on the
front passenger's seat:
- Always ma ke sure the forwar d-fa cing se at
has been designed and ce rtified by its man ­
ufact urer for use on a front seat with a pas­
senger front and s ide a irbag .
.
Airb ag sys tem
-Never put the fo rward-facing child restraint
up aga inst or very near the instrument pan­
el.
- Always move the passenger seat into its
rearmost posit ion in the seat's fore and aft
adjustment range, as far away from the a ir­
bag as possible before installing the for­
ward-facing chi ld restraint. The backrest
must be adjusted to an upr ight position .
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
li ght comes on and stays on a ll the time
wheneve r th e ignit ion is switched on.
.8, WARNING
To reduce t he ris k of serious injury, ma ke sure
that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF li gh t will
be d isplayed whenever a child res traint is in­
stalled on the front passenger seat and the ignition is switched on.
- If th e
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF li ght does
not stay on, perform the checks described
¢ page 196, Monitoring the Advanced Air ­
bag System.
- Take the child restra int off t he front passen ­
ger seat and install it prope rly at one of the
rear seat positions if the
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
light does not stay on.
- Have the ai rbag system inspected by your
Aud i deale r immediately.
- Always care fully follow instructions from
child restraint manufacture rs when instal­
ling child restra ints.
.8, WARNING
--
If, in exceptional c ircumstances, you must in­
stall a forward or rearward-facing child re­
stra int on the fron t passenger's seat :
- Improper installat io n of child restraints can
reduce the ir effectiveness or even prevent
them from providing any pro tect ion.
- An improperly installed child restra int can
interfere wi th the airbag as it deploys and
serio usly injure or even kill th e chi ld -even
with a n Advan ced A irbag System.
- Always carefully follow the manufacturer's
i n str uctions provided with the child seat or
car rie r.
187

Airbag syste m
restrained, not just because the law requires you
to be.
The Advanced Airbag System in your veh icle has
been cert ified to meet the "low r isk" require­
ments for 3 and 6 year-o ld children on the pas­
senger side and very sma ll adults on the driver
side . The low risk dep loyment cr iteria are intend­
ed to he lp reduce the risk of injury through inter­
action with the front airbag that can occur, for
example, by being too close to the steering wheel
a nd instrument panel when the airbag inflates .
In addition, the system has been certified to
comply w ith the "suppression" requirements of
the Safety Standard, to turn off the front a irbag
for i nfants 12 months old and younger who a re
restrained on the front passenger seat in ch ild re­
stra ints that are listed in the Standa rd
¢ page 211, Child restraints and Advanced front
airbag system.
" Suppression" requ ires the front a irbag on the
passenger side to be tu rned off if:
- a child up to about one year of age is restra ined
o n the fro nt passenger seat in one of the rear­
facing or forward-facing infant restraints listed
in Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208
with wh ich the Advanced Airbag System in your
vehicle was certified. For a listing of the ch ild
restraints that were used to certify your vehi ­
cle's compliance with the US Safety Standard
¢ page 211,
-When a person is detected on the front passen­
ger seat that has an electrica l capacitance t hat
is more than the tota l electrical capacitance of
a chi ld that is about 1 year old restrained in one
of the rear-facing or forward-fac ing infant re­
straints (listed in Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standard 208 w ith w hich the Advanced A irbag
System in your veh icle was certified), the front
airbag on the passenge r side may or may not
deploy.
The
P ASS ENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
when the e lectron ic cont rol un it detects a total
e lectr ica l capacitance on the front passenger seat
that requires the front a irbag to be turned off. If
the
PAS SENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not
come on, the front airbag on the passenger side
190
has not been turned off by the contro l uni t and
can deploy if the contro l unit senses an impact
that meets the cond itions stored in its memory.
If the total e lectr ica l capacitance registered o n
the front passenger seat is more than that of a
typica l 1 year-old, but less than the weight of a
small adu lt, t he front a irbag on the passenger
s ide may deploy (the
PA SS ENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on).
For e xample , the ai rbag ma y deplo y if:
- a small ch ild that is heav ier than a typica l 1
year-old child is on the front passenger seat
(regard less o f whether the child is in one o f the
child seats listed
¢ page 211),
-a child who has outgrown child restraints is on
the front passenger seat.
If the front passenger a irbag is t urned off, the
PA SSENGER AIR BAG O FF light in the center of
the instr ument pane l will come on and stay on .
If the front passenger a irbag deploys, the Feder­
al Standard requ ires the airbag to meet the "low
r isk" dep loyment criteria to he lp reduce the r isk
of inju ry through interaction with the airbag .
"Low risk" deployment occurs in those crashes
that take p lace at lower decelerations as defined
in the electronic contro l unit ¢
page 196.
Alwa ys remembe r: Even though your vehicle is
equipped with Advanced Airbags, the safest place
for children is properly restrained on the back
seat. Please be sure to read the important infor­
mation in the sections that fo llow and be sure to
heed all of the WARNINGS.
A WARNING
To reduce the risk of injury when an airbag in­
flates, always wea r safety belts prope rly.
- If you are unrestrained, leaning forward, sit­
ting sideways or out of position in any way,
your r isk of injury is much highe r.
- You will also receive ser ious injuries and
could even be killed if you are up against the
airbag or too close to it when i t inflates -
even with an Advanced Airbag
¢page 184.

,....,
N
0 > co ,...., A WARNING
A child in a rearward-facing child seat instal­
led on the front passenger seat will be seri­
ously injured and can be killed if the front air­
bag inflates - even with an Advanced Airbag
System.
-Although the Advanced Airbag System in
your vehicle is designed to turn off the front
airbag when a rearward-facing child re­
straint has been installed on the front pas­
senger seat, nobody can absolutely guaran­
tee that deployment is impossible in all con­ ceivable 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 armrest, door, or roof.
-Always install rearward-facing child re­ straints on the rear seat.
- If you must install a rearward facing child
seat on the front passenger seat because of
exceptional circumstances and the
PASSEN­
GER 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
your Audi dealer.
A WARNING
If, in exceptional circumstances, you must in­
stall 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 man­
ufacturer for use on a front seat with a pas­
senger front and side airbag.
- Never put the forward-facing child restraint
up against or very near the instrument pan­
el.
- Always move the passenger seat into its
rearmost position in the seat's fore and aft
adjustment range, as far away from the air­
bag as possible, before installing the for­
ward-facing child restraint. The backrest must be adjusted to an upright position.
Airbag system
-Always make sure that there is nothing on
the front passenger seat that will cause the
capacitive passenger detection system in
the seat to signal to the Airbag System that
the seat is occupied by a person when it is
not, or to signal that it is occupied by some­
one who is heavier than the person actually
sitting on the seat. The presence of addi­
tional objects 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 different from the way it would have worked without the object on the seat.
- 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 capacitive
passenger detection system, wiring, brackets,
and more. The control unit 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 196. Because
the front passenger seat contains important
parts of the Advanced Airbag System, you must
take care to prevent it from being damaged.
Damage to the seat may prevent the Advanced
Airbag System 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 "de­
cides" whether the safety belt pretensioners
should be activated.
111-
191

Airbag syste m
-An Advanced Airbag with gas generator for the
driver inside the steering wheel hub .
- An Advanced Airbag with gas generator ins ide
the instr ument pane l for the front passenger.
- A capacitive passenger detect io n system unde r­
neath the front passenger seat cover . This sys­
tem measures the electrical capacitance of the person in th e seat. The information registered
is sent continuously to the electron ic control
unit to regula te deployment of the front Ad­
vanced Airbag on the passenger s ide .
- An airbag monitoring system and indicator
light in the instrument cluster
¢ page 196.
-A sensor in each front seat registers the dis­
tance between the respective seat and the
steering wheel or instrument panel. The infor­
mation reg istered is sent continuously to the
electronic control un it to regulate deployment
of the fro nt Advanced A irbags.
- The
PASSENGER AIR BA G OFF light comes on
and stays on in the center of the instrument
panel ¢
page 236 and tells you when the front
Advanced Airbag on the p assenge r side has
been turned off .
- A sensor in the safety belt la tch for the driver
and for the front seat passenger that senses
whethe r that safety belt is latched or not and
transmits this information to the electronic contro l unit.
.&_ WARNING
Damage to the front passenger seat can pre­
vent the front airbag from working properly.
- Improper repa ir or disassemb ly of the front
passenger and driver seat w ill prevent the
Advanced Airbag System from functioning properly .
- Repairs to the front passenger seat must be
performed by qua lified and prope rly trained
workshop personnel.
- Never remove the front passenger or dr iver
seat from the vehicle.
- Never remove the upho lstery from the front
passenger seat.
- Never disassemble or remove parts from the
seat or disconnect wires from it.
192
- Never carry sharp objects in your pockets or
put them on the seat. The capacit ive 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 ca n influence the capacitance regis­
tered by the capacitive passenger detection
sys tem, so tha t incorrect informat io n is pro­
vided to the a irb ag cont rol unit.
- Never store items under the front passenger
se at. Parts of the Advanced Airbag System
un der the passenger seat could be dam­
aged, p reventing them and the airbag sys ­
tem from wor king p roper ly .
- Never p lace 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 A ir­
bag System from recognizing chi ld 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 restra int system on
this seat.
- Never use cushions, p illows, blankets, or
sim ila r items o n the front passenger seat .
The additional layers prevent the capacit ive
passenge r detection sys tem from accurately
measuring the capacitance of the child safe­
ty seat and/or the person on the sea t and
t hus keep the Advanced A irbag System from
wo rking properly.
- Never p lace or use any e lectr ic al device
(such as a lap top, CD player, e lectronic
games device , power inve rter or seat heater
for child seats) on the front passenger seat if the device is connected to the 12 -volt
socket or the cigarette lighte r socket. Such
dev ices can influence the capac itance regis­
tered by the capaci tive passenger detection
system, so that incorrect informat io n is pro-
vided to the airbag cont rol unit.
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